Author's Note:
This chapter was so much fun to write! It might be the most action packed thing I've ever written, and it was all inspired by this amazing fanart by moeskine on tumblr! ( post/139374891626/moeskine-ladybug-step-back-i-got-this)
I remember seeing it ages ago and really wanting to write something for it, and the scenario fit perfectly into this fic. Hope you enjoy it!
On Tuesday, Marinette spends all of first period sketching furiously in her notebook. It's not an unusual sight; she's often most creative in the morning, and Alya is used to watching her churn out multiple dress designs and sketches in a matter of minutes. But when she looks over to see what Marinette has drawn today, she's baffled by what she sees.
All of the sketches consist of a figure that looks oddly like Ladybug entering a fancy mansion through a window in various unusual ways.
"What is that? When did you start drawing comics instead of fashion designs?" she asks, bemused.
"Oh, I'm, uh, working on a collaboration with Nathanael!" responds Marinette quickly. It's the first thing she can think of.
"Since when?!"
"Since yesterday. He, uh, just asked me to think of some ideas for his new comic, so that's what I've been working on."
"Oh, well, I guess that explains why you're so distracted," says Alya, though she isn't completely convinced. But she decides not to press the issue after she sees the veiled look in Marinette's eyes.
Though Marinette's plan is originally to visit Adrien early in the evening, once he returns from fencing practice, Marinette pulls out her drawings and debates the merits of how to go about actually entering his room with Tikki for almost two hours until the kwami points out that it's past 7, and she's already late.
Marinette quickly transforms into Ladybug and rushes through the streets of Paris, weaving through narrow alleyways and vaulting over rooftops until she reaches the Agreste mansion. She is surprised to see that the mansion is fully illuminated, spilling light from all angles onto the street. Only one window is dark: Adrien's room.
Ladybug swings onto the balcony and peers inside, and sees that the room is empty. She's confused; according to the chart she's put together, Adrien should have been back by now. Has his schedule changed?
She perches on top of the balcony and ponders what could have possibly happened when she hears the faint strain of classical music coming from downstairs, and it hits her. How could she have possibly forgotten? Tonight is the annual Fall Collection Gala at the Agreste Mansion, a private party where all of the top designers showcase their most exciting designs for the socialites of Paris.
Marinette avidly reads the coverage every year, and she can't believe that she's forgotten it was tonight. Of course that's where Adrien is.
She sighs as she realizes that there's no way that she's going to be able to talk to him in private at all—he's going to be surrounded by people all night. Still, some instinct tells Ladybug that she should stick around. Though she doesn't know why, she decides to listen to her gut, and she descends down the side of the balcony and hides in the shadows in the courtyard, next to a large window looking into the main ballroom, where all the guests are mingling.
It's a good view, so at the very least, even if nothing happens and she doesn't meet Adrien, there is an upside: she'll be able to say that she attended at least one Fall Collection Gala in person instead of watching a grainy livestream on her desktop.
Ever since he became the face of the brand, the Agreste Annual Fall Collection Gala has easily become Adrien's least favorite social event of the year.
When he was younger, it was fun; he would slip away from his mother and dart in between the women and men in fancy formalwear, eavesdropping on their conversations and getting far too many hor d'oeuvres from the wait staff, who were all charmed by the small boy with bright green eyes and carefully combed blond hair.
But now, Adrien is the center of attention, the young Agreste heir, and all eyes are on him as he walks around the ballroom and greets all of the important guests, always followed by his silent bodyguard.
He's certainly dressed for the part tonight; he is wearing one of the suits from the collection, a classy number that combines a single-breasted coal black jacket with a notched lapel and an ivory white collared shirt underneath with slim straight-legged trousers. A jaunty bowtie completes the look.
Adrien finds it easy to play the role, to smile politely and ask the right questions, but as he listens to yet another socialite discuss her latest holiday in Monaco and the pieces from the RTW Resort collection that she wore at all the parties she went to, he can't help but fantasize about a certain set of dark pigtails and cerulean blue eyes, and he wonders what she's up to tonight. He hopes she's having a better time than him, whatever she's doing.
Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien notices a heated exchange that is taking place at the entrance of the main ballroom between an older female guest and Nathalie. The woman looks vaguely familiar, though he can't exactly place where he's seen her. Though they are speaking in hushed tones, it is clear that the woman is highly incensed, and the angrier she gets, the cooler Nathalie becomes. It is her particular talent, and Adrien is sure it's the main reason his father keeps her around.
"Where is he?" hisses the woman, low and furious. She is clutching a copy of the fall collection magazine, squeezing it with both hands, and the rage emanating from her is raw and fierce. From the way she is hunched over, it is clear to Adrien that she is not accustomed to feeling such intense anger, and he watches with increasing concern.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about, Madame, but I request that you lower your voice, or you will be removed from this gala immediately," replies Nathalie, her clipped tones laced with razor sharp ice.
"Don't play dumb, you idiotic woman! You know I want to see Gabriel Agreste. I must speak to him this instant!"
"As I have mentioned before, Monsieur Agreste is unable to attend tonight's event, due to a prior commitment. If the matter is urgent, I can schedule you in for a remote conference call next week," responds Nathalie, pushing up her glasses in a dismissive gesture. "Now, if I have made myself clear, I must attend to the other guests."
"I cannot wait. Ring him up right now! How dare he insult my son like this?"
"Madame Artois, as I have repeatedly told you, simply being an employee of Gabriel Agreste, regardless of your status in the company, does not entitle your son to a modeling contract. I don't know how I can make this clear to you, but Arthur simply didn't make the cut in the last round of auditions."
"That's rich, coming from the king of nepotism! If that is the case, why has his own son appeared in every single campaign from the age of 3? Are you actually trying to tell me that he earned it? That's absurd! The only difference between Arthur and Adrien is the Agreste name."
Adrien frowns. He remembers Madame Artois now; she is one of his father's senior designers, and has been with the company for a very long time. She is a skilled tailor, a pioneer in children's and preteen formal wear. The upper circles love her styles, and his father loves the money her lines bring in. Adrien has only met her son once, when she brought him into the studio to model one of her new designs, but it was clear even to him that though Arthur wore the clothes well, he was uncomfortable in front of the camera.
Adrien doesn't hate modeling. In fact, he actually enjoys it. He's comfortable in front of a camera and is friendly with everyone on set, and he appreciates the beauty of the clothing the designers come up with. So he doesn't mind the long hours, though they're tiring, and it's hard to keep up the perfect image his father expects from everyone. But he does work extremely hard, and it's disheartening to hear that one of his father's most respected employees thinks that the only reason Adrien models is because of his father. He wants to tell her it's not true, but he also knows it would be a bad idea to get involved in the heated discussion.
"Adrien Agreste is the most successful teen model in the history of this company. There is no comparison between him and your pathetic son. And as none of your designs are being featured in tonight's showcase, my friendly suggestion is that you leave," says Nathalie, sharp and cutting, before she turns around and walks away.
Adrien winces as he watches Madame Artois shrink as she absorbs the full impact of the insult. He makes a motion to go up to her and apologize, but the Gorilla places a firm hand on his shoulder and stops him from moving forward.
"Nathalie shouldn't have said that!" he says with frustration. "I have to go apologize!"
The Gorilla shakes his head and tightens his grip, and Adrien knows any further protests are futile. As he watches her turn on her heel and storm out of the ballroom, he can tell from the way she's walking that there's a storm coming.
Ladybug shrinks behind the wall as one of the guests comes outside, an elegant looking middle aged woman dressed to the nines in an elegant black ball gown, red heels, and a Birkin bag, her brunette hair swept into a high bun. She seems both distressed and furious and is clutching something in her hands, though Ladybug can't tell what it is in the darkness.
The sky suddenly seems to get darker and an electric pulse fills the air, and Ladybug warily watches the woman with bated breath as she hunches over with anger. This is it—the moment that she knew would come.
And in a matter of milliseconds, the woman is enveloped by a purple-black cloud of darkness and transformed into a spider-like giantess with chalk white skin, the ribbons on her gown now pulsing waves of energy, her fingers long and curved, her ruby red lips curled into a vicious snarl as she lets out a piercing shriek and bursts into the ballroom.
"I am Le Vengeur, and I seek vengeance on Adrien Agreste!"
The Gala descends into chaos as Le Vengeur ravages through the ballroom, pinning people to the walls as she searches for Adrien. Nathalie and the Gorilla run to him and try to get him out of the way, but Adrien pushes past them and runs to face her, recognizing who she is.
"Madame Artois! You don't need to do this—we can work something out for you and Arthur!" shouts Adrien.
"YOU! You are who I want. And I am not Madame Artois. I am Le Vengeur, and I will get vengeance for the wrong that has been done to my son. And I'm starting with you."
She shoots a beam of dark energy towards him, but it is immediately knocked off course by a very familiar black and red yo-yo, and Adrien whips his head to see Ladybug standing there, eyes fierce and arms akimbo.
She looks beautiful and powerful against the chaos of the crowd, and Adrien finds himself momentarily breathless as she walks in between him and Le Vengeur and shields him with her arm.
"Ladybug!" he exclaims, low and excited, his cheeks flushed. "You're here!"
She nods and says, "Step back, I've got this."
Adrien shakes his head and turns to look fiercely at Le Vengeur. "No—I can help. Trust me!"
Ladybug grabs his wrist and pulls him to the ground as Le Vengeur screams and shoots another pulse of energy towards them. As she pushes him underneath a banquet table to find cover, he tries not to think too hard about the fact that she's lying on top of him, her body pressed tightly against his—and how she's breathing hard, each heartbeat pulsing against his chest.
A lock of Ladybug's hair brushes against his cheeks, light as a feather, as she leans across him and quickly pushes back the tablecloth to get a glimpse of Le Vengeur, who is blasting black beams of energy at every table and bursting them apart. It's clear that they don't have much time.
She ducks back under the tablecloth and leans in close to his face.
"Who is she?" she whispers in his ear. "Why is she so angry at you?"
"It's Madame Artois," he responds, blushing at the alarmingly close proximity of her lips to his cheeks. If he moves even an inch—
"Irene Artois, the top Agreste designer?" says Ladybug, confused. "What happened?"
Adrien is surprised for a moment before he remembers that Ladybug is Marinette. Of course she knows who Madame Artois is. She probably knows more about each of the designers than he does, even though he grew up with them.
"Her son auditioned to be a model for the fall collection and wasn't chosen," says Adrien.
"—and she's angry that you're the face of the brand, isn't she?" says Ladybug, connecting the dots.
"Yes," says Adrien.
"So where could her akuma be?"
"I'm not sure. Last I saw her, she was arguing with Nathalie—my father's secretary—and then she left."
"Was she holding anything?"
"I don't remember. We need to face her again to see it."
"Okay, but you should find a safe place to hide," says Ladybug.
Adrien shakes his head. "No way. I'm coming with you. We'll catch her faster if we're together."
Ladybug sighs as Adrien insists on coming with her. She wants to give him a chance to get away, to transform into Chat Noir and join her in the fight, but it doesn't seem like he wants to do that.
She can see from the look in his eyes that he's already focused on the battle, as though he's already transformed. But he's not, and she's worried that he's going to get hurt. Her protective instincts have kicked in, and even though she knows that Adrien could probably hold his own in a fight—he's a master at fencing, after all—she still worries about what could go wrong unless he's there as Chat Noir. This is fighting an akuma, not a school competition. But still, she can't deny her minou when he wants to help.
So she says okay.
"What's wrong?" asks Adrien, as though there's no reason for her to be concerned that he's about to fight an akuma with her without any of his magical powers.
Ladybug exhales slowly. She understands now why Chat Noir is so quick to jump into the fray for her—it's one of Adrien's natural traits.
"Nothing," she says. "You sure you want to come? Last chance to back out." Last chance for you to stay safe.
"Of course," says Adrien.
Ladybug nods and extends a hand to help him get up. Briefly, they both think of the previous night, but their attention is immediately diverted as they dart out from underneath the table just as Le Vengeur sends a blast towards it.
"Where are you hiding, you entitled little brat?" she screams.
Ladybug turns to Adrien. "Can you distract her while I look for where the akuma is hiding?"
Adrien simply smiles at her with a self-assured feline grin and nods. And though he says nothing, Ladybug can just see the words floating above him in the air: I'm great at distracting people, my lady.
He turns to face Le Vengeur. "Hey, over here!" he shouts, waving his arms in the air. "Bet you can't catch me!" he adds with a cocky smile, sticking his tongue out at the akuma and jumping over the fallen tables.
Ladybug laughs as the akuma howls angrily and follows Adrien around the ballroom, but he's too nimble for her. He has a distinct advantage over the villain; he knows every nook and cranny of the mansion from years of exploring it while he's bored, especially the ballroom, which is massive, but has a surprising number of places to hide.
He darts in and out of visible view; it's a cat and mouse game where the cat is playing the role of the mouse, and he's going to win.
As Le Vengeur is completely consumed by her search for Adrien, Ladybug watches her carefully from the rafters, but can't figure out where her source of power is coming from. It occurs to her that it was probably what Madame Artois was holding when she saw her in the garden, but she has no idea what it was.
Either she or Adrien will have to get closer to figure it out.
But to do that, they'll need to bring some luck into the game.
Adrien is running from one pillar to the next when he hears the familiar call.
"LUCKY CHARM!"
After a silence of two seconds comes the follow up.
"A box cutter? What am I supposed to do with this?" she says, confused.
As Adrien turns his head to look at Ladybug, Le Vengeur captures him and pins him against a wall. Ladybug gasps and runs toward him as as his back slams against the wooden beams and he winces at the impact.
Le Vengeur leans into Adrien's face, her voice dripping with venomous scorn. "Looks like your little superheroine has run out of luck. Much like you. Once I'm done with you, the only person who will be the face of this brand will be my son."
Adrien scowls. "That's what you think, Madame Artois. Ladybug will never lose!"
"Pah!" spits Le Vengeur. "I think someone needs to stop talking." She opens her bag and quickly pulls out a roll of masking tape before immediately snapping it shut, and that's when Adrien sees it—the crumpled copy of the Agreste Fall Collection magazine she had been holding while talking to Nathalie, and suddenly it all makes sense.
"Ladybug! The akuma is in the magazine! It's inside Madame Artois's purse!"
"What?!"
"You need to get her purse!" he yells, before scowling at Le Vengeur and punching her right in the face.
She keels over from the sheer force and drops the bag, and Ladybug immediately swings over and picks it up, slicing it open with the box cutter and pulling out the crumpled magazine.
She quickly rips it apart and as suspected, the dark purple butterfly flutters up into the air. She quickly captures it and purifies it, waving goodbye before throwing the box cutter into the air and restoring the ballroom to normal, while Madame Artois lies on the ground, completely confused.
Ladybug stands back as Adrien walks up to the disheveled woman and offers her a hand. She knows he can take care of this better than her.
"Madame Artois, are you all right?"
"Adrien Agreste? What happened—where am I?"
"You were akumatized by Papillon. But don't worry, everything is fine now. There was no permanent damage to anything whatsoever. Also, I know you were concerned about why your son was rejected from the Fall Collection. But I'll do my best to see that he gets a place on the roster for the Winter or Spring Collections."
"I'm—I'm so sorry I said all those horrible things about you! You are clearly a very kind young man."
Adrien shakes his head. "You were just trying to be a good mother. I respect that."
"Merci, Adrien. I might not agree with your father on a lot of things, but it's clear that he has raised you well. I very much appreciate your help."
Adrien looks down and sighs before looking up and treating her to a brilliant smile, hiding any sign of sadness. "It is my pleasure, Madame."
Ladybug stands by Adrien and waits until the Gala returns to normal. Though she tries to be casual about the whole thing, she keeps stealing sideways glances at him; she's beyond relieved that he's safe and everything was fine and she still can't actually believe that he punched an akuma in the face. It's all a bit surreal.
"We make a good team, you and I," she says. It's the closest she can come to thanking him without admitting that she knows who he is.
Adrien blushes with pleasure. He's heard her say it a thousand times about Chat Noir, but the fact that she's talking specifically about him and not his alter ego somehow makes it much more special.
"Thanks, Ladybug," he says. "You—you were pretty amazing out there too," he adds, shyly.
"Merci, mon beau," she says. And something about the adoring look in his eyes makes her mind go completely blank and before she knows it, she's gone and leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, and as she pulls back, she can see that Adrien's face has gone as crimson as her suit.
And judging from how her own cheeks feel like they're on fire, she's pretty sure that hers are just as red.
Luckily for Ladybug, her earrings start to beep and she giggles nervously before leaping away into the darkness, leaving a dazed Adrien staring adoringly into the moonlit horizon.
