Three: Settling Details

Author's Note: One of the questions I received most during the initial run of the Roommates stories was how Plagg was handling Adrien's rather extreme requests of him. My response generally was along the lines that the two of them - Adrien and Plagg - had a meeting of the minds, though none of the prompts allowed for more than a scene alluding to this hypothetical discussion. Naturally, I did have a story in mind as I wrote the series, and this chapter is my chance to share it. -ep

By the end of my third week in the apartment, I experienced a bit of a Plagg emergency.

To be fair, it was one of my own making. Staying transformed as Chat Noir nearly twenty-four hours a day had made him irritable, to put it mildly. So much so, that any chance he had to escape the ring was an opportunity to cause me somewhat well-deserved grief. That particular Thursday turned out to be one for the ages.

I'd had a grueling photoshoot at the park close to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, with an early six o'clock call for hair and makeup. It was one of the few mornings I'd not been around to send Marinette off to work, and I found myself feeling a bit melancholy at the change in our pattern as I dropped into an alley a few blocks from the park to change from Chat Noir to Adrien.

Being the first time he'd been freed in nearly eight hours, Plagg had ignored me completely despite my offer of cheese, and had waited until the last possible moment to hide in my pocket as I approached the set. Once in the trailer, he'd phased directly into the fridge where I'd ensured camembert had been stashed (it was one of the more unusual addenda in a model contract, according to my agent) and remained there the entire time I was working.

He didn't even come out when I was in the chair for the final time, some ten hours later, having the makeup removed and trying to get my hair back into some semblance of its usual look. I waited until my makeup artist left before standing and heading toward the fridge.

Assuming I'd need to bribe him to come out, I reached for the extremely expensive camembert I'd stashed in my shirt only to find an empty wrapper. The tiny rascal had cleaned me out while I was on set in another change of clothes; I smiled, wryly, and tapped on the fridge.

"Time to go home," I said cheerfully.

I heard a harrumph.

"C'mon, Plagg. I promised Marinette I'd bring home something from the Bakery tonight," I said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "If we don't leave soon, we'll be late."

He may or may not have said something; I had to press an ear against the fridge to ensure he was even in there. I tried to pull the door open and found he'd managed to lock it from the inside, somehow.

It wasn't the first time, and I sat back on my haunches, reluctant to pull the only card I had. "Plagg, please," I pleaded, not above adding a little whining. "I'm willing to put the good stuff on auto reorder."

Still not hearing anything, I heaved another sigh. "Fine. Plagg – claws out!"

A very unhappy Plagg phased out of the fridge and directly into the ring on my outstretched hand; I felt the wave of transformation wash over me, and found myself crouched on the floor in my magic black leather costume. Unsure if he could hear me, I twisted the ring so I could look directly at the paw print. "We'll discuss this tonight, I promise," I said quietly. "I know this isn't the optimal way to handle our arrangement with Marinette. We'll figure out something that works for both of us."

The ring, of course, didn't reply.

Sliding the venetian blinds to the side, I ensured the coast was clear before popping out of the side door to the trailer and hurling myself into the air; I made a quick stop at the Bakery to pick up some beef stew and fresh rolls (yes, Chat Noir was a frequent shopper there) before lifting myself up to the rooftops on the baton and running along my highway in the sky to our apartment.

I could see Marinette in the kitchen as I approached, so I landed on our main balcony and tapped a claw against the glass. She looked up and smiled as I raised the recognizable bags from her parent's Bakery and came over to slide open the door.

Kissing her, I asked: "Miss me?"

"Always, Chaton," she smiled as she kissed me back. "Now, let's get this dished up—"

We didn't make it past the balcony, for both of our eyes fell on the widescreen television she'd muted. The chyron across the bottom said it all: an active akuma had been sighted a few blocks from the Grand Palais. I sighed, for a long day was about to get longer. "Well, mon cherie, don't wait for me," I said, handing her the bags and heading toward the balcony. "Just leave me something in the oven?"

"No promises," she smiled. "Be safe!"

I arrived on site, and Ladybug joined me almost immediately. "You must have been close by," I observed, raising a masked eyebrow. "Shopping for a gift to give me, Milady?" I asked, nodding toward the expensive row of jewelers across the street from where we were perched.

"Hardly," she replied, arching her own eyebrow back at me.

I smiled back at her. "Look, if you have a moment after we're done, I need a few minutes to chat," I said suddenly. I'd been dithering on how to broach the topic of Marinette with her for some time.

"We'll see," she demurred as we got down to business with the akuma.

While it wound up being fairly easy to clear, it had nonetheless taken both her Lucky Charm and my Cataclysm to close it out. Standing there watching the last of her ladybugs do their thing, I raised my paw to her for our traditional fist pump. "Pound it!" I said, then turned to find she was already spinning up her yo-yo to go.

"Sorry," she smiled, before tapping my paw perfunctorily. "Got to bug out!" she cried as she sailed into the night, trailing her chirping earrings.

I understood and quasi-waved to her retreating form. My own ring chirping, I vaulted over to an alley that was close at hand to de-transform and feed Plagg, only to remember as I landed in my crouch that he'd eaten me out of house and home. My masked eyes widened with the realization that my cheese supply was at the apartment. Looking at my ring again, I judged I had just enough time to get back as Chat, but I'd have to risk taking a direct route.

Hopping into the air and riding my baton up, I leapt from the first roof I hit into helicopter mode to land on the next one, then ran as fast as my feline legs could go. I thought I might have caught a flash of red several buildings away from me, and had a brief desire to alter my course and give Ladybug chase. But the insistent chirping of my ring relegated me to hopping around chimneys and hurdling satellite dishes en route to home.

I landed on my own balcony and rolled into the bedroom just as my de-transformation hit. Plagg appeared in front of me as I crouched on the floor, his nearly permanent frown the first thing I saw. "Hey," I said amenably. "I did promise cheese."

Huffing, he turned and moved to his corner, retrieving a full wheel of the good stuff from his stash.

"Chat?" I heard from the kitchen. "Are you back?"

"Yes!" I called back, trying to pitch my Adrien voice down a bit. "Out shortly."

"Take your time," she replied. "I may or may not have burned dinner and am re-making it now."

I moved to the door. "What? It was takeout!"

I heard a rueful chuckle. "Was being the operative word. I put in into the oven to stay warm and dozed off on the couch. I ran by the market and picked up makings for coq au vin, if that's okay?"

"Are you kidding?" I replied, mouth watering. "I can taste it already."

"You have time for a shower," she told me, knowing that I often snuck one in when returning from "work." I heard her start humming as she pulled cooking items out of the cabinets and decided to take her up on the offer.

After scrubbing away the day's activities, I wandered back into my bedroom. Toweling my still-damp hair, I'd dressed in a black t-shirt emblazoned with "claws out" in dayglo green and mis-matched Ladybug gym shorts, both of which I'd found online. Plagg was still in his corner, but having feasted on his cheese, seemed less petulant than he had been earlier.

Now seemed like the time to have our chat.

Channeling Chat, I hopped onto my bed and perched, cross-legged, then tossed the towel into the hamper beside him. "Can we talk?" I asked.

"Whatever." He eyed me over his cheese but didn't phase away. I took that as a good sign.

"Look," I started. "I realize this is a nutty situation. But I made a promise to Ladybug; if I want to be with Marinette, this is the only way." I paused. "It's not furever. Someday, I'll be able to reveal who I am."

He donned a knowing smirk but said nothing.

"You told me a long time ago I could stay transformed indefinitely, unless I use Cataclysm. Has that changed?"

"No," he said after a moment of consideration.

"So I'm not injuring you in any way?" I asked, for I was concerned for my kwami. "Staying transformed?"

He shook his head. "But you try staying cooped up in a jewel for hours on end," he added, narrowing his tiny green feline eyes. "It's not like I have a choice, do I?" He meaningfully returned his attention to eating.

I flopped down on my stomach so I could be closer to him. "You are as much a part of this as I am," I said genuinely. "I want you to be happy, too."

Plagg looked up at me, and for a moment, I saw something that might have passed for wistfulness slide across his face.

"How about this. I've already ruined six sets of sheets, so starting tonight, I'll de-transform for bed. You can do whatever you want—"

I saw something flash across his face.

"—within reason, while I'm sleeping, so long as you're close enough that I can transform quickly if we have to deal with an akuma."

He nodded.

"You already have the run of my dressing room whenever I'm on a shoot. Oh, and next time, leave me the emergency cheese, please?"

That made him laugh. "No promises, kid."

I smiled. "I've got an on-location catalog gig on the Riviera in a few weeks," I continued. "Chat won't be called on for a few days, I would think, so you'll have a nice long vacation." I paused. "Unless I have to call Marinette, of course."

He nodded again. "That's fair," he said. "But I would prefer more breaks, especially on weekends."

"I can work on that," I said. "I still have that costume Father made for the music video…" I started thoughtfully.

Plagg started laughing, and I leveled a glare at him. "Seriously?" he asked, chortling in a way he'd not done since we'd moved in. He floated over to me, cheese in one paw, and tapped the other against my bicep. "You're not fourteen anymore, Adrien. I doubt no matter how good the construction of that suit, the seams wouldn't hold up against your, uh, current body shape."

That made me smile. Years of being Chat Noir had left me with an extremely well-defined set of muscles, ones that had enhanced my modelling options in recent years. I was still slight, though, and was more on the dancer side of the spectrum than full-on weightlifter. "Good point," I laughed. "We'll come up with something."

"Chat?" I heard from the kitchen. "About ready. Come open the wine, will you?"

"Be right out," I hollered, the turned back to my little friend. "Is that a good start?" I asked. "I promise to keep looking for opportunities to spring you, and just as soon as I can reveal myself to her, I will."

Taking on the inscrutable expression I knew meant hijinks would soon follow, he nodded one final time. "That will work, for now."

"Good. Now, I'd like to have dinner with my girlfriend, if you don't mind."

"Go for it, kid."

"Plagg – claws out!"

Moments later, I emerged from my bedroom and moved to the wine bottle Marinette had placed on the counter. As I stuck a claw into the cork, the wondrous smells of her handiwork filled my feline nose.

And then it wrinkled.

"Did you… use camembert tonight?" I asked, my masked feline eyes going wide.

"No," she said evasively. "Why?"

"Nothing," I said, sniffing the air again.

I was sure I'd picked up the scent, but it was gone now; I wrote it off as having just spent time with Plagg and his stash, and settled in to enjoy the lovely dinner she'd prepared.