Little Kitty Cat

I don't own Miraculous Ladybug.

GENERAL POV

Adrien had literally no clue where the akuma possessed woman had come from; all he knew was that whatever she touched with her leash-whip thing turned into an animal, so he was trying his hardest to avoid it.

Where Ladybug was, he had no idea, but since he was surrounded by people and was currently trying to dodge this akuma's whips, he wasn't able to transform.

He dodged the leash and winced as it hit a woman behind him, turning her into a rather terrified looking goat. He had to get the akuma away from these people until Ladybug could show up or until he could safely turn into Chat Noir.

"HEY!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Flying….leash…lady!"

He grimaced internally and could almost hear Plagg laughing at him from his pocket, but his calls worked, and she turned to him, growling.

Adrien swallowed hard as she faced him, rather startled by this particular akuma's face. She had a bird beak and cat eyes, with dog ears hanging from the side of her face. Massive moth wings beat behind her and the leash she held curled in her clawed hand was speckled with rhinestones.

"No more," she hissed at him. "No more hurting the animals."

Adrien held his hands up quickly, watching as everyone took the opportunity to scatter. "Hey, I totally have to agree with that," he said as calmly as possible. "But turning people into animals? Is that really the way to stop it?"

The winged akuma scowled, which looked odd on her bird face, and swooped closer to him. Adrien stiffened, shutting his eyes and praying that Ladybug would show up like she always did. The woman breathed against his cheek, making Adrien shiver, and then cackled.

"Yes."

The leash snapped hard at his hip and Adrien cried out in pain, dropping to his knees and clenching at his stomach as his entire body started burning up and turning in on itself. His insides boiled and twisted inwards, sending what felt like red hot needles up through his skin. When Adrien looked up again, his chest heaving and his mouth dry, he was barely a foot tall.

He blinked rapidly and looked around, jumping to his feet and then stumbling back to the ground as he realized that he was standing on all fours. Though his vision had dimmed to very neutral colors, he glanced down and managed a disgruntled huff.

He had been turned into a black cat.

"Very funny," he muttered to himself, flinching when it came out as a meow.

Great. Just fantastic. How was he supposed to help Ladybug now? And where was she anyway?

Adrien got to his feet again, a little more carefully this time, and turned around. It wasn't as hard to move as he had thought it would be, actually. The tail worked much the way the one on his suit did, helping him keep balance and turn, and he often ran on all fours as Chat Noir. So actually, the only thing different was that he didn't have opposable thumbs, couldn't talk, and was missing the-

Jingle jingle!

...bell.

Adrien glanced down, craning to see his neck, and spotted the glint of the bell around his neck, a tiny green paw print emblazoned on it.

"Woaaahhhhh! It's like a zoo out here!" cried a familiar voice from behind him.

Adrien spun around in time to see Ladybug land on the ground and look around, her gaze sliding over the animals. Adrien realized with a sudden start that the akuma had vanished while he had been figuring out his new body, and he cursed himself for not trying to stop her somehow.

"Okay," Ladybug murmured, watching as the animals started meandering off. "So obviously an akuma was here. But why would it be freeing animals? And where's Chat?"

So Ladybug didn't know that the akuma was turning people into animals? Adrien grimaced and, making a quick decision, leapt over to Ladybug, rubbing up against her leg and purring. She looked down and gave a small chuckle, leaning over to scoop him into her arms. "Well aren't you cute," she gushed softly, scratching him behind the ears.

Dang that felt good.

"Focus, Adrien," he muttered to himself, eliciting a meow from his tiny pink mouth. He had to figure out some way to tell Ladybug it was him.

He ducked his head away from her fingers and batted at her hand anxiously, meowing loudly. Ladybug just giggled again and shook her head. "Well, I suppose I can hold onto you for a bit. I'm sure my parents won't mind. When we get back to my place we can call your owners. Good thing you have a collar," she commented, flicking the bell with her fingers.

Adrien started panicking. Her place?! No! He couldn't let her take him back, or she'd reveal herself to him!

He paused, glancing up at the girl as she tossed her string into the air and started swooping through the streets. Then again, wasn't that what he had always wanted? To know who Ladybug was?

Not like this, Adrien scolded himself. Not when she didn't know it was him she was holding.

With a silent apology, Adrien unsheathed his claws and pressed them ever so slightly against Ladybug's arm. The girl winced and gave him a small pout, but didn't release him.

Shutting his eyes, Adrien pushed his claws harder into her skin. Ladybug yelped and dropped onto a rooftop, depositing him onto a lawn chair situated on the roof. "Wow, okay!" she yelped in irritation, rolling up her sleeve ever so slightly to look at the claw marks on her arm. "What the heck was that for?"

Adrien meowed desperately, lifting his bright green eyes to gaze into hers and batting a paw in the air. His leg didn't twist enough for him to hit the bell on his neck, so he had to rely on shaking his head at her.

"I know, I know," Ladybug said quickly, holding up her hands. "You want your owners back. It's okay. I'll just turn back so I can grab my phone!"

Adrien hissed, throwing his tail into the air and arching his back instinctively, and Ladybug took a slight step back. "Whoa. Wow, okay. What has gotten into you, cat?"

He groaned and flopped onto the lawn chair, covering his eyes with his paws. He vaguely registered a flash of light and froze. No. No, no, no.

"Hey," Ladybug said soothingly, a soft, bare hand resting on his back. "Come on baby, I know you're probably scared. It'll be okay. Let me just get a look at your collar and I can call your owners."

Adrien kept his eyes clamped shut as the hands gathered him up, and he felt jolting steps as Ladybug carried him down what he assumed was a staircase. "Tikki, what's wrong with him?" the girl asked desperately.

Tikki was her kwami, Adrien assumed. It had never occurred to him that Ladybug had her own version of Plagg, though it made perfect sense.

"I don't know," said a rather squeaky voice. "Maybe he's hungry?"

Adrien felt his body get settled onto a soft surface and then a weight sank down next to him, presumably Ladybug. "I don't get it," the girl pondered, stroking him behind the ears. "He literally leapt into my arms on the street, and now he's acting like he's terrified of me."

"He's probably just scared, Marinette."

Marinette.

Adrien cursed violently in his head, words coming to mind that he didn't even know he knew. No. Dammit, why did he have to go with her? He should have known he wouldn't be able to tell her who he was and now….

Adrien swallowed hard and pried his eyes open, lifting his gaze to the person next to him. A dozen more curse words filtered through his mind.

And now, he knew exactly who Ladybug was.

Marinette glanced down at him and gave a tiny smile, before looking over towards a red and black kwami floating just off to her left. "You're probably right, Tikki," she agreed. "Let me just…"

As her fingers reached for his collar, her cellphone rang, showing Alya on the caller ID before she picked up. "Alya?" Marinette asked, pulling her hand away from Adrien. "What's up?"

Adrien pricked his ears up and was just able to catch Alya's voice coming through the speakers. "Didn't you hear? There's a woman going around town turning people into animals! I called to warn you that she's at the park. Be careful Marinette."

"I will," the girl promised as she hung up.

Marinette instantly turned to Adrien and studied him carefully. "Tikki…tell me I didn't just turn back into myself in front of an actual person."

Tikki zoomed up rather close to Adrien, studying him for a second and wincing. "I'm afraid so," the kwami said sadly. Adrien assumed that she could sense that he was a human, though he wasn't sure if she knew just who he really was. "Though knowing from past experience, he might not even remember it when he changes back."

That would be a relief, if it were the case. Since Adrien just happened to have an akuma of his own, though, he kind of doubted he would forget anything.

"Okay," said Marinette. She looked rather exasperated as she scooped Adrien into her arms. "Let's go, kitty cat. Maybe Chat will meet us there and help me get rid of this mess."

Adrien mentally face palmed and then ducked his head as Marinette transformed back into Ladybug and swung out of her window, moving to the park with record speed. She deposited him on the ground and held out a hand. "Please stay," she pleaded.

Adrien huffed but sat back on his haunches, planning on leaving as soon as Ladybug….Marinette?...whatever….moved away from him.

"Hahaha! Miraculous Ladybug!" cackled the akuma woman in a rather overly dramatic manner. "Nice to see you show up! Tell me, have you found your precious kitty cat yet?"

Ladybug clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in rage. "What did you do with Chat Noir?" she hissed.

Adrien blinked in surprise, startled to hear how overprotective she was acting about him. He hadn't thought she cared all that much about him…at least, not as Chat, anyway.

The woman snickered, casually snapping her whip. Ladybug dodged it easily, coming up out of the roll in a standing position. "You telling me you didn't happen to notice that the cat you picked up had his very symbol on it's collar?"

Ladybug froze, her face going sheet white, and she turned to stare at Adrien, who tilted his tiny black head apologetically at her. He saw the utter fear in her eyes as she realized just who she had transformed in front of, and then he saw the woman raising her whip again to hit Marinette in her stunned state.

He snarled and made a flying leap off the ground, slamming into the whip before it could touch Marinette. The force of it threw him over the wall of the park, Ladybug's screams of rage following him as his body simmered with heat.

What happened when someone hit with the whip once was hit with it a second time?

Apparently, Adrien discovered seconds later, it turned them back to normal. He instantly pulled Plagg from inside his pocket and held out his ring, trying to keep the glaring memory of who Ladybug really was from distracting him too much. "Plagg, transform me!"

The second the light swirled away, he was off, using his pole to push himself back up and into the park, kicking the woman flying as he came down to the ground. Ladybug froze in her spot, her compact slowly spinning to a halt.

Chat stared at her for a second and then let his lips curve up in a smile. "We doing this or not, My Lady?"

Ladybug smiled hesitantly and together they dove for the akuma, battling her off until Ladybug called for her lucky charm and distracted her with birdseed long enough for Chat to grab the leash-whip.

He watched calmly as Ladybug captured and released the akuma, and then sent everything back to normal. People popped up left and right, formerly animals, but they were of little concern to the two superheroes.

Ladybug's earrings beeped as she turned to look at her partner, who gave her a nervous smile. She gulped, turning her back on Chat and sprinting away as fast as possible. He sighed softly and, after a moment of contemplation, darted after her.

He knew where she was headed.

He stood on the roof outside of her window for a long time dressed as Chat Noir, trying to figure out just what to say to her. He could hear her inside, losing it completely, and when he finally heard her burst into tears he couldn't handle it anymore.

Chat swung inside silently, letting one foot dangle out the window as he studied Marinette, who was face down on her bed. Tikki hovered over her, and when the kwami looked up and saw Chat there, her eyes widened.

Chat swallowed hard and tried for a smile. "No need to cry, is there?"

Marinette shot up like a bullet, swiping tears from her eyes. "What, come to make fun of me?" she spat out, surprising the boy to no end. "Finally get to see the pathetic face behind the mask, right? Go ahead, tell everyone."

She buried her face in her hands, leaving Chat in a stunned silence. "I don't care," she whispered.

Chat shook his head and slid completely into the room, striding over to Marinette with soft steps and drawing her up to her feet, clasping onto her shoulders tightly. He bent to look her in the eyes and gave her a thin smile.

"First of all, you are not pathetic," he assured her. "You're probably the strongest, most kindhearted person I know. Second, I'm not going to tell anyone. What kind of hero would I be if I did?"

Marinette hiccuped and glanced away, rubbing her arms briskly. "But-"

He pressed a single finger to her lips and shook his head. "Third…."

Chat slid the ring off of his hand without hesitation, shutting his eyes as the transformation swirled away and Plagg drifted up to his shoulder. He lifted his gaze again to find Marinette staring at him in disbelief, her fingers pressed to her mouth in shock.

"Third….can I have your biology notes?"

Wow, okay, what even was that ending?