It was the next day and the students in Ms. Mendeleiev's class were in the middle of writing a pop quiz assigned from the reading the day before. She hadn't told them about it, considering it was a 'pop quiz' so the class groaned when she had revealed the fact.
To say Marinette was struggling was an understatement, she looked at the questions on the page as if they were another language. Completely and utterly confused, she prayed this quiz wouldn't count towards a big part of their grade.
As if sensing the class's dismay, an akuma decided to bless them in the middle of a pop quiz by attacking somewhere outside. There were loud rumbles, similar to an earthquake, catching everyone's attention as the Science teacher peaked out of the classroom's window and frowned.
"You guys can head home, you're lucky I'm cancelling this quiz, but I expect you to have the readings for Chapter 4 done by tomorrow," Ms. Mendeleiev said.
The class groaned but were thankful nonetheless, an akuma had come in handy for once in their lives.
The teenagers rushed out of the classroom with Alya following Marinette, "Psst, are you going now?" Her friend asked, adjusting her glasses.
"Someone needs to deal with the akuma," Marinette said with a weak smile, "I'll catch you later Al."
With that she quickly hurried out of the school and hid behind a tree opening up her purse. Tikki yawned and gave her holder a smile, "Isn't it too early for this?" Tikki asked, an adorable smile resting on her face.
"Yeah, but it's also too early for a pop quiz," Marinette said with a lazy smile, "Spots on."
With that she swung her yo-yo towards a far away building structure and let herself be glided through the air. She landed on top of a very tall building and tried to see what the damage was, there were a few buildings crumbling so it was safe to assume someone had a morning grudge.
"Morning bugaboo," Chat said, landing beside her with a small smirk.
"Hey kitty," she said, brightening up at the sight of him, "I'm actually thankful for an akuma right now."
"Has your civilian life been causing you problems Ladybug?" He asked, raising a brow, but with slight worry etched onto his features. It made her heart soar at the fact he cared so much.
"Well I had to miss a quiz for a class," she giggled.
"What a coincidence, me too! Although, I was almost done," he said, with a slight pout.
Ladybug chuckled, "Alright smart guy," she said, booping his nose.
He scrunched his nose adorably before his expression turned serious, "So what are we dealing with today?" He asked.
"Hmm, well from the looks of it, someone had a morning grudge," Ladybug muttered as she saw the akuma flying in their direction.
She was wearing a pink dress that went to her knees with pink, white, and gold outlines for her mask and makeup. Long lace-up white boots covered her feet and a small golden crown rested onto her goldish, blond hair.
"Well if it isn't the kitty cat and the disgusting bug here to stop me from achieving my dreams," the akuma scowled, who went by 'Drama Queen.' Ironic, wasn't it?
"The only thing you'll be achieving is disappointment, do you think Shadowmoth's really going to let you stay the way you are and achieve your so called 'dreams?'" Ladybug asked, a smug smile resting onto her features.
"You're being a little dramatic right now drama queen, why don't you set the crown down and let the right people take over?" Chat said, resting a hand onto his hip with a slight smirk to infuriate the akuma further.
The akuma scowled and they could almost sense the fumes coming out of her ears, a dark purple outline covered her face and both superheroes got into defensive stances.
"You will follow my orders!" Drama Queen scowled, pointing a golden staff in their direction, "Since you two weren't so pleasant with me, I'm going to turn you into peasants!" She pointed her staff in Chat's direction so quick, he barely had time to register it before Ladybug swooped in and pushed them both down.
She quickly picked him up, dodging the hits from the akuma's golden staff and leaped through the air and behind a building structure.
"The akuma must be in her staff," Ladybug said, a hand resting onto her chin.
"I have a wrong feline about that LB, why would someone carry a staff around? Unless it was a different object, but my gut feline's telling me that it's in her crown, it is an accessory after all," Chat said.
Ladybug thought for a minute and realized that Chat might be right there, "That's reasonable," she told him with a smile, "Let's see what we can get our hands on first and break the object to see."
"Got it," Chat said, flashing her a grin before they both leaped towards the akuma.
'Drama queen' was going around turning people into different things, some were turned into knights, some were peasants, some were ladies in waiting, some were her suitors, and her parents had been turned into the Prince and Princess. Although the downfall was, they were all under her spell and had no control over their bodies.
"Attack!" 'Drama Queen' yelled at her 'knights' so they could grab the superheroes miraculouses.
They launched towards the heroes, Ladybug swung her yo-yo which caused them to bounce off of it, and Chat launched some far away with his staff. When he heard a loud crash from tossing the 'knights' away, he winced.
"Sorry guys! I reckon this must be a knightmare for you!" He called out apologetically as Ladybug face palmed.
"They just keep coming, we need to get off ground, the akuma can fly remember?" Ladybug said as Chat nodded. The two leaped back onto the buildings and began running on them towards 'Drama Queen' who scowled at their appearances.
"Even my knights couldn't deal with you? How embarrassing! They deserve a downgrade!" She huffed angrily as Chat snickered at her pettiness.
"We need to wrap this royal disaster up, Lucky Charm!" Ladybug said, throwing her yo-yo into the air, an object landed into her hands and she looked at it in confusion and disappointment.
"What on earth am I supposed to do with a hairclip?" Ladybug asked.
"Maybe you could clip up her ego?" Chat asked with a smirk, as Ladybug chuckled.
She looked around but couldn't seem to formulate a plan just yet, "We need to keep looking," she told Chat as he nodded.
The akuma had disappeared and it had gotten oddly quiet, the two continued running across buildings until they saw 'Drama Queen' hiding behind one, with her back turned.
"Shh," Ladybug said, putting a finger to her lips, Chat nodded and they slowly crept up behind her, Ladybug still had no idea what to do with her lucky charm, but they had a chance to grab something.
Once they were close enough, Ladybug motioned to grab 'Drama Queen's' staff and that is what Chat did.
"Surprise princess!" He said, jumping towards her as the villain looked at him shocked, he was close enough to grab the staff so he swiped it out of her hands.
"Cataclysm!" Chat called out and the staff turned into specks of black dust, but there was no akuma in it.
"My wand!" 'Drama Queen' wailed, "You'll pay for this!"
Chat cursed under his breath and tried to dodge her attacks, she seemingly had power shoot out of her satin pink gloved hands and he was doing his best to avoid them.
He quickly leaped towards LB, without the akuma knowing and they both hid behind the building wall.
"I should've listened to you, we could've grabbed her crown and gotten this over with," Ladybug frowned, resting her hand on her forehead.
"Hey, it's okay LB, we can still get it, at least we got rid of one of her power source," Chat tried to comfort her.
"But now you have 5 minutes before you transform back!" She panicked, "We're gonna have to work even faster."
"Ladybug, we've been in worse situations, just breath, we have your lucky charm, you can come up with a plan like you always purrrfectly do," Chat said, giving her an encouraging smile.
The pun made a small smile crack up on her face and she felt a little better, "Thank you Chat," she said, hugging him.
The contact surprised Chat because Ladybug didn't hug him in akuma situations a lot, especially when they've been in worse ones. Regardless, he quickly hugged her back because who knows? She might be having a bad time in her civilian life and really needed someone right now, and she was his partner.
She pulled away with a grateful smile and looked around, her eyes landed on the hairclip, the golden crown from the akuma, and Chat's tail.
"I'm gonna need your tail kitty, do you think you could provide a quick distraction for the prissy princess over there?" Ladybug asked.
"You got it bugaboo," Chat said, patting her shoulder, he handed her his belt before quickly leaping out of their hiding spot.
"I think I'd make a good knight don't you think?" Chat asked, wiggling his brows, "I do look good in black, but silver might not hurt," he teased.
"You and your superhero kindness, it disgusts me, you should be down serving for me!" 'Drama Queen' said, pointing her hand towards him to shoot out a golden beam.
Chat dodged it effortlessly, "Missed me! Missed me! Missed me again! Wow, you're aiming needs work, maybe if you stopped being so dramatic you could have some impurrrovement!" He laughed.
"Oh my god he puns," 'Drama Queen' said, slapping her forehead.
"That I do! Don't you think they're purrrfect? I purrrsonally find them ameowzing!" Chat said.
"Stop it!" 'Drama Queen' yelled scowling.
"Unfurrrtunately that'll be difficult Ms. Purrrissy," he said.
The akuma actually chuckled but quickly covered it up as a purple outline covered her face, she stopped shooting for a moment to listen and Ladybug took this as her chance.
She wrapped a small portion of the belt along the hair clip and swung it around before leaping, she threw the clip right around the crown and used its edge to yank it off 'Drama Queen's' head.
"No my crown! My precious accessory!" She wailed dramatically.
"It's not so purrricious now is it?" Chat asked, crossing his arms as the akuma glared at him.
"You! Give it back!" 'Drama Queen' yelled, leaping towards Ladybug.
Ladybug took a few steps back and broke the crown, a purple and black butterfly flew out of it and a purple aura covered the akumatized victim.
She captured it in her yo-yo, freeing it from evil before letting it go, "Bye, bye, little butterfly!" She said softly. She threw the hairclip in the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!"
The small ladybugs surrounded the city and returned Paris to its normal state, the akumatized girl looked utterly confused.
"What? What happened?" The girl asked, standing up.
"You were akumatized, but it's alright now, I'll take you back," Ladybug said, extending her hand.
The girl took it with a smile, "Thank you Ladybug, and Cat Noir," she said as they both nodded at her.
"Pound it!" The duo said in unison with smiles, expect Ladybug's was brighter.
"I never thought your puns could save the day, thanks kitty," she said, with a playful wink.
"My puns always save the day Ladybug," he said, flashing her a grin, his ring beeped and he had a sheepish expression. "Welp gotta go, the identity of the pun master must remain a secret," he winked before jumping off.
Ladybug smiled at him as she watched his retreating figure, her earrings beeped, signaling she was down to a minute, breaking her out of her trance.
"Do you like him?" The girl asked her, smiling.
"Wha-? No! He's just my partner!" Ladybug stuttered as her cheeks dusted pink.
She leaped off the building and into the direction to drop off the young girl.
In the faraway distance, you could hear an old man wailing at the loss of his battle, and the promise of being victorious one day.
~
After dropping the girl off, Ladybug hid behind the school building as her transformation wore off, a tired Tikki flew out of her earrings as Marinette handed her a macaron.
"We did it again, didn't we?" Tikki asked, looking very tired.
"Yes we did, now rest up Tikki, you need some sleep," Marinette said, gently tucking the little kwami into her purse.
She walked towards the front of the school where she heard Alya calling her name, "Marinette! Marinette! Where are you?!"
"Hey Al," Marinette said with a smile as she approached her friend.
"Oh thank goodness you're okay, I was looking for you everywhere! That akuma fight ended ten minutes ago!" Alya said, clearly worried.
"Ugh sorry," she said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck, "I had to take the girl back to her house and feed Tikki."
"Oh alright," Alya said, with a breath of relief, "The boys were looking for you too, especially Adrien."
"Really?" Marinette asked quirking a brow, the boys approached them and she could see the worried look on her friend's features.
"Oh my god Marinette, thank god you're okay, we were looking for you everywhere," Adrien said, seeming to calm down a bit.
"Sorry guys, I was near the bakery, it took me a bit to walk back," Marinette said.
Adrien nodded, "You're like a magnet to danger Mari," Adrien said, cracking a smile.
"We have akumas all the time it's nothing to worry about," Marinette said, assuring him.
He wanted to say more but didn't, he wasn't Chat right now, and didn't want Marinette to look at him strangely.
"Y-Yeah," he stuttered out, rubbing the back of his neck.
Marinette found it strange that Chat had repeatedly told her the same thing, that she was a magnet to danger, but she shrugged it off. It seemed kind of true when you thought about it, she would always disappear during akuma attacks, because she was a superhero, except they didn't know that.
"Anyways," Alya said, "Since school ended early, I was thinking of hitting the mall, Halloween's in a couple of days remember?"
"Oh yeah! I still need to pick out a costume, and I'm free, wanna go?" Marinette asked, a little excited.
"Yeah I'm down, what about you two?" Alya asked the other boys.
"I'm down dudes," Nino said, adjusting his cap, they turned to Adrien.
"Let me ask Nathalie," Adrien said, pulling out his phone and walking away.
The phone rang and Nathalie answered it within a few rings, "Adrien? Shouldn't you be in class right now?" She asked.
"Classes got cancelled for the rest of the day because of the akuma attacks, since I don't have anything to do until later in the afternoon, do you think I could go to the mall with my friends? I'll take my bodyguard with me," Adrien said, a little nervous for her response.
"Why do you need to go to the mall? Do you need new clothes? I'm not sure your father would appreciate it, depending on what you get," Nathalie said.
"First of all, I am a teenage boy who likes wearing trendy things so I think I have the option to get at least some things I want," Adrien said, as calmly as possible, "Also, Halloween is coming up and my friends wanted to buy some things for it."
Nathalie was quiet for a minute, probably because of his first statement, "Well, you have a Halloween photoshoot coming up, so you're going to have to dress according to what your father wants you to wear," she said.
"Well yeah, but that's for the photoshoot only," Adrien said, nervously tapping his arm with his fingers.
"That's correct, I suppose it would be okay to buy a few things for the day itself," Nathalie said, "Just be back on time for your fencing and Chinese lessons."
"I will, thank you Nathalie!" He said, she hummed in response before ending the call.
Adrien walked back to his friends with a smile, "She said I can go, let's take my limo though," he said.
"Awesome dude!" Nino said.
"I'm glad your dad's letting you go," Marinette said.
"Definitely, or we would've marched up this house and demanded your leave," Alya said, crossing her arms with a smile.
Adrien chuckled, "Me too, I just have to be back on time for my 'afternoon activities,' we have a couple of hours to spare."
"Yes we do! Let's go dude!" Nino said, dragging his friend's hand towards the limo. Adrien chuckled and followed as they all boarded in, Adrien sat in the passenger seat while the other three sat in the back.
"What're you planning to dress up as?" Marinette asked Alya, buckling her seatbelt.
"Hmm, I don't know yet, I'm gonna see what's available," Alya said.
"I kinda wanna be a zombie," Nino said.
"If you're going to be a zombie, respectfully stay away from me so you can't take a bite," Alya said, scowling.
Nino chuckled at that and winked, as Alya face palmed.
"I've never really dressed up for Halloween before," Adrien said, excitement on his face.
"You should be an angel, it perfectly represents you," Alya teased as Adrien pouted.
"You should be a white butterfly dude, to get Ladybug's attention," Nino said as Adrien and Marinette both choked. Their eyes met for a brief second before Marinette quickly looked away, thinking.
To get Ladybug's attention? She thought to herself.
To be fair, Nino had found his small stash of Ladybug merch in his room and teased him about it. The boy admitted on having a small crush on her, not that he was in love with her, a while ago, before he fell in love with Marinette.
"You should be a Vampire," Marinette said, a small smirk on her face.
"Really?" Adrien asked, returning it.
"Mhm, I think it would look purrretty cool," she said, giving him a playful wink.
"Mari did you just pun?" Alya asked, giving her a smug smile.
Marinette's eyes widened, "I think I still have adrenaline from missing that pop quiz," she muttered, rubbing her arm sheepishly.
The couple chuckled at her as she pouted, "Hey, I think it was purrrfect," Adrien said with a small wink.
Marinette blinked a few times, Chat isn't here Marinette, keep your head in one place, she thought to herself.
Marinette chuckled in response to his pun and a few minutes later they pulled up to one of Paris's malls.
"Alright we're here," Adrien said, like an excited child, his driver parked into a parking space and turned off the car, leading them all to step out of the vehicle.
"Do you really think I should be a Vampire?" Adrien asked Marinette as he walked beside her.
"Yeah! I think it'd look cool and a little different. You would rock that Vampire look Adrien," Marinette said, grinning.
"But what about for makeup?" He asked, "And my costume?" He looked confused as an adorable frown made its way onto his features.
"You could use a bit of powdery white makeup to sprinkle across your face so you look a little paler than usual, and your lips should be a darker red. You could also get a temporary tattoo to put on your arm, that is, if you're allowed to and your father won't mind," Marinette told him.
Adrien thought for a moment, "That sounds purrretty cool," he winked, "I'll see if I can get my hands on a few tattoos and make sure I don't have any photoshoots."
Marinette giggled, "You might want to add a little bit of darker makeup under your eyes for a baggy eye affect, you'll need fangs of course, and for your attire," she said, looking him up and down. "I've actually been working on a black overcoat, it isn't for anyone in particular, just a fashion piece. I think it would fit you if you're willing to try it," she offered.
"Oh my god that sounds so amazing! I'd be honored to style another one of your fashion pieces Marinette," he said grinning.
Marinette blushed a little at the compliment, "Wear a white button up shirt but keep the buttons a little loose for the effect, black ripped skinny jeans would look good for bottoms, and maybe the pigeon hat I created for a little style," she said. "Also keep your hair tousled and a little messy."
"Sounds good," Adrien nodded, "I can't wait to try it! Thanks for the idea Marinette," he said.
"No problem, and if you need help with a bit of makeup, even though you're probably a professional yourself, I'd be happy to help!" Marinette offered.
"Wait really?! That'd be super cool of you Mari, I'd love it," Adrien said.
"No problem, just let me know if you want me to come over to your house or should I do it at school," Marinette said.
"I think you could come over, I'll be up earlier that day so it works for me," he said, shrugging his hands into his pockets and giving her an adorable smile.
"Alright," she said with a light laugh, they hadn't even realized they were already in the mall and Nino and Alya had left them to go shop somewhere.
"The lovebirds leaving us again, how tragic!" Adrien said dramatically.
"Isn't it so? All they desire is to spend their precious moments together in the arms of one another!" Marinette said, equally dramatically.
They both laughed at their antics before walking into a shop, Adrien's bodyguard following right behind them, Adrien assumed it would be safe to go into Gabriel's, his father would be more open to the idea of Halloween if he purchased something from his own store.
"Do you want me to help you look for your costume? I have no idea what to be yet," Marinette offered.
"Yeah of course! It'd be fun shopping with someone, my bodyguard doesn't talk much," he whispered the last part.
Marinette chuckled, "Alright," and with that they began looking at some clothes.
They found a longish white button up shirt for Adrien which was perfect for his costume and the right pair of black, skinny, ripped jeans after some searching.
"I'm gonna go try these on," Adrien said as she nodded, he hurried into a changing room to quickly put on the clothes.
"I'm so glad you didn't choose an outfit entirely white, especially after that last photoshoot, it blinded my eyes!" Plagg whined as Adrien sighed.
"You know camembert is also a light color right?" Adrien said, shrugging on the white shirt.
"That's the only light color I can bear!" Plagg said dramatically, "Although you looked kind of sweet as an angel. Cheesy but sweet."
Adrien chuckled, "Thanks Plagg," he said, quickly slipping on the jeans. He turned towards the mirror to look at his reflection, he left a few buttons open on the white shirt like Marinette had told him and the jeans fit perfectly around him, the ripped areas showing some emphasis. He tousled his hair ever so slightly before walking out to show Marinette.
When Marinette saw him however, you could say she froze for a solid five seconds. Sure she was dating Chat, sure she was in love with Chat, sure she used to be in love with Adrien, but she had to admit he looked really good. There was nothing wrong about finding someone attractive after all.
"I-ugh, you look amazing!" She finally stumbled out.
"You think so?" Adrien asked, a little nervous.
"Definitely! It's perfect for your costume and pretty neat too," Marinette said, now calmer than before.
"I love it! Thank you Marinette, I'm gonna change back and buy it now," he said, quickly turning back.
"What was all that stuttering for Marinette? I thought you liked Chat," Tikki teased from her purse.
"Stay low Tikki," Marinette whispered, "And I do, it's not my fault he's pretty gorgeous, I can find people pretty you know."
"Yeah I know," Tikki giggled, "He does look pretty cute if I say so," with that the kwami hid back in her owner's purse.
Adrien quickly began to change into his regular clothes as Plagg flew out, "Looks like pigtails got really flustered looking at you back there," Plagg teased.
"Really?" Adrien asked, a little happy at the thought.
"Duh! Even I noticed!" Plagg said.
"Well she did like Adrien a while ago," he said.
"That's true, my, my, you and the ladies," Plagg said, snickering.
"You know there's only one lady in my heart Plagg," Adrien said.
"Don't need to remind me Mr. Cheesy," Plagg said, flying into his shirt pocket.
Adrien walked back out all changed but his hair was still tousled, Marinette couldn't help but be reminded of Chat. His long blond hair was always tousled everywhere being incredibly soft and beautiful.
"You ready?" Adrien asked, looking at her.
She nodded and gave him a bright smile, "Yup if you're all set, we can head to another place!" She said.
He smiled at her and they walked towards the counter, Adrien placed his stuff on the counter and the owner looked at him.
"Oh my god! Mr. Agreste's son, what an honor! Nice to meet you Mr. Agreste," The owner said, a friendly smile on his face.
Adrien chuckled, "Please call me Adrien," he said.
"Alright Adrien, since you're Gabriel's son himself, I won't make you pay for anything," The owner said.
"No it's alright, I'm willing to pay for my purchase," Adrien offered with a kind smile.
"Nonsense, Mr. Agreste would be furious," The owner said shaking his head.
"He really wouldn't sir, it's completely alright," Adrien reasoned.
The owner sighed, his son was too kind, his father on the other hand...that was a different story. "Alright if you insist, but I'm giving you a 50% discount," The owner said.
"Alright," Adrien chuckled as the man scanned his items, he placed them in a bag that had Gabriel written across it with the signature butterfly logo in the corner.
Adrien swiped out his card and quickly payed for the items, "Have a great day sir!" Adrien said waving to him as Marinette smiled.
"You too Adrien!" The owner said, waving at his retreating figure.
They walked out of the store, Adrien's bodyguard right behind them. Marinette glanced at the butterfly logo on the bag Adrien was holding and couldn't help but comment.
"Your dad really seems to like butterflies huh?" Marinette noted.
"What? Oh yeah, I'm really not sure why," Adrien said with a chuckle as Marinette joined him.
Though she still couldn't shake the irking feeling crawling up her spine as she glanced at the logo.
For some reason, she found the logo strange for a fashion designer, but then again, if she had her own brand someday, she'd probably use Ladybugs for it.
"Marinette? Are you okay?" Adrien asked her, shaking her out of her trance.
Her eyes widened slightly before she put on a smile, "Oh yeah, everything's great, come on, let's go to that store," she said, grabbing the boy's hand and dragging him with her.
He chuckled at her gesture but followed her regardless.
"So have you thought about what you wanted to be?" Adrien asked, as Marinette walked around looking at the different clothes.
"Cat Noir," she said blankly as Adrien choked.
"W-what?" He asked, his eyes widening a bit.
Marinette giggled, "I'm kidding, although, I'm still really not sure, I would've already planned something out weeks earlier but I've been a little distracted," she said, with a slight blush on her cheeks as she examined a top.
Adrien smirked and leaned towards her ear, "Distracted with what? Cat Noir?" He teased as Marinette's blush deepened and she squeaked.
She playfully slapped his arm as he pouted, "Very funny Agreste, very funny," she said, looking at the price tag of the top.
"You didn't deny it though," he said in a sing-song voice, which oddly reminded her of Chat, but she rolled her eyes.
"Hey, you should dress up as little red riding hood," Adrien suggested, brightening up at the thought.
"No way that's-" She stopped as she considered the idea, "You know what, that's actually not a bad idea," Marinette said, a little excited.
"I always have good ideas I know," Adrien said, with a small smirk.
"Don't get too cocky Agreste," Marinette playfully poked his chest with her index finger, "I think I saw something over there, let's go look at it!" She quickly hurried away.
Adrien smiled at her figure, "That'll be quite difficult princess," he said to himself. He caught his bodyguard giving him a strange look and replaced it with a nervous smile, rubbing his neck and chuckling, before quickly following after her.
Marinette was looking at something when she felt Adrien's presence behind her, she turned around, "What do you think?" She asked, showing him a long sleeved black top that had black lace embroidery around it.
"It looks cute," he chirped, "What're you pairing it with?" He asked.
"I have a black tank top at home to pair it with, all I need is a red skirt," she said, humming as she looked around.
Her eyes landed on something a few feet away and she rushed towards it. Her fingers immediately caught the red silk fabric from a skirt which seemed to go just above the knee.
"This is just what I needed, it's perfect!" Marinette beamed as Adrien watched her with a lovesick grin, he admired the way she got excited or worked up over something, it was honestly adorable.
Marinette glanced at him, catching the sparkling of his eyes as confusion filled her, I wonder why he's looking at me like that, she thought to herself.
"It sure is, I think it would look great with your costume!" He remarked.
"Thanks!" She beamed, "Sorry for dragging you in here with me," she said sheepishly.
He scoffed, "Why are you apologizing? I've never had this much fun for Halloween, I'm not exactly complaining. Plus, you helped me with my costume too, so I don't mind returning the favor," he said with a beaming smile.
"Thanks Adrien," she said with a giggle, she thought of anything else that she would need but came up with nothing. She had black tights at home, black lace up boots, and a red cloak for her costume, including the signature basket. "Well I think that's all I need, let me go pay and then we'll go find the love birds," she said with a small smirk before disappearing.
Adrien blinked and watched her retreating figure, she walked up to the counter and laid her items on the scanner, a young man scanned her items and watched her with a bright smile, which ignited a feeling inside Adrien.
He put on a serious expression before walking up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder, "Did you get everything?" He asked her with a smile.
"Yeah don't worry! Just paying," she said, giving him a warm smile.
His eyes met the young man's behind the counter, who looked a year or two older than them. He gave him a look, which went unnoticed by Marinette, and the boy seemed to get the hint as he took a step back and gave them a friendly smile. "Is that all Miss?" He asked.
"Yup!" Marinette said, pulling out her card, she quickly swiped it across the machine before placing it back in her wallet.
The man placed her items in a bag before handing it to her, "Have a good day," he said, with a weak smile as he could feel the blond's gaze on him.
"You too!" Marinette chirped.
"You too sir, thanks for your time," Adrien said to him with a forced smile, he quickly looked away.
"Shall we get going?" Adrien asked her as she nodded with an adorable smile. He placed a hand on her shoulder to quickly steer her out of the store and away from the man's gaze.
Once they walked out, Marinette pulled out her phone and texted Alya. A few seconds went by before she slid her phone back into her pocket.
"She told us to meet her and Nino in the food court," Marinette said as Adrien nodded and they quickly walked in that direction.
"Are you alright?" Marinette asked, a few minutes later, noticing Adrien's tense mood.
"W-What? Y-Yeah, I'm great!" He said quickly as Marinette frowned.
"Adrien, you're a terrible liar, now, what's wrong?" Marinette asked softly yet sternly as Adrien tried not to melt at her concern.
"Nothing it's just, you know the guy behind the counter? He was just giving you a weird look and it annoyed me," Adrien said, clenching his fists slightly.
"A weird look? Like, what do you mean?" She asked, brows furrowing.
"I don't know, it was just kind of creepy, and I didn't like how he looked at you," Adrien said, sheepishly.
Marinette laughed, "Oh Adrien, you don't need to look out for me. I appreciate it really, but I think I can handle a few guys," she said, with a slightly smug smile.
"But it was creepy," he pouted as Marinette shook her head.
She found it sweet how he cared so much, and how protective he was, but she was Ladybug. She could definitely handle one guy like that.
"I know silly, but I could've given him my signature 'murderous glare' and he'd cower away," Marinette remarked.
Adrien chuckled, because he knew she was right, Marinette could be pretty scary and intimidating when she wanted to be.
"I know," he said with a smile, "I'm just looking out for you," he ruffled her hair as she scowled.
"Not the hair please," she whined as he laughed at her attempts to smooth it.
"Relax it still looks pretty as ever," he said softly.
Marinette slightly blushed at that before speaking up, "Oh look! There's Alya and Nino," she said, quickly hurrying towards them as he followed behind.
"Some friends you two are, ditching us like that, to succumb in your love for one another," Marinette said dramatically with a scoff.
Alya and Nino choked as Adrien and Marinette watched them smugly.
"It's not our fault okay!" Alya defended.
"You two walk too slow!" Nino said.
"Uh huh," Adrien and Marinette said together.
"Anyways," Alya cleared her throat, "Are you guys hungry?" She asked.
Their stomachs rumbled at the question and they laughed.
"Yup," Marinette said with a smile.
"Alright, how about you boys go get us some food, particularly pizza, while Marinette and I catch up," Alya said.
"But you're always with her!" Nino complained, Marinette shot him a glare and he gulped.
"Come on Nino, I think you can handle your lovesickness for a few minutes," Adrien said, steering him away by his shoulders as Nino slightly wailed.
Marinette and Alya giggled at them before Alya turned to her, "So what did you two buy?" She asked.
"Well Adrien decided he's going to be a Vampire so he bought a few things from Gabriel, and I decided I'm going to be Little Red Riding Hood," she said, grinning.
"Well that's perfect for you," Alya said giggling, "I'm guessing we're not skipping the red and black theme then?"
"Alya," Marinette said, her cheeks pink, "I think it's going to look good."
"Oh you definitely will, I know some boy who won't be able to take his eyes off you," Alya winked as Marinette's blush darkened.
"Stop it," she groaned as Alya chuckled.
"So did anything interesting happen?" Alya asked.
"Not really, we just went shopping, it was fun," Marinette said with a shrug, "But Adrien got a little angry at the fact some guy behind the counter was looking at me."
"Oh my god what? Really? What happened?!" Alya asked, interested.
"He was just staring at me and smiling brightly, Adrien later told me he was giving me a creepy look which is why he got kinda protective," she said.
"Aww," Alya cooed as Marinette rolled her eyes. "Chat on the other hand, would blow."
"Tell me about it," Marinette shuddered, "He has claws, and a destructive power called cataclysm."
"Ooh jealous kitty, we like it," Alya said.
"If you've been around him as long as I have, you'd know it isn't exactly fun Alya," Marinette said, with a light laugh.
"Eh I can imagine, especially around Ladybug, that kitten was very protective," Alya noted.
"Definitely," Marinette giggled as her phone lit up with a text, it was from Chat.
Chat: How's my purrretty purrrincess doing? Hope I'm not bothering you Mari :P
Marinette showed her phone to Alya, "This is what I mean," she said with a sigh but smiled regardless. Alya just shook her head and smiled at her friend's lovesickness.
Marinette: Hey kitty :) No you're not bothering me, I just went Halloween shopping, currently waiting for food :P
Chat: Oh my fur that's pawsome! What're you dressing up as?
Marinette: I'll show you later tonight silly
Chat: Aw :'( Well I'm sure it'll make my princess look as beautiful as ever <3
Marinette blushed at that.
Marinette: We'll see my pun loving, flirty feline, talk to you later <33
Chat: Purrretty pawlease, I like the sound of that, byeee <33
Marinette slid her phone back into her pocket just as Adrien and Nino walked back, Alya gave her a smirk as she glared at her.
"Did we miss something?" Adrien asked, utterly confused.
"Nope! Did you guys get food?" Marinette asked, turning towards them.
"Yes we did, here you go," Nino said, handing his girlfriend a plate while Adrien handed Marinette one. They placed the pizza box in the middle as they all sat down and opened it up, their stomachs instantly rumbling at the smell.
They quickly grabbed a slice and dug in, after a few minutes, Marinette saw Adrien's bodyguard standing there alone and felt bad for him, so she grabbed a plate and filled it with 2 slices of Pizza before offering it to him.
His bodyguard looked a little startled at first before staring at the small girl in front of him, "We thought you should join us, you've been with us this whole time after all," she said.
The bodyguard grunted and mumbled out a response which sounded like 'No thank you, it's alright.'
Marinette sighed, "I'm not taking no as an answer, come on," she said, grabbing his large hand and dragging him to their table, shocking the poor guy himself.
There was a chair pulled up for him and he stared at the rest of the kids who smiled at him, he took a seat near Adrien and shyly took the plate Marinette held out to him.
Satisfied, Marinette sat back down in her seat and continued talking with the others, she noticed Adrien's bodyguard talking with Adrien a bit and smiled at their exchange of words.
Adrien's heart warmed at the sight of 'Chat's girlfriend' being so sweet towards someone she barely knew, she always wanted everyone to feel welcome and he greatly admired that. The thought of it only made him fall in love with her more.
His bodyguard who barely talked, surprised him when he sheepishly talked about his action figures he collected, Nino joining in the conversation as well.
The rest of the teenagers and single adult, continued eating and talking amongst themselves, they all felt really happy after a while, Just the 5 of them, the good people in their lives, sitting there and enjoying their time together, it felt very wholesome.
After their lunch and time passing by quickly, they realized they had to head home, so they walked out of the mall and boarded inside Adrien's limo as he was going to drop them home.
"That was the most fun I've had ever, thank you guys!" Adrien beamed at them as they smiled.
"It's no problem Adrien, we all should do it again someday," Marinette said, a warm smile on her face.
"Definitely dude, it's so much fun hanging out with you outside of school," Nino said.
"Literally, wish your dad let you out more often, we should get him to go out first," Alya said, as everyone chuckled, his bodyguard grunted in agreement.
They dropped Alya and Nino off at their homes first before heading to Marinette's, once they got there, Adrien decided to walk her to her door like the gentlemen he is.
"It takes me 5 steps to walk to my door Adrien," Marinette giggled.
"I know, but I'm just being polite," he winked as Marinette face palmed, an action he found Ladybug and Marinette did quite often.
It was weird how similar both were.
Very weird.
He shook his head from his thoughts and smiled at her, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school then Mari? It's Friday right?" He said.
"Yes silly, it's Friday," she giggled, "I'll see you tomorrow, thanks for the ride home, have a great rest of your day," she said beginning to turn away.
Adrien stopped her and took her hand, quickly placing a kiss on it which shocked Marinette, "You too Mari, stay safe," he said, before turning around and walking away.
Marinette blinked and stayed rooted to her spot for a few seconds, taken aback by the gesture that only Chat did with her. She shook her head, the last thing she needed was to start comparing the guy she used to be in love with, with the guy she is in love with.
With that last thought, she walked inside the bakery doors and into the warmth of her house.
Hope you guys liked this chapter! I'll try getting another one in soon, school's been dragging my butt and my brain feels fried ;-; Anyways, hope you're all doing okay, much love! <33