Hope you guys like this story so far! I know it's pretty basic because it's the same Marichat trope we always see, but I personally love it. Plus, I have a really big ending already planned out. Please leave a review! They mean the world!
Neither Saturday nor Sunday had Chat Noir visited again. Marinette tried to be relieved from this. It wasn't a smart idea for him to be visiting civilians as he did. Still, there was a small part of her that had been anticipating a visit from him. He was an easy person to talk to, and Tikki had been right; he had managed to get her mind off all the bad things in her life.
Today, Marinette was finally going back to school. Over the weekend she'd made a point of progressively showing her parents that she was feeling better. As soon as she walked into her first class of the day, Marinette was met with an engulfing hug from Alya. Nino was just behind her and, upon seeing the commotion, a few of her other classmates joined them all by the door.
"Girl, I am so happy that you're feeling better," Alya said when she released Marinette. "I was starting to think you were dead."
Marinette laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "Ha, well I didn't want to get any of you sick too."
Rosa and Alix and Max and all of Marinette's friends expressed how happy they were to have her back at school. She thanked them all as she made her way to her seat. Sitting where he always did in front of her was Adrien. As Marinette sat, he turned around in his sit with that cheeky smile he seemed to always have.
"Glad you're feeling better, Marinette," Adrien said, a strange sparkle in his eye.
"Thanks," Marinette squeaked. "And thanks a-again for bringing my work home. Ah, I mean wome hork... er, homework." Marinette buried her face in one of her hands, but Adrien just laughed, amused by her, before turning back around in his seat.
"Alright, so let me tell you everything you've missed." Alya pulled out her phone and showed Marinette various pictures as she went over the events from the past week that Marinette had not been a part of. Mostly, her recounting consisted of Chloe being a bully and other normal things. Basically, Marinette hadn't missed much.
Class began soon after, and Marinette found that the day dragged. She glanced out the windows for the most part, longing to be leaping from rooftop to rooftop, free from the restraints of her normal life and pondering how things were supposed to be changing now that she was Guardian. She'd been avoiding it for the most part, but she figured that she would have to ask Tikki for a bit of help.
When the day was finally over, Marinette walked with Alya and a few of the girls through the park. They chatted about the usual stuff: school and their friends and their relationship issues. Eventually, they all wound up sitting on the grass together.
"Kitty Section is having a rehearsal his later tonight," Rose announced cheerily. "You guys should come by and watch."
There was a short chorus of mutual interest from the group. Alya said, "Of course, girl, we're always down to cheer you guys on."
Juleka just smiled at everyone's support.
The thought of going to Kitty Section's rehearsal gave Marinette heart palpitations, though. Because Luka was in that band. And she hadn't seen or spoken to him since the day Master Fu gave up being Guardian and she'd shared ice cream with him.
"Awesome," Rose squealed and went on about how the band was progressing nicely.
Later that evening, Marinette found herself walking with Alya and Nino onto Juleka's houseboat. Several of their other classmates were there already, and the band whom they were all there to support was currently setting up on their makeshift stage. Marinette stepped away from her best friend as the girl started talking about something with her boyfriend. She made her way to the edge of the boat and looked out at the water. The sun wasn't down yet, but it was touching the buildings in the distance.
"Hey, Marinette." Luka's sudden appearance startled the girl in question. She jumped as she turned to him with a soft smile.
"Oh, uh hey, Luka." Nervously, she turned back away and looked out again at the water.
"I'm really glad you were able to make it tonight. Juleka mentioned you hadn't been in school all week." At the sound of his worried voice, Marinette allowed herself to look at him again. "Are you okay?"
That question seemed to be asked of her a lot lately, but she wasn't entirely sure of the answer to it.
"I'm fine," Marinette answered, trying to sound like her normal self. "I was just sick. The flu, you know?"
Luka nodded. "The song in your heart...it sounds different tonight. Kind of like..." He trailed off as he grabbed his guitar from the nearby staged and began to strum. It was a slow and depressing melody that suited the melancholy in Marinette's heart perfectly. She found herself closing her eyes as a tear slipped down her cheek. The next thing she knew, Luka's hand was brushing away the water on her cheek.
"Sorry." Marinette wasn't sure what she was apologizing for, but she did anyway. "That was really beautiful."
Luka gave her a sympathetic look but didn't press her for what was wrong. He opened his mouth to say something, but Rose's voice came through the mic asking for all the members of the band to return to the stage. Regretfully, the boy turned and left Marinette. She chewed on her lip, watching him for a moment longer, before returning to Alya to watch the rehearsal and talk with her friends.
"What were you and Luka talking about?" Alya asked, nudging Marinette with her elbow.
Marinette just rolled her eyes. Alya knew that she would never love anyone other than Adrien. They didn't talk again after that as the band began to play and everyone tapped along to the rock music. Kitty Section really was rather good. Their style and their talent and their chemistry made for an awesome band. Marinette considered herself lucky to be their costume designer.
Halfway into their second song, an older-middle aged woman came storming up to the houseboat. Through the use of a megaphone, she managed to get the attention of the teens partying, and the band momentarily stopped playing.
"Stop that racket!" the woman shouted. "You kids play your noise pollution and call it music with no respect for real music anymore!"
"Sorry, ma'am, but we're just trying to rehearse," Luka said into Rose's microphone. "We can turn it down-"
"No! You better stop playing this terribleness now or I'll be calling the cops on you!" With that, the lady stormed away, presumably back to her house.
It wasn't very long after this that the band decided they wanted to continue rehearsing. They turned down their amps but played their music with all the same vigor.
At one point, Alya leaned over to Marinette with a cheeky grin and said, "I bet you this is going to cause an Akuma." She meant it as more of a joke, but the words spread icy pricks throughout Marinette's body.
Marinette decided that she'd better sneak away from the group just in case an Akuma really did begin to wreak havoc. She was just inching away from the group of teens when there was a sudden loud humming noise. The air glowed white for a few seconds before a being flew up into the sky. This was clearly the Akuma that Alya had just predicted. Her costume was white with black lines over it like a piano, and in her hands was an elegant violin.
"I am Symphony!" the Akuma announced to the houseboat. "And you will learn to respect real music!" After speaking, she began to play her violin. Music notes visibly flew threw the air, hitting a few of Marinette's classmates. They collapsed to the ground before getting back up in a daze like zombies; when they opened their mouths, the chords of a piano, flute, or other instrument came out instead.
"You have got to be kidding me," Marinette murmured as chaos erupted around her. Many of her other classmates began making their way off the boat and into the city, while others frantically looked for places to hide around them. Alya, as always, whipped out her phone to record the ensuing battle.
Marinette began to turn and find a place to transform, but her arm was grabbed before she could make it a step. Turning, she wasn't very surprised to find Luka on the other side of the hand that had caught her. With a frantic look on his face, he pulled her after him.
"Come on, we've got to hide."
Marinette desperately needed to get away from him. She couldn't find it in herself to come up with an excuse, though; at least, not a believable one. She thought hard about what to do as she followed after her friend. When music notes hit the ground directly in front of the two, they both jumped back. Symphony began to play on her violin again, the music directed for them, when Chat Noir leaped from the rooftops and onto the villain. He knocked her out of the sky as he himself gracefully tumbled onto the houseboat.
"You guys need to get to safety," Chat instructed, already prepping to shoot his staff up again.
Luka nodded swiftly to Chat, but Marinette could only think of the conversation they'd had a few nights before. There hadn't been any Akuma attacks over the weekend, so she hadn't gotten to see him since. But now...now it felt weird.
Marinette was once again pulled away by Luka. She was quickly separated from him, though when the notes flew out from Symphony's violin and hit him. Luka turned to Marinette, opening his mouth just for more music notes to be released. With a short scream, Marinette tripped over her own feet and fell backward. Symphony played more music as Luka advanced on the bluenette. Just when Marinette thought she was done for, Chat Noir swept her up in his arms and launched away. He landed on a nearby rooftop and set her down gently.
"Don't go anywhere." He pointed a serious finger at her before jumping away without another word.
Rolling her eyes, Marinette immediately transformed into Ladybug. It wasn't long after that she was swinging her yoyo across the skyline. She met up with Chat Noir atop a roof. He grinned cheekily at her as she gently landed beside him.
"My lady."
"What's the rundown?" Ladybug asked instead of greeting him back.
Chat's smile fell a little, and Ladybug remembered what he'd said to Marinette: the Ladybug had been cold and distant. She needed to work on that.
"The Akuma's name is Symphony. It appears she's turning people into zombie-like things and they're all going to the Eiffle tower after. They're just standing there, waiting." Chat gestured to the tower in the distance where there was already a large group of people standing around.
"That's a pretty odd pawblem."
Chat abruptly turned to Ladybug, smiling widely. "Was that a cat pun, my lady?"
Ladybug shrugged. "It may have been. But moving on...the villain's name is Symphony and all of her victims sound like instruments after they're hit, so I would think she's trying to create some sort of orchestra."
"Of course! Ladybug, as always, your genius astounds me."
She rolled her eyes, letting herself smile. "I'm also going to guess her Akuma is in that violin. So, Chat, you up for a little musical?"
"I have been told I'm purrtty good on the keyboard."
"Then let's get ready to play." With that, she swung herself off into the sky, Chat Noir fast behind her.
Arriving at the scene, Symphony appeared to be setting up her victims in a deliberate pattern. Ladybug had been right, this was an orchestra. What she planned to do once it was finished, Ladybug didn't know. But that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was getting that Akuma out.
"Hey, music note!" Ladybug shouted, spinning her yoyo around. The villain turned to her, scowling at her work being disrupted.
"Perfect, Ladybug and Chat Noir," Symphony said as she flew-or rather floated-towards the pair. "Once I get your Miraculous I can let my classical music play throughout the entire city, and not a soul will hear that wretched rock and roll filth ever again."
"Rock is a purrfectly acceptable form of music," Chat Noir stated. "In fact, it's probably one of my favorites."
Symphony scowled. She played her violin, and Ladybug and Chat Noir dodged the notes. They tried attacking her, but her violin was rather sturdy and she was able to effectively use it as a melee weapon. When the superhero couple didn't seem to be making any progress, Ladybug threw up her yoyo, shouting, "Lucky Charm!" Into her hands fell a bottle of bubbles. Ladybug looked at it in dismay for several moments before glancing around, trying to figure out the larger puzzle it had to be part of.
Understanding what she needed to do, Ladybug called to Chat Noir. "I need you to distract her! Start running!"
"Anything for you, my lady." Chat Noir took off sprinting in the other direction. He shouted back to Symphony things about classical music being inferior. This enraged her and she began to chase after him.
Keeping up with their pace, Ladybug blew out the bubbles from her bottle as Symphony played another song in the direction of Chat Noir. Just before the notes hit the cat, they were entrapped in the bubbles. The music entrapped too, the bubbles didn't take very long to pop and splatter all over the ground. Slippery from all the soap, Symphony slipped on the ground beneath her and fell on her back. Chat Noir returned to her, shouting for his cataclysm and destroying her violin. When the black butterfly flew out, Ladybug captured and purified it, releasing it white again.
"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat said cheerfully as they fist-bumped.
One of Ladybug's earrings started to beep then. Her hand went to her ear worriedly. "Looks like I've got to get going." She nodded her head to the confused woman who was now sitting on the ground where Symphony had been. "Take care of the victim, will you?" Then, she flung herself back into the buildings, heading for where Chat Noir had left her civilian self earlier.
"Tikki, spots off!" Once the detransformation words were said, Marinette was back to her normal self. Her red kwami landed in her hands, out of breath. Marinette fed the goddess a macaroon. "That was almost fun. The weekend had been boring without any Akumas."
"Fun for you." Tikki scowled. "I'm exhausted!"
Just as Marinette was about to apologize, Tikki squealed and disappeared into her purse. Turning to look at what Tikki had seen, Marinette was startled when Chat Noir suddenly landed on the roof right in front of her. She jumped, nearly tripping on the edge of the roof. She probably would have fallen if it hadn't been for Chat quickly grabbing her arms and pulling her back.
"Careful, Marinette, or one of these days I'm not going to be around to save you."
Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her eyebrows. "I do not need you to save me."
Chat laughed. "Well, just in the past half hour I saved you from getting hit by Symphony's music notes and then I saved you from falling off this roof. It appears that your life is, quite literally, in my hands."
"Let's not forget that I'm only up on this roof because you put me here."
Chat waved a dismissive hand. "And now I'll be the one to bring you down. Come on." Holding his staff with one hand, he opened his other arm, almost beckoning Marinette to come closer. Hesitantly, she did. He held tightly onto her and launched them to the ground.
Back at the houseboat, everyone was talking and asking each other if they were all alright. Alya was the first person to notice when Chat Noir plopped down on the ground with Marinette in his grasp. Immediately, she pushed away from her boyfriend and ran over to the superhero.
"Marinette, thank god you're okay, girl. You got saved by Chat Noir?" At the question, Alya's gaze shifted to Chat.
The boy smiled proudly. "Always happy to be of service."
Marinette was so close to ripping off her pigtails. "Eh, 'saved' is a debatable term." Chat scowled at her, but she ignored this. "He just kind of moved me around."
Alya laughed. "Still pretty cool. Hey Chat Noir, would you mind if I asked you some questions? I'm Alya Cesaire, owner of the Ladyblog."
"Oh sure," Chat said, scratching the back of his head.
"Won't you have to transform back pretty soon?" Marinette asked.
"I detransformed before coming to get you." Chat was about to continue when Luka ran up to Marinette, asking if she was alright.
Chat Noir was swept away by Alya then as she began asking him question after question for her blog. He answered them all in his usual charismatic manner, getting a few chuckles out of Alya in the process. Soon, though, he had to be going on his way. He longed to join his group of friends as they watched Kitty Section on the houseboat. Nino had told him about the rehearsal, and Rose had personally invited him, but his father said no. As always. He would give anything to just be a normal kid sometimes. Most of the time. No matter how much he wished, though, this was his life, and he had to be headed back home.
Marinette hadn't gone out onto her roof that night. She hadn't really had a reason to; the plants were watered well and the sky was rather cloudy. So, after all the hectics of the Kitty Section rehearsal and fighting Symphony, she decided to just lounge in her room. Tikki relaxed on a little plush pillow as Marinette drew in her sketchbook.
"What am I going to do, Tikki?" Marinette asked mournfully. "I mean, Luka practically asked me out at the end of that rehearsal. And I said yes!"
"Well, do you like him?"
"I...I don't know, honestly. I'm in love with Adrien, that's what I know."
"It's okay to like more than one person."
"It's not just that, though." Marinette turned away from her sketches, letting her head fall back. "When I see Adrien, I get this feeling in my heart. It's like I can't breathe. When I see Luka...sure there's something, I know I feel something, but my heart doesn't skip a beat. I can breathe fine around him."
Tikki flew up so that Marinette had to look at her. "Maybe you just like Luka as a friend, and his obvious feelings for you are just confusing you."
"You think so?"
Tikki shrugged. "What do I know? Kwamis don't have relationships."
"You don't?"
The little creature shook her head. "Well, I suppose we can. And Plagg has this annoying habit of 'affectionately' calling me Sugarcube, but usually the only form of relationship a kwami has is the one with their owner."
Marinette giggled. "Sounds like Plagg and Chat Noir have a bit in common then."
Tikki nodded. "Oh yeah. It's scary."
Marinette's laugh was cut off by a knocking at her window. Confused, and a little frightened, she exchanged a look with Tikki who just shrugged. Slowly, Marinette made her way to her window. She pushed to the side her curtains only to find Chat Noir on the other side. He grinned and waved. Then, he pointed to the bottom of the window, indicating for Marinette to let him in.
Unlocking and opening the window, Marinette did just that. She raised an eyebrow at the superhero as he made his way inside. Once he was in and standing, he closed the window then rubbed at his arms.
"It's cold tonight."
"What are you doing here?" Marinette asked.
Chat Noir shrugged. He walked further into the room, looking around. It was only when Marinette started following him did she notice the pictures she had up of Master Fu. With a squeal, she leaped forward, grabbing a Jagged Stone poster and some tape from her desk. Hurriedly, she roughly taped the poster over the pictures. Chat Noir raised his eyebrows at her, and she was then thankful that the Miraculous box wasn't out in the open.
"What you got on your wall?" Chat asked, taking a few steps forward.
"Nothing! Pictures. Nothing!" Marinette put up her hands over the poster, as if to shield it and what was beneath.
Chat Noir chuckled at her oddness. He remembered then seeing pictures of himself-or rather, Adrien-on her wall on some tv show. She had claimed it was because she loved fashion. He wondered why she was embarrassed to have Chat Noir see those photos. If they were really just because of her love for fashion, then why would she be?
"Pictures of what?" Chat leaned in with his signature smirk. He wiggled his eyebrows.
With an awkward chuckle, Marinette raised the corner of the poster so that only three photos could be seen. One was of their class, another was of Marinette and Alya, and the third was one of the pictures of Adrien that Marinette hadn't been able to part with. Chat Noir looked down at the pictures, almost seeming to study them.
"Isn't that Adrian Agreste?" he asked, and Marinette's heart sped up from anxiety just as much as it slowed down from relief.
"Umm, yeah." She dropped the corner of the poster and, adding more tape around it, walked away.
"Isn't he a famous model? Why do you have a picture of him?"
"He's in my class. We're actually...friends." Her hesitation and the smallness of that last word hurt Chat's heart a bit. Why did she have to hesitate?
"Oh really? You're friends with someone famous. What's that like?" Chat smirked at her as he rested his head on both his hands.
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Haha, Chat. No, he's not as famous as you, but he does have a pretty hectic life. I feel bad for him sometimes." She looked pensively at the ground.
Chat cocked his head, not able to help his curiosity. "Why?"
"Because he's such a good guy," Marinette answered without missing a beat. "And he's always doing right by everyone. He's so kind and sweet. He doesn't deserve to have all that pressure on him." She sighed. Then, she noticed the look of interest Chat Noir was giving her. Anxious, she laughed to cover up what she'd said. "But anyway, you didn't answer why you're here, Chat."
Seeming to forget what they'd just been talking about, Chat Noir crossed the room. "I'm sad, Princess." He sat on the edge of her chaise.
Feeling oddly sorry for the cat, Marinette joined him sitting down. "Why?"
"I'm always being left out of everything on account of my father. I never get to hang out with my friends at normal events and parties, and I was reminded of that again tonight."
"Didn't you fight an Akuma tonight?" Marinette asked, thinking about when Chat dropped her back off at the houseboat. "I mean, you literally carried me up to a rooftop."
Chat looked suddenly away from Marinette, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, that was what I was talking about. Seeing your group of friends just reminded me about how I'm always missing mine." His ears dropped a little. "I just can't shake the feline that I'm missing out on so much."
Marinette fought the urge to roll her eyes, thinking, even when he's sad he uses puns. "Aww, I'm sorry, Kitty." She put her hand on Chat's back comfortingly.
He chuckled a little. "Heh, that's what Ladybug calls me."
Turning white at her mistake, Marinette said, "Oh, sorry, do you not want me to-"
"No, it's fine." He met her eyes but only for a second. "Sorry to bug you, Princess, but after our talk on Friday I felt you were the right purrson to entrust with my problems."
Marinette giggled at that, feeling honored. "Thanks, Chat Noir. I guess we really are a couple of lonely people."
"As long as I'm lonely with you, I think I'll be fine."
For some reason, this comment brought heat to Marinette's cheeks. She couldn't stop the smile that spread on her lips either. "Same goes to you, Chat."
Chat stood up then. "I guess I probably shouldn't stick around for too long." Checking a non-existent watch on his wrist, he continued. "It's getting purrtty late, after all. Thanks for letting me in, Marinette."
"No problem." Marinette followed Chat as he climbed up to the trap door in her ceiling. "But Chat, if you're going to visit again, let's keep it on the roof."
He turned around to her with a toothy smile. "Why? Worried I'll see more pictures of Adrien?"
Marinette's eyes went wide. "What? No! I told you he's just a friend! I don't- I mean-"
Chat started to laugh. "Wow, I was just joking, but it really seems I've cut a claw, huh?"
"I don't like Adrien."
"I never said you did." He raised his eyebrows pointedly as Marinette's face flushed.
"Ugh, get out of here, you stray."
"Meowch!" He put a hand over his heart. "This cat may be a stray, yes, but he does have feelings."
Marinette grabbed a thin, nearby magazine and rolled it up. She lightly whacked the black cat a few times like he were an actual cat. Once he was out of the room completely, she dropped it back on the ground. Still, he stuck his head back in through the hole.
"Same time tomorrow then?"
"Chat Noir!"
"Right, so Wednesday." He gave her a small salute before dropping the trap door and leaving her be.
Tikki flew out from Marinette's bag. A small frown was planted on her face as she stared up at the door. "This spells trouble."
Marinette could only stare in the same direction, a million thoughts running through her head. "Yup..."