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Honeyed Looks

Summary:

After much deliberation, Marinette Dupain Cheng and Adrien Agreste are dating Kagami Tsurugi and each other. Chat Noir and Ladybug are not, and Kagami is confused by these two dorks.

The stress of Guardianship, jealousy, akuma attacks, and the necessity of keeping their relationship a secret from everyone, especially Tomoe and Gabriel, may be too much for Marinette, who's nearly at her breaking point...

Chapter 1: I hate to butt in.

Summary:

Adrien admires his girlfriend while she is in the midst of a battle. Much to his chagrin, so does Ladybug.

Notes:

I highly recommend that you read the initial, short reimagining of the Adrigaminette Polyamorous ice cream date, "A Delicate Balance of Flavours," the first part of this series. It is not necessary reading, but it is fluffy, establishing that the triad chose their own set of flavours, rather than accepting those that were imposed on them, and found that they worked well together. It led to an exploration of a potential relationship between them in "Maintaining Balance."

At the end of that story, "Ladybug" offered Kagami the bee miraculous.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Adrien tried, in accordance with his father's expectations and his own inclinations, to be a gentleman. His puns never strayed into the debased or lewd, and he strove to be respectful, particularly to his elders and the girls he loved. Despite his best efforts, however, he found that he was forced to admit it.

Mitsubachi had a really great butt.

A firm, taut, black-and-yellow stripy butt.

An "it could cause car accidents from rubber-necking as she vaulted between buildings across the Parisian traffic-ways" butt.

An "I know that I am on patrol and should really be focused wholly on my duties but butt" butt.

Okay, he had to stop now...

Chat Noir was not a disloyal kitty now that he had been adopted into a loving “home;” he was a stray tomcat no longer; no more prowling rooftops and yowling at the stars in search of companionship and warmth. Had Ladybug not come to him three weeks ago and, as Guardian, solicited his opinion on a potential new wielder for the Bee miraculous in light of Hawkmoth's increasingly challenging Akuma, Adrien would have been lambasting himself for his wayward gaze. 

But, no. Instead, he had thrilled at the suggestion that Kagami be offered the Bee miraculous. Imagine the exhilaration of parkouring over city roofs with at least one of your girlfriends by your side, even if she didn't know it! How could he have refused? And, even if he had moved on, he preened ever-so-slightly at Ladybug's affirmation – her willingness to include him in decisions regarding the miraculous now that he had become more level-headed in his interactions with her, no longer focused on “earning” her love or winning it.

In retrospect: cringe.

That was his father again.

Marinette had told him to his face, though there was a pointed look in Kagami's direction that left the Japanese girl stunned as well: “I love you. You never have to earn love, and no one should make you feel like you have to.”

It was a good thing that he and Kagami had fallen for each other first. If not, one of their fencing matches probably would have devolved into a duel to the death for the hand of a certain sublime princess. A noble way to meet his end, fit for the culmination of the epic romance of a Romeo or Troilus, but he preferred being sandwiched between his girlfriends on a semi-regular basis.

It seemed that Ladybug and Chat Noir's professional relationship had blossomed in light of the reciprocation of their respective civilian crushes. The mysterious boy over whom Ladybug had been pining finally came to his senses, and, on Ladybug's revelation to that effect, Chat had confessed that he too had found a girlfriend. Which was technically true. He had also found a second girlfriend who was also his first girlfriend's girlfriend, but Ladybug didn't need to know all the details.

Unfortunately, though she was including him in decision-making to some extent, Ladybug had, in no uncertain terms, refused to offer the Mouse Miraculous to Marinette. None of his protestations, or well-reasoned if slightly whinny arguments weakened Ladybug's resolve. It really made no sense. If he could be trusted with knowing Mitsubachi's identity, what was so different about Multimouse? Mouse, cat, and bug all lounging on a rooftop in the middle of a cool Parisian night, Multimouse having redeemed Mitsubachi and Chat from their respective isolated misery, cuddled up with hot cocoa and leftover pastries from the Dupain-Chang bakery as they swapped warmth and sweet-nothings?

Heaven.

Heck, Ladybug could join them too.

For the cocoa. The pastries and cuddles were his.

Well. Probably best that she not. That was getting into harem anime territory.

And he already had both his hands and his heart full with two girls who could kick his butt clear across the Atlantic ocean.

Speaking of which...

Feinting a low arching sweep with her trompo that had Power Creep stumbling to the side, Mitsubachi lunged forward to deliver a spinning roundhouse kick to his exposed face.

Ryuko had been a powerhouse, direct, crashing through obstacles without hesitation while shrugging off blows; Mitsubachi was light on her feet, airy and fast, but used her grace and agility to land devastating, precise strikes.

Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee.

God, she was gorgeous. He nearly sighed at the sight of her dislocating Power Creep's jaw. Not the time, but come on, now! He was a teenage boy in a high-adrenaline situation next to his magical-spandex-clad, very fit, and very hot girlfriend.

Also, he might have a thing for dominant women.

He frowned atop his perch, just outside of the fray. Interesting revelation, but definitely not the time.

Hawkmoth's latest Akuma had been forged from the raw material of a rather overbearing and somewhat skeevy teen who had lost in a collectible card game tournament. Apparently, his opponent had access to the yet-to-be-released but still tournament legal exclusive cards from the upcoming set, which gave him an advantage. The runner-up in their tournament was now a hulking brute who slavered and gazed at Ladybug and his Honey with unabashed lechery.

It was enough to make Adrien sick over his own wandering eye, but at least he had the privilege of appreciating Mitsubachi's form honestly. He was her boyfriend, even if she didn't know it, and she had welcomed the attention when they were unmasked.

The longer that he and Ladybug had battled the originally scrawny, though wily, villain, the larger he became and the more forcefully his blows landed. His costume was now stretched taut over his robust, though pale, form, making it an even more egregious fashion designer's nightmare. It set Chat's teeth on edge and likely would have had his father putting out his own eyes like Oedipus, unable to stand the sight before him: “You have seen those you never should have looked upon. So now and for all future time be dark!"

Cue eye gouging.

It was the stuff of tragedy, alright.

Armour consisting of what appeared to be innumerable flexible, garish trading cards, all of which were reflective foil versions, covered him from neck to ankles, leaving only his hands and head exposed. The latter was mostly concealed by a lengthy mop of matted, greasy black hair that swished back and forth, allowing periodic glimpses of his leering grin.

Mitsubachi had the brute on the ropes, though, weaving around his heavy blows, only to land pin-point strikes with her trompo as she held off on using Venom in order to give Ladybug even more time to strategize and locate the Akumatized object. Lumbering forward, Power Creep shattered the pavement in front of him with another shuddering two-fisted slam, Mitsubachi catching the side of his arm on the downward pass in order to swing into a crouch atop his massive forearm, dodging the uncoordinated assault. The blow-back from his strike sent concrete shards flying about her and blasted the fuzzy golden fringe at her neck into a majestic halo about her head.

Yep. Gorgeous. And pretty damn cool-looking in Chat's opinion.

She sat there, hunched for just a single moment, gaze locked with the pair of slanted eyes that were exposed by the explosive gust of dusty air that tussled Power Creep's hair.

She favoured the off-balance Power Creep with that characteristic little smirk that only appeared when she was behind one of her masks, or when she felt it was safe to be honest, before driving upwards, her knee catching the Akuma directly in his nose.

The crunch of bone was audible to Chat Noir only by virtue of his enhanced hearing as it was all but drowned out by Power Creep's scream of outrage.

Not to be entirely outdone by his girlfriend – because really, she was making him look bad – Chat dropped from his perch atop a nearby lamppost to bring his baton crashing into the side of Power Creep's head as Mitsubachi continued onward, somersaulting both of them in a perfectly-timed synchronized pincer maneuver the like of which it had taken Ladybug and Chat months to master.

All those hours of fencing practice together had them operating as a unit on pure instinct, even though Kagami was unaware of his identity.

There was just one problem: that butt.

But it wasn't his problem.

He had mastered his fixation on his partner's appealing attributes when in combat as he had a tremendous amount of experience doing so while partnered with Ladybug. There was something to be said for transfurable skills.

Ladybug herself, however...

She had stood on a nearby rooftop, observing the conflict between the trio with her typical strategist's eye, focused and calculating.

Or she had been, but for just a second, Chat saw it: her gaze being drawn away from the massive creature, and the opening the cat and bee had provided, by Mitsubachi's passing form and the smooth expanse of her back and rear on full display in its skin-tight stripy spandex.

A flicker of spite and jealous rage licked at his gut, but he squashed it down along with the surprise that came from learning that the heroine of Paris appreciated his girlfriend's feminine charms as much as he did. And then Ladybug was in motion, swinging down to snatch the small trading card, the only one that was not a holo-foil, that had served as something akin to Power Creep's belt buckle.

One quick and efficient cleansing and miraculous cure later, and the streets of Paris were once again safe.

For the most part.

Ladybug “bugged out” (and she said that she hated his puns) to recharge.

Mitsubachi departed almost immediately as well, offering only a simple salute to her teammates. It was rather cold, but he couldn't blame her in light of the fact that she had no idea who he was.

Kagami had told “Adrien” earlier in the day that she had a scheduled meeting with her mother in which they would discuss her latest fencing performances. He expected a call this evening from his girlfriend. She would almost certainly be as close to frustrated tears as she ever came. Not for the first time, he wished that she and Mari knew his identity so Chat Noir could sneak Kagami out of her home and into Marinette's attic room so all three of them could curl up for some much-needed kitty cuddles.

No wonder she had taken such perverse delight in whaling away on Power Creep.

Adrien, the only member of the trio remaining, had words with the Akuma victim, who had returned to a portly, though quite minuscule, figure. While his hair was now shoulder-length, it appeared rather similar to that of Power Creep. Chat Noir was known for his light touch with Akuma victims, but he may have been a little bit harsher than usual while discussing sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct towards women.

The incident with Ladybug's wandering eyes had been forgotten.

Until the next patrol on which Mitsubachi joined them. That was when things got... complicated.

Notes:

We're starting out rather light, but life is going to begin to pile stresses atop the shoulders of our triad, leading to the central issue of emotional health that will dominate this work.