AN: Yay! New Miraculous story…and it's about akumatized Cat Noir (but not Cat Blanc…because that's already been done)! I am super excited about this story and had a blast writing it for Camp Nano (April 2021)! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
This story is also being cross-posted to AO3 and my username there is different. I promise it's still me!
Chapter 1: If There Was No Cat Noir!
"Pound it!"
Another day and another akuma successfully captured and purified by Ladybug with the help of her partner, Cat Noir.
"You were paw-some as always, M'lady," Cat Noir told Ladybug. "Have I ever told you how you've captured my heart just like you captured that akuma?"
He saw Ladybug roll her eyes. "Yeah, like every time we meet up to save Paris from Hawk Moth's latest akuma…"
"Of course!" Cat Noir answered. "Well, it's true. My heart is all yours, always! I just know that you'll fall for me someday and I'm happy to wait as long as it takes."
"Look, Cat Noir," Ladybug started, just as her earring beeped out its latest warning. "That's really sweet of you and I admire your dedication, but this really needs to stop. You're my teammate, Cat Noir. We are a team, but that's as far as it's going to go. You already know that I'm in love with another boy."
"I know," Cat Noir replied, looking down, "but…what if we weren't superheroes? What if there was no Hawk Moth or 'other boy'? Things could be different between us then, right?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Cat Noir," Ladybug told him. "We would never have gotten to know each other otherwise." Her earring beeped again, another minute had passed. "Listen, I have to go now before my timer runs out. See you next time, Cat Noir. Bug out!" She threw out her yo-yo and flew away before Cat Noir even had a chance to reply.
Saddened, Cat Noir took a seat on the rooftop. The pawprint on his ring flashed, but Cat Noir didn't worry about it. He still had three minutes left before he would transform back into Adrien Agreste. There was plenty of time left to think about this latest rejection.
Cat Noir was no stranger to being rejected by Ladybug. He had been trying to earn her love since the very first day that they met. Every day that they were together, Cat Noir tried again, slightly changing his methods, in hopes of catching Ladybug's attention. He'd experimented with giving her flowers and he'd tried chivalry, but nothing swayed Ladybug's heart. There were even times when Cat Noir wondered about this boy that Ladybug loved. Who was he? What did that boy have that he, himself, did not…well, other than having caught Ladybug's eye and captured her heart without seeming to realize it? More importantly, though, why was it that this boy never noticed Ladybug and realized how amazing she was?
Most days, Cat Noir accepted Ladybug's rejections. That was just the way they worked. He flirted with her and she turned him down. It was their routine. However, this time felt different. There was just something about the way Ladybug had said those words—"Just teammates"—that felt so final. It felt like she truly meant that there would never be any chance that she'd ever love him. A stray tear slipped from Cat Noir's eye and ran down his mask. He made no move to wipe it away, though.
Another beep sounded from Cat Noir's ring. The paw flashed and another pad disappeared. Now there was only about two minutes left until he would transform back. Cat Noir looked down at the ring and cursed the Miraculous. If he had never been given the Black Cat Miraculous, Adrien Agreste would never have felt the way that he did right now. He would never have met Ladybug and fallen hopelessly in love with her. Instead, he would be normal, still. The only downside to not having received the Miraculous, though, would be that Adrien would still be locked up at home, never having experienced the freedom that he had found as Cat Noir. Was freedom worth this heartbreak, though? No, Adrien decided. He would have found freedom someday, even if he would have had to wait a few more years until he became an adult. For the first time ever, Adrien Agreste wished that he was not also Cat Noir.
888
In a dark room, a large window slowly opened. A man dressed in purple and silver looked out over Paris as he sensed the negative emotions emanating from Paris's feline superhero. "How interesting," Hawk Moth remarked. "Such negativity, normally kept so in-check, but even Cat Noir is not immune to human emotion. It will be most delightful to akumatize him!"
Holding out his gloved hand, Hawk Moth waited for one of his pure white butterflies to land. Then he covered the butterfly with his other gloved hand and charged it with dark energy. When he pulled his hand away, the butterfly had turned black with hints of purple throughout, a perfect and beautiful akuma, ready to find its target.
"Fly away, my beautiful akuma! Find this fallen superhero and evilize him!"
888
Cat Noir continued to sit on the rooftop. In his hands, he held his stick which he had pulled from his back as he tried to encourage himself to vault back home. His ring beeped yet another time. If he wanted to make it home before his detransformation, Cat Noir knew that he needed to leave now, but he just could not bring himself to do it. Instead, he sat staring at the stick in his hands when a black and purple butterfly, an akuma, disappeared into the stick, turning it charcoal black.
Looking up sharply, Cat Noir felt a strong wave of negativity rush over him. A scowl graced his face and Cat Noir knew that, had he been looking in a mirror right now, he would have seen the purple-colored mask over his face. Then, a smooth and very familiar voice spoke directly into Cat Noir's head.
"Cat Noir! I am certain you need no introduction. You already know quite well, by now, who I am."
"Hawk Moth," Cat Noir spit the name out in anger.
"I heard that you were having some troubles with Ladybug. She only sees you as a friend or, what was it she called you, a teammate. For her, your relationship together is merely just a great act of duty. Yet, you wonder if there's a way, any slight possibility, that you and her could be more than that. Well, I can help you make that dream a reality. I can help you to relinquish that duty which is keeping you both from being more than just teammates. All you need to do is take her Miraculous. Then, you can give up yours. We can both get what we want. You can have the girl of your dreams and I'll have the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous. Do we have a deal, Cat Noir?"
Cat Noir was conflicted. It was true that he wanted to love Ladybug and have her love him in return. However, this was never the path he wanted to choose to make that happen. He worked so hard every day to help cleanse Paris of the akuma sent by Hawk Moth. What would Ladybug think if he, Cat Noir, allowed himself to become akumatized? Would she hate him for letting his negative emotions control him? That would go against every possible reason Cat Noir had for even potentially thinking about siding with Hawk Moth!
"You don't believe me, do you, Cat Noir?" Hawk Moth's smooth voice was back. "Trust me," Hawk Moth told Cat Noir within his head, "this might be the only chance you'll have to truly be with Ladybug."
Cat Noir sighed. He didn't want to believe Hawk Moth, but what if the supervillain was right? Everything that Hawk Moth had said in the short monologue within Cat Noir's head was true. This might be Cat Noir's only chance and he would be foolish not to take advantage of it. Finally, after some silent debate, Cat Noir gave in to the negative emotion and powerful persuasion of Hawk Moth. Cat Noir hooked his stick into his back once again and the dark energy of the akuma overtook him.
888
Hawk Moth felt Cat Noir accept the dark power of his akuma. The supervillain smirked at his accomplishment. "Yes, that's it. Feel the power of the akuma's dark energy. Embrace it. Cat Noir will be my greatest creation yet. His Miraculous and Ladybug's will soon be mine!" Hawk Moth's evil cackle echoed throughout the dark room.
Oh yeah…no downtime…we are jumping right into this thing! The action continues next chapter! You won't want to miss it! See you then!
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