This one was hard to think about how to represent, but I figured Adrien freaking out over his crush and Marinette showing Adrien’s more reserved side would work!
Someone Shot Our Innocence- Adrinette Month Day Twenty
She pulled away from the blonde, and gave a large, false smile. “Ahem. Sorry, Chlo, but I have to get out of here. I’ve been entirely traumatized by that horrible Agreste, and I need to go home and lie down! But hey, send me the project later, and I might look it over. Cover for me or else. Kisses!” Marinette tossed her hair, turning to leave the classroom. Honestly, some people were just too pathetic to bother with. Chloe was one of them.
She strode out, into the daylight. She knew she’d get in trouble if her parents found out she’d cut school, but that little do-gooder would never tell on her, would she?
“I might cancel your birthday party for this,” she heard a voice say… Mr. Agreste? “I thought I raised you better than this.”
“Great. I’ll just sneak out and you know it, old man.”
Was… was that Adrien’s voice? Huh. She’d never heard him so… furious. Where were they?
“Then I’ll lock you in your room. I don’t like doing this, I hope you know that. As a parent though, I can’t let you think it’s okay to treat people like that.”
“Yeah, and I can’t wait until I’m eighteen and you can’t legally keep me in Paris anymore!”
The car. The voices were coming from the car. Wait, was it Adrien’s birthday? How… interesting. This could be a chance to cause chaos… AND annoy Gabriel Agreste. Anyone who her kitty didn’t like, she’d always be up to piss off.
So it was settled. She’d break into the manor, and throw Adrien the party of the century. A party that, knowing her, and knowing that brat of a boy, nobody would ever forget.
…
Adrien sat in his room, bored and annoyed, when a girl dressed in black and white broke through his window, shattering glass all over the floor. She brushed herself off, smirking, and looked up, eyes widening when she noticed him watching her.
“Shit. This is your room, isn’t it?” Miss Fortune asked, looking thoroughly disappointed.
He nodded slowly. This girl… honestly, she was already obsessed with Blanc. With his luck, she’d be a fan of “Adrien” too. “If you’re here to screw me- in any way- I suggest you leave.”
She laughed, tapping his nose. “As refreshing as that is to hear from you, I just came to wish you a happy birthday. And I was going to surprise you… but I suppose you can be let in on the trick. Basically, I’m going to kidnap some of your classmates, and tie up your dad, so you can have your pathetic little party. Won’t that be nice?”
He tilts his head, reading her expression. There's no love there, or infatuation, like he sees constantly when transformed. Just... a kind of guilt. A subtle pinch at the corners of her eyes, a falter in her smile, something somebody who didn't know her wouldn't pick up on... What did she do?
"Explain. Now," he commands, using the voice just a hint lower and a touch softer than usual, the voice he uses to tell her that she had best be very careful with her next answer. She cringes reflexively, before blinking at him in confusion. "Well?"
"I... I mean, your dad's a dick. And I may have some responsibility partially a little bit for the way he blew up at you, so... I'm trying to fix that?"
He thinks for just a moment, before nodding. "Carry on with it. Kidnap them, and make the old man suffer a bit."
The grin on her face is astounding, almost beautiful, as she leaves, spinning that yo-yo of hers.
...
Nino isn't sure how he feels about being held hostage for his friend's birthday party.
On the one hand, supervillains kidnapped him. Well, one supervillain, he hasn't seen Blanc around.
On the other hand...
The party is pretty great. He's been chained to a DJ booth, and given unlimited tracks to play, not to mention Alya leaning over the table, and damn, that girl... she can lean over a table really, really well.
Still. The kidnapping bit is... awkward.
Miss Fortune also happens to be currently taunting the birthday boy, who seems very unamused by all this as he sips from a cup of something that is definitely alcoholic.
"It's a great party, yeah," Adrien admits. "But where's Marinette?"
"Couldn't get her," Fortune shrugs. "She punched me in the face."
Nino wonders why Fortune's nose isn't broken... Honestly, the party isn't something he's loving, what with the whole being-chained-up thing.
"What's the matter?" Alya asks. "I mean... other than the fact that we're probably all going to die unless Blanc comes to reign in his psycho, or the butterfly dude sends one of his Champions."
"Other than that?" Nino arches an eyebrow. "Damn, you're hard to piss off... unless it's me."
She shrugs, and... wait. Is that a butterfly?
Flying towards him?!
"Aw, shit, nonono, I am not a hero, you're making a mistake-"
The butterfly does not seem to care, flying into his cuffs, and breaking him out.
"Can you take on the forces of evil, my stray child?" the voice whispers to him.
Nino sighs. "You've got the wrong guy..."
"Nino Lahiffe."
"Damn. Okay, you've got the right guy. As long as it doesn't wreck the party, sure..."
...
Adrien groans, looking up as Freedom Fighter appears, blasting away the cages and chains the party was made of. "Do I actually have to fight on my birthday?"
Fortune glances at him. "I'm getting my kitty. We'll take care of this." She zooms off, leaving Adrien to slide inside, rolling his eyes, and mutter, almost to himself. "Transform me already..."
Today’s prompt is personality swap. Wasn’t sure how to draw it... so I did a little change up to parts of the Origins for a basic understand of how a personality swap!AU would work. Also, read the notes after the story for further ideas into this universe.
Oh, and for those who follow my *ahem* blog, I have posted another part to Nothing Else Matters.
Rating: K
Genre: Fluff
Pairing(s): Adrinette
Summary: Just a simple idea for Personality Swap Prompt.
Warning: No warnings... though, no offense to Chloé fans. There is still room for redemption in this swap idea of course! I just didn’t write that far.
Adrien expected her to yell at him, glare, or turn a cold shoulder, but she didn’t do any of those things.
And something about that made it all worse.
No one said anything as she picked at the chewed gum wad on her chair, gave up on removing it, and just covered it with a tissue. Standing up, she briefly flashed him a defeated smile. “That was… a good prank. I guess Chloé helped you with it?”
Behind him, he did hear Chloé and her friend Sabrina laughing, and it burned him. Here, he had been ready to make new friends in this class – his first public school class – and he knew he already messed up. That had not been a prank, and he had not done it; and there was no way he would’ve ever done anything like the rather meek girl now slowly sitting down beside the covered piece of gum with her head bowed. He even opened his mouth to try and explain himself, but he was stopped by a hand and leering amber eyes. If looks could kill, he was sure the ombré-haired girl would’ve had him drop then and there, and no one would report it.
He decided to not take his chances and backed down, returning to his seat besides the boy with the bright red baseball cap, ignoring how he had observed with a hand clutching his headphones.
“See? It’s that easy to make a friend, Adridear.”
Shooting a look back at his friend – he was really questioning that right now – he couldn’t say anything else as their teacher began to speak: Mme. Bustier who would be their Literature and Homeroom teacher.
“Why didn’t you say Chloé did it?”
Blinking, his wide green eyes turned to meet the curious honey eyes of the boy who had earlier scoffed at his attempts to greet him. Considering his attitude before, Adrien didn’t know about giving him an answer – but mother had taught him to give people a chance. He sighed, “I wanted to, but… I froze up. I know, that’s no excuse, but she just looked… so sad. Did I disappoint her?”
“Dunno. Marinette’s always been picked on so that’s just kinda her default expression. Like, she’s super nice, but she doesn’t really stand up for herself.” The boy’s explanation had Adrien looking across the way at the pigtailed girl again, and briefly, he caught her eyes. He’d never seen a shade like them before, but they still seemed so dull and listless. Despite that, she still bothered to give him a weak smile, one that – before the more naturally sun-loved girl beside her forced her to look away – made him wonder what a truly happy smile would look like upon her face.
“Anyway, sorry about earlier…”
Turning back, the boy was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I thought you’d be more like Chloé since you’re friends with her. Shouldn’t have judged you like that so… think we can start again and be friends?” The hand lowering from his neck, he extended the other with a smile. Adrien stared, shocked, but then grinned himself. He accepted the hand and shook.
“I’m Adrien.”
“Nino. Let’s get you on the path of righteousness, friend.”
The ‘path of righteousness’, as Nino put it, took a few more days.
Properly reacquainting himself with everyone in class, saving the day with the Miraculous Ladybug, and finally making things right with Alya, there was still something else he had to do. And it had already begun that day he stood up to Chloé before class. Everyone had been surprised, and he had surprised himself too, but he walked in and saw it happened.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng…
There was a story behind her – one that had to be between her and Chloé. It was just in the way his blonde friend had been berating her and trying to get the more timid girl to move from the seat behind him, where she already had her backpack firmly planted on the desk, he believed it just made him snap. Marinette was not a girl deserving of the constant verbal harassment and in her attempts to actually stand up for herself, her sweet-natured will began to waver. Perhaps because it was just a seat, but Nino suggested to him that Marinette always sat there; that it was probably a safe space for her.
So, he snapped.
Nobody said anything.
The tension was so thick that he was almost ill.
Without a word though, her crystal blue eyes narrowing at Marinette however, Chloé marched to the seat in the front row with Sabrina joining her. There were scathing eyes drawn from the other students in class, all of them following her, but he almost wanted to yell at them too. Why didn’t they stand up for Marinette? Was there something that he just didn’t understand?
In that moment, he turned to sit down, but caught the very girl he defended looking at him. Her usual dull bluebell gaze was actually a little brighter. And just like with the gum, he choked before he could make any amends for said incident, dropping into his seat just before the teacher walked in.
“Dude…”
“Don’t say it, Nino.”
“What? The part where you forgot to apologize again, or that you’re totally in love?”
Adrien’s head hurt for the remainder of the day. He probably shouldn’t have banged it against the desk. And because of it, he only registered the fact it actually started raining once the final bell rang. Nathalie had fortunately kept him informed of the weather that morning so he did bring an umbrella…
… He didn’t expect to encounter Marinette waiting for the rain to lighten up at the entryway.
“Hey!” Beaming, he raised a hand, but she quickly dropped her eyes to the ground. His hand fell and his brows pressed. It was disappointing, but if she didn’t want to talk to him, that was fine. Turning ahead, he noticed the car parked at the curb and waiting for him. With a soft click, his umbrella opened and he took a step forward.
“… You didn’t have to do that… in class today, I mean.”
Pausing, he oddly felt his heart skip at hearing her speak, and he looked back at her. She still kept her head trained to the ground, but her eyes peeked from beneath dark bangs, her pale fingers twisting the handle of her bag. It just made her look so small, but someone like her, Adrien was sure she could be incredible.
“I didn’t… but I wanted to,” he replied. That answer made her look up, and again for a second, he saw a light twinkling in her stare. “This doesn’t make up for the first day we met… I really wanted to get that gum off your chair, but you came in and… I panicked a little. I’ve never been to school so making friends like this is still a little new to me. But, could we start again?”
The car wasn’t that far away from him, and without knowing where Marinette lived… he decided to hold out his umbrella to her. Her eyes grew bigger, flitting from his face to his hand, and then back. Her shoulders were still curled forward, but he noticed them loosen and she actually stood up a little straighter.
Finally, after a second holding his breath, her hand rose, fingers curling in initial hesitation as she reached out to accept his offer. Her skin was surprisingly warm, he noted, as he opened his fingers and passed the umbrella to her, and again, his heart gave a startling thump. She continued to look him over, but they both jumped when the umbrella abruptly snapped shut. He was startled… but then, he heard the most amazing sound.
Marinette was reopening the umbrella and laughing. Heat flushed his face at how her mouth was opened in a full laugh and her eyes just seemed to glow. It was infectious, and he couldn’t help but laugh along with her. When they both calmed, she was still smiling, and her eyes were so clear and bright. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Adrien?”
He couldn’t breathe.
“… Y-Yeah, I see tomor… no, wait we meet—see you when...” Why was he getting all tongue tied? Biting his lip briefly, he managed to nod, “T-Tomorrow!”
Clapping a hand over his mouth, he sprinted to the car, Plagg laughing all the way.
Notes:
This is just personality swap, not kwami swap.
Marinette and Ladybug really seem like two different people to everyone. However, Adrien/Chat Noir is pretty aware that she’s putting on an act.
Yes, Marinette is the one trying to emulate what a hero should be mainly from video games she’s played. She still is pretty clever, and Adrien is very patient. They do everything to make sure the day is saved.
As mentioned, Marinette is very kind and patient with everyone, even Chloé, and doesn’t really defend herself from being bullied. She is always very sad because of this. Class is pretty unhelpful (seriously guys?? Doing nothing in the Origins episode basically)
Still very talented designer.
However, in Mr. Pigeon, Chloé almost gets away with stealing Marinette’s design. Adrien notices Marinette’s signature and speaks up for her.
Adrien is a confident little nugget and eager to make friends. Makes all the friends pretty easily. Can be stubborn and maybe too overconfident. He is also not so very naive.
Chloé is jealous.
Really, she’s just lonely because they’re growing apart, but her attempts are making him distant.
Marinette requires more confidence building and slowly gets better. Still has too trusting of moments (IE Volpina, Adrien catches onto Lila’s lies)
She still tries to befriend Chloé despite everything.
Nino is still awesome dude friend
Alya is very protective
Seriously
She was ready to knock Adrien out
Of course, there’s something very cliché about Adrien being the outgoing one to Marinette being a shrinking violet, but that’s probably because it’s a common trope.
