It Takes a Village
Day 2 - Hero
NOTICE: This takes place in the "No One Mourns a Villain" universe. If you haven't read that story of mine, then the pertinent information from that is that Gabriel wields the Peacock Miraculous and Mrs. Agreste the Butterfly Miraculous. The holders are aware of each others' identities outside of the mask.
There was nothing in the world quite like an uneventful patrol. Chat Noir relished in it. Sure, he got enjoyment out of the thrill of stopping petty crime now and then, but the new threat lingering in the air for the Miraculous users filled his quota for excitement for the day. He yawned, lounging against the back of a doorway leading to a supply room at the top of Le Grand Paris. The light of the moon reflected across the pool covering, scattering faint rays over everything on the rooftop. Chat sighed in utter bliss. It was gorgeous.
And made that much more gorgeous by his lovely partner sitting beside him, enjoying the scenery as well.
"It's ethereal," Ladybug mumbled, leaning up against the doorframe next to him.
"Mmhmm," he agreed, though he had to admit a good part of his assessment included her. Now would be the perfect time to confess. They knew each others' identities, but still had yet to make that final step towards becoming – Chat gulped – a couple. "Listen, LB," he began, his voice struggling for nonchalance, "I was wondering if maybe..." He paused.
"Yes?" She turned toward him, her blue eyes reflecting the moonlight and turning them silver. His breath caught in his throat.
"If... I... maybe..."
She continued to stare at him expectantly. He couldn't find the words.
"If you... and..."
A loud thump beside them drew their attentions. Paon rose from his landing. "Good evening," he greeted.
"Father!"
Paon turned a stern eye to Chat. "What have we discussed about using names in the suits?"
Chat sighed. "Fine. Paon," he deliberately emphasized the word, "what are you doing here?"
"You missed the last check-in time," the elder hero said, examining his fan. "Papillon was worried."
It took all of his willpower not to glare at his father. "Really? Papillon was the one who was worried?" Chat knew if anything, his mother would have encouraged him to skip patrol and hang out with Ladybug all night. Of the two, she was definitely the more rebellious one.
Ladybug frowned and tilted her head. "Missed the check-in?" she repeated, clearly confused. "But I sent it myself when we got here."
"We didn't receive it," Paon answered smoothly. "I was sent to make sure everything was okay."
"Everything is fine," Chat replied. "Patrol is fine. We are fine. Now would it be okay if Ladybug and I finished our patrol?" He gritted his teeth as he cast a meaningful look between his father and Ladybug.
"It's getting late, Chat," the blue-clad hero replied and not for the first time did Chat curse the fact that his parents also wielded Miraculouses. Marinette never had this problem with her family. Then again, she often had to think of excuses and got into more trouble because of her superheroing ways (even with his parents helping to cover for her). But at times like these, he really wished he was more like Marinette. "I can escort Miss Ladybug home."
Chat shot to his feet. "I can do it," he insisted. "She's my..." he stopped. His father zeroed in on it.
"She's your what? Partner? I know that, Chat, but we're a team now."
To his immense relief, Ladybug jumped in. "Thank you for your concern, Paon, but I can make it home just fine. May I say good night to Chat first?"
"Of course. Chat, I'll see you back at HQ." That was code for the Agreste manor. Which, in a way, really was their headquarters. As Chat turned to Ladybug, he missed his father pull out a feather from his fan and flick over his shoulder it at him with a surreptitious twist of his wrist. The dart sailed past him and embedded itself into the lock. Paon smirked, withdrew his fans, and twirled around, creating a buffet of air.
"Whoa!" Both Chat and Ladybug cried out as they lost their balance in the unexpected burst. "Fa—Paon, what are you doing?" Chat shouted as they slammed into the door.
"Oops, sorry, was preparing for takeoff," his father apologized. "I didn't realize you would get caught in the blast." Chat narrowed his eyes. He had seen his father fly using his fan feathers quite often and not once did the older man create a collateral blast of air around him.
Chat pushed himself up against the door to right himself, but the lock, already broken due to Paon's feather, snapped. The door popped inward and deposited the two heroes into a heap on the floor.
"Oh dear," Paon cried, rushing forward. He swept his fan forward and a vacuum of air surrounded Chat, sucking the air back out and slamming the door shut. "Oops, so terribly sorry about that," Paon apologized from outside. Chat grumbled as he hauled himself to his feet. There was a clicking noise. Chat wiggled the handle. It was locked.
"Paon?" he called.
"Uh, my deepest apologies, but it appears that the lock is broken." More clicking noises. Why was Chat not surprised? "Uhm, stay tight. I'll go get something to open this door for you." Was it his imagination or did his father sound like he was trying really hard to act casual and nonchalant. After all, what reason could the designer have for locking them in a storage shed? Footsteps faded away.
"Wait, Paon!" A pause. Silence. "Paon? Father!" he tried. He yanked on the handle some more. Nothing. "Paon let us out of here!"
The next building over, a delighted Paon landed softly beside an orange-clad hero. He sat down beside her as they watched the door to the storage shed shake under the stress. "Well?" he asked her. "How did I do?"
"Brilliantly," the girl complimented as Paon unfolded a fan and tapped on it for a minute. She held up her flute. "You know, I've been trying to get those two together since the beginning of the school year."
"My son is a special kind of oblivious," Paon remarked, snapping his fan back into place. He pulled out a thermos from the bag next to him and a couple of cups and poured a drink for each of them. He handed one over to the fox heroine.
"So is my girl," came the reply.
Paon held up his plastic cup. "Well then, it appears we make a pretty decent team, Rena Rouge," he said.
Rena clacked her cup against his. "Indeed." They both took a sip from their cups, watching the tiny shed shake in the distance. "They're going to kill us when they get out of there," she remarked. She slid a glance next to her. "Well, they're going to kill you," she amended with a sly grin.
Paon leveled a look at her. "If I go down, I'm taking you with me. We're all in this together."
Rena chuckled. "I'm Ladybug's best friend. I can talk my way out of anything with her."
Paon arched an eyebrow. "Really? Care to test that theory?"
"Cataclysm!"
The shout from across the way caught their attentions. "Ah, it looks like my son has the right idea," Paon complimented. "If but a predictable one." He heaved a resigned sigh.
The walls disintegrated. Rena chuckled. She waved her flute. "Too bad he used it up on an illusion."
Paon drank from his cup. "What did you use as a placeholder? Chat cannot use his powers on a pure illusion. You must have used some kind of prop."
"I found a bit of plywood downstairs. I stuck it inside the door and converted that to the image of the door."
"Clever."
"Thank you."
They drank a few more minutes in silence, listening to Chat's howl of frustration. A few minutes after that, two kwami-sized blobs zipped through the walls. Rena raised an arm, waving them over as Paon reached for the recharge food.
"Here you go," he said, handing out the appropriate cookies and cheese. They gobbled them down, exclaiming their thanks.
"How is it going in there?" Rena asked.
Plagg smirked. "Now that they're detransformed, maybe they can start talking. Adrien spent the first half of it muttering ways to get payback against you," he glanced at Paon, who grinned without remorse. "Hopefully he calms down. Tikki and I said we would try to make it back to your home to get some food. That should buy us quite a bit of time. Those two need to get together already."
"Yes, I would have thought they would have taken care of that once their identities were revealed and 'Hawkmoth' defeated," Paon remarked. "It's obvious to everyone around them that they're both head over heels with each other."
"Like I said, my girl is a special kind of... special, even if she is pretty intelligent otherwise," Rena remarked.
"I'll drink to that," Paon remarked, tapping his cup against Rena's once more. He turned to the younger hero. "You know, I may have had my doubts initially, but you made a great addition to the team." He grinned.
She returned it, tapping her mug against his once more. "I'll drink to that one, myself. I had my doubts about you also."
A delicate sigh and a faint tapping of feet behind them alerted them to the presence of another. "What are we drinking to?" the lighthearted voice inquired. Paon turned with a beaming smile. He pulled out another cup and poured a drink for the newcomer. She accepted with a smile and a bent down to plant a delicate kiss on his lips before sitting beside them. Paon wrapped one arm around her shoulders.
"Conniving partnerships, I think," Rena answered. "Good evening, Papillon."
"Ooh, that's a good one," the violet-hued hero replied. She tapped her cup against Paon's. "Good evening, Rena, dear. How are they doing?" She motioned to the supply closet, now having grown remarkably silent over the last few minutes.
Paon tilted his head. "They've both exhausted their powers, so everything is going according to plan." He kissed her cheek. "Your wonderful, brilliant plan."
Tikki and Plagg nodded. Tikki released a tiny giggle. Plagg curled up around her. They had both finished up their food and were nestled together on Rena's lap.
"Which wouldn't have happened without our newest member's assistance," Papillon said.
Paon nodded. "We've tried," he confessed.
"I can't fathom how someone could be that oblivious," the blonde hero said in a low voice.
"I can," Rena said, taking an innocent sip from her cup. Paon slid a look at the orange-clad hero and she returned it with a cheeky grin. "Like father, like son," she added, just in case the blue hero missed her connotation.
Paon chose to ignore Rena as his wife rested her head on his shoulder, her golden hair glowing in the moonlight. He pulled her closer to him, entwining his fingers with hers. "How long are we going to keep them in there?" Papillon asked after a minute of relaxing against her husband.
"As long as it takes," Rena muttered darkly. Paon and Papillon turned to her in surprise. "Uh, I mean, maybe a few minutes more. I really am tired of seeing them tiptoe around each other at school."
The two older heroes chuckled in agreement.
"You know they're probably going to get us back, right?" Paon said.
"Us?" Papillon teased. "You're the one they're going to blame for this."
"That's what I said," Rena pointed out.
Paon scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, because they won't put it together that Rena created the illusion. From there, it's an easy leap to connect you to this plan as well. Our son isn't that obtuse."
"I wouldn't bet on it," Rena mumbled before she could stop herself. Papillon snickered and covered her mouth with a hand. Paon looked irritated. "Okay, fine they're plotting to get us back," Rena acquiesced. "You got a brilliant plan for getting us out of that one?"
Paon shook his head. "We'll just have to deal with it when the time comes. I wouldn't worry, though. What's the worst they could do?"
Author's Note: Special thanks to PerditaAlottachocolate for beta-reading this story and cleaning it up! I'm not 100% happy with the final product, but I have many prompts and little time.