June 29: Matching
Author's Note: Chubby Unicorn Mama here. I wrote this one based on a conversation Ic and I had about really wanting to see this akuma. I do feel the need to add that we don't own the rights to Miraculous Ladybug, although this box of supplies Ep got from the ACME company might come in handy. We also don't own any Warner Brothers characters, although we are considering passing ourselves off as the Warner Brothers (I guess that makes me the Warner Sister, Dot.) Which one of you is Wakko and which is Yakko?
Ep: I'm the cute one.
CM: Sorry. Already called Dot.
Ic: Lol, I guess I'm the other one.
Marinette was annoyed. Why were people even awake at 3 in the morning to get akumatized. She'd been dragged out of her nice warm bed, only to face off with an akuma who looked like Yosemite Sam, right down to the peashooters and waist-length red moustache. Every time Yosemite fired one of his guns, a little flag that said "pow" would come out, along with a fine mist that turned everyone it hit into Warner Brothers characters.
For the middle of the night, there was still a decent sized gathering of Bugs Bunnies, Daffy Ducks and Wile E. Coyotes, all chasing each other, and destroying everything around them. Over his shoulder, Yosemite Sam had a large sack with the letters ACME stencilled on them. Tucked into his belt on his left hip, next to his gun was a large paintbrush, also stenciled with the letters ACME. When Ladybug and Chat Noir showed themselves, getting in close, he whipped out the paintbrush and painted a tunnel on the side of the closest building, dashing away though it.
Ladybug and Chat Noir were a few steps behind him, but instead of smoothly passing into the tunnel as they both crashed face first into the building, sliding down the side, limbs askew. They both scraped themselves off the ground, and reached out to touch the 'tunnel', and found a solid wall with a thin coat of paint. With a glance at each other, the partners leaped over the building to follow the akuma.
Once they realized that the akuma was hiding inside the paintbrush, it was a fairly easy matter to snatch it and snap it in two. Once Paris was back to normal, the pair headed to their respective homes to transform back to themselves, and hopefully get a few more hours of sleep.
Marinette sat on her bed Ladybug melted away, grabbing a cookie from her stash for Tikki before flopping back on her pillow. Tikki turned to her chosen to thank her for the cookie when she gasped. "Marinette! Your eye!" Marinette snatched up her phone to take a look. Sure enough, her right eye was slightly swollen and turning dark. Marinette groaned, but shrugged. People were used to her coming to school with random bruises, nobody would think anything of it.
Adrien was studying his face in the mirror. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain away what he was seeing. His right eye was ringed in a dark purple bruise. It wasn't visible with the mask on, but without it, it was very obvious. On the plus side, he didn't have a photoshoot for another week, and chances of actually seeing his father were fairly slim, but he was pretty sure this was the kind of thing that Nathalie would share with Gabriel.
Explaining it to his classmates would also be a challenge. He couldn't exactly tell them that he ran into the side of a building thinking it was a tunnel while wearing a magical cat suit. He did have fencing practice yesterday, he decided to blame it on that, hoping that people wouldn't think about how it happened when they wore full coverage face masks. He fixed that thought firmly in his mind as he climbed into bed. Turning to say goodnight to Plagg, he noticed the little kwami was already lightly snoring in an empty camembert box on Adrien's pillow. Smiling down at the little deity, Adrien shifted the box over, and lay down on his bed, falling asleep almost as swiftly as his friend.
The next morning before school, Adrien did the best he could to cover the worst of his black eye with makeup. He looked in the mirror, and realized that it was still obvious, even with the thick layer of foundation, so he immediately wiped it off. He hated wearing the stuff, but would have done so to avoid questions. This time, he thought it might create more questions than it answered. He smiled at himself in the mirror, making sure it didn't look like a grimace, practiced his fencing excuse, and headed off to school.
Marinette grinned at her reflection before school. Yep, that black eye was looking good. And the best part about being a klutz was she simply had to tell the truth: she walked into a wall. Technically she'd run full speed into a wall, but that was just semantics, nobody was going to question her.
Arriving early at school for a change, Marinette was one of the first in her classroom. She waved at her friends already there, none of whom commented on her eye. In fact, the only commentary she got was a pat on the shoulder from Mylene, a sympathetic "Ouch" from Rose, and Alya's "Girl, what did you do this time." A friendly chuckle followed her explanation.
There was a commotion out in the hallway, and all eyes were turned towards the door when Adrien and Nino strolled in, Adrien sporting a black eye that matched Marinette's. The two stared at each other for a second, before Adrien was drowned in questions from their concerned classmates. The major difference between them, other than the concern shown by their classmates, was the mildly bloodshot nature to Adrien's eye, while Marinette's sclera remained white.
Telling the story he'd planned, Adrien explained that he'd been hit by a sabre during fencing practice, but he would be just fine. Alya was looking back and forth between him and Marinette, so he raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. She shrugged and tapped her right eye, mouthing the words "you match".
Adrien grinned and turned to Marinette. "So what happened to you? Obviously you're the first on the new fashion trend." He laughed, gesturing to their matching black eyes.
Marinette smiled. "Nothing nearly that exciting. I ran into a wall." Half the class shook their head, thinking what a typically Marinette thing for her to do. "I'm fine though. I do this all the time.
They made it through their morning classes, and had just headed to lunch, when the Akuma alert went off. As both teens had been headed home, they didn't need to make excuses, merely slipped into different alleyways and called for their transformations. Her Ladybug mask hid Marinette's black eye, but Chat wasn't so lucky. The discoloration and swelling around the outside was hidden, but the bloodshot nature of the eye itself resulted in a darker and somewhat off colored right eye.
Ladybug did a double take when she saw Chat Noir. "Chat! Are you OK? What happened?"
Chat Noir's hand went up to rub at the back of his head. His practiced excuse popped out before he realized he could tell her the truth. Ladybug started at his response, but quickly focused her attention on the akuma: Mr. Pigeon… again. It was a quick fight, neither having to use their powers, and Ladybug grabbed Chat's arm before he could leave. "So, Kitty, fencing? Really? Don't you wear facemasks to prevent that sort of thing? What's the real story?"
Chat flushed slightly. "Sorry, that's the story I've been telling people. I ended up with a black eye from Yosemite Sam and running into that building. I just can't tell people that I ran into a wall." When Ladybug started laughing he looked at her oddly. She just shook her head, and kept shaking it when she realized where she'd heard the fencing story before. She froze, completely in shock. Looking around, to make sure they were truly alone, she whispered, "Adrien?"
He stiffened, which was all the confirmation she needed. "H-how? How did you know?"
It was Ladybug's turn to blush slightly. "Well, I heard you tell the story about the fencing accident this morning. It didn't ring true then. Now I know why."
"You heard my story?"
Ladybug appeared to be having some kind of internal debate, but eventually came to a decision. "I did. I also didn't lie when asked about my matching black eye. Nobody was surprised that I ran into a wall."
Chat Noir choked a little. In a hoarse voice, he whispered, "Marinette?"
She nodded. After a little more awkward staring, Ladybug took a deep breath and dropped her transformation. Marinette stood in front of Chat, black eye and all. They looked at each other matching black eyes meeting nervously. Marinette waved a shy 'hi' and Chat pulled her into a hug, placing a shy kiss on the top of her head. Marinette just snuggled further into his chest, her thoughts a perfect match to his.
