Author's Note: it was just raining outside; thoughts to the all famous 'Umbrella Scene' came into my head. One-Shot reveal fic. Review and favourite, my melodies!
'I'VE GOT YOU NOW!'
A lion's roar could be heard in the distance. As if by everlasting pattern, a certain Chat Noir could be seen swinging and leaping towards the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.
It was dark, and the peaceful atmosphere was previously undisturbed before the akuma had attacked; A warm parisien evening, much like any other. Few civilians wandered the streets- some hopelessly drunk and others just appreciative of night-life in Paris- but none made any ruckus. However, if one was attentive enough, one could see that only a couple of roofs away from the theatre lay the akuma- who could be interpreted as communicating with one we all know too well. It was the beginning of French summertime, and the cordial scent of fresh-cut grass filled the air. The warm-white coloured lights from street lamps and apartment buildings below tinted the night sky, making it just unmistakable to see an emerald-green glint of an eye from below the Paris skyline. Though the night was somewhat peaceful for the big city, the calmness of it all was soon interrupted by a roar-like shout which echoed all over Paris.
'I AM AKUMA MATATA, THE BEST ACTOR OF ALL! THERE WILL BE MANY WORRIES COMING YOUR WAY, LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR!'
As Chat landed behind the villain. The half man-half lion hybrid was standing on it's hind legs with its back to the hero. Evident by its constant fumbling around, Chat noted that, unlike himself, this cat didn't have night-vision. Either that or it could not stand on two feet. A moment or two passed, and Chat found himself holding his breath. He let it out quickly, making a sharp sighing sound breaking the once-silent Parisien evening.
'Is someone there? Oh, I bet it's that mangy alley-cat,' he chuckled. 'Where are you, you vile creature?' the akuma growled, reaching its strong muscled arms in front of its torso, feeling around for the masked feline.
'I can hear you,' the lion-like figure taunted, quieter than before.
Chat readied himself to attack, then stopped himself upon noticing that in fact it could stand on two legs, but obviously could not see in the dark. This put him at an advantage. Placing the thought in his mind, he stood in a defensive stance; one knee and hand rested on the floor, one leg bent out to the side for balance, and his baton-wielding arm outstretched directly in front of him. He narrowed his eyes, examining the feline creature before him. Maybe the akuma was hiding at the front of this disguise; He had to get a closer look. From what he could see, it would have to be hidden under his furry lion costume.
Repositioning himself so both feet were firmly on the ground, Chat twirled his baton creating an effective shield between himself and the lion-like akuma. He had to find away closer to the villain- or at least to turn him around. His emerald, feline-resembling eyes glinted with mischievousness, and his mouth curled into a smirk before opening to say,
'Hey big cat! Ohana, am I right? We're from the same feline family, you don't have to be a cheetah!'
The classic puns. 'That's what this cat does best,' he thought with a satisfying grin on his face.
The akuma turned to face the direction of the comment in shock. Whether it was because of the puns or the clapback, nobody knew.
'Uh oh, looks like my first pun has been spotted-'
'that's the WRONG MUSICAL YOU MANGY CAT! I AM NOT PART OF SOME STUPID LILO AND STITCH PLAY, I AM THE LEAD IN THE LION KING!' the akuma shouted before launching an attack of bugs and creepy-crawlies all over the masked hero. It referred to a line in his musical; one he was forced to learn through the part he so was 'wrongly' given. He murmured it under his breath as he shot another wave of grubs from his lucky theatre bracelet.
'Slimy, yet satisfying.' the words came from his lips like venom. He despised them. He despised his role as that disgusting warthog Pumbaa. He despised that theatre.
'No need to be bugged about it! I'm sure you're not lion!' Chat remarked. The akuma let out a distressed sigh, obviously annoyed by his puns.
He wasn't the only one.
A red-spotted heroine swung into view, groaning at the black-clad hero's dreadful one-liners. Although those two fit together like pieces in a puzzle, they couldn't be more different. Chat turned around, his face lighting up at the sight of his Lady. He swung his baton to rest behind his neck and balanced his arms atop it; He always improved his posture when Ladybug was around- he needed to prove to her that he was a confident and worthy partner, even in the little things he does. Walking towards her with his usual confident swagger, he spoke.
'Well if it isn't my Bugaboo, late to the Akuma party.'
'I am not your bugaboo!' the response was quick and as sharp as ice.
'Me-owch!' Chat exclaimed, taken aback. Regaining his flirtatiousness, he smirked and leaned forwards. 'We'll see about that, my Lady.' Chat said, a sickeningly sweet emphasis on the last two words and winked flirtatiously, just as he always did.
As if by script, Ladybug rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.
'There's no time for your childish charm, Chat Noir,' she began, drifting back to one of the first akumas they fought together. She had said that during a fight against Stormy Weather, right after he had kissed her hand.
It was safe to say they both blushed at the memory.
'We've got an akuma to fight, you silly Kitty,' she continued, her expression abounding in initiative and just a hint of flirtation.
Chat, being the attentive and alluring kitty he is, took note of this to tease her with later.
Turning their attention back to the matter at hand, Ladybug found it increasingly difficult to battle blind. She'd have to rely on Chat for this one, and just play defence. Besides, teamwork was all about working together, and these two are definitely all about teamwork. Ladybug spun her yoyo in circles as if to create a shield for herself and her kitty, whilst Chat plunged his baton forwards- admittedly taking strategies from his fencing classes- trying to catch the villain off-guard. He could see something on the akuma's wrist glint against the moonlight, but had to get a closer look.
'Ladybug!' he called to his partner. She slowed her yoyo ever so slightly to pay more attention to what he was saying. Akuma Matata wasn't attacking her at the moment so she didn't really need to keep her guard up- or so she thought.
An unexpected, suffocating wave of grubs and bugs hit her with such force that she was knocked back into a nearby chimney. She groaned in pain, gripping her throbbing head. Chat, who was mortified at the events that had played out before him, turned to the akuma with such anger that his swooping baton caught the villain off-guard, making him buckle at the knees before doubling over in pain. The masked hero rushed to his heroine, eager to be at her assistance.
'Are you alright, M- Ladybug?' he corrected himself. It came as a shock to them both how gentle and delicate he was acting towards the situation. He was usually so confident.
Ladybug nodded, though winced as she did so.
'I'm fine, mon chaton,' she choked out. 'But we really need to capture that akuma,' she continued, gaining some strength in her voice, before going quiet again. 'Remember what happened with stoneheart?' her voice was almost a whisper. He nodded, willing for her to go on. 'We- I didn't capture the akuma, and- and-'
Chat could see the tears well up in her eyes. He placed his hands on both of her shoulders, squeezing a little for encouragement.
'And we made a mistake. So what? It's not going to happen again. We know what we did wrong, and we know what we have to do to do what's right. What you have to do to do what's right.'
She sat with her mouth slightly open, nodding in agreement. Her expression was almost unreadable, but her wide eyes suggested astonishment peeking through the cloud over her feelings. In all honestly, she just couldn't believe her kitty had a soft side. She was so used to the witty and flirty comments- not that she minded them much- that she didn't see this whole other side to him.
And she liked it.
She liked him.
A ghost of a smile formed over her porcelain face. 'Thank you, kitty.' she said honestly. He grinned. He knew her capabilities, he just wanted to know that she knew.
She stood up, the pain in her head easier to cope with than before. He offered to help her up, but she insisted he didn't.
She tripped over a loose tile atop the roof.
Alright, maybe she did need his help.
He guided her to where the akuma lay, groaning, on the roof in pain. It seemed simple enough; the akuma had to be in his bracelet, which just so happened to be on show in direct moonlight.
'Cataclysm!' Chat exclaimed, hoping to use his power of Destruction to aid him in retrieving the Akuma. Chat Noir reached for the bracelet, careful is to not touch the lion-
-When a paw grasped firmly around his wrist. His cataclysm was used on a tissue from the Akuma's pocket.
'Trapped like the worthless little kitten you are, I see Chat Noir?' Akuma Matata growled. 'And look at that, your miraculous! And your power's all used up, poor cat!' he chuckled. 'My my, this was easier than I thought! You're such a dumb kitty.'
Akuma Matata was just using his other hand to slide the ring off of Chat's finger, when a red light flashed blindingly bright in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.
'Lucky Charm!' Ladybug yelled. The light she radiated was enough for her to see that the miscellaneous object she had been given was-
A red and black spotted umbrella? She hooked her yoyo around her waist, and attached the umbrella to the makeshift "belt". She'd have to figure out how to use that later. Right now, she had the upper hand and wasn't going to let it go to waste.
She ran towards Akuma Matata and Chat, leading up to a somersault in the air which in result broke the contact between the villain and the hero. The lion of course roared in anger at Chat's escape along with the miraculous.
'See how you like that, furball! You can't stand this clawsome cat, can you?' Chat remarked. This seemed to anger the Lion more, but he didn't notice.
'Chat..-' Ladybug began.
'I would've called that a Claws escape, wouldn't you, Bugaboo?' he continued.
'Chat-'
'No no I'm just messing around. Well purr-layed, Steak Breath, I'm sure you weren't a cheetah!'
'Chat!' Ladybug cried, before dashing out with her umbrella to protect the duo from the sudden eruption of creepy-crawlies coming from the Akuma's bracelet.
'My puns must've really bugged him!' Chat exclaimed, then took the umbrella from Ladybug as she ducked around it to get the Akuma. Chat was the perfect distraction once again, but that didn't mean his puns weren't awful.
She did a triple flip and a bridge before reaching the Lion, and sneakily pulled the bracelet off his fur-coated arm without him noticing. The Sphinx-like creature didn't bat an eyelid towards Ladybug as he was too busy focusing all his anger on Chat. She smashed the bracelet- upon looking more closely she could see it was a metal and glass bat wing shape with a fabric chord around it- and freed the akuma.
'I'm freeing you from Evil!'
A red flash could be seen for miles away as Ladybug purified the Akuma. She kneeled down and handed the now-fixed bracelet to a middle-aged man with dark hair and greeny-blue eyes. His chiseled chin was resting in his soft palms, his content eyes staring into the distance.
'I think this might be yours.' Ladybug said, unsure if she should approach him.
The man looked up at the spotted heroine, his mind obviously clouded with something.
'Listen, I think you should take the part as Pumbaa,' Ladybug began. The man frowned. 'Everyone needs to start somewhere, a-and if you're not Pumbaa, someone equally as unhappy about it would have to be Pumbaa and that would just cause even more akumas- I mean trouble,' she laughed uncomfortably. 'You can't afford to pick and choose which roles you get, it doesn't work like that. I didn't choose to be Ladybug- but here I am. What I am trying to say is- well- It may not seem like the best thing for you now, but if you allow yourself to enjoy and take part, you'll grow to love it. If you went back and told your, I don't know, 6-year-old self you were going to perform in Paris' most prestigious theatre, you would be so happy you would've jumped for joy! I can see acting is your dream, so follow it. Follow it wherever it takes you,' -she placed the bracelet in his palm- 'and don't stop doing what's right.'
She thought with a blush at what Chat had said to her earlier, and valued that advice with all her heart. She gave a quick, warm smile to the man and stood up in search for her partner.
As she leapt a couple of roof tops away, she could see her partner atop the Musée du Louvre.
She landed next to him, watching him stare into the distance.
'Thank you,' she breathed.
He turned to face her, eyes wide. It was now raining slightly, and a few droplets drizzled down his cheek. They both could smell the wet pavement below, but no one was in sight at this hour. The light from nearby streetlamps shone on each of their faces, giving them both a supernatural glow to their delicate features. Her eyes flickered to his golden locks, messy and unkempt, then down to his glistening green eyes- they captivated her.
'f-for the advice earlier.' she continued, drawing her own blue orbs away from his defined face. 'You see, I have a hard time, believing in myself like that. You make it seem so easy and I admire you for that.' She gained confidence when she didn't look into those mesmerising emerald eyes, but her voice wavered knowing he was staring at her so intently.
And he was. He always noticed how her blue hair shone in the moonlight, or how her cheeks were dusted with pink when she smiled, but it was never until now that he could truly take in the beautiful heroine standing before him. His eyes wandered all over her face, noting each detail- her freckles, the way her fringe sweeps across her eyes, her smile… He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and chuckled slightly. She literally took his breath away.
'I know how hard it must be,' the red-suited heroine continued despite the intense gaze thrust upon her, 'having to pick me up when I'm feeling down all the time,' her voice wavered a little, 'b-but I couldn't be more grateful to have you as a partner.' she finished, smiling contently.
He stood there, wide eyed. So she does notice. All these years, he thought he was just a hopeless Ladybug fanboy, no closer to her than any other civilian, when now he knew that she valued him as a friend and a partner; and that's all he could ever ask for. The rain pattered down on their heads and shoulders, and some drops landed near their feet. The soft sound soothed the superhero duo, and they both, simultaneously, let out a sigh they didn't know they were holding. So many questions ran through his head- what to say, how to act- but a sense of familiarity hit him, and he couldn't help himself.
He opened the umbrella, and handed it to her.
And then, they de-transformed.
Author's Note: Okay, Okay, this one may be a two-shot. I don't know, it depends if you guys want to see the post reveal fluff and angst? ;3 [[Set in a universe where they have 10-15 minutes after their power is used to detransform, for plot purposes.]] Please leave reviews, favourites and follows to let me know if I should write a second chapter! I won't if no one likes this oneshot, lol. I've been having some writer's block with my other story, A Soulmate for Adrien, but hopefully I can get through that and continue writing it! Leave reviews and favourites for my writing kwami to get recharged and ready to write Ch2!
Bye Melodies! xo
PS; big thanks to Mari for proof reading ilyl xxx