Haha I really wanted to have this story finished by the time I uploaded this chapter but I realised how much more I need to write and how long it had been since I last updated (on a cliff hanger, no less!) so here you are! Hopefully I should be finished by Christmas though. But I'm scrambling trying to get this done and my ML Secret Santa done for my person in addition to this, so see how we go!
It was just before dawn, and Adrien found Plagg once again in the cheese wheel.
Silently, though he was certain that he could have been playing the bagpipes while doing so, he transformed, and snuck out onto the balcony, where he clambered up the side of the ship.
Past the lip of the upper decks, where the ship started to flatten off.
Past the highest floors, with the greatest views of the ocean.
Up onto the captains deck, where everything still seemed to be calm.
He could see that the ship was turning.
Such a great thing, in all of its vastness, was carefully turning inland into the mouth of the river of what would be the Ria de Bilbao.
To his right he could see the long finger of causeway that was the major shipping port area of Punta Lucero, sticking out into the ocean like a hungry knife.
As the ship slowly turned, its faraway nose pointed out more of the port, with high silos and shipping yards protected by the knife.
To his left he had a perfect view of the beautiful beaches of Santa Maria de Guecho, and the grassy greens and the jetty of the point Faro de Punta Galea.
In the morning light there was a level of uncertainty, a space between times of sureness, as there was stillness on both fronts.
On his right, there should have been a flurry of activity, bringing in fresh cargo and sending the finest shipments out to sea.
On his left should have been movement of play and relaxation, but in neither direction showed any sign of life.
It did not settle his emotions.
Even from beneath his feet was an air of tenseness, if he listened closely he could hear plans of hooking up to a tug boat to pull them up the river closer to the towns.
But the captain had concerns, and was adhering to the procedures to the letter even moreso because of it.
Chat sat with his back against the antenna modules, resting his wrist against a proffed knee thoughtfully.
It was just too much of a coincidence, wasn't it?
Pure coincidence.
First of all, there was the issue with his "look-a-like".
Adrien Agreste did not have uncommon features, but his combination of them he found to be fairly rare.
"He's quite, well, you might've heard of him."
Yes, Adrien Agreste was quite famous, not to toot his own horn.
And then there was the whole thing of the Mecha Strike competition.
Adrien hadn't thought much of handing off his role to Marinette, for the Tournament of course.
Max had lost his role, and despite being the (significantly) better player, Marinette had felt for him and gave it back to him.
But Adrien had given it to her, she deserved it more than he did.
That sort of a situation was unlikely to be reproduced coincidentally.
It was possible, he supposed, but not likely.
And if you threw a "Chat-Noir-look-a-like" into the mix, well, things start to get interesting.
He figured he couldn't cast aspersions, yet.
Not without proof, anyway.
But Ladybug designing her own dress?
And making it too?
What had she said? She'd wanted to get into fashion?
She'd worked with some people in the past.
She'd won some competitions.
Adrien remembered an awful photo shoot where they had to get all the photos done within about fifteen minutes before Adrien's eyes started running, and he was sneezing too hard.
All because of a feathered bowler hat created by one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Adrien remembered a set of Eiffel Tower glasses Marinette had bragged about to her friend Alya in class.
Chat remembered how much she had been staring at the cocktail dresses worn to the party the previous day.
Not with a sense of longing, like most girls would have worn, but with a sense of, Adrien found it difficult to describe.
Not quite like a fashion expert at one of his modelling shows.
Not quite like a doctor examining a diagnosis report.
More like a chef, staring at a meal, looking with expertise in the way it was constructed, in the way it was presented.
Like an expert engineer, staring at new architecture.
Not with a sense of critique or distain, more like the harrowed intensity of someone furiously taking mental notes of both presentation and formation.
It was a strange, new look to see on Ladybug's face.
She'd even been more interested in the dresses than the conversation, of which notable amounts of her conversation had been regarding this topic.
Not excessive, but notable.
One that he had seen on Marinette's face as well.
Hence the reason why he was able to read it so clearly.
The best that he could do would be to keep his ear to the ground, but with this potential discovery, he found himself in an awkward position.
She had always been so protective of her identity.
What was he supposed to do if he figured it out, without her knowledge?
Slowly, the ship was accepted by the river mouth, using the wide expanse of the port to make the left turn on the ship's slow, broad turn.
Would he confront her?
Perhaps reveal himself?
He wanted to release Plagg, to talk to him about it, but he didn't think it would be a good idea for Adrien Agreste to be found on the roof of a ship.
And also, the suit of Chat Noir was a heck of a lot warmer than his pyjamas.
Chat sighed.
The sun had well cleared the ocean by now, and it looked like it was going to be a bright, cloudless day.
He made a mental note to pick up sunscreen in Bilbao.
Chat landed lightly on the balcony, and slid the door open quietly.
Ladybug seemed to be still asleep, a mess of dark hair spread over the pillow.
He was half tempted to peek.
'Is everything alright?' She said, and he started terribly.
'Yes, I just, couldn't sleep.' Chat scratched at his neck awkwardly.
On second glance she had curled herself up in her blankets, and was doing something or another on her phone. He could see the white device peeking through the covers, clasped by her two bare hands.
'Have you eaten yet?'
'No,' he admitted. 'Shall I order something, my lady?'
She audibly yawned, and it was adorable. Not that he was biased. 'It's fine. We're nearly in Bilbao now, do you want to get crepes or something in town?'
He sat down on his bed, looking at the mess of hair facing him. 'That sounds wonderful.'
They sat in comfortable silence for a long moment.
'...what are you looking at?' Ladybug questioned, without moving.
'Nothing.' Chat grinned. 'I didn't know you got bedhead, my lady,'
'Shut up, Chat Noir.'
'It's radiant on you, of course.'
'Shut up, Chat Noir.' Her phone, currently obscuring her face, gave an invoultary twitch as if she made to glare at him, but it was enough.
Now that he knew what he was looking for, the curve of her face, the edge of her jaw, the corner of her eye, was so, Marinette.
He wondered why Plagg didn't recognise her, to be honest.
But Plagg didn't really look at anyone that wasn't cheese.
He wasn't surprised that Tikki wasn't speaking to him, if that was the case.
He also wasn't sure how to process all of this.
So he got up, and wandered out into the sitting room, shutting the door behind him.
He slumped down onto the couch, and detransformed.
He seized Plagg before he could vanish off into the cheese again.
'Did you know?' He questioned.
'Know what?' Plagg returned.
'Who Ladybug is. Her identity.'
Plagg shrugged. 'You interact with so many people. It's confusing. And I don't care.'
'But Plagg, this is important.' Adrien snapped.
'And I don't care.' Plagg retorted. 'Ladybugs and Chat Noirs find out the others identites sooner or later. Sooner, usually. It's less nauseating.'
Tikki appeared through the closed door, and Adrien tried to look innocent.
'Is everything alright out here?'
'Yes, everything's fine, why?' Adrien tried to look as casual as possible, with Plagg still in his closed fist.
'Usual teenage drama.' Plagg complained.
Tikki looked between the two of them, then flew over and landed to sit next to Plagg on Adrien's closed hand. 'Oh?'
'It's nothing!' Adrien dodged.
Plagg facepalmed. 'Apparently, I'm a terrible kwami for not remembering every single human's face on the planet.'
'Shut up, Plagg!'
'How so?' Tikki looked perplexed.
'I have no idea, if I'm being honest.' Plagg shrugged. 'Something about Ladybug? Her identity?'
Tikki froze and stared at Adrien. 'What?'
'I, I don't,' he flailed at her with his free hand. 'I mean, I don't,'
'By the sounds of it, he's finally figured out who Ladybug is.' Plagg unhelpfully said.
'Oh, well, finally.' Tikki nodded, smiling. 'Are you sure, Adrien?'
'I, think so?' He shook his head. 'I think the only way to know one hundred per cent is if I actually properly see her detransformed, though.'
'Well? Who do you think it is?' Tikki questioned curiously.
'Yeah, you've only got a one in seven billion chance.' Plagg grinned.
'I'm, not sure, but, maybe,' he dropped his voice, 'my friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?'
Tikki looked at him silently for a long moment. 'Of course, I cannot confirm or deny that. Ladybug wants to remain a secret as long as she can, you understand.'
He, frustratingly, did not get any kind of reaction out of that.
However the two kwamis did exchange a look, and Tikki seated herself neatly.
'Well, what are you going to do with this information?' Tikki questioned.
'I, don't know.' He paused, considering. 'I'd want to confirm, but like you said. It's all on Ladybug's terms.'
She nodded wisely, a gesture with serious consideration that belied her size and stature.
'What do you think I should do?' He questioned.
'I think you should go with whatever you think is best.' Tikki said, before smiling knowingly. 'I think that whatever you do, you'll be fine. But don't worry about it too much.'
'Who's Marinette?' Plagg questioned.
'You idiot,' Adrien shot, 'it's that girl who sits behind me in class.'
Tikki however had risen up, and headed back through the bedroom door, leaving the two to their frustrated conversation.
She made to head over to Marinette's bed, where she had last seen the girl, but discovered she was not there.
Finished designs of fabric patterns littered her bed, but Ladybug was nowhere to be found.
'Tikki!' Came a hiss from back near the door.
Tikki flitted over, hovering in front of Marinette's face.
Marinette, who had her ear pressed against the door with a ferverence of the last time the girl had seen Adrien and Chloé alone in a room together.
'Tikki...' Marinette trailed off.
'Yes, Marinette?' Tikki blinked innocently.
'Chat knows who I am.' Marinette stated.
'You were listening, I see?' Tikki replied.
'I, well,' Marinette dodged. 'I wanted to know what was going on with Chat. He almost seemed a bit upset.'
'It's not a hundred per cent, you know.' Tikki reminded.
'But still,' Marinette shuddered.
'Is it so bad?' Tikki questioned, tilting her head slightly.
'I, well,'
'Do you know who Chat is?'
'I don't want to open that can of worms again.'
'I think someone said his name during that conversation,' Tikki said thoughtfully.
'...I couldn't hear every word, but I caught the gist.' Marinette said. 'But he said my name,'
'Calm down, Marinette.' Tikki soothed.
'Oh, so it is Marinette?' Came a voice from overhead, and the two looked up.
Plagg landed neatly on Ladybug's head, looking bored.
'I still can't believe you didn't recognise her.' Tikki accused. 'Didn't you sit in front of her for, what, a year now? With nothing to do?'
Plagg shrugged, not answering the question.
'You know,' Marinette said, 'I'm right here?'
'Yes?' Both kwamis said, looking at her.
She suddenly had a brief glimpse into their lives, the endless cycle of Ladybug and Chat Noir, finding each other, and the process of discovery, over and over again.
'I have half a mind to go back to bed.' She admitted.
The door knocked, and all three jumped.
'My lady, shall we get ready to go to Bilbao?'
The ship could not dock in the actual town of Bilbao, and was thus docked further down river in a town called Barakaldo.
The intent was visitors from the ship could either look around the smaller suburn of Barakaldo, where the exhibition centre was, or to take either a bus or a taxi into Bilbao itself.
But, that just wasn't in the fashion of France's favourite superheros.
With a simple flick of a wrist they were off, heading straight for the town, via the river and the bridge in between.
It was a massive leap from the nose of the ship to the bridge, but worth it all the while, as the press snapped appreciatively almost their entire journey into town.
As soon as they landed in central Bilbao, Chat immediately wandered up to the nearest bakery.
'Un paquete de churros, per favour.' He said, leaning against the counter casually.
The Spanish woman gave him one long look, before starting into some seriously unimpressed-sounding Spanish, whilst retrieving a (still steaming) packet of Churros.
'Qué tipo de salsa de chocolate es lo que quieres?' She said, slowly and carefully.
Chat Noir blanched, but tried to cover it, making a solid attempt at his usual bravado. 'Uh, si, chocolate. Gracias.'
Her look turned even more incredulous, before handing them over. She rattled something off, something that sounded like a price.
Chat pulled out a note timidly, and she snatched it up, tucking it away and dropped change into his open hands.
'Smooth,' Ladybug commented. She plucked a churro from the container the woman left on the counter.
He grinned woefully, stuffing the change back into his satchel and snatching up the container. 'As silk, my lady.'
'So you speak Spanish, do you?' She gave him an appraising eye as they headed out the door.
'Of, course!' He bragged, before taking two churros and stuffing them into his mouth.
She grinned slyly, and took another churro, this time dipping it into the chocolate sauce the woman had provided.
He grinned around his full mouth, then hid behind a pamphlet of the city.
'What do you want to start with?' Ladybug snapped a picture of Chat chewing, juggling the container of churros in one hand and the map of the city in the ither.
He swallowed enormously. 'Well, there's markets in this town, just like Brittany? There's a few fine arts museums, or the Plaza Nueva?'
'Everywhere.' Ladybug smiled.
He grinned back.
Under the protection of Chat Noir, who was throwing on his Hawaiian shirt in the most flamboyant manner possible, Ladybug found a quiet spot to turn into Marinette, in order to get her phone out.
She passed the phone to Chat Noir, before retransforming, and throwing her disguise on.
Chat was casually looking inconspicuous while all of this was going on, turning the phone over curiously in his hands.
He lit the screen up to check the time on it, and there it was. A lockscreen photo, a selfie of Alya and Marinette. He fought to remain neutral as he looked at the clock, reading slightly after ten in the morning.
'There you are,' Ladybug said, taking the phone back, none the wiser. 'If I download a translating app, then we should be able to get around much easier.'
Chat gave her a thumbs-up, struggling to act natural.
Oh, he was bluescreening on the inside, but he was something of an actor after all.
She held the phone up slightly higher, as if it would help the downloading speed.
'Hopefully this helps.' She smiled ruefully. 'You know, I once tried learning Chinese. I'm frankly surprised the entire population of China didn't unanimously tell me to shut up, I was that bad.'
'Oh?' Chat twitched. He remembered that, when her uncle came to visit. 'I'm sure you weren't that bad, my lady. Chinese is a difficult language.'
'Do you know it?' Ladybug questioned curiously.
Chat laughed nervously. 'Only a word or two. Probably less than Spanish.'
She giggled. 'So not at all, then?'
He stuck his tongue out at her.
How did he not notice this before?
How had he not seen?
Even here, on this ship, hanging out with her and watching her be herself, how could he have missed this personality?
He wanted to face palm.
How could he have not noticed the girl behind him in class? The quiet, yet confident Marinette?
They were wandering down what seemed like the main street of the town, and Ladybug had a moment of fun trying to read it out on the map. 'On Diego, Lopez, Haroko Kale Naguisa?'
Chat grinned. 'It's Nagusia, not Naguisa.'
'Well if you're so clever, you say it.' Ladybug grinned back.
'On Diego Lopez Haroko Kale Nagusia, hermosa chica.' He winked.
'Smart alec.' Ladybug rolled her eyes. 'What was that last bit?'
'Nobody calls On Diego Lopez Haroko Kale Nagusia a smart alec!' Chat jokingly challenged, pointing at her with a fresh churro.
'Nobody's got the time.' Ladybug laughed.
And yet, was this really so bad?
Ladybug or Marinette, Chat Noir or Adrien, does it really matter?
Chat found himself just wanting to enjoy this moment, and laugh right along with the most beautiful girl in the world.
They wandered their way down the main street, towards the major Plaza, and laughed about the length of that name as well.
They explored the shopping area there as well, and Ladybug even found Chat Noir a truly hideous orange, green and blue hawaiian shirt, of which photos were quickly taken.
The two took the metro line from there down to the eastern part of town across the river, desperately trying not to laugh as they wedged themselves into a cramped carriage. Ladybug's hat took up way more space than it should, and they looked exactly like famous people trying not to get recognised.
The thrill of it was exciting, and it was almost a shame to have to get off in only three short stops.
They meandered around the Plaza Nueva, and the Arkeologi Museoa, and using the translating app found themselves a Basquen Smorgasbord Buffet for a late lunch.
This included a huge seafood range from the bay of Biscay, the huge bay that stretched along the entire northern coast of Spain and the western coast of France, as well as rich meats, cheeses and other produce from the rich valleys that surrounded the region.
'We're really Basquen in it,' Chat grinned, towards the end of their meal, stretching his hands behind his head.
Ladybug flicked a bit of fish at him, and with chatlike reflexes he caught it with his teeth.
He winked at her.
She sat back in her chair, nursing a full stomach. 'I don't think I'm going to be able to move, after this,' she admitted.
Though Chat felt much the same, he rose to the opportunity. 'If you need me to carry you, my lady, you need only but ask,'
'Don't make me throw more food at you.'
'I will accept that responsibility.' He said solomnly, resting his chin on his laced fingers.
Ladybug checked the time on her phone. As soon as she'd realised it, she'd changed her phone lock screen to something a little less damning; the same photo as her home screen, the photo of Chat Noir and the cat. 'Didn't the ship say we needed to be back there around three?'
Chat nodded. 'What time is it now?'
'Two. There's still enough time to go to the markets, as long as we hurry.'
Chat smiled slyly. 'You and I could probably catch up to the ship, if they try to leave without us.'
She raised an eyebrow at him. 'I don't think we should let things get that drastic. Imagine what the press would say.'
Chat threw a dramatic hand, as if printing where the bolded text would go. 'French superheros make dramatic exit of Bilbao!'
'More like, French superheros make hasty exit as ship leaves without them,' Ladybug corrected. 'Remember the churro lady? We aren't as popular here as we are in Paris.'
Chat shrugged. 'They just don't know what they're missing out on.'
From there, they headed down to the markets, where there seemed to be some sort of spectacle going on.
It seemed like there was a tour of some of the French celebrities going through the market place, so it was difficult to move around.
However with the commotion that was going on, no one noticed two more tourists wandering through.
(Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to get fantastic selfies with people like Jagged Stone in the background, and it was awesome.)
Unable to look at much more food they spent their time wandering through the clothing and bric-a-brack stalls.
Until they came across a fabric stall, where Gabriel Agreste had just left.
The owner was looking too star-struck to notice much else, so Ladybug was accidentally ignored for much of her visit.
However as she sifted through the fabrics, one caught her eye.
With stars in her own eyes she held it up to Chat, who looked over it appreciatively.
'Do you see this one?'
'Yes, I see it, it's lovely.' Chat smiled, putting his gloved hands into his pockets.
The fabric was a slightly sheer, yet deep Russian violet, a pure almost blackness that was expertly dyed. That colour itself was stunning, but the truly amazing part was the silver that was woven through it, fine and delicate that only truly shone with the light on it, causing it to glitter like stars. And la piece de la resistance was definitely how as Ladybug moved and ran her fingers through the silky fabric, longer lines of silver lit up like shooting stars moving across the night sky.
It was truly breathtaking.
As was Ladybug, who was softly crooning over it. 'I have no idea what on earth I would make with it, but oh my god,'
The fabric seller noticed her at this point. 'I see you've found one of my prize designs,' he smiled.
Ladybug stared at him. 'How much?'
'Ah, because of the dye, and the time it took to weave it, she is a little expensive,'
'I don't care.' She said resolutely.
He told her the price, and she nearly fainted.
Sadly, yet with reverence, she lowered the fabric back to the table.
Chat shrugged, grinning. 'We'll take the whole ream.'
Ladybug stared at him. 'What!?'
The seller also stared at him, saying something in Spanish that sounded inappropriate.
'Sure. How about a discount, since it's the whole lot?' Chat waggled his eyebrows at the fellow.
'No, no, you don't have to do that,' Ladybug flapped at him.
'I'm sure we could figure something out,' the seller smiled at him.
'Ch-you, no, don't,' Ladybug complained.
Chat bartered, and the seller bartered, and Ladybug flapped between them, until she gave up and ran her hands over the smooth fabric.
And then, a deal was set, for a (still) extortionate amount, and Ladybug walked away with the entire ream, carefully stored away rolled up.
'I can't believe you,' she looked at Chat as they walked away.
'I am unbelievable, aren't I?' He grinned smugly.
'How did you even pay for that?' She shot.
'In cash, as you saw.'
'Chaaaat,'
He shrugged coyly. 'It's no problem. Anything for mi señora,' he smiled. 'What do you think you'll make with it?'
She looked down at the roll in her arms. 'I honestly have no idea. But,' she turned it slightly, so that a long thread gleamed up at her. 'This kind of fabric demands something amazing.'
'I can't believe that M Agreste didn't snatch it up, to be honest.' Chat casually put his hands behind his head.
She considered that. 'Maybe he didn't see it?'
'Did you see the state of the table? It looked like he had a solid look-through.'
'But he still didn't get it? I wonder why?' Ladybug was perplexed.
'Maybe you're right, maybe he didn't see it?' He shrugged. 'Whatever it was, it meant that you ended up with some amazing fabric.'
Carefully, she ran her fingers over it.
'I'm thinking a dress.' She announced. 'Something drapy. This kind of fabric deserves to be the focus point of the entire dress.'
'Not even the wearer?' Chat chuckled.
She shrugged. 'The dress would be the focus point.'
'Of course, of course.'
Suddenly, a voice called out to them.
They turned and looked, to see a man approaching them. He immediately presented a bracelet to Chat Noir, and started talking to him in Spanish.
'Uh, man, I don't need,' Chat awkwardly started trying to pull away, but the man stepped closer, draping a bracelet over Chat's wrist. 'Hey, Lady-Marinet-ah, help me out?'
Ladybug looked between the two of them, both of whom looking like they've made a serious mistake.
She let loose the bottled irritation at Chat into a single look at this guy, who flinched.
'Move along, Señor.' She gave with her best Ladybug-is-annoyed expression, and he scurried off, taking his merchandise with him.
Chat watched him go for a moment before turning to Ladybug. He chuckled nervously. 'My hero.'
Her face changed when she looked at him, an emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Not caring who was looking, she pulled off her dress, and wrapped the fabric as well as the rest of the things she was carrying carefully within.
She stuffed her hat under the same arm as her load, grabbed her yoyo and disappeared in a cloud of dust over the next row of buildings.
Without a second thought he was after her, snatching up his staff and following in hot pursuit.
He didn't even look at the people underneath them, pointing and taking pictures of the two superheroes as they nearly flew over the Spanish town, back towards the ship it seemed.
Back over the river, back up through the main part of the city, back along the main street.
Several times he lost sight of her, but after a while he figured out where she was going, and thus it wasn't hard to follow.
But even though he raced as fast as he could he still could not catch up to his Ladybug, and eventually he lost sight of her altogether.
Yet it wasn't long before the bridge, the Puente de Róntegui, and then the ship loomed into sight.
He landed at the boarding dock so fast he skidded to a stop.
The ticket clerk looked up at him from his clipboard with a bored expression. 'Lovely to see you've made it back in time before our departure, M Noir.' He said.
'Pleasure's all mine.' Chat said, straightening. 'Have you seen Ladybug board yet?'
'Thankfully, the Madamoiselle Ladybug and yourself stand out, even moreso than our usual guests.' He ran a finger down his clipboard disdainfully. 'She flew on board not a few minutes ago.'
'Thankssomuchbye!' Chat disappeared past him, and ran up the gangway towards the ship.
Mwahahahaha, you're welcome!