A/N: This story is written for we. are. class3e (no spaces) on Instagram because she won round 1 of a game I was playing with my followers on there. So, yeah! I hope you like the story!
Note: This takes place AFTER the Volpina episode… That being said, there are some spoilers for that episode so read at your own risk!
"Some citizens are saying that they think this strange criminal is another supervillain out to terrorize the…" Marinette frowned and turned the volume off trying to ignore whatever it was that the newscaster was talking about, she wasn't in the mood to have to deal with another one of Hawk Moth's pawns.
"Don't you think you should go check that out?" Tikki asked, floating over to where her friend was mindlessly doodling in her diary. The girl had been strangely preoccupied since a few days before when she and Cat Noir had been tricked into thinking the new girl at school, Lila, was another Miraculous holder.
"I'm sure it's nothing." Marinette sighed, shooing Tikki away from her notebook without looking up. The kwami frowned slightly, turning to look back at the news feed that was playing on Marinette's computer screen. The person on the screen who seemed to be turning people into characters out of different books didn't seem like nothing to her.
"Marinette, you've been acting awfully peculiar lately." Tikki told her friend. "Is something bothering you?" She asked when she noticed the subject of Marinette's doodles shared a striking resemblance to a certain cat-like hero. Marinette frowned and closed her book when she noticed Tikki's gaze.
"Nothing's bothering me." The girl mumbled, unable to look her tiny friend in the eyes as she said it. "I'm just a little tired… that's all." She finally looked up at Tikki after a few minutes, regretting it when she saw the look on her face.
"You're a bad liar, Marinette." Tikki purposely sat down on the pink diary laying on the desk and looked directly at her friend. "Does this have something to do with Cat Noir?" She asked. Marinette sighed and rested her chin on the back of her chair.
"Yes." She sighed, swiveling back and forth in her chair as she tried to think of how to put her feelings into words. "I just…" She let out another breath of air as she stood to go look out the window. "He took Volpina's side over mine…"
"And obviously that hurt you..." Tikki said, trying to understand. Marinette nodded.
"I don't know how to explain this in a way that makes sense…" Marinette told the little kwami, resting her forehead against the glass. "I just… I don't like when he's not on my team."
"I understand." Tikki smiled, trying to be cheerful for Marinette. "I know you'll figure this out. You always do."
"You're right Tikki." Marinette smiled. "Maybe if I talk to him I'll be able to think more clearly."
"That's the spirit!" The little kwami exclaimed, flying around in a little circle. Marinette smiled, feeling a little better for a moment before she saw her diary laying on the desk and was reminded of Cat Noir and Volpina again.
"Tikki! Spots On!" Marinette called, transforming into Ladybug so she could try to sort this out while she simultaneously had to take care of the little detail that was saving the entire city of Paris. Once she was out on the streets searching for Hawk Moth's victim it didn't take long for her to run into her partner.
"And how are you doing on this fine afternoon, M'Lady?" Cat Noir asked, dropping down from one of the many roofs of Paris to greet Ladybug. The girl frowned slightly when she saw him, thinking back to the other day with Volpina.
"I'm not in the mood for your games right now Cat Noir." She informed him, her voice laced with the heavy amount of unexplained annoyance she felt. Cat Noir frowned slightly, he had grown to accept Ladybug's rejections, but he couldn't help notice she'd been in a strange mood ever since the other day.
"Okay… I'm sorry." He told her, dropping the subject to avoid any arguments. "Have you figured out where our villain has gone to?" He asked, hoping Ladybug's mood would pass once they got caught up in their work.
"Not yet. I'm working on it though." Ladybug sighed, looking up and down the street. A frown slowly made its way onto her face as she failed to find any evidence to point her in the right direction.
"Well if I can make a suggestion, I think we should look at the library. I think I saw on the news that this villain has the power to turn people into characters out of her favorite books."
"Okay. I'll meet you there then." Ladybug told him shortly, taking off on her yoyo before Cat Noir even had a chance to get a word in. Because she'd left before her partner, she got to the library a few minutes before him. "There's nobody here." She told herself, frowning as she went over to one of the bookcases and took a book off of its shelf. The hero frowned as she ran her fingers over the raised letters that spelled out 'Romeo and Juliet' on the front cover. She didn't know why, but she felt like she could really relate with Juliet at the time being.
"You mind telling me what that was about?" Cat Noir asked, walking up behind Ladybug when he finally arrived. The girl hugged the book to her chest and turned to look at him, her thoughts still consumed by the star crossed lovers in her story.
"Oh… umm… it's about this couple who's destined to be together but because of circumstances out of their control they remain apart because they…"
"I don't mean the book." Cat Noir cut her off, crossing his arms, he was seriously starting to worry about his partner. "You haven't been acting like yourself for the past few days… What's going on, you're being weird." His words struck a nerve with Ladybug and she stamped her foot on the ground, slamming the book down on an empty spot on the shelf.
"I'm being weird?!" She asked, throwing her arms up disbelief. "You're the one acting all weird!" Ladybug screamed at him, all of the emotions that she'd been keeping bottled up since Lila's arrival finally started to bubble over. "Ever since that stupid Lila… Volpina… whatever you want to call her!" Ladybug trailed off, her anger making her unable to think.
"Volpina? What are you talking about?" Cat Noir blinked, completely confused. "We neutralized Lila's akuma… there never was any Volpina."
"Why didn't you take my side with her?!" Ladybug yelled, she was really torn up about this. "Kitty, you're supposed to be mine…" She whispered, crossing her arms as she looked away from him. Cat Noir's frown was slowly replaced by a smile when he finally realized what Ladybug's strange behavior was all about.
"My Lady were you… jealous?" He asked, a hint of smugness coloring his tone. Ladybug refused to look at him, her cheeks turning bright red as she realized he was one hundred percent correct in his accusation. Of course she'd realized that as Marinette she was upset that Lila was trying to get close to Adrien, but she had no idea that she was so mad about the girl trying to take away her partner as well.
"Listen to me very carefully." She said, poking her finger into Cat Noir's chest. "You're mine. Do you understand that? Not Lila's. Not Volpina's. Mine!" She flicked his bell for good measure, making it jingle before she crossed her arms. "You got that?" She looked away from him trying to act as if she didn't care, but Cat Noir saw right through it, he actually thought it was sweet that she was so jealous over someone who meant absolutely nothing to him.
"Sure Bugaboo. I'm all yours." Cat Noir answered, holding his hands up in surrender. "I don't care who comes along and tries to say otherwise, I belong to you and only you." He told her, smiling when he saw her peek over at him.
"Good." Ladybug answered, her arms still crossed as she tried to keep up her 'I don't care' attitude. In reality she felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. This whole thing had been eating away at her for days, so she was glad that she'd finally gotten it off of her chest. "You didn't really like her that much, did you?" She wondered, almost worried about what he would tell her. Cat Noir laughed when he heard the question.
"Of course not My Lady, you're the only girl for me. I'll admit, I did think Volpina was kind of cool at first, but she's nowhere close to being as amazing as you are. I could never like her the way I like you." Cat Noir smiled and took Ladybug's hand, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. "You have nothing to worry about… I promise."
"Okay." Ladybug smiled, reluctantly pulling her hand out of his after a moment, she already knew he'd never let her forget this moment even without her encouraging him. "Now, enough of this… we have a city to save."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I had fun writing it at least. I'd love to see a review letting me know what you thought! *hint hint*