The Miraculous Spiderman Series

The rest of the dance felt like a lucid dream. Peter could barely remember what had happened beneath the pulsing lights by the time they’d stepped back out into the cool night air. To enjoy himself, sometimes he had to disassociate, and disassociate he had. Vaguely, he could recall Nino crowdsurfing, but it seemed like a distant memory.  

“We’ll be at your place in twenty,” Alya told Adrien. “We’ve got to get our stuff and no one’s home at my house right now, so we’ll have to walk over.”

“I’d offer to have someone come get you, but we’re kind of holding this sleepover without my father’s permission. Unless Peter wants to have Spiderman come get you,” Adrien joked, the way Peter stiffened up blissfully going unnoticed by the group.

Luckily, Marinette came to his rescue. “He’s a superhero, not a taxi service!” She shivered, the autumn air apparently too cold for her in her little dress. Without a second thought, Adrien slipped his suit jacket off, handing it to her.

“Wouldn’t want you to get cold on your way back to Alya’s,” he gave her a kind smile.

“Okay, Nino’s staying to help clean up,” Peter said, checking the time on his phone. “So let’s go get ready, Adrien.”

They stopped to get the pizza Peter had ordered earlier in the day, carrying the six boxes between them. Realistically, they didn’t need that much, but Peter didn’t know people’s personal preferences and had simply elected to get a variety. Better safe than sorry. The only option he didn’t have was Hawaiian pizza, because who puts pineapples on pizza anyways?

“So,” Peter braved as they entered the empty house. The Gorilla had gone to sleep, it seemed. “Seemed like you had a pretty great time with Marinette there.”

“Huh?” Adrien glanced at Peter, like he’d been snapped out of some kind of stupor. “Yeah, she’s one of my best friends. It’s always nice to dance with her. No pressure or anything.”

“Hmm,” Peter hummed thoughtfully, bringing the pizza up the steps to Adrien’s room. “You two didn’t look like just ‘best friends’ back there, but I guess I can’t really judge.”

“Peter, I know what you and Alya are up to,” Adrien said, setting his share of the pizza boxes down on the floor by his tv. “And I appreciate the thought, but Marinette and I really are just friends. I don’t want to ruin our friendship with your guys’ scheming. Trust me I’ve tried looking at her like that, but I can’t, not right now. I can’t explain it to you, but I just need you to trust what I’m saying.” Adrien stood there, arms hanging limp by his sides, his eyes filled with emotion. Not necessarily a sad emotion, but the sort that seemed to need Peter to understand and move past it.

Right. Ladybug. Peter could’ve kicked himself. Of course Adrien wasn’t over Ladybug. He still loved her, and he couldn’t just switch targets like that, even if it was the same girl.

“Sorry Adrien, I didn’t mean to meddle like that,” Peter apologized, placing his pizzas atop the existing stack.

“It’s fine, I’m not mad. I know how Alya can be when she’s trying to rope people into her schemes.” Adrien waved a hand, but his energy had been dimmed. Peter felt horrible for being the one to steal that light.

“I’ll go get changed,” Peter said, heading back into his room. Even if Adrien didn’t want to be coupled with Marinette, he still had the recordings of them dancing. Adrien had enjoyed himself before Peter had managed to screw it up, and maybe giving Adrien a few stunning shots to remember the night by would smooth things over.

“Karen, upload tonight’s recording to my laptop, retrieve the best shots and run them through a photo-retoucher and I’ll filter them myself later,” Peter said, stripping out of his fancy suit and hanging it back up before it could so much as touch the ground.

“Of course, Peter,” Karen’s detached voice came from his necklace. That was one thing taken care of. Now he just had to get Adrien back in the party mood. He pulled on his pyjamas, a grey sweater and pink hello kitty sweatpants, before heading back to Adrien’s room. Adrien seemed to want to move past their previous conversation, and he wore a huge grin.

Adrien was wearing the pyjamas Peter had gotten him, much to his delight. “I figured this was as good as occasion as any to bust these bad boys out.”

“You’re right, it’s the perfect occasion,” Peter agreed as his phone pinged. He checked it quickly. “The girls and Nino are outside. They climbed the gate, somehow.”

The two boys practically ran down the stairs to open the door, admitting their three breathless friends.

“That was enough of a workout for at least a month, I think,” Alya wheezed, thrusting her overnight bag into Peter’s arms. It was suspiciously bulky.

“Let’s take this party upstairs,” Adrien said. “My bodyguard is either sleeping or lurking around here somewhere, and I’d rather not find out which.”

Their little party trooped up the stairs before collapsing in Adrien’s room. Peter couldn’t help but notice the way Marinette’s gaze regularly landed on Adrien, nor did he miss the fact that his jacket was in her arms.

“Nice pyjamas,” she finally squeaked, having seemingly worked up the courage to speak to Adrien directly. Good job Ladybug, Peter thought. I wonder what she would do if she found out he was the boy she regularly teases.

“Thanks,” Adrien said. “Peter got them for me when he was in London.”

“You were in London?” Marinette’s expression turned puzzled, and Peter could almost see the gears turning in her head.

“Well yeah, I had to accompany Spiderman. It’s quite literally my job.” At this, Alya perked up.

“I think you and me should have a chat about superheroes,” Alya said. “I run the Ladyblog, you’re Spiderman’s assistant, it would make a great interview.”

“Sorry Alya, that would be a direct violation of my non-disclosure agreement,” Peter said lied. “I can’t really talk about Spiderman or the details of my job at all.”

“Who wants to talk about their work anyways?” Nino commented. “No matter how cool it is, I’m sure it gets boring after awhile. What never gets boring though is pizza, and unless my nose deceives me, I smell some fresh pizza.”

“You got it!” Adrien said. “Peter bought literally more pizzas than there is people, so we’ve got plenty.” He set it out and Peter went to gather the edible arrangement. The chocolate-covered strawberry bouquet seemed to be huge hit by the gasps of awe when he carried it out, only serving to stoke his ego. If the whole Spiderman thing didn’t work out, perhaps Peter could have a career in catering.

Everyone set up their sleeping bags and Adrien put on a movie before they dug in, and Peter’s pizza had never tasted so delicious. Something about sharing it with friends just made it way better. Maybe it was also the fact that it used real cheese, but he somehow doubted it.

They talked amicably for a solid half hour, running through the night’s events, before Alya seemed to remember something, perking up.

“I brought everyone a surprise too,” Alya said with a mischievous smile, reaching into her bag and drawing out a few bottles. There it was, the thing that was going to make the whole night go south, Peter could sense it.

“Is that…?” Adrien let his question trail off.

“Pure Russian vodka? Hell yeah it is,” Alya said, pulling disposable shot glasses out of her bag too.

Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea, Peter’s brain was telling him. And for once he was actually listening. Things had been good thus far, but if there was an akuma attack and Ladybug and Chat Noir were too intoxicated to fight….

“Peter?” Alya asked. “You want some?” She was holding a shot glass out to him.

“No thanks, I’ve had some bad experiences,” Peter said by means of excuse. Being a superhero was a full-time job. And drinking on the job was generally considered a no-no. That being said, he wasn’t going to say anything to Marinette or Adrien. He had to let them make their own choices, and in turn, their own mistakes.  

“Fair enough,” she said, passing out shots to the rest of the group. “Cheers!”

Peter watched with a gnawing sense of dread as his friends downed the liquor, Nino letting out a cheer after. Marinette made a face of disgust until she saw Adrien downing his shot like it was water, erasing the expression from her face as fast as possible and holding out her cup to Alya for more.

“Bathroom,” Peter mumbled, getting up from the group and heading into Adrien’s spacious bathroom. Truth be told, the smell of alcohol was making him lightheaded and reminded of the reason he didn’t partake. He’d had his own share of slacking off and having to suit up the next minute. His spidey senses seemed to get extra thrown off with alcohol, to the point where it was no longer enjoyable in the slightest.

By the time he’d returned to his friends, it seemed that happy hour didn’t need to be a whole hour to get the group completely plastered.

How long was I gone? He thought, watching as Adrien slid to the floor, giggling uncontrollably.

“Hi Peter, welcome back,” Alya said in a high pitched voice which seemed to make Adrien laugh harder.

Fuck. Me. Peter ran a hand through his hair, almost afraid to rejoin them. Marinette was draped across Alya’s lap, her hand playing with Alya’s hair absent-mindedly. Nino was still eating pizza like nothing had changed.

“Thanks guys,” he said, leaping over the back of the couch and sitting on it, putting some distance between him and the group. “Don’t go throwing up now.”

“Throwing up?” Marinette sat bolt upright, accidentally smacking Alya across the chest with her head. “Is that a thing that happens?”

“Have you never drunk before?” Peter asked. This was just getting better and better.

“Nope! Never!” Marinette said. “I don’t know why, it seems reaaaaallly fun.”

“I’m sure it does,” Peter replied curtly, watching as she swayed slightly in place. “No more for you, okay?”

“Killjoy,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest and pouting. Peter almost laughed at how viciously she said it, like ‘killjoy’ was some sort of coveted swear word. Key word being almost. Because before he could, an alert went off on everyone’s phones except Nino’s. An akuma attack.

“An akuma?” Adrien said incredulously, then laughed. “That’s tough luck.”

“Shit, I gotta go!” Alya bolted to her feet, instantly falling right back over. “Gotta…film….”

“You are not going anywhere,” Peter said. “None of you are. This is a job for the superheroes.” Present drunk company excluded, of course. And with that he backed out of the room, darting into his room next door. “Karen, transform me.”

Within seconds he was headed out the window, swinging on his way to find the akuma, before he remembered one very important tidbit. Even if he got the akuma, he wouldn’t be able to purify it, not without the Ladybug miraculous. And Ladybug was in no fit state to be fighting.

“Jesus christ,” Peter swore, headed right back the way he came before swinging in Adrien’s window.

“Spiderman!” Marinette said. Nino screamed, then passed right out. Alya just stared with wide eyes. And Adrien? Well he was still laughing.

“I need to talk to you,” he hissed to Marinette, pulling her out into the hall.

“What is it?” She looked at him with glassy eyes, words slightly slurred. She had definitely not listened to Peter when he’d said no more.

“I need your miraculous. Now.”

That seemed to register with her, but only slightly. She lifted one hand up to her neck, just pressing it there. “I can’t give it to you.”

“Well unless you can transform right now and take down that akuma, there’s no other choice,” Peter said sternly. Then a little pink and black creature floated out from behind Marinette, and Peter almost had an aneurysm.

“Spiderman’s right,” the little bug thing said. It couldn’t have been more than four inches tall, and its eyes seemed to be the biggest feature.

“While I appreciate the backup,” Peter said haltingly, “who are you?”

“I’m Tikki, Ladybug’s kwami!” It announced in a cheery voice.

“Oh, so you’re like, the god thing,” Peter said.

“Sure?” Tikki didn’t sound as enthusiastic anymore. “But Spiderman is right. You can’t transform right now, it won’t even work.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” Marinette wailed.

“Do you trust me?” Peter asked.

“What?”

“Do you trust me with the miraculous?” Peter said slowly, letting it sink in. “I’ll bring it back as soon as possible.”

“We have no other choice,” Tikki supplied helpfully.

“Okay,” Marinette agreed shakily, carefully reaching up and removing her earrings. That was another thing Peter hadn’t considered. He didn’t have his ears pierced.

“Thanks Ladybug. Now go enjoy some of that candy that was left on the coffee table in there,” he said.

She sniffed, giving him a shaky nod before heading back. Spidey, however, raced into his own room, shutting the door firmly before moving to stand in front of the bathroom mirror.

“I’m not going to reveal my identity to you,” Spiderman informed Tikki. “No offense, it’s just a security detail. Karen, analyze most effective piercing point for security.” He watched as a green light in his vision swept up and down his body before coming to highlight two points.

“Most effective place located,” Karen’s voice chirped helpfully.

“I am not piercing my nipples,” Peter said loudly. “Uncover ear masking, we’re going with a good old-fashioned earlobe.” Ignoring the pain, Peter shoved the tiny studs through his earlobes, fastening them before ordering his mask back over it.

“How is this going to work?” Tikki asked.

“I’m just making it up as I go,” Peter said honestly, turning away from her. “Now stay where you are until I ask you to transform, please.”

“Of course, Spiderman,” she agreed.

“Karen, detransform,” Peter said and his suit melted away, leaving just him and only him. “Now Tikki, transform me.”

It was like he’d injected cocaine into his veins as Tikki flew into his earrings. All his previously heightened senses were heightened further, his super-strength increased. He felt like he could take on the world, so much so that he almost forgot what he was supposed to be doing. “Karen, transform!”

The spidey suit expanded outwards from his chest, meeting with the Ladybug transformation and melding together, creating a spidey suit that was every fashion designer’s nightmare. The blue of his suit was gone, as was the web design, replaced by black polka dots on the red suit. Ladybug’s signature yoyo hung from his hips, and his webshooters were in their usual position. It had worked like a, well, charm.

“Wow, that’s ugly,” Peter said, giving himself a once-over before remembering why he was in the awful suit. Paris was currently under attack, and he was checking himself out in the mirror. He needed to get Adrien’s ring, just in case, and then get a move on.

Swinging out the window and back into the Agreste’s room, he was surprised to find Adrien gone.

“Where’s Adrien?” He looked around frantically. Alya pointed to the bathroom, mumbling something incoherent. Sure enough, Adrien was hanging onto the toilet bowl, emptying his pizza meal into it.

“Spiderman?” He said weakly, peaking at him through half-lidded eyes.

“Ring,” Peter said by means of explanation. Adrien gave a slight nod before throwing up again, holding his hand out. Peter plucked it from his hand, opening Ladybug’s yoyo and depositing the ring inside. Now he was prepared to fight.

It didn’t take long to find the akuma, and it had been just as Peter suspected. A student, heartbroken after some event at the dance, was walking around, capturing people in his balloon. Peter could already tell his punch cup was the akumatized object, but he had some unfinished business first.

“Yo, can I speak to your manager?” Peter asked, landing in front of the akuma.

“If I can’t have love, no one can!” The boy yelled, swinging his balloon towards Peter, who easily dodged it. It was almost like time slowed down slightly, all his senses working so much faster than your average human’s.

“Okay, cool, but I want to speak to the Papillon,” Peter said, with more conviction this time. The akuma froze, the telltale purple aura surrounding its face, and the Papillon began to speak through it, just as Peter had hoped.

“Who are you?” The Papillon’s words were said in the boy’s voice as it stood still, staring at Peter with an empty expression. It was creepy, but the most effective way to coax some information out of the distant villain.

He glanced down at his upgraded powers-wise yet downgraded appearance-wise suit. “Fuck man, I don’t even know. Spiderbug? Ladyman? That sounds mad dumb, but that’s all I got. I’m kinda in a hurry.”

“Where are Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Currently incapable of being here, so they sent me in their place,” Peter said casually, like he was ordering coffee. Actually, more casually than he ordered coffee.

“You have both miraculous?” The akuma’s voice was excited but its expression remained neutral. Nonetheless, Peter felt like he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

“Why do you want them so much?”

“If you have both miraculous, give them to me and I’ll give you anything you want,” the Papillon was getting dangerously excited, and Peter grinned beneath his mask.

“Why do you want both of them? Why not just one? Why isn’t yours enough?” No one had told him that the Papillon had a miraculous, but he could guess. He’d never had a lot of things explained to him, but it didn’t really matter. Going off observation skills alone, Peter figured he had most of Paris beat.

“Stupid Spiderbug. When combined, the Black Cat and Ladybug miraculous give the wielder infinite power, beyond anything you can ever imagine. They become a god. Creation and destruction combined, it can do anything. So if you have both, combine them now. Combine them now and see just how good it feels.”

“I’m good,” Peter said, thumbing his yoyo. “I’ve met gods, and they are extremely flawed beings. So much family drama. Like seriously, it’s a real headache inducer. Plus, even if I became a god, why would I help you? You can only give me whatever I want if you have the miraculous, and what kind of deal would that be? Like, I make you a god and in return you give me something? Nah man, it would be more like I become a god and then I smite you.”

The Papillon seemed to be thinking, pondering what Peter had just said. “Or I could possess you, turn your heart via one of my akumas, then you’d want to do my bidding.”

“Easier said than done,” Peter said. “You’ll find I’m not so easily swayed by promises of power. I’ve got everything I could ever want. Something tells me you’re not the same.”

“You understand nothing of the real world,” the Papillon spat. “You’re a child, pretending he knows his way around the world, but in reality, you’re nothing but another pawn. Why would you refuse infinite power?”

“It would do more harm than good. With great power comes great responsibility,” Peter quoted. Yep, definitely making that my catchphrase. “We were never meant to wield that power. I’m not the Ladybug, you’re not Chat Noir. And I happen to be close with them, they’re great people who would never abuse their power. Not like I know you will the second you get some.”

“I already have power beyond anything you could dream of, boy.”

“Then why are you beat by two teenagers on the regular? Wasn’t it Einstein who said the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? Although I think you have some other underlying issues you ought to see a therapist about anyways,” Peter said. He had been slowly inching closer to the akuma and was now only an inch away, his hand slowly reaching out to grab the object. It couldn’t be this easy, could it?

“And, while it’s great to know about this whole infinite power thing, getting a bit of an insight to your mind, I think it’s getting kind of late, and my parents are probably wondering where I am-” lies “-so I think I’ll have to end this conversation, at least for now. Really good chat though.” And with that, Peter plucked the cup from the akuma’s hand, crushing it in his hands.

A little purple and black butterfly flew out and Peter nabbed it, his skills with the yoyo almost natural given his time spent swinging from webs.

“What’s it she always says?” He asked the de-akumatized boy, who looked at Spiderman with a mixture of confusion, horror, and abject awe.

“You’re Spiderman,” he said breathily.

“Now I may be new to this, but I’m pretty damn sure that’s not what she says,” Peter said as the yoyo snapped open. “I didn’t say that little sentence about ‘freeing the bad’ or whatever but it looks fine,” he remarked, watching as the little white butterfly flew away.

“See you later, loser!” He called after it, giving it two enthusiastic middle fingers up before realizing the people who had been trapped in the balloon hadn’t returned. “Oh no, I didn’t use that lucky charm thing. Okay, lucky charm!” He threw the yoyo up, catching the (for some reason) entire street lamp that fell from the sky, thrusting it back up.

“Miraculous Spidermanbug! Now that’s got a nice ring to it.”

The teenager on the pavement still looked extremely confused as he got up, giving Spiderman a little wave before jogging off as the magic ladybugs returned everything to normal.

“I guess I should return Adrien’s ring,” Peter mumbled as he swung through the night. “And Ladybug her earrings.” He landed back in his room, walking into the bathroom, reaching into the yoyo as he did so. To his surprise, the first item he pulled out wasn’t the ring, but a box. It was black, with an intricate red design on the top. Now, Peter was a curious person by nature, and he felt so drawn to the box. Its power was speaking to him, he could feel it, so he dropped it right back into the yoyo and pulled out the ring instead. Long ago he had decided not to be a slave to temptation and this was just another opportunity to practice what he preached.

He had no idea where Chat Noir’s kwami had gone, perhaps it had been sleeping and not noticed its owner was ring-less? Peter had no idea how any of it worked.

He set the ring on the counter, ordering Karen to remove his ear masking as he did so. Then the earrings were free from his stinging ears, his transformation falling around him, allowing him to go back to a regular old Spiderman. But Tikki was back, evidently not worn out from the night’s events at all as she zoomed around his head while Peter’s suit closed back over his ears.

“I’m so glad you have a good head on your shoulders, Spiderman!” Tikki squeaked, beaming.

“I can’t take credit,” Peter said glumly. “I’ve made mistakes before, some a lot worse than just getting drunk on a weekend while hanging out with friends. Adrien and Marinette are still learning, only now having that opportunity to make those mistakes. It doesn’t make me a better hero than them. Because I know this will be a learning experience for them too.”

“You seemed to really get inside the Papillon’s head,” Tikki said thoughtfully. “Ladybug and Chat Noir have never tried that approach.”

“He must’ve been having an off day, because that was literally the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I love chatting up the villains, but usually they’re actively fighting back,” Peter commented as he adjusted his webshooters. “Now, are we ready to return these miraculous to our little party animals?”

Tikki made a sound of agreement, her expression proud as Peter scooped up the miraculous. When he returned to the party, Marinette was passed out in her sleeping bag, fast asleep, Alya and Nino in their respective bags also. Adrien was nowhere to be seen, so Spiderman carefully reached down, carefully slipping the earrings back into Marinette’s piercings, fastening them with gentle fingers. Now where was that blond rascal?

He wasn’t in the bathroom, that much was obvious. Peter walked out into the hall, surveying the house, wondering where Adrien could have wandered off when he saw that the front door was wide open.

Adrien hadn’t gotten far. He was sitting just out front, having made it down the front steps before giving up.

“Spiderman,” he breathed as Peter touched down beside him.

“I’ve got something that belongs to you,” Peter said, handing Adrien the ring. “I didn’t use it though, didn’t even see your kwami.”

“No, he’s sleeping,” Adrien said, caressing his ring like it was his most prized possession. And it probably was. “I’m the worst partner ever. You needed me and I wasn’t there. You and Ladybug must be so mad at me.”

“Ladybug wasn’t there either,” Peter said honestly. “It’s Friday, people are busy, sometimes there are things more important than akuma fighting, and that’s why you have a team. If someone’s having an off day, I’m here to pick up the slack, that’s what I do. I feel bad for Peter Parker though. He had to go into work on his off day since I had to suit up. That must suck.” Why not establish an alibi while he was at it? He felt bad for guilt tripping Adrien, but only a teensy bit. Peter needed to keep his identity secure. It was bad enough he’d left the party with no explanation.

“And I ruined it for Peter too? Oh god,” Adrien smacked his forehead. “Adrien Agreste, you are one sorry, pathetic boy.”

“Adrien,” Spiderman pulled Adrien’s hand back before he could inflict another painful blow to his own head. “Stop. Blaming. Yourself. You don’t need to beat yourself up over this. You had fun, that’s what counts. Doubt you’ll be able to remember much, though. You and your friends are lightweights.”

“You’re not wrong there,” Adrien said, pulling his sorry self up off the ground. “Guess it’s time to head on to bed, then.”

“Let me help you,” Peter offered, looking at Adrien’s unsteady form. “Just latch on.” Adrien gripped onto Peter, who shot a web up to attach to the roof, swinging Adrien back to his room.

“Thanks for everything, Spidey.”

“No problem Agreste. Go to bed now, cuz something tells me that tomorrow morning isn’t going to be pleasant for you.”

“Probably not,” Adrien shrugged as Peter zipped back out into the night. Once he was certain Adrien’s eyes couldn’t follow him, he landed right outside the front doorstep, suit crawling back into his necklace as he slipped through the still-open door, shutting it carefully behind him. Adrien had taken up post on the couch when Peter returned, so he dragged his own bundle of blankets from his room, creating a little cocoon to sleep in.

“Peter?” Adrien’s eyes opened slightly as Peter settled on the floor near the head of the couch. He would’ve slept right on the floor beside the couch, but that spot had been taken by Marinette.

“Sorry, I had work stuff,” Peter whispered. “Go to sleep Golden Boy.” Adrien gave an airy laugh before his eyes fluttered shut again, breathing becoming more rhythmic.

The whole ordeal had been a very risky stunt on Peter’s part, but it had paid off. His identity was secure as ever, the Papillon had been psyched out, and his friends had been able to enjoy their evening of festivities without worrying about akumas.

However, unbeknownst to Peter, someone had been watching him throughout the night. A short little man had watched him with the Papillon, and seen him detransform outside the Agreste mansion. And the aforementioned man was feeling very confident in his choice of recipient of the phoenix miraculous. Very confident indeed.

Marinette awoke to the sound of rain, a throbbing headache, and a warm body pressed up against her. Her memory of the previous night was foggy, with flashes of the dance, dancing with Adrien, wearing his jacket, going to his house for a sleepover, something about Spiderman? That train of thought came to an abrupt halt as she turned her head slightly, only to see a blond head snuggled into her shoulder, a tanned arm thrown casually across her midsection. Adrien Agreste was snuggling up to her, fast asleep, in his bedroom. It took every ounce of her willpower not to scream.

Alya and Nino were both still asleep, but she could see Peter already up, doing pushups a few feet away. He made them look ridiculously easy, and his white t-shirt showed off his arm muscles as he lowered himself to the floor and back up again. Marinette could see why Master Fu thought of him as a worthy wielder of the phoenix miraculous. He had that ‘physically strong’ bit down.

All this thinking was worsening her headache, Marinette decided. Instead she focused her attention on the boy beside her. He definitely hadn’t been sleeping there when she’d chosen her spot, she knew that much. His blankets were still half on the couch, so the obvious conclusion was that he’d fallen off it in his sleep. But the fantastical conclusion that Marinette’s mind indulged was one of him becoming lonely and seeking her company. The thought made her smile, and she ran her fingers through his hair absentmindedly, a habit she usually reserved for Chat Noir. A still half-asleep Adrien made a sound of content, burying himself further into her neck.

Peter stood up, having apparently finished his morning workout, eyes flickering over to the group. When he saw she was awake, he quickly mouthed something to her. ‘I’m going to get breakfast.’

Marinette mouthed a quick ‘okay’ in return, and he carefully slipped out Adrien’s bedroom door. Within no time, Peter was back with fresh coffee, pastries Marinette recognized being from her parents’ shop, and Gatorade (oddly enough). She had no idea how he’d managed to get it all that quickly, but she didn’t question it.

His movements seemed to cause the other sleeping bodies to stir, Nino waking up silently while Alya made an exaggerated whine, stretching out. Her noisiness woke Adrien up, who let out a little hum, raising his head (much to Marinette’s displeasure), and rubbing his eyes.

“Uh, hi,” he said, voice soft. He was so unfairly perfect in the morning, hungover or not, it was definitely a sight Marinette could never get tired of.

“Hey,” she croaked, instantly wanting to die.

“I really hope I didn’t crush you in my sleep, looks like I fell right on off the couch, huh?” Adrien laughed awkwardly. “And then it looks like I totally invaded your personal space, really sorry.”

“No, it’s okay, you can crush me anytime,” Marinette said with a smile, unaware of any connotations her words might have held.

“I’d make a comment about that but I’m really fucking hungover right now,” Alya said from her spot on the floor. “And I smell coffee. Peter, you angel, what did you do.”

Peter looked over at her, unimpressed. “You snore. A lot. But I brought breakfast for everyone, pastries fresh from the Dupain-Cheng bakery, some piping hot coffee, and Gatorade, which google says helps with hangovers. So drink up.” He distributed the food, the tired teens’ hands grabbing it eagerly.

Marinette could barely focus on eating when Adrien was sitting so damn close to her. It was like her brain had short circuited and she could only stare at him, his blond hair sticking up at odd angles after sleeping with gel in it, looking like a bedraggled god.  

“Peter, I never would have pegged you as a mom friend,” Nino commented. “Not that I’m complaining, just at first glance, that’s totally not what I would’ve gone for.”

“For the sake of my own ego, I will not be asking what you’d originally peg me as,” Peter chuckled. “Also sorry for dipping on the party last night, I had to do ground control for Spiderman.”

“There was an akuma attack?” Marinette squeaked, nearly knocking her Gatorade over. Adrien caught it nimbly, handing it back to her. There had been an akuma attack and she, Ladybug, hadn’t been there. So why wasn’t Paris destroyed by now? There wasn’t any way to purify an akuma without her.

“Yeah,” Peter said. “According to Spiderman, neither Ladybug or Chat Noir showed. I guess they were both busy with other things. But he looked like he’d been mixed with Ladybug. I mean his suit definitely wasn’t normal. But I can’t really say anything more.”

“What?” Marinette’s hand flew up to grasp her earring instinctively. It was still there. So how on earth had Spiderman managed to pull it off? Unless he’d tied the akumatized person up somewhere, she didn’t see how he could have made it work. Either way, she had some serious apologizing to do to Spiderman.

“There’s no pictures online,” Alya said, setting her phone down with a sigh of disappointment. “The Papillon doesn’t usually choose to attack that late at night. There must not have been much of a fight.”

Marinette pondered the different scenarios throughout breakfast, and none of them seemed promising. How had Spiderman managed it?

As soon as she got home, headache feeling much less debilitating after finishing her Gatorade, Marinette pulled out her Ladybug phone, sending off a group text.

[ Can we up patrol to midday? ]

[ I think we need to talk ]

[ Sure ] Came Spidey’s reply, instantly. Marinette wondered who was behind the mask and what he did on a daily basis. Was he always suited up? Probably not. But it seemed like he was always in the right place at the right time or simply just hanging around. Maybe his senses were really good in ways that transcended the physical. She knew he was impossible to sneak up on, but now Marinette wondered if that was him or Peter on ‘ground control’ warning him of his surroundings.

Chat Noir sent a single thumbs-up emoji. Marinette hadn’t been too surprised to hear that he hadn’t been in attendance either, since he was significantly more flaky than Marinette, but lately he had been doing better. She’d manage to gather that his civilian life was difficult to get away from when duty called, which she understood, but she also wanted him to try harder sometimes.

So at eleven fifty-eight precisely, Ladybug landed on their usual rooftop, eyes peeled for flashes of red or black along the skyline. She hadn’t been looking long when Spiderman landed a few feet away, eyes slowly raising to look at her. Chat Noir wasn’t far behind, sailing over Spidey’s head and landing with a thud. The rain had mostly let up and now it was just a gentle mist with mild temperatures, painting Paris’s usually picturesque streets in dull hues. It matched the mood of the three heroes’ meeting.

“I take it this isn’t so much of a patrol,” Spiderman guessed correctly. “Let’s find somewhere more secluded.”

And that’s how they found themselves a few minutes later, sitting atop L’Arc de Triomphe. It wasn’t secluded, per say, but it was high up enough that most people couldn’t see them.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” Ladybug started, sitting down. Chat also sat, but Spidey stayed standing, something that didn’t calm her nerves. Spiderman was a powerful ally and a more powerful enemy. She didn’t want to be on his bad side. “You needed us, and we weren’t there. And that’s unacceptable.”

Spiderman’s suit did an exaggerated blink. “I thought this was going to be me apologizing to you guys for taking your miraculous.”

“You did what?” Ladybug said. Of all the things he could’ve said, she hadn’t thought that was what he would have settled on.

“You took hers too?” Chat said. “I thought you seemed a little different-looking, but it was difficult to tell.”

“I don’t remember that at all…,” Marinette said, racking the few fuzzy memories she had of the night.

“Well, I needed the Ladybug miraculous to purify the akuma,” Spiderman explained. “But here’s the weird thing, the Papillon said that when you combine the two, you get like, godlike power. And that’s why he wants it!”

“You talked to the Papillon?” Marinette couldn’t help the way her voice pitched up.

“He was out in the street?” Chat Noir looked just as disbelieving as her.

“No, I just asked to talk to him,” Spiderman shrugged, pacing in front of them. “We had a fun little bonding moment, I told him he needed therapy, then I grabbed the akumatized object and broke it cuz he was getting a little annoying. Also good thing I have super strength cuz afterwards when I was tryna get that lucky charm thing, it tried to drop a streetlight on my head. Not very fun.”

Ladybug didn’t know what to say. She was just gaping at him, mind gone completely blank. He had talked to the Papillon? And the Papillon had talked back?

“So was there any fight, like, at all?” Chat Noir, never one to be left speechless, piped up.

“Nah, it was just a quick thing,” Spiderman said. “He was distracted, couldn’t give the akuma orders and talk through them at the same time.”

“Well I’m glad it worked out,” Ladybug said. “Is that really all the Papillon said?”

“Here, let me show you,” Spiderman said, holding out his wrist. A projection popped out, showing what he saw that night. A dark street by the water, an akumatized teenage boy with a balloon, Spiderman’s unwavering confidence as he asked to speak to the Papillon. The Papillon actually speaking back. It was unheard of, unthought of by her and Chat Noir. Spiderman’s natural sense of humour, even in the face of danger was something she’d only seen in her longtime partner. Although Spidey’s lines seemed far more natural than Chat’s. Chat hid his emotions beneath jokes. Spiderman had nothing to hide. There was no fear in the way he addressed the Papillon, no concern as he turned down unlimited power. Spiderman was the hero Ladybug wished she was.

Does he have that confidence in real life? She wondered as the projection ended.

“Damn, that was ballsy,” Chat Noir said. “I’m sad I missed it.”

“Next time, kitty cat,” Spidey seemed unconcerned. “Hopefully next time the Papillon will send an actual challenge our way. These meaningless akumatizations are annoying.”

“Someone’s asking for trouble.” Chat stood, leaning against his baton with a grin. “I approve.”

“I think we should try and avoid provoking supervillains, at least for now,” Marinette suggested. She wasn’t ready to face the Papillon, not in the slightest. Spiderman may have no fear, but she was plenty afraid.

“Why wait, My Lady?” Chat purred. “The sooner he shows himself, the sooner we can figure out how to beat him.”

“Chat’s right.” Spidey knelt beside her, his suit’s eyes looking at her earnestly. “For once we might have the upper hand.” Something about Spiderman always coaxed the truth out of her, whether she wanted to or not. She always had to be honest around him because she couldn’t help but think that if she lied, he’d know. And he probably would. She didn’t know what he was capable of. So the truth it was.

“Because I’m scared!” Marinette couldn’t stop the outburst that flew out of her mouth. “I’m scared the Papillon will hurt my family, or my friends, or one of you.” She couldn’t look at them so she drew her knees up to her chest, burying her head into her makeshift cocoon.

“You’d be stupid not to be,” Spiderman sat down fully, stretching his legs out in front of him. “That’s part of our life. We’re always going to be scared. Tomorrow isn’t something that’s promised. Superheroes sacrifice all their tomorrows so that everyone else might have one more today. Fear is why you are brave.”

Chat Noir’s cocky smile was gone as he sat on her other side, placing an arm around her shoulders gently. “I’m scared too,” he admitted. “I have been, ever since I became Chat Noir and even before that. I’m scared I’m going to put you in danger, or let you down somehow. Losing you scares me far more than the Papillon ever could. And until we defeat him, there’s always going to be that fear that one day I’ll wake up and you’ll be gone somewhere I can’t follow.”

“And I’m scared that one day I’m not going to be able to save the day,” Spidey said. “We’ve all got our fears, and talking about them is the first step to getting over them. But we’re all stronger than we think we are. Because if it gets to be too much for you, that’s when you turn to us. Nothing you go through needs to be dealt with alone.”

“Why are you so wise all the time?” Ladybug let out a shaky laugh.

“It’s because I’ve been down this road before. I didn’t really have the same support system you do, so I was a literal disaster, to the point where I got my suit taken away. Which sucked, but it made me realize that this isn’t really all about being Spiderman. Spiderman is only as strong as the person beneath the suit. Same with Ladybug and Chat Noir. I know you guys might think that you’re nothing without the suit, but as soon as you get over that mentality, that’s when the fun stuff begins. So my advice to prepare for fighting the Papillon would be to figure your shit out.”

Chat laughed, nodding his head. “I really do need to figure it out.”

“Figure it out how?” Marinette couldn’t help but feel like there was something she was missing.

“What makes you Ladybug? Figure that out, and then you’ll realize why it’s not just the miraculous,” Spiderman said, getting up and dusting himself off. “Cuz I’ve tried it, and it doesn’t do that much. You just need to learn how to merge your personal life with your superhero one. Now that’s a lot to throw at you at once, so I’ll leave you to ponder that. I have an artistic endeavour I should be working on right now. Surprise! Spiderman has hobbies outside of being Spiderman.” And then he was gone, leaving Chat and Ladybug alone.

“So let me get this straight,” Marinette said. “Spiderman was the most powerful person in the universe for approximately thirty minutes and he somehow didn’t destroy the world?”

“Crazy, I know,” Chat stretched, removing his arm from her shoulders. The loss of contact was depressing, like he’d removed a warm blanket from her, akin to how she’d felt when Adrien had finally woken up that morning. No, this was Chat she was thinking about. Marinette had just had an absolute dream of a night with Adrien, she couldn’t be thinking about Chat like that. He was her partner. So she ignored her brain and plowed on, ranting to Chat.

“I can’t help but feel like I’m underestimating him constantly. Spiderman seems way smarter than he’s letting on, and he’s letting on a lot.” Ladybug was trying to trust him, she really was, but the only part of him she’d ever actually seen was his mouth, and that was when he was eating bread. She didn’t even know the colour of his hair. She found her own lack of context disturbing.

“That’s because we are underestimating him. He could probably take down the Papillon on his own, miraculous or not. But there’s got to be something that’s holding him back. No one is that perfect.” Chat Noir gave her his most mischievous grin. “Except for you, My Lady.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Ladybug decided, leaping to her feet and grabbing her yoyo. “Bye Chat.” It wasn’t so much because of his actions, but more because of her Adrien-betraying thoughts toward him. Not that her and Adrien were together in the slightest. But she still wasn’t about to throw her years of pining out the window for some alley cat.

“I know that you’re not leaving because of my words,” Chat leaned forwards, eyes glinting. “It’s because you don’t trust yourself to keep your hands off me.”

“Keep talking, and the only place my hands are going to be is in your face. While I’m punching you.” It definitely wasn’t her finest line, but she was growing more and more flustered by the second.

“Bye Buginette,” Chat lilted. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Stupid dumb cat, Marinette cursed in her head as she swung home. Forget Chat, she had more important things to think about.

“Tikki!” Marinette shrieked the second she’d detransformed. “You transformed Spiderman and you didn’t tell me?”

“I thought you knew,” Tikki stated simply, coming to rest on Marinette’s desk.

“No! I mean, I might’ve then, but not now!”

“Speaking of which, Marinette, I hope you’re not going to make a habit of neglecting your responsibilities,” Tikki folded her little arms, giving Marinette what the kwami probably thought was a very intimidating look. Really it was adorable, and it made Marinette feel terrible.

“I made a mistake. I’m not going to make it again,” Marinette apologized.

“That’s what Spiderman said too.”

“What’s he like? What does he look like? Do I know him? Probably not,” Marinette spun in her desk chair before placing her elbows on her desk and resting her head in her palms, staring at Tikki expectantly.

“I don’t know!” She said. “All I saw were his ears!”

“His ears?”

“He figured out he could mix his transformations, so he detransformed out of his suit just before I transformed him, so I didn’t see anything, and then he reactivated his suit so we’d mix! He’s really smart.”

“I can tell he’s smart,” Marinette sighed. “So he must have pierced ears, then?”

Tikki shook her head. “He pierced them on the spot.”

Marinette let out a hiss at the thought. That would not have been fun, and she really really hoped he’d cleaned them before putting them back in her ears. Although he probably hadn’t. So she took the opportunity to do that then.

“Did he want to give the miraculous back? Or did you have to fight him on it?”

“I didn’t even have to say anything,” Tikki said. “He brought it up and I don’t think keeping them ever crossed his mind.”

“Really?” Marinette mused, brushing a cotton swab behind her ear. “I wish Chloé, sorry, Queen Bee could be more like him.”

Tikki’s response was cut off by a tap at Marinette’s skylight. The tiny kwami disappeared up to Marinette’s loft, leaving Marinette to face her visitor alone.

“Yes?” Marinette called and a gloved hand creaked the glass door open, Chat Noir’s face appearing at the opening.

“Princess! Just who I wanted to see,” he said, letting himself in and dropping onto her bed. “I’m dreadfully bored, and my two friends are both too busy to hang out.”

“So you just moseyed on over to my house?” Marinette hadn’t moved from her desk chair as he descended the steps.

“Well you don’t look like you’re doing anything.”

“I’ll have you know I’m actually very busy doing homework,” Marinette lied. Chat was now standing in front of her and all her thoughts from earlier, all her traitorous ones, were back in her mind like they’d never left.

“You’re lying!” Chat singsonged. “You just don’t want to hang out with me. And I don’t see why that is, because I’m great.”

“I do want to hang out with you, Chat, it’s just-”

“Aha! So you do want to hang out,” he skipped back across her room, hanging upside-down off the railing to her loft. “So what’s all this unnecessary hesitation for?”

Because you’re a prat, Marinette thought. Out loud, she said, “I’m just not sure I’m as much entertainment as you seem to think I am.”

“Why of course you are, Princess! I could watch you sew all day! What are we making today?”

“Nothing. I’ve been having a bit of a slump lately, at least when it comes to sewing. I haven’t had any real inspiration.”

“I can be your inspiration!” Chat, who had been swinging from his hanging place, swung a little too enthusiastically and fell, landing on her floor with a bang.

“Can you keep it down? My parents live with me.” The last thing Marinette wanted was for her parents to come upstairs and find Chat Noir in her bedroom.

“Well I’m handsome and inspiring, I’ve been told, so perhaps I could be your muse.” Chat got up from his crumpled position, slowly walking back over to Marinette. She swallowed a little too hard at the way his eyes stayed trained on her.

“Whoever told you that was clearly not right in the head,” she managed a semi-convincing snort, getting up from her desk chair and heading over to her chaise lounge, sitting down on it next to her purse, just in case she needed to ask Alya to come chase Chat off.

“And yet you move somewhere just so I can sit down right next to you. How considerate.” Chat joined her on the lounge, sitting a little closer to her than necessary.

“Did you come here to hang out or to flirt,” Marinette sighed. Did he really not get it out of his system while he’d been with Ladybug?

“Actually I came here because I’m starving but I haven’t got any money, and I hoped the baker’s daughter would take pity on a poor kitty and give him some free food.” He gave her a wide smile that somehow managed to show off all his teeth. And goddamn if they weren’t some of the most perfect teeth she’d ever seen.

Where did that thought come from? Marinette scolded herself as she went to sneak some pastries. She really couldn’t afford to keep thinking about Chat Noir like that. He was her partner, and she was in love with Adrien! Only, Chat Noir also had blond hair, green eyes, and she was now struggling to actually talk to him, which meant that she obviously had a type. Not intentionally of course. But if she kept thinking about his teeth she was going to have to seriously rethink some of her life choices.

“Here you go,” she said a little more forcefully than necessary as she returned to her room, shoving croissants in Chat’s arms. “Is that what you wanted?”

“Uh, are you alright?” Chat asked, quickly chowing down on the croissants like he was scared they would disappear.

“Oh, I’m just stellar! Perfect, some might say!” Marinette threw her arms out, flopping back down on the lounge beside him. “Doing great over here! Marinette Dupain-Cheng is just doing absolutely fantastic.”

Chat stared at her blankly as he polished off the croissants, having wolfed them down with alarming speed. “Okay then. Well now that I don’t think I’m about to pass out from hunger, what do you want to do?”

“We can’t exactly hit the town,” Marinette pointed out as she laid down, stretching out with a popping of her spine. “Not when you’re a superhero.”

“Correct,” Chat said. “So I guess we’ll just have to stay here in your bedroom.”

That statement really shouldn’t have seemed as suggestive to Marinette as it did. Chat was simply stating the facts, yet her brain was spiralling it out of proportion. She was blushing before she could stop herself, Chat’s eyes still searching her face as he sat above her.

“You’re in a weird mood today, how about that, Princess? Are my charms just too much to handle?”

“Who cares what I think? They obviously don’t work on Ladybug,” Marinette snarked. She wanted him gone at this point, before she did something stupid. To her surprise, Chat didn’t get annoyed by her statement.

“Oh no, they work on her, she just doesn’t know it. But one day, she’ll see that I’m so unworthy of her, she’ll have to take pity on me. That’s just how it works, I’m pretty sure.”

“Pity? You don’t think she’ll fall for you on her own?”

“I was just kidding,” Chat shrugged. “She’s in love with someone else. If I knew who that ‘someone’ was, maybe I’d take him out, then she’d realize I’m the one she likes, but I’m not a supervillain and I don’t know who he is. But either way, he’s a lucky guy. I hope he realizes just how special she is.”

Marinette sat up suddenly, mouth hanging open at her sudden epiphany. Chat was right. Adrien saw her as a friend. Just a friend. She’d tried so hard to change that, but why? Why would she try and change that when someone who loved her as her most genuine self was right there? And before she could even think through the details, she was wrapping her arms around Chat Noir’s neck and kissing him.

And he was kissing her back for a really solid three seconds until they both remembered who she was. She was Marinette, not Ladybug. And with that realization, they both pulled back.

“Sorry,” Marinette mumbled. “I got a little, uh, carried away there.”

Chat was just staring at her, dumbfounded. “I’ve never had a girl kiss me while I was in the middle of lamenting about how in love I was with someone else. That’s a new one.”

“I meant to say I hope she realizes how great you are too, but I got a little confused.”

“You got confused and…kissed me?”

“Yes, that’s precisely what happened,” Marinette said, ignoring her raging blush and desire to kiss him again.

“Hmm, I’ll take your word for it, since I have no other way to interpret that.” Chat looked bewildered, sitting as still as possible.

“Do you want to go?” Marinette suggested.

“Do you want me to go?”

“Not particularly, but I also just kinda messed the vibes up.”

“We can work with the new vibes,” Chat assured her. “But, uh, I might have to friend-zone you a little bit.”

“Not if I friend-zone you first,” Marinette chirped in response, but her mind was already churning, thinking about how she could possibly work around the new realization that maybe Ladybug and Chat Noir were a little more than just partners. Maybe the move wasn’t to work around it, but to face it head on. What was it Spiderman had said? If she was afraid of something, she just needed to work through it, talk it through with someone. And right now she was downright terrified of how she felt about Chat Noir.

He stayed for another hour or two until her parents were calling her for dinner, so Marinette slipped downstairs, waving goodbye to her partner as she grabbed her superhero phone, shooting a text off to Spidey.

[ Can we talk tonight? I could really use some advice ]

His reply was instantaneous as always.

[ Unfortunately I’ve got something I need to take care of ]

[ Can I send Peter Parker in my place ]

[ He’s a good listener and he’s smarter than me most of the time ]

[ I take it this isn’t something you can talk to Chat or Alya about ]

[ You’re aware I know Peter in real life, right? ]

[ Does that make a difference ]

[ No, I guess not. Just tell him to meet me at the park in twenty, if he can ]

[ He’ll be there ]

[ Thanks Spidey ]

[ As always, Miss Ladybug ]

[ Sorry it couldn’t be me ]

[ No worries ] The fact that Spiderman had found her a solution spoke volumes about his character. Even if he couldn’t be there, he still made sure that she had someone trustworthy to talk to. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too much work for Peter.

“Tikki, I’m sorry, but I’ll need to suit up again,” Marinette apologized to her kwami as she fed her a macaron.

“It’s fine! You need to work out your feelings for Chat Noir!” Tikki seemed excited. It was rather obvious that she’d been Team Chat this whole time, despite the boy’s reckless nature. So Marinette was suited up in no time, slipping out through the skylight and swinging off her balcony.

Peter was already sitting in the park, listening to music through his headphones when Ladybug approached him.

“Peter Parker?” She ventured. It was her first time interacting with him in costume, so she decided to throw everything she knew about him out the window and pretend this was the first time they’d ever met.

“Ladybug!” He whipped his earbuds out, stowing them back in his pocket within a blink of an eye. “I swear I’m not on drugs.”

Marinette tilted her head. She had a feeling there was a story behind that, but she chose not comment, instead taking a seat next to him on the bench. “Spidey said you were available to talk? Sorry if this is weird, I just needed to talk to someone about something.”

“No problem,” Peter said, ever the sweetest. “I’m here to listen to whatever it is you’ve got on your mind. My pretty singular friend Adrien is busy this evening, so I was just sitting at home when Spiderman texted me.”

“Well I’m glad you were around,” Marinette gave him a small smile and he returned it with a massive one. Sweet Peter with his sweet smile. It only made her dread the inevitable day when she would have to give him that blasted miraculous that may or may not kill him.

“So what are we talking about? Boy troubles?” His carefree and cheerful attitude was infectious and Marinette felt herself relaxing already.

“Sort of,” she rolled her eyes. “So basically, there was one boy that I’ve liked forever, but now there’s another boy who’s…well, he’s liked me forever. And before I could never think of him like that, but now all of a sudden it’s like someone flipped a switch in my brain and boom! He’s infected it. He’s like the plague.”

“Okay,” Peter said slowly. “Would it be incorrect to assume that the boy who’s liked you is Chat Noir?”

Marinette bit back a grin. The boy was smart, she’d have to hand him that. “That wouldn’t be entirely incorrect, no. But today I realized, I never even really talk to the boy I’ve liked. He’s always seen me as just a friend, but I’m always tongue-tied around him. So even if he did like me back, would he even be liking me for me?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Peter contemplated.

“But then things with him were going really well lately! Like we’ve been hanging out a bit and I’ve started being able to talk to him and whatever, but with Chat everything’s always been so natural. But I worry sometimes that he’d only like me for Ladybug, not who I am when the costume comes off.”

“So what I’m hearing is you don’t think either of them know you well enough.”

“…yeah.”

“Well I’m assuming Ladybug is the most genuine version of yourself?”

“I’m pretty sure. I mean, it’s definitely not who I am around A- the other guy.” She caught herself before his name could slip out. Peter would surely catch on if she told him she liked Adrien.

“And so Chat Noir likes you when you’re Ladybug, but the other guy wouldn’t?”

“No, he might like me if I was more like Ladybug around him, but I can’t! My sentences just get all mixed up and then I just…ugh.” Marinette slumped over in a very un-Ladybug way. “I wish they could just be the same person or something. That would make things way easier.”

Peter said something in English she couldn’t translate. Something about an idiot?

“Idiot?” She asked, tilting her head. He waved her off.

“Sorry, I was just going to say something but I’m not sure if it would come out right in French.” He laughed, one foot tapping against the ground. He seemed to have a lot of energy like, all the time.

“It’s all good,” Marinette said. “I just have no idea what to do.”

“It sounds like you have a better chance with Chat Noir, not going to lie,” Peter said. “I’m sure the other guy is great, since you obviously like him and have for some time, but maybe it would be better if you two are friends. If you were dating Chat Noir, I assume that would mean you would be less…emotionally invested in the other guy, and then you and the other guy could actually become friends. And if I’m being completely candid, I can see you and Chat Noir being a really good couple.”

“Really?” Marinette could see the truth in his words. Maybe being with Chat Noir would bring her and Adrien closer in the long run.

“Yeah, Ladybug, you’re like That Bitch. You’re a badass. Chat Noir respects that, I can tell.”

“Thank…you? Is that a compliment in America?”

“That’s a compliment anywhere,” Peter assured her. “Everyone wants to be you, everyone wants to be with you, people hate you cuz they’re not you, you’re That Bitch.”

“Everyone wants to be with me? That can’t be right,” Marinette shook her head. “Even you, Peter?”

“Sorry, I’m married to my job,” he said casually. “And something tells me you don’t date married men.”

“Correct there,” Marinette laughed. “Thanks Peter, I really needed that.”

“So you’re going to tell Chat Noir how you feel, right?”

“Tell him? Now where’s the fun in that. I think I’ll make him guess.” Marinette gave him a sly smile.

“From what I’ve heard, that boy is thick. You’re going to have to spell it out for him,” Peter said.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Marinette said. “Chat Noir is fluent in flirting.”

“He might not recognize your accent,” Peter gave her an equally sly grin. “Anything else I can help you with, Ladybug?”

Yes but it might kill you, Marinette felt her grin slip off her face as she looked at Peter’s earnest brown eyes. Her yoyo felt like it was burning against her side, the phoenix miraculous hidden somewhere inside it.

“Ladybug? Are you okay?”

“You’re a really good person, Peter,” she choked out, trying to stop her eyes from tearing up. “You don’t deserve anything bad, ever.” If he was concerned about her sudden change in demeanour, he didn’t show it.

“Little late for that,” Peter shrugged. “But thank you. I think the world could always use more good people, someone to look out for the little guy, you know?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m really glad I got to talk to you.” She stood up, uncertain of how long she could hold tears back for. Even if giving him the phoenix miraculous wasn’t a guaranteed death sentence, she still didn’t want to risk it. Because she knew Peter would accept it, that he would try to wield it no matter the risks. Because he was a good person who wanted to help others.

“Me too,” Peter said, giving her a quick hug. “And for what it’s worth, Ladybug, I think you’re a really good person too.”