ML Secret Santa: Mari-culous
((Sorry this is later than intended, @miracu-ace! I was busy with finals and then holidays and mental health garbage, but it's finally here! Anyway, I saw you liked Kaganette and kwami swap aus (excellent taste) so here's a fic that combines both that I hope you like! Happy Holidays! @mlsecretsanta))
Marinette wasn't expecting much that day, nothing good anyway. Alya's little sisters had gotten akumatized (she hadn't even realized an akuma could get two people at once), and Alya had run off, her blatant disregard for her safety even more intense now that her sisters were the victims. Marinette had figured her options were hunkering down and waiting for Tentōchū and Chat Noir to save the day or chasing after Alya to keep her out of danger.
Instead, she was surprised by Tentōchū dropping in front of her, a red and black box in her hand and a strange, indecipherable look on her face.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Tentōchū began. "I would like to ask a favor."
"O-Oh, um...sure?" she answered, a bit nervously. "What do you need?"
And then, Tentōchū held out the box to Marinette.
"In this box is the fox miraculous," she explained. "Chat Noir and I need help to defeat Sapotis, and I believe you are our best option."
"...Me?" Marinette's eyes were wide. "Are...you have the wrong person. I...you should find Alya, she's perfect for this. And I'm...I'm so clumsy I'll probably just make things an even bigger mess. There's no way I could-"
"Marinette," Tentōchū interrupted, and Marinette's mouth snapped shut. "The fox miraculous power is illusions. It takes someone clever and creative to wield it the most efficiently, and I have seen plenty of evidence of your intelligence and ingenuity to know you are the best fit. And I would not have chosen you if I had any doubts about your capabilities." She pressed the box into Marinette's hands and met her eyes. "I trust you."
Those three words stole Marinette's breath for a moment, and she took a shaking breath before nodding and opening the box.
Marinette's transformation dropped moments after she landed in the alleyway, and then Trixx pounced on her, hugging her face and laughing.
"That was incredible!" he exclaimed gleefully. "You are such a clever fox!"
"I...I really did it," Marinette whispered, a giddy feeling in her chest. "I really helped save the day."
Marinette jumped, seeing Tentōchū had appeared beside her, holding the box out. And she immediately understood what it meant.
The magic was over. It was time to be just clumsy old Marinette again. And she almost didn't want to give it up. But instead, she nodded, because it was the right thing to do.
"Thanks Trixx," she told the kwami. "It was nice to meet you."
Trixx smiled at her, disappearing the moment Marinette removed the necklace. And Marinette took the box from Tentōchū and gently set the necklace inside before snapping it shut and handing it back.
"I should be the one thanking you," Tentōchū answered, but Marinette shook her head.
"It's...I never thought I could do something like that," Marinette admitted. She adjusted her hair a little awkwardly as she did, feeling nervous with Tentōchū's intense gaze on her. "But...for a moment, I got to be miraculous. And so...thank you for that."
And Tentōchū surprised her by laughing. Not a cruel laugh. It was gentle and warm and maybe Marinette's heart skipped a beat.
"You are always miraculous, Marinette," she said, her voice so sure that Marinette was just stunned. "You don't need a piece of jewelry to prove that."
It was quiet for a moment, the two of them looking at each other, and Marinette wanted to know how Tentōchū could be so certain, so completely certain of that. She said it like a fact, and yet Marinette couldn't understand why.
And then, with a beep of Tentōchū's earrings, the moment passed, and she gave Marinette a quick nod of acknowledgement before throwing her yoyo and zipping away.
Marinette's phone was blowing up with text messages, probably Alya freaking out over the new hero. And yet, Marinette could only stand there for a while, before finally taking a deep breath and heading home.
Kagami buried her face in her pillow and screamed, an action she would normally find rather childish, but she was too overwhelmed to find fault in herself for the action.
Tikki laughed, as she often did in situations like these.
"How is she so amazing?" Kagami muttered, sitting up and doing her best to compose herself. "How does she not see how incredible she is?"
"I think you did a good job of showing her," Tikki told Kagami. "It seems like Marinette doesn't get the chance to feel powerful often, does she? But you gave her that chance, and I think she appreciated it."
Kagami gave a small smile at that.
Marinette deserved every chance to feel powerful. Every single one.
It wasn't too big of a surprise when Tentōchū showed up when Alya's older sister got akumatized.
Marinette had been recruited a couple of times since Sapotis to take the fox miraculous for a battle, and she was pretty certain she had found her footing with her occasional hero status. She found she was able to get an easy back-and-forth with Chat Noir, and Tentōchū always had her back when she had to join the fray. It was pretty clear to Marinette that, as far as the two heroes were concerned, she was one of them, even if she couldn't keep her miraculous like they did. And she was starting to get comfortable.
"You need the fox again?" Marinette asked, then blinked as Tentōchū shook her head.
"Illusions won't help us in this battle," she explained. "We need someone strong, resiliant, a protective spirit to wield the turtle."
"Oh." Marinette shrugged. "Then...why are you-"
Tentōchū shoved the box in Marinette's hands. "I can't think of anyone else more suited to the position than you."
"...Oh." She stared at the box for a moment, hoping Tentōchū hadn't noticed the blush that Marinette could feel blooming on her face. "Are...are you sure?"
Marinette took a deep breath. "Okay...okay." And with that, she opened the box.
"Are you planning on telling Marinette you like her?"
Kagami's footwork stumbled a bit at Adrien's question, but she quickly regained her bearings before Adrien could take advantage of the slip.
"That depends," she finally answered. "Are you going to tell Chloé you would rather swallow broken glass than go on a date with her?"
She could practically feel how hard Adrien was wincing behind the mask. "I'd rather not get murdered by Chloé. Or worse, by my dad for causing problems with the daughter of the mayor of Paris." He quickly blocked her, adding, "But Marinette isn't neck deep in politics."
"Yes, but I doubt my mother will be receptive to any indication of my...preferences, when it comes to partners."
An understatement, really. Her mother was very stern and traditional, and Kagami couldn't help but feel the pressure of that on her all the time. And Kagami, dating a girl, was not traditional at all.
Not to mention that Marinette hadn't given any indication of returning her feelings. Sure, she was openly interested in girls, but that didn't mean she was interested in Kagami.
And, at this point, Kagami hadn't come out to anyone other than Adrien. As much as she liked to act like she could face any challenge, the idea of being out? It was terrifying.
"You don't have to tell her," Adrien suggested.
"She'd find out. Just like your father would if you tried to date a boy." Because their lives were micromanaged with gaps of false freedom, and both of them knew that it was monitored heavily.
Adrien sighed. "Yeah...I get it." And he dropped it.
Marinette wanted to strangle Chloé.
Well, most days she wanted to, but today? Today she was real close to actually going through with it.
It was not like Marinette wanted to be liked by Audrey Bourgeois. In fact, she'd much prefer if Audrey Bourgeois forgot her name and didn't give her another look. Being liked by such an awful person was uncomfortable, and, if Chloé wasn't acting awful about the whole thing, Marinette would feel bad for her having such an awful mother.
Except Chloé had gotten worse in the aftermath of the Style Queen garbage, focusing all her terribleness on Marinette with laser-like aim. The normal bullying got worse, to the point where even Sabrina was balking at Chloé's behavior. And somehow, Chloé had gotten her dad akumatized and he was now trying to dispose of her on top of turning the class into Chloé's loyal servants, her mom into a traditional housewife, and Chat Noir into...well, a cat.
(The only good thing about the Malediktator situation was that Chloé seemed just as uncomfortable with the whole thing as Marinette was, though Chloé wasn't getting attempted murdered everywhere she went so it wasn't exactly comparable.)
So, admittedly, when Tentōchū showed up, Marinette jumped.
"Are you okay?" the hero asked, and Marinette was, momentarily, thrown by the open concern on her face. Tentōchū was usually very stoic and reserved, and the displays of emotion were few and far between.
"...No," Marinette admitted, gritting her teeth. "I'm having a terrible week, and to top it all off, Chloé's dad is leading a city-wide effort to turn me into a rug so Chloé doesn't have to strain herself to try and walk all over me anymore." She clenched her fists. "And I'm pretty sure it's because Chloé wanted to cause some city sanctioned torment, because the near constant bullying at school wasn't enough? Not like any of the faculty will do anything about the fact that Chloé has been on a nonstop tirade against me for having the audacity to make a hat her mom actually liked, because I have to 'set an example', except I've been setting an example for the past nine years and Chloé just. Doesn't. Care!"
There was a hand on her shoulder, and Marinette realized she was crying, and suddenly the fact that Tentōchū was a superhero got lost as Marinette pulled her into a desperate hug, causing her to stiffen for just a moment before relaxing into the gesture.
After a few moments, Tentōchū pulled away, holding out a box.
"The bee is meant for the brave and passionate, willing to fight back and subdue any enemy in their way," she explained. "And I think you deserve to have the chance to fight back after all you've had to deal with."
And Marinette didn't argue this time. Because Tentōchū was right. She was sick to death of taking it when others hurt her. She was ready to fight back for once.
She took the box and gave Tentōchū a fierce smile before opening it.
"It seems you have a lot of faith in Ms. Dupain-Cheng, Kagami," Master Fu remarked, and Kagami shrugged. "I am concerned, however."
He raised an eyebrow. "You have not looked for any other options for temporary heroes."
"...So?" Kagami asked, a bit defensively. "Are you implying Marinette is-"
"No, of course not," Fu interrupted before Kagami could get too wound up. "My concerns are not with Marinette's capabilities. If I were to risk giving out another miraculous on a permanent basis, I believe she has more than proven herself an ideal candidate." He shook his head. "My concern is that you are not considering the possibility of complications in the future. Marinette has a busy life, after all, and there may come times when you will need to give out more than one miraculous. And while I don't doubt her resiliance, wearing multiple miraculous is a draining experience that I am sure you would not want to put her through."
Kagami winced. That was a valid point, admittedly.
She was probably going to have to find additional people.
Chat Noir looked at Tentōchū, or whoever she was supposed to be now that she was also wearing the Turtle miraculous, and raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing," he answered, his voice teasing. "But if you ever need a wingman, you know where to find me."
She turned bright red. "I...I'm not...shut up."
They were interrupted from their conversation by a very determined looking fox/bee hero landing on the ground beside them, looking over at the two of them with fire in her eyes.
"Let's take him down," she stated firmly, and Chat Noir and Tentōchū grinned with almost frightening intensity at the prospect.
Hawk Moth was going down.
"Which one this time?" Marinette asked, when Tentōchū landed by her.
"...Gonna try and justify this one?" she asked, a little close to laughing, and Tentōchū flushed a little before shoving the box into her hands.
"It's perfect for you, let's just go."
Marinette found Tentōchū wasn't exactly wrong. The Snake miraculous would probably be better for someone a bit more patient than her, but Marinette had always tended to plan everything and having a miraculous that allowed her to see where every plan went wrong and fix what was broken was a decent match, and so it only took a few runs to figure out how to beat Desperada.
Still, it was getting a little ridiculous, wasn't it?
"Horse miraculous," Tentōchū answered, sounding exhausted as she shoved the box in Marinette's hands. "Teleportation. Have fun."
Adrien watched the scene with huge eyes, completely disbelieving as their auxillary hero's plan, a completely crazy one at that, went off without a hitch.
He wished Plagg was there, so he could talk about just how insane and ridiculous Tentōchū's crush was.
Mostly though, he was tired, because of course Tentōchū agreed to a plan that required she give every single miraculous to the same girl. At the same time. Of course.
"Tentōchū, you gay disaster," he muttered, shaking his head.
"Are...are you okay?" Marinette asked, when Tentōchū appeared. She was still panicking a little at Kagami disappearing, though the panic subsided a bit at just how messed up Tentōchū looked in that moment.
"No," she answered, holding out a box. "This is the dragon miraculous. I...I don't think I can do this one without you."
And Marinette didn't ask, simply nodded and took the box.
Kagami had a scowl on her face as Bunnyx and Alix talked to each other, and Chat Noir didn't help by sliding up to her with a grin on his face.
"Are you mad that you finally had to pick someone who wasn't your girlfriend?" he asked teasingly, before hissing in pain when she punched his arm.
"It's a bootstrap paradox, so I don't have a choice," she muttered with irritation. "I'd have liked to actually pick her."
He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Hey, Alix is perfect for it, okay? She's smart, fast, and she will absolutely go to town on a mother f-er."
"You know you can curse in front of me."
"Nah, it'll ruin my friendly neighborhood Chat Noir vibe!"
She rolled her eyes goodnaturedly, and allowed a small smile to reach her face.
"Just think of this as your crush getting a well-deserved break," Chat Noir suggested. "She does a great job with whatever you give her, but she can't always be available for us. Let Alix prove she can handle this."
Kagami sighed. Chat Noir had a point, and she knew Marinette was busy babysitting today anyway, and that Lila was stressing her out lately. Giving her a break was the least Kagami could do.
And Chat Noir was right. Alix proved herself capable.
"Oh, more people!" Marinette said excitedly as she dropped beside the new horse and monkey heroes. "Hi, I'm Naja! I'm guessing Tentōchū finally decided to recruit other people then?"
"Tentōchū didn't recruit me," the horse hero said, confused.
"Me neither," added the monkey hero. "I found it in the pool."
Marinette sighed. She should have figured. "Oh well. Your kwamis explained your powers then, right? We should be all good to go!"
Having a full team was interesting at least, and Chat Noir and Marinette both looked pointedly at Tentōchū until she admitted that they had been incredibly helpful.
She was getting there. Marinette had just as much faith in her as she seemed to have in Marinette.
Chat Noir rammed right into Tentōchū, racing across the rooftops, and immediately took a stance.
"You don't like me right?!" He shouted, a bit panicked, and Tentōchū blinked.
"We're...we're friends?" she answered awkwardly, and Chat Noir immediately relaxed. "What's going on?"
"There's a fake you who keeps flirting with me," Chat Noir explained, and Tentōchū immediately cringed. "I know! It's weird and kinda gross and you are so obviously gay for whatever name we're supposed to call your girlfriend-"
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"-and I haven't flirted with you since Stoneheart anyway because you said it made you uncomfortable!" Chat Noir was now rambling. "And also you don't flirt, because you worry about being awkward about it, so you show affection by telling people how competent they are and-"
She finally put a hand over his mouth, an exasperated look on her face. "You don't have to confirm who you are to me, Chat Noir."
He let out a mumbled "Sorry."
She sighed. "As if today wasn't bad enough. Alright, we need to go track down the imposter and handle this quickly. I have something I need to get to."
Chat Noir nodded, and she released him, and the two of them raced off to handle the fake Tentōchū.
She jumped, blinking with surprise at seeing Tentōchū there, sitting on the railing of her balcony.
"Oh...do you need me for anything?"
Tentōchū shook her head. "I just...I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Marinette gave a fake smile, answering, "It's fine. Just...just fine."
But the dubious look on Tentōchū's face told her that she didn't buy it.
"It doesn't have to be okay," Tentōchū told her. "You don't have to be okay all the time."
And Marinette looked at her, blinking back tears. "I...I can't. I...he nearly got me, today. He nearly got me, and how can I risk the chance of him getting to me again? I can't. Not now."
She reached up a hand to wipe her face, but Tentōchū took it, holding it in her hands and looking at Marinette with a determined expression.
"I'm here," she promised. "I won't let him touch you."
And Marinette let out a choked sob at that, finally allowing herself to break.
The next day at school, Kagami met Adrien's eyes in a dead stare before walking over to Marinette, asking, "Would you like to have lunch together?"
And Marinette grinned. "Of course. Oh, we can go get some juice if you want? We haven't gotten to since the games awhile back!"
Adrien gave Kagami a cheerful thumbs up from behind Marinette, and Kagami couldn't help but smile as she answered, "I'd like that."
She didn't think Marinette knew just how incredible she was, but Kagami would do all she could, in or out of costume, to show Marinette how much she was appreciated.
