"Thanks for the help, Marinette."

"No problem," Marinette smiles. After delivering a batch of croissants to a childcare center, she's spent the last few hours helping out. She's got enough akuma ideas to last until she turns fifty.

"I didn't!"

Marinette turns. Trish, one of the staff, is running a game of Simon Says. One boy is standing with his hands on his hips, identical to every other child. It's impossible to tell whether he did actually move.

"Simon..." Trish sighs, but keeps going. Another kid yells a complaint, and the game descends into chaos.

"Sure you don't want any more help?" Marinette asks. Eloise, another staff member, sighs.

"Ricky's gone home, Simon's the only difficult one now. Thank you, though."

Marinette smiles, and leaves. It's a ten minute walk back home, and she pulls out her phone. It's almost automatic to open Miraculous.

LadyBug: hey chaton

She was talking to him yesterday, when she was watching TV with her parents. They didn't make a comic, they just chatted. It was nice.

The reply is quick.

ChatNoir: hey mlady, whats up?

LadyBug: i was helping out at a childcare center today. kids are so hard lol

Marinette turns, deciding to cut through the park. It would probably take just as long to follow the street, but it's a nice day and she wants to see the scenery.

ChatNoir: always complaining about stuff, amiright. cant wait to be older, and then it turns out being older and having to be responsible sucks more :D

Marinette thinks about the metaphorical stack of homework she has to do.

LadyBug: tell me about it. wish i could go back to childcare XD

Something distracts her, and Marinette turns. It looks like a photoshoot, and this is confirmed when she sees Adrien standing there. He isn't being photographed right now, as everyone seems to be chilling.

She considers leaving, not making a fool of herself, but then Adrien sees her and waves. She waves back awkwardly, and Adrien smiles. She can feel herself swooning.

Yeah, she can't go over and talk to him. She can't even talk.

Marinette heads off, and doesn't see Adrien's phone in his hand as he continues to message.

ChatNoir: ikr. no homework, sleeping for as long as you want, playing games all day... bliss

Marinette laughs and types a reply, and she continues to message until she gets home.

"How was childcare?" asks Tom when she comes in, laughing. Marinette grins.

"Great, can I go back tomorrow? And Monday? And forever?"

"You wish," Tom laughs. "School for you."

"I do wish," Marinette sighs. Tom pulls a tray of croissants out the oven, and Marinette grabs one for her lunch and races upstairs. She hears him yell after her, but he isn't angry. He never is.

LadyBug: but the ickle toddlers gave me an idea for an akuma, which is good

ChatNoir doesn't reply.

LadyBug: chat?

LadyBug: hey chaton u cant abandon me whered u go

Marinette takes another bite of her croissant as she turns on her laptop, but by the time she's logged into Miraculous he still hasn't replied.

LadyBug: welp since u aint replying im gonna go right ahead and make a comic, see ya

She closes the chat, opens a new episode and names it Simon Says. It begins with a young boy, at childcare, who strangely resembles the Simon from childcare earlier today, playing Simon Says. When the staff member, who vaguely resembles Trish, insists that he has been eliminated, he angrily stomps around begins to throw things into the air.

By now, it's second nature to draw Nooroo, and Marinette has saved the colour palette for akumas since day one. It's one of the great things about Miraculous, being able to save colour palettes and name them. She's got four main ones, Tikki (including colours for Lucky Charm), Plagg (and colours for Cataclysm), Nooroo and the akumas. It's easy to just select the palette and switch between the same colours.

It's only when she's just finished drawing Tikki getting her Lucky Charm, nearly dinnertime, that ChatNoir decides to grace Marinette with his presence

ChatNoir: i see uve started, thats rlly good!!!

LadyBug: and where do u think u just disappeared off to?

ChatNoir: sorry i had to go rlly quickly and didnt have time to message. id tell u, but then ud probably work out who I am XD

Marinette considers this, before replying.

LadyBug: all good

She draws the long strip of rubber that is Tikki's Lucky Charm.

ChatNoir: *tikki voice* rubber? what am i going to do with this?

Marinette laughs, and shows him. They're in a kitchen, so Tikki places the rubber along a counter. Using an electric fan from the counter, she blows all the cards out of Simon's hands and onto the rubber. Plagg pulls the rubber as Tikki uses a bladed machine to slice every card in half. She gets halfway through before she gets the one with the akuma, and races up to purify it. Simon turns back into the little boy, and Tikki escorts him home.

ChatNoir: thats a great idea mlady. ready to publish??

Marinette doesn't answer, just clicks the publish button in the corner. The notification pops up a second later.

Congratulations! You just posted Episode 17 - Simon Says!

ChatNoir: that answers that question, lol. see u tomorrow?

Marinette thinks for a second.

LadyBug: ive got homework, but can definitely message. see u tomorrow

ChatNoir: cant wait, bugaboo

Marinette sighs.

LadyBug: bugaboo? rlly?

Chat doesn't reply, implying he's already left. Maybe to do whatever randomly called him away at lunchtime.

It's a shame that, when Marinette hears Adrien tell Nino he was only free around lunchtime and dinnertime on Saturday because he had his photoshoot, she doesn't make the connection.

[A/N: I keep forgetting to post updates on this, so I'm considering just dumping the next *counts* six chapters of Season 1 on here by the end of the day. Opinions? Would you all want me to start uploading Season 2 today as well?? Tell me stuff please??]