What better way to start off the new year, than with a new story in a new fandom? This is my very first Miraculous story, but I certainly don't plan on it being the last. I'm officially hooked on this show.
This will also be cross-posted on AO3 under the penname TropicalSnow.
"Ah, springtime in Paris. Don't you just love it, Alya?" Marinette spoke cheerfully as she and her best friend lounged on the roof of her home.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Paris, France.
A relatively peaceful afternoon, with a cool breeze in the air, the sounds of pedestrians and traffic on the road around them, the smell of wonderful baked goods from the bakery on the ground floor wafting up to them in the air...
"Yeah," Alya sneezed. "Sure it is..." Alya sneezed again, this time so loudly, that she startled some birds that had perched on the wall, causing them to take to the skies.
"Don't be so down about it Alya! I'm sure you'll get over that flu soon!" Marinette rubbed her best friend's back soothingly as she handed her a pack of tissues from her purse.
"I'd better. Or else I'll go..." Alya sneezed again. "completely crazy! ACHOO!"
Her sneeze was actually of so much power this time that it caused her to stumble backwards, with Marinette barely catching her before she fell.
"Maybe you should go home and get some rest. Do you have anything from the pharmacy? I could pick up something for you if you like!" the French Asian girl offered.
"No thanks, Marinette. I'll be fine. Better go home and get some rest for that spring festival tomorrow. I'm covering it for the school blog since they're having a display there by the Gardening Club..." Alya used another tissue, wiping her eyes miserably.
"Well, Maman and Papa did say that you could have a few cookies to take home if you wanted..." Marinette smiled at her friend.
"That... ACHOO! ...sounds great. I'll take them up on that offer..." Alya went inside first, followed closely by Marinette.
"Ah, Springtime in Paris. Don't you just love it, ladies and gentlemen?"
The MC of the festival was on stage, energetic in his antics and keeping the crowd in a good mood as they milled around the park that the festival was being held in.
They all roared their assent.
"Go around and enjoy the sights and sounds of spring. Visit the many booths staffed by the many Gardening and Nature Clubs in France that decided to celebrate with us today!" The MC exclaimed.
Marinette smiled at the MC's antics as she helped her mother with their food stall at the festival, handing a box of éclairs to a family of a mother, father, preteen and two small children, who all attacked the box eagerly as they walked away.
"Are you sure that Papa will be fine at the bakery by himself, Maman?" she asked her mother, who was wiping her hands with a paper towel.
"Your Papa will be fine, Cher Marinette." Sabine Cheng tossed the paper towel into a bin and put a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder. "He has worked in the bakery without me before and it was still standing when I returned. Besides, he has the staff there to help him, remember?"
"True, true..." Marinette nodded.
"Hi Marinette!" Mylène came up to their stall and placed an order for some cupcakes. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. How's the Gardening Club's display going?" Marinette passed on the order to her mother.
"Oh, it's going swell! Rose is completely in her element there. Thriving, if you will. It's amazing! She's being more chatty and outgoing than I've ever seen her!" Mylène exclaimed.
Marinette blinked. "Wait... Is Rose in charge?"
"No, but she's being really awesome today!" Mylène replied.
Marinette was surprised that Rose was brave enough to be outspoken when it came to anything at all, but then again, when you're doing something you love... you can take on a whole new attitude...
Just like she was as Paris' famed super heroine, Ladybug...
She shook her head to clear it.
"Juleka, Ivan, Max and a couple others from our class are there too. Alya's apparently on her way now- though I guess you'd know that, being her best friend and all..." Mylène counted them off on her fingers. "Plus Adrien promised to stop by a little later too..."
Marinette nearly dropped the box of cupcakes that she'd taken from her mother to hand to the other girl.
"A... A... Adrien is going to be here?" Marinette stammered.
"Yep! Unfortunately, Chloé is also going to be here, with her father being the mayor and all." Mylène's expression was briefly one of annoyance.
That sentence immediately snapped Marinette out of her Adrien induced stupor.
"He's probably going to make some boring speech that we can all tune out anyway." Mylène shrugged before taking the box of cupcakes from the dark haired girl.
"True. It's such a nice day, anyway. Let's not let thoughts of Chloé ruin it."
The two girls snickered.
"Bye Marinette! Stop by our display later! It's really nice. You'll like it, even if you're not into gardening!" Mylène waved to Marinette and walked away.
"That Mylène is such a nice girl." Sabine commented as her daughter walked over.
"Yeah, she's okay..." Marinette shrugged.
"Speaking of your classmates, why don't you take a break? I can hold down the fort here for a while and I'm sure you want to spend time with your friends and see the sights..." Sabine smiled.
"Really? Thanks Maman!" Marinette hugged her mother tightly before whipping off the apron and cap she'd been wearing and bolting off through the crowd to find her friends.
Marinette was so engrossed in the sights and sounds around her that she wasn't paying attention where she was going.
"Ow! Hey- Marinette?"
Marinette had bumped into Alya.
"Hi Alya! Feeling better yet?" Marinette asked her friend once she realised who it was.
"Not one hundred percent..." Alya sniffled. "but I'm getting there. I'm headed to our school's display here. Do you want to come?"
"Was just heading there myself!"
"Let's go then, shall we?" Alya hooked her arm around Marinette's elbow and the two walked around, enjoying the sights together until they finally found what they were looking for.
The booth that their school's gardening club was rather more extravagant looking than what one would expect for a club manned by mere teenagers still in Collège.
Their display was set up within what looked a giant, green square counter with a white tent covering the back half of it, posters and pictures of various plants hanging at random places and plants of varying sizes, shapes and colours arranged all within it, on the booth itself and the larger ones on the ground.
"Wow..." Marinette looked in awe at the sight.
Ivan passed by them with a particularly large flower pot just then and Rose swung open a door at the side of the booth just then to let him in.
"Hi Marinette! Hi Alya! Come to see our school's display?" Rose waved cheerfully to them, a small shovel in her hand- coated in dirt which Max, who was now returning to the display narrowly managed to dodge when it was flung off.
"You know it!" Alya whipped out a camera and quickly started taking some photos.
"It's so exciting, being out here, showing off the gardening talents of our school!" Rose giggled. "Come on in, Marinette! I'll give you the grand tour!" the shorter girl beckoned her forward.
Leave me some feedback, people! I'd love to know how I started!