"Don't worry girl. It'll be over quick," Alya consoled before walking up to the scale set up in the courtyard.

Marinette directed a glare at her schoolyard bully, Chloé Bourgeois. The blonde girl was smirking superiorly with her arms crossed over a black sports bra. This entire day was her fault.

But softly, the dark haired woman admitted to herself, it was a little bit her fault too.

After a particularly draining night chasing Akuma and scrambling to finish homework, the part-time superhero forgot to do her laundry. Such a small oversight became her undoing when Marinette squeezed into one of her older outfits so she could rush to school.

While being a designer meant she liked to be fashionable, it didn't bother her to wear an outdated set of clothes. The problem was that she hadn't worn these clothes since before she became the saviour of Paris, Ladybug.

"Hey Chubbinette! They're not going to let you stay covered up forever!" Chloé taunted, laughing with her best friend Sabrina. "Don't worry even your ass isn't fat enough to rip spandex."

Marinette softly growled and hugged her oversized beach towel to stay covered up.

It was such a small thing. She was trying to say 'Good Morning' to Adrien, her crush. She just wanted to say hello, but then she started to babble and when she tried to stop babbling, her clumsiness kicked in and her pencil slipped to the floor. All she did was bend over to grab it; and, before she even realized what was happening, she had popped a stitch.

The mortification of ripping her pants in front of her crush burned on her cheeks, but nothing could make her feel worse when her nemesis burst into laughter at her distress.

Chloé immediately capitalized on her misfortune, taking as many pictures as she could while the dark haired girl fought to cover herself up.

Madame Bustier was sympathetic and had sent the embarrassed girl home for a change of clothes, but the damage was done. The blonde haired devil had convinced her father that Parisian students needed a 'Healthy Fitness Day' so they didn't end up like an obese American. She was even able to convince him that the girls needed to wear spandex sports bras and shorts for accurate measurements in front of everyone.

Now she was stuck covering herself up until it was her turn, watching her classmates give her sympathetic looks for Chloé's body shaming.

Hoarding cookies in her purse and living in a bakery. Constantly wearing loose fitting clothes and hiding her physique. Opting out of gym class and the various sports clubs. Even her years as a shy nobody fit into the puzzle for her classmates.

Everyone was certain that these were the hallmarks of an unconfident chubby girl with body image issues. Marinette wanted to scream in frustration when even Mylène had offered her support.

But her friends and classmates could not have been even more wrong.

How could she explain that the dozens of cookies she slipped into her bag were for Tikki, her Kwami partner, to recharge throughout the day?

How could she tell them that she wore loose clothing because she didn't want to give any more hints about her identity?

How could she make it clear that she didn't take gym or play sports because it wasn't fair thanks to the boost from her alter ego?

Marinette grumbled to herself. She couldn't explain any of this; and, now she was stuck, wrapped up like a mummy, and about to be exposed.

A glance at the boys made her feel a little better. She blushed darkly when she started to drink in the sight of her crush, Adrien. Like herself, the boy usually wore loose fitting attire. She figured he didn't appreciate the extra attention. After all, he was a model. But Marinette couldn't help herself from sneaking glances to admire him.

The blonde haired, green eyed man had a body like an Adonis. His chiseled physique was almost like a cross between a long distance runner and a martial artist, powerful yet compact. Even Kim, the self proclaimed jock, didn't look nearly as fit in a muscle shirt and shorts.

Marinette was so lost in her fantasy, drinking in the perfect body of the love of her life, that she almost missed being called up.

"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng! Please step up!" the female dietitian called, directing the young woman to the scale.

The dark-haired woman sighed and tried to calm her rapid heart. She could feel the eyes of her entire class on her as she stepped onto the scale, refusing to remove her towel an inch.

"63.6 kilograms!" the woman announced, "Please take off your towel for measurements and body fat percentage."

Marinette could hear her classmates break out into whispers. Despite her mortification, the Ladybug inside her was beginning to get annoyed.

"Oh my God!," Chloé crowed gleefully, "She's even fatter than I thought."

Alya shot a dark took to the blonde haired menace and encouraged, "Don't listen to her!"

Even the dietitian gave the pigtailed girl a sympathetic look and offered, "It's alright sweetie. It's better to get things like this over with."

Marinette grit her teeth and gave one final sigh before letting her towel drop to the side...

"WHAT!?"

She was ripped.

A year of running around the city, fighting off hordes of villains, and access to all of the fresh food she could every want was bound to have an effect. The only person that could come close to her level of physical activity was Chat Noir.

Tikki had explained that the magic in her Ladybug outfit bestowed speed and strength well above a regular person, but these attributes also bled with her civilian self.

Years of resisting the delectable temptations from her parents' bakery had strengthened her resolve, but gave her the calories and protein she needed for healthy growth. With Papillon's constant onslaught, Marinette found herself with more than enough exercise on a near daily basis to tone her long legs and muscular thighs.

Blushing a bit at all the scrutiny, Marinette waved her hand in front of the dietitian to finish her measurements. She was even more embarrassed when she realized everyone was staring at her.

"Girl! When? How?! What!?" Alya sputtered incoherently, pulling the dark haired woman next to her.

The entire class seemed to crowd around, eager to listen in.

"U-um. I-I work out?" Marinette stuttered cutely, not sure how to explain things without giving her secret away.

"Work out? Mari, you look like you could give Agreste a run for his money if you gave up design and went into modelling!" Alix exclaimed, mockingly giving the girl a once over.

Blushing even more and reaching behind her head, the young woman gave an awkward smile, "Y-you all saw m-my Papa on Career Day. I-it runs in the f-family?"

"Oh! That makes a lot more sense. Your papa was even bigger than Sabrina's dad," Alya exclaimed, grabbing the other girl in a hug, "I just can't believe you were hiding your awesome figure all this time."

Tom Dupain while known for his pastries and gigantic heart was also a gigantic man. While he might have been a little out of shape, his arms and chest were absolutely massive.

The group started nodding and chattering at the explanation, giving appraising looks to their dark haired class representative as if seeing her for the first time.

Marinette couldn't help blushing even more and feeling a bit self-conscious, shifting a bit from side to side. Even if the outfit wasn't quite as form fitting as her Ladybug costume, it was a bit strange for her to be on display.

"Bah! Who would even like an over-muscled Amazon anyways?" Chloé interjected derisively.

A sly look appeared on Alya's face as she pointed to the edge of the group. "I don't know... I think Adrien appreciates the look."

Marinette bit back a retort and nearly gave herself whiplash as she turned to look at the aforementioned blonde boy.

She felt like the color was never going to leave her cheeks because Adrien Agreste, the love of her life, was staring at her with a glazed look in his eye, repeating the same word again and again.

"Wow."

"Looks like I'm up next, dude," Nino remarked, nonchalantly taking his place on the scale and leaving Adrien to his thoughts.

The blonde haired boy frowned to himself as he tugged a bit at his 'Healthy Fitness Day' workout outfit. The bicycle shorts and muscle shirt clung tightly to his body, highlighting every inch. But Adrien's discontent had little to do with feeling a bit exposed. His modeling career had long ago put an end to feeling body conscious.

His thoughts were actually focused on his perpetually shy classmate, Marinette. Glancing over to the young woman wrapped in a towel, his heart reached out to the girl.

"Hey Chubbinette! They're not going to let you stay covered up forever!" his childhood friend Chloé taunted, laughing obnoxiously.

Adrien felt torn. He knew Chloé was being unfair and a bully. If he was honest with himself, the whole last week had been a perpetual war raging inside his head. Listening to the blonde girl belittle Marinette repeatedly made him feel terrible, but he was afraid he would lose his oldest friend if he said too much.

So what if the dark-haired girl was a bit chubby and kept cookies in her purse? Chloé was really going too far to embarrass her.

The part in him that was Chat Noir was tempted to pay the blonde a visit, but he had been at a loss to explain how he could've known about the bullying without giving away his secret identity. Plagg had pointed out that she probably wouldn't listen anyways, Chloé didn't hold the leather clad hero in the highest esteem.

What would Ladybug think of him now?

Too afraid to do what's right and willing to let a sweet girl have her self-confidence ripped to shreds. Just when he finally started getting Marinette to open up to him...

They had gotten off to a bad start. Chloé ruined that too, sticking a piece of gum on the dark-haired girl's seat. Marinette hadn't known that he wasn't responsible. Even after he apologized and gave her his umbrella in the rain, it was obvious that he made the poor girl uncomfortable.

At first, Adrien thought that maybe she was just a wallflower, but time and time again, the young woman proved her tenacity, stepping up to Chloé, offering kind words, and taking charge as the leader of their class.

With wallflower off the list, he thought that maybe the girl never accepted his apology and carried a grudge; but, that possibility faded as quickly as it had come. Marinette was so sweet and would often try to say hello even if she always ended up tongue tied. She didn't have it in her to hold a grudge.

No. It was clear. Adrien could see the panic in her sapphire eyes every time he got closer. She was embarrassed for ignoring him that day. She regretted giving him the cold shoulder, but had no idea how to make amends. The sweet, kind girl wanted desperately to make up for a misunderstanding that, at the end of the day, was his fault.

The green eyed man knew it was just going to take time. He would just have to let her feel more comfortable; and, eventually, she'd realize that he didn't blame her for thinking so poorly of him. Back then, she had every right to be mad at him.

But as he glanced over at the girl stepping up for her turn. Now, she was going to feel judged by her peers. Her towel was going to drop and she'd be devast-.

"Wow," Adrien slipped out, eyes widening at the sight of the goddess in front of him.

Idly, the young man thanked Chloé for making sure that everyone had to wear spandex. Never in his dreams did he imagine that his shy but tenacious classmate looked like that underneath her baggy clothes.

Unconsciously, Adrien moistened his lips as he drank in Marinette's long muscular legs and beautifully rounded butt. Her abs were clearly visible from a distance while her moderately sized breasts seemed just perfect for her form. She was like a professional dancer or a tall gymnast.

He knew he was staring. He knew he shouldn't be staring. He didn't care he was staring.

"Wow," the model repeated, unable to blink.

Adrien wondered what it would feel like if he squeezed her butt. Would it be rock solid? Or would there be just enough softness? How did she make standing look so sexy?

"Wow," the blonde haired man muttered one more time, before abruptly feeling himself dragged back to reality.

"Dude!" Nino whispered harshly, "Stop staring!"

Turning scarlet, Adrien realized the entire class was now watching him. To his chagrin, Marinette was looking like a deer caught in the headlights, completely red herself.

Next time on Ripped: Now that Marinette's made Chloé eat her own words, she has the chance to really catch Adrien's attention. Will our shy sweetheart be able to impress her crush? Push yourself to the limit, Marinette!