Demigods: In Paris (a Miraculous Ladybug and Percy Jackson crossover)

Ladybug says no

Ladybug swung to an empty street near her parents' bakery. "Tikki, spots off."

Marinette hurried to her house as her kwami slipped into her purse.

"Mom, Dad! I'm home!"

Marinette's dad appeared with a plate of lunch for her. Marinette thanked him and took it upstairs, letting Tikki steal a pastry.

"Well done, Marinette! You figured out who Hawkmoth is!"

"Yeah..." Marinette said, eating her lunch quickly. "But I have no idea what to do next. Chat Noir said he had a plan, but wouldn't tell me."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Tikki reassured her. "But you're going to be late back to school if you don't leave now."

"Oh no!" Marinette scoffed a sandwich and rushed back out of the house, with a quick goodbye to her parents. "I'll talk to Chat later and see what's going on in that head of his."

"Girl!" Alya yelled from her perch on the school steps. "Are you... early?! What is wrong with you today?"

"Ugh, I don't know."

"You said you were feeling ill, are you good to be in school?"

"Wha- oh, yeah, I'm okay, really. Just a bit queasy."

"Okay. Also, you did great with Adrien earlier! You managed to hand over the invitation without dropping it, at least."

Marinette groaned. "Don't remind me. The look on his face... He was barely even paying attention, but you could tell he's not planning on coming."

A minute later, Adrien jogged up the steps. "Marinette!"

Marinette looked around wildly, before remembering that it was her name, and blushing. Why did Adrien want to talk to her?

"Uh- I- Adrien! Hi?"

"Hi. I'm just checking- am I definitely invited to your sleepover tomorrow night?"

"Um, y-yes? Why?"

"Well... Is it okay if I come?"

Marinette's eyes practically exploded off her face as her brain became jelly. She was proud that she didn't faint right there and then, but she also found herself incapable of speech.

"That would be great," Alya exclaimed, smiling at Adrien broadly. "See you there!"

"Thanks," Adrien said, leaving.

There was a moment of silence, then Marinette managed to whisper, "...he said yes!" Her face glowed with joy.

"Calm down girl, it's not like you're getting proposed," Alya teased, but she was grinning too.

Both girls took a deep breath, then, "EEEEEEEEEEeEEEEEeEEEeeeeEEeeeeeeeEe!!!!!!!!!!!!!" They jumped up and down, squealing happily.

"Oh no," Marinette squeaked, suddenly nervous again. "What am I going to do at the party?!"

The entire afternoon was a blur of staring dreamily at the back of Adrien's head. It was only when the bell rang to signal the end of the day that Marinette remembered her meeting with Chat Noir.

"Alya, I have to go. I just remembered that... my Mum needs me to help in the shop today. Bye!"

A minute later, Ladybug was heading for Le Grand Paris. Chat Noir was already there, picking at his claws.

"Have you ever tried taking it off?" He asked suddenly. Ladybug jumped. She hadn't realised he'd noticed her.

"What do you mean?"

"The mask. The suit. When we change, is it an outfit, or is it a part of us?"

Ladybug reached for the edge of her mask, curious, then shook her head. "Not the time, Chat. I want to hear your plan."

"Well, don't laugh."

"I'm waiting."

"I think we should kidnap Adrien Agreste."

Ladybug didn't laugh. Oh, no. She stood for a second, dumbfounded, then cried, "You want to WHAT?!"

"I can ex-"

"No way! We're superheroes, not kidnappers!"

"Please Ladybug, hear me out. We're not going to hurt him. He'll be fine, but we'll tell Gabriel that if he doesn't hand over his miraculous, he'll never see his son again."

"We can't do that! If he's evil, he might not care!"

"No, but he's not just Hawkmoth, he's Gabriel Agreste, fashion designer. Having his son go missing would be bad publicity."

"I can't believe you! Where would we even put him? I don't know about you, but I have a life to live!"

"I've already got it sorted. You know the Dupain-Cheng bakery?"

"Yes, why?" She asked hesitantly.

"I spoke to the owners' daughter, Marinette. She's willing to have Adrien stay there tomorrow night."

Liar, liar. You did no such thing. Not that she could tell him that without revealing her identity. But before she could speak again, Hawkeye spoke in her mind.

"Bugaboo?" Chat asked.

"Betrayal, lies, deceit. Secret Keeper, I can give you the power to-"

"No thanks," Ladybug said.

Hawkmoth roared in frustration. "How is this possible? Those American teens have broken my miraculous!" The butterfly mask vanished.

Chat frowned at her. "What was that about?"

"You're a liar. How could you convince that girl to harbour a kidnapped boy?"

"Clearly she appreciates my rugged good looks more than you do," he stuck out his tongue. Ladybug was incredulous - she couldn't believe she was actually talking about kidnapping Adrien.

"Ha! Not likely," she scoffed anyway. "Probably just wanted to spend time with Adrien. He's much better looking than you," she said without thinking. She almost slapped a hand over her mouth.

"You think Adrien is good looking?" Chat asked, a little too quickly, but Ladybug was too busy trying to think of a recovery to notice.

"I mean, sure. He's not a super model for no reason," she said, a lot more smoothly than she felt.

"Oh. Of course," Chat sounded disappointed.

"This is stupid," Ladybug said. Especially as she knew Chat was lying about talking to Marinette. "We are not kidnapping Adrien. We'll find another way."