My first Miraculous fanfiction. My writing skills may be a little rusty, so I apologise in advance. But, welcome to my story and I hope you enjoy it.

Rated T for violence, graphic violence/description, infrequent strong language, descriptions of a panic attack and later infrequent scenes of emotional and physical abuse. Trigger warnings will be in place for those chapters.

Possible season 2 spoilers, I'm not sure, just thought I'd warn just in case.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. This is merely fanfiction and I am not making money out of this. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just written for fun.

UPDATE 12/26/2018: This story is currently in the process of being edited and cleaned up, so if you're reading and this note this still here, it means that some chapters further along the story will be slightly messier than earlier chapters. This note will be removed once the whole story has been edited. Don't worry, there will be no change to the plot, I'm just cleaning up typos that were missed during the initial editing process when this story was still in progress.

~ Destiny's Dance ~

Chapter 1: Disturbing Dreams

Giggles of happiness and freedom filled the otherwise silent, night time air of the city of love. All was unusually quiet; no loud traffic or the sound of people and tourists bustling about the city. The moon hung large and full in the sky, the twinkling light of the stars reaching the earth with no immense light pollution to hinder their beautiful glow as all the lights in the city were off. This fact caused the mild air to fill with delighted laughter once again as a small, thin figure raced across the rooftops.

Ladybug had never felt more peaceful. Just her and all of Paris laid out before her. Her smile only grew wider as she kept on running, the silent streets and lack of light creating a surreal feeling, but it was amazing nonetheless. Her pigtails trailed behind her as she ran faster and faster, savouring the beautiful feeling; complete and utter freedom. Just her and the city.

The red and black spot attired hero of Paris paused on the tallest rooftop in the street, breathing a deep, contented sigh. The shadow of the Eiffel Tower stood tall in the distance and it would provide her with the best view of the city yet. She loved running like this, on her own in the dead of night, but usually it was much more noisy and colourful than this. Normally, her Ladybug superhero sense would be on red alert; this wasn't exactly normal after all.

However, for some reason, Ladybug couldn't bring herself to care. She was enjoying herself way too much, drunk on her weightless happiness. Patrolling the city with her ever trusty partner Chat Noir was fine, fun even, puns and all (although she'd never admit that aloud), but alone time was always nice, especially with a beautiful city laid out before you. To be alone with one's thoughts was something Ladybug did enjoy every now and again, especially as they were hard to come by now that she juggled double identities: Paris' beloved hero, a school girl with friends and responsibilities, class representative as well as helping her parents in their little, successful bakery. She could clear her thoughts or focus on one particular thought like which design she would like to do or think up gift ideas for her friends. It was bliss.

Hand clutched at her yo-yo tied around her waist, Ladybug was poised and ready to bolt for the Eiffel Tower when movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Startled, she whipped her head around to the source of the sudden movement; she thought she had been the only one out here, that she had the whole city to herself. Evidently not. She clenched her yo-yo tighter in her hand, ready to use it against any possible threat that appeared to be stalking her this dark night.

An involuntary gasp escaped past her lips, her grip on her weapon subconsciously loosening, and her blue eyes widened in shock, the rest of her body freezing in place. Stood on another rooftop a few metres away was a tall boy, eyes concealed in shadow by his golden blond locks, but she could sense his eyes looking directly at her. Ladybug immediately began blushing, however she could not contain her shock.

What was Adrien doing out here?

"A-Adrien?" Was all Ladybug could stutter out in confusion.

He said nothing in response, merely raising his hand, stretching it out towards her while the rest of his body remained frozen and unmoving, silently beckoning her. Ladybug could not resist heeding this siren's call, despite her instincts screaming at her that something was wrong. Her body would not listen though as she slowly walked across the roof tiles and jumped onto the roof currently occupied by the love of her life. Unconsciously, she slipped her hand into his own, and before she knew it, he was pulling her close to him, a happy, innocent smile on his lips, although she was still unable to see his eyes.

Ladybug felt her whole body set ablaze as he wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her even closer. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest as she struggled to process the situation. But before Ladybug could even begin to comprehend, Adrien gently leaned his head down, licking his lips ever so slightly as Ladybug felt the entire world begin to spin around her. Her face grew even hotter as she realised what was about to happen.

Again, her mind was screaming at her that something was off, but she could not bring herself to listen as Adrien's lips met her own. She had been waiting for what felt like an eternity for this day. For a few seconds, Ladybug let herself enjoy the sweet, innocent kiss, leaning her head to the side, ready to deepen the amazing moment between them, when she suddenly hesitated. Adrien wasn't kissing Marinette, the girl behind the mask. He was kissing Ladybug. The superhero that everyone adored. The different version of her. The front she put on in order to keep Paris safe. That's what Adrien had wanted to kiss, not the real her, not Marinette, just some faceless, unknown hero. No! She wanted Adrien to love Marinette. Anyone loving her as Ladybug was futile. It was dangerous.

She then had further cause to freeze when Adrien placed his leather hand on her cheek. Wait…leather? Ladybug abruptly ended the kiss, pulling back in shock at the foreign sensation against her cheek. Had the skin of Adrien's hand not been bare?

Both of them pulled back and Ladybug gasped at the sight before her. Instead of Adrien, stood her partner and friend Chat Noir. She had just kissed Chat Noir?! But she could have sworn that it had been Adrien that had been stood there, beckoning her and kissing her. Ladybug felt her heart stop in her chest, going from one hundred kilometres an hour to just zero. The force of it made her breath get caught in her throat, and all Ladybug could do was stop and stare at Chat Noir in shock as he smiled softly at her, once again leaning in…

Marinette gasped loudly, her body shooting upright in her bed from her typical sprawled out sleeping position. Her fingers gripped her sheets as she stared straight ahead, eyes wide with fear before scanning her room. A dream. It had just been a dream. And a weird dream at that! Sure, she had many a fantasies and dreams about her and Adrien on romantic dates, kissing and cuddling, but Chat Noir creeping in there was a first. What exactly was that all about? Marinette frowned, cursing her brain for now making her feel all weird. The thought of kissing Chat Noir made her shiver, but a shiver of what exactly? She couldn't quite pin it and that disturbed her even more.

"Marinette?" A little high-pitched voice suddenly asked. "Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?"

Her ever concerned and attentive kwami flew in front of her face and Marinette couldn't help but blush. This was one dream she did not feel like sharing. It was too weird.

"Yeah, something like that." Marinette forced a smile and scratched the back of her head nervously.

No doubt Tikki was about to ask about it when a sudden vibration interrupted before she could begin to say anything.

"Huh?" Marinette frowned as she climbed down from her bed, clad in her pyjamas of her own unique and beautiful design. She tried to lean and look out of the window as best she could before turning to her computer to check the news where a live broadcast awaited her.

"People of Paris, we urge you stay in your homes!" Nadja's familiar voice filled the room. "Another akumatized victim is on the loose. Chat Noir is on the scene as we speak, still no sign of Ladybug though –"

That's all Marinette needed to hear before she switched the broadcast off.

"I can't believe I slept through an akuma attack!" Marinette exclaimed, eyes wide and placing her hands in her hair in frustration.

Tikki chuckled lightly, "Marinette, you can sleep through anything."

Marinette refused to rise to the joke, instead deciding to get straight down to business, wrapping her purse over her shoulder.

"Tikki, spots on!"

As Tikki flew into her earrings, Marinette felt the familiar transformation over body as she was surrounded by pink light and magic. As soon as she was done transforming, she wasted no time in climbing up onto her balcony. Frantically looking around for the source of the current danger Paris was is, her eyes finally landed on a building in the distance which appeared to be on fire. Ladybug smirked, when in doubt, follow the destruction.

Ladybug quickly hooked her yo-yo around a distant chimney and before long, she was flying through the streets of the city. It didn't take long for her to start hearing the screams of innocent civilians causing Ladybug to frown and clench her teeth together in anger. She hooked her yo-yo around the last lamppost needed to catapult her into the action. She landed gracefully on her feet, placing her hands on her hips as she bit her lip in concentration to survey what was happening.

In front of her was a clearly distressed woman, her skin a bright orange and red hair spiked up resembling a roaring fire. Her dress, which looked like it was originally quite fancy, was now the same brilliant red as her hair, flowing loosely down to her ankles as she slowly walked down the street, a large staff in her hand. Her ruby red lips smirked as she focused on something that was in front her. Ladybug followed her line of sight to see Chat Noir pulling himself off the ground from having obviously landed face first on the concrete of the road. Ladybug's heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, a weird feeling bubbling in her stomach after the dream she had last night. Ladybug blinked, forcing herself to focus. Now was not the time to let the surreal dream of her friend get to her. She had a job to do.

Chat Noir's head whipped around to smirk at her.

"Is that the best you can do, hot head?" He taunted.

Ladybug repressed an eyeroll before gasping as the akumatized lady pointed her staff directly at Chat.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." She growled out, the tip of her staff glowing from yellow to orange and to red.

Swinging her yo-yo, Ladybug hooked the string around her partner's wrist, yanking him out of the way just in time as bright, hot flames blasted out from the tip of her staff, hitting the concrete where Chat Noir had been a mere millisecond beforehand. Ladybug swung Chat Noir towards her, him yelping in shock as she did so before it morphed back into a yelp of pain as he once again face planted the concrete ground next to her. He grunted before shaking his head and gazing up at her, his face lighting up at the sight of her. Ladybug bit her lip and looked away, unable to meet his gaze after that weird dream.

"Ahhh, nice of you to finally show up, Bugaboo. This should really heat things up now."

"Please be serious Chat, this one looks dangerous," Marinette calmly and lightly scolded, "And I am sorry for being late. I – err – may or may not have slept in."

Chat smirked. "So, my lady is not a morning person I take it?"

Ladybug sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Especially on Sundays. So, what exactly is going on?" She asked as they both leapt out of the way of the akumatized victim's gaze before she could try and scorch them again.

"Her name is Scald," Chat Noir answered, turning into a more serious mode, "I get the sense that some dude broke up with her and now she's out for revenge. She's been trying to set most of central Paris on fire. Luckily, I don't think anyone's been hurt. I've managed to keep her pretty distracted waiting for you to arrive."

Ladybug nodded. "Well I'm here now, so let's end this, and quickly."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to play with fire now, would we?"

"No man will ever break my heart again!" Scald yelled manically, chasing after them and pointing her staff at them, a purple butterfly symbol appearing around her eyes.

Ladybug and Chat Noir both jumped back into the middle of the road, hoping that this way, if she did shoot out more fire, it wouldn't hit any buildings. Scald landed a few metres away, a smirk on her ruby red lips before pointing her staff down at the tarmac beneath them. The super duo gasped as the very surface beneath them began to melt into a sticky substance, pinning them to the ground.

"Let's see you try and get out of this," Scald taunted, "now hand me your miraculous or watch the entire city burn!"

"Well, this certainly is a sticky situation," Chat joked, however he was unable to hide the slight panic in his voice.

"Don't worry, I've got this. Hang on!" Ladybug instructed as she wrapped her left around Chat's waist. He did as instructed and clung onto her as she swung her yo-yo and hooked it onto the nearest lamppost. She yanked on the string as hard as she could, willing for this idea to work. The two heroes began to be slowly pulled out. The tar continued in vain to grip their feet before the force of the yo-yo was finally too much and they were free.

They were both sent flying through the air at the force of their sudden release, but Ladybug swung them back around before they could hit a wall of a nearby building. Both of them dropped back onto their feet on a patch of grass that decorated the street before they smirked at the villain in front of them.

Scald growled before using the heat in the air to make herself rise up. "I guess you chose to watch the city burn then!"

"We've got to do something!" Chat yelled, clenching his fist as he glared up at her.

"Any idea where the akuma might be hiding?" Ladybug asked desperately, her eyes scanning Scald's body for any object that looked out of place as she stopped in her ascent, her staff beginning to heat up.

"Perhaps an item her boyfriend gave her?" Chat mused.

Ladybug's eyes zeroed in on the golden locket hanging around Scald's neck.

"Of course! People keep pictures of loved ones in a locket." Ladybug smiled, now sure that was where the akuma was hiding.

Chat Noir smirked, "I'm sure my handsome face would look amazing in a locket around your neck."

Ladybug sighed, choosing not to retort before grinning as she threw her spinning yo-yo into the air. "Lucky charm!" She cried out. Magical ladybugs swirled around above her, creating the object needed in the battle against Scald. The object popped into existence, landing in Ladybug's waiting hands.

"A fire extinguisher!" Ladybug happily exclaimed.

Chat Noir rolled his eyes. "For once, something that makes sense!"

Ladybug frowned; the only issue now was getting close enough to her up there to use it against her and grab the locket. Her eyes scanned around the area for ideas before coming to rest on the lamppost she had just used to save them from the melting tar.

"Of course," Ladybug whispered before yelling at Chat Noir, "Chat, destroy that lamppost!"

"I'm on it!" He responded. "Cataclysm!"

Dark destructive magic enveloped Chat Noir's waiting hand before her leapt towards the metal pole, placing his destructive magic on it. The metal of the pole began to turn dark as the magic travelled up the light. The metal creaked and buckled before it snapped out of the ground, crashing towards the building on the opposite side of the street, landing in a perfect ramp.

"Perfect!" Ladybug exclaimed.

Gripping the bright red fire extinguisher, the young hero began running up the pole, rapidly advancing on Scald whose staff had now turned bright red. Scald spotted Ladybug just in time, growling at the hero running towards her. She turned her staff away from the city buildings, now pointing it directly at Ladybug while Chat Noir gazed on worriedly.

"Maybe I can pick your earrings out of your ashes," Scald growled out through clenched teeth.

Just as a blast of fire was about to erupt from her staff, Ladybug pointed the fire extinguisher directly at her, releasing a powerful jet of water that turned to steam as it came into contact with and put the emerging flames out. Scald screamed as the freezing water hit her body, and Ladybug used this opportunity to yank the locket from around her neck.

"No!" Scald cried out as Ladybug dropped the locket down to Chat Noir, who proceeded to drop it to the ground, stomping on it and breaking the small golden locket. The familiar black butterfly wiggled its way free and began desperately flying away.

Stroking her finger down the middle of her yo-yo, Ladybug cried out, "time to de-evilize!"

She swung her yo-yo around before releasing it into the air, easily capturing the escaping akuma and returning it to her. Ladybug released the now purified butterfly before grabbing her lucky charm and tossing it into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

All was well again. The flames were snuffed out as if they were never there and all of the damage to the area was healed in a swarm of ladybug magic.

"Uhh, where am I?" The woman who was now laying at their feet groaned. Her hair was still a brilliant red, but no longer spiked up, instead falling straight and slick down to her shoulders. Her pretty red dress that matched her hair was wrinkled, and she gasped as she gazed at the now healed locket on the ground. She didn't even bother to pick it up, just staring at it sadly.

"I thought he loved me," her voice broke.

"I'm so sorry." Ladybug crouched down, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know it hurts, but anger is never the answer, especially if it leads to rash decisions."

"I know, I just – I just…" the woman's lip quivered, "he was only dating me because I looked like his ex that he was still in love with. I was just a distraction and deep down he wanted the real deal instead of me. He broke up with me right in the middle of our date. I thought he was the one."

Chat Noir placed a hand on her other shoulder. "It may hurt now, but time is an excellent healer."

Ladybug smiled. "Exactly, and now you can go on to find your true soulmate," she said gently. "People who treat others like that, they aren't worth your tears."

The woman sniffed. "Thank you for saving me from myself. I think I'm going to stay on my own for a while and plan out my next move in life."

"Good idea," Ladybug agreed as she and Chat Noir helped the poor young woman to her feet before letting her go as she began walking off.

With a bright smile, Ladybug turned back towards Chat Noir.

"Pound it!" They both shouted, bumping their fists together in their usual playful, celebratory banter.

But something was different this time. The touch of Chat's fist against hers sent an electric shock into Ladybug's hand that travelled up her arm and into her chest. She gasped and pulled away which in turn also startled Chat.

"Is something the matter my lady?" He asked, deep concern lacing his voice.

Ladybug backed up slightly, panicking, once again not being able to look her partner in the eye. That touch, it had reminded her of her very awkward and weird dream. She knew it wasn't Chat's fault and she felt terribly guilty for reacting this way, but she was beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Her heartbeat picked up its pace and she clutched her hands to her chest, subtly pressing down in a futile attempt to slow her racing organ down. She felt beyond awkward, but how could she explain this to her kitty? Sorry Chat, I kinda had a weird dream where we made out and now I feel all awkward around you? Yeah, that was definitely a conversation Ladybug did not feel like having. It would be so embarrassing! Not to mention it may even give Chat false hope, a pain Ladybug was not willing to inflict on him. Her heart belonged to Adrien!

"LB?" Chat pressed, now even more worried.

"Sorry!" Ladybug suddenly exclaimed. "Umm, lack of sleep?"

Chat Noir frowned, not buying her excuse, but any protest was cut off by the sound of the beeping noise of both of their miraculous.

"Gotta go!" Ladybug squeaked. "See you around Chat!"

"Wait!" Chat Noir cried out, but it was too late. Ladybug was already gone, swinging and running through the streets of Paris before she transformed back.

Chat Noir's shoulders slumped, and he sighed in defeat. What exactly had gotten into his lady?

Ladybug quickly dropped into a deserted, dark alley just in time for her transformation to drop. Marinette sighed in relief as Tikki flew out of her earrings, positively exhausted. As she opened up her purse to grab her little kwami her favourite snack of cookies, Marinette yelped as she realised she was still in her pyjamas.

Tikki giggled as she took the cookie. "Well, you were in a rush."

Marinette cringed. "Oh, I hope no one sees. This will be fun to explain without looking insane."

"Calm down Marinette," the ever patient Tikki reassured her holder, "I can transform you back as soon as I've finished and get you home without any embarrassment necessary."

"Thanks, Tikki." Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the brick wall behind her, her thoughts and emotions a swirling mess.

Soon enough, Tikki was finished, and Marinette was able to transform again, quickly taking off.

Unbeknownst to Paris' greatest hero, the sound of a clicking camera echoed through the alley way as she took off. A tall dark figure wearing what appeared to be a black bowler hat and a black, knee length leather jacket emerged from around the corner, engulfed in shadow, watching Ladybug's retreating form.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave your opinions.