Soon enough, lunch had arrived, and Marinette's phone started to buzz in her backpack making Marinette immediately pull it out and look at who it was, smiling when she saw the name.

"Uh, who's calling you?" Alya asked as she peers over Marinette's shoulder to see who was calling her.

"Just some people that I'm close to," Marinette answered with a sly smile, before turning to face her new friend.

"I'm sorry, Alya, I got to take this. It's important," She said, feeling sorry that she was leaving her new friend alone.

"It's cool. I'll see you next class?" Alya asked, which made Marinette smile and hug her.

"Promise. I'll see you later," Marinette said as she pulled away and walked towards the stairs. But as she was walking down, Tikki pokes her head out of Marinette's purse, feeling curious.

"Who is calling you Marinette?" Tikki asked just as Marinette got to the bottom of the stairs, before looking down at the adorable red kwami.

"My brothers," The girl replied before she accepted the call, allowing the screen to show an excited Toby and Jim, making her smile bright.

"I'm guessing you guys saw the news? How did I do?" Marinette asked, which confused Tikki, but allowed Toby to start rambling.

"YOU WERE AMAZING!! WE TOLD YOU YOU WERE A GREAT HERO!!" Toby cries out in excitement, as Marinette found a bench to sit on, and took out her lunch.

"You were, awesome Ladybug," Jim complimented, making Marinette smile, while Tikki's eyes widened in shock, as Marinette pulled out a sandwich her mom had made for her.

"Thanks, you guys," Marinette replied warmly, right before Tikki flew in front of her with wide, frantic eyes.

"You told them you are Ladybug!? Why would you do that?!" Tikki worriedly asked Marinette, which made her smile fade a bit, and put her sandwich down.

"Jim, Toby and I don't keep anything from each other. And while I trust them with my life, they know when I'm lying. Plus, they live in the USA, so they don't have to worry about Hawkmoth knowing that they know," Marinette explained, defending her choices, to which Tikki could see the appeal of these two boys knowing Marinette was Ladybug.

"I guess you make a good point. They won't tell anyone, right?" Tikki asked, to which Marinette nodded.

"They won't tell another soul unless I tell them they can," Marinette promised, not noticing the confusion on Jim and Toby's faces.

"Okay then, it's okay for them to know," Tikki said, bringing a smile to Marinette's face.

"Thank you so much!" Marinette said while Jim and Toby had had enough of wondering who she was talking to.

"Um, sis, who are you talking to? Does someone else know your Ladybug? Plus, why can't we see them if you are facing the screen?" Jim asked, which brought a frown to Marinette's lips.

"I'm talking to my kwami Tikki, and what do you mean you can't see her? She's floating in front of the screen and in front of me," Marinette said, confused about why the boys couldn't see Tikki.

"Well, we can't see her if that's the case," Toby said, causing Marinette to face her kwami again in confusion.

"What's going on, Tikki? Why can't they see you?" Marinette asked, trying to find a logical answer to this.

"Kwami's can't be filmed or photographed, so they can't see or hear me through the phone," Tikki explained, clearing up any confusion.

"Oh, that explains it," Marinette said before turning back to the phone.

"So kwami's don't show up on camera, so you guys can't see or hear her. Sorry boys," Marinette explained, allowing them to understand.

"Got it. But anyway, while we are glad that you changed your mind, and became Ladybug, what exactly caused that?" Jim asked, to which made Marinette roll her eyes with a fond smile while Tikki flew back into her purse.

"I was wondering when you would ask. Do you guys want the long answer or the short answer?" Marinette asked before she took a bite of her sandwich. Considering she knew them like the back of her hand, she knew they were going to ask for...

"The long answer, please. And don't spare the details we didn't see on the news," Toby said, excitedly, wanting to know more, as Marinette was about to take another bite of her sandwich.

"Alright, so this morning after breakfast..." Marinette began, after swallowing her bite full of sandwich, as she began telling the boys the events that had happened that day. Starting with how Alya mentioned her new blog, Chloé decides to be a bossy blonde cow and mock Ivan, then helping him to find a way to confess to Mylene. But when she got to the events after she had given Alya the Miraculous... the boys were more interested with that.

"... So when we got to the classroom, I saw a guy I didn't recognize at the time, putting a piece of chewed gum on my seat. Turns out it was Adrien Agreste, Gabriel Agreste's son, and apparently the guy that Chloé kicked me out of my old seat for," Marinette continued, while finishing off her sandwich, venting about what happened.

"Wait, that blonde guy in those magazines you showed us during the summer?" Toby asked, hoping that Marinette wasn't going to be going to school with another blonde jerk, while Marinette pulled out an apple from her lunch bag.

"Unfortunately. Anyway, I just ignored him and placed a napkin over the gum before sitting down, and class started..." Marinettte said, as she continued to explain what happened before the news was able to catch Ivan's second akumatization, with Ivan taking Mylene, and Chloé. As well as her deciding to be Ladybug again after Alya and Chat Noir were in trouble, then helping them, and then her partner encouraging her to do her best. She didn't bother explaining the rest, considering they had watched it on the news.

"Great job with the akuma, by the way. You guys were awesome!" Toby exclaimed, making Marinette smile.

"Thank you. So afterwards, I came back and met up with Alya, who hadn't been able to get anything for the battle, but we went to class, I decided I had enough of Chloé's bull crap and sat in my original seat with Alya next to me, and FINALLY stood up to her!!! And it felt so good!!! So liberating!!" Marinette exclaimed excitedly, bringing excited/shocked looks to the boy's faces, while she was about to finish off her apple.

"Good on you, sis! Looks like this year is looking bright for you. I wish we could say the same," Jim said, proud of Marinette's courage in standing up to her bully, while he couldn't do the same with Steve.

"Speaking of which, how was your guy's day? Did anything interesting happen? Other than what you guys saw on the news? Did you finally talk to Claire, Jim? Anyone catch your eye yet, Tobes?" Marinette asked, basically mimicking how Toby acted yesterday by asking questions, which brought smiles to their faces, as she finished off the apple and put the core into the sandwich wrapping to throw away later.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. You know nothing happens here in Arcadia. The Paris News was a reprieve from that. And no, no one has caught my eye this year," Toby answered, replying to most of Marinette's questions.

"And to answer your other question, no I have not talked to Claire... yet," Jim admitted , feeling embarrassed for his cowardness. That feeling only increased when Marinette shook her head in exasperation.

"Bro, how do you expect her to notice you if you don't talk to her? You need to suck it up and talk to her!! You've had a crush on her for so long, Papa has already got you guy's wedding all planned out," Marinette exclaimed, trying to get her lovesick brother to tell his crush how he feels and fast, since their dad was planning on setting them up on a date the next time they were in town.

"Oh god no!! I love Dad, but not when he goes overboard with his ideas of our love lives," Jim gripped while Toby was laughing his butt off with their conversation.

"You mean YOUR love life. Thankfully, I don't have to go through the same, since I don't have a crush on someone," Marinette responded, glad that she wasn't in her brother's shoes.

"You never know MariFairy, this might finally be the year you have a crush on someone," Toby manages to say after he calms down from his laughter, while Marinette rolled her eyes in exasperation. This was a topic the boys kept bringing up every year when school started, ever since Jim started crushing on Claire, and it looks like it wouldn't change this year.

"Hate to break it to you guys, but I've known all the guys in my class since kindergarten. They are like brothers to me, somewhat like you Toby. And I doubt that Chloé's guy friend/arm candy is going to catch my eye after what he did earlier. Plus if I ever did get a crush, I would be a lot better than Jim is acting. I would actually talk to them like a normal person, and not ramble in another language when I'm about to talk to them, like you... Jim," Marinette said, with a pointed glare at her brother, whose cheeks turned bright red, before bursting into laughter.

"THAT WAS ONE TIME!!!" Jim said, trying to defend himself, while Toby just burst out in laughter again at the reminder.

During the summer before the new school year, the three of them were out in the town, when they saw Claire with her friends Darcy and Mary, coming out of the movie theater, and both Toby and Marinette decided to help him. And by that, I mean they saw the girl before Jim did, and while he was talking to Marinette in Italian, they nudged him towards Claire. But when he saw her, he couldn't think of anything to say and ended up rambling in Italian in front of her before running off, leaving Toby and Marinette hunched over and laughing.

"If anything, that was your guy's fault," Jim growled out, glaring at the two of them.

"Oh come on, at least she saw you for a few seconds. That's more progress than what you had made before," Marinette said, calming down from her laughter.

"Yeah, just you wait sis. Considering we are related, you won't be as cool about your future crush as you think you will be. Mark my words," Jim promised, which made Marinette roll her eyes at them again.

"We'll see," Marinette said, just before the bell rang, causing her to look up at the wall where it was mounted.

"I gotta go. I'll talk to you guys tonight," She said as she started to pack up.

"No worries. Talk to you later, Mari," Toby said as he waves through the screen.

"Love you guys. Bye," Marinette said as she got her bag onto her back, and stood up from the bench.

"Bye, Marinette!" The both of them call out before Marinette hangs up the call, and puts her phone back into her bag, right before Tikki pokes out of her purse.

"Your brothers seem like nice boys. You guys seem close," Tikki remarked as Marinette made her way to the steps to the upper levels.

"We are. Jim and I have the same dad, and different moms, but Toby is a close friend of ours. The summer of the year he moved in, Jim introduced me to him, and ever since then, the three of us have been thick as thieves," Marinette said, with a smile, when remembering the fond memories.

"So Toby is only a friend?" Tikki asked, slightly confused about the long-distance relationship while Marinette climbed the stairs.

"He's been Jim and I's best friend for so long, he's considered a part of the family. I'm just as close to him as I am with Jim, despite being on the other side of the world, and only able to video call each other till the summer, when I go and visit. But we make it work," Marinette said as she reached the top.

"I honestly can't wait for the summer, that way you guys can meet in person. Toby will be overjoyed to see how cute you are," She said, already imagining how Jim and Toby will react when they see Tikki.

"I can't wait either, but considering Hawkmoth has appeared... you might not be able to," Tikki said, causing Marinette to look down at her kwami in shock. But when she thought about it... she realized that her kwami was right.

"Right... I didn't realize," Marinette said in disappointment.

"You never know, you and Chat Noir might defeat him before then," Tikki replied, hoping to cheer her holder up.

"Yeah we just might. Who knows," Marinette agreed. Though, she knew there was no guarantee they would defeat Hawkmoth before then. But she decided to file that thought away as she reached the classroom door, and walked in, finding Alya already there. With a smile, she sat down next to her new friend and waited for class to start.

"So, how was your call? Must have been good if it took all of lunch," Alya said, her curiosity growing more and more.

"It was," Marinette said, seeing that Alya wanted to know more, but she wasn't about to give it yet.

"So, mind telling me who these friends of yours are?" Alya asked, wondering what her new friend was up to.

"They're just some guys I've been friends with for a long time," Marinette said, just as Nino and Adrien walked in followed by the teacher and the second bell. As soon as Adrien sees her, he once again tries to wave hello to her, but once again, she ignores him. With a sigh, the model just sits down in the seat in front of her as the lesson starts.

(Time Skip)

When the last bell rang Adrien went outside to wait for his driver. It was raining just like Nathalie had mentioned it would this morning so he was prepared. It seemed that Marinette, however, was not as she was standing under the awning to wait out the storm. So he decided to take the opportunity and walked up to her.

"Hey," Adrien greeted with a smile and hope in his voice

'Ok, good start,' The boy thinkst right before Marinette refused to look at him.

'Oh no, bad start. Next step, the truth,' Adrien thought just before he opened his umbrella and used it to keep him dry as he stepped out into the downpour.

"I just wanted you to know... that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat. I swear," Adrien said, telling her what really happened, and was rewarded to see she was looking at him when he looked at her from his shoulder.

'Good progress. More truth,' Adrien thought before he continued telling his tale.

"I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of new to me," He explained before he shrugged and turned to face her as he offered her his umbrella. Marinette looked at him, taken aback and as if seeing him for the first time, and in a way she was. Thunder grumbled in the background as she reached out to take it. She stood awkwardly until her luck caught up with her and the umbrella closed. This shocked them out of the moment and Adrien paused before laughing into the next. She peeked out from under the umbrella and started laughing as well. All too soon it was over.

"See you tomorrow," Adrien said with a smile, before walking down the stairs, as Marinette stood there still awkward until her bag dropped out of her hand.

"Uh-huh! See you to- to-mu- Woah. Why am I stammering?" Marinette stammered, surprised to find herself at a loss for words, almost like... her brother!

"Heyyyyyy. I think I might have an idea!" Tikki suggested as she zipped out of her hiding spot while Marinette blushed and her eyes widened.

"Oh god, the boys were right... This is the year," Marinette realized as she tried to hide her face from her kwami, only for Tikki to fly over and snuggle into her cheek, making her smile. Unbeknownst to her and Tikki, the boy she had just been speaking with was now having a conversation with a kwami of his own, as Plagg pops his head out of Adrien's overshirt as he reaches the bottom of the steps.

"First day of school and we already have two love birds," The kwami said slyly, already knowing that sparks were flying between the two of them.

"Pff. Whatever. She's just a friend," Adrien dismissed; much to this author's displeasure to write those four God forsaken words; before he gasped at the meaning of his words.

"A friend," Adrien said in realization before he blushed and risked a side glance at Marinette before reaching his limo. Once he was inside Adrien was driven away as Marinette watched with a smile, and with a forlorn sigh, she picked up her dropped backpack and walked down the stairs, making the short walk home, as they both looked forward to tomorrow.

Meanwhile, on the street corner opposite the direction, Marinette was going in, the old man who gave the two their Miraculous, was standing underneath an umbrella with Wayzz floating next to him as they watched the events in front of them unfold.

"Excellent choice, Master," The little turtle kwami said to the sly smiling man, as he held the umbrella above them while looking over at the kwami.

"Those two are made for each other," Master Fu said as he stroked his beard in accomplishment, before looking back at Marinette with a fond smile as she went inside the bakery.

(Time Skip)

After dinner had passed and homework was finished, Marinette was once again in her pajamas and was ready to call Jim at 9:00 like she always did. She then sits down in her computer chair, with Tikki laying on a cushion near it, and opens up the video chat app just as the clock turns 9:00, she clicks on Jim's contact, dialing him up. Like last night, Marinette didn't have to wait long when Jim answered, but Toby wasn't with him this time.

"Hey bro. Are you coming out of Spanish?" Marinette asked, seeing as Jim and Toby didn't both take Spanish. Toby decided to take French that year, as a way to communicate with Marinette in French, as Jim did, plus for the chance to use it to flirt with girls he might be interested in later on.

"Yep, he's coming over right now," Jim said as he waved to Toby as he walked towards him.

"Okay, good, cause there is something I want you guys to know," Marinette said as Toby arrived and looked at the screen.

"Hey, Mari," Toby greeted while the two boys began their way to the bike racks to eat their lunches like yesterday. This time, on the menu was Chicken and Waffles, with a side salad and fresh baked cookies; a Lake-Dupain-Cheng family recipe.

"Hey Tobes, how was French?" Marinette asked, just as they both sat down and took out their lunches.

"It would be absolute torture without you and Jim being my tutors, but it's going good," Toby admitted as he got out his lunch, while Jim did the same.

"Okay, sis, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Jim asked, wondering what was so important that Marinette wanted to say to both of them, as Marinette took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out and looking straight at them while they dug into their lunches.

"Guys, it happened!" Marinette exclaimed, which kind of confused the boys, since there were a lot of things that could mean, especially with Marinette.

"What happened?" Jim asked after he swallowed his mouthful of chicken.

"You have to be more specific, MariFairy. When it comes to you, that could mean several things," Toby admitted before he took another bite out of his waffles.

"Guys... it FINALLY happened," Marinette said, emphasizing the word 'finally'. Thankfully, Jim caught on as it clicked in his brain, causing his eyes to widen and to face the phone screen in shock.

"Really? It did? You're not pranking us, right?" Jim asked, honest to God hoping that this year was the year. To his joy, Marinette nodded with a smile, while Toby was still confused.

"What are you guys talking about?" Toby inquired, confused as to what the siblings were referring to, while Jim turned to him with a smile.

"Tobes... remember this day, as the day that Marinette Dupain-Chang, our sister...FINALLY has a crush on someone!!" Jim excitedly said, causing Toby to catch on and smile brightly too.

"No way!! Seriously?!" Toby asked excitedly, hoping that it was true.

"Yep, I do. And you guys aren't going to believe who it is or how it happened," Marinette said, causing the boys to eagerly calm down and continue with their lunches so Marinette could tell them.

"Then start talking. I want to know who managed to sneak their way into your heart," Jim said, wanting to know more while Toby hurriedly ate the rest of his lunch in anticipation, while Marinette smiled at them.

"Okay, so before you say anything about who I say it is... hear me out, okay?" Marinette asked, wanting no judgment until she finished telling the story. With a nod from both boys as they continued eating, Marinette took that as her sign to start.

"Alright, so the guy I'm crushing on is... Adrien," The designer said, which caused Jim to inhale his food down the wrong pipe and start choking. He coughs to relieve the pressure in his throat, while Toby pats him on the back to help him.

"Are you okay?" Marinette asked, worried about Jim, while Toby turned to face the screen.

"I think he's just shocked that you are now crushing on Chloé's guy-friend. We thought you hated him. Now you have a crush on him? What happened?" Toby asked while Jim finally got control of his breathing again and faced the screen too.

"Mind explaining?" Jim asked, to which Marinette nodded with a smile as the boys finished off their chicken and waffles and moved on to the salads.

"Of course. So after school had ended, and nearly everyone had gone home, it had started raining all of a sudden," Marinette began, telling the boys what had happened after school that led to her crushing on the new boy. So when she finished her story, the boys had finished off their lunches, and stared at her in shock, before their eyes welled with tears of joy.

"Wow, that was beautiful, sis," Jim said while he wiped a stray tear with his finger.

"So it looks like both the Lake-Dupain-Cheng siblings have a crush! ABOUT TIME MARINETTE!!" Toby exclaimed as he wiped his mouth of crumbs, while both Marinette and Jim smiled.

"We're proud of you, sis. Hopefully, you do better than I do when it comes to talking to Adrien than I do with Claire," Jim said, causing Marinette to smile even brighter.

"Thanks, bro," Marinette said, just before the bell rang on Jim and Toby's end, signaling that lunch was over.

"Looks like we have to go. We'll talk to you later, Marinette," Toby said as they both packed up.

"No problem, I'm pretty beat anyway. See you guys tomorrow. Bye guys," Marinette said as she waved at them through the screen with a smile.

"Bye Mari," The boys replied back before Jim hung up the call and put his phone into his bag.

"I can't believe that this is the year Marinette finally has a crush on someone," Jim said as they walked to their next class.

"I know right? Now you have to deal with TWO lovesick Lake-Dupain-Cheng siblings! What has my life become?!" Toby playfully complained, as they neared gym class.

"Don't worry Tobes, it will be just fine," Jim said as they entered the locker room to get ready for the hell that is gym class with their warden, Coach Lawrence.

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Marinette had just turned off her computer, and pushed herself away from the screen, while Tikki floated in front of her.

"I thought you guys only called once a day," Tikki wondered.

"We have a system that we made up a few years back. We call at 9 pm every night on our respective sides, and at noon during the day with the same principle. So when he called during lunch, it was 9 pm on his end and just now it was noon over on his end," Marinette said, explaining how the video call system worked.

"So you guys talk to each other twice a day over the phone? At least until the summer?" Tikki asked, understanding the system.

"Yep, and when the three of us are in the same area, things get a little wild. There is a reason why our group chat is called 'Arcadia's Unlucky Trio'," Marinette said with a fond smile, as she reminisces on times with her brothers.

"Why is it called that?" Tikki asked, now curious as to what her new holder had been up to before she met her while Marinette glanced at the clock on her desk.

"That's a story for another time. Right now, it's bedtime," Marinette said, as she got out of her chair, and climbed into her loft bed with Tikki following. Once Marinette was under the covers, Tikki settled onto the shelf above her pillow. But Marinette wouldn't let her new friend sleep on such a hard, and cold surface.

"You can sleep on the bed if you want. I honestly don't mind," Marinette said, much to Tikki's surprise, since not many of her previous holders let her sleep near them on the first night. So with a bright smile, she settled on the pillow next to Marinette's head while they started to fall asleep.

"Good night, Tikki," Marinette quietly muttered as she nodded off.

"Good night, Marinette," Tikki sleepily replied as they both fell asleep, excited for what the next day would bring.