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The Wrath of the Bug	By : Cat_Eyes Category: +M through R > Miraculous LadyBug Views: 3751 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Thomas Astruc and released by Zag studios. No profit was made writing this story.

Chapter List
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The following morning, Marinette woke up more tired and sore than she could believe possible. She groaned as she flopped over to lay face down, bemoaning every last ache in her tiny body.
'Here, eat this. It'll help,' Tikki said, offering her a biscuit still warm from the oven.
Marinette whimpered at the thought of moving to accept it.
'Just roll over and open your mouth,' Tikki coaxed, pushing two fingers under Marinette and helping her roll back over.
Spread-eagled on her back, eyes closed against the light, Marinette opened her mouth and bit down on the biscuit Tikki held to her lips. She ate slowly, but the pain and fatigue melted away with every bite.
'Does that feel better?' asked Tikki when she had finished.
Marinette sat up and rubbed her face. 'Yeah, thanks.' She paused, closely examining her limbs. 'Is that what it's like for you? You go through that every time we fight?'
Tikki smiled. 'It gets easier to bear, the longer you do it, and I've been doing it for millennia.'
Marinette still couldn't meet Tikki's eyes, picking at her feet as her eyelids began to droop. She felt ashamed of herself for how she had treated Tikki, but her pride stood before her, looming large, and preventing her from apologising.
What is wrong with me? she thought.
Eventually, Tikki sighed and scooped her up to deposit her into the purse, before leaving for school.
Marinette slept through the morning classes. Tikki had seemed confident she could cope with the work load, so Marinette gladly let Tikki deal with her math test, the literary report, and her Physical Education exam. Marinette was relieved to have those particular burdens lifted from her shoulders, but once the lunch break came, she wanted to be back in her own body.
Tikki and Adrien were at her desk, revising for another science test they had the next day. Marinette watched carefully from her spot on the chaise, while Tikki and Adrien talked like old friends. Marinette looked on, wistfully, at the picture they made.
'Adrien,' Tikki said, drawing his attention. 'There's something I've been meaning to tell you.'
'What is it?' he asked, turning to her, expectantly.
'I like you. Would you care to go out, sometime?'
Marinette stopped breathing. Her horror at Tikki's forwardness quickly subsided as she watched Adrien, waiting for his reply.
Adrien looked away, rubbing the back of his head. 'I'm really sorry,' he began, slowly. 'I'm really flattered, but I can't return your feelings. I already like someone else.'
Marinette stilled, staring at Adrien with wide, watery eyes.
'I'm really sorry,' he repeated.
Tikki blinked, then held her hands up. 'No, it's ok. You don't have to be sorry.'
Adrien's hands fell into his lap. 'Sorry,' he murmured, eyes downcast.
Tikki smiled sympathetically at him. 'I'm ok. I just wanted to let you know. Now that I know how you feel, I can move on. Seriously, I'm a big girl. I can take a rejection.'
Adrien attempted to smile back, but it didn't reach his eyes. 'Thank you for taking this so well. I admire your maturity.'
Tikki patted his shoulder. 'We're friends, first and foremost. I wouldn't be much of a friend if I did anything else, would I?'
Adrien huffed a weak laugh. 'I suppose not. I should get going, though. I still have a thing I have to do before class starts. I'll see you later.'
Tikki gave him a reassuring smile and waved him off. 'See you later,' she agreed as his head vanished down the trapdoor.
When the front door clicked shut, Marinette erupted from the purse. 'What did you think you were doing?' she yelled.
Tikki drew back, eyes widening. 'I was thinking I was helping you. You've never had the courage to ask him out directly, so I did it for you.'
'I never asked you to do that.'
'You didn't have to. I was only trying to help.'
'Did you miss the part where he rejected me, you?'
Tikki shook her head. 'Of course I didn't. But, at least now you know how he feels.'
'I didn't want to know how he feels,' Marinette shrieked.
Tikki gasped. 'You don't mean that.'
'Yes, I do,' Marinette sobbed. 'As long as I never said anything, I'd never know. As long as I never knew, I could still dream. There was always a maybe, a what if. Now, I don't even have that.'
Tikki stood and put her hands on her hips. 'Have you learnt nothing from the last few days? Just when I thought you were beginning to make progress, you regress into the selfish child you were before. You're unbelievable.'
Marinette had no response for that, so she turned her back on Tikki, flew up to her round window and sat on the sill, waiting for Tikki to leave. Tikki stormed off shortly thereafter, leaving Marinette to cry alone.

Tikki was still out after the sun went down. She had told Alya about what happened with Adrien, maintaining her charade, then Alya had insisted they spend the afternoon at her place, performing all the activities that were meant to heal a broken heart. Tikki had accepted the offer, as Marinette would have. It had been a gesture of kindness Tikki could find no reason to refuse, so she and Alya wasted hours watching movies, eating ice cream, and listening to sad music. Tikki thought the last one seemed counter-productive, but couldn't argue against Alya's rustic philosophy that misery loves company.
As she walked home, Tikki supposed she could have dealt with Adrien differently. She hadn't been thinking how her actions would make Marinette feel, nor how it would affect her relationship with Adrien if her meddling hadn't yielded a positive result.
Maybe I should have asked if he liked someone, first, she mused.
He was unlikely to tell her whom he loved, but tackling the issue from that angle would not have strained Tikki's relationship with Marinette, nor Marinette's with Adrien.
Perhaps I've taken this too far, Tikki thought with a sigh.
She called to Tom and Sabine when she arrived, letting them know she was home safe. They went to bed shortly after, in preparation for another pre-dawn start tomorrow.
Slowly, Tikki trudged up to Marinette's room, dreading the inevitable confrontation.
As she eased the hatch open, a flurry of shredded paper drifted down. Confused, Tikki pushed into the room and took in the mess before her.
All of Adrien's posters had been ripped from the walls and torn to shreds. The framed photo lay abandoned on the floor, the glass broken and falling out. The computer screen now showed only a default blue, devoid of Marinette's personality and flair. In the middle of the floor, sobbing wretchedly on a pile of sodden scraps of paper, was Marinette. She heaved in great breaths of air, struggling to be quiet, as she tried to regain control of herself.
'Oh, Marinette,' Tikki whispered. 'I'm so sorry.'
Marinette bawled into Tikki's hands, barely able to respond. 'Tikki, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm sorry I took you for granted. I'm sorry for being a selfish brat. I'm sorry for everything.'
Tikki shushed her gently and carried her up to bed, stroking her back and head until she fell into a restless sleep. Feeling depressed and guilty, Tikki went to put her pyjamas on before crawling back into bed beside Marinette. She had been thinking of going to Master Fu the following morning to reverse the spell, but it was clear Marinette wasn't going to be able to face Adrien so soon. It would have to wait until after school.

Friday morning, Tikki tucked a reluctant Marinette into her purse with three biscuits, an old mp3 player, and a set of earbuds. It would be hard enough on Marinette to know Adrien would be around without having to hear his voice.
Tikki met Alya on the front steps before they went inside together, Alya slinging a comforting arm around Tikki's shoulders as they walked. Just inside the doors, however, Tikki almost collided with Adrien as he was catching up with Max and Kim. Tikki took a quick step back with an embarrassed apology, while Adrien murmured a response before ducking his head and hurrying off to the locker room. Tikki shook her head at him, relieved Marinette hadn't seen him.
Kim and Max exchanged a puzzled look before they, too, headed to their lockers.
'Wow, Marinette,' Alya said. 'You're being really mature about this. I think you're handling the rejection better than he is.'
Tikki raised one shoulder in a half shrug. 'I've just decided to grow up and let go of all those babyish impulses. Besides, Adrien can't help how he feels, and it would be insensitive to make a big deal of it.'
Alya pulled her into a tight hug. 'Aw, Girl, You're amazing. I'm proud of you, you know that, right?'
Tikki returned the embrace, smiling into Alya's shoulder. She was glad Marinette had a friend like her. 'Thanks, Alya.'
The day was torturously slow, and having to constantly be around Adrien was not helping. Tikki suspected Marinette hadn't used the player and earbuds, but had listened in to all of her conversations closely. Judging by the bulk of the purse, she hadn't eaten the biscuits, either. Tikki was unable to get away from Alya during lunch, so they spent the break gossiping and trash talking Madame Mendeleiev. Tikki would have preferred to make sure Marinette was all right, but Alya had been adamant.
Finally, the school day was over and with no major incidents. As soon as she was dismissed, Tikki went to Master Fu and had him reverse the body swap spell. Tikki was relieved to be back in her own body, but she was still worried about Marinette. She hadn't spoken all day, and sat listless and unresponsive as Fu tried to talk to her. Eventually, Tikki made their excuses and carefully guided Marinette home so she could rest.

Saturday dawned cold and rainy, an appropriate reflection of Marinette's emotions. She tried to keep herself busy by cleaning her room, doing homework, chores around the house, and with menial work in the bakery, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Adrien.
Tom and Sabine noticed her mournful demeanour, but let her be, simply giving her hugs and kisses in passing.
'You know you can talk to us, right?' Sabine whispered in her ear as she carried a tray of bread to the shop.
Marinette nodded, but didn't reply. Sabine kissed her cheek and rubbed her back before continuing on her way.
Alya texted her throughout the day, checking up on her and feeding her titbits of gossip. Marinette, however, only gave perfunctory responses, so Alya stopped trying to engage her in a conversation by two o'clock.
Call me when you're feeling better. I'll be here, she sent instead.
Marinette appreciated their unquestioning love and support, but by three o'clock, she just wanted to be alone. She retreated to her room and lay on her chaise, waiting for nightfall as she stared at her ceiling. Tikki hovered nearby, watching carefully, but remaining silent.
After dark, Marinette began to feel restless, but found she was unable to focus on designing, sewing, or anything that required her to sit down.
'How about a run?' Tikki suggested. 'The fresh air will do you good.'
'Yeah, maybe. All right, Tikki, transform me.'
She didn't feel better, emotionally, but Ladybug couldn't deny the rush she felt as she ran over the rooftops, her path lit up from the streetlights below.
After an hour of aimless running, Ladybug found herself at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. She scampered up to the top to admire the view, feeling her own problems diminish in comparison to the vista before her. Feeling overwhelmed, she sat, hugging one leg as she allowed the other to dangle over the side. She rested her chin on her upraised knee and sighed.
A thud behind her announced Chat Noir's arrival. 'Looks like I've found a lucky little bug,' he called, jovially. 'But, to whom do I have the pleasure of running in to, tonight. The Bug or the Lady?'
Without turning around, Ladybug replied, 'it's me, Chaton.'
'Ladybug, is something wrong?' Chat Noir asked as he moved to sit beside her. He leaned forward to look her in the eyes, letting his legs hang over the edge.
She hesitated before saying, 'nothing worth mentioning.'
'You know you can talk to me, if you need to, right?' he asked as he placed a hand over hers.
Ladybug turned her head away. 'I know. Thank you.'
He shifted beside her, wanting to speak, but Ladybug kept herself closed off, forestalling idle rambling and prying questions. She didn't feel ready to talk to anyone, yet.
Chat Noir wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 'I'm here for you, whenever you're ready,' he promised.
Surrendering to her needs, Ladybug rested her head against his shoulder as she tried to keep her breathing even. 'I know you are. I'm just not quite there yet.'
'I can wait, Bug. I'll always wait for you.' His arm tightened around her, momentarily, before easing into a companionable hug once more.
Ladybug closed her eyes, accepting the comfort he offered. 'Thank you.'
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The Wrath of the Bug