Lucy sat in room 33 with several other students while working on a medium-sized butterfly painting. Usually, Lucy would stick to doing her painting at home. A while back Marinette had told her about the little art group when she had learned about Lucy's painting hobby, up until just recently, the blonde had been appreciative but liked to paint in solitude. Since her experience with Sandboy, being home alone had been less appealing to Lucy, and after having a chat with her therapist, whom she had not seen in a few years over zoom, it had been suggested that she try to find a safe space until she felt more comfortable in her apartment again. Marinette came into the room and took a seat a few feet away. Sometimes she came to sketch, but there was also a sewing machine for when she felt like creating something in between classes among the many other kinds of art materials in the room.
"Hey, Lucy." Marinette greeted.
"Hey Mari, how's it going?" Lucy responded, glancing from her painting for a moment to acknowledge her friend.
"Good! Oh by the way everyone, I invited my friend Marc to join us today. He's always writing in his notebook. He's a little shy but I think he would like it here."
"Of course Marinette. That's very kind of you. Everyone is welcome here." Their art teacher told them as Nathaniel came up to showed him his latest work.
"This is a team-up of Ladybug and Mightillustrator fighting Queen Wasp together," Nathaniel says, holding the sketch.
"You mean Evillustrator?"
"He changed his name after Ladybug de-akumatized him and became a superhero." Nathaniel clarified, earning a smile from his teacher.
"Bad guy who comes over to the good side, great idea. You should make a comic book about that."
"Yeah, but I'm only good at drawing stories, not writing them." Explained Nathaniel as he sat back in his seat.
"Then you should team up with a creative writer." In the doorway, Marc peeks into the classroom, still hesitant to join the group.
"Maybe... But, I don't know anyone who's into that."
"Don't worry buddy," Alix says taking her spray paint mask off. "There's gotta be somebody out there just waiting to meet you. Red please!" Nathaniel throws the red spray can, passing it to Alix before she slides her mask back on and continues her mural.
Upon noticing Marc, Marinette gets up and rushes over to him, dragging the boy by his arm to meet the group.
"This is Marc, the boy I told you about! The one who's always writing." She introduced. Marc looks around awkwardly, hiding his book in his jacket.
"Uh... I'm sorry I didn't want to disturb you." The art teacher smiles at Marc warmly.
"Welcome to room 33, you're never disturbing anyone here. You can come whenever you want outside of class time or after school. Anyone can create what they want, any way they want. Rose is writing lyrics for a rock band. " Rose, who was jamming out off to the side with her headphones on looked up at their teacher lifted one. " Rose, I would like you to meet Marc."
"Hey there! Nice to meet you, Marc!" She yells her hearing off from the loud tunes.
"Lucy is our lovely painter." He points out and Lucy gives the nervous boy a small wave.
"Alix is our expert at street art." Alix flips the spray can in the air and catches it. "And Nathaniel-"
"He likes to draw people in skinny suits." Alix jokes, only for Nathaniel to throw a ball of paper at her. In the past, Nathaniel had been very self-conscious about his art. But after his art teacher encouraged him, the redhead boy grew much more confident and open to others seeing his work. Alix was his friend, but that didn't mean she wouldn't tease him every once in a while.
Nathaniel brings his attention to Marc and gives him a welcoming smile. "Welcome, Marc. As you'll find out, the good thing about this place is you can say whatever you want and no one will judge you, or only in good fun." Marc walked over to Nathaniel, looking over to see his current work. The dark-haired boy had been following Nathaniel's art for a while now. In fact, most of his writing was inspired by it.
"I... I saw your drawings on the school website, but they're nothing compared to the real thing. The movement, the expressions, the attitudes. They're all so-"
"Thanks... That's nice." Nathaniel said, happy that the newcomer enjoyed his art.
"Uh?..." Marc notices he is hovering and steps back a little embarrassed. "Sorry... But it's true, I-I've never seen drawings so-"
"So messed up," Chloe says as she waltzes into the room with Sabrina close behind. "All he ever draws anymore is Ladybug, ever since she de-akumatized him. As if Ladybug could care less about a guy like him." Nathaniel glares at Chloe, irritated by her words, he begins to pack up but their teacher quickly moves to stop him, not wanting Chloe to have the power to discourage him from doing what he is passionate about. Lucy takes a small, clean paintbrush a chucks it at Chloe. The brush misses but gains the blonde's attention, making her turns and stomp her foot at Lucy. "Hey!"
In the tune of the, ever so loved "Don't be suspicious" Lucy snapped her fingers and moved back and forth. "Don't be an asshole, don't be an asshole. Don't be an asshole, don't be an asshole." She sang out.
"That's enough Miss Shepard." The art teacher called out, sending Lucy a warning look. "I've already told you, Chloé, if you have an art project you want to work on, you're quite welcome here. Otherwise-"
"Of course I've got a project," Chloe says, taking a spin. "A unique masterpiece that will revolutionize the art world. Nothing you commoners would have come up with." She poses dramatically while Sabrina reached to pull out the artwork.
"Let me guess... " Alix cuts off before Sabrina could pull out the poster, mimicking Chloe's pose. "Another collage of selfies?" The room echos with a few laughs and Chloe quickly stops Sabrina from presenting the poster.
"What?! No, that's ridiculous! Utterly... ridiculous! You don't deserve my art anyway." Chloe then spins Sabrina away pushing her out the door, shooting the class a glare before making her final leave. The art teacher looked at Alix with a small frown.
"Well Alix if Chloé really did have an art project, it's too bad we didn't give her a chance to tell us about it, is it?"
Sighing, Alix puts her mask back on, muttering "Whatever." under her breath before going back to her own project.
"And Miss Shepard, I would greatly appreciate it if you could refrain from the profanity in my classroom."
"Sorry, sir." Lucy apologized. Lucy had grown to really like room 33's instructor. He was a very mellow man who in a way kind of reminded her of Bob Ross. Not so much in his appearance so much as his overall instruction style.
"By the way Marc," He spoke, bringing his attention back to the newcomer in the room. "you've shown up at the perfect time. Marinette told us that you're always writing and Nathaniel is looking for a scriptwriter." Marc quickly becomes embarrassed again at the thought of sharing his work with anyone, let alone Nathaniel. He looks down at the floor, shaking his head, shoving his book into his jacket. "Uh? Me? A scriptwriter? Oh, no. I don't write that kind of stuff, I mean I don't write anything interesting honestly. Sorry. Gotta go. Thanks for everything!" He yells, running out of the classroom. Marinette calls out to him, quickly going after the boy she had encouraged to attend the little get-together. Lucy began gathering her things as she looked over her painting once more. It still needed to dry before she could take it home.
"I'll be back for this at the end of the school day if that's alright."
"Of course Lucy. See you then." Her teacher said as she headed out of the classroom. Lucy found Marinette in the hall looking down at a book and raised an eyebrow. "Diary of Ladybug?" She spoke aloud, spooking Marinette.
"Ah! Lucy! Shhh!" Marinette quickly covered Lucy's mouth with her palm. "It's Marc's book. He dropped it." Lucy gently removed Marinette's hand from her mouth.
"Ya gonna give it back to him?" She asked and Marinette tightened her grip on the book.
"Of course! I just..."
"Want to read it."
"Do you think he would be mad?" Marinette asked, a worried expression covering her features. "I'm just so curious. I mean, I was curious before, but now I am even more curious and I-"
"Mari," Lucy said holding a hand up to stop her. "I can't stand here and advise you to read someone's private work just because you're curious. However, I know you. And I know in most cases there are good intentions behind everything you do. No matter what you decide on that front, you need to get that back to Marc and soon. It seemed pretty important to him and I would bet money it will not take him long to realize it is missing." Marinette nodded and ran off, to where Lucy was not sure. Instead of dwelling on it, Lucy made her way down the steps and to the locker room to put away her art supplies and grab the books she needed for the next class. Upon doing so she noticed Marc sifting through all his things at his locker. Lucy sighed and walked over to the boy who paid her no attention, too engrossed with his own search.
"Hey." She said, making Marc jump slightly. She held up her hands defensively. "I come in peace."
"I'm sorry, uh, I just.." He muttered out.
"It's fine, listen, stop for a sec." Lucy took Marc and faced him toward her. The boy tensed under her light grip and looked at her confused. "Now, relax your shoulders." Hesitantly, Marc did as he was told, his body slumping slightly. "Now take a deep breath in, hold it for just a few seconds, and let it out." Though shaky, the boy followed Lucy's directions and took in a breath, holding it before letting it out. "It's okay. You're okay."
"I can't..."He gulped. "I can't find my book. The one I write in." His hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly at his sides and Lucy brought her own hands down Marc's arms to squeeze them.
"Okay." She told him. "Then we'll find it." She drew a deep breath again, making Marc copy her actions.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked. "You don't know me." Lucy smiled softly. It was odd how such simple things could trigger our memory. Taking us back to a moment in time that has embedded itself in our minds.
"A very anxious-looking boy came into the art room today and I decided I wanted to try and be his friend."
"But Why?"
"Because he looked like he needed one." As Marc seemed to relax, Lucy released his hands. "I'm familiar with anxiousness. Took me a long time to move past it but to be honest I don't think it's something anyone can really get rid of entirely. I had a therapist who helped me cope with it until I was able to on my own. Seems only right to share that ability with others."
Marc offers Luc a weak smile before looking back in his locker. "Thank you," He tells her. "But I need to find that book. If someone finds it before me and they read it...god if Chloe finds it and reads it..." Lucy could visibly see Marc growing anxious again as his locker search becomes more intense. Lucy reaches out for Marc again only for a voice to grab their attention.
"Looking for this?" Marinette had asked, holding Marc's book in her hands. She holds it out to him and the dark-haired boy takes it, holding it to his chest in relief before freezing. "Did you read it?" He asks nervously.
"Oh, no!" She denies only to pause and sigh, not wanting to lie to him. "Yeah... sorry. It was too tempting."
"Oh, how embarrassing. So, so, lame." Marc mutters.
No, it's not! You should turn it into a comic book. Why don't you team up with Nathaniel?" Lucy snapped her finger and pointed to Marinette. "Yes!"
"Uhh, I'm sure he won't like it."
"You should have him read it before you jump to conclusions," Marinette told him. Lucy nodded her head.
"You've seen Nathaniel's work. If it has anything to do with Ladybug, he'll love it."
"But what if he doesn't like it?" Marc asks, hiding his face behind his book. "I'll be so embarrassed. I'll have to change schools so I'll never run into him again."
"Now you're being silly. Look, he draws Ladybug all the time and you write stories about her. Oh, I've got an idea; we'll have him read it without telling him who wrote it. If he likes it, it's a win-win. If he doesn't, we just won't say anything."
"Do you think it'll work?" Marc asks tempted.
"It's a plan with potential for sure." Lucy agrees.
"Trust me on this."
OoOoOoOo
Later, Lucy and Marinette stood with Marc behind a stare case in the court yeard, watching to see Nathaniel's reaction to reading Marc's book.
"Do you think he likes it?" Marc asked, gripping his arm nervously.
"Look at his face! Of course, he does!" Marinette confirmed. Lucy had to agree, Nate did look very into the story he was reading.
"You know it's rude to spy on people," Adrien spoke, startling the teens.
"It's also rude to sneak up on people ya jerk." Lucy scolded.
"Eh.. No!" Marinette quickly turns. "It's not what you think at all! It's just that... it's gonna be... eh... Nathaniel's birthday soon and, ehm, Marc, Lucy and I wanted... to give him a disguise... I mean, surprise!" She said waving her arms in the air. Lucy and Marc shared a look. Adrien smiled and gave Marinette a wink.
"Very typical of you, Marinette. Well, if you need any help with that, let me know."
"Sure won't!" She calls out only to realize her mistake. "Sure will." Marinette slumps at her word jumble only for Marc to give her an understanding smile.
"You're just as shy as I am, aren't you?"
"I don't think 'shy' is the right word." Lucy joked. Marinette sighed.
"Just do as I say, not as I do, okay?"
OoOooOOoOoOo
When school ended Lucy waited for Marinette at the bottom of the steps in front of the school while she spoke to Nathaniel. With a satisfied look, Marinette strutted down the steps and the two walked to her house together.
"This is going to work out great. Nathaniel loves the book. Now Marc can reveal himself as the author and the two can make an awesome comic together!" Marinette squealed as the two girls ran up to her balcony. Marinette pulled out her phone and the two watched as Nathaniel entered the park, Marc's book in hand. The interaction the two boys were having was...odd. Neither girl could hear the conversation, but Nathaniel did look up in their direction and his face did not look happy. The next thing the girls knew, Nathaniel, with strength neither knew he had, ripped the book with his hands, tossing it to the ground.
"Nate what the fuck?!" Lucy shouted aloud, not understanding what would have made him react with such aggression.
"Oh no!" Marinette said, watching Marc scramble to pick up what was left of his ripped apart book. The girls ran down and out of Marinette's house and into the park only to find Marc akumatized. His outfit a checkerboard patterned style. The left side of the outfit is solid black with white markings, like on the upper head, arm, fingers, chest, torso, and leg. On the right side, the lower head, palm, teeth, and half of a circle on the chest are black while the base color is white.
"Marc! What happened!?" Marinette asked. Marc sun around and glared at her.
"I'm not Marc anymore." He says flying around on his paper plane. "I am Reverser! And you, Marinette, the one who caused all this! You think you're the super helpful girl who's loved by everyone? Well, from now on, everyone will hate you!" He creates a small paper plane, tossing it at Marinette. "Reversion!" Marinette manages to dodge the plane, only for it to hit Mr. Ramier, the pigeon man, His birds, who once sat with him now flew away, making the man go after them in confusion.
"Marc, she was only trying to help!" Lucy shouted. Reverser frowned at her.
"You are no better than she is! Always trying to help! Always caring! It must be exhausting riding that high horse all the time! Let me unburden you with that!" Reverser tosses another plane, and unlike Marinette, is unable to dodge the attack. Marinette grabs a hold of Lucy's arm.
"Are you alright!?"
Lucy blinks and smiles at Marinette. "I've never felt better." Roger cop approached Reverser before he could attempt his attack on Marinette again and Lucy bolted for the exit with the pigtailed girl close behind.
"Lucy you should go home," Marinette said only for Lucy to shrug her friend away.
"Go home? I'm not going home! Why would I want to do that?!"
Marinette gave her a bewildered look. "Because there is an Akumatized villain on the loose?!"
"Who cares?! I've already been hit and I have nothing to lose! I'm gonna go do something crazy! Good luck with your hiding!" She shouted before running off again. Marinette rubbed her face as Tikki came out of hiding.
"Where did operation "Comic Book" go wrong? We better find out! Tikki! Spots on!"
OoOoOoOoOoO
Luka had been strumming his guitar on a bench when he saw Lucy hopping from car top to car top in a traffic jam. He quickly made his way over to her and called out her name, grabbing the blonde's attention. She smiled at him before jumping off the last car and onto the sidewalk where he stood.
"Hey, you!" Lucy greeted him chipperly.
"Hey Lucy, mind if I ask where your sudden interest in...parkour has come from?"
Lucy blew her hair out of her face and shrugged in a dramatic fashion. "Oh, I don't know! Probably the inversion man! Shit, that's not his name...the rewind man...no that's not right either..." Luka then took Lucy's face in his hands and looked her over.
"Whatcha doing? Trying to make out with me?" Lucy puckered her lips and made kissy noises at Luka who raised an eyebrow and leaned away from her slightly.
"Are you on drugs?" Her eyes widened.
"Why?! You got some?! Share!"
"You're really starting to freak me out."
"Good! Be freaked!" Lucy said pulling away from Luka while moving her body in a wiggly way.
"Why are you like this?!" Luka asked to which Lucy shrugged dramatically again.
"Why not!? The planet is dying, space is forever expanding, and everyone sucks! Seize the day my blue-haired friend! Lets do something wild! Oh! I know. The Eiffel tower!" She suggested, moving in closer to Luka who stared down at her with wide eyes. "Let's jump off of it!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Luka said. "That is...extreme."
"To the max!"
"Suggestion...we do something...less extreme. Less deadly, more specifically."
"We never really die."
"Umhm, umhm. I hear you but maybe...maybe we just save that. Put it on the back burner. I mean there are just so many other...spontaneous activities out there." By this point, Luka was now positive that Lucy was under the influence of an Akumatized villain. Though he wasn't sure what he or she did to Lucy to make her so...careless.
"You know what! You're so right! Save it for last! Go out with a bang am I right?! We'll start small. Oh I know, I know, I know! Lets go find Marinette and tell her you're in love with her! OH! And then Marinette can confess to Adrien! AND THEN ADRIEN CAN- well, I don't know what Adrien will do but I know this whole thing is gonna be great!"
"Okay, well, hold on a min-" Before Luka could finish Lucy was dragging him along to go find Marinette. He could only hope that Ladybug and Chat Noir would fix whatever was happening before Lucy managed to do so.
OoOoOoOOoO
Ladybug, Cat Noir, Alix, and Nathaniel arrived at the Eiffel tower in order to hopefully take down Reverser. Alix looked up to the sky, tilting her head to the side.
"That's strange, the stars are out early." Ladybug looked up and went wide-eyed at the sight.
"Those are not stars! The trash is entering the atmosphere. In just a few minutes, it'll be like having a meteor shower, except with dumpsters instead." The Mayor had sent trash compactors to space, how? No one really knew, but it seems the Reverser changed his mind about how to maintain Paris and now the trash was crashing back down to earth. Chat Noir shivers in fright, all of his bravery repeated from being his by Reverser himself. Ladybug places a hand on her partner's shoulder. "Don't be scared, Chat Noir. We can do this. Although still afraid, Chat nods at Ladybug, taking the blanket hood he had on-off of his head.
"You're right, m'lady. Our powers may be all screwed up, but we still make a great team." He looks down with a small frown. "I wish Tigeresss was here to help us. She said she would be around if we really needed her. So where is she?"
"Glad to know you missed me Ally Chat." A voice came from behind. The four teens turned their heads to see Tigress, but she wasn't alone. Luka and Lucy were with her. Lucy had one arm looped around Tigress while the other arm looped with Luka.
"Look who I found guys!" Lucy shouted. Tigress rolled her eyes and slipped out of Lucy's grip, making her way over to her teammates.
"Where have you been Tigress? We haven't seen you in weeks!" Ladybug asked, Tigress only shook her head.
"That isn't important right now. What is important-"
"Lucy are you okay?!" Chat Noir asks, rushing over to the blonde civilian.
"I'm great! Never better! And I have a Luka!" Luka shifts, mildly uncomfortable as Chat looks between their linked arms with a worried gaze.
"Oh no...Oh NO! Lucy! You're in love with Luka! How could I have let this happen!" Chat throws his arm to his forehead dramatically, his blanket acting like the world's lamest vampire cape. "Oh, cruel world!" Lucy gives out an obnoxious laugh.
"What?! I don't love Luka!" Lucy shoves the blue hair boy, who although agreed with her sentiments couldn't help but be annoyed at her ability to push him aside. "Besides Luka is totally in love with-!" Luka quickly moves and covers her mouth with his hand, his eye twitching as he felt her lick his palm. Pulling his hand away and rubbing it on his pants, Luka glares at Lucy. "Nasty."
Lucy throws herself dramatically at Chat who wrapped his blanket-covered arms around her. She smiled up at him and brushed their noses together. "Forget about all this kitty. Let's just run away together. Tell me who you are, or never do. I don't care. Forget about our parents, and Hawkmoth and Paris. Nothing matters outside of this very moment. Outside of you and me, right now." The now timid Chat Noir blushed at her actions.
"I have a whirlwind of emotions. I am horrified and yet I kinda like it, and that is making me more horrified!" Chat sputtered out but Lucy seemed unfazed. "No more thinking, just more kissing." She said, and in a blink, her lips were on his. Chat melted into her kiss, and for a moment everything he was afraid of seemed a lot less scary.
"Hate to break up the make-out session but we have an Akuma to take care of," Tigress said, her hands on her hips. Lucy pulled away from Chat as if nothing significant had just happened. Chat stood still mildly dazed as his female counterpart wandered over to Nathaniel and Alix.
"I don't see the problem just give Reverser Nathaniel!" Nathaniel's jaw dropped and Alix looked to Lucy as if she was crazy.
"What!? No way!" Alix said crossing her arms.
"Why not?! Nate was a total dick for no reason! Marc just wanted him to read his work to see if he would be interested in working together! You ripped up his book! Why?! What about him wanting to work together could possibly make you react like that!?" Lucy said making Alix look at Nathaniel. "You ripped his book? Overkill don't ya think?"
Nathaniel looked between the two girls unsure of how this suddenly turned on him. "I didn't know! I thought the diary was actually Ladybugs, and when it wasn't I thought I was being pranked!"
"You thought Marinette was either given or just happen to stumble upon Ladybug's actual diary and just handed it to you?! And what did Marc say when you saw him?!"
"Well, that he wanted to work together but..."
"But what!? What kind of stupid ass-"
"You are so unhelpful today!" Tigress said, grabbing Lucy and dragging her back over to Luka, shoving her into him. "Hold that, Ladybug now would be a great time to Lucky Charm."
Ladybug, who couldn't help but get distracted by the strange interactions that just took place shook her head and regained focus, calling her Luck Charm, a set of Bamboo. She looked around and smiled. "I know what to do." The plan was simple enough but did involve Chat Noir strapped to Tigress like a baby to go parasailing to Capture the Akuma. With a little help from Alix and the distracting cheers of Lucy, the Akuma was captured and everyone was back to their normal selves. Chat glanced over at Lucy who stood talking to Luka. He remembered his time as Scardy Chat Noir. He remembered Lucy telling him that she had no feelings for Luka, and he remembered her kissing him. He remembered how nice it was, after having been so long since she had done so last. Before he could make his way over to the girl on his mind Tigress called out to him. He turned to see both Tigress and Ladybug standing beside one another, waiting for him to join them. He spared Lucy one last glance before heading to his partners.
"I know we don't have a lot of time, but I have to talk to you guys about something important. Meet me back here tonight before patrol. I'll give you guys some answers to the questions you probably have." Chat and Ladybug looked at one another before nodding at Tigress. Both very curious, and somewhat nervous about what she had to say.
Lucy walked home with Luka, who was very happy that Lucy was back to her normal self.
"Wild day." He commented, earning a hum of agreement from the blonde girl next to him. Luka glanced down at Lucy who seemed to be in her own world. "Well, at least everyone is back to normal. Could you imagine being stuck in the opposite version of yourself?"
Lucy shrugged. "Wouldn't be all bad."
Luka stopped and raised a brow at Lucy. "Lucy, you wanted to jump off the Eiffel Tower just because." Lucy sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Well, yeah I mean, that would have been a bad idea but...I don't know. For the first time in my life, I had not a care in the world. I could do anything! Nothing mattered."
"Exactly Lucy," Luka responded. "Nothing mattered to you. Not even your own safety."
The blonde shook her head and looked down. "You don't get it."
"No, I do." He told her. "Lucy, I completely understand how great it must have felt to have every worry and fear lifted from your shoulders. I get how amazing it must have been for a while to not care about what everyone else thought or felt. I probably get that better than most actually. But Lucy...we can't go around as if nothing matters. People matter, you matter. You are free, no matter what rules surround you. If you find them tolerable, you tolerate them; if you find them too obnoxious, you break them. You are free because you know that you alone are morally responsible for everything you do."
Lucy looked at Luka and smiled. The only trick of friendship, she thought, is to find people who are better than you are—not smarter, not cooler, but kinder, and more generous, and more forgiving—and then to appreciate them for what they can teach you, and to try to listen to them when they tell you something about yourself, no matter how bad—or good—it might be, and to trust them, which is the hardest thing of all. But the best, as well.
"I'm sorry I tried to get you to spill the beans about Marinette." She apologized. Luka gave a small chuckle.
"I appreciate that. But for the record, I'm not keeping my feelings at bay because I am afraid, Lucy. There is a time for everything. She isn't ready yet."
oOoOoOoOoOOoOoO
That evening Ladybug and Chat patiently awaited the arrival of Tigress. Ladybug paced the upper deck while Chat perched on the edge railing. Both heroes were curious to know what their teammates had to say, but Ladybug felt on edge. Tigress had been MIA for some time now, and now that she was back, the bug-themed hero couldn't help but fear the worse. When Tigress did arrive, both Chat and Lady stood to give her their full attention. Tigress didn't crack a smile, or a witty joke as she typically did when they met up. Instead, she looked solemn and borderline nervous.
"What's going on Tigress?" Ladybug asks.
"Yeah, are you alright?" Chat adds.
Tigress takes a deep breath and nods. "I'm fine. I just..." She paused. "I've been going through some personal stuff recently. Stuff I thought I would get past but as it turns out, it's easier said than done. That's why I haven't been around."
"It's okay Tigress. Life happens. What is important is that you are back, and Ladybug and I will do anything we can to help you through whatever it is you're going through. You're our teammate and our friend." Chat explained, offering Tigress a warm smile. Ladybug nodded in agreement.
"You can count on us, Tigress." The tiger hero smiled weakly at them.
"I know I can. That's why I have a very big favor to ask. Of you specifically, Ladybug."
Ladybug knitted her brows together. "Of course. Anything you need."
Tigress clenched her fists at her sides and swallowed hard. The words she needed to say having to be forced from her throat.
"Roaar, Stips off."
"Tigress!" Chat and Ladybug called out in unison as Tigress de-transformed in front of them. The two heroes cover their eyes with their hands, not wanting Tigress to give away her identity to them.
"Tigress what are you doing?!" Ladybug asks.
"Look at me." Is all she said in response.
"Tigress we can't know each other's identities. You know that!" Chat told her behind his still covered eyes.
"Mistress..." Roaar spoke, still unable to say her name in front of the other two heroes, not until her identity had been compromised on its own. "Please don't do this."
"Look. At. Me." She said again, this time with a little more force. Chat was the first to break. His fingers cracked as his eyes peeked between them. He let out a breath. "Talia." Upon hearing her name Ladybug dropped her hand and looked at Talia in shock.
"Talia! What did you do!? If we know your identity you can't-"
"I know," Talia spoke, cutting off Ladybug. She turned to Roaar whole gave her a pleading look. Talia held out her hand and let the small creature nuzzle her palm. "I'm sorry Roaar." She apologized, her eyes watering and her throat going dry. Talia then swiftly removed her miraculous, Roaar disappearing inside of it, before she placed it neatly back in the box she had found it in. Caressing the box with her thumb, Talia then held it out to Ladybug. "Take it." Her tone was barely above a whisper. Ladybug hesitated before slowly reaching out and taking the box from Talia.
"Talia...why?" Ladybug asked, not understanding. Talia sniffed and wiped away the tears that threatened to fall.
"The man who gave that to me...he saw one small act of kindness and thought that it was enough to make me a hero. But the truth is.." she paused, sniffing again and licking her dry lips. "I have so much more darkness in me than I do light."
"That's not true, Talia." Chat argued only to receive a small glare from the girl.
"Oh, because you know me so well?"
"We know enough." Ladybug countered. Talia shook her head.
"I can't even save myself. I can't save Paris either." She told them, her hands gripping her thighs that still burned.
Chat looked at Talia, taking a step toward her. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that man made a mistake. I'm just fixing it."
"Talia, I don't think-"
"Fine, you want a better reason. Lucy knows I am Tigress." The two partners looked at Talia with bewildered looks. Talia brought her eyes to Chat and tilted her head. "And I know who you are." Chat's heart slammed against his chest as he looked at Talia.
"You...you know..." Talia nodded and brought her hand to her face to cover the mouth from Ladybug's vision as she mouthed 'Adrien' to Chat. "You know..." He muttered.
"But how did you find out Chat's identity? And how does Lucy know yours?" Ladybug asked.
"Lucy was there when I opened Roaar. Don't worry," She spoke, glancing at Chat Noir. "She's a very good secret keeper. She already knows about this meeting."
"I thought Canadians were supposed to be polite."
"Yeah, the Dontcha know kind. It's not the same. Don't be racist."
"Oh my god." Lucy facepalm. "Talia, what are you doing here and where have you been?"
Talila shrugged. "Been dealing with some personal stuff, it doesn't matter, that is not why I am here."
"Then why are you here?"
"To say goodbye," Talia told her honestly. Lucy stared at her confused.
"Goodbye? What are you talking about?"
"I got in touch with my mother. I'm gonna go visit her for a while."
"What about Paris? Danny?"
"Danny already knows. Can't say he was thrilled but he understood and that's what I love about him. As for Paris...Paris will be just fine without me."
"Talia..."
"I'm going to give my miraculous back to Ladybug. I can't be Tigress anymore..."
"And what about me?" Lucy asked, looking at Talia sadly. "You're my best friend. Is it so easy for you to just stop by and say goodbye like this?" Talila scoffed. "I thought I was stronger than a word, but I just discovered that having to say goodbye to you, to this," She said waving her hand between the two. " is by far one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But I have to do it, Lucy. I won't survive if I don't." Lucy quickly took hold of Talia's hand, lacing their fingers together, giving it a squeeze.
"Okay." She said with a nod. "Okay."
"If Lucy knows your Tigress, and you know who I am...does that mean Lucy...?"
"No," Talila told Chat, who let out a shallow breath. "Lucy is good with secrets, but so am I. A word of advice:" Chat nodded at Talia. "Tread Carefully, Chat Noir."
Lost really has two disparate meanings. Losing things is about the familiar falling away, getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing. There are objects and people that disappear from your sight or knowledge or possession; you lose a bracelet, a friend, the key. You still know where you are. Everything is familiar except that there is one item less, one missing element. Or you get lost, in which case the world has become larger than your knowledge of it. Either way, there is a loss of control. Imagine yourself streaming through time shedding gloves, umbrellas, wrenches, books, friends, homes, names. This is what the view looks like if you take a rear-facing seat on the train. Looking forward you constantly acquire moments of arrival, moments of realization, moments of discovery. The wind blows your hair back and you are greeted by what you have never seen before. The material falls away in the onrushing experience. It peels off like skin from a molting snake. Of course, to forget the past is to lose the sense of loss that is also a memory of an absent richness and a set of clues to navigate the present by; the art is not one of forgetting but letting go. And when everything else is gone, you can be rich in loss. When Talia left, Ladybug and Chat stayed upon the Eiffle tower a bit longer. Taking in the turn of events that had just taken place. Ladybug looked at the box in her hands and thought about everything Talia had said, and everything she had experienced with the Reverser. She glanced at Chat whose eyes grazed over the city as he got lost in his own thoughts.
"Chat...can I ask you a personal question?"
Chat Noir went wide-eyed at the request as he turned to look at his partner.
"You...want to ask me...a personal question? You?"
"Ladybug rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Forget it."
"No, no, no! I'm sorry M'lady. I just...I mean you can't blame me for being a bit surprised. But of course. You can ask me anything." He told her, awaiting her question.
"Would you say...with one hundred percent certainty, that you were in love with Lucy?"
Of all the possible questions Ladybug could have asked, Chat Noir was in no way prepared for that one.
"No Ladybug. I wasn't in love with Lucy," He told her, Ladybug looked at him surprised but before she could reply he spoke again. "That would mean I stopped. I am in love with Lucy. She wasn't a fling or a passing phase, I fell in love with her. Just because I choose Paris, Chose to keep being Chat Noir, doesn't make that go away. Being together...it wouldn't work out. It puts her in danger...it puts us in danger. More so than we already are. I am not with Lucy, because I can't be, not because I don't want to be."
Ladybug nodded and bit her lip in thought. Chat watched her and tapped his claws against the metal railing.
"Why the sudden interest in my Love life M'Ladybug?" Ladybug felt heat rush to her face, embarrassed for having asked her question in the first place.
"Eh, it's just...what happens if..or when she finds..." She hesitated. "Someone new? She isn't supposed to wait for you forever right?" Chat frowned and gripped the railing, looking down at the streets below and Ladybug instantly regretted her meddling.
"Wait! I'm sorry! I just meant-"
"It's alright Ladybug." Chat told her. "Lucy's happiness is something of utmost importance to me. I would never ask her to wait around for something I couldn't give her. When Lucy finds another It will be hard. It will be hard to see her move on but it will be worth it to know she is happy and being given every once of love back that she gives out. She deserves it." Ladybug smiled softly at Chat, but something about it didn't quite meet her eyes. "Are you alright Ladybug? Really?"
"Remember when I told you I was having...love troubles?" She asked him, fidgeting with her fingers.
"Yes, of course."
"Turns out that might be even more trouble than before. The guy I have feelings for, I know him in my civilian form. I found out recently that he is harboring feelings for a friend of mine."
Chat frowned. "I'm sorry M'lady, that sucks." Ladybug nodded a little.
"Yeah, it does. It's worse though because although my friend is unaware of his feelings, she is well aware of mine."
"That does complicate things doesn't it?"
"I want to hate her." Ladybug admitted. "I wanna hate her so bad but I can't. It's not her fault. She's just...awesome."
"You're awesome too." Chat told her, and Ladybug gave him a small laugh.
"While I appreciate that, it doesn't matter. To him, I am just an awesome friend, and I am starting to think there might be nothing I can do about that."
"Have you talked to your friend?" Chat asked in a suggestive tone. Ladybug shook her head no.
"I've been too nervous. Her knowing...it might make things worse rather than better. I am considering trying to move on from him. I want him to be happy too of course. I'd prefer it was with me but..." Chat placed a hand on Ladybug's shoulder and squeezed it.
"M'lady, you are incredibly amazing for so many different reasons, and one day, you are going to meet someone who sees all of those reasons without you even having to try. This guy that you have feelings for...maybe in time, everything will work out and he will turn out to be the one, or maybe he never was. Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after. Such moments are tests of courage, of strength. You should talk to your friend. She might surprise you."
Ladybug leaned her head on Chat's shoulder and sighed. "Thanks, Kitty."
Happy Monday. It's 1 am and I felt the need to get this out. I just got back from a trip and now I have to be off work for a week so hopefully, I'll find time to spit out a few chapters while I'm home! So Talia/ Tigress is out! For now at least. Honestly, I started tearing up a bit while writing her goodbye. I imagine that if a person has to give up a miraculous after they have grown custom to have it, would be a hard choice to make. However, that is how life is sometimes. For the most part Ladybug and Chat Noir are seen to handle having a double life and being hero's rather easy, but I like to add a little weight. I do know that at the end of the last season as well as now in the newer one Marinette finally starts to buckle a little and have a more realistic mindset on the burden that being a secret superhero can carry which is nice. Anyway! Still so much more to go! Remember to like and comment and tell me what you think! I love hearing your guy's feedback, opinions, and ideas, as well as clearing up any questions you might have. I understand that for some my writing can seem a little unclear sometimes and always want to be able to fix any confusion if any! As always, I'll see you in the next chapter!