Chapter Text
Marinette didn't really like waking up, she had honestly felt like that for a good few years but there wasn't anyway for her to really improve that point of time. Part of it had to do with the fact that she knew when she woke up, she'd have to get ready for class and go out into the world.
Unfortunately the world outside of her room didn't know who she even was. She pulled herself out of bed, her long hair everywhere like it normally was when she first arose from her slumber. She walked out of her room and into the bathroom of her apartment, doing the standard morning routine stuff such as shaving or brushing her teeth.
As the bristles of her toothbrush went around her mouth she thought about how, once again, she's thankful that there was an odd number of students and she didn't end up having to share this apartment with anyone else. Last thing she needed was a roommate who could potentially go inside her room and see all the clothes she didn't want anyone to see.
Finishing up, she went back to her room and began to get dressed. Pulling up her pastel pink pants, buttoning up her blouse that's left-stationed buttons drew attention from no one thankfully, and finally throwing on her dark gray hoodie all before she finished by brushing her hair and tying it back in the low ponytail she always wore it in with a pink tie that matched her pants. She threw on a little perfume once fully dressed.
With all that done, she grabbed her bag and slung it over one of her shoulders before slipping into her shoes. She then, taking a deep breath, opened the door to be greeted by her friend Alya.
"Remy! There you are." Alya greeted her, causing her to let out a mental sigh as this was going to be the first of many "Remys" she'd get today.
Nobody knew who she really was...
"Hey Alya..." Marinette said back with a light but dishonest smile "Do you gotta always wait outside my apartment?"
"We've been friends forever, boy." Alya said, the word "boy" stinging Marinette in ways her friend couldn't possibly know. "It'd be completely awful of me if I just went off to class without you, especially since we put in all that effort to make sure our schedules lined up and everything."
Marinette knew she was right, she and Alya had known each other since they were little kids and she is essentially the only friend "Remy" has always had. She had thought about telling Alya about herself multiple times over the years but every single time she talked herself out of it for one reason or another.
"Ummmm Remy? You good?" Alya questioned as she moved her hand up and down in front of her friend's eyes. Marinette blinked twice as she came back to reality, shaking her head a little as well.
"S-Sorry...got lost in thought." she answered with an awkward stutter hitching her voice. Alya chuckled as she crossed her arms and shook her head in that way she often did.
"Come on, let's start moving. I can tell you all the new stuff regarding Chat Noir on the way." Alya said to get the two moving towards the school building. As they walked, Alya went on and on about Chat Noir. This black and green cat-themed superhero that hops around Paris. Marinette honestly had no strong feelings regarding the guy, mainly cus she really didn't know him and the only time she thought about him was when Alya said stuff about him.
"If only I knew who he was..." Alya said.
"Everyone wants to know that, Alya." Marinette replied with a roll of her eyes and a sigh "He's only like THE talk of Paris, after all."
"Except for you." Alya responded back "You're too busy thinking about-" before she could finish that sentence, Marinette bumped into someone and fell backwards onto the stone floor.
"I'm sorry, Remy." a familiar voice said, Marinette looked up to see Adrien Agreste with his blone hair shimmering in the light of the daylight's sun. Marinette couldn't help but feel her face warm up. "I didn't see you there." he added as he extended a hand out to the dark-haired friend on the ground. Marinette speechlessly took his hand and was lifted back up to her feet.
"Y-Yeah, thanks..." she said wistfully, unable to even think straight when around him.
"I'd love to stay and chat but I'm meeting up with Nino before class." Adrien said with a charming smile on his face "Talk to you two later, okay?" he added before jogging off. Marinette lifted her hand to wave him away, she meant to also say something but her voice was stuck in her throat. It was only after Adrien had left that Alya made the choice to lightly elbow her friend to knock her back down to earth.
"Adrien." she said with a chuckle.
"W-What?" Marinette asked in a daze.
"You're too busy thinking about Adrien." Alya replied "You should tell him how you feel, he's like the nicest guy on campus."
"No....he wouldn't want someone like me." Marinette said with a sigh of defeat.
"I know I'm the only one who even knows you like guys but, come on, Adrien's not going to ruin your life if he knows." Alya tried to explain "Worst he can do is say he's not gay."
Marinette let out a sigh at this. She knew Alya didn't mean anything by it, she didn't even really know Marinette was Marinette let alone that she wasn't "gay". But still, it always stung when she talked about her like that. Alya took her friend's sigh as him just being exhausted as well as hesitant, to her that made sense.
"Hey Alya..." Marinette started.
"Yeah?" Alya said back. Marinette stood there thinking, contemplating if she should just rip the band-aid off and tell her best friend. Of course, like always, she didn't say anything and instead just let out a sigh before saying
"I've gotta do something real quick before class, mind going ahead of me?"
"No problem, bud." Alya said with a wink "I'll be where we always sit." with that, Marinette ran off mainly to just clear her head. Running into one of the buildings, specifically the same building the dining hall was in. She started making her way past it and towards the stairs, her plan being to just sit on the roof for a bit to clear her head. However her way up was interrupted by a certain woman intercepting her.
"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMYKINS!" her annoying voice stretched out that name in such an irritatingly elongated way that almost rubbed salt in the wound. Marinette let out an audible groan as she turned around to see none other than Chloe Bourgeois prancing over to her excitably. "Ooooooooh Remykins, I was hoping I'd see you before class!" the blonde's excited squealing drove Marinette up the wall but she really didn't have the heart to even get remotely snippy with Chloe.
"H-Hey Chloe." Marinette awkwardly stuttered out, getting herself a weird look from Chloe that communicated to her that she genuinely thought she was into her or something. Like somehow the stuttering was because she was just too flustered being in her presence or something. Marinette wasn't even sure if she liked girls like that, she really only knew that she liked Adrien but she did know that if she were to be interested in a girl, it wouldn't be Chloe Bourgeois of all people.
"You look nice today, super handsome." Chloe went on and on "I just know if we'd be the hottest couple on campus if we hooked up, I bet you already knew that though." she looked at "him" and gave a whiff of the orchid scent "his" body carried "You smell amazing too, is that a new cologne? Very exotic." she giggled as she spoke, making Marinette more and more uncomfortable with every passing second.
"I dunno, just something I picked up." Marinette lied, she knew exactly where she got the perfume she was wearing but couldn't say that otherwise Chloe may figure out it's women's perfume. I mean, there's the chance she doesn't dig into it due to how obsessed she is with "Remy" but she was not about to take that chance.
"Well, you certainly have a gift." Chloe complimented as she wrapped her arms around one of Marinette's "I should take you with me next time I go shopping, I've been in the mood for something truly unique in regards to scents." Marinette didn't even hate the idea of going shopping, maybe not with Chloe, but she knew she'd just get stuck gazing longingly at the outfits she couldn't buy while someone else was there. She had girl clothes back in her closet, hidden on the top shelf of course, but still there and she always felt good in them. She tried to find some solace in doodling outfits she'd love to have, which evolved into her designing her own outfits. At one point Nathaniel saw her drawing and they ended up talking for far too long about art stuff, such as what they used when drawing and what they often chose to sketch up.
"Hey Chloe?" Marinette asked, trying not to let her annoyance bleed through.
"Yes Remykins?" Chloe asked as she cut herself off.
"Can we talk later? I gotta do something before my next class, okay?"
"Oh..." the blonde said dumbfounded "Okie dokie then, I'll see you later!" and with that she skipped off with a wave of one of her hands and a wide smile on that flawless face of her's. Marinette hated how Chloe made her feel but it didn't matter now, she continued making her way upstairs and kept going until she found what she was looking for. What she was looking for, that is, was the door to the roof of this building that was always left unlocked by some custodian who didn't want to bother with the keys.
Marinette didn't really blame this hypothetical custodian, after all she was the only person who came up to this floor of this specific building. The dining hall is downstairs on the ground floor, for what reason would anyone normal need to come up four flights of stairs to get to a floor with nothing but a door to the roof that's supposed to be locked. Only reason she knew this door was open was because she came up here once looking for a family restroom that was only one room.
She went through the door and made sure to close it behind herself, this being the best route she had to avoid her favorite spot getting noticed and taken away via it being locked like it's supposed to be. She walked up one more set of steps before making it to the roof, she took in the air of France in the mid-day and let out a sigh. She imagined another life, another time, coming up here as a girl. She thought about taking a hypothetical boyfriend up here, who in her mind was Adrien, and hiding away here with him for hours. She let out another sigh, this time one of longing, and then sat down to look out across the campus.
She let out a sigh as she took in the view, knowing in a few minutes, she'd have to get back up and disrupt her peace to go to class. Looking out she saw familiar people down below, walking this way and that way across the campus grounds as they were unknowingly being gazed upon by her eyes. She loved moments like this, where she could just disappear from the world, remove herself from the equation, while still looking out and being able to see how people live...
Another sigh left her lips as she found herself lost in her thoughts, finding herself envying everyone she saw. How they could live their lives as who they were, with names that didn't feel so alien to themselves. She fantasized, as she often did, about what her life would've been like if she hadn't been born like this. This followed by another thought that often crossed her mind as she sat there, looking out, she wondered if she would be making the right choice if she did go for it.
She stood up and briefly thought about taking a few steps forward before a different thought crossed her mind. "No...." she muttered to herself "...I can't do that." she didn't want to think about how Alya would feel, or her parents, or anyone else for that matter. People did care about her, even if they didn't truly know her, and she felt guilt just thinking about doing something like that to them. Sadly these thoughts hit her a lot, as much as she didn't like feeling or thinking like this, it happened a bunch.
Accepting that she was going to live another day, she turned around and made her way back inside and then downstairs. She placed her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she walked back down. She could still make to class without being late, which was a good thing at least, so she chose to try and just push her internal feelings to the side. When she made it back to the ground floor, she took note that Chloe was missing and let out a sigh of relief before speed walking out of the building before her luck could change.
"Oof!" was the noise she made as she made contact with something or rather someone, falling backwards on her ass in response. "I'm sorry!" she let out on panicked instinct before even looking up, but when she did she realized it was Luka she had bumped into.
"I'm really sorry, Rem." the boy apologized as he offered a hand to his fallen friend who took it, being helped up by the guitarist back to her feet.
"O-Oh, it's nothing." she apologized "I-I was just, y'know, headed to class and I guess I wasn't...y'know..." trailing off at the end as she realized she was rambling and fumbling her words.
"It's fine, man." Luka said with a chuckle "You got Adrien in your next class?" he asked.
Marinette answered with a "Yeah, why?"
"Oh, it's not a big deal or anything." Luka said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a blank CD held in a jewel case "He wanted a copy of my demo and I haven't caught him today, you mind giving him this for me?" he asked as he extended his hand to her. She looked down to notice he had written "Luka's demo" on the disc in sharpie.
"Sure, I can do that." Marinette agreed as she took the CD and placed it in her bag before walking off.
"Catch you later!" Luka called out as she went off, jogging to her next class. Eventually she made it to the building and walked inside, deciding not to take the elevator today mainly due to already being behind. She made a b-line for the stairs to the second floor of the building and ran up there as quickly as she could before turning upon reaching the top and dashing down the hall without running too fast to avoid making too much noise before eventually reaching her class.
"Mr.Dupain-Cheng." Mrs.Bustier said the minute he walked in "Just in time." she added with a chuckle, clearly being playful and not trying to be too harsh. She groaned to herself mentally, hating how that "Mr" at the start felt like it echoed in her ears as she went over and sat down at her desk next to Alya.
"I started to think you wouldn't make it." Alya said with a smile as she looked over at her friend "What took you so long?" she asked.
"Eh, well....y'know." Marinette awkwardly answered "...I had some, well, stuff to take care of is all." she had no interest in telling the truth right now, this was not the time or place for that kind of thing. Instead she opened up her notebook and decided to lose herself in her thoughts as she began to idly draw as a therapy of sorts as the class carried on. She continued to half-listen to her professor's lecture as she continued to conceptualize various outfit ideas in her book, until eventually she found her thoughts getting away from her. Another drawing started like the others, a beautiful outfit of her design drawn on an idealized version of herself, but this time she drew herself in mid-dance with Adrien in a pretty handsome outfit of his own that paired with the one she had drawn herself in.
"-And that's all for today, everyone." Mrs.Bustier said at the end of an explanation which signaled for everyone to get up and start making their way out of the classroom. Marinette began putting her stuff away and noticed Luka's CD, eyes widening as she realized she completely forgot to give it to Adrien like she promised.
"Alya, I'm gonna meet up with you back at my place. Okay?" Marinette quickly said as she looked over at her best friend "There's a favor I gotta fulfill, sorry!" she continued as she stumbled out of the classroom into the hall, darting her head around to try and find Adrien. She saw him heading down the stairs and tried to make her way through the groups of students to catch up to him.
"Sorry."
"My bad."
"Apologies!"
She kept shooting out apologies as she tried to get through the crowd in an effort to not lose sight of Adrien, eventually making it to the stairs and sliding down the railing to reach the floor faster. Once there, she saw Adrien leave the building and went after him, thankful no one else was in the hallway. Outside, she noticed Adrien making his way into the town and followed behind, speed walking to try and catch up with him. Eventually she followed him into a store and lost him inside, the shelves stacked top to bottom with many many different types of objects. It was clearly an antique store, making her wonder why Adrien came in here but she was thankful there didn't seem to be any other way out so she knew she'd be able to get her promise done and over with here and now.
"Adrien?" Marinette asked with the intention of calling out but it came out as just a normal volume.
"Remy?" Adrien's voice called back in curious response, his head then poked out from behind one of the shelves and he then walked over to his friend. "What brings you here?" he asked.
"Oh ummm I-I promised Luka I'd, well, y'know-" Marinette stumbled over her words as she dug through her bag to pull out the CD. She held it out in front of Adrien and he glanced down at it before realizing what it was.
"Thanks Remy." Adrien said with a charming smile as he took the CD from her "You really followed me all the way here just to give me this?" he asked causing Marinette's eyes to widen in a panic as she realized she probably looked like a creep or something.
"Oh ummm well, I mean, you see-" Marinette fumbled her words as she tried to explain herself out of this corner she was now in.
"That's pretty cool of you." Adrien cut her off, surprising her with what he said "Looks like I know who I'm asking next time I need a favor, you're always dependable." he chuckle in that way that always made her heart swoon.
"Heh heh, well, that's me! Your dependable ol' buddy ol' pal." Marinette awkwardly chuckled out this sentence as she tried to ignore the feeling of a crimson blush painting her face as she spoke. Adrien let out another friendly laugh which Marinette complimented with her much more uncomfortable laugh.
"Well, I was just here to drop something off for my father before heading home. See you later, okay man?" Adrien said.
"Y-Yeah, see ya later." Marinette replied back with a wave that she wanted to be casual but was way to fast and panicked to be so, Adrien didn't notice of course and just waved back as he walked out and the ring of the door's bell signaled his exit. Marinette let out a sigh and fell to the ground out of breath, her rapid rushing after her crush catching up with her.
"I'm such a loser..." Marinette let out with a groan as she readjusted herself, sitting up and putting her back against one of the shelves "...Why am I so lame." she complained to no one in particular, slamming one of her fists against the ground which caused something on the top shelf behind her to finally fall and land on her head.
"OW!" Marinette yelped out in pain as she darted up to her feet while gripping her head in pain, she looked down at the floor and saw a box on the ground opened by the impact and two black earrings scattered out. "Oh crap, I hope I didn't break them..." she muttered to herself as she knelt down to pick them up and put them back in the box but as she held them in her hand, she felt this urge to wear them. "They're kinda cute, but I dunno if they'd fit me..." she said to herself to try and talk herself out of it, then they started to glow as they became red with black spots.
"They....changed color?" she questioned as she looked at them, even more curious than ever now. Against her better judgment, she began to place them on her ears one after another. After they were in place, she turned to the full body mirror in the store and walked over to see how she looked in them. She had to admit, she looked really cute with them and she already started picturing a cute Ladybug themed outfit to go alone with it.
"Oh yeah, I could put together something really cute with these. Like maybe a cute red blouse with spots on it to match." she said to herself, not noticing the pink glowing that began to enrapture her body as she lost herself in her thoughts. "But I wouldn't be able to find cute shoes in my size, I hate my feet...but at least the rest of it wouldn't be impossible." her thoughts went on for a bit as she calculated the best combination of clothing to make this outfit, eventually opening back up her eyes and they widened at the sight she saw on the mirror.
A mirror that now seemed taller than it was before.
In the mirror was a woman who looked kinda like her, her hair tied up into a set of two pigtails as opposed to the ponytail she normally wore it in. Her jawline became rounder and more heart-shaped while her eyes had changed from brown to blue. Said eyes wore a red domino mask with black spots on it. Her lips seemed slightly more plump than before and her body's shape had completely changed, going from the thin but masculine frame she normally had to a curvy build of wide hips, a trim waist, and expanded bust all accented by the black and red costume that now clung to her body. A black cape extended out from her shoulders with each shoulder having an armor-like pad with black spots on it. The shoulder pads resembled the shells of a ladybug and the toes of her new high-heeled knee high boots also had a similar spotted pattern.
Marinette, not knowing how else to respond to the sight, extended one of her hands out to touch the glass of the mirror and the girl in the mirror did the same. Her black glove clad hand meeting her own which confirmed that she was, in fact, looking at herself. These earrings, somehow, had turned her into this woman and she let out a scream that was a cocktail of excitement and shock in response to this realization hitting her with all the force of a semi-truck.
"HOLY CRAP!" she shouted in a panic as her hands started rushing over her new curves, trying to find any sign that this dream scenario was somehow not real and finding nothing but very real flesh which was now her own. "I-I-I'm a-a-a-a" she couldn't even believe it, her frequent fantasy was now looking at her straight in the face.
"Hello there!" A cutesy little voice cheered out from Marinette's right, she turned to see a floating little red creature with a trio of spots on her head. "I'm Tikki, what's your name?" upon being asked this, Marinette let out another scream of surprise and stumbled backwards on her new heels causing her to fall to the ground with her cape covering her head as a result.
"I'm sorry for startling you, ma'am." Tikki apologized, making Marinette smile at what she called her under that cape. She stumbled back up to her feet and moved the cape out of her way as she went back to looking at the creature in front of her.
"What are you...exactly?" Marinette asked trying not to sound rude as she asked what was undoubtedly a very rude question.
"Where are my manners, I am Tikki." Tikki introduced herself again.
"You said that." Marinette chimed in.
"I am a Kwami, a magical creature bound to Miraculous just like the ones you are wearing." the Kwami explained "We are created from the hearts of people like you, for example I am the Kwami of creation. This means the human bonded to my Miraculous, that's you by the way, gains powers like mine."
"....I have powers now?" Marinette asked hesitantly "Like what?"
"Well, creation." Tikki answered like it was obvious "It's kind of a big net of things but you'll learn as you go along, especially since right now we're needed elsewhere."
"Wait, what?" Marinette shouted in confusion and panic "Where is elsewhere, exactly?"
"Another Miraculous holder is currently in the midst of battle, we need to help them." Tikki explained.
"How do you know?" Marinette questioned.
"Because I can sense him." Tikki answered.
"Who is he?" Marinette replied
"The Kwami of Destruction, Plagg." Tikki answered "As for who has him, I have no idea but we need to help both of them. You'll know where to go, it's one of the perks of being in the Miraculous form."
"Okay....I'll help this time, but I have some serious questions when it's over." Marinette took her stance with a cross of her arms. She refused to let it show that she had trouble adjusting to her new chest with this action.
Across Paris, Tikki was right on the money as Chat Noir was currently engaged in a fight with a giant gargoyle monster. He leapt left and right to dodge each swing of one of the stone creature's massive arms.
"Damn, you're ugly AND stupid!" Chat Noir taunted "Do you have a single redeeming quality, you stone freak?" he smirked with confidence as he leapt upward in the air to dodge the slammed fist of his foe. The cat themed hero landed on the creature's back and pulled back his arm with his claws out, a green and black aura surrounding his fingers as he did so. Just as he was about to make contact with the stone skin of his opponent, it grabbed him off his back and threw him into the wall of a nearby building.
"Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" Chat Noir groaned out as his body peeled itself off the wall and he fell to the ground, as he lifted himself back up her notice a blur of red zip over him towards the gargoyle.
"What the fu-" Chat Noir began to say before he was cut off by a woman yelling "On your feet, kitty cat!".
He finally got a good look at her and realized she was cape-wearing red and black superhero zipping around this enemy with some type of super yo-yo or whatever. Whoever she was, she was amazing and he knew he couldn't let himself be shown up by her.
"Hey there, m'lady!" Chat Noir joked as she landed right next to him.
"Chat Noir, right?" she asked already knowing the answer, her expression making it clear she was serious and maybe even slightly annoyed for some reason.
"Ah, my reputation has yet to let me down." the black and green cat hero said with a cocky chuckle at the end to act as a vocal punctuation, spinning his pole like a show off.
"Now is REALLY not the time for jerking yourself off, buster." she complained.
"Meow, someone's snippy." he replied with a smirk "And what's your name, missy?"
"Ma-" Marinette almost said her name, her true name, but cut herself off before getting anything really out. "I'm-" she looks down at herself then back at him "Ladybug." she finally decided.
"Won't win any points for creativity, now will you." Chat Noir taunted right before he and her both had to jump in opposite directions to avoid being hit. "Rude much? We're TRYING to have a conversation here." the cat-themed hero joked at the monster.
"Do you know how to be serious AT ALL?!" Ladybug shouted out in annoyance.
"Do you know how to have fun at all?" Chat shot back "You're a superhero, little lady." his eyes glanced at her up and down "Well, I guess little isn't the right word for you." causing her to glare at him.
"No." Ladybug responded with a groan "The answer to my question is no. Look! I'm having a very stressful day and it's very weird and I'm only here because it's the right thing to do I think." just as she finished speaking, she had to duck to avoid a swing from the monster.
"Ah, so you're new to this." Chat assessed "Well, you're doing good for a newbie. Gotta thank the Miraculous for that one I guess." this comment made Ladybug's eyes widen, was the Miraculous enhancing her abilities? That'd explain why she had so much stamina and was able to move around so easily. She felt like an athlete or something, someone with experience in doing all this physical activity and with skill she knew she didn't have especially with her new body.
"Got any idea how to beat this thing, Chat?!" Ladybug probed her new partner for an answer as she wanted to get this over with as soon as she could "Anything at all, actually."
"Just one, but I need to get an opening." Chat answered and lifted one of his hands to show Ladybug his claws with their aura slithering around his fingers like snakes.
"Alright....what to do." Ladybug thought out loud, cupping her chin in her hand as she began to think. Eventually a lightbulb went off in her mind and she pulled out her yo-yo, smiling to herself as she knew what to do.
"Chat, follow my lead." she said before running forward, spinning the yo-yo before throwing it forward and wrapping it around the monster. Chat followed her lead, like she asked, and leapt over her and towards the foe.
"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir exclaimed loudly and with confidence, his claws making contact with the monster's forehead causing it to disintegrate from his touch. Ladybug pulled back her yo-yo and then put it back around her hips before turning to look at Chat Noir who brushed his palms against one another to signal another job well done.
"Well m'lady, I'm glad to not be the only superhero in Paris now." he said as he extended a hand to her, she gave him a look as if to remind him he just turned something into dust with that hand and he let out a lackadaisical chuckle at this. "Don't worry, it's not automatic." he reassured her, she rolled her eyes and shook his hand.
"So, Ladybug." he answered "How long have you had a Miraculous?"
"What time is it?" she replied as she crossed her arms and instinctively cocked her hips.
"Abooooout-" he turned to a clock then turned back to her "6:00 PM"
"Then 30 minutes." she answered, it was now his turn for his eyes to widen in surprise.
"Shit! That recent? That's crazy considering how good you were out there." he applauded her.
"I mean, I don't like to brag but it feels nice to know I'm a natural I guess." she said with a shrug right before she heard a beeping, noticing it coming from Chat Noir's hand. He followed her eyes down to his hand and then looked back at her.
"Damn, and just when I was starting to get to know you." he said with a smirk "Oh well, until next time!" and with that, he leapt off and left her alone on the street. She looked back down at her body, several thoughts and feelings still floating about in her head but she decided the first thing she needed to do was return home. She shot her yo-yo up towards one of the buildings and swung away.
Upon arriving home, she entered her apartment through her bedroom window like she had seen in several comic books before. Once there, she closed the window behind her as Tikki came back out of her earrings.
"Alright Tikki, you got some explaining to do." Ladybug said as she placed her hands on her hips sternly. "First of all, how do I turn this off?" she added as she motioned her hands up and down her body for emphasis. "Oh, that's easy." the Kwami answered "just say "spots off" to deactivate the transformation."
Ladybug looked at her body, knowing she had to but not really wanting to. She wished she could keep this body without also being stuck in the costume but, with a deep breath, she said "Spots Off" and the glow engulfed her body once more until she was once again back in her original body and clothes. Her thin masculine frame, her original jawline, she even returned back to her 6'' height. Tikki's eyes widened upon seeing Marinette's original body.
"I never got your name." Tikki asked, Marinette paused and thought on what to say. She didn't know if she should be honest or do what she always had to do when she introduced herself to someone new. This wasn't just a person, and she doubted this creature would out her but she wasn't sure if she even had the courage to say her true name. She still couldn't believe how easily she almost said it when introducing herself to Chat, it was like that body gave her a confidence she lacked normally.
"Are you....okay?" Tikki questioned as she floated a bit closer, genuinely seeming concerned for Marinette's well being. Marinette took a breath and said something she had never said outloud to anyone other than herself before.
"I'm Marinette." Marinette introduced herself.
"Marinette, huh?" Tikki said "That's a cute name for a girl." Marinette's eyes expanded in shock at this, she looked at Tikki with surprise as a smile crossed her face without her even meaning to.
"Y-You called me a girl." Marinette said on the verge of happy crying over this simple act.
"Well, of course, you ARE a girl after all." Tikki responded once again like it was obvious "Miraculous bring out a user's true self, although usually it's not so dramatic." Marinette was overwhelmed with emotions as she heard this, feeling seen and acknowledged by someone, anyone, brought her to her knees as she began to cry from pure joy. Tikki was shocked by the crying and rushed over to comfort her.
"What's wrong, Marinette?" Tikki questioned.
"I just..." Marinette spoke "...I'm so happy, that's all." she tried to wipe away her tears, with Tikki flying over to a tissue box and bringing it over for the crying girl. She took one and wiped down her cheeks.
"Something tells me you have a lot to unpack, huh?" the Kwami asked.
Marinette let out a sigh before saying ".....You don't even know the half of it."