Chat was about to jump from the window when he realized that he had one message from Ladybug. Knowing that it was something important, he decided to listen to it right away.
"Chat Noir. I think I know who Hawk Moth is. Get your whiskers over here, fast," Ladybug said.
Chat Noir held his breath. Could it be that they had finally found out who was responsible for all the chaos in the city? Had they had a breakthrough in the search for the villain? Knowing his identity was a major step in his defeat.
Chat ran to find Ladybug the quickest he could and it didn't take long until he saw her, walking in circles and muttering to herself. Even with all the seriousness of the situation, Chat smiled. His Lady was way too impatient.
"Chat Noir, did you get my message?" she asked, cutting short her complaints to herself about his delay.
"Yeah, and I can't wait to hear more, my lady detective. So, who is the suspect?" he replied.
He looked at her expectantly. He was very anxious to know who it was.
However, the name she said was the one he least expected.
"Adrien Agreste," she replied.
For a moment, he didn't react, staring at her as if she was completely insane. This was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.
He took a step back, putting distance between didn't know if he had done it out of instinct or if it was just the shock of the news that made him move.
He stared her, looking for some signal that she was lying. Adrien almost expected her to say "April fools!" or something like that – could this be Ladybug's way of telling him that she already figured out his true identity and was just messing with him? No, he decided. She was too honest for that.
Her face stayed serious, if a little worried. As if she was waiting for him to say something. But what?
He needed to clear his name. Yet, how Chat Noir would be able to convince her that Adrien wasn't Hawk Moth without revealing who he was?
So Chat started to laugh. He couldn't control himself. All right, maybe he was a little hysterical. But the whole situation seemed a little too absurd. He was a superhero and his civil persona was being accused by his partner of being a super villain. And, of course, he couldn't prove that she was wrong without making her angry with him forever. Brilliant. So, to keep Ladybug's friendship with Chat Noir intact, he would have to risk the chance that she would love him as Adrien one day? Perfect.
And that was without talking about the fact that if he couldn't convince Ladybug of the truth, he would need to find a way to fight himself. Great.
"What are you laughing about?" Ladybug demanded, annoyed, and he knew that he must have hurt her pride by not taking the accusation seriously.
"You think he is Hawk Moth? He doesn't seem to be able to do much," observed Chat.
Ladybug seemed to be about to reply when they heard screams. They exchanged a quick look, knowing this conversation had to be left for later.
After a few hours, they were on a roof to discuss the possibility of Adrien being Hawk Moth.
Chat wished he had more time to prepare his defense; however, his busy schedule didn't leave him free time until the hour he needed to meet with Ladybug again.
"Do you know him?" Ladybug asked, with a strange anxiety in her voice. He considered that she must be anxious to catch the oh-so-horrible villain.
Chat hesitated. He was in a complicated situation because he couldn't lie openly for his lady, but he couldn't speak the truth either.
"We aren't best friends, but I know he can't be Hawk Moth. He doesn't even have time for it," he said, hoping that this was enough to convince Ladybug. It wasn't.
"Chat, I know he is your friend, but he could be Hawk Moth. Do you know anything that might prove that he isn't?" she asked.
He thought hard, desperately looking for anything that made him innocent in Ladybug's eyes.
"He has a crush on you!" he told her impulsively and almost slapped himself. Seriously, that was the best he could think of? "But I have to say that if I were you, I would choose me, my lady," he added, because he knew that she would be suspicious if he talked so casually about another guy liking her.
Ladybug seemed surprised with the information and maybe even bewildered. She seemed to not know how to react and, in the end, gave a small smile. Chat tried to not think about what this meant – could it be that she had a crush on Adrien? Or maybe she was just happy to know that somebody had a crush on her?
"And if he has a crush on you, this means that at least he doesn't hate you. So, he can't be Hawk Moth," Chat said, following the crappy logic he had created. Why hadn't he prepared himself for the fact that maybe Ladybug would accuse him of being the enemy?
"Right, kitty, you think he has a crush on me. Even if that is true, that doesn't prove anything," she said, getting serious again. "Adrien could be spreading the rumor, so we won't suspect him".
Chat looked at Ladybug offended. She was doubting of his love? All right, she didn't know that Adrien was him, but still. He would never do that.
"Why do you suspect him, anyway?" he asked, tired. He had no idea of how he could prove that he was innocent without revealing his identity.
"Well, he has an object that belongs to Hawk Moth," she said, making him confused. What did he have that belonged to the villain? How did he have access to it? "I don't want to suspect him, but…" She left the sentence hanging in the air, making it clear she'd go with it unless another option presented itself. "Besides, Adrien almost never is around when the akuma attacks happen," she frowned, as if only thinking about it now.
"Hey, if it is like this, we also have to doubt Marinette," Chat pointed out. It wasn't like he truly thought that his classmate was Hawk Moth, but he wanted to convince Ladybug to give up.
"NO!" the girl argued, too fast. "I… I mean, her... I saw her many times during the attacks," said Ladybug.
"Really?" Chat was surprised. He only saw Marinette on the case of Nathaniel and one time or another before an akuma, but never again while one attack happened.
"It can't be her," confirmed the girl. "And she seems too good to do it," she added, gaining confidence in the words.
Chat nodded. He didn't know very well Marinette, but knew that she was a very kind person. She was extraordinarily nice to others.
"The Princess is very kind," he agreed. "She is very cute, I don't think it's her. Or Adrien."
"I know, deep down I also think that it's not him," Ladybug sighed. "But…" she was about to start one more time her discourse of Adrien-must-be-Hawk-Moth.
"I already saw him many times during the attacks. There is no way he could be Hawk Moth," he interrupted, hating himself for lying to Ladybug, but he was running out of options. And it wasn't like she was right, he just couldn't say the real reasons why she was wrong.
"Oh, okay. So it's not him. Why didn't you say so sooner?" she asked, complaining.
He rolled his eyes. Ladybug was so bossy. But he was too happy to really be annoyed. His name was clear. He was safe.
"However, it must be someone he knows…to have given him the object," she said, as if thinking out loud.
Chat trembled. He couldn't believe that anybody that he knew was Hawk Moth. There was no way.
"What was the object?" he asked, deciding to investigate. Then he would understand what was going on.
"Sorry, I can't say," Ladybug said, and she sounded so sincere that Chad decided to not ask more. He felt that it would do no good to insist on the subject on this moment.
He would still figure out how Hawk Moth was related to him. But later. Now he would just enjoy that he managed to erase Ladybug's suspicions of him.
"Hey, do you want to race?" he asked, wanting to relax, fearing that Ladybug would decide to go home now that the problem was sorted out (for now).
"Only if you're not afraid of losing," she retorted, smiling.
"My lady, a man never is afraid of losing to his lady. He only accepts the defeat happily when that happens," he said. "But, of course I'm going to win." He offered her a confident smile.
"We'll see," was her only warning before speeding off. He ran after her at the same moment.
A special thanks to Duda Black Malfoy for helping me out with this chapter.