Miraculous One Shot Compilation

Collateral

"So... I made, well... It's an extra! Not an extra, there's only one like it, you could gift it as a hope? It was practice for me to make. I wondered if you would accept. Well - bye!" Marinette ran off leaving the package in Adrien's hands.

It wasn't any special day that would warrant a gift, yet Adrien had received another hand-crafted article of clothing from his shy friend. She'd done this a few times now. She liked him, and he knew it.

He was flattered, but he also felt kind of sorry for her. She was such a sweet girl, but his heart belonged to Ladybug! He didn't think Marinette's feelings for him would ever be returned - similar to (if he were honest) his feelings for Ladybug.

He didn't always like the power his partner had over his heart. Sometimes, he was afraid of her. If she wanted to, she could completely crush him emotionally - and he couldn't do a thing to stop her. However, he didn't see a choice but to hand his heart over to her. In that, he was at her mercy.

--

Oh. Ohhh... Adrien was trying to get past the single word and on to a more coherent thought. Marinette and Ladybug were the same person.

She still had just as much power over his heart - but suddenly, he was no longer afraid of her. For the first time, he knew that they were on equal footing. Any way that she could hurt him, he could hurt her.

Not that he had any intention to hurt her; there would be no benefit to him if he did. It was just nice to know that he could. He wasn't powerless, and she knew it too.

Not much had changed. His heart was still at her mercy, but he was confident she was going to take good care of it, because she was counting on him to take care of hers. He was absolutely going to give it the best care possible, because keeping her heart hostage was the only thing protecting him. Her heart was his collateral.