A/N: DUN DUN DUUUN.
i really appreciate the follows and favorites, you all. not to mention the reviews! i have so much fun reading through them to see what you guys think.
if there are questions about the story, i'll do my best to reply. however, it may be easier to simply shoot me a PM, so don't be afraid to do that!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
xii.
dépêche-toi!
Les problèmes frappent Paris.
The rest of the day seemed to pass quickly. Marinette was on Cloud Nine, heart fluttering over how nice her morning had been. She'd actually talked to Adrien, taken credit for the scarf as she should have from the start, and now he was interested in seeing more for her.
Alya received the brunt end of her enthusiasm, though she hadn't appeared to mind. The definition of a best friend; Marinette didn't know where she would be without the other girl by her side. In fact, she was determined to start her project as soon as she returned home.
Separating from Alya and taking the time to gain inspiration strolling the streets, sketchbook in hand and bag across her shoulders, she tapped the end of her pencil to her lips and hummed. Gaze wandering over her fellow Parisians, she flipped a page and began to draw: Something similar to a letterman jacket where the color scheme was red and black. That could look nice if done properly! And a little touch of Ladybug on either the pockets or chest.
"Hmm." As the bluenette passed an electronics store, she noticed that some local wrestling tournament was playing on the televisions. She paused to idly observe them, blinking and stepping toward the glass. The slightly larger of the two adversaries appeared to be doing much better, though it was obvious that the smaller was putting his entire training's worth of effort to at least hold his ground. It was nearing its end and she couldn't help but watch as the larger ended up winning—a huge grin on his face and applause from bystanders, the audience.
She smiled a little to see that open, genuine happiness but then frowned at the expression that settled on the loser's face.
It must have been an awful feeling. To work so hard only to fail.
Like what might happen after trying to make something for… No, Marinette reminded herself not to think so negatively. She didn't need another reason to stress out about. With a sigh, she continued on the path for the bakery, the only thoughts on her mind being the design and Adrien's response.
Adrien, to say the least, was very pleased. His excitement was even enough to counter the tiredness from the long night before. He knew Marinette was kind. Understanding. She liked Chat Noir, so even if she might be disappointed that Adrien wasn't as perfect as she thought, she would still like him as a good friend, surely.
He would have someone he could be more of himself with, and probably make things a little less awkward for Nino; he could properly complain about Adrien's 'dorkiness' to someone else without Adrien having to worry about his appearance. As it turned out, Nino seemed to notice the lift in his mood and spent the rest of the day teasing him good-naturedly about it, asking if Adrien finally noticed how cute Marinette was, too.
Adrien played it off, claiming he just felt she'd be a good friend, and tried to not think that Marinette was pretty cute… So, Nino smiled in that way that meant he was happy for his best friend finally reaching out—and for all that Chat Noir was supposed to be bad luck, getting assigned to sit next to this guy had been the second best thing to ever happen to him.
School eventually ended and worked called. He bid Nino farewell, glancing over to see Marinette leaving with Alya. She looked adorably happy, and he couldn't help his own grin as he climbed into the car. Today was a wonderful day.
[Too wonderful.]
It happened as they arrived at the studio for a photoshoot. There was a crash from the stadium a few blocks from their current location and Adrien whipped his head around to look down the street as an Akumatized villain appeared in a hole in the building, an over the top luchador. Green eyes widened, jaw tensing—
He was shouting discouraging phrases, things along the lines of, "No matter how hard you work, you can never win!"
And before Adrien had the chance to analyze the situation, an earsplitting ring caught him off-guard. Cringing and clutching his suddenly aching head, he sucked in a breath and found himself making hard contact with the ground seconds following his susceptibility. It made no sense… it felt as though someone had pinned him down and yet there was nothing in sight.
He struggled, trying to get to his feet again, but remained unable to. Panic wormed its way through him. He needed to change. There were many people on this street but he couldn't move a muscle.
The car door opened and he saw the Gorilla's feet from his position. How did he avoid getting pinned?
Ah, the bell! However, if it was already in effect, how was he going to stand up? Either way, he noted that the Akumatized villain was taking the big man into consideration as someone strong who deserved a more personal touch to his defeat. Understandably, a human against one of Le Papillon's minions wasn't going to end well.
News traveled fast in this city. It flickered through the television stations, through opened mouths and hasty legs and without wasting a second, Marinette had transformed and headed for the presumed location of the damage. This couldn't be due to the tournament she'd seen just a little while earlier, right?
Gazing down at the scene, a pang of unease hit her chest. Adrien… Adrien! Trapped to the ground by some invisible force? Thankfully, he appeared otherwise unharmed and the superheroine sucked in a deep breath to keep her cool, hopping down from the buildings onto the limousine parked by the photoshoot.
He called himself the Lutteurdor and he was far stronger, far bigger than the human counterpart she'd remembered seeing on television. Ladybug frowned, swinging her yo-yo around as she called for his attention. "Viens ici—!"
Just these words were enough to provoke the wrestler, who shifted his attention from Adrien's driver to the spotted girl perched on the roof of the car instead. He let out a yell and charged; Ladybug was quick to react, tugging the man and jumping aside. As expected, the Lutteurdor completely demolished the vehicle and it was the bell that sounded that caught her by surprise.
She gently nudged Adrien's driver to get to safety and assured him that she'd take care of this, quickly darting her eyes to the blonde who was now picking himself off of the ground. In the few moments she had the Akumatized villain distracted, she swept in while throwing her yo-yo up to a nearby building—"Hold on tight!"—then, wrapped an arm around the other's waist and legs and easily lifted him up.
He had been saved by his Lady. It was impossible to deny the thrill he experienced anytime Ladybug picked him up. Adrien couldn't help it; there was something extremely attractive about a girl who could literally throw him if she wanted to. Though he was quite sure she didn't plan to try that because he wasn't Chat Noir, he was Adrien—Adrien, yes, he couldn't be Chat Noir right now, even if it was painfully difficult to resist the temptation and make a comment with her holding him like this.
Ladybug carried the boy bridal-style and followed the cord up to the rooftops. He should be safer in the elevation. She would try her best to defeat the wrestler down below in the meantime. Setting him onto his feet, the heroine retracted her yo-yo and quickly asked, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
His face was red and he was staring at her in awe. He felt oddly exposed. Maybe because he wanted to be Chat Noir, but knew it wasn't the best idea. Not to mention that Ladybug was right there.
And she'd just asked him a question. Answer! He had to answer! "Euh, yes! Yes, it was just a fall. I'm fine." Warn her, Chat Noir needed to run around so she didn't realize he came from where Adrien had previously been. "The bell! The… There was a ringing sound?—before I hit the ground! I don't think my driver heard it in the car."
He was flushed and she wondered if she had somehow embarrassed him. Was it because she'd carried him here? But, then he was speaking and Ladybug quickly realized that the pause had been more out of surprise than shyness. Well, obviously he liked the superheroine. Most of Paris did—and she was always careful not to get a big head from the knowledge. Whatever the reason for his awe, she found it very cute. If he was having trouble focusing on her words, then the opposite was just as likely.
Ladybug cleared her throat and forced herself to tear her gaze away from him to the Akumatized villain on the ground. Glancing around, car destroyed, evidently searching for the girl who had tricked him. "A bell… Yeah, I heard it when he went for your car." A sheepish laugh followed this. "And sorry about that! Should be fine again after I get ahold of the Akuma.
"Father can afford another car, don't worry about it." Adrien wanted to smack himself for the mistake. He knew the Cure would fix everything in the city anyway. Ugh, was this what happened when he couldn't distract her with puns? He certainly sympathized a lot more with Marinette if he made her feel like this at all. Not exactly like this, but trying to not look like an idiot in front of your crush was fairly similar to not wanting to give yourself away to your crush and crime fighting partner while also trying to not look like an idiot.
It was agonizing to avoid falling into the usual banter, but she'd be furious if he made it that easy to figure him out. "It rang again? I could move after the car was destroyed, too…" He wanted to offer his own conclusion, that maybe there was a time limit—one bell to be pinned, another bell to end it. Yet, he didn't want to seem too used to this.
"I think I know why. Right now, it's too dangerous to bring you down so I suggest you hang up here. Or hide somewhere in this building if you can." Reaching out to dust off the front of Adrien's shirt, his shoulders, casually adjusting his collar and offering what she hoped was a reassuring grin, Ladybug questioned him, "Sound good?"
She was touching him. Of course, she touched Chat Noir, but it was different because he wasn't Chat Noir, and the touch was lingering and did she do this with everyone she saved? He'd never noticed anything like that; she was usually straightforward and on-task, so why did she feel the need straighten out his clothes?
No way was this blush going to disappear. "Um. Y-Yes, definitely. I'll hide." And transform. "Bonne chance, Ladybug."
Judging from the ever-present redness in his cheeks, she figured the effects of touching him had caused more discomfort than her intention to console. She withdrew her hands awkwardly, teeth worrying her plush bottom lip. So, maybe Marinette was taking advantage of her confidence as Ladybug, but really!—she hadn't meant to be this intrusive of personal space.
"Y-Yeah, okay. Thanks! I appreciate it." She immediately hopped to neighboring rooftops, trusting the blonde to take care for now. A wave of butterflies was released in his stomach; Adrien was almost literally melting into a puddle of goo. He watched her go, sighing blissfully and placing a hand on his shoulder. Eventually, he turned and headed for the door that lead down into the building as Plagg complained about their sappy display. This was dismissed. His Lady was waiting for him, after all!
With a quick transformation, he found the nearest window and started hopping along rooftops down the road. He just needed to come from a different direction—it would only take a few minutes. His Lady would be fine that long. Of course, she would be; he knew how great at handling difficult situations she was and consequently burrowed away the worry in his gut.
Bluebell eyes flew to the Lutteurdor's belt. It was likely where the Akuma was trapped. If Ladybug could just get a hold of it, then everything would work out… Perhaps she didn't even need Chat Noir's help? The kitty cat seemed to be running late to the show and this thought, although something she really didn't prefer—[they were a team]—fueled her determination to deal with the situation alone.
The superheroine dove head-first into the perimeter of the fight and the wrestler yelled something about losing and winning to her, but she wasn't paying attention to his words, too busy dodging the various cars and cameras hurled in her direction. Ladybug tossed her yo-yo around to help escape the face of danger.
She immediately regretted assuming she could handle this on her own. Doing so much ducking, running around and trying to retrieve his belt? She huffed quietly in exasperation, "Don't move—!" as she flung herself directly at the villain. If things went as planned, she'd be able to hook the cord around his waist and tug, making it ten times easier to remove his belt.
She was too slow.
Ladybug blinked as he swung his arm out to summon an invisible force, sensing her body make rough impact with the wall behind her. A heavy weight held her down and even using all the strength she possessed in this form, she could only thrash futilely. There was a blinding pain in her back—no, her left shoulder, white hot and excruciating.
Curses spilled past Ladybug's lips but she managed to bite back a cry, gritting her teeth and continuing to struggle. If there was a limit to his power, then it was only a matter of time… or not. Pins only lasted a few seconds in professional wrestling and by now, her limbs had grown numb with the pressure. The only way out of this was to divert the villain's attention to something or someone else—and who was known as the master of distractions?
'Chat Noir…! Please, hurry up!' she frantically thought to herself. He'd be here soon. She had complete faith in him.
