Soo... I watched She's the Man last week, and then I just let my mind run wild... Here's a Miraculous Ladybug AU based on She's the Man, which in turn is an AU of Twelfth Night by Shakespeare! I plan for this to be multi-chaptered fic, and I am very excited to keep writing this!

Summary: When Marinette is denied entry to a local fencing team due to her gender, she finds a way around it by pretending to be her twin brother, Mark. She attends his boarding school in disguise, as well as fences on the team in order to prove herself. Along the way she meets and befriends Mark's roommate and fencing teammate, Adrien Agreste, and falls into a strangely familiar relationship with.

Word count: 4k+

"En garde!" Ladybug yelled, wielding one half of her partner's staff as she charged at him.

"I know… that you're… really excited about this… but for the last time… the ref is the only one that says that!" Chat Noir said in between blocks. He was also holding a half of his staff, and backing up along the rooftop as Ladybug advanced and swung at him.

"Less talking!" Ladybug called, lunging at him. Chat ducked and rolled out of the way. "More fencing! Don't go easy on me either, kitty!"

Chat chuckled before cracking his neck back and forth. "Well, if that's what My Lady wishes…" He sprinted forward, clashing staffs with Ladybug. She backed up and tried to jab, but Chat easily deflected it.

"Remember that defense is just as important as offense," Chat instructed.

Ladybug scoffed and lunged again. With a flick of his wrist, Chat brought his staff up and under hers and disarmed her. The staff went flying off the roof and into the road below, and before Ladybug could swing down and get it, she was knocked off her feet and pinned to the ground. Chat grinned from above her.

"I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure this isn't in the rules," Ladybug quipped, glancing at the position he had her in.

"Sadly, you're correct," Chat sighed, jumping to his feet and pulling Ladybug up with him. She dusted off her suit and glared at her partner before swinging her yo-yo to an opposite building and launching herself off the roof to the ground below.

"You're getting better, though," Chat yelled after her, leaping down the side of the building as well. She handed him the retrieved half of his staff and he put the weapon together again before fastening it to his belt.

"Not as good as you, though," Ladybug sighed. Chat waved his hand.

"I've been fencing since I was little," he reminded her. "Trust me, you're good."

She grinned up at him, pushing him good-naturedly in the shoulder.

Chat Noir was her best friend, there was no doubt about that. They'd been fighting together for nearly three years now, and she couldn't imagine a life without him in it. His awkward flirting had long since fallen away, and now there was a trust between them that was deeper than she'd ever known.

It wasn't quite love, but it wasn't platonic either. Whatever it was, Ladybug was content. She just liked to have him by her side when they faced evil and protected their home together.

"It's getting late," Chat sighed, crossing his arms and looking up at the moon. "I need to go."

"You just got here, Chat!" Ladybug complained. "This was an even shorter patrol than last week!"

"I know… it's just – I have work to do, I'm sorry," he tried to explain.

"On a Saturday night?" Ladybug asked skeptically. "Yeah right. You're probably just going to a party, or hanging out with your girlfriend or something."

"Not a big partier," Chat shrugged. "And for the last time, I don't have a girlfriend. If I did, you'd be the first one I'd tell, trust me."

Ladybug watched the light red dusting creep to his cheeks, and tried to hide her grin. The fact that he'd trust her with such a thing before anyone else made her heart soar.

"Let's patrol tomorrow night," Ladybug said.

"On a school night…?"

"That never stopped us when we were in middle school!"

"Yeah, and we weren't on the verge of applying for colleges in middle school, either," he retorted. Ladybug groaned and stomped her foot. Chat chuckled at her, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry… life is busy," he told her. "But I promise… next weekend, we will definitely meet up. I'll even give you another fencing lesson!"

Ladybug looked into his reassuring green eyes before nodding slowly. "Okay," she whispered. Chat's hands tightened and he smiled down at her.

"Before you go," she said, reaching down to her belt and unclipping a rolled up piece of paper, "I have something for you."

"I'd been wondering what that was," Chat laughed, moving beside her to get a good look. Ladybug unrolled the paper and revealed a sketch of the Paris skyline at night. On the back was writing – comments and critics on the artwork.

"Oh!" Chat yelped, snatching the paper from her. Ladybug grinned as he read over the writing diligently. "I can't believe you actually took the time to write all of this!"

"Well, of course," Ladybug smiled. "Your artwork has gotten so good!"

"Only because you're a great teacher," Chat instantly responded, his eyes not leaving the paper as he finished scanning it. "Hmm… you think the shading needs some more work?"

"Not much – just to enhance the shadows a bit more and give it some more depth."

Chat nodded. "Ahh, I see."

It was a trade-off, of sorts. For the past year or so, Chat Noir had been teaching Ladybug how to fence, and she, in turn, had been helping him with his sketching and artwork. Chat Noir was good, but his style was constantly changing… one week he was focused on sketching, and then the next watercolors… sometimes he drew landscapes, and other days abstract art. It was hard to recognize and distinguish his artwork and style at times.

She'd asked about this on numerous occasions. How come nothing ever looked the same? How come he never stuck to one style – tried to perfect it?

"Sticking to such a strict schedule like that is boring," he'd remarked one summer evening. "Besides, unpredictability is so much fun!"

"I like this style you have this week," Ladybug tried to tell her partner, watching as he rolled up the paper and stuck it in his belt. "Maybe you should…"

"Not a chance," he laughed. "I'm going to come back next week with something crazy, you won't even be able to tell that I drew it!"

"I can never tell that you drew it," she stated, and Chat shrugged.

"I'm off, My Lady," he bowed before jumping up onto their rooftop from before. The moon behind him casted his figure in a dark shadow, and she squinted to try and make out his green eyes in the darkness. "Keep practicing with the fencing!"

"Sure thing! I'll see you next week!" Ladybug called. It wasn't a question but a statement, and she saw Chat hesitate before nodding and jumping out of sight.

As time went on and they both grew older, she always noticed that he hesitated more and more before agreeing to meet with her.

When, she wondered, would that hesitation turn into something worse?

"He didn't come again."

Marinette sat on her bed, the night late and the moon casting dark shadows around her dorm room. Alya, her best friend and roommate, was out shooting for a project, so she had the room to herself.

Tikki, recently having separated from Marinette's transformation, flew up to her charge and rubbed against her cheek in comfort.

"He's… busy, Marinette."

"It's been two months," she sighed. "This is the longest I've ever gone without seeing him on patrol." Her expression darkened. "And with the akuma attacks having stopped recently…"

Tikki looked up at Marinette with concern, and flew over to her open closet. She tugged on something wedged into the mountain of stuff Marinette had piled up in there.

"Tikki? What are you…?"

Crash!

"Oof!"

Tikki went flying across the room, and Marinette jumped up to catch her kwami in her hands.

"Thanks, Marinette," Tikki said dizzily, shaking her small head.

Marinette sighed before reaching down and picking up what Tikki had pulled loose. It was her fencing sword, the one Chat Noir had given her about a year ago, when they'd first started training together.

"Tikki…?" Marinette questioned, watching as her kwami gathered herself and flew over to her desk. She picked up a toothpick and held it out. "En garde, Marinette!"

"Pfthhh…" Marinette doubled over, holding her sides as she started laughing out loud. Tikki started giggling as well, and flew over before poking Marinette in the chest with the toothpick.

"Wah! Hey!" Marinette cried, trying to subside her laughter as she held the spot where Tikki had poked her.

"I win!" Tikki cheered, holding the toothpick up triumphantly. Marinette stuck her tongue out at her small friend before reaching for her and gathering her up in one arm.

"Thanks, Tikki," she whispered, cuddling up to the kwami. "It means a lot."

"I just really like it when you smile, Marinette," Tikki said. "Chat Noir will come around soon, I believe that!"

"I just… miss him a lot," Marinette sighed. Chat Noir had been her best friend for three years… she told him everything that was on her mind, and even though they only knew each other behind the masks, Marinette didn't care… their friendship was still something so strong that she felt empty without him.

She glanced down at the fencing sword and turned it over in her hands. "I loved fencing with him, too… it was our thing, you know?"

If… if she couldn't continue fencing with Chat… then…

"That's it!" Marinette yelped, and Tikki jumped in surprise at the sudden outburst. "How come I didn't think of this before!?"

Marinette raced to her computer and opened a tab. Tikki watched over her shoulder as she started typing.

"Uhhh... what exactly are you doing?" Tikki asked.

"Give me… one second… and… here!"

She beamed as Tikki read the website's title. "D'Argencourt's Fencing Club?"

"It's a local fencing club that meets in a gym a few subway stops from here," Marinette explained. "Chat told me about it once… and it's right next to Mark's school too, look!" She pointed to the map that was pulled up on her computer screen.

"Mark… your brother?" Tikki questioned, flying closer to the screen to get a better look. Marinette nodded, and glanced down at a picture frame next to her computer. She and her twin brother, Mark, had been very close as children. Now in separate boarding schools across Paris, they didn't catch up with each other as much as she would have liked. On top of that, Mark was pretty distant with their parents, while Marinette was still very much close to them.

"They have an open tryout tomorrow," Marinette read, scanning the notices on their website. "Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone and visit Mark while I'm in the area!" She clapped her hands and stood up triumphantly. "It's decided, then! Tikki, I'm trying out for a fencing team!"

"Horaay!" Tikki cheered, throwing her toothpick up in the air.

Marinette beamed, and picked up the fencing sword before turning it over lightly in her hands.

You'll see just how good I can really be, Chat Noir…

Marinette stared up at the gym's entrance in front of her, the word D'Argencourt's scrawled across the sign in brilliant cursive. Her sword was gripped in one hand, and her gym bag slung over her other shoulder.

"Come on, Marinette!" Tikki urged her, peeking out from inside her bag. "You can do this!"

Marinette nodded, and took a deep breath before pushing open the gym door and stepping inside.

The gym was large, with a high ceiling and large windows that let in a lot of light. The wooden floor was covered by a blue mat, and people covered head to toe in fencing uniforms were warming up and facing each other.

Marinette looked down at her T-shirt and shorts and cringed – maybe she should have purchased a fencing outfit for this after all. Shaking her head, she made her way over to the bleachers where a bunch of nervous boys were sitting – no doubt the new people trying out.

"Excuse me," she asked the nearest boy, who was stretching in front of the bleachers. He looked up at her. "Do I have to sign up anywhere?"

"Yeah. With the coach – he's in his office." He hesitated before looking her up and down. "Are you… uh… actually trying out?"

Marinette narrowed her eyes at the boy, slightly confused. What did he mean by that? Was it because she didn't have a uniform…?

"Yeah, I am," she stated, looking down at her attire. "I'll buy a uniform soon, but I didn't think that I needed it on the first day."

"Uhh… sure," the boy said slowly, and Marinette raised an eyebrow before turning and heading toward the coach's office.

"That was weird," she whispered, and she felt Tikki nod in approval inside her bag.

The coach's "office" was basically just a tiny little room that might have been a janitor's closet at one point. The door was open, and Marinette saw an older man sitting at a desk. He was dressed in a fencing uniform, and was scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

"Hello," Marinette greeted him. He stopped writing and squinted up at her.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes! My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she introduced herself. "You must be Coach D'Argencourt! I'm here to try out for the team!"

Coach D'Argencourt squinted his little eyes even further at her. "Come again?" He asked.

"I know I don't have a uniform and all, but I'll get one after today," Marinette remarked, glancing down at the list he'd been writing on. It was a list of names – no doubt all of the new people who were trying out for the team. "I'll sign my name and start warming up, sir."

"That won't be necessary," D'Argencourt said slowly, pulling the list back as she reached for it. Marinette froze. "I think you should just head on home, miss."

"… Excuse me?"

"How do I put this?" He sighed, rubbing his temple before looking back up at her. "We do not accept girls on this team, miss. Fencing is an aggressive sport, and most of these boys are half your size. It would be dangerous for someone such as yourself to fence on a team like this."

Marinette's eyes widened. Was he… was he serious?!

"Sir," she protested, trying to keep her voice steady and calm. Inside, her veins were heating up with anger. "I disagree. I don't think it matters that I'm a girl at all, I'm a good fencer and –"

"It does not matter how good you think you are, miss. You are not as good as these boys on this team, and I am sure of that," he snapped.

Oh HELL no!

"I'm signing up for this team," Marinette stated, moving forward and slamming her hands on his desk – all sense of trying to stay polite completely thrown out the window. "The fact that you are basing my abilities on my gender is sexist, sir!"

"Excuse me, watch your tone!" D'Argencourt snapped, rising up from his seat and glaring down at her. His stringy mustache twitched in front of his lip. "Please leave this gym at once, young lady."

"But –"

"Leave before I call security!"

Marinette breathed heavily, staring at D'Argencourt before she forced her feet to move and retreat back toward the door. "Thank you for your time, sir," she spat, closing the door behind her and racing toward the exit of the gym hurriedly. Most of the boys out on the blue matt were staring at her as she left, no doubt having heard the commotion in the office.

Once she was back outside on the street, Marinette leaned against the wall to the gym and sunk down to the ground, her head in her hands.

"I can't believe that guy," she muttered, her fists clenched. "Tikki, what am I going to do? There's no other fencing clubs that are close to my school…"

"I don't know, Marinette," Tikki sighed, poking her head out from her bag. "That old man was absolutely awful! I bet you could beat him in a fight any day!"

Marinette looked down at her kwami's determined little eyes and giggled, patting her on the head softly. "You're right," she winked.

"… Marinette?"

Marinette stiffened, and latched onto her bag as Tikki disappeared inside. Making sure that her kwami was well hidden, she looked up at the boy with short, dark blue hair approaching her from down the sidewalk, waving.

"Mark!" Marinette called in surprise, jumping to her feet and running to meet him. "What are you doing here?"

Her twin smiled at her, pulling her into a hug. "I should be asking the same thing!" He laughed. "This is totally not your subway stop, right?"

"Uhh, I was just – uh, taking a walk," Marinette lied quickly, rubbing the back of her head. "It's so nice out today, so I… uh… yeah!"

"Okaaay," Mark said slowly, looking down at her. "Are you alright?"

"Perfect!"

"Well, that's good then," he smiled, ushering her to walk with him. As they got further and further away from the gym, Marinette's frazzled nerves and anger resided. "This is so funny meeting you here, because I was gonna actually call you today and see if you wanted to stop by."

"Wait… really?"

"Yeah, really! Don't act so shocked!"

That was strange… Mark never asked Marinette or her parents to stop by his school.

"I haven't even seen your dorm room since you moved in last fall," Marinette joked, and Mark glanced down at her.

"Sorry… I always mean to call you and stuff, it's just –"

"I know," Marinette said quickly, waving a hand to dismiss his concerns. "Mark, don't worry about it – I'm busy at school too."

They kept causally chatting about their separate lives – catching up with each other – until they reached Mark's boarding school. It was nestled next to a quiet park behind the bustling Paris streets – St. Godfrey's School for Men. Another thing just for men, huh? Marinette thought bitterly. Still, though, it was a nice little school with old buildings, and a sort of pleasant air around it.

"Here," Mark gestured, leading her up to an older grey building and opening the door. He led her up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. He stopped in front of Room 213, unlocked the door, and ushered her inside.

"Let me guess which side is yours," Marinette laughed, noticing that one side of the room was significantly more messy than the other. Mark's clothes and books were strewn around the floor and covering his bed.

"You already know I'm messy, don't act surprised," Mark groaned, racing to his closet and pulling out a duffel bag.

"So," Marinette started, clearing off his bed and sitting down. "What do you want to do? Go get lunch?"

Mark looked over his shoulder at her, holding the duffel bag in front of him. "About that," he started. Marinette raised an eyebrow at him. "I actually have to start packing."

"…Packing? For where?" She asked, watching as he started packing clothes into his bag.

"America."

"America?!" Marinette asked in disbelief, standing up in shock.

Mark glanced up at her quickly. "Yeah. That's the plan," he said, rummaging around for his drumsticks in one of his drawers. "Some guys I know in New York City need a new drummer and well… what can I say? They're on the rise, we could make it out there!"

Marinette blinked, trying to process this. Her twin brother was just… packing up and leaving?! Going to another country…? She knew he'd always been interested in music and playing the drums, but this was ridiculous!

"What about mom and dad?" Marinette asked instantly, her arms crossed.

"They're busy with the bakery, they hardly have time to come and visit in person," he explained. "Besides, I don't talk to them much anyways."

"W-what about the school, though?! They'll tell mom and dad if you stop coming to class, you know how strict they are, and you're already under academic probation!" Marinette protested, grabbing Mark's arm to stop him from packing. He paused, and then merely smirked down at her.

"Yeah, my school is super strict," he voiced. "But your hippy art school isn't."

Wha…

"What?!" She asked, anger laced into her tone. "Hippy?!"

"You know what I mean," Mark continued, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "You're a straight A student, and mom and dad never get letters from your school… you could come up with some little excuse, miss class for a couple months, and mom and dad would never know!"

"That's true, but… why are you even talking about this…?" Marinette trailed off, and her eyes widened as she watched Mark's sheepish grin grow.

No way…

Was he asking her to…?

"No." She turned to leave.

"C-come on, Marinette!" Mark panicked, running in front of his door and blocking her way out. "Just for a couple of months, please! It's already April, summer is right around the corner – come on, please!"

"You're crazy!" Marinette shouted, wrestling him for the door knob. "I should have known that there was a reason for you inviting me here! I always knew you were dumb, but this is ridiculous! Ugh, let – me – out!"

"Hey hey hey hey," Mark said frantically, grabbing her arms and wrestling Marinette away from the door. "Please just hear me out – all you would need to do is pretend that you're me for a couple months, go to my classes, and that's it! I would owe you forever! It would be easy, I mean I'm already pretty feminine looking… unfortunately… but you could totally pass as me!"

"Mark, I like where I go to school, I'm not gonna just quit going there because you want to be rock star or something," she argued, shaking out of his grip and crossing her arms furiously.

"I know, but… it would just be really awesome of you, alright?" Mark sighed. "You wouldn't have to do much at all… my roommate is chill, he's on a trip with his dad right now so he won't be back until next week… I'm on a fencing team, but you don't have to go to those, you can quit because –"

"Wait."

Mark paused, and looked down at his sister's wide blue eyes.

"You're on a fencing team?"

He looked at her, confused at her sudden interest. "Yeah… at D'Argencourt's…"

"Shut up!" Marinette yelled, and Mark jumped back. "I never knew this!"

"It's something on the side, I mean I'm not very good or anything..."

This whole thing that her twin brother was proposing was absolutely crazy… but… this was Marinette's chance! If she could just pretend to be Mark for a little bit, and take his place on the fencing team, then… she could prove herself! D'Argencourt would be sorry for not letting her try out just because of her gender!

But was it really worth it, to miss class at her own school? She'd have to break it to Alya… This whole thing was going to be hard to pull off, to say the least…

"Marinette?" Mark asked tentatively, pulling her out of her tumbled thoughts.

She sighed before nodding. "I'll do it."

"AHHHH, YOU'RE THE BEST SISTER EVER!" Mark cried, crushing her into a hug. She protested loudly as he swung her around. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You owe me big time!" She yelled over him, hitting him on the shoulder until he let her down.

"I knew that you wouldn't leave your poor brother hanging, though," he grinned, jumping over to his desk and pulling out a manila envelope. He handed it to her. "Here's everything you need to know about my classes, my friends, my roommate - we don't talk much so don't worry – oh and my schedule is in there too."

She took the envelope in her hands and scoffed at him. "Confident much?"

He grinned again before ruffling her hair and grabbing his packed duffel bag. "The key to the room is in there, too. My plane leave in a couple hours, so I have to head over to the airport."

"Wow… okay," Marinette said, walking with him over to the door. "I didn't think you were leaving so soon… it was good to see you."

"Hey. I love you," he smiled, pulling her into a last hug. "You're seriously the best sister ever."

"Yeah, yeah," Marinette laughed, pushing him away. "Don't come back until you're a rich rock star like Jagged Stone, alright?"

He laughed, and gave her the thumbs up. "You got it!" And then he was gone, racing down the hall and out of sight.

Marinette watched him go, and sighed before glancing back down at the envelope in her hands.

She had a lot of work to do…