Getting to be a counselor at the summer camp he grew up going to was very, very exciting. One of his favorite things was addressing the counselors by whatever animal they called themselves. Jaguar was his favorite growing up. But Jaguar was leaving, sadly. However, that meant he got to take Jaguar's place.
As much as he'd like to take over Jaguar's name, he just couldn't out of respect. So, he went with the next best thing: Chat Noir.
Chat for short.
When he went to the pre-camp meeting, where he would meet the other new camp counselors as well as get the whole run down on what his job was and what he needed to do, he met the other new hire.
"Ladybug," she said, extending a hand for him to shake.
"Purr-leasure meeting you, milady."
Her expression fell.
What? Did he say something wrong?
For the rest of the day, she made little conversation with him and instead listened to their guide walk them through everything they needed to know. She was thorough, asking questions and repeating what the guide said to ensure she had it correct. Whenever asked if he had any questions, he'd always say, "nope, she covered everything." Mostly because she did. Almost overly so.
By the end of the day, he tried to strike up conversation with her, but she said. "Sorry, just tired."
He'd lived long enough to know a brush off when he saw one.
So, he watched her drive off into the evening and hoped the other counselors would be a little more accepting.
From the first day, Marinette knew Chat Noir was trouble. He punned, he flirted, and although he was cute, he obviously was one of those people who thought that looks and charm could get them anywhere.
Was he good enough at hiding it that he got the job? Didn't he know he was supposed to be a role model for impressionable little kids?
So, she decided that she would be cordial, but she didn't have to be his friend.
Rena Rouge was quick to befriend her and swore to tell her anything she needed to know. She'd been doing this for a while and had attended the camp before then. Marinette admitted she never attended the camp before, her parents always being busy and needing her help in the bakery. This was a step out on her own for the summer. And it was really exciting.
Rena swore that if Ladybug didn't have a good time, then she'd eat her hat.
The first time she was introduced to her little troops, she was both tremendously nervous and excited. These were the little ones she'd be in charge of for the whole week. The ones that would look up to her as a role model and for guidance.
It was exciting. And terrifying. She could not mess this up.
She looked towards the other counselors at times. Rena was a natural, but she admitted she had two younger sisters that she babysat all the time and that helped a lot. There was also Carapace. He was good, too, for a whole different reason. He let them be kids, let them run and play and joined in on the action. However, the moment correction was needed, he'd snap and be firm. She learned he usually ended up with the known trouble kids because he was so patient with them as well as steady with his discipline.
And then there was Chat.
By the end of the first week, she was forced to eat crow. He was surprisingly good with kids. He kept them in line surprisingly well, he made sure they had a sense of manners, and he easily kept the attention of even the most hyperactive kid in his cabin. His cabin was captivated by him. And slowly, so was she.
He had to hand it to Ladybug, she was certainly a hit among the kids. She was simply lovable and cared for her crew. By the end of the week, she usually had at least one little girl holding onto her waist crying because they didn't want to leave her. She was patient and listened and led her girls with confidence. She also seemed like a sweet girl in general, one he'd like to befriend.
If she'd let him.
"Just be patient," his buddy Carapace said. "She'll come around."
"And if she doesn't?"
Carapace scoffed. "Please. She's, like, one of the sweetest people in the world. If she still holds onto a grudge or whatever, then she's an idiot and not worth befriending in the first place. But I really doubt that."
Chat looked over to where she was telling her charges a story of some sort. She was so animated, she got the girls to laugh and join in mocking her. And when Ladybug smiled, she lit up a whole room.
"Why do you think she hates me?"
Caprice shrugged. "I don't know. You're, like, one of the coolest dudes I know."
Well, that made one thing clear: Chat was determined to find out.
The fifth week of camp, and Marinette finally had it down. She felt confident in her ability to lead her kids and care for them.
So when signals of rain started to show, she turned them all back towards camp instead of continuing down the trail. The rain began sprinkling, slowly growing worse until Marinette shooed all her kids into the dining hall just before the lightening started.
"Well, looks like we have some visitors."
Marinette turned around to see Chat Noir and his crew sitting cross-legged on the floor. If she could have made it to her cabin, she would have, but a flash of lightening quickly followed by a roll of thunder that shook the building told her why that wasn't a good idea.
Some of the kids shrieked and screamed. Instantly, she was rounding them up and trying to comfort them.
Chat's crew included.
While she was busy doing that, Chat launched into a story, trying to pull the attention of the kids. He acted out dramatically, making funny voices and expressive gestures. Soon enough, all the kids were enraptured.
And then he pointed to her in hopes she'd join in.
She couldn't let her kids down.
So, they made up some crazy story about how they were superheroes defeating an evil moth that was eating the trees (What? They had to make it educational.) and by the end, not a single kid wasn't clapping.
"Would you look at that? The rain stopped."
Marinette glanced outside. "Well, not quite, but we can at least make it to our cabin." She turned back to her girls. "Ready to make a run for it?"
The girls nodded, then shrieked as the scampered back to the cabin.
And that's when she heard behind her, "Last one back to the cabin's a rotten egg!"
She glanced back and watched as Chat's boys tore off towards their cabin, screaming with excitement while Chat lagged behind them all.
She smiled. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
The week-end bonfires were the best. Games and stories and just all around having a good time. And Adrien loved them.
"I'm sorry."
He whipped around to see Ladybug standing there wearing an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry for judging you," she said. "You're not who I thought you were."
It was surprisingly hard to get his mouth to move. "And who did you think I was?"
"Entitled," she simply answered. "You didn't seem to be paying attention to when we were on the orientation, and I thought you came off a little arrogant."
"Oh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I never meant to. I just grew up attending summer camp here. I knew everything he was telling me."
"Oh," she said, her eyes a little wide.
He shrugged. "I'm sorry I came off that way."
"No, that's my fault," she said. "I judged you too quickly. I'm sure they knew what they were doing when they hired you as a counselor, and I'm sorry for ever believing that they didn't."
He smiled. "Thank you. Can we be friends now?" He stuck out his hand to shake.
She hesitated a moment before taking it with a grin. "Friends."
His grin lit up in the night. "I'm glad."
They remained close the rest of the summer. Soon enough, there was a known friendly rivalry between the two. If there ever was a challenge, Ladybug and Chat Noir were the first two teams that were pitted against each other. It was becoming quite the form of entertainment among the staff.
But then the last week came to an end, and the counselors spent the day packing up everything.
"Please tell me you're going to be back next summer," Chat Noir begged.
Marinette grinned. "I will. You have to figure out my name, anyway."
His smile stretched wide. "Then I will see you next year, my little ladybug." With that, he took her hand and kissed the back of it.
Her heartrate shot up. "Charmer," she accused, breathlessly.
He winked, and that was the last time they saw each other that year.
"I bet you a hundred bucks they get married in the next two years," Rena whispered to Carapace.
"Three," he countered with a grin. "Slow and steady, Rena."
"You're on."