For @a-marlene-s and the contest, for the prompt: Runaway
A Harry Potter-based Miraculous Ladybug AU. With roommates.
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Marinette was a big believer in luck. She came by it honestly, as there was something of a family belief regarding the unknown force that impacted their lives.
Her Uncle’s luck helped him work his way to becoming a world famous chef.
Her Mother’s luck led her to her husband.
Marinette’s luck gained her a strange roommate and his equally strange cat.
...If there really was a universal force directing fortune as her family believed, she had some questions for it.
It was just Marinette’s luck that the day she met Adrien, she was in the market for a new roommate. She had been sharing her flat for the last five years with her best friend, Alya, and they got along well. But Alya had a boyfriend and they had recently chosen to take the next step in their relationship and get a place together. Marinette understood, of course, but it still left her now as the sole resident of a flat that was outside of her budget and forced to choose to give it up or find some other way to make ends meet that wouldn’t involve giving up food and end up causing Alya and Tikki to stage an intervention.
The choice should be obvious, but Marinette loved her flat and was loathe to leave it. Sadly, she had only been able to afford it previously because she had shared expenses with Alya. On her own, it was more costly than she could afford and more room than she really needed.
But oh...what other place had an extended balcony that was perfect for a garden? Or such wide windows that were positioned to let in light but avoid the sun’s glare? Or had a built in desk and a space she could use as a crafting nook?
She was already having to say goodbye to Alya, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her home, too.
But it seemed that Luck pulled through for her, albeit in a rather...unusual way.
When the blond cinnamon roll appeared in her bakery, looking so lost and confused with no idea what to do or where to go, and nothing with him but a suitcase and an equally unhappy cat...she hadn’t known what to think of him.
Well, that’s not quite right. Her immediate thought had been to take the poor boy in and hug him until he stopped being sad.
Then he tried to pay for a single croissant with an overabundance of a strange type of coin. And it became clear that the man was very much not from around here. And had no idea how money worked.
Or how anything worked apparently, given his multitude of strange reactions to things.
Admittedly, she had been a bit hasty in her offer of letting him stay with her. After all, inviting a complete stranger to live with you was...generally not the brightest idea. If anything, it was usually the setup to a horror movie. But Marinette still went through with it anyway.
To this day, she still didn’t know what made her do it. Desperation, perhaps? Attributing it to her luck and not wanting to let an opportunity pass her? Or maybe it was the way something about him had drawn her in...
Regardless, he had no place to go. And she had a place he could use. It seemed like a mutually beneficial arrangement.
She just hadn’t realized just how lost Adrien was when they first met and introduced themselves to each other. Not until after he first moved in and it became abundantly clear how unfamiliar he was with...well...everything. It was no wonder he had been so overwhelmed when she first met him.
She couldn’t help but want to help him.
She just hadn’t realized what all that would entail...
____________
“Marinette! What is THAT?!”
“That’s the microwave.”
“WHY IS IT BEEPING? ARE WE GONNA DIE?”
“No, Adrien, it’s just popcorn.”
“What are these words?!”
“Do you really not have popcorn in the country?”
“Why is the bag big now? Is it magic? Are you magic? Because—”
She just shoved a couple of the popcorn pieces in his mouth at that.
_____________
"Wait, you mean you don't know how to use a washing machine?"
He shrunk in on himself. "No."
She blinked in surprise. She could have sworn…
“But...then how have you been washing your clothes?"
A long pause.
He simpered. “Can I choose not to answer that?"
She sighed.
_____________
“Marinette! Your morning wake-up box is beeping. You need to get up.”
She mumbled and turned away from Adrien and the offending noise.
He frowned. “Marinette, it won’t turn off unless you do the thing.”
She pulled a pillow over her head and continued to ignore him.
Undeterred, he approached her bed. Against better judgement, he poked at her to get her attention.
“Mari—”
A hand suddenly made contact with his face. In an all too similar manner to how she would normally try to subdue the ringing wake-up box.
It would take two days worth of apologies and make up gifts of hot chocolate and pastries for him to forgive her.
_____________
She frowned, looking at an expanse of wall and empty space on one side of the den.
“That’s weird…didn’t we have something here before?”
Adrien stilled at that.
“No.” He answered tersely.
“I could swear there was something.”
“Nope.”
She tilted her head, thinking. “I thought this flat had a fireplace? Didn’t we use it sometimes?” She could have sworn...
“You must be imagining things.” Adrien told her, taking hold of her shoulders and trying to guide her to the couch on the other side. “There hasn’t been anything there since I moved in.”
“Oh. Maybe it was a shelf or something Alya took with her.”
“That must be it.”
“Hmm…maybe we could set up a television there…”
“Yeah, sure.” He replied automatically as he drew her away from the area.
So caught up in her thoughts, she never noticed the dirty glare Adrien shot towards the now blank wall.
_____________
She had thought the introduction to television would be the biggest thing.
And she was right.
“What is THAT?” He asked in wonder, staring in shock at rectangular box with moving images inside.
“It’s a television.” She explained, gesturing to the screen as Romero confessed his love to Julia in the Spanish soap opera her cable had somehow allowed her access to.
She bit back a laugh when Adrien attempted to touch the screen. “Are they stuck in there?”
Omg, he was so adorable.
“What? No! It’s…well…it can play sounds and images from somewhere else. Things that were pre-recorded and are replayed for entertainment.”
He perked up at that. “Like a radio?”
Okay, good. So wherever he was from, he wasn’t THAT far behind on technology. Only early 1920’s instead of the nineteenth century like she’d feared.
“Yes! It’s just people pretending.”
“Oh.” He sighed, still enraptured by the TV.
“Yeah, and there are all different types of shows and movies. Different genres and different styles.”
“Styles?” He asked, finally tearing his eyes from the television to look at her.
“Sure. There’s live action, CGI, animation—”
He blinked. “Animation?”
“Yeah, like cartoons and anime.” She frowned, considering. “Actually, I think there’s…what channel was it on again?” She used the remote to flip through channels until she reached one particular network that was currently playing some anime she vaguely recalled.
Adrien gasped, his eyes even wider than she had previously thought possible. And there was a particular shine to them as he stared at the TV like it was the holy grail. He barely noticed Marinette anymore, now standing in front of the TV and completely enthralled.
Marinette chuckled softly to herself as she lightly took his arm and pulled him back so they both sat back on the couch. Adrien let her, his gaze never straying from the screen as the teen magical girl protagonist transformed to fight the monster of the day.
That was the day Adrien was first introduced to anime.
It was also the day Marinette inadvertently created an otaku.
_____________
One day, he had called her in a panic while she had been at work.
“Adrien?! What’s going on?” She asked.
“It…this thing just came out and it’s crawling the floor! IT ATE PLAGG!”
She balked. “WHAT?”
“He tried to attack it and—wait. Plagg? You’re alive! What are you…NO WAIT PLAGG, NO!”
Marinette had practically thrown her apron to Tikki and rushed home. Within minutes, she had reached the flat and slammed the door open to what could only be chaos.
Or at least the sort of chaos that comes with Adrien huddled with his legs held up on the couch and glaring in betrayal as Plagg proudly sat atop the Roomba that was still making its way across the floor.
And…
Yeah, Marinette couldn’t.
She just couldn’t.
It took a good five minutes for her to stop laughing.
Adrien pouted the whole time, muttering about traitorous cats and roommates.
And Plagg continued to ride the Roomba. Looking for all purposes like a king, even when it knocked into the counter at one point and an empty can of Camembert fell on his head.
Marinette just laughed harder.
_____________
She had slowly been introducing Adrien to the world. Bit by bit. One lesson at a time. And with each day that passed, he seemed to become more comfortable with her and the world at large. And while he never said much about his life before, what he did say (and what he didn’t) was more than enough to paint a picture. One that Marinette didn’t like and made her silently swear to herself she would be having WORDS with his family if she ever met them.
But Adrien had been getting better. Happier. More outgoing as time passed.
He had even gotten a job at the coffee shop as a barista. Which was kind of amazing, to be honest. He didn’t know anything about coffee, but he seemed skilled at mixing things. When she had asked, he made a comment about “potions” being his best class.
Funny guy. Though she wasn’t sure she understood the joke.
There was also just…something about him that seemed to draw people in. Whenever he was working the register (after he had finally learned how to work the machine and count money, and wasn’t THAT an experience in itself?), the number of customers seemed to grow exponentially compared to other days. It just didn’t make sense. Adrien just smiled and said it was part of his charm.
Another joke she didn’t understand.
Tikki seemed to get it though. Her friend was also a bit weird, but she and Adrien seemed to get along rather well. It was like they shared a bond of some sort.
To be honest, Marinette was a little jealous.
But she was happy for him. He was really growing over the months they spent together. Wherever he came from, it didn’t seem to be the healthiest place. Adrien certainly never wanted to talk about it, so the best she had to go on were his behaviors and conjecture.
He seemed happy, at any rate. He was able to leave the apartment now. He was making friends, and seemed to be getting rather popular even. He had a job—not that he seemed to need it given how much money he had…even if he had no idea how to use it.
Who tried to pay for a pastry in gold coins anyway?
Ah well. It didn’t matter.
Whatever happened, he was her weird roommate.
And she wouldn’t have him any other way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adrien liked his “roomie”. Marinette was…nice. She was patient and took the time to explain things when he didn’t understand. She didn’t yell at him for making a mess—which he did…often. She smelled like cookies.
And most importantly, she didn’t ask questions.
Oh sure, she gave him weird looks fairly regularly. And she was clearly confused by his lack of knowledge about things that were normal to her. But she never ridiculed him for it. If anything, she was teaching him, and he had to thank her for it—especially for anime. Because this? This was awesome!
She was the best roommate he could have asked for.
Even if she was a Muggle.
He shouldn’t be with her. Or here at all. How could things have possibly worked out this way? Or even half as well as they have?
Adrien Agreste was a Wizard. The son of Gabriel Agreste, a high-ranking official of the French Ministry and personal friend of the French Minister of Magic. He came from a long line of powerful Wizards and no blood pollution.
At least…not until his mother, whom had been a half-Veela.
Gabriel hadn’t known at the time when he chose to pursue her. And it remained questionable to this day whether it had been her Veela charm that had driven him to her in the first place. But he had been furious when he had realized it, and it was considered a dark mark on the family line.
Maybe that was why she was gone? It was certainly why Gabriel had kept Adrien isolated for most of his life. At least until Beauxbatons. But even there, things had been…stifling.
A private room. His classes carefully chosen for him. Personal tutors. And his interactions with other students were kept limited to avoid anyone falling under his charm. But even then, his heritage gave him an aura of some sort. One that made people in awe of him, but only further increased the distance between him and everyone else.
Sure, Chloe was there, and she had been his childhood friend, but the Minister’s daughter did not endear herself to anyone. And when it became known he was her friend, it hadn’t helped matters.
It was little wonder that a number of the other students avoided him.
Other than ones who wanted to use him.
Like Lila Rossi.
He hadn’t known what to think of the girl. She was popular enough, sure. But her stories rang false to him and she tended to treat people around her like helpers rather than friends. He knew from the start that there was something about her that was untrustworthy.
Lila…had an unusual interest in him. One he didn’t like. It made him uncomfortable.
And yet somehow, she wormed her way into his father’s good graces. So much so that of all people, Gabriel had decided to arrange a marriage for Adrien to her. Because of course it just made sense for the two to get together.
Not that Adrien’s opinion had ever been consulted on the matter.
Gabriel was nothing if not stubborn though. Once he had set his mind on something, that was it. Adrien had never won an argument against him. And he knew he wouldn’t win here either. Even when it was his own future on the line. Even when it was his life being decided for him.
So he ran.
It was quite possibly both the best and worst decision of his life.
He had been completely lost and overwhelmed at first. And almost immediately questioned his sanity. But he just couldn’t let himself back down on on this one. Sure, his father had always been somewhat overprotective of him and controlling of his life. And he had been fine with it. Mostly. Kind of. Not really.
But an arranged marriage was just…too much? He ended up gathering his more important belongings into his trunk and taking off with Plagg before he had even realized what he was doing.
Adrien had kicked himself afterwards. He had always given in to his father’s orders before and it turned out…well, not “fine”, but all right, at least. Surely…surely this wasn’t that big of a deal right? That his father was selecting his wife for him? That his future would be set in stone before he even really had a chance to figure it out for himself.
He was an adult now. Surely…he could choose what he wanted to do, right?
Well, he was an adult, sure, but he knew nothing about the world. And especially not the Muggle world, where he had escaped to in a rash bit of insight. Because surely his father would never think to look for him there? His father didn’t know anything about the Muggle world, after all.
Except then Adrien had realized all too late that he hadn’t even known anything about Muggles, either. His father wouldn’t let him take the Muggle Studies class, so he knew nothing about what they were like or how to fit in. He had money on him, of course, but what currency did Muggles use? How did he convert it? Where could he even look to for a place to stay?
Within two hours, he was regretting everything. He was debating giving in to his fate when Plagg had seemed to get an interest in something and ran off, resulting in a chase that led Adrien to a quaint little coffee shop.
If nothing else, he could take a break here and regain his bearings.
But…
Everything had smelled so wonderful. And the pastries looked heavenly. He had known it was a bad idea, but…well, maybe they could accept Galleons here?
How many Galleons were one of these pastries worth?
Well, a dozen should be enough, right?
The strange look that the girl gave him only made him want to duck his head in shame.
It wasn’t enough, was it?
But as if she was proficient in Occlumency and could tell exactly what he was thinking, she instead took him aside and talked to him. And despite himself, he told his story.
Well…half of it.
A third?
A little, at least. Just enough to give the basics of what she needed to know.
And it turned out to be enough, as she made him an offer he’d had to have been a fool to refuse.
That was how he ended up sharing a home with a Muggle. A sweet and strong woman whom, for all of their differences and completely separate worlds, he had felt closer to than anyone he had known in the Wizarding world.
She didn’t understand where he came from. And he certainly couldn’t tell her. Wizarding laws and secrecy and all. But she was still trying to help in her own way. And he could tell her…some things, at least. About his feelings. About his wants. Things he had never been able to tell his father. Things his father had never cared to listen to.
But she listened. And she cared. And she offered shelter. For him and Plagg, regardless of how much a of a pain the cat could be.
He had his own room, sure. But it was a quarter of the size of the old one and somehow all the better for it. While bare at first, the walls were eventually covered in silly posters from his favorite anime. The shelves were filled with books and toys, little knick knacks that actually made him happy to see. Some things Marinette helped him picked out. A lot of which were just things he saw and wanted. All sorts of things he had never been able to get back…there.
And he wasn’t stuck in the room either. He could leave it whenever he wanted. Spend time in the living room and watch the “television” and feed his growing love of anime (once he had gotten rid of the fireplace because he wasn’t about to risk someone trying to get in through the Floo Network, even by accident). Play “video games” with Marinette. Go on the balcony and enjoy the sun. Even just go out into the city whenever he wanted.
It was…a truly marvelous experience for someone who had been isolated for so long.
He even had a job now, working at the very shop where he had met Marinette. He knew nothing about coffee or the machines, but Potions was his best class and one he enjoyed. Mixing and cooking things to create something new was a rather amazing thing. And while coffee weren’t potions, he had come to realize that certain things he had learned in his class could translate over. A difference of heat and changing the length of time the coffee was allowed to roast resulted in a different flavor. Though he did have to fight for the position with another coworker by the name of Tikki, a friend of Marinette’s whom she introduced him to.
And that was the other thing…
“You’re a Wizard, aren’t you?”
He had admittedly not expected to run into anyone from the Wizarding world at all. But the short red-head with twinkling blue eyes caught him off guard completely.
Even as she smiled sadly at him.
“Marinette doesn’t know, does she?”
Dumbly, he could only shake his head in response.
He hadn’t wanted to be discovered. Not by anyone.
It turned out to be for the best though. Tikki was a huge help in getting him more acclimated. She explained to him more about fitting in as a Muggle. She even led him to the nearest Wizarding Bank where he was finally able to change his Galleons to the correct currency.
As a Witch herself, he knew she wouldn’t reveal him. And it was nice…having someone else who knew, even if she didn’t know the full story. She was still in touch with the Wizarding world and could help him. Giving him news or updates, point him to the nearest hidden shops for anything he might need. And yes, even laugh with him over his latest failures.
“It’s not funny!” He pouted as Tikki was practically howling after hearing the latest story about King Plagg the Roomba Rider.
“Yes, it is! YES, IT IS!”
“I even have video.” Marinette added cheerfully, much to Tikki’s pleasure as both women proceeded to look at her cellphone and chortle over the recording. Adrien was simply ignored and left to sulk.
He would never live it down.
It had been months like this, and some embarrassment aside, he had thoroughly enjoyed it. All of it.
He even enjoyed working. Though he admittedly felt a little guilty that his Veela charm seemed to draw in customers to the point where there would often be a pretty long ling just to order coffee. But Marinette and the other workers just laughed it off.
He was…really starting to consider this home.
The coffee shop. The city. The flat.
Tikki.
Plagg.
Marinette.
Rooming with Marinette was probably the best thing to happen to him. He had been trying new things. Learning so much he hadn’t known previously. Seeing things. Doing things.
Living.
It was...nice. It was home. It was everything he wanted in a home. Even if he was banned from activating anything besides the television when Marinette wasn’t there.
He was ever grateful that Plagg had led him to her.
“We met up when this whole white butterfly nonsense started to compare notes at Ladybug’s place—“
"Wait, you’ve always known?!” Adrien spluttered. “And you didn’t tell me because…”
“I thought it would be funny,” Plagg shrugged as Adrien yowled softly in indignation. “It was too; watching you go to class with her, talk to her, spend literally hours with her in and out of costume and still lie awake at night, clutching your body pillow and pining after her like you had never met her before.”
“That was funny?!” Adrien stammered.
“It was funny,” Plagg shrugged. “Now it’s just annoying. It’s like watching someone try and unscrew a pickle jar for eleven months straight."
