Chapter 4
"ACHOO!"
Adrien dabbed his nose with his handkerchief and tried to remain still to stop his head spinning. His throat felt scratchy, like he'd swallowed a hedgehog and his eyes itched. There was a tickle in his chest, threatening a developing cough. "I'm sorry, I really think—"
"It's these flowers!" Pierre, the photographer complained. "It must be the pollen! Where's the florist?"
An easy mistake; the room was covered in all sorts of flora. It was necessary since he posed for a poster for Au nom de la Rose and Pierre knew Adrien had a feather allergy. "It's not the flowers," Adrien protested and slumped his shoulders. "I got caught in the rain yesterday and—"
"LINNEA!" Pierre bellowed.
The small woman rushed over. "Yes?"
"The flowers are making him sneeze. Fix it."
Adrien tried to interject. "It's not the flowers—" Pausing, he tried to resist the tickle in his nose and failed.
"See?" Pierre blustered and waved his hands at Linnea. "Poor Adrien is so ill from their stench. You were supposed to ensure they were frozen last night so he wouldn't be subject to their pollen."
"But they were," Linnea insisted. "They haven't been out of the fridge for long at all. And they've been sprayed, snap frozen and de-pollened. They've been arranged so those flowers with the most pollen are located at the back, away from—"
Pierre tossed up his hands, in full tantrum. Adrien really hated when Pierre went into diva mode. "I don't want your excuses!"
Adrien stood from his position and carefully extracted himself from the abundance of colourful flowers. "Pierre! It's cool. I'm sick, that's all."
"Yes!" Pierre said. "I'm sick too! Sick of the ineptitude of my staff!"
Linnea shook her head. "It's not my fault! I did everything I could to ensure the flowers would be perfect for the shoot. If you'd just listen—"
"This is the last straw, Linnea! You're fired. Begone!"
Adrien's jaw dropped as Linnea burst into tears and fled the room. "Pierre! That was unprofessional. I'm sick and it wasn't her fault."
"Reset!" Pierre announced, still ignoring Adrien as he waved his arms around. "I am losing the romance!"
Frowning, Adrien decided he wasn't going to endure Pierre today and turned on the brat. "I'm not posing. I'm out."
Astounded, Pierre swivelled. "Adrien!"
"I am sick!" Adrien scolded. "I am not allergic to flowers and you fired Linnea based on a temper tantrum." Channelling Chloé, he snapped, "My father will not be pleased." With either of them.
Stalking to his bag, Adrien threw the strap over his shoulder and dug around inside for his phone. Pierre's protests fell on deaf ears and the palm of Adrien's hand as he removed himself from the area. Dialling his father's number, Adrien waited.
Message bank, as usual. The man was unreachable, even this early in the morning. Sighing, Adrien waited for the message to cycle before he said, "I'm sick. I must've caught a bug or something from the rain, but Pierre blamed my sneezing on the flowers and fired the florist without due cause. I'm walking out in protest because it was my fault. I'm sorry, I know this shoot was important but it wasn't right and—"
A scream and Adrien closed his eyes. "Oh, of course," he muttered and hung up.
"I am Tiger Lily and I will return natural beauty to the world!"
Adrien didn't need to see the akuma to sense its presence swell. It would undoubtedly be Linnea, caught in a moment of emotion and twisted to serve. Especially with a name like Tiger Lily. Bright and orange with dark splotches and a large, petal-leaf hat perched on her head, she commanded flowering vines to attack those around her.
Staff and models screamed and fled. Pierre was already trussed up, held above the ground while wrapped up in a flowering wisteria vine.
Looking around for a place to hide, he nudged his bag. "Plagg, we're needed."
Plagg poked his head out. "It's too early."
Adrien's eyes landed on Pierre's office. "Evil doesn't wait."
"Adrien, you're sick," Plagg said as Adrien ran. "It won't disappear with the Miraculous. We'll drain fast."
"I know. I'll be okay."
"Wait for Ladybug."
Another scream and Adrien dove into the room and hid behind the desk. "Can't."
Plagg floated up until he was level with Adrien's face. "Promise me you'll call her the moment you're transformed."
"Absolutely. Plagg, Claws Out!"
The transformation flowed through him, igniting his body and shaping it into something more, something better than the original. Strength, agility, energy to burn, and a literal library of puns.
Grabbing his baton, he clicked on two-way communication he had with Ladybug and waited. Even if she wasn't transformed, the signal would relay through her miraculous partner. While waiting for her to answer, he went to get some intel.
Creeping back out to the studio, he was amazed at the transformation. There were brightly coloured flowers everywhere, growing along the walls, in cracks in the brickwork or through broken parcels of the floor. Brilliant purple wisteria vines, soft pink cherry blossom trees, petunias and lilacs, tulips and roses and so many more that Chat Noir couldn't name. As he watched, the flowers broke the large, arched windows of the studio and spilled out into the cobblestone street beyond.
When he spotted a small bush with bells of delicate white flowers, he was glad for the stuffy nose.
"It's early."
Smiling, he hid behind a shrub. "Tell that to the akuma." Angling the baton into the air, he gave her a glimpse of what he was dealing with.
"Oh, that's gorgeous!" she cooed, then her voice went deadpan. "But I hope you didn't call me this early to get me flowers."
"Huh?" he asked, then checked what he was pointing the baton at. "No. Her. Not the flowers." He lowered the baton so he could look at her.
He could see the background behind Ladybug blurred and her hair flowed in the wind as she ran. "Alright, I have your location, I'm on my way."
Grinning, Chat Noir said, "Then we can get to the root of the problem. Hurry, there's not mushroom for more of them."
A groan from his lady. "Really?"
"Aww, and I thought that one was oak-ay."
A hand covered her face. "They're flowers, not trees."
"Well, that's just dande-lion."
"Would you stop?" she whined.
The puns were flowing today. "I saw what yew did there."
"Stoooop."
He sneezed, his whole body shaking.
Concern instead of frustration. "Are you allergic to flowers too?"
He sniffed and wished his handkerchief hadn't changed with his suit. "A cold."
"Poor kitty, you have such bad luck."
A vine wrapped around Chat Noir's ankle and hoisted him into the air and he dropped his baton.
"I thought I heard a kitty sneeze," Tiger Lily cooed. "Poor little sap."
Folding his arms on his chest, he smirked. "That pun was a-pollen." Using his stomach muscles, he hoisted himself up to his foot and slashed at the vine with his claws. When free, he somersaulted before he landed, scooped up his baton, then vaulted to one of the broken windows. "Let's take it outside. It's getting stuffy in here."
He knew there was a courtyard near Pierre's studio and, with the early hour, it would be deserted. Plenty of space for Tiger Lily to grow things and for him to stall until Ladybug arrived.
Tiger Lily didn't walk so much as was carried by her river of flowering vines as she lifted to the window to follow him. Darting into the street, Chat Noir found himself dodging fast growing catnip plants as they erupted through the pavement.
"I have a cold, ma'am. Those plants don't work."
"Perhaps some elderberry flowers will aid that!" Tiger Lily announced as bushes burst from the ground ahead of him.
"Don't you have to have tea from that?" Chat Noir asked as he dodged them. Taking out his baton, he vaulted over the top of one. As he lifted the baton away from the ground, he swiped at a vine which came rushing toward him.
Everywhere he turned, flowers blocked his way. Every time he tried to attack Tiger Lily, he had to dodge fast moving flowering vines. Flowering hedges erupted ahead of him and boxed him in. He slid to a stop and crouched on all fours. Turning back, he studied Tiger Lily, trying to determine where the akuma hid. His eyes darted across her. Her petal hat, her suit –so similar to Ladybugs–, a silver charm bracelet, and—
What was that delightful smell? Delicious and wonderful and he wanted to curl up in a ball and rub—
Horror melted his knees. "Oh. No."
A smirk. "Oh yes."
His hand shot to his nose to hold it in the hope to decrease the scent. Catnip. Everywhere. Pretty little bushes with tiny white or purple flowers. An implosion of colour and smell, Tiger Lily had packed as much of the plant as she could into a small space and somehow he could smell it through the cold.
Mouth open so he could breathe, he could taste the scent on the air. He clapped his hand over his mouth in an attempt to filter the air and hunkered low.
The world swam, dipping in an out of focus. Shallow breaths didn't help, he could feel want and need flowing through him. Feet fell before him and the colour betrayed a deep orange, not a beloved red. He couldn't be swept away. Wouldn't.
Not now. Not now!
A hand gripped his wrist, yanking it away from his nose and he felt cold fingers against his finger. His ring. Plagg. He couldn't allow this.
Holding his breath, he threw everything he had behind one last action. Snatching her bracelet from her wrist, he cupped both hands around it. "Cataclysm!"
The bracelet disintegrated and the akuma fluttered against his palms. Tiger Lily fell but the flowers remained.
He had to hold on. Had to endure until Ladybug came.
Shallow breaths. Little gaps. His face buried in the crook of his elbow. A quivering between his palms.
An eternity later, cool hands pressed over his. "You can let go now, Chat."
He crumpled. The ground became Marinette's hands and he lost himself in the haze of imaginary pats. He sprawled, rubbing himself against the stone, rolled over so he each part of himself could receive scratches. Hands and feet battered imaginary butterflies in the air as he rolled from side to side.
Ecstasy. Using the heels of his feet, he scooted around on his back until a flailing arm brushed a shrub.
A plant. Flowery ambrosia. Tasty and delicious, if he could eat those flowers and take the scent into himself, he could bathe in its goodness for an eternity. Slithering along the ground on his belly, he stretched out his hand and—
Something had his tail.
"Kitty, let's get you out of here."
Something soft he could rub against! He twisted and rubbed his face against a leg. Up his cheek, across his lips and down the other side, until every part of his face had been caressed. His purr vibrated through him and into her. Knees! Oh, knees were perfect. Groves and bumps and a combination of hard and soft depending on whether he went up or down. A belly. Oh, a belly he could hug and press his face against and—
Fingers pressed against shoulders and he flopped back to the ground and stared at the sky.
"Ooookay… you're high."
Hands wrapped around his chest and hoisted, but he couldn't find his feet and all he could do was drape himself against a lithe body and purr. Eyes closed, he didn't even try to move anymore. He'd fallen too deep into a catnip induced trance.
When awareness returned he lay staring at the sky. The concrete beneath him was hard and uncomfortable, but he couldn't find the energy to move. Turning his head, he saw Ladybug standing a small distance away, her back to him and cradling something in her hands. He groaned and lifted an ungloved hand to his head.
Ungloved. Ungloved and de-clawed. He tensed. He was Adrien. She knew he was Adrien.
Ladybug's head lifted but she didn't turn around. "Are you awake?"
He squeaked.
"I didn't look."
"Oh." Sitting up made him dizzy so he remained lying down.
"Plagg seems to have absorbed the worst of the catnip coma. He should be okay. Take it easy for a few days though."
"Thank you." He cleared his throat, trying to remove the sudden huskiness in his voice, but it remained. "I… er… did I… I seem to remember rubbing against… did I do anything that... um…"
"You were a gentleman, if that's what you're worried about."
"I… um…."
"Are you always this articulate as yourself?" she asked and he could hear the smile in her tone.
"Ahh..."
A soft laugh to reassure him. "Relax. I'm teasing. You were very affectionate and that's okay. It's not your fault. You handled the situation admirably."
"Thanks." Taking it slow, he propped himself up on his elbows. "Ugh… I feel like I've been hit by a truck."
"That would be an adequate representation."
He studied her back. "Um… about yesterday and the pat. I shouldn't have run."
She tensed. Her head turned and she caught herself. "I should've asked. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I thought… it doesn't matter." She shifted her weight to her other foot. "Plagg explained."
He flushed and wondered exactly what Plagg explained. "It's cool. You didn't know."
"But I should've. You're my partner. You're a Miraculous. I should've realised I wasn't the only one affected by our duality and been more accommodating to your needs."
He didn't like the way she made it sound so clinical. "My lady?"
She sighed. "I… like to grow things. It's compulsive sometimes but I can restrict myself. As Ladybug… I check for aphids constantly. Sometimes I catch myself wondering what they taste like." She made a frustrated noise. "I hate the cold. It makes me slow and weak, even as myself." She waved her free hand. "Snow burns and we live in Paris! Christmas time sucks because all I want to do is sleep."
Adrien got the sense she was holding herself carefully in check so she didn't look at him on accident. By the twitch in her legs, she'd rather be pacing.
"And then there's the pheromones and…" she caught herself. "The point is, I let you down."
Knowing she had similar problems made him feel less alone. "No, you didn't."
"My needs, I can take care of by myself. Yours…" She held her hand where he could see a sleeping Plagg cradled in her palm. Reaching out with a finger, she stroked Plagg's belly.
"I'm fine."
"I should've been the one to help you. We're partners. It's— our team dynamic matters. We need to be able to act as one. I've always worried a change in status would ruin that and we'd lose something."
Finding the strength to sit, he wrapped his arms around his knees. "Or gain something."
"While you were… you called me Marinette."
His heart fragmented. He went still, blood draining away from his face. She sounded lost and forlorn and he didn't understand why. He wished he could move so he could comfort her. Something heavy filled the space between them. "Ladybug—"
"If you ask… I'll tell you who I am."
Adrien's eyes widened. It was all he'd ever wanted, to know her in both lives.
Fear slammed against him. Knowing who she was would change things, especially right now. He embarked on something new with Marinette and now Ladybug offered this. Could she be jealous? Could she, after months of holding him at arm's length, be remorseful now she knew he was with someone else?
It didn't make sense; she wasn't like that. Something else was going on and he didn't know what.
Why now? That was the real question. Why did she offer this now?
And why was he so hesitant to accept it?
He loved her. Truly he did. Seeing her in pain made him ache inside but he'd made the choice to be with Marinette. He wanted to be with Marinette.
Why was this so difficult? Why was he so torn?
Words found form. "No."
"No?"
He staggered as he pushed himself to his feet. "No. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the offer but it's not right. I don't want you to feel forced. I want you to tell me because you're ready, not because you're afraid of losing me." Walking toward her, he placed his hand on her shoulder from behind. "My lady, I am always going to be here for you when you need it. That's what friends are for."
Her free hand lifted up to touch his. "Thank you, Chat." She dismissed the melancholy with a shake of her shoulders. If only it was that easy for him. "I'm being silly. I'm really glad you found her."
He smiled at the sincerity in her voice. She really did sound happy for him. "I like her. And don't worry, my lady, tulips are better than one."
She laughed and patted his hand. "You're dreadful. Don't ever change." She shook her head and lay Plagg on the awning with a tenderness which made his heart clench. "Go home, Chat. Get some rest."
Author's Note: Things start to unravel...
