The Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

Oil and steam

Steampunk AU, they look like the picture attached.

Marinette wiped her brow on her sleeve as she fixed the generator. The oil on her hands wouldn't be good to get on her face, but then again, she always somehow managed to get a streak of the black liquid on her cheek or neck or somewhere.

She was the mechanic in the store she ran with Alya, selling bits and bobs and sometimes small machines, which Marinette would make. Marinette would also do repairs. Alya was simply the sales-person, and a good thing she was, because Marinette tended to be pretty awkward in some situations with strangers.

The power had been cut off and turned off the light globes and the music player. Their spare generator was broken, so it was up to Marinette, once again, to fix it. She stuck a screw between her lips and twisted the wrench to tighten a bolt before the machine sputtered into life. Grinning, proud of herself, she took the screw and screwed shut the opening to the engine.

"Marinette, you're a gem!" Alya yelled from the front room. Taking off her bulky gloves, revealing the tighter, more decorative gloves below, she stuck her head in the room with a toothy grin.

"I'm no brighter a gem than you, Als." She watched as her friend threw her a face and returned her bright grin.

"Yo, girls!" Nino, the owner of the stall next door, stuck his head in the entry before waltzing in, hands in his pockets and whistling a merry tune. He was wearing his signature top hat and black over-shirt. "Mind if I borrow Marinette? Need her to fix up my generator now." Alya rolled her eyes.

"She's all yours, Nino."

"And just like always, I don't get a say in the matter." Marinette sighed dramatically, placing one hand on her heart and the other wrist against her forehead. "Treated like a worthless slave, forced to do all the work, no wonder I'm stronger than you all! I'm not even paid!" Alya snorted and shoved her.

"You do so get paid. You get paid with three meals a day and a bed to sleep in." She pushed a giggling Marinette out the door. "Go! Be helpful! Catch you later, Nino!"

Nino laughed and waved before following Marinette out the door. She was looking over her shoulder, waiting for him to join her at her side. While Alya was her best friend, Nino was practically Marinette's foster-brother. The two grew up in an orphanage together, Nino immediately befriending her when she joined at the age of five, before finally leaving and meeting their friends Alya and Adrien.

Adrien was Nino's co-worker and best friend, who prided himself on his inventions. He always wore a smart white shirt with folded up sleeves, a blue vest, pine-stripe pants and a pair of goggles atop his mess of golden hair, when they weren't over his emerald eyes. Marinette had always fancied Adrien, but not in a serious way, as he was a total flirt and probably didn't reciprocate her feelings.

"So, Mari, how's your bird coming?" Nino broke the comfortable silence, asking about her bronze bird. She aimed to try to repair it and make it fly, but had yet to succeed.

"No luck yet, but I'm getting close! I can feel it!" She pumped a fist with determination and Nino laughed.

"You'll get there, Spots. If you want my man Adrien's help, you can always ask." Nino used an affectionate nickname as he opened the door to the shop, which made a bell jingle, holding it for Marinette. She scoffed.

"No way, Shell, this is my project and I want to get it myself!" She pouted as Nino laughed again, which melted into a confident smile as she folded her arms. "And if you don't leave well enough alone I'll tell Alya exactly why I call you Shell."

His smile faded into a face of horror and panic. "No, please don't, it'll ruin all my chances with her!" He waved his hands in her face as she snickered.