My gift for reckling-turtle, for the mlsecretsanta exchange on Tumblr!

Our Love Can Save the World

Rose had known Juleka for what seemed like forever. In reality, it had only been a couple of years since she'd first seen the other girl being teased for hiding her face. She had 'stepped in' to show those bullies how mean they were being, and the two of them had ended up being a formidable team. Since then, they'd been inseparable. Still, Rose liked to think they'd been friends forever. They certainly understood each other in a way that nobody else seemed to appreciate.

Sure, Juleka was quiet and mysterious, but she was intrinsically a good person in her own way. And Rose needed that quiet support just as much as Juleka needed someone optimistic and cheerful in her life. They fit each other.

And they knew each other so well.

Which was why, when she saw a tiny black jewelry box in her room, Rose was certain it was from her girlfriend. Juleka knew Rose loved surprises! But she also liked to see Rose's expression when she opened her gifts, so Rose grabbed the little box without opening it and ran out the door to Juleka's place. (Probably not the best idea she'd ever had, since there were giant stone monsters roaming around! Poor Ivan!)

When she'd finally gotten to Juleka's room on the little houseboat, Rose had been surprised to see Juleka staring at an identical box in her hand.

"Juleka!" Rose called breathlessly, "You got one too!" She held out her own box.

Juleka blinked in surprise.

"Your mom?" she asked quietly.

"Nah, if she'd gotten us something, she'd have presented it to me in person," Rose said, thinking. "Maybe it was yours?"

Juleka shook her head. "She likes that cheap costume jewelry," she said, looking down at the clearly old-fashioned, and semi-expensive looking box. "Not her style at all."

"Why don't we open them and see?" Rose asked eagerly.

"'Kay." Juleka shrugged nonchalantly, but Rose could tell she was excited.

They didn't even have to count out loud, they simply opened the boxes at the same time. Twin flashes of brilliant light lit up the room and they both cried out and dropped the boxes to the ground.

"Rose, you okay?" Juleka's voice convinced Rose to try to open her eyes. The bright light was gone.

"Yeah. What was that?" she asked, looking up.

She froze when she saw two… things hovering in the air between them. Juleka was watching them as well, her hand casually inching towards her guitar. One was black, the other red, and they looked—well, they looked like enormous bugs with oversized heads, actually.

The red one was obviously agitated and kept fluttering between them, wringing her tiny little… hands? Paws? Whatever.

"Oh no, oh no, this has never happened before!" she squeaked. "You're supposed to be alone—and you're certainly not supposed to be together!"

"Well, that has happened before," the black one corrected, staring down Juleka and nodding his head at where she was now gripping her guitar. "And you can try it, but it's not gonna hit me, girlie."

"Juleka, wait!" Rose said, stopping her girlfriend from smashing her favorite guitar in an effort to get rid of these… whatever they were. "I don't think they mean us any harm. Excuse me, are the two of you fairies?" she asked politely. (Rule number one of working with fairies: always be polite. She'd read that in one of her storybooks.)

"Umm, sort of…" the red one hesitated, still looking uncertain.

"We're kwamis," the black one said simply. "We grant magical powers."

Rose blinked. Well that was a new one. On the other side of the room, Juleka put down her guitar, looking exited.

"Cool," she said softly.

"Plagg! You can't tell them that! They're supposed to be alone when they receive their powers!" the red sprite scolded.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that, Tikki," the black one said lazily. "At least we know they're both our chosen owners."

"But—"

"So, you're going to give us magical powers?" Rose asked slowly, memories of the horrors of earlier today flashing through her head. "Is that what happened to Ivan? Are you guys what turned him into Stoneheart?!"

"Oh no," Juleka breathed, her eyes widening in realization.

"No, no, no," Tikki assured them, "we've been sent to help you combat this Stoneheart—"

"By who?" Juleka asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. Being raised by Anarka had made her wary of The Man. "Who sent you?"

"We can't… really tell you that."

"Why not?" Rose and Juleka asked together.

"Well… I…," poor Tikki looked lost and confused. Plagg, however, rolled his eyes.

"Because it's not 'how things are done,'" he drawled sarcastically.

"So, we're just supposed to trust you?" Juleka said.

"Well, yes," Tikki said slowly, sensing the mistrust growing in the air. "I promise you, we are your friends, Juleka and Rose. You have been chosen by…," she gulped, "by the Guardian, to protect Paris from evil."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it, Sugar Cube?" Plagg said tauntingly.

"It's not our secret to share!" Tikki snapped back.

"Still, you're asking a lot from us," Juleka pointed out. "It's only fair that—"

"Will these powers help us save Ivan?" Rose asked suddenly, thinking hard.

"Yes!" Tikki said excitedly, swooping over to her. "With our help, you'll be able to restore him to normal!"

"Hmm." Rose considered it. She could understand Juleka's hesitation, but if they could save their classmate, shouldn't they at least try?! "Let's hear them out, at least," she said, looking up at her girlfriend.

Juleka nodded, always willing to follow her lead. "I'm not signing anything long-term until we see the fine print," she warned the kwamis.

Tikki was still reluctant, but Rose had the feeling that they'd gained Plagg's respect by being so suspicious. One brief explanation about the powers the kwamis could grant and how to access them, and she was willing to give it a try. It all sounded straightforward, after all. And if they really could help Ivan….

Juleka, however, kept asking questions until Tikki pointed to the window where they could see Ivan's monstrous form raging. Finally, her girlfriend agreed to help.

"So, which one is mine?" Rose asked, looking at the two discarded boxes still laying on the floor.

"I—umm, I honestly don't know," Tikki confessed. "You both dropped them so quickly we weren't able to form a bond!"

"Just pick one and go," Plagg suggested. He turned to Juleka. "Though I must say, I do prefer your dark-and-mysterious look, missy."

"Just for that, I get the ring," Rose said, scooping it up. Juleka laughed at the look on Plagg's face and picked up the earrings. They grinned at each other. These kwamis had a lot to learn!

"Plagg, claws out!"

"Tikki, spots on!"

Rose and Juleka gasped with delight as the magic encircled them, and then Rose positively squealed when she saw her costume.

"I LOOK LIKE AN ADORABLE BLACK KITTY!" she exclaimed, turning to look at herself in Juleka's mirror. Black ears, black tail (she was pretty sure it was a belt), a cute little black miniskirt dress with black leggings and everything was edged in pink—and a bell! An adorable little bell fastened at her throat! And a domino mask that made it look like she was going to a costume ball!

"Cute," Juleka agreed.

Rose turned to see her friend. "Ooh! You too!" she cried. Juleka's long hair had been pulled back into a ponytail with red ribbons. She had a longer skirt than Rose's, and it had a tiny mini cape in the back that was split down the middle, resembling ladybug wings. Both of them had knee high boots, but whereas Rose's were black to match the rest of her costume, all of Juleka's outfit was now red with black spots.

"Juleka, we're so pretty! And you look like a ladybug!"

Juleka chuckled. "That's Miss Ladybug to you!" she said, doing a silly pose from some of those superhero shows they liked to watch on weekends.

Rose giggled. "And I'll be… Kitty Noir!" she said, also posing. "Now, let's go save the day!"

As it turned out, saving the day wasn't as easy as they'd hoped. Ivan didn't want to listen to them at all, no matter how much they begged him to see reason. He just kept roaring about throwing Kim off the Eiffel Tower.

And then, when they finally tried out their powers, it turned out Creation and Destruction weren't as powerful as they were cracked up to be. Miss Ladybug got this strange, spotted wetsuit for a Lucky Charm. Kitty Noir was very nervous about using the Cataclysm; not only did she only get one shot, but anything she touched would be destroyed! Anything! Sure, Ivan was the enemy, but he was also their classmate! They needed to save him, not destroy him!

Best part? They had no idea where the akuma was hiding! Tikki had said it would be obvious, but Stoneheart was completely made of stone! Rose was half-tempted to de-transform and demand the kwamis be more specific when Miss Ladybug noticed that Stoneheart had Kim grasped firmly in one hand and was keeping the other one clenched as well. Now they needed to figure out how to make him open his hand.

So, when Stoneheart started walking away from them, Kitty Noir was so frustrated that she simply used her Cataclysm on the street below him, trapping the monster. Then, Miss Ladybug got a brilliant idea! She leapt up on his shoulders and tied the wetsuit around his head like a blindfold.

Ivan roared with displeasure, but faced with the choices of being blinded, dropping Kim, or opening his other hand, he made the obvious choice and dropped the little wadded up piece of paper. Both superheroines dove for it, smashing it to pieces.

Then they had to scurry to save their classmates before they fell onto the unforgiving ground!

"Pretty," Miss Ladybug said, watching a tiny black butterfly flutter away.

Kitty Noir jolted. "Jule—I mean, Miss Ladybug, catch it!" she cried. "Remember? Tikki said we have to capture it!"

Miss Ladybug snapped out of it just in time and quickly caught it with her yoyo. They both breathed a sigh of relief. That could've been disastrous. Thank God Kitty had been there to remind her! Two heads were always better than one!

Miss Ladybug tossed her wetsuit in the air, just as she been instructed. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

They both oohed and ahhhed at the swarm of magical lights. Especially when the magic put everything back together again. Ivan could've caused millions in property damage!

Then Rose, or Kitty Noir, spun on their classmates. "Alright, what was that about?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "You're going to tell me everything!"

Ivan and Kim both looked sheepish when faced with a real-life superhero.

"Kim—Kim, he… he's been teasing me—" Ivan stammered. "And then, I felt so angry, and there was a voice in my head telling me I could hurt the people who wronged me. He—he called himself Hawkmoth and I…." He trailed off, looking uncertain. Silently, Juleka (Miss Ladybug) handed Kitty Noir the piece of paper the akuma had been in.

"'You haven't even got the guts to tell Mylene you love her, wuss.'" Kitty read. She shot Kim a glare.

"I—I was just trying to get him to man up and tell her, that's all!" Kim said quickly, paling at the expression on her face.

"Well, obviously, you didn't succeed. And is this how you wanna be remembered, Le Chien? As a bully?" Kitty Noir said scathingly.

"Of course not!" Kim said. He turned to Ivan. "I—I'm sorry, man. I shouldn't have written that. For what it's worth… I think you two will be a cute couple?"

It was obviously awkward, but Kitty Noir was satisfied.

"And as for you, Ivan, I think we can agree that listening to voices in your head telling you to destroy people is a bad thing," she said. They'd have to ask the kwamis more about this 'Hawkmoth' later. "Remember the Zombie Skullcrushers' new single, 'Courage in the Pit of Despair?'"

Ivan perked up. "You know that band?"

"Well, of course I do, silly. I'm—"

Miss Ladybug pointedly cleared her throat, and Kitty Noir quickly snapped her mouth shut.

"Well, look at the time! We have to be going now! Be nice to each other!"

With that she and Miss Ladybug swung away.

As soon as they were alone in an alley, Kitty Noir threw her arms around Miss Ladybug.

"That was amazing!" she squealed.

"You were amazing!" Miss Ladybug corrected, beaming down at her fondly.

"Me? You fixed everything!"

"And you talked to the victims afterwards and made them settle their differences."

"Well, obviously, we just make a good team!" Kitty said, blinking as their jewelry beeped at them. Moments later, they were back to their original selves, with two tired-looking kwamis hovering before them.

"Food! I need food! I'm starving!" Plagg moaned.

"Are you two okay?" Juleka asked, holding her hands out so the kwamis could land.

"We need to eat after every transformation!" Plagg pouted. "What I wouldn't give for some delicious cheese!"

"Didja see us?" Rose gushed at Tikki. "Did we do everything right?"

"We can't really see while you're in the suits," Tikki said, smiling tiredly. "But from what I could sense, I think you did quite well!" Rose cheered. "But there is still the issue of secret identities," she added, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Juleka demanded as Rose immediately stopped cheering to listen.

"Nobody is supposed to know your secret identities," Tikki said solemnly. "Including you two. Oh dear, we'll have to tell the Guardian about this, and then he's going to have to choose new owners and—"

"But why?" Rose said, feeling like crying. "We did everything right, you said so yourself!"

"But, it's not safe!"

"And you think two different kids, our age, totally alone, are going to be safer?" Juleka pressed. She scoffed. "I'd like to hear your reasoning for that."

"If—if one of you gets captured—"

"Then my first priority should be rescuing my partner, not worrying about my secret identity!" Juleka snarled. "Being partners means watching each other's backs, not hiding from each other!" Rose nodded in agreement.

"We're stronger together!"

Tikki looked from one of them to the other. "But—but—"

"I don't think you're going to win this one, Sugar Cube," Plagg drawled from where he lay on Juleka's shoulders. "They've got their minds made up."

"But the Guardian—"

Juleka shrugged. "You two have to do what we say, right? Isn't that what you told us earlier?"

Plagg narrowed his eyes. "Well… technically…."

"Then I order you not to tell the Guardian about us," she said simply.

Plagg started laughing, especially when he saw Tikki's dumbfounded expression.

"OH, I LIKE THESE GIRLS, TIKKI! CAN WE KEEP THEM?"

The next few months were interesting, to say the least. They were closer than ever at school. Paris quickly got used to the new pair of superheroes, especially when Hawkmoth tried to make his public demand for the Miraculouses. Rose, as Kitty Noir, berated the talking face for close to ten minutes about being a bully and hurting people while they were at their lowest. Miss Ladybug (Juleka) just told him to go suck an egg. He was never getting their Miraculouses.

Miss Ladybug's words turned into a battle cry for those who Hawkmoth targeted. The phrase "I told Hawkmoth to suck an egg," became a point of pride for those who managed to reject the supervillain's offer. And, since they knew that Kitty Noir would give them a stern lecture after they were de-akumatized, many did, in fact, refuse. It just wasn't worth it to be berated by a petite little blond in a catsuit. Especially once Alya started filming. Some people criticized her for this, but Kitty stood firm.

"If you're going to use your personal problems as an excuse to become a public menace, don't be surprised when we call you out on it!" she declared.

Some people also criticized them on their relationship. "Two female superheroes," most critics pointed out, especially to the enthusiastic fanboys, "they can't be anything other than good friends!"

This time, it was Miss Ladybug who answered them, though she used no words. Christmastime was right around the corner, so she simply stopped Kitty Noir from leaving after their latest akuma was defeated ("YOU DO NOT MESS WITH SANTA CLAUS!" Kitty Noir had furiously shrieked into the night. "HAWKMOTH, WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU—!"), pulled out some mistletoe and kissed her passionately, right in front of the cameras. They both giggled a bit when Kitty fanned herself dramatically afterwards and winked at the camera before they took off for home. ("Well, that added some Christmas cheer to my night!" Rose had giggled later. Juleka just smiled and promised to do it again.)

Of course, they got flack for their romance as well, including the few purists who demanded their ages, but they simply responded that they couldn't give out any personal information that might lead Hawkmoth to their secret identities.

"None of your business!" Kitty Noir sang at the cameras, giving them a friendly wink and blowing them kisses.

And then, Hawkmoth tried to take advantage of their relationship by having akumas target one of them, but the pair was prepared for this, and the result was immediate and ruthless.

They switched Miraculouses.

Juleka had often said that Rose was the more violent of the two, but nobody believed her. After all, it was sweet, innocent Rose! But everybody was talking about the blond Ladybug whose Lucky Charm had turned into a machine gun and took out the Fanboy army that had come to claim Kitty Noir as their mascot. And Juleka, as the Unlucky Cat, had terrified the akumatized villains so badly that they'd given up their akuma willingly, begging her mercy.

Hawkmoth was never able to akumatize another person whose main goal was to separate them… ever again.

Nathaniel even illustrated a comic about it that he called, "REKT." It sold out.

"I think this is my favorite part," Rose said, reading it one night while curled up with Juleka in her bed. Akumas were few and far between now, but they still enjoyed each other's company whenever they could get it. "Where you growl, 'YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH MY KITTY, YOU'RE GONNA GET THE CLAWS!' I love how Nate drew your cat eyes glowing, and you even have little fangs!"

"You like fangs, huh?" Juleka teased, nipping at her ear playfully. Rose giggled and leaned against her, sighing happily when her girlfriend started running her fingers through her hair.

"And, is it just me," she asked, "or do you get the urge to pun whenever you put on the ring?"

"It's not just you," Juleka said solemnly. She nodded to where their kwamis were dozing in little pile they'd affectionately dubbed the 'kwami ball'. "I think Mr. Stinky-Cheese Man there has a bigger heart than he lets on."

"Yeah, he's a big softy," Rose agreed. She was so glad the kwamis had finally relented and made no noise on separating them. She liked to think they'd proven themselves as superheroes, but sometimes she worried they weren't doing enough to defeat the bad guy. Still, she wouldn't give Juleka up for anything. Not even superpowers.

They were quiet for a moment, just reveling in being together.

"Do you think we'll ever defeat Hawkmoth?" Rose asked quietly.

"Dunno," Juleka replied. "I'm just glad I get to have you as a partner. It'd be terrifying to try to do this alone."

Rose hummed an agreement and curled up against her tighter.

"No matter what anybody says," she murmured. "Our love is what's gonna save the world."

End.