LadyBugOut AU (Snippets)

Marinette sighed, still trying to keep her hair neat after the terrible night sleep she’d gotten. So much was weighing on her mind after yesterday’s akuma attack that she wasn’t even sure if she’d be able to focus in class. She felt lucky that she even woke up in time, and was hoping for a normal day where nothing happened and she could relax.

The fact that she could hear the class chatting as she approached the classroom should’ve been a dead giveaway, but Marinette was naive.

“They’re so cute!” Rose’s voice rang out, sounding excited.

“I can’t believe you were able to get this shot!” Kim added, sounding both shocked and impressed.

“I know, right?” Alya said proudly.

Marinette stopped at the doorway, wondering what all the commotion was about.

Alya was sitting where Adrien usually sat. Rose, Nino, Mylene, Adrien, and Kim surrounded her, with Alya’s phone resting screen-up on the table.

As soon as Marinette noticed the phone—specifically, what was displayed on the phone’s screen—her heart dropped.

Even from the distance away and the angle of the phone, Marinette knew what it was. The image had been burned into her memory whether she liked it or not and she could recognize it from a mile away.

It was Ladybug and Chat, locked in a passionate kiss right after the defeat of Oblivio; the thing that Marinette couldn’t even remember.

And a good chunk of the class seemed to be taken in by it. Unconsciously, Marinette tightly gripped the doorframe.

Alya threw her head back, sighing blissfully. “Guess being akumatized has advantages after all!”

Mylene sighed as well, but seemed a little jealous rather than blissful. “I wish I could’ve seen it myself!”

Rose nodded. “You’re so lucky, Alya!”

Alya was soaking in the comments like a dry sponge. Marinette wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen Alya happier.

Then, a groan echoed from across the room. Alix was sitting her usual seat, feet propped up on the desk. “Gimme a break with that mushy stuff.”

Alya whipped her head around to face Alix. “What?”

Alix answered dryly, “Sorry if I’m not lured in by some kiss after Chat was lounging around to get his picture taken while Ladybug had to do all the work.”

Adrien straightened unusually quickly.

Kim stared at Alix, clueless. “So what? Isn’t that kind of his thing: lightening the mood? Ladybug doesn’t seem to mind.”

Adrien nodded vigorously.

Alix rolled her eyes, tipping her hat just slightly as she addressed Kim. “Oh yeah. Sure she’s used to petsitting by now.”

Max, who’d been sitting at his seat quietly while typing on his phone, finally cut in, “It does seem rather illogical for a superhero to react that way in such a situation.” He showed his phone to everyone who’d been talking, revealing a graph. “Their efficiency as a team is cut severely whenever Chat is busy bantering.”

Markov flew out of Max’s bag, looking confident as he stated, “It’s true! We did the calculations ourselves.”

Max and Markov leaned into each other as they said in unison, “Their efficiency can drop as low as 15%!”

Everyone blinked at the two.

Markov, unphased by the stares, flew over to Alya, hovering in place as he stared at the image. “And this followed the battle yesterday?”