Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Pound it!”

In the middle of the night, several large monitors played similar footage over and over, yet their light couldn’t even reach across the vast darkness that filled the room.

Blurs of red and black darted across the screens.

While the gigantic dragon sighting in Shanghai was the one that started this whole data collection, it was evident that this Akuma situation occurred in Paris much earlier.

It was easy to let the algorithms do their thing, afterall, it’s best to work smarter not harder. Analysis of every battle footage available would be compiled into neat digital files later on to read in the morning.

From giants to mechs to doppelgangers to emotional powerhouses going on a powertrip, the Parisian heroes had accomplished a variety of defeated foes. So much so, a holiday was celebrated in their honour.

Occasionally the sidekicks popped onto the screens. Not much data to come off with but hopefully enough to suffice. 

The heroine leading them against the war with Hawkmoth was Ladybug. Obviously, she had the biggest file being compiled. Capable of reversing collateral damage and somehow conveniently winning the fights last minute with random objects. 

“Hawkmoth! I hope you enjoyed Volpina’s illusion because the real Ladybug would never hand you over her miraculous!”

As heroic as that sounds…

It didn’t mean much, coming from a bunch of amateurs.

Chapter Text

For a heroine based on a lucky insect, Marinette was really experiencing terrible luck recently. Especially this morning. She had forgotten to set up her alarm the night before and the only reason she got up in time was because of Tikki’s numerous attempts. Marinette had also slept in a weird position the night before and had this annoying pain in her neck. 

Her breakfast was uneventful. The News channel was playing in the background. Not like she paid much attention to it. Given how common the akuma attacks have become in Paris, it was easy to be desensitised to the news.

“-sightings of this unknown figure all over the globe, including Shanghai, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and New York.”

Living in a bakery had its benefits. Which included fresh and delicious bread being available everyday. But even for rushed mornings, the Dupain-Chengs liked to keep it simple. 

While her parents were going over their plans and orders for the work day, Marinette was blocking out their words, nibbling on toast with strawberry jam while scrolling through the notifications on her phone that had popped up during the night. Lots of scrolling. Frustrated scrolling, to be exact. 

“ Earlier today, the United Heroez have released a statement on their rather brief clashes with this stranger. Their motives remain unknown-”

Marinette lets out an exhausted sigh as a very specific liar’s face keeps popping up on her feed. The algorithm had decided to troll her for some reason on this not so auspicious morning. The fact that she saw her friends’ likes and comments on said posts might be a factor in that. 

She had been feeling exhausted as of late. Mentally worn down. Marinette just couldn’t place why she was still feeling like this. The events of Chat Blanc were… difficult to put it delicately. 

Last night, she had night terrors over it. Thankfully Tikki was there to bring her down to earth.

But a fortnight had already passed.

Why didn’t it just… go away?

“Marinette? Did you sleep well last night?”

Startled from her trance, Marinette blinks at her mother before trying to laugh it off.

“S-Sorry! Got carried away with homework last night!” She sheepishly chuckled, behind a tired smile.

Her father looked worried as he sat down at the counter. “Marinette. Are you feeling alright? You just seem so tired these days. Did anything happen-”

Before he could finish that question, Marinette scarfed down the rest of her toast and wiped the jam off her mouth.

“Fine! I’m fine! I gotta get to school before it’s too late!”

Marinette grabbed her backpack and dashed down the stairs, leaving her parents befuddled.

“But it’s early…”

Somehow it was easier to breathe the moment she left the building, despite Parisian traffic and wafting cigarette smoke. Marinette didn’t want to drag her parents into this mess. Well, two messes that just overlapped a lot.

The first being her secret of being Ladybug. 

The second being Lila Rossi.

Marinette had plenty of nasty names for her but to save her energy, Lila was a manipulative bully with a facade of a sweet girl who just happened to be super talented and well connected to whatever celebrity or organisation that was convenient to the situation.

And so far, Lila had it out for Marinette because the latter made it clear she wouldn’t stand for all the lies. Ever since Lila had declared war, she made things difficult for Marinette. No bizarre or serious accusations just yet, but so far it has been little things. Backhanded compliments, guilt tripping or just riling Marinette up by getting cozy with Adrien. In front of everyone, no less. 

Marinette grew a bit paranoid after her good pen went missing and all of a sudden, Lila had it in her hands. That was no coincidence! Good stationary is not something to be trivialised!

And every once in a while, if Marinette runs out of patience, all they could see was her ‘crazy, dramatic and jealous overreaction’ and not the smirks and side eyes Lila had sent her way.

Don’t get her wrong. Marinette didn’t hate her classmates for that. To be fair, she did actually think Lila’s lies were real and made her a different kind of rival for Adrien. Strangely enough, if Lila didn’t lie about being close to Ladybug, let alone her Volpina stunt, Marinette might not have known the truth at all.

Adrien was the only other person who knew about Lila’s lies. A part of her was glad that the boy she loved wasn’t under Lila’s spell. But the idea of letting Lila continue this way was… unthinkable. Perhaps Lila would get tangled up in her web and the inconsistencies would be much clearer. Marinette personally didn’t agree with this approach. Hell, at first she couldn’t fathom why Adrien wanted to stand by. Then again… Adrien had grown up in a sheltered environment. On paper, the approach would be less messy of an end.

So Marinette prayed. Hoping that Lila would mess up soon. Or that her friends could finally see through her facade. 

Just… how long did she have to wait?

How long did she have to not act? It seemed that every time she tried to be proactive, everything went wrong. 

Just even leaving her crush a present led to an post-apocalyptic future where her hero partner got akumatised and the entire city wiped out in the aftermath…

Was she just doomed to mess up over and over again no matter what she did?

Like right at this moment, in which she was too distracted by her thoughts and bumping into a random pedestrian. Marinette quickly lost her balance, something she became very familiar with and shut her eyes as she braced for the rough impact of the concrete… only to find that it was rather soft.

She opened her eyes and found herself in a pair of strong arms, holding her close to their torso. Marinette tilted her head up, only to see a rather handsome lad. Sun-kissed skin and glistening slicked-back hair. Rich cocoa brown eyes paired with a pearly white smile that made her heart flutter. The clear blue sky and the sunlight acted as a backdrop to this alluring stranger, making him appear like an angel sent from heaven. 

Before Marinette could utter a word, he chuckled softly. “Sorry about that, I couldn’t let you fall so easily.”

He pulls Marinette up on her feet, the girl soon recovering her ability to talk despite being so flustered. “T-Thanks! Sorry! I’m just so morning in the clumsy- I mean, I’m just so clumsy in the morning!”

She half-expected him to laugh with pity, but he just smiled, seemingly finding her twist tongue endearing.

“Oh, don’t be sorry. It’s not everyday a pretty girl bumps into me.”

Marinette glances aside, fidgeting with the straps of her backpack and cracking a smile. She was used to getting compliments for her looks when she was Ladybug… but as Marinette? Rarely.

“Heh, I’m pretty?” Marinette was expecting some comeback or remark that would teasingly take it back.

Instead, the stranger offers Marinette his hand. “Henri Leroi, at your service.” He winks, jokingly.

Snapped out of her daze, Marinette smiles and shakes his hand. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

His brown eyes glimmer with intrigue at the sound of her name, smiling as if saying her name alone was music to his ears. “Marinette. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Oh pardon me, I said that one out loud, didn’t I?”

Damn, this guy could give Chat Noir a run for his money. First pretty, now beautiful. Marinette wasn’t even sure on how to respond.

“Sorry to bother you, but do you know the way to Francois Dupont? It’s my first day.”

Recognising the name, Marinette nods. “In fact, I was just heading there myself! We can go together!”

This feeling of excitement and eagerness just to see him again. This was… strange.

Henri grins, as if the feeling was mutual.

“Shall we?” He offers his hand again, to which Marinette accepts without a word.

His hand intertwines with hers, something that made Marinette forget all her worries. Even if it was just for a moment.

No Hawkmoth, no akumas, and none of Lila’s lies. 

The pair stroll into the school grounds, engaged in a conversation like it was a small world of their own. There was something about his velvety voice that just eased Marinette. Like the load that was placed on her was lightened for once in a very long time.

And long before they knew it, they were at Marinette’s locker.

“You got Ms Mendeliev for homeroom?” Marinette feels a twinge of disappointment in her heart. “That’s a shame.”

“Oh?” Henri raises an eyebrow. “Am I in for a bad time?”

“Ms Mendeliev is just… one of the strictest teachers in school, to put it politely,” Marinette answered, “She’s pretty stern about homework and assignments. And lab safety. Especially lab safety. But I think she’s alright for a teacher. Just remember to do your homework, and don’t be surprised if she puts you on the hotseat for not focusing in class.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Henri chuckled, “I suppose your homeroom teacher is a godsend in comparison?”

“Ms Bustier is definitely less scary,” Marinette hummed, “Pretty much everyone thinks she’s the nicest teacher in school. It’ll take more than one missing homework assignment to get detention from her.”

Though… it seemed like she’d let anything fly in her classroom as long as there was an excuse that could be deemed reasonable. Which Marinette had a different definition of reasonable. Different to everyone. But she didn’t want to dwell on that. Not now.

“She sounds great. But… I feel like she’s not perfect, is she?” 

Marinette was a bit surprised that Henri said that, like he read her mind.

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s amazing. However-”

“Good morning, Marinette! ”

Marinette wasn’t always this skittish. She was Ladybug for goodness sake. But that specific saccharine voice that could be sickeningly sweet one second, and maliciously bitter the next. How could she let herself drop her guard? Marinette nearly dropped her things for the first class of the day and by a miracle and barely managed to keep herself on balance.

Lila.

The liar strutted towards them, her long autumn hair swaying from behind. Her eyes shifted between Marinette and Henri. The pigtailed girl couldn’t help but feel a tightness in her chest. 

She didn’t even get a chance to warn Henri. Marinette thought she’d have more time, not wanting to immediately tell him lest she look overly zealous and obsessed. But now she was about to pay that price. 

Her first friend who wasn’t even aware of Lila was now going to be swept away.

“Oh? Is this your new friend, Marinette?” Lila smiled, already plotting something, “I think an… introduction is in order. I’m Lila Rossi!”

She offers Henri her hand.

Marinette’s fingernails dig into the hardcover of her textbooks. 

It was nice while it lasted.

Henri glances at Lila, taking a moment before giving her a small smile, but not accepting her hand and turning her gaze back to Marinette. 

“Henri Leroi. You know her, Marinette?”

Marinette nodded, trying to keep her animosity towards Lila contained. “We’re classmates… Nothing more than that.”

“We’re in Ms Bustier’s homeroom!” Lila chirps, an attempt to pull the spotlight back to her. “Marinette’s super busy with class duties so I’ll be more than happy to step in and show you around! Mendeliev’s class, right?”

Was she listening in on them earlier? No doubt she wanted to steal Henri away and would monopolise Marinette’s responsibilities to do so. Being the spiteful soul she was, Lila wouldn’t give Marinette a break. Not even a new friend.

“I can spare some time,” Marinette interjects, “Really-”

“But if she ditches on you like she did to the girls last weekend, or disappears in the middle of class like every other day,” Lila toys with one of her side ponytails and strides over to Henri’s side, “I’m always available~ You can count on me, Henri~”

No, her heart couldn’t take this… She couldn’t watch… If Lila was going to turn Henri against her, Marinette might as well leave.

“S-Sorry… Gotta go…”

“Marinette, wait-” Henri watched with wide eyes as Marinette fled, which in Lila’s mind, gave the Italian freedom to do as she pleased. 

Another hunk to her herd of followers would be a lovely reward, afterall. 

“There she goes. Flaky, clumsy Marinette.” Lila releases a disappointed sigh. “Henri, I know she must have seemed so nice but you should stay away from her. There’s something about Marinette that you should know…”

Lila was very pleased with herself, seeing that it piqued Henri’s interest.

“Oh?” Henri raised an eyebrow. “Is there?”

The brunette nodded and fumbled with her hands as if she was letting out a secret that could endanger her. Boys loved the fragile act.

“Mmhmm… Marinette… She's a bully.” Lila blinks her lashes from under her bangs. “She’s done nothing but pick on me and call me a liar. As if I would lie, I hate liars like her! And all because I travel overseas, meeting royalty and celebrities. Marinette gets jealous so easily! Like it’s my fault the only interesting thing about her is that she lives in a bakery.”

“Really?” Henri mused aloud. Lila had probably gotten him to question his view of Marinette. Too easy.

“I didn’t want you to fall for her act so I just had to tell the truth.” Lila sighed.

Henri thought for a few seconds before reaching for his phone. “Hmm… What's your number?”

Lila wasn’t expecting this reaction but by all means, she had beaten Marinette into getting his phone number. She reaches over and types it in for him.

“If you want to call me anything, feel free to ring!” Lila grinned. Sure, she had her sights on Adrien but it was an amazing rush to have someone so handsome wanting her number.

Henri flashes a smile back at her, that could make any girl - or boy - blush. 

“Great.”

He raises the phone in his hand, for Lila to see. And his thumb immediately taps the block option.

Lila was stunned, trying to compute what just happened. But before she could stutter, Henri waves her off and turns to leave the locker room.

“Now I know whose number to ignore.”

He chose Maribrat’s side?! Over Lila?!

“So you made your position clear.” Lila crossed her arms, no matter she could just do the same as she had vowed to Marinette.

Henri stops in his tracks, to clarify his stance.

“Don’t stress, I’m not going to fight against you. I prefer to stay in my own lane. So you stick to your little flock. And I’ll keep Marinette away from you.”

This boy was very odd. It wasn’t like he was planning to call her out on her lies. Heck, he never said that he didn’t believe them. 

“Are you proposing a… for the lack of a better word, an alliance?”

“Hmm, maybe?”

“What’s the catch?” Lila furrows her eyebrows. 

“No catch.” Henri shakes his head. “Plenty of countries hate each other's guts and yet, most of them try to keep the peaceful relations because going to war would cost them. Why should we waste our energy and time squabbling over a little competition? You get to keep the spotlight, and Marinette wouldn’t interfere if she had someone like myself to occupy her time. Everyone wins. So, what do you say?”

The Italian couldn’t think of what Henri saw in Marinette to constantly keep her by his side. Probably wasn’t important. Whether he was a pacifist or purely wanted to keep Marinette to himself… wasn’t important now. He had a point. Not the most cathartic way to deal with a nosy pigtailed snitch but most likely the easiest.

With a gleeful sparkle in her eyes, paired with a smirk, Lila offered her hand to shake on it.

“Deal.”

Chapter Text

Marinette plops down on her seat, her arms crossed on the desk and her head facing down.

Of course, when things were going so well, this happened.

The pigtailed girl blamed herself. Could she really be surprised at this point?

“Hey girl.”

Alya. Marinette could recognise her voice from a mile away. She lifts her head to see her best friend. “Hey Alya…”

“You’re early today,” Alya comments as she sits beside her, “That’s new.”

“Oh…” Marinette hummed, still feeling a little groggy. 

“So…” Alya continues while opening up her notebooks for the day, “About yesterday-”

Marinette’s eyes pop wide at the realization.

She ditched the group during an akuma attack and never came back. That’s what Lila was referring to earlier… Goddammit, she couldn’t even remember something like that.

“Sorry, my parents wanted me to come home straight away after that attack!” Marinette facepalmed, just how many times were her parents the scapegoats of her disappearances? Though, Lila was there so there was little motivation for Marinette to return.

“I should’ve sent a text message telling you guys that. I don’t know why I keep forgetting to do it…”

Alya patted her shoulder.

“Look, don’t sweat about it now. You just made all of us worry, especially Lila.”

Ha! Probably just to make herself look like she cared about Marinette while the latter remained looking like the bad guy. Sure, Alya reassured her but Marinette just had the gut feeling that the former was growing tired of her excuses. Everyone else was.

“Who's worried?”

Marinette knew exactly who that was, her body instinctively knew, jolting at the sound of his voice.

“A-Adrien! You’re here!”

The blond model smiles and chuckles softly. “Well, yeah. I go here, remember?”

The boy who always sent her heart in a tizzy. Need she say more?

Somehow his presence lifts her mood up, momentarily forgetting that she had just lost another friend to Lila.

And of course that rush disappears as the class begins to fill up with students, with Lila giving Marinette a smirk as she walks up the stairs.

Ms Bustier hummed as she went through the attendance sheet.

“Alright class, today we’ll be working on-”

Knock, knock, knock.

Most of the attention turns from Ms Bustier and to the door. The teacher seemed surprised too. 

“Come in.”

Marinette wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she looked up from her notebook to take a peek at the visitor but she certainly wasn’t expecting to see that suave, charming boy that she met this morning.

Chloe looks at him up and down, with some interest. “Hmm… not bad.”

“Omigosh Juleka, he looks a bit like Prince Ali!” Rose whispered.

“Henri?!” Marinette was bewildered but managed to keep her surprise on low volume.

“Wait, you know this guy?” Alya tilts her head quizzically.

Before Marinette could give any further details, or try to deny Alya details, Ms Bustier had just finished reading the note Henri had handed to her.

“Ah, I guess they didn’t update the attendance list in time. Class, looks like we have a new student in our class. Would you like to introduce yourself?” Ms Bustier gestured.

Henri was in her class?! Wasn’t he in Mendeliev’s class? It’s not like Marinette’s complaining but still.

“I’m Henri Leroi. I was born in Paris but just got back here after a long time of travelling so it’s great to be back. Charmed to meet you~.”

He makes eye contact with Marinette and winks in her general direction.

The pigtailed girl in question had so many questions. So he wasn’t on Lila’s side?! 

As if to provide answers to that, Henri made his way to the desk at the back and winked at Marinette again and made no interaction with Lila. The very one that Marinette was forcibly moved to upon Lila’s return.

Alas, Marinette wouldn’t be able to confirm this until class ended.

“Let’s get started on today’s lesson…”

“And that’s today’s lesson! Remember to do your readings by next Monday.”

Marinette stretched her hands, packing her things and getting ready to go to lunch. 

“Alya, what do you think the cafeteria’s-”

“Alya!” Lila’s voice overcame Marinette’s words easily, “You won’t believe what happened last night. I just have to tell you!”

It was obvious that Alya’s attention was more on Lila. Some days, Lila wasn’t absorbing all the attention and Marinette could enjoy her lunchtime with her friends in peace. This was not one of those days unfortunately.

“I don’t believe it already…” Marinette muttered under her breath.

Of course, Alya caught that and crossed her arms, disappointed. “Come on Marinette, you guys could get along if you just tried. Just this once.”

“Oh Alya, don’t mind her,” Lila pulled her attention away, “There’s no need to force her. She’s just not used to me yet.”

“Or ever…” Marinette added in a hushed voice, trying her best to keep the negativity away. 

As she stood up and stepped away from her desk, she bumped into someone. And to her luck, it was Henri.

“Two times in a day! But I don’t mind it if we keep meeting like this~” Henri smiled, making Marinette’s heart skip a beat. Damn, she should get that checked out, it can’t be good.

“Henri! I’m just… how are you in my class?” Marinette blinked as Henri chuckled.

“Oh that. Yeah, turns out there was a bit of a mix up. So I had my pick.”

“Lucky,” Marinette glanced at Lila through the corner of her eye, didn’t seem like she was going to approach them this time, “Look, I’m sorry about what happened this morning, I don’t know what came over me-”

“Don’t sweat about it,” Henri shrugged, “Life happens.”

“Yeah…” Marinette noticed the majority of her classmates had already circled around Lila. She could bet that they would sit around her for lunch to listen to her fictional tales. One had to wonder when Lila would run out of those.

“Anyways, it’s lunch so just follow those guys. They’ll be heading to the cafeteria.”

“Are you not going there?” Henri cocked his head.

“Well, as long as we come back in time for class, we’re allowed to have lunch outside of the school.” Marinette explained. “I was just gonna go to my parents’ bakery. I haven’t been a fan of eating in crowds… lately…”

Or just hanging around Lila in general. 

“So would you mind if I tag along then?” Henri asked, his eyes shifting on his new classmates as he lowered his voice. “I’m not a fan of… how to say this politely? Half-baked stories.”

It shocked Marinette. So he was aware of Lila’s lies! “You knew?!”

“Pfft, anyone with common sense could.” Henri scoffed at the general direction of Lila’s group. “But we can talk more later.”

He offers his hand again to her. “Now, I have a sudden hankering for baked goods. Would you lead the way, m’lady?”

M’lady… 

Chat Noir always called her that. Despite how many times she’d scolded Chat Noir for it, it had a small soft spot in her heart. Hearing someone else say it was… weird.

But that wasn’t on Henri, he didn’t know.

Marinette noticed that she was quiet for a bit and immediately took his hand.

“Sorry! I mean yes! Let’s go.”

The pair left the classroom, not knowing that Adrien watched the scene unfold, even from a distance.

“Huh, did they know each other or something?” Adrien pondered. He felt something and he couldn’t put a label on it. What was this feeling?

Plagg poked his head out discreetly. “What’s it to you? Big whoop, Pigtails has a new friend. We have bigger problems, like where’s my-”

Adrien shoved him back into his pocket as Nino approached him.

“Yo dude. We’re gonna head out to the cafeteria soon. Want us to save you a spot?”

“Well-” Adrien felt the vibrations of his phone. Drat, he had a modelling session today. “Sorry guys, looks like I’ll have to catch you later. You know how my father gets when I’m late.”

And with that, Adrien skedaddled out of there. 

“That was a close call. Just hang in there Plagg.” He whispered.

The kwami grumbled. “Fine. But hurry! My stomach demands camembert!”