Archive of Our Own

“Auuuuuugggggghhhhhhhhh!”

Tikki heard the scream, barely muffled by Marinette’s pillow. Now Tikki had been around her holder long enough to know Marinette really screamed about one of two things. Either failing to talk with her crush without looking like a gibbering fool or a certain orange-clad girl from Italy.

Furthermore, she’d found a way to identify which type of scream it was. For Adrien-related screw-ups, the girl punched her pillow and let out a whine of embarrassment before screaming into it. For Lila, she let out a long drawn out shriek of frustration before breaking down into a little cry. 

“Lila again?” Tikki said as she heard the little sob before nuzzling up against her holder.

“I just don’t get what she gets out of all of it,” the half-Chinese girl said, looking completely lost. “It’s like it’s all one big game to her, like… what does she actually get by running around everyone in circles like this?”

“Attention is all that matters to some people, Marinette,” Tikki said comfortingly. “Lila, she’s one of those people. She likes the spotlight to be all on her.”

Now Tikki was a very patient kwami, she’d been around since the beginning of the universe after all and she’d had many holders over the uncountable years. She’d met all kinds of people, however none of them had been quite like Lila Rossi.

At least, none of them had been her holder before, thankfully. She’d met plenty of attention seekers like her, of course and they all had their reasons of course. Fame, money, adoration, and there was usually a reason for it. Being neglected at home, feeling alone in a crowd and just wanting to fit in or just simple honest greed.

Freud had been wrong about many things, of course, but he’d been right that people did things for certain reasons usually related to their past. Tikki… wasn’t sure if that applied to Lila or not, assuming Lila was even her real name. Frankly, she doubted it was. Given Tikki didn’t know anything about Lila’s past, she couldn’t really say what drove her to the center of attention.

“...so how do we get it off her? Adrien said to take the high road.”

“And Adrien’s suggestion was a perfectly reasonable one,” Tikki said. “Lies have a tendency to collapse under their own weight eventually, and as Plagg would say that Karma has a consistent tendency to be heavy on the backswing.”

“That’s just it, everyone seems to just believe her own lies so easily. I…” Marinette trailed off, still looking so incredibly lost. “I…”

“I know it hurts,” Tikki said, nuzzling her again. “Watching your friends being caught in Lila’s web. But the lies she tells, in a class like yours, they’re not so unbelievable. All of you know amazing and fantastical people that for most people, would be unbelievable. To them, Lila’s supposed life is almost normal.”

Marinette nodded weakly, falling backwards on her chaise. “...you’re right, of course,” she sighed. “I just wish there was something I could do about it besides just sit by and watch and wait for it all to come crashing down all around her.”

Tikki was a patient kwami, but then she reminded herself she was countless untold millennia old. Marinette was a teenage girl, and teenagers weren’t really known for their patience. Especially in a case like this, where their friends were involved.

She empathized, sympathized with Marinette and her holder’s kindness made her the perfect heroine. Not just a good Ladybug, but a good heroine. She’d have probably made a difficult choice in normal times, had she and Plagg not been needed immediately. 

Marinette was particularly driven though, and had a sense of justice and right and wrong that most people could never hope to achieve. Sure, she had her flaws, like all teenagers did but she’d risen to the challenge.

She and her partner were becoming fine young adults fighting akuma after akuma, whatever Hawk Moth could throw at them. Except, well really, as far as she knew Hawk Moth had nothing to do with Lila. 

Lila had just shown up on her own, adding an unexpected element to an already chaotic situation. She was the metaphorical joker in Fate’s hand. Sometimes, Tikki wondered if the entity was having way too much fun throwing curveballs at her holder like that.

Fate probably reasoned it’d make a nice challenge for Marinette, give her someone who couldn’t be stopped conventionally with a Lucky Charm and a spotted suit. Tikki hated Fate right about now.

“...sometimes I wonder, if not for Volpina, that Lila’s not some poor girl that’s been akumatized for the entire school year,” Marinette mused. “But you can’t akumatize someone twice, at least not like that.”

Tikki could almost see the lightbulb go off her holder’s head.

“...sometimes I wonder if Lila’s even human…” Marinette murmured.

And that, Tikki thought, was a perfectly good question even as her holder began to ramble on, just thinking aloud now.

“Now how do we know she’s not one of those sentibeings that you told me about once, when explaining the other Miraculous,” the girl said, clutching a stuffed bear to her chest. “What are the chances?”

“Good guess,” Tikki mused. “But the chances are pretty low, I haven’t seen the Peacock and poor Duusu since the collapse of the Guardians’ temple.”

“There’s still a chance, though, right?”

“Yes, there’s a chance, Marinette.”

“And the butterfly’s been lost for years as well, and somehow Hawk Moth got ahold of it.”

“True, though the odds of him somehow getting both the peacock and the butterfly are astronomically low unless he knew exactly where to find them,” Tikki said. “More likely, he just had a spot of luck, which I had nothing to do with by the way.”

“You’re right, it’s a dumb idea,”

“No, it wasn’t a dumb idea Marinette,” Tikki said, reassuring her holder. “Honestly, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lila’s more than she seems to be.”

“Even her name, if that’s what it really is, seems to be her laughing at me,” Marinette paused. “She’s tricky…”

And once again, Tikki could see the lightbulb.

“...like a fox,” the teenager finished, as her eyes narrowed and somehow the kwami got the feeling her holder knew something that she didn’t.

“Marinette?”

“I just remembered something,” Marinette said, unable to get out of the room fast enough. “I need to go talk to Maman!”

-----

Marinette, hurrying down the steps from her bedroom down to the living room, took in a deep breath and let it out. She’d heard stories of course, from her Maman but she’d never really believed them to be true at all.

Foxes, in her mind, yowled and raided garbage cans, looked cute and were the subject of stupid pop songs. What did the fox say? In this case, a lie with every breath. But Marinette, she’d never considered there were any truth to those old stories even if they’d spread all across Asia.

They’d been tall tales, sometimes sexist warnings against women like the infamous Da Ji. Even with the revelation that the fae existed and she gained superpowers from forming a contract with one… she’d still dismissed those old stories out of hand. Until now, that is.

“Maman…?” she asked, looking at her mother. Her father was out grabbing groceries, which was for the better Marinette supposed. He doubted he’d believe a word of this. But her Maman, born and raised in China definitely would. 

“Yes honey?” her maman asked. “You tired, and stressed. Have you been sleeping well? Are things at school going alright?”

“No, and no,” Marinette admitted. “And those two things are related, though I thought it was just because of a certain girl. A certain girl who I wonder if she’s now more than she seems.”

How did you tell your mother that you believed one of your classmates was possessed by a fox or was even a fox herself?

“I think… I think there’s a fox loose in Paris,” she said, deciding to just get it over with and be laughed at. “And I don’t mean the kind that raids the trash cans and shows up in cute internet videos.”

“A huli jing, right?” her Maman asked and Marinette nodded. “Marinette…”

“It’s okay, you can laugh at me. I’m just blowing things out of proportion, I’m probably being silly and dramatic,” Marinette said, embarrassed. “I’m just letting my imagination run away from me and being superstitious. There’s no way even this girl is supernatural.”

“No, Bao bei. I believe you,” her Maman said, with a serious look in her eyes. “You’re not one to take this type of thing seriously, but right now… You’re not one to lie either so if you believe there’s really one of those creatures at school then I believe you.”

“Maman…” Marinette said, feeling a little teary.

“My grandmother told me stories, and I thought they were superstition as well but they always lurked in the back of my mind,” her Maman said. “But with magic alive in Paris, with Ladybug… I’ve begun to wonder again.”

“So how do I…?”

“Expose her?” her Maman nodded, finishing the sentence for her. “There are several ways, so listen close, Bao bei. These creatures love playing with their prey and they don’t make themselves easy to reveal. It’s difficult, but not impossible…”

-----

Marinette’s mind was spinning as she walked back up to her bedroom, already feeling very tired.

“...I heard some of your conversation with your mom,” Tikki said, floating above her. “You think Lila’s some sort of fox spirit?”

“I know, it’s so on the nose it sounds impossible. But it fits, with how frighteningly good she is at lying and making people believe her,” Marinette said. “She’s not a sentibeing, but she’s definitely not human either! I know, it sounds ridiculous and it sounds like I’m being superstitious but…”

“But you can’t say you shouldn’t rule it out either,” Tikki said.

“Exactly and Tikki you’re a little fairy from the dawn of time whom I’ve made a contract with to gain superpowers through magical jewelry to fight butterfly possessed supervillains,” Marinette said. “Compared to that, a fox in disguise as a human and having a laugh at my class’ expense is actually shockingly easy to believe at this point.”

“And if she’s not a fox spirit, we’ll work our way down the list of what else she could be,” Tikki said.

“You’re not objecting? You’re actually going along with this?” Marinette looked at her, no stared really before letting herself give a blink of surprise. “Like, you’re not trying to convince me that Lila is just a normal human teenager albeit very skilled at telling lies?”

Tikki shook her head before speaking. “Whatever, whoever she is, she’s dangerous. She’s causing you obvious mental distress on par with Chloe and right now that can’t be allowed. I will not allow this girl to let you become akumatized.”

“Because I’m Ladybug?”

“Because you’re you Marinette,” and okay wow now she really was feeling teary as Tikki ran a stubby little paw down her cheek with this kind reassuring look in her eyes. “I refuse to let Hawk Moth get to you, even if you weren’t my holder I’d do everything in my power to make sure those butterflies stay away from you.”

“...and to think,” Marinette said. “I used to like butterflies. I suspect if I’m right then I’m not going to be overly fond of foxes either after this as well.”

“Not even Trixx or your best friend?”

“Well,” Marinette said with a giggle and a snort. “Maybe I’ll make an exception for them.”

And she yawned, already exhausted from the day’s events.

“Take a nap, Marinette. Your schoolwork will be here for you when you wake up, you’ve had a long day,” Tikki soothed as she felt her eyelids getting heavy. “Take a rest for some of the rest of it, okay?”

That sounded like a really great idea, Marinette mused as she began to drift off.

-----

“Moshi-moshi, Lila?”

She’d said it in passing the next morning, not really ever expecting to find herself to ever seek out Lila Rossi but here she was deliberately making an effort to pass her in the hallway.

“Mosho-Moshu?”

Marinette wanted to grin, but suppressed it lest she give the game away. That phrase was supposed to be a particularly challenging one for spirit foxes to say as obviously they couldn’t imitate humans perfectly.

“Sorry, why’d you ask me a question in Chinese, Marinette?”

Choosing to ignore the racism in that particular statement from the supposedly Italian girl, Marinette elected to smile brightly at her.

“You said you knew several languages, Lila. I was just curious if you knew any Japanese that’s all,” Marinette said, and feeling really more pleased than she admitted she should have honestly really been to see the dirty looks sent the girl’s way. “I guess I was wrong.”

Now, she just needed something else to confirm her theory. Lila’s reflection.

A careful ‘accidental’ tipping of her glass of water during lunch in front of Lila’s path did the trick. 

“Sorry!” Marinette apologized. “You know how clumsy I am Lila! I guess I need some more Ladybug luck today! Can you ask her to pass it on, being your best friend and all?”

She enjoyed the furious look in the girl’s eyes, and noticed how supernaturally fast the girl had moved to avoid her reflection being seen in the puddle. If the outright aversion to her reflection hadn’t confirmed her theory, the superhuman reflexes certainly did.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but stop it,” Lila said, cornering her in the bathroom between classes. Slamming her hand against the stall door, the girl had venom in her eyes.

And unfortunately, a mirror at her back. Sure enough, rising from Lila’s head were a pair of fox ears and several tails erupting from her back. It would have been adorable on any other girl really.

And as Marinette noticed, the ears were black as obsidian and not brown which meant those ugly sausage-like appendages hanging from her head were as likely as fake as the rest of her. She was wearing a wig, the Chinese girl realized and mused she was more surprised about it than she actually should have been.

“Whatever you’re doing, Marinette, it won’t work,” Lila said and were those fangs in her mouth? Oh wow, they were. If Marinette were attracted to bitchy fakes, she’d be sweating right now. Curse her natural bisexual interest in monster girls! “Your weak attempts to expose me are going to fail.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Marinette said, hating the irony of lying to a liar. “Lila, may you get what you wish for, which I hope is real friends, and may you live in interesting times.”

She wondered if the huli jing recognized her statements for what they really were.

As Lila marched off angrily, Adrien met her on her way to science class.

“Okay, I know you definitely weren’t trying to trip up Lila at lunch earlier by spilling your drink, so what are you really doing?”

“She’s a… a…” oh gosh Adrien would never believe her.

“She’s a fox isn’t she?”

Marinette went into immediate panic and denial mode, belatedly realizing her particular grasp of the English language or lack of it looked pretty suspicious right about now. “Whaaaaaa no, she’s not foxy at all! She’s ugly and far from being-”

“I’ve watched a lot of anime, Marinette and-” okay, that particular revelation made him seem a lot more down to Earth and bad Marinette. Thirst later, she told herself. “-and she’s a fox spirit isn’t she?”

“I saw the fox ears and tail in the bathroom mirror, I was trying to confirm it all day and seeing the ears and the tail…” Marinette swallowed. “Well, at least now I know why she’s so annoyingly good at telling lies!”

“You want me to see if I can convince someone to let me borrow their dog for a photo shoot? …or at least ask Jagged if I can borrow Fang? He’s close enough to a dog right?” Adrien said, looking way too cute for words with an earnest desire to help her expose Lila for what she really was.

“A dog?” Marinette blinked, her mind drifting to the idea of seeing Adrien with a golden retriever or better yet a certain crocodile. Again, she had to remind herself to stop being a disaster bi.

“Foxes hate dogs, apparently,” Adrien heard. “Apparently, dogs can see them for what they really are. It’s the leashed I could do for not being the furiend you need during your rough pooch right now.”

…three puns in one sentence, were he and Cat Noir related?

“Yeah, uh, you do that,” Marinette said. “I’ve got to grab some tofu for tomorrow.”

“Ah, because they really love that!” Adrien grinned, and somehow him being a shameless pun-making weeb made him a lot easier to talk to Marinette noted. He was less a god, and more a shameless dork.

Did that make him even more attractive to her? Yes, yes it did, Marinette thought to herself.

And if she made finger guns at him as she walked off, well maybe she felt a bit more courageous now. Forget needing Ladybug luck, she could make her own now!

-----

“So, how’d it go?”

“Father said the entire shoot was worthless, and that Vincent being there was a waste of his time and money,” Adrien said, sounding pretty annoyed. Well, she supposed having to put up with Lila and her drama for an entire shoot would annoy pretty much anyone. 

“Lila?”

“Well, sorta. I brought a dog, after suggesting it to Pere. A local shelter didn’t mind loaning one out to raise awareness but well…”

“It wouldn’t stop barking at Lila?”

“The nose always knows!” Adrien said, managing a slight grin. “We’ll be redoing it next week, because Pere likes the idea of raising animal awareness and says it’s good for the Brand. His words, not mine. But we’ll be redoing it without Lila.”

“Bet that’s going to tick her off,” Marinette said, over the phone and heard Adrien sigh.

“Probably. Oh well, a day without Lila in my personal space is a good day.”

“Have you tried talking to your fa…” Marinette started before the words died in her throat and she grimaced. “...right.”

“I wish I could, Mari and I know Pere would pull her out of modeling with me if he knew how uncomfortable she truly makes me but…”

“You can’t even talk to him because you have to schedule an appointment with him,” and Marinette wanted to laugh bitterly. What kind of father needed their own son to schedule appointments just to even talk with them?

And she wanted to sigh as well, because she doubted Gabriel even cared how Lila was putting her hands on his son because surely he’d noticed in the pictures taken? Surely someone had said something while his own son was being assaulted?

Taking a deep breath, in and out, she reminded herself she couldn’t get akumatized. 

“Well, we know what Lila is now,” Adrien said, as the clock ticked over to 9 in the evening. Late enough that she really should be getting ready for bed, Marinette reminded herself. “Now all we have to do is expose her.”

“Yeah… thanks for believing in me… for believing all of this, Adrien,” Marinette said, her face feeling warm and her heart skipping a beat. “It sounds insane and yet you…”

“You’re one of my best friends, Marinette,” Adrien said, in a tone so soft and soothing she’d treasure it forever despite what he’d just said. “I’d never leave you dealing with this all by yourself, for fox sake.”

The cheesy, dorky pun and how close Adrien Perfection Incarnate Agreste had come to legitimately swearing had her giggling. “Goodnight, Adrien.”

“Goodnight, Marinette.”

-----

“I trust your plan to expose that fox for what she really is, it’s going well?”

“Yes it is, thank you Maman,” Marinette said. “I’m just… I saw her tails, her ears, Maman. She’s really one of them. A real huli jing! I… I can’t believe it…”

Her maman nodded. “...neither can I, but you’re not lying. You’d never lie about something like this, Marinette.”

“...my friends would never believe me,” Marinette said, grabbing onto her pants and squeezing them anxiously. “...they don’t even believe me when I said Lila’s a liar, they certainly won’t believe me when I say she’s a supernatural being!”

“Your friends have been hoodwinked by a supernatural power, the blame lies with nobody but that fox creature,” her Maman said reassuringly as she knelt down to Marinette’s level and laid a hand on her shoulder. “She’s especially devious and has used her silver tongue to get them to believe every word she says.”

“I know, it’s just… it hurts to see them under her spell.”

“Your friends, well what Lila’s saying about knowing celebrities, if this were any other class than yes her lies would look and sound a lot more unbelievable,” her Maman said, planting a kiss to her forehead. “But your class has met so many…”

“Amazing and fantastical people…” Marinette trailed off, nodding. “Another friend, someone very wise, said pretty much the same thing.”

“I think I’d like to meet this friend one day,” her Maman said.

Marinette had often wondered about introducing her mother to Tikki, and had more than one occasion given it some serious thought. Her mother, and her father probably deserved to know what she got up to in her off time but she was terrified of worrying them. She didn’t want them worrying their heads off and getting akumatized over their fears of her getting seriously injured or worse killed.

So no, not for now. Not until Hawk Moth was defeated. 

The less people in the loop, the less people who could be used against her the better.

“You will, one day,” Marinette said, wistfully.

“I’m sorry we haven’t been more help to you, at school. We should have seen Lila for what she really was, then maybe we could have avoided you being temporarily expelled,” her Maman admitted. “But…”

“Lila’s lies are just that good, or whatever her real name is. I don’t think I care anymore what it is,” Marinette said. “She’s supernaturally good, literally! You probably wouldn’t have seen through them just like nobody else has.”

“You’re very gifted, Marinette, for seeing what nobody else has cared to see.”

Gifted, and with a Miraculous as Tikki had explained. Gifted, and with a more open mind to old magical folktales.

Folktales that Lila, or whoever she was, was going to regret having made it into the mainstream.

-----

“So, Lila,” Marinette said with her politest smile, not really a fan of tofu but it if exposed her worst enemy for what she truly was she might change her mind. “How’s your day been?”

Marinette suppressed the smirk as she saw the way the supposedly Italian girl’s eyes widened at the sight of the fox-loved food and how they never quite left it.’

“I’m proud of you girl, getting your jealousy under control and making an effort to be nicer to her,” Alya said. “See, I knew you two could be friends.”

Not for all the money in the world, Marinette thought.

“You were right, I was being silly,” Marinette said to her other best friend. “There’s no point in us making idiots of ourselves over the same boy. For all we know, he may not choose either of us. He may wind up marrying Kagami, they seem pretty close nowadays.”

“But I thought they broke up?” Alya said, even though Marinette could see approval in her eyes.

“For now!” Marinette said. “You never know, maybe they’ll get back together.”

For what it was worth, Kagami had admitted she’d doubted it, in private. She’d admitted she’d wondered if Adrien was really that serious about their relationship or just looking to please his father. She herself admitted half of the relationship was to make her own mother happy and said she’d needed to find her own happiness.

Marinette should have felt thrilled, but she’d thought the two looked honestly happy together.

“Wait, what the-?!” Alya said as Lila suddenly swiped the tofu out of Marinette’s hands. “Hey, that was Marine… Oh wow. Holy…”

Lila had begun to devour the block in a feral fashion, and had let her more animalistic instincts show. Her fangs were now clearly visible and her wig had fallen off to reveal two very obvious and very real fox ears. And to make matters worse, her tails were wagging happily like a dog’s.

“She’s a… Marinette, do you see what I see…?” Alya gasped, a hand over her mouth in shock.

Lila had noticed everyone was staring and it wasn’t long before the butterfly arrived with Lila grabbing it out of the air.

“You ruined it, Marinette! I was having so much fun leading these fools on!” the foxgirl snarled ferally, letting out a hiss. “I was enjoying myself, but noooooooooo… you had to be that little bit too perceptive!”

“You should really avoid bathroom mirrors, Lila,” Marinette said, allowing a bit of smugness to creep into her voice. “They’re very revealing. You’d be surprised at what you see in them.”

“It’s not Lila right now, and it never was! My name is Cerise, and right now my name is Hoaxer!” the red-clad akuma said looking eerily similar to Volpina but lacking the necklace and an ugly bloody red x across her black fabric-clad chest. 

During the chaos of everyone fleeing the cafeteria, Marinette had managed to slip away.

“Well, you got what you wanted, Marinette,” Tikki said. “...but I never imagined Cerise, if that’s her real name willingly taking that akuma for herself! I know the truth will always out, but I never imagined a willing alliance with Hawk Moth!”

“Neither did I…” Marinette said, horrified. “I know she was responsible for Heroes Day but I didn’t think she’d taken the butterfly willingly! Tikki, spots on!”

The battle was particularly challenging because she had the whole city against her and Cat. From what she could figure out, Hoaxer was whispering more of her lies in everyone’s ears.

It was one thing to face henchmen which had been turned into various monsters by an akuma, but brainwashed civilians were another!

“...unless… I hope my Lucky Charm agrees!” Ladybug said after a moment of thought. “LUCKY CHARM!”

“A bowl?” Cat said, keeping the civilians back with his spinning staff. “Don’t tell me we have to invite Hoaxer out for a bite to eat!”

“Actually, that’s exactly what we’re going to do!” Ladybug said with a grin. “Be right back!”

And soon she returned, with a bowl now full of hot red bean paste.

“I left some money from my wallet, the restaurant will understand,” Ladybug told her partner. “Now… come out come out Hoaxer? What does the fox say, does it say it likes red bean paste?”

Apparently, it did say that, as Hoaxer let out a squealing sound as she shimmered into existence. Shimmering right into Cat Noir’s outstretched paw, pulling a magical jewel, like a pearl right out of her tails and reducing it to ash with his powers.

The horrified look on Hoaxer’s face would stay in her memory forever, even as she captured the butterfly and cleansed it.

“You can’t… I’ll die without it!” and as cruel and spiteful as Cerise was, even Marinette didn’t wish death on her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll soon have it back,” Ladybug said as she tossed the bowl into the air. “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

-----

“...so Lila was a…” Alya stared. “...and she’s been…”

“Yep, and yep,” Marinette said, nodding along. “Honestly, I’m having a hard time believing it myself.”

“...so am I, I guess anything’s possible these days,” Alya nodded. “God, I feel like such an idiot, not realizing that I was being bewitched. What next, I’ll find out one of my classmates is a rougarou?”

“Sorry, but we’re not in Monster High, Alya,” Marinette said. “And you shouldn’t blame yourself, Lila did everything she… sorry, Cerise did everything she could to avoid being found out. And I… really didn’t help myself, given my past jealousy issues.”

“It’s okay girl,” Alya said, hugging her. “You’re right, you didn’t look good at all and-”

“I thought you were going to be supportive.”

“-and Lila… Cerise… whatever, knew exactly how to spin things for her own benefit,” Alya said. “Don’t worry, we’ll show you all the love you deserve now that we know the truth.”

“Thanks, but you don’t really have-”

“But we do,” Alya said. “Accept it girl, accept that we all love you and that we’ve been idiots and we’re making up for it.”

She paused.

“Though I have to ask, how did you see through her lies?”

“I guess… one didn’t make sense at all and soon the rest looked and sounded utterly ridiculous -oh god I sounded like Chloe there- the more I thought about them?”

Hopefully, she was a good enough liar for Alya. Oh the irony, Marinette mused to herself. Apparently she was, given the Creole girl’s nod.

“Adrien apparently said he had trouble modeling with her,” Alya mused. “Something about animals hating her?”

“The nose knows!” Adrien said as he walked up from behind. “Mind, if I really want a modeling partner, I suppose I could always ask Marinette huh? I think she’d look a lot better modeling as a couple with me!”

No, she wouldn’t faint, no she wouldn’t faint!

“Oooooh, would she?” Alya grinned.

“I think I’d like to ask her on a date as well,” Adrien said. “Given how… heroic she was.”

Marinette squeaked and suddenly she knew her face had given it away. Her reaction to those stupid puns.

“Shut up and just kiss me, Kitty.”

“Much obliged,” and the whole class cheered even as their lips met, and as they pulled away, he whispered: “Milady. Bien joue?”

“Yes kitty, bien joue. Pound it.”

fin