Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Marinette sighed as she slumped in her seat in the back row. Her redhead and blonde friends looked at her and all of them rolled their eyes in unison. A certain sausage-haired liar was spouting her lies again.

"Not this early in the morning, I don't get paid enough for this shit," Marinette moaned, taking an extra long slug of her black coffee with no sugar.

"Oh my god, is that black coffee? Shit Chlo, we better watch out, she's a loose cannon!"

The mentioned snorted with laughter, and Marinette gave them both a dig in the ribs.

"Shuddup guys,,," she mumbled, before face planting onto the desk.

Both redhead and blonde wisely decided to keep their mouths shut. Just in time to avoid a reprimand from from Miss Bustier, who had just walked into the classroom.

The three of them had chosen to ignore Miss Bustier and do mostly online classes instead, since she regularly let the class talk over her and taught them things that should have already been learnt two years before. At the start, Bustier had tried to get them to put their laptops and textbooks away, but quickly retreated when Chloe threatened to call her "daddy",

Now Marinette, Chloe and Nathaniel prepared to do that very thing, before they noticed their teacher was, instead of going to the desk to tale the register, standing at the front of the class.

Everyone slowly noticed the change and stopped their chatter, with a mumbled "Thank God" from Nathaniel.

The readheaded teacher stood there with a beam on her face for a moment before pulling a box from out behind her back. If you looked to the right, you could vaguely see Alya, whispering excitedly and snapping photos of the mysterious object on her phone.

"Class, we have a very important event that we've all been invited to. It is-"

The akuma class, sin the three at the back, began ethusiastically shouting out suggestions.

"We're going to watch the Olympics!" Kim roared excitedly.

"We've been invited to Unicorn Land!!" this came from Rose.

Then the silky voice of Lila came. "It's a surprise, you guys just wait and see..."

The brunette was instantly mobbed by over ten people.

"Girl, I should have known! You're so awesome to invite us, wherever we're going!"

"You're so cool dudette!"

"Three cheers for Lila! Hip, hip, HOOR-"

"Class!" Miss Bustier now had a slight frown on her face. "Quieten down or we'll have Miss Mendeleev in here!"

A universal shiver ran through the room. No one liked the idea of facing the strict science teacher.

"I was going to tell all of you that," the beam was back."We've all been invited to the princess's coronation in China!"

The class exploded into cheers and whoops. Only Marinette and her friends remained silent, with shocked looks on their faces.
The bluenette gave them a firm look. "I'll explain at break."

***

When the bell rang, Chloe and Nathaniel literally hustled their friend out of the door. They ran to the first secluded spot they could find and bombarded her with questions. The bluenette held her hands up, started to open her mouth before...

"MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!" a voice bellowed.


All three of them turned to face the unwelcome interruption, who was currently snorting and blowing steam out of their nose like a bull.

It was, yep, you got it, the sheep, storming towards them with Alya in the lead, her arm around the liar, who was crying crocodile tears.

"HOW DARE YOU PUSH LILA DOWN THE STAIRS JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE JEALOUS THAT SHE'S FRIENDS WITH THE PRINCESS!"

Lila began to "cry" even harder at this, whimpering, "I don't even know how she found out, it was meant to be a secret! Then she just pushed me..."
There were many growls from the sheep at this. Even Rose looked angry.

Meanwhile, the three were completely lost for words, before Chloe began to laugh.
"That sausage haired thing, friends with a princess?" she cackled. "Yeah, right. Check your facts, you wannabe reporter, You're all so stupid that it's giving me a migraine. On that thought, maybe my friends and I should go home sick from all that pathological liar radiation. Stupidity is contagious guys, let's go!"

And with that, the three marched off.
***

After plopping themselves down on the plentiful amount of pillows on Marinette's bed, the readhead and blonde looked at her with expectant eyes.

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" the bluenette sighed.

"Nope."

"Fine, I was planning to tell you that I was going back to China today. but out beloved teacher interrupted us."

Nathaniel stuck his hand up, earning a snicker from Chloe.

"I can understand that, but why did you invite the whole effing class?"

"To be honest, I don't know either. I was only going to invite you two, Luka, Kagami, and Marc."

"Call your parents! They must know what's going on !" urged Chloe.

Nathaniel smirked. "Our dumb blonde finally has a good idea for once."

"Oi, shut up!" Nathaniel was hit by a pink pillow. A loud pillow fight began, before Marinette hissed at them to be quiet and wildly indicated her phone. After a few seconds, a female voice spoke.

"Mei, this is a surprise! We only called yesterday, what's wrong?" The bluenette's mouth dropped open in shock. "You don't know that my whole class was invited to my coronation?!"


There was a silence from the phone before a thunderous "PLAGG!" was heard.

"Yes, beloved?", a male voice said nervously.

"WHY HAVE YOU INVITED MEI'S BULLIES TO THE CORONATION?"

"Uhh, I can explain, I have a good reason I promise you-"

"YOU BETTER!"

Plagg gulped. "Well, you know that you've been telling us about that class of yours? I thought that you could condemn them after you are crowned princess...make them suffer for what they did, you know?"

His daughter glared at him , the ice in her look seeming to penetrate through the screen. On the other side, Plagg trembled, as his wife was giving him the exact same look.


"What? I thought you'd be pleased, both of you!"

Chapter Text

Marinette and Chloe both groaned as an obnoxious song reached their ears.

"WAKE UP, MY BESTIES! RISE AND SHI-I-INE!" Nathaniel warbled.

"Nathaniel, if you don't shut the fuck up-"

"I will end you." they both said in unison.

Nathaniel grinned. "Alright, fine. I'll eat all of the croissants and you'll not pack this morning. You'll forget all about your suitcases and you'll end up with northing to wear, haha!"

At this, Marinette and Chloe shot up, both for different reasons. They started to run about like headless chickens while Nathaniel cackled from his corner.


"Made you get up..."

The ginger may have wanted his friends to get out of bed, but his ears didn't, as Marinette, screaming hysterically, ran into the shower fully clothes for a few minutes, darted out and began to upturn drawers of clothes, stuffing them into her suitcase which Chloe had tipped over on her way to the croissants downstairs. Sidestepping like a crab and keeping a close eye on the Mari-tornado, Nathaniel managed to get to the trapdoor and head down for breakfast.

Chloe, the greedy pig, was stuffing herself with croissants, two at a time. Sabine was humming cheerfully as she spread jam on hers, and Tom was making crepes. A sudden crash and a particularly loud scream from upstairs made them all look up, just in time to see the ceiling shake threateningly.

Sabine shook her head fondly, "Packing?"

"Packing."
***

After breakfast, Nathaniel and Chloe decided to venture upstairs with an offering of crepes. It had been silent, which meant...

"She fell out of the window and broke her neck, " offered the latter.

"...Or she's tired out."

"I honestly don't know which I'd prefer..."
***

After what seemed like hours, the three finally managed to get Marinette's room back to its usual state.

"Now for the suitcases..." said Marinette, her voice a little muffled as her face was smashed into the quilted duvet. Her frenzied packing before breakfast had consisted of any article she came across, complete with her sewing machine that she had tried to stuff in. So it was now empty, the items back in her drawers.

The bluenette sat up suddenly.

"Don't worry guys, I've made a list for each of you on items to pack!"

"I've already pa-"

"Shut up ginger, no you haven't. You always pack the wrong things."
She scrabbled in her pillowcase for a second before bringing out three slightly crumpled pieces of paper.

"You put them in your pillowcase?!"
Nath winked and attempted to mimic Flynn Rider from Tangled's smoulder. Her was convinced that he had mastered it but the two girls were quick to inform him that he looked like a constipated cow.

"I'm so hot that Mari always needs to sleep with a piece of me...hehehehe..."

"Calling Marc in 3...2...1..."

"NOOO! PLEASE!" Marc's boyfriend cried, as he jumped on her. Chloe looked on for a second, amused, before joining the fray.
***

The Saturday afternoon was cool and crisp, with fluffy white clouds floating across the azure sky.
The bare tree branches had just begun to sprout fresh green leaves and the hubbub of Paris was back after the harsh winter.

Marinette leaned back onto the picnic blanket and took in the atmosphere. Spring was her favourite season.

It symbolized new beginnings, growth and most importantly, inspired the most designs. Now, Chloe, she favoured summer.

In the designer's opinon, summer was beautiful, but a brash beauty.

The lavender loveliness of spring far oustripped it.

Nathaniel liked winter best. "Hot cocoa, presents, and best of all, no people," he'd said, making them all laugh. It made her smile just thinking about it.

The designer was so lucky to have these friends, they were the best people in the world, never expecting anything from her, unlike her former companions. She used to bring free baskery items over everyday(from the best bakery in Paris) and was often given no thanks and taken for granted.

Marinette shook her head. It was a lovely day and she would not think about them.

She turned to the right, reaching for her sketchpad.

She'd been designing for as long as she could remember:her parents had always encouraged her talent and bought her the best supplies.

The designer smiled wistfully as she remembered the first design she'd sketched out-a pink dress decorated with pom poms. Baba had danced around the whole room, before instantly ordering around 50 types of material.

"I doubt our Mei needs that much, " her mother had said drily, her lips twitching into a smile all the same.

Little Mei had been clumsy at first, needing a few plasters, but she eventually got better.

Her parents were always attentive-either one or both read her a story each night. Now, she loved Sabine and Tom, but like an uncle and aunt. They could never replace her parents.

Oh, how she longed to see them in real life instead of through a screen, and eat the delicious pork dumplings that Mama made by hand and refused to let any of the cooks do it.

It wasn't long now, on Monday, she would finally return home.

She hadn't expected anyone else to come except for Luka, Kagami, Marc, Nathaniel, Chloe and Adrien.

Not that Adrien was a friend of hers;he was part of the English royal family, cousin to Felix Graham de Vanily, heir to the throne. Marinette had met every royal worldwide, except for Adrien and Felix.

The forementioned because of the scandal-Emilie Graham de Vanily married Gabriel Agreste, a "low status" man which the family disapproved of.

Both sisters gave birth within months of each other. Whilst Adrien's face was plastered over every newspaper, Amelie stubbornly refused to allow her child near any paparazzi. She went so far as to attack one cameraman, who tried to enter the car forcefully whilst her baby was sleeping inside.

So, consequentially, no one had seen a glimpse of Felix Graham de Vanily. Hopefully he wasn't as spineless as his cousin, being in line for the throne and all. If Adrien was king of England he would probably forgive all the criminals and tell the victims to take the high road, she thought wryly. You would think that being part of the royal family would give him some kind of backbone. To be honest though, Gabriel and Emilie always neglected their royal dutues and generally were the most annoying couple in the universe.

With a sigh at annoying people and their cowardly sons, she closed her eyes and got ready to fall asleep.

Ping!

"Oh for fuck's sake, what is it now?"

Marinette crossly grabbed her phone and jabbed her passcode in. Her eyes widened at the text she'd just gotten...

Chapter Text

“Right on time,” Chloe informed Nathaniel and Marinette.

“Aww…was Chlo-Chlo gonna throw a fit if the car was a few milliseconds off?” Nathaniel teased.

She jabbed him in the ribs. “Prick.”

“Ow!”

Marinette massaged her temples. “Guys, kill each other when you’re in the car. Or I can go myself and leave you behind. Your choice.”

“NOOOO!” They both scrambled for the limousine.

“My seat!”

“Mine!”

“God, it’s like handling a bunch of toddlers. Now I know what a mother feels like.”
***

Kim and Ivan cracked their knuckles.

“Don’t worry Lila, “ said Alya reassuringly. “These bullies are going to get what they deserve.”
She held up the remains of Lila’s scarf which was totally ripped up by Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The liar gave a watery smile. “T-t-thanks guys, you’re so brave to stand up to that m-mean b-bully.”

“No problem girl! After this none of those three will dare to bother you any more!”

Everyone in a good mood, the class crowded into the bus to wait for their prey.
And they waited. And waited. And waited…
***

After a long, exhausting bus ride where Mylene was sick, the akuma class finally stumbled out of the doors. Each of them were extremely angry, since Marinette, Chloe, and Nathaniel didn’t even arrive.

“YOOOO!” Kim hollered, making everyone jump. “LOOK AT THAT SICK RIDE!”

Everyone rushed to the windows, Ivan carrying Mylene princess style.

A sleek silver limousine had pulled up beside the school bus. The door opened…and a navy haired beauty stepped out. There were whispers from everyone.

“Hey, who’s the hot chick?”

“I’m 90% sure that is the most attractive woman in the world.”

“Damn, I need to get her number…”

“Guys! If we lean this way we can see who she is! Probably a celebrity or something, I can’t wait to meet her.”

“HOLY SHIT. IS THAT MARINETTE?” Alya yelled, her eyes bulging outwards with shock.

The cute pink jeans and adorable cherry blossom jacket were gone, the childish pigtails abolished.

Marinette’s navy hair cascaded over her shoulders, with part of it pushed backwards with a jade pin adorned with a lotus flower. She was wearing a spring green coloured long sleeved turtleneck sweater top which hugged her figure with a sweetheart neckline, and fashionable looking dove grey flared trousers. An elegant silver charm bracelet hung on her right wrist, and she walked with a confidence no one had ever seen before in her high heeled brown boots.

Under incredulous gazes, Chloe Bourgeois stepped out next. Instead of her everyday yellow cardigan, she was wearing a sky blue halter neck, paired with white shorts which showed off her long legs(Kim gulped). Her sunglasses were perched on their usual place on top of her head, but her long blonde hair was loose.
As she stepped out, the heiress gave an imperious little wave, as if she could feel the eyes on her.

As for Nathaniel, who stepped out last, he was wearing a snug fitting black leather jacket with a skull cast in glittering diamonds on the back (real ones, courtesy of Marinette) and baggy jeans that fell just so.
There was a shocked silence for a second, until Lila broke it with a sob. Everyone rushed to her to see what the matter was.

“That limousine was mine! The princess gifted it to me and Marinette just s-stole it!”

But inside, the sausage haired girl was seething. How dare that baker’s daughter, Marinette, show her up like that! She didn’t deserve a fancy car, Lila did!

“And where the hell did Mari-trash even get those clothes from?” Alya snapped, voicing her thoughts, “She’s poor as dirt!”

“Must be fakes,” Alix sneered.

But this time Adrien piped up. “I’ve seen enough designer clothes in my life to know the difference between cheap fakes and real ones, and um…everything she was wearing was real…”

The sheep exploded in outrage.

“But how!!”
***

“Did you see their faces?!” the designer chortled.

“Yeah, it looked like they were gonna blow a fuse!” snorted Chloe.

Nathaniel could hardly speak, or breathe at all. He was completely overcome with laughter, and would have fallen over if his friends hadn’t propped him up between them.

“Dying…”he managed to gasp out. “Got…a…stitch…”

Eventually, the redhead managed to pull himself together. “That will stay with me my entire life.”

“What will?” a voice called, causing Nathaniel to run towards the direction it came from.

“MARC!”

The black haired boy was enveloped in a massive bear hug, and then covered with thousands of kisses.

Marinette and Chloe rolled their eyes. “Anyone would think they’d been apart for a year,” Chloe grumbled.

Nathaniel’s ears picked this up. “Love you too Chlo!”

“Who is he, Mr Spock?!”

“I’m surprised he hears anything at all, with that god awful music blasting in his ears around 5 hours a day.”

Both girls were distracted from their discussion when a familiar red car pulled up.

“Oh great, another couple,” Chloe lamented.

“Don’t worry baby, we can date, “ replied her friend teasingly.

“Oh, you!”
***

The group of six friends decided to hang out at the airport cafe until the departure time. They bought a cold drink each and snacked on the pastries Marinette and her parents had baked earlier.

“This is the life…” Nathaniel moaned in delight, sinking his teeth in his eighth croissant.

“Indeed.” Kagami agreed, glancing shyly at her boyfriend, Luka. They had started dating around two months ago. The guitarist’s personality perfectly complimented the fencer’s-his openness encouraged Kagami to express her emotions and be herself. She had experimented with clothing outside her mother’s taste and was now wearing a simple white T-shirt with denim shorts. She planned to experiment with other styles, but for now, she would just bask in the company of her friends.

Unfortunately, her sense of peacefulness was short-lived.

“Mari-trash, how dare you steal Lila’s limo and strut around in those clothes you can’t afford and probably stole!” roared the auburn haired reporter.”You’re such a jealous sicko! Leave poor Lila alone, it’s not her fault that she’s better than you!”

Marinette stood up with such a fierce look on her face that Alya and the sheep took an instinctive step back. “First off, it was my limo. Call the company that made it if you don’t believe me. I bet she,”pointing at a cowering Lila, “doesn’t even know what make it is. Secondly, my parents own the best bakery in Paris, we’re richer than you are. So go back to worshipping that sociopathic liar with questionable choices in both fashion and hairstyle. Shoo!”

The reporter made an angry movement, as if she was going to charge, and then found herself on the floor.

“What-”

Kagami had stepped in front of Marinette and kicked Alya in the gut. She was now examining her shoe with distaste. A gasp went up from the Akuma class.

“How could you?!”

“What the hell, call the police!”

To these, the Japanese girl just stated blankly. “She tried to hurt one of my friends, so I am within my rights to defend her. Goodbye.”
***

Miss Bustier had finally managed to herd her unruly students into one area and began to hand out the tickets. “We have first class tickets here, and the rest economy,” she called.
The class immediately began to chatter enthusiastically. Lila’s shrill voice piped up, exclaiming that her “best friend” the princess had arranged it.

“So cool, gurl!”

“Awesome, dudette!”

The chaos was cut of by the shrill sound of Miss Mendeleev’s whistle, causing many people to cover their ears.

“Quiet! The first class tickets go to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chloe Bourgeois, Kagami Tsurgi, Luka Couffaine, Marc Anciel and Nathaniel Kurtzberg!”

At once, there was an uproar.

“Half of them don’t even go here!”

“MISS BUSTIER, MARINETTE STOLE LILA’S TICKETS!” called out Kim.

There were similar accusations such as these, before the whistle sounded again and everyone was silent, save a few resentful whispers and mutters which quickly died out at the look from the strict science teacher. Miss Bustier spoke.

“Lila, is this true?”

“Y-yes.” the brunette fake sniffed. “I’m best friends with the princess so how can Marinette g-get them?”

The homeroom teacher looked very disappointed. Marinette, how could you be so mean? You know that stealing is wrong.”

At this, Chloe shouted out angrily. “This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! MY friend would never steal anything, especially any of that ugly liar’s possessions!”

“Shut up, you brat!” Alya hysterically screeched. “You’re just as bad as Mari-trash!”

The blonde opened her mouth furiously, ready to issue a sharp retort, when Miss Bustier interrupted her. “Chloe, it’s nice of you to cover up for your friends, but remember that it’s more important to tell the truth. Now, since Marinette has stolen Lila and her friends’ tickets, it’s only the right thing to do to give them back.”

She began to hand the box over to a smirking Lila.

“Excuse me, madam,” said a burly looking man, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. “I was instructed to show you this.”

He took out an iPad and held it out to the teacher, who looked quite flustered when she’d finished reading.

“C-class,” she began. “It seems that Marinette was right after all. The tickets are hers.”

Chloe laughed rudely. “Ha, ha! First class, Rossi? In your dreams!”

Chapter Text

“Alright, everyone, how the hell did that bully steal Lila’s ticket?” Alya demanded.

“Babe, calm down, “ Nino coaxed.

His girlfriend turned to her boyfriend incredulously and snapped “We have to get to the bottom of this!”

Ivan scratched his head, deep in thought. “Maybe Marinette is secretly a hacker and hacked the tickets.”

Max frowned. “Marinette has needed my help multiple times to fix a simple error on her computer. The probability of Marinette hiring that man to create fakes is at least 50%.”

The reporter clapped her hands. “Well, I think we’ve figured it out! Now, we can add that to her list of crimes, “ she pulled out a notebook out of her pocket, “and work out a payback for that bitch!”

“Yeah!!!” the friends cheered.

“Wait. There’s another thing that confuses me,” Alix said slowly. “How did Marinette know not to get on that bus? She must have known we were planning something. Even snobby Chloe rides the same bus as us on school trips. She only bothers with fancy cars on her way home or to school.”

There were hums of consensus.

Alya mused for a second. “Someone must have betrayed us…there’s a rat somewhere in this room…”


Everyone began to cast suspicious looks amongst each other.

“Hand over your phones, I’ll check them all!”

“Hey Alya, why aren’t you letting us check your phone? You could easily be the spy as well,” Kim demanded.

The pink haired skater girl rolled her eyes. “Why would she betray her own best friend?”

“Oh yeah…”

“Dumbo.”

Sabrina finished collecting everyone’s phones and handed them to Alya and Lila.
The latter smirked. Maybe one of these idiots would have some celebrity’s number, like Rose, who had Prince Ali’s. Or a piece of work to pass off as hers.
She took Rose’s phone first, hiding her disgust at the pink fluffy cover with a dangling unicorn chain. She swiped onto the contacts, checking for any suspicious persons, and then for useful networking opportunities. Bingo!
She copy and pasted the contact into a fresh email and addressed it to her own. Once that was done, she deftly moved it out of the sent items folder and into the bin. One down, around fifteen more to go.

They trembled as the fox faced girl scrutinised their phone. They had made sure to delete Marinette’s number after their conversation. But still, maybe they had missed something;the way Lila was looking through their mobile…

They forced a smile as it was handed back to them. Jeez…it probably needed to be drowned in half a vat of bleach now.

Out of the corner of their eye, they saw the liar whisper something to Alya. It was too quiet to hear, but right after, the ombre haired girl clapped her hands and announced the plan. They would follow Marinette until she was alone, and then beat her up, enough to intimidate her. Kim was disappointed that he wouldn’t get to join in, but was eventually persuaded to stay behind.
***

The plane landed at almost midnight, so Mrs Mendeleev and Miss Bustier ordered their students to go to their rooms and straight to sleep. The only thing that anyone’s tired eyes caught was the absolute size of the place, before collapsing into a deep slumber.
***

It was a grey day that dawned. No one had bothered to close the curtains, so white light filtered in through the large windows. Marinette and her friends all had the largest sized rooms on the floor. Each one had two beds and the latest television.
Both accommodations were en-suite, with a bathtub-cum-shower. A crystal bowl of delicacies sparkled on a coffee table made of honeyed wood, next to the mini fridge stocked with cans of soda. The bathroom also had a little bowl of mints near to the sink. If you opened the other door of the bedroom, there would be a walk in closet, which also served as a dressing room, complete with a floor length mirror and a white ivory dressing table.
Now, Lila and her friends did not have the same treatment. There was no walk in closet at all, and certainly no sweetmeats for people as sour as them.

Marinette’s long navy hair peeked out from under her sleeping head. The digital clock next to her pillow read 6:30, just 15 minutes before she would wake.
The hair comb from the previous day lay where the half-asleep girl had placed it, next to the clock. Yesterday’s outfit was lying crumpled on top of a closed, still-not-unpacked suitcase.
Everything was quiet and still, except for the sound of even breathing. No one was awake in that hotel.
***

RING! RING!

“Agh…”

The unfortunate alarm clock was slapped across its face.

Surprisingly, the designer found herself the first up. Usually it took being dragged, squirted with water, and being yelled at to make her get out of bed. Now, only a slight drowsiness remained.

The bluenette sang a soft tune to herself as she brushed her teeth, eyeing her reflection critically.
Her skin didn’t look as bad as it usually did after jet lag, still bright and clear. Her hair wasn’t that greasy, but she felt like a shower would give her a new start to the day.
Miss Bustier had advised them to come down at 8, meaning she still had an hour and fifteen minutes to get ready before breakfast.
Marinette had brought her wash things in with her, planning to wake her roommate up after her teeth were cleaned, so she could hop into the bathtub first.
She grinned evily. Payback for all the times where Chloe had slept over and hogged the shower.

“Sorry Chlo. You snooze, you lose.”

Wiping her face with her towel, the Chinese girl ventured back into the room. She thought idly of the weather. Her favourite days were when it was cool and sunny, just like Saturday, but the grey clouds of today were intriguing all the same.

“OH HELL NAH!” Chloe yelled. “BAGSY THE SHOWER!”

“I WOKE UP FIRST!”

“DON’T CARE, LAST ONE TO GET THERE IS THE LAST ONE WHO GETS A SHOWER!”

The two girls raced as fast as they could to the bathroom. Marinette sneakily tackled her friend around the knees, ran in, and locked the door.

“YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE!”

“YOU WILL PAY, JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE!”
***

After washing and dressing, the two went next door to harass Nathaniel and Marc. They knocked, or should I say, hammered, on the door three times.

“Do you wanna build a snowwmaaan?” they sang.

The bluenette and the blonde eventually made so much noise that Nathaniel came to the door and said that he knew some places he could shove the snowman if they didn’t fuck off immediately.

“Nath, my darling boy, we’ll shut up, but break down this door instead and drag your lazy arse out if you don’t get the fuck up right now,” Chloe replied sweetly.

“And I’ll make sure he does!” piped up Marc, his voice a little muffled through the wall.

“Traitor! I’m breaking up with you!”

“C’mon, you know you love me…”

There was a long silence after that. The two girls fake gagged.

“EWWW, I bet they’re kissing!” Chloe exclaimed in mock disgust. “C’mon Nettie, I don’t feel like waiting around anymore.”

“Same, they make me feel single.”
***

The dining room was filled with cheerful conversations and the clinking of plates and cutlery. Everyone seemingly appeared to have recovered from their jet lag. Marinette noted in disgust that Lila was hanging off Adrien as usual, whispering in his ear with no doubt about it, her and her friends, who had just appeared.

Her group ignored the fox, sitting at the table furthest apart from everyone. The designer surveyed the gold leaved menu in front of her. As well as Chinese dishes, there were also European and African dishes. To order, you had to speak to the machine in the corner of the room. She could see Markov hovering around it, trying to start a conversation, but with no avail.
***

The group of four stared down at their meal with anticipation.

They had ordered one to share and placed it on the double spinning layers of the table. That way, no one had to ask anyone to pass something to them.

The aroma of congee, steamed buns, soy milk, youtiao, and tofu pudding enveloped them all. Everyone was practically salivating.

After eating as much as she could, Marinette took the time to glance around the room. To her chagrin, some idiots had ordered a ridiculous amount of food for the fun of watching the machine dispense. Tch. Most of it would end up in the bin.

Most of her classmates were digging in, enjoying the diversity of the dishes.

“What are we doing after this?” Marc questioned.

Marinette hummed. “We’re going to the museum to see the history of, you know…Chinese royalty.” She winked.

Chapter Text

It was very windy, so most ended up with untidy hair once they reached the museum.

It honestly wasn’t a very long work, five minutes or so, but of course the liar had to ride in a taxi because of her “sprained ankle”. Miss Bustier tried to persuade Marinette to lend her “ailing classmate” her limo but was quickly shut down.

Kim offered to carry the fox, but after a few steps he tripped headlong into a lamppost and sprained his ankle, for real. So the rest of the class had to put together what money they had to hire the taxi.

“What a lovely start to the day,” muttered Nathaniel under his breath, making his friends giggle.

It was only the three there; Luka and Kagami went to a different school so weren’t allowed to go, and Marc’s class was visiting the museum the day after.

At the entrance, a stern looking man held out his hand to stop everyone and spoke into a walkie talkie, before waving them on. The doors opened out into a reception area, where a kindly looking elderly woman greeted them.

“Hello, welcome to the Official Royal Museum. I will be your tour guide for the day.”

“Crazy, “ Alix murmured in awe. “There’s no one here except for us.”

“That’s because my father owns this place, bitch,” Marinette thought grimly.

After a while, she noticed that wherever she went, she seemed to be “supervised” by Alya and Lila, who were talking in obnoxiously loud voices.

The bluenette could already feel a headache beginning to form. Could they at least be a little respectful and lower their voices a little?

Alya was not surpisingly poking her phone into everything, probably for her blog.

The designer was grateful that some of the eldest and most precious artifacts were tucked away safely. The flash from just one mobile phone could cause irreparable damage.

Speaking of things that had been hidden away, Marinette felt a mix of anger and relief that her childhood portraits had been taken down. Some of her classmates might actually grow a brain cell and connect the likeness.

Nah, it’d be a miracle before that would happen. Miraculous.

She motioned for Chloe and Nathaniel to move away in another direction, and pretended to stop and study the portrait of her great grandparents. They had four children, three boys and one girl.

The eldest, Zhang Guihong, had passed away a little after the portrait was drawn, resulting in Zhang Nan becoming the heir and eventually the king.

She noted sadly that even in the likeness, Zhang Nan had his mask on. The young prince was born with a disfigured face, and as records showed, no one had ever looked upon his visage.

Except Yang Yi Meng, classed as the most beautiful woman in China, who fell in love with Nan and eventually ended up being the empress.

There was a shuffling next to her and Marinette was metaphorically slapped out of her stupor. There were the stalker two, pretending to focus on the painting too.

She felt a moment of paranoia. Could they suspect something about her identity?

That couldn’t be possible-they would be grovelling at her feet already and begging for forgiveness.

It was probably the plan her spy had told her about, but surely it wasn’t going to be this obvious?
Any fool with half a neurone would recognise they were being tracked with their stealth. God.
***

It was now midday, but the grumpy sky hadn’t brightened up at all.

They were back at the hotel for lunch, since they weren’t allowed to eat in the museum.

Marc joined them after, sitting cross legged on the soft grass. His signature red hoodie was replaced by a custom made one, created by the aspiring designer.

“Just showing…my respect…y’know,” he grinned.

Marinette rolled her eyes to the heavens in part despair and part amusement.
***
Marinette: Where are Lila and Alya

—--------: Heard liar say something about ankle and both were allowed to stay at hotel

Marinette: Thanks
***

The fox faced girl grinned a sinister grin as she surveyed Marinette’s and Chloe’s room. You really thought planting a little rat would save you from me? she thought.

Chapter Text

The city sky was dark, punctuated with the lights of the high rise buildings and billboards.

Marinette and her friends had decided to walk home, partially on her own insistence.

She smiled, breathing in the sights and smells of home. Even though parts of China were vastly different, they were all joined together by the blood of the motherland.

The designer felt a sudden prick in her throat.

France was where she had spent eight years of her life, and she had grown to love it, but not in the raw, intense way she loved China.

She had never truly belonged in France, she thought, she belonged here, with Tikki and Plagg and her old bedroom and the little rose garden she had planted herself.

Marinette leaned her head on someone’s shoulder, uncaring of whether it was Chloe or Nathaniel.

She thought again of how lucky she was to have them;she would trust them with her life.

Chloe did bully her, yes, but the two of them had made peace.

The blonde had apologized profusely, confessing that after her mother left for New York and her father, the mayor, tried to buy her off with presents, she had grown jealous of anyone who actually had parents who paid attention to them.

Their friendship was fragile at first, both of them cautious, walking on eggshells, like they were afraid their bond would crack with a particularly heavy step.

Marinette remembered the first time Chloe came to her house for a sleepover.

“You’re scared of my parents, aren’t you?” Marinette said gently.

The once proud heiress hung her head, not speaking.

“Do you want to leave?” Marinette asked again.

Chloe raised her head, a firm resolve beginning to form in her eyes, glassing over the fear and shame.

“No.”

Tom and Sabine had stood, lost for words as they looked at the two.

Chloe flinched. Marinette was unsure whether it was due to the fear of the sharp of words or the sharp of blows.

Sabine spoke first, her words breaking the weight of silence which hung upon them all.

“So…how was school, Chloe?”

Just like that. An olive tree reaching between two eroded cliff faces.

That night, after the blonde had gone home, Marinette asked them.

“How were you so calm? You know what she’s done to me.”

Her adoptive mother had only smiled. “I trust your judgement, Marinette.”

Tom, however, didn’t come round so easily.

He hovered protectively over his adoptive daughter every time Chloe came close. His hugs before school became extra long. He nagged her to text him every two hours, to make sure “you’re somewhere safe”.

Marinette heard them arguing sometimes, the sound suppressed through the floor.

Everytime, she pressed her ears into the pillow, trying to ignore the stench of guilt.

It was her fault. Sabine and Tom rarely had any conflict, but now that she was here…

She tried to act as normal as possible.

She mislead her adoptive parents into thinking she was hanging out with Alya, even though…that friendship had withered, long, long ago.
She acted bubbly, but the burden of Lila’s lies and keeping Chloe a secret kept her awake at night.

Sabine and Tom noticed the repression with increasing worry, until on a Friday, when they usually had their games night, the former took control.

“Tom,” she said firmly. “I think you should let Marinette speak for herself before you jump to conclusions.”

The both of them looked at her, waiting.

She finally broke down. Everything came out-about her and Alya, how Lila was destroying her friendships, how Chloe and Nathaniel were the only ones left for her.

And Nathaniel-he wouldn’t even look at Chloe, let alone voluntarily be in the same space as her, so she had to arrange separate hang outs and avoid mentioning anyone to anyone because then they would get mad and leave her again but she kept feeling like everyone was pulling her in different directions and she just wanted everything to stop.

Tom and Sabine exchanged looks, before the former spoke up, his voice gruff.

“Marinette, you know…I love you…like my own...daughter…I’m sorry for being so protective, I should have let you speak for yourself…”

The large man looked as if he was on verge of tears.
***

On that particular night, Sabine had sat on the edge of her bed. She reached out her hand, as if to touch Marinette's hair, but pulled it back at the last minute.

“Your fa-I mean, Tom, we struggled with having a baby,” she said.

“Around…fourteen year ,ago, I got pregnant.
We were both so happy…Tom bought everything from the store for them. He carried me everywhere so I wouldn’t have to walk, and would rush to the store at all hours to get me the food I was craving.

He was so involved…he acted like…he was the one pregnant sometimes.” the corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly at the memory.

“Then…we...lost them.

One day, I just started bleeding...Tom immediately drove me to the hospital, but it was too late...
T-the doctors, they told us that this happened sometimes.

That our child had been dead for days.

But…I never felt it. All throughout my pregnancy, I felt like they were alive, that we were going through life together.

People always say that us mothers are crazy, that we don’t actually have the ability to sense our babies…but…” she trailed off, unable to form words.

Marinette saw the mix of emotions while Sabine told the story; sadness, anger, bitterness, and love.

She felt the emotions as Sabine fourteen years ago would have felt it-the unfairness of it all, the “why me?” and most of all, the longing for a child who never got to come home.

“What…was their name?” the query hung in the air.

For a long time, Marinette thought she wouldn’t answer.

“Vivienne…Vivienne Bella….”

The name was whispered, as if saying it louder would somehow set something off.

Vivienne, a cruel slap to the face.

A life for the girl who never lived.

And finally, Marinette understood it all.

Why Sabine and Tom were so willing to take her in, even though their lives could be at stake. The sadness on their faces every time she called her parents. Their overprotectiveness; attempts to make up for not protecting their Vivienne.

She felt a soft touch on her arm, pulling her back to the present.

“Nettie, are you ok?”

Marinette felt something wet against her cheeks and realised that she’d been crying. She forced a smile.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Her two friends exchanged troubled looks. They weren’t going to press, but were definitely going to keep an eye on her.
***


The receptionist smirked as she looked at the destroyed room. Those two brats really thought she was stupid. They weren’t even wearing the right uniform…room service, her ass!
She had done what Marinette and Chloe had told her to do-the cameras had captured everything.

She heard the door open, and rushed to greet the three friends, but Chloe shook her head and motioned to the navy haired girl.

“Sorry, not now,” she mouthed. “Did everything go according to plan?”

A singular incline was all she needed.

The blonde gave a quick smile and led Marinette away, with Nathaniel following.
***

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

The heiress really didn’t want to intrude, but seriously, her friend’s behaviour was troubling her a lot.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just tired,” the designer murmured distractedly, eyes unfocused, before pulling the covers over her head.

The blonde began to unpack all the luggage they had stored in this new room. The unfolding and putting away of clothes calmed her a little.

She had led Marinette away from the destroyed room.

They had originally planned to celebrate their plan’s success, but the designer was obviously not in the mood.

Seeing destruction at that time, even if she did voluntarily sacrifice those objects, would probably make her feel even worse.

Chloe puffed out a breath.

Hopefully both of them could sleep it off and everything would be fine in the morning, especially with the aspect of more evidence against the class.