While Chat Noir was joining in the fight, Alya, Juleka, Mylène, Rose, Sabrina and Lila had managed to gather in a group huddle just around the corner past Trocadero. But when they were in the middle of their relieved group hug, Rose quickly noticed that someone was missing.

"Girls, where is 'Lotus'?" Rose asked the others as they pulled away from the hug, causing Alya, Juleka, Mylène, Sabrina and Lila to stare at her in confusion as they momentarily forgot who Rose was referring to. "Marinette, where is she?!" the girl in pink exclaimed, reminding the girls of their missing friend and prompting the group to run back the way they came to find Marinette.

But when they reached the Trocadero, they stopped in their tracks when they saw Gigantitan in their path, who quickly noticed them. Upon seeing the girls, Gigantitan leaned down and tried to grab them out of curiosity, but they quickly ran away before he could, screaming as they went.

"Lollipop!" Gigantitan cried as he got up to follow the girls, only to stop when he suddenly heard the sound of a bell jingling behind him.

"Well, you're the biggest rugrat I've ever seen." a voice behind Gigantitan remarked, causing the onesie-clad akuma to turn and see Chat Noir standing on the near top of Trocadero and jingling the bell he wore.

"Kitty!" Gigantitan cheered as he waddled over to try and reach for the feline superhero, resulting in Chat Noir leaping up to the top of Trocadero when Gigantitan was about to grab him.

"Let's go splish-splash, mega-baby." Chat Noir quipped as he pulled out his staff, followed by his jumping onto Gigantitan's forehead before heading down to the ground, landing in a crouch. "You can't catch me!" the hero in black lightly taunted Gigantitan, who did well in getting the giant baby to start following him while he used his staff to keep ahead of the akuma.

"Let's get our feet nice and wet! But we can't squish anyone, okay?" Chat Noir called out to Gigantitan as he led the baby away from the monument, unaware of Marinette hiding behind a pillar while watching him work.

"He's luring him to the river where there's nothing to destroy. Nice move, kitty!" Marinette praised her partner when she realized his plan, glad that he had a solid plan in mind.

"Looks like that romantic outing with Adrien is on hold." Tikki remarked as she flew out of Marinette's purse, floating next to her holder in wait for her transformation.

"Indeed. We'll be pausing for an epic battle with Chat Noir instead." Marinette agreed as she pulled out her rune-stone necklace, donning her disguise before calling out... "Tikki, spots on!" the red-tipped-haired girl shouted, transforming into Ladybug and heading off to join Chat Noir in defeating Gigantitan.

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Just as Ladybug used her yo-yo to swing out of her hiding place, she was immediately greeted by the sight of Gigantitan still in the vicinity of Trocadero, having caught onto Chat Noir's plan. So instead of following the superhero, the giant baby took to trying to grab Chat Noir, who found himself jumping out of the way of his grasp.

But it proved to be the wrong choice when Gigantitan caught him in mid-jump, followed by him bringing the feline towards his mouth.

"Lolli!" Gigantitan cheered, about to suck on Chat Noir as he had with Placide and the statues earlier. Seeing the little pickle her partner was in, Ladybug landed on the bottom of Trocadero and decided to step in.

"Well, hey there, kitty cat!" Ladybug called to both her partner and the giant baby, grabbing both of their attention and drawing them to her. "I see you're not much of a natural with kids, are you?" the heroine in red playfully teased Chat Noir, amused by his attempts at babysitting.

"Are you kidding? We were just playing a fun game of tag!" Chat Noir replied, using the distraction his lady provided to reach for his staff and use it to escape from Gigantitan's hands, now free to fight once again.

"Taking in his costume, I'd say the akuma's probably in his bracelet." Ladybug observed while Chat Noir landed next to her, quickly throwing her yo-yo to tie the string around Gigantitan's left hand while he was still distracted from Chat Noir's sudden escape. Upon seeing the yo-yo wrapped around his wrist, Gigantitan looked over at the superheroes in shock, which prompted Hawkmoth to step in to guide the baby akuma.

"Gigantitan, watch out for the very naughty Ladybug!" Hawkmoth warned his latest akuma, to which Gigantitan headed the advice and lifted his hand to suddenly fling Ladybug into the air. From there, he threw her and her yo-yo away from him, resulting in Ladybug landing on the Trocadéro roof and barely catching herself from falling off before Chat Noir went to join her.

"Whoa-ho, nice flying. Looks like you're not much of a natural with kids either." Chat Noir teased as he extended his staff to send him up to the roof of Trocadero, stepping onto it with ease after his weapon returned to its compact size.

"Ha-ha!" Ladybug sarcastically laughed, not finding his tease funny at all while they didn't hear thundering footsteps coming towards them. "For your information, I never babysat anything heavier than ten tons." the spotted heroine chided her partner, which fell short when he pulled her away from the roof edge just as Gigantitan reached up to grab her.

Thanks to Chat Noir's interference, Gigantitan soon started to get frustrated when he couldn't find either of the heroes to play with, trying to climb higher to grab them. The giant baby's strategy only worked a little bit since the two heroes backed away from his hands as they crept closer to them. But while Gigantitan was distracted, Ladybug noticed that he was using the arm with the bracelet around it, leaving it open for them to get the akuma.

"Yes!" Ladybug cheered, leaping over to the bracelet to grab it. As soon as she landed on Gigantitan's arm, he once again threw her off of him and into the air screaming towards the ground. However, her time in the air gave her an idea of how to defeat Giganitan before she finally hit the ground, landing in a crouch just before Chat Noir joined her again.

"Change of plans! To calm the baby down, just put him in a playpen." the red heroine declared, both heroes rising to their full height as she spoke.

"And exactly where will we find a playpen his size?" Chat Noir questioned, his arms extending outward to emphasize the akuma's largeness as he brought up that tiny detail.

"The Eiffel Tower!" Ladybug simply replied, her arms extending out to point at the monument across from Trocadero. "We'll pen him up in there with my yo-yo string, and lull him to sleep any way we can. Then when he's getting sleepy...BAM! You'll use your Cataclysm to destroy his bracelet!" the spotted heroine explained, hoping to get through with this akuma as soon as possible.

"Interesting idea, M'Lady. But how are we gonna get him there?" Chat Noir asked, yet again bringing up a flaw in Ladybug's usually flawless planning while more loud footsteps drew near. "Don't you have a simpler plan? How about your Lucky Charm?" the hero in black inquired, pointing to Ladybug's weapon just as Gigantitan came up behind them.

"If this is too complicated, just copy what I do." Ladybug replied before she lept away just as Gigantian approached them, leaving Chat Noir confused by her reply.

But deciding to just go with it and also seeing the akuma about to grab him, Chat Noir followed her lead and escaped Gigantitan before he could grab him. He landed next to Ladybug just as Gigantitan looked at his empty hands in dismay, giving them the chance to enact Ladybug's plan.

"Yoohoo!" Ladybug called to the giant baby, immediately catching his attention.

"Over here, little guy!" Chat Noir hollered to Gigantitan, waving his arms to further entice him to follow them. Fortunately, their efforts worked and Gigantitan started coming towards them, the two heroes backing away as they led him to the Eiffel Tower.

"Once we get him in his playpen, I'll sing him a lullaby." the feline hero said as he gestured for Gigantitan to keep following them, earning a slightly amused side-eye from Ladybug.

"Uh, we want to calm the baby down, not burst his eardrums." Ladybug replied as she waved her arms above her head, finding her partner's idea unlikely to work.

"What? I have a great voice, you know?" Chat Noir playfully argued, turning his mischievous smile at his partner while still leading Gigantitan to his trap. "Maybe I'll meow you a serenade one of these days." the hero in black added, earning an amused chuckle from Ladybug.

All the while, they still manage to keep Gigantitan's attention on them and lead him towards the Eiffel Tower with no problem. That is until the akuma's foot bumped into the lollipop truck from earlier, causing him to stop following the heroes and look down at it instead. Upon seeing Gigantitan focused on the truck instead of them, the heroes try to regain his attention while the akuma knelt to the ground to see all the lollipops inside the truck, completely entranced.

"We're losing him, Chat Noir!" Ladybug exclaimed in worry, their efforts to get Gigantitan to follow them failing now that he saw the object of his desires. Seeing their predicament, Chat Noir suddenly ran off to find something to catch Gigantitan's attention, hoping that it would be enough. While Ladybug was left to wait for Chat Noir to come back, Gigantian was thankfully still at the lollipop truck and trying to get the treats inside.

"Lollipop!" Gigantitan cheered as he reached for the truck, only to accidentally crush the truck with his large hand instead, turning it into a pile of scrap.

When he saw the truck destroyed, Gigatitan was about to cry about it when he suddenly heard a car honking, prompting him to look down to see the Agreste car below with Chat Noir inside honking the horn. Immediately, the giant baby akuma perked up and waddled over to the car while Chat Noir slipped out the other side so that Gigantitan could play with the car, making 'Vroom' noises as he did. Needless to say, Hawkmoth wasn't happy that his akuma was so easily distracted, growling in annoyance at him while face-palming himself at his misfortune. How he hadn't blown a gasket with this akuma's behavior by now, he had no idea. But that didn't matter much to Gigantitan as he played with his new toy while sitting in the middle of the empty Parisian street.

"Good thinking, kitty!" Ladybug praised her partner when he met back up with her at the start of the bridge between Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower, glad that his idea had worked.

"Thanks! I loved playing with cars when I was a kid, so I thought he would too." Chat Noir explained with a spin of his baton, putting it back on the small of his back while he and Ladybug watched Gigantitan play.

"Vroom! Vroom!" Gigantian cooed as she started moving again, pushing the car in the direction of the Eiffel Tower as he crawled.

"Look! He's going to his playpen all by himself! Good job, kitty!" Ladybug applauded Chat Noir, who chuckled giddily since he didn't think his idea would work so well.

But the moment was put on hold when he saw that Ladybug had already left, to which he immediately followed after her to reach the Eiffel Tower. While they were making their way over to trap Gigantitan, the akuma had already arrived at the monument and was still playing with the car. However, the fun was interrupted when Hawkmoth regained some of his lost composure and tried to get Gigantitan's attention again.

"No! Stop playing! Attack the kitty cat and ladybug!" Hawkmoth demanded from his lair, almost begging the giant baby to listen to him.

"Vroom!" Gigantitan cooed again, completely ignoring Hawkmoth's demand as he sat in the center of the area below the Eiffel Tower, still playing with the 'toy' car.

"NOOO!" Hawkmoth yelled in frustration, cutting off the link just as Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived at the Eiffel Tower to enact the rest of the plan.

"Here we go!" Ladybug shouted before she threw her yo-yo at the Eiffel Tower, the weapon encircling it several times in her yo-yo string to pen up Gigantitan.

Amid the yo-yo's encircling, Gigantitan heard the wheezing of the weapon and looked up from his playing to find that he was being trapped. But by the time he caught on to what was happening, the 'playpen' was complete and Chat Noir was wolf-whistling in amazement at Ladybug, impressed that she actually managed to trap the villain. But seconds after he applauded her, Gigantitan walked up to the string and started pulling on it hard, causing the Eiffel Tower to be cut by the indestructible material.

"Hurry, Chat Noir! Use your Cataclysm on his bracelet!" the heroine in red ordered her partner, the Eiffel Tower now starting to creak and tip to the side.

"At your command, M'Lady!" Chat Noir replied, quickly summoning his... "Cataclysm!" the hero in black yelled, his power consolidating in his hand seconds after.

With his power in hand, Chat Noir lept into the air and landed on Gigantitan's hand, eager to use his Cataclysm on the bracelet. But before he could, Gigantitan shook his arm around in the air and sent Chat Noir hurtling off into the distance before he could do anything. Now that Gigantitan didn't have any more distractions, he used his enormous strength to put more pressure on Ladybug's yo-yo string... soon breaking the Eiffel Tower's supports. Ladybug could only watch as the whole tower started to fall behind the temperamental toddler, shocked that her plan had failed so badly.

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While the brunt of Gigantitan's chaos was taking place at the Eiffel Tower, Alix was still waiting for her cue for Marinette's plan at the Pont des Arts bridge. But she had no idea of the action and dangerous situation she was missing, which she would have preferred instead of waiting around the bridge.

"Did she take the rickshaw ride with Adrien or not?" Alix whined as she leaned against the bridge railing, looking over at André as he finished making an ice cream cone before she groaned again.

However, her boredom was soon cured when both she and André suddenly heard screaming cutting through the quiet surrounding them. Immediately looking up to find the source of the scream, Alix was just in time to see Chat Noir hurtling through the air and crash-land onto the ice cream cart, leaving both her and André surprised by his sudden arrival. Soon enough, the initial shock had passed from the trio and Chat Noir quickly noticed the ice cream André was still holding in his surprise.

"I hear your ice cream's the best in Paris, André." Chat Noir said to André as he took the cone from the vendor, hoping to get a quick refuel before heading back to the fight. But when he tried to eat the sweet treat, the feline hero failed to see that he grabbed it with his Cataclysm-infused hand, inadvertently destroying it instead.

"Uh, thank you, Chat Noir." André awkwardly thanked the hero, both grateful for the compliment but also still unsure of what just happened. Regardless of the vendor's confusion, Chat Noir lifted himself from the damaged ice cream cart and used his staff to transport himself back to the Eiffel Tower. There was still an akuma to defeat after all, and he couldn't very well let Ladybug face it on her own, now could he?

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As Chat Noir was making his way back to the fight, Ladybug was having a hard time getting Gigantitan to stay in one place while waiting for her partner. This resulted in her being pulled behind Gigantitan by his yo-yo-wrapped waist, digging her heels into the ground in a fruitless effort to stop him. She even went as far as grabbing hold of a lamppost to better assist her, only for that idea to fail when her grip on the post caused it to be nearly ripped out of the ground when Gigantitan wouldn't stop. Fortunately, Ladybug kept a hold of the post and her yo-yo string, which caused Gigantitan to finally stop in his tracks... and catch Hawkmoth's attention once again.

"Turn around! Look at the mean Ladybug and grab her!!" Hawkmoth demanded after the link was activated again, causing Gigantitan to finally turn around and see Ladybug as she clung to the nearly destroyed lamppost.

"Lollipop!" Gigantitan cheered, quickly stomping over to Ladybug just as she was about to slide off the lamppost to escape. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough and Gigantitan grabbed both her and the lamppost, pulling the post out of the ground in the process of bringing the heroine towards him.

"Hey, silly baby! This isn't a delicious lollipop!" Ladybug exclaimed in a panic while Gigantitan lifted her towards his toothless mouth, her plea turning into screaming when she saw she was about to be sucked on.

"Woohoo! Super-size!" A voice behind Gigantitan called out, causing the giant akuma to pull Ladybug away from his mouth to turn around to see who had spoken to him. As soon as he did, both Gigantitan and Ladybug were greeted by the sight of a rickshaw coming towards them... but not just any rickshaw. Upon closer inspection, Ladybug was ecstatic to see her friends were the ones coming to aid her, with Alya driving while the others were sitting on the passenger seat and holding onto the fake No-Parking sign.

"Hold on tight, Ladybug!" Rose and Sabrina shouted as the rickshaw drew nearer, the two of them sitting at the bottom of the rickshaw while the others were in the actual seat.

"Thanks, girls!" Ladybug sighed in relief, watching as Alya reached Gigantitan's feet and quickly turned the way she came to further entice the onesie-clad akuma. Fortunately for both the polka-dotted heroine and the girls on the rickshaw, the distraction immediately worked.

"Lollipop!" Gigantitan exclaimed when seeing the 'No-Parking' sign the girls were holding and ran after them, dropping Ladybug so he could better follow the girls.

While he was distracted, the newly freed Ladybug managed to land on the sidewalk with ease... as well as dodge the falling lamppost mere seconds later. Once she had, Ladybug couldn't help but smirk at the akuma as she imagined Hawkmoth losing his shit over how badly Gigantitan was listening to him. But her little petty train of thought was interrupted when Chat Noir finally returned to the fight and landed next to Ladybug.

"Glad to see you're okay, kitty." Ladybug greeted her partner, happy he was back.

"Thanks, M'Lady." Chat Noir replied in kind, only to realize that they still had an akuma to defeat. "But we don't have much time left before Gigatitan catches up with those girls or for when I transform back. We need a new plan." the hero in black pointed out, his ring alarm sounding seconds after he spoke to alert them of their little remaining time.

"Okay, enough with complicated plans. Sometimes it's best to just get straight to the point." Ladybug decided, pulling out her yo-yo to call on her... "Lucky Charm!" the spotted heroine shouted, summoning her powers in a flash of light and receiving...

"A roll of gift wrap?" Ladybug observed in confusion, unrolling a small part as she inspected the Lucky Charm.

"Great! Now figure something out so we can wrap this up." Chat Noir quipped, pulling out his staff and standing ready to fight while Ladybug sent him a deadpan glare at his puns.

But she put aside her annoyance and looked around for inspiration for her next plan to strike. Fortunately, it didn't take long for her to spot another lamppost, and Chat Noir's bell to realize what the roll of gift wrap was for.

"Got it!" Ladybug exclaimed, her plan now plain as day as she pulled Chat Noir along to get it underway.

While Ladybug and Chat Noir were getting the Lucky Charm plan set up, Gigantitan was still chasing the rickshaw around the Trocadéro. But after so many loops around the area, Alya was starting to lose steam in her efforts to keep ahead of Gigantitan, especially when she had five girls sitting in the passenger seat. Needless to say, the reporter was getting too tired to continue the chase.

"Girls...I can't do it anymore!" Alya panted out in exhaustion, giving the girls a warning before she slammed her hands onto the front wheel brakes, sending the rickshaw rear into the air. "RUN!!!" the fiery-ombre-haired girl yelled as they were all thrown out of the rickshaw, letting the fake sign fall to the ground while getting out of the way of the approaching Gigantitan. Luckily, Gigantitan was more focused on the sign to pay attention to their retreat, picking it up from the ground with a toothless smile.

"Lollipop!" Gigantitan squealed in excitement before he sucked on the fake sign, his joy not lasting long when he realized it wasn't a lollipop at all.

Disgusted, Gigantitan threw the sign away and started to cry again at his failure to get the sweet treat. But his crying was interrupted when he suddenly heard Cat Noir's bell jingling again, causing the akuma to look over at the feline hero as he leaned against a post a little ways away from him.

"Who wants a nice tasty lollipop?" Chat Noir tempted Gigantitan, pointing up at the top of the lamppost to get the akuma to see the brightly colored wrapping on the top of it.

"Lollipop!" Gigantitan cheered when seeing the polka-dotted gift-wrapped lamppost, quick to believe that it was truly a lollipop as he walked over to it.

As Gigantitan drew near, Chat Noir took a step back to let the akuma pull the 'lollipop' from the street and peel off the wrapping to suck on the treat behind it. But when he did, the only sweet thing it revealed was Ladybug, who had been perched on the top of the lamppost in wait for Gigantitan's folly.

"You've heard of the Trojan Horse, right?" Ladybug quipped as she leapt from the lamppost, landing on Gigantitan's hand to punch the release button on the bracelet and letting it fall to the ground. "Now meet the Parisian lollipop!" the red heroine declared before she jumped down from Gigantitan's hand, extending her leg and slamming it onto the bracelet. Thanks to the force behind her fall, Ladybug was able to break the bracelet when reaching the ground, letting the akuma fly free once more as she rose to her feet and pulled out her yo-yo.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma." Ladybug said as she ran her finger down the middle of her yo-yo to reveal the sparkling pool of cleansing energy inside of it. "Time to de-evilize!" the spotted heroine shouted before she threw her yo-yo toward the akuma, catching it within her yo-yo and pulling it back to her.

"Gotcha!" Ladybug cheered when the yo-yo was back in her hands. A second later, she released the purified akuma, setting the white butterfly free. "Bye, bye little butterfly," the heroine in red said as the butterfly flew away, right before throwing the Lucky Charm up into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug cried out, summoning the cleansing cure and the magic ladybugs.

Immediately, the damage to the Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower was repaired, followed by the numerous street lamps, signs and statues that Gigantitan had ripped out of the ground. It even included André's ice cream cart too, leaving the vendor happy to continue selling his icy treats to the public. The final act the Miraculous Cure did was turn the defeated Gigantitan back into August, the evil aura fading away after the cure took effect. But the cure failed to stop August from turning back in mid-air, leading him to fall right into Chat Noir's awaiting arms below.

"Kitty!" August cooed when he saw who his savior was, reaching up to play with his bell and causing Ladybug to smile at the pair.

"Okay, I'll admit it. You are a natural with babies after all." Ladybug admitted as she leaned against Chat Noir, earning a pleased chuckle from her partner at the praise.

"August!" A voice suddenly called out, prompting the two heroes to turn and see August's mother running towards them to get her son.

"Mama!" August cheered when he saw his mother, reaching out to hug her while she took him from Chat Noir and snuggled him close. But while Ladybug and Chat Noir were smiling at the tender scene, the moment was interrupted when her earrings started ringing their second to last warning.

"We gotta get going. Bye-bye, little guy." Ladybug farewelled as she and Chat Noir waved goodbye to August, followed by them leaving to detransform.

"Thank you, Chat Noir! Thank you, Ladybug!" August's mother responded with a smile, grateful for them saving her son.

"Thank you!" August parroted, waving bye to them as well.

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Meanwhile, down in Hawkmoth's lair, the resident superterrorist was left less than pleased by the result of his latest attempt at getting the Miraculous. But truth be told, he was a little bit glad that the heroes reigned victorious once again, his dramatic tendencies detesting the thought of his winning akuma being a baby.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir, Gigantitan may not have been big enough for the job, but I promise my next villain will be more than you can handle!" Hawkmoth declared before the lair window closed, leaving him and his butterflies in darkness once more. However, as soon as the last rays of light were blocked off for the lair, Hawkmoth let out an unexpected sigh of exhaustion. "Dark Wings, Fall." the resident terrorist muttered, his transformation fading away and turning him back into Gabriel before he walked to the lair's exit panel.

"Maybe akumatizing a baby wasn't the best idea." Gabriel thought aloud as he placed a hand on his forehead to soothe an oncoming headache, followed by exiting his lair and returning to the mansion.

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With the akuma defeated and the danger passed, both Marinette and Adrein went back to their business before the attack began. But while Adrien was now back where he started before leaving Trocadéro, Marinette was quick to meet up with her friends again at the side of the garden's entrance.

"Hey, guys!" Marinette called to her friends as she ran toward them, causing them to start chuckling with happiness and relief when they saw her safe.

"Marinette!" Rose squealed when she reached them, pulling her in for a group hug.

"We were so worried about you!" Mylène added amid the hug.

"Yeah, where were you?" Alya asked as they pulled away, letting Marinette finally explain her sudden disappearance from the attack.

"I was worried, too. I looked all over for you guys!" Marinette said, her excuse managing to toe the lines of truthfulness since she was worried about them after they interfered in the battle. "But I'm so glad everything worked out okay." the designer breathed out in relief, glad that they were okay now.

"All except for your date with Adrien." Alya remarked, pushing her glasses back to the bridge of her nose to keep them from falling.

"Oh yeah. Where did he go?" Lila questioned as she looked around the area, Alya's words reminding the group of why they were even there in the first place before Rose saw the boy in question approaching.

"Oh! There he is!" Rose announced, pointing to him as he reached the top of the stairs once more.

"Maybe we can finish the job after all." Sabrina said as the girls watched Adrien making his way to the Agreste car to leave.

"Awesome. Let's do it!" Juleka agreed, which immediately rubbed Marinette the wrong way when hearing the suggestion.

"No. No more complicated plans. Sometimes it's best to just get straight to the point." Marinette told her friends, quoting herself from earlier and leaving them speechless before she pulled out her sketchpad from her bag. With the book in hand, Marinette walked out from their sort-of hiding place just as Adrien was about to reach the car, making sure it looked like she was just walking up from the gardens too. "Hey, Adrien!" the pigtailed girl greeted the blonde, causing him to turn and see her just after the girls hid behind one of the pillars flanking Trocadero to watch their interaction.

"Is she gonna do it?" Mylène whispered to the others, all of them sitting on pins and needles in anticipation.

"It's just like a romantic movie!" Rose squealed, her excitement barely contained in her whisper as they kept on watching.

"Marinette! What are you doing here?" Adrien greeted Marinette as she walked up to him, unaware of Alya, Juleka, Mylène, Rose, Sabrina, and Lila watching them from afar.

"I came here to do some sketching! I can't believe we've run into each other here!" Marinette explained as she held out her sketch pad, using it to add credibility to her little story. "But, since we're here, would you like to—?" the red-tipped-haired girl began to ask, only for her flow to be interrupted when Adrien's bodyguard impatiently honked the car horn behind them.

"Hang pout? I mean, hang about? No, hag out?" Marinette nervously stammered out, now floundering to say what she really wanted and leaving Adrien a little concerned by her sudden loss of words before Placide I.T. honked the horn once again to tell Adrien to hurry up. "Oh, forget it. Better not keep your guard waiting." the designer said with a nervous chuckle, knowing that she wouldn't be able to Adrien now.

"Uh, okay." Adrien replied skeptically before turning to walk to his car, unaware of Marinette sighing in disappointment as she realized she still couldn't ask Adrien out. Not only that, she could feel her friends' annoyed stares at her as well, which didn't help her crummy mood. But it seemed as if fate was smiling down on Marientte when Adrien opened the car door and said...

"But we can take you home if you want." the green-eyed boy offered, leaving Marinette shocked and her hidden friends to be filled with glee once again. However, the only one who didn't share the joy was Lila, who hid her disbelief behind her plastered excitement. But despite Lila's displeasure, Marinette was immediately inclined to agree to the offer being made, until...

"No, it's okay! I'll take a rickshaw home. Thanks!" Marinette replied, leaving her surprised by her response and her friends annoyed with her once more.

"Okay, then." Adrien said as he got into the car, managing to hide his slight disappointment in her response with a smile. "See you Monday at school!" the green-eyed boy farewelled before closing the car door, letting the car drive off while Marinette waved 'bye' to Adrien. Once the car was far enough away, Marinette's friends came out of hiding and joined her just as her smile slowly turned into a frown.

"Why did I say 'no'? I'm so lame! I could have ridden home with him in his car!" Marinette wailed in the comfort of her friends, turning to face them as she curled into herself in shame.

"Well, at least you managed to get a few full sentences out without losing your cool." Alya pointed out, hoping that at least one positive would cheer Marinette up from her despair.

"Two full sentences out of three! Not bad!" Rose added, proud of Marinette's progress while Myléne and Sabrina placed comforting hands on the designer's shoulders.

"You'll get there in the end." Sabrina assured Marinette, Myléne nodding in encouragement alongside her.

"Sure will." Juleka added, bringing a smile to Marinette's face at their kind words.

"Thanks, girls." Marinette said, thanking them before they were suddenly showered with rose petals, causing the group to turn around and see Alix behind them as she threw another handful on them.

"Don't tell me. 'Gold Buttercup' left the flowerbed with the 'Nanny', right?" Alix asked while using air quotes again, even though it was clear her assumption was correct.

"Yep, but it's all good." Lila said before she and Alya stepped to the curb and signaled for the rickshaw driver to come by again, their efforts were not in vain when the diver parked on the curb seconds later.

"Come on, BFF, let's take a ride home on the rickshaw!" Alya exclaimed as she climbed into the passenger seat, bringing another smile to Marinette's lips at the idea.

"At least I didn't say coleslaw, instead. Now that would have been embarrassing!" Marinette remarked as she and others climbed aboard, the girls laughing in amusement before the driver took off. The only one not on the rickshaw, however, was Alix, who chose to follow after the group on her rollerblades and throw more rose petals at them as they enjoyed their ride.

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(Time Skip)

A little bit after the girl's rickshaw ride around Trocadero, Marinette suggested that they have a sleepover at her house to make up for their hang-out being interrupted. Immediately, they all were in on the idea and quickly split up so that they could get permission from their parents to go to the last-minute sleepover. Fortunately, their parents were okay with the sudden change in plans and they packed up their overnight bags before heading back to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. This is how Marinette found herself once again grouped up with the girls in her room, all of them dressed in their pajamas this time. But just as they were going through movies for later, Marinette noticed that the clock was five minutes away from turning to 9 o'clock... her usual check-in time with Jim and Toby.

"Um... hey, guys?" Marinette began as she leaned against her chaise, drawing the group's collective attention to turn away from her array of movies to face her.

"What's up, Marinette?" Lila asked, sitting on Marinette's right as she placed a DVD case she had in her hand back into the pile.

"I was just letting you guys know that I might have to step out in a few minutes." Marinette said, immediately leaving the girls confused by her words.

"How come?" Sabrina questioned the group's host, sitting on Lila's right as she wondered why she wanted to do so before Alya's eyes widened in realization.

"Wait... is it nearly 9 pm, already?" Alya cross-examined from Marinette's left, prompting her to nod in confirmation and leave the bespeckled girl excited while the others looked at the pair in skepticism.

"Why is that a concern?" Alix questioned Alya as she sat cross-legged next to Sabrina, now seeing that she knew Marinette's reasons for wanting to leave the room.

"Remember when I had to step away from the plan earlier?" Marinette asked the groups, earning nods from all of them in response. "Well, that was because I usually have a check-in call with Jim and Toby every day at noon and 9 pm. It's how we remain close despite living on opposite sides of the world." the pigtailed girl explained, reminding them of a tidbit about her and her brothers that she mentioned in her earlier regaling.

"Oh, yeah. You mentioned that earlier when telling us about them." Myléne replied as she was flanked by Alix and Juleka, both her and the group now recalling when she told them.

"If that's the case, why do you have to step away to talk to them? We already know about them, so why not talk to them here?" Lila inquired, curious as to why Marinette was seeming to be still so secretive about her family despite already telling them about her brothers.

"I didn't get a chance to tell them I told you guys when he called earlier. " Marinette admitted, looking off to the side as she rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. But to be fair, she was too focused on her Adrien plan to tell Jim about her friends finding out about them... which wasn't a good reason when she thought about it.

"Then maybe you can tell them now? I know I'd love to meet them." Rose excitedly requested as she lay on the floor next to Juleka, her hands clasping together pleadingly in front of her while Marinette contemplated the idea.

"Same here!" Juleka added from Alya's left, to which the others nodded in agreement and led to Marinette's final decision.

"Well, seeing as you guys know, I don't see why not." Marinette finally decided, not seeing the harm of letting her brothers meet her friends and pleasing the others. "I'll just give them a heads up before they call so that they aren't surprised by you." the red-tipped-haired girl advised as she pulled out her phone, opening up the group chat she shared with her brothers.

Group Chat: Arcadia Oaks Unlucky Trio:

MariFairy: Hey guys! So I might have failed to mention something during the last video call.

Jimbo: What is it?

MariFariy: I told my gal pals about you guys.

TobyPie: Wait... WHAT!?!?! You never mentioned anything about telling them!

MariFairy: It was unexpected. But I trust them not to spill, so don't worry about it.

Jimbo: Not that I'm upset about you telling more people you trust, but how did that end up happening?

MariFariy: It came up during our game of Truth or Dare. But they said that they wanted to meet you guys. Are you okay with them joining our call this time?

TobyPie: I'm all for it!

Jimbo: Me too. As long as we're careful not to let anything out about you-know-what and you-know-who during the call

MariFairy: Fair enough. And just a heads up, Lila is fluent in Italian so we can't swap over to it during the call since she'll understand us.

Jimbo: No Italian. Got it. Class is about to end soon. We'll see you in a minute.

MariFairy: See you then!

With her brothers warned about her friends, Marinette put her phone away and looked back at her friends with a smile.

"Okay, the boys have been warned and they'll be calling in a minute." Marinette reported as she stood up from the floor and got her computer from her desk, setting it on her chaise so that they could all see Jim and Toby.

"So they weren't surprised by us knowing?" Sabrina asked, impressed that Marinette didn't seem to have any trouble warning her brothers.

"Oh, they were definitely surprised. But after I explained that I trusted you guys, they were cool about it." Marinette clarified as she went to plug in her computer, which earned quite a few surprised looks from the girls.

"Really?" Alya gawked, watching as Marinette made sure her computer was ready.

"Believe it or not, Jim and Toby have always encouraged me to be more open. They're glad that you know." Marinette replied after she turned her computer on, only for it to start ringing to show Jim and Toby were now calling her. "Speak of the devil, that's them now." the designer announced as she went to her desk and used her mouse to click on the receive call button, letting Jim and Toby appear on the screen seconds later.

"Heya, sis!" Jim and Toby greeted Marinette, watching as she sat down next to her chaise and on Alya's right to allow the girls a good view of the two boys.

"Hey, boys! Nice to see you again!" Marinette welcomed her favorite boys, which led to her quickly noticing Toby had the 'Geode Beanie' she sent him. "Oh, I see you got the beanie, Tobes!" the pigtailed girl pointed out, smiling when she saw Toby proudly wearing her gift to him.

"Yes, I did! And I absolutely love it! So glad that you and Jim didn't spill the beans about it!" Toby gushed as he took off the beanie and proudly displayed it to their audience, leaving the girls impressed by Marinette's work.

"Glad to hear it! But just to let you know, that's only part of the set I'm making for you." Marinette slyly remarked, a smirk appearing on her lips when Toby's face erupted in excitement.

"There's more!! Oh, now you got to tell me!" Toby nearly squealed, the screen suddenly shaking as he took Jim's phone out of his friend's hand and lifted it to his face.

"Can't do that! Otherwise, it won't be a surprise." Marinette chided the rounded boy, earning a disappointed groan from him before he handed the phone back to Jim. "But I'm getting off track here. I still have to properly introduce you guys to the girls!" the red-tipped-haired girl exclaimed as she gestured to the group behind her, the boys perking up when seeing them as they got out their lunches.

"You guys already know Alya, of course." Marinette began, gesturing to the ombre-haired girl on her left.

"Obviously, girl!" Alya smugly replied, followed by her turning her attention to the boys. "Hey, boys! How's it hanging?" the reporter greeted the boys, waving at them with a crooked smile.

"Doing good, Alya. nice to see you again." Jim responded while he and Toby returned the favor, waving at Marinette's best friend while getting out their lunches. Thanks to a late-night training session that left Jim knackered, the menu of the day consisted of tacos from Toby's favorite taco truck with a bag of chips each and a packet of cookies to share that they bought on the way to school. But it would do the trick in giving the boys a boost of energy to finish their day at school, so they wouldn't be too picky about it.

"Same here." Alya fired back, happy to see the boys again after the last time she was over at Marinette's for a sleepover before the girl in question took things from there.

"But you still have yet to meet the others. Jim, Toby allow me to introduce you to my friends, Rose Lavillant, Juleka Couffaine, Alix Kubdel, Mylène Haprèle, Sabrina Raincomprix, and Lila Rossi." Marinette continued, pointing to each girl as she introduced them to her brothers and turned to the girls afterwards. "Girls, meet my brothers, Jim and Toby." the designer concluded, not needing to point to who this time after having shown her friends the picture on her phone.

"Hello!" all of the girls greeted Jim and Toby while waving at them, Alya being the only one not doing so since she already met them.

"Hey there!" Jim responded, Toby following the girl's example and waving at them too while he directed his attention onto Marinette. "So these are your gal pals, huh? About time we get to meet them." the Trollhunter playfully teased his sister, a smirk appearing while Marinette rolled her eyes at his behavior.

"We'd say the same thing, but we found out you guys existed only today." Alix remarked, lifting her soda can towards the screen with a wink.

"Ha! Good one!" Toby chuckled, shooting a finger gun and returning the received wink at the pink-haired tomboy.

"Thanks." Alix replied, smiling at the compliment.

"So, Marinette's told you about us?" Mylène asked the boys, wondering how much they already knew about them from Marinette's account.

"Of course! She's told us all about you guys!" Jim exclaimed. "And don't worry, only good things of course!" he assured them, easing the girl's worries of making a bad impression.

"Well, that's good to hear." Juleka sighed in relief, a hand going to her heart out of unintentional reflex.

"But she's only told us the basics about you guys. So we're excited to learn more." Toby elaborated as he pulled out his first taco, unwrapping it to take a big bite out of it after he spoke.

"So are we!! I want to hear all about how you two grew so close while being so far away." Rose gushed, laying on her stomach and using her arms to prop up her head while her legs swayed side-to-side behind her.

"It wasn't easy. I'll tell you that." Marinette remarked, leaning her head towards her computer as she sent a pointed glance towards her brothers.

"And it definitely has its fair share of embarrassing moments." Jim added, nodding sagely at his sister's words as he copied Toby and pulled out his own taco, eager to chow down after a long first half of their day.

"Oh, you have to spill the beans now! I want to know everything!" Alix playfully demanded the two boys, triggering all of the other girls to eagerly nod to confirm their shared curiosity.

"Okay, you asked for it." Toby declared, swallowing his mouthful of taco before whipping his mouth clean to start regaling his, Jim's and Marinette's past adventures.

As the call goes on, the three siblings go over the deeper details of their bond, explaining the video calls in full detail and their many adventures when together. Then it took a turn back to the girls so that Jim and Toby could get to know them too, seeing as this was their first time meeting them. Marinette even got a chance to tell the boys about the Gigantitan attack, bearing the usual insider scoop she always gives them, of course. Upon reaching the part about how the plan to get Marinette a date with Adrien ended, Jim and Toby were both surprised and dumbfounded to hear Marinette refused to ride home in Adrein's car. Granted, Jim was a little less upset about it, but he was still surprised by Marinette's actions since he knew her getting closer to Adrien was what she had wanted to happen. From there, the conversation turned back to the boys as they took the focus off of Marinette's mishap and revealed some of their own blunders. Needless to say, the girls of Collège Françoise Dupont were left baffled and amused by what they learned, especially the part about their trio's little moniker.

"And we've been as thick as thieves ever since, getting into all sorts of later hilarious accidents and earning the moniker, 'Arcadia Oaks Unlucky Trio'. However, that's a story for another time." Marinette concluded, hoping to spare her and her brothers from their more embarrassing moments for a little longer while the girls stared at them in awe.

"Wow. And here I thought there wouldn't be more to find out." Lila remarked, grabbing a cookie from the snack pile next to Marinette's movie collection and taking a bite.

"Let's just say our family is full of surprises." Marinette said, a small chuckle escaping her when thinking of her and Jim's secret responsibilities.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around how Adrien is Marinette's first-ever crush." Mylène admitted, only to turn her gaze to Alya. "And you knew the whole time and didn't tell us!" the girl with rainbow braids exclaimed as she pointed an accusing finger at the reporter, earning an amused smile from the girl in question.

"It wasn't my place to tell. Not to mention I had already spilled the beans about Jim and Toby in the first place, I didn't want to let another one of Marinette's private details out." Alya explained as she raised her arms in surrender, not wanting to stir any more trouble as she admitted to her mistake.

"Oh, so that's how you guys found out about us! I thought it was a little weird that it came out during a game of Truth or Dare." Toby admitted as he finished off his chips, causing Jim to nod in agreement as he opened the packet of cookies for them.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It slipped out after Marinette was asked if she had a crush on anyone." Alya elaborated as she looked off to the side, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment before she turned her gaze back to the boys. "And turns out, everyone except the boy in question knows." the fiery-ombre-haired girl announced, causing the two boys to let out amused huffs at the news.

"Can't say it's hard to see. No offense to Marinette, but she's not that great at hiding her feelings." Jim remarked with a roll of his eyes as he looked to the side, a small pout appearing on his face while Toby reached for the cookies.

"I'd say the same to you, Jimbro." Marinette teased her brother, prompting Jim to playfully stick his tongue out at her in response to her jab at him. "But regardless of how the girls know, they now know and I'm glad they do." the pigtailed girl said, which caused Jim and Toby to smile at her words before popping their cookies into their mouths.

"I'm just glad you're opening up to more people and making more friends. I'm proud of you." Jim confessed, leaving Marinette to blush at the praise while her gal pals merely smiled in response.

"I still can't believe that Marinette never told us about you guys. You're both a riot!" Alix cheered after she drank the last of her soda, crushing it in her hands before tossing it into the wastebasket behind her.

"We could say the same for you guys as well. I can say for certainty that I'm glad she's finally told you." Jim replied, nodding his head at Alix with a playful point of his finger before eating another cookie.

"Though no offense, I didn't think you'd tell Sabrina since she's..." Toby awkwardly trailed off, not sure of how to continue his remark that wouldn't seem too rude. But seeing as the group already knew what he was referring to, Toby found that he didn't even need to continue.

"Well, she's proven to be trustworthy. And I'm willing to give her a chance." Marinette told the boys, easing their worries about Marinette's choice of confidants for the moment.

"Thanks, Marinette. But I don't blame Toby for being skeptical." Sabrina said as she grabbed a croissant from the snack pile, tearing a piece off of it before eating it. "I know I would be." the bespeckled girl mumbled, looking at the floor in shame as she recalled her actions as Chloé's lackey/friend.

"Ooh, I like her, sis. She's got a good head on her shoulders." Jim declared, causing Sabrina to look up from the ground and beam at the compliment while Lila stared at him in surprise.

"That was so smooth. Looks like we've got ourselves a charmer here." Lila observed with a smirk, earning an unbelieving guff from Marinette at the comment.

"Hate to break it to you, Lila, but Jim's anything but smooth. If he was, he'd have a girlfriend by now. He's got the looks for it, after all." Marinette countered while Jim sent her a glare, having known her brother long enough to know the opposite of Lila's remark was true.

"Can't say you're wrong. He does look like he could be a model." Lila slyly remarked, causing Jim to blush at the compliment just as he was about to eat one of the last cookies in the packet.

"Um, thanks, Lila." Jim replied in an unsure voice, not used to getting such compliments... especially from girls.

"Sorry Lila, but while Jim doesn't have a girlfriend, he does have his eyes on someone. And I'd be a bad friend and sister if I didn't tell you." Marinette revealed, causing Lila to pout at the news before resuming her normal soft smile seconds later.

"Eh, fair enough." Lila said, hiding her slight disappointment to prevent any arguments about the subject. She did want to have a nice night, after all.

"Wait, you're not the only one of you two to have a crush on someone?!" Mylène questioned the three siblings, surprised by the new fact Marinette had revealed.

"Oh, yeah! Jim's been crushing on a girl in our class, Claire Nuñez, for years! Even longer than Marinette's been crushing on Adrien." Toby responded, finishing off his cookies while he gently elbowed Jim in the arm with a crooked smile.

"And like me, he is terrible at talking to her in comprehensible English." Marinette added, placing a hand on her forehead in exasperation. "Honestly, Jim and I share so many similarities that it's scary." the pigtailed girl muttered as she looked to the side in thought, trying to comprehend the idea despite it being her reality.

"But it's oh so cute!! You could almost be twins!" Rose squealed as she brought her hands to her cheeks, having moved to lay her head in Juleka's lap during the call.

"I can confirm that! These two already act so similar, that if it wasn't for Mari's picking up her mom's Asian features I would have thought that someone created a female clone of Jim when I first met them." Toby exclaimed, his arms flailing around amid his claim and causing Alix to turn her attention to Marinette.

"Is he always this dramatic?" Alix asked, an amused smirk appearing on her features while Marinette fondly shook her head 'yes'.

"Believe it or not, he's tame compared to Arcadia's resident conspiracy theorist, Eli Pepperjack. He may be on the small side, but he tends to get carried away by his theories." Jim spoke up after he ate the last of his share of the cookies, chuckling a little when recalling Eli's past tendencies.

"Sounds a lot like Alya." Sabrina remarked, causing all the girls to chuckle at her observation except for the girl in question.

"Oh come on! I'm not that bad!" Alya whined, rolling her eyes at their amusement at her expense.

"You were nearly crushed by Gigantitan's foot when you tried to film the akuma attack today! How is that not 'getting carried away'?" Marinette squawked, turning her body to throw her arms out at Alya in disbelief at her argument.

"Okay, good point." Alya mumbled in relent, causing the others to laugh just seconds before the end-of-lunch bell rang on Jim and Toby's end.

"Aw, man! I was hoping the bell wouldn't ring this time!" Toby whined.

"Same here. I was enjoying getting to know these fabulous girls Mari's befriended." Jim agreed as he started packing up his bag, causing the majority of the girls to blush at the compliment.

"Dang Jim, that was smooth! Why can't you say more stuff like that to Claire?" Marinette questioned the boy, genuinely curious as to why he couldn't say such things when it counted more often.

"No idea, sis. But as much as Tobes and I would love to keep on talking, we have to get to class." Jim reminded her while he and Toby finished packing their bags, rising to their feet.

"At least it's history with Strickler. Thank goodness we don't have English next!" Toby proclaimed, leaning in close to Jim to appear on his phone screen as well.

"Still don't get why you two hate it, but I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Marinette said, both she and the other girls watching as the two boys started walking towards their next class.

"See you then, Mari!" Jim replied, quickly turning his attention to the girls after. "A pleasure to meet you, ladies! I'm glad that Marinette's got such good friends by her side!" the blue-eyed boy exclaimed, leaving the girls smiling in response.

"It was nice meeting, you two! Hope we can all meet face-to-face at some point!" Mylène responded, the others nodding in agreement alongside her.

"We most definitely will! Bye, girls!" Toby farewelled while he and Jim waved goodbye, his smile showing just how excited he was by the idea.

"Bye!!" all the girls replied, returning the wave before the boys hung up the call, the computer screen turning black seconds later.

"Your brothers are so awesome, Marinette!" Juleka exclaimed once the call was over, having been reminded of her relationship with her own sibling after talking to Jim and Toby.

"Thanks, Juleka. I'm glad you all liked them." Marinette replied, happy that her friends seemed to have liked her brothers.

"Are you kidding? They're so funny! I still can't believe we've only met them today!" Sabrina gushed in agreement with Juleka.

"Not to mention quite charming, too." Lila added on, which earned another eye roll from Marinette.

"More like dorky. But that's on their worst days." Marinette countered, hoping to persuade Lila to not go down the route she had a feeling she was about to go down. Even if she was friends with Lila now, that didn't mean she was comfortable with the idea of the Italian girl flirting with her brother. "Either way, I'm glad that you know about them now." the red-tipped-haired girl said, glad to have the introduction between the two groups go so well.

"Same here! But despite only talking to them for half an hour, I'm feeling up for movies and nails!" Sabrina declared, eager to resume their sleepover.

"Sounds like a plan! Who else is in?" Alya asked, prompting all the girls to agree. That is until...

"Wait... did we ever pick out a movie?" Marinette asked the group, causing them to realize they didn't and earn a laugh from their host. "Okay, how about we find a movie and get right on it?" the designer suggested. Upon hearing the idea, the girls nodded and went through the movies, soon picking out Middle School: Worst Years of My Life before settling in and continuing their sleepover. And as the movie started, Marinette found herself smiling while surrounded by her friends, grateful to have people to place her trust in. At least... as much as she could.