Chapter 17: Glaciator 2

Ladybug and Chat Noir were fighting Glaciator, who was shooting huge globs of ice cream everywhere. It seemed to Chat like everyone they rescued was talking about them as a couple.

"Ah, love is great!" said one man with a magazine.

"I don't believe this!" said Ladybug. "What's with everybody today? We are not in love!"

"You can't deny it! It's in the news!" said Glaciator. He pointed to a billboard with a giant image of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing, which had been taken while their memories were lost to Oblivio.

"What!?" said Ladybug. It seemed that somehow she hadn't noticed the billboards until now.

Chat wished he could remember that kiss, and how he had acted to get it. It had given him hope that Ladybug would come around to loving him as he did her. But talking about it since then had only made her angry.

"Chat Noir, can I have an autograph?" said the man with the magazine, opening it to an article with pictures of the heroes in various amorous-looking poses.

"'Ladybug and Chat Noir voted Couple of the Year'?" Chat read aloud.

Ladybug grabbed the magazine. "'They share more than just their love of justice'!? What the heck is going on!?"

Glaciator said, "This is proof that my ice cream is right! You two are made for each other like chocolate and strawberries!"

"This is baloney! All of these photos are taken out of context!" said Ladybug. "We were fighting supervillains! This one is me breaking Chat Noir out of Dark Cupid's spell, and this one... we can't even remember this one cause the villain erased our memories!"

"Of course, it's always the supervillain's fault," said Glaciator. "But the mind forgets and the heart remembers!"

As they dodged more ice cream blasts, Chat got carried away and said, "Maybe he's right, M'Lady. After all, he's still André, the Sweethearts' Ice Cream Maker!"

"Chat Noir, not now!"

"Hey, maybe if we kiss again, our memories would come back!"

"Ugh, enough! When you talk like that I feel like throwing you in a garbage can for a little cat nap!"

"Oh-oh. I think I really crossed the line."

"You did. That was harassment. Let's finish up with this ice-cream idiot and have a talk. Lucky Charm!"

A couple of minutes later, they met on the roof.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you so mad," said Chat.

"If we hadn't been working together so well lately I would have lost it and yeeted you into the trash right in front of the akuma," said Ladybug.

"I get it. You're sick of me. I might sound like a broken record expressing my affection for you over and over. I know I should stop but... No, forget the excuses. I'll stop. I don't know how yet, but I'll figure it out. I promise."

Ladybug smiled. "I'm counting on you."

That smile felt like the most crushing thing of all to him – she was happy that he was giving up his most cherished romantic dream.

"I'll see you later," said Chat, vaulting away.

Ladybug went to Alya's house and confronted her.

"You can't do this to me!" said Alya.

"I said, delete all the photos of Cat Noir and me together!" said Ladybug.

"What about the freedom of the press?" asked Alya.

"Sorry, but I need your help on this one," said Ladybug.

"Why should I help? The last time I helped you, it nearly got my family killed!"

"You took a picture of the Oblivio kiss and published it without my permission. A picture taken when we were both brainwashed is now on posters all over Paris, the face of us as the Couple of the Year!"

"It was newsworthy. It got me a lot of clicks. And now there are copies everywhere. What good would deleting my copy do?"

"It would show the world that the Ladyblog doesn't support the false story of Chat Noir and I being together."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I go to the press and denounce the story, including the Ladyblog as a bad source of information."

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

"All right, I'm deleting them under your threat. Now get out of my room."

Zoé was attending Kagami's fencing practice. She had started to do that a lot these days. Ever since the party at Gabriel Agreste's house, when they sat close together in Adrien's' room, Zoé had started to have feelings for her.

Kagami had not given much indication that the feelings were mutual, but she was still getting over her broken heart with Adrien. He had been deceptive with Kagami, disappearing all the time, and they had broken up. At least, that's how Kagami saw it. Now that Zoé knew that Adrien was Chat Noir, it made a lot more sense.

Kagami was watching Adrien's fencing bout with someone else. He was not focusing well, and he lost badly.

Kagami said to Zoé, "Adrien is losing his edge; he should only be defeated by me. He needs someone to talk to. I want you to go. He may not listen to me because of the hard feelings after our breakup."

Zoé went into the locker room and saw Adrien sitting on the beach, looking down sadly. She sat down beside him.

"Adrien, Kagami asked me to talk to you. She's worried about you. I can tell that something's bothering you, too. Let me help you."

"Nobody can help me, Zoé," Adrien said.

Zoé decided to put in a word for her half-sister while she had a chance.

"What about Chloé? She used to be your friend."

"Chloé dropped our friendship after the movie."

"She has a really hard time admitting she's wrong, even though she knows it deep down. That's why she pushes people away."

"Before that, she was too clingy, claiming me as her boyfriend. I never was."

Adrien sighed. It seemed this had reminded him of something that made him sad.

Zoé said, "My mother may have had something to do with that. I heard stories growing up about a perfect prince in France, and that my sister and I were rivals for his hand. The was a fairy tale about a ring that would make him do whatever we wanted."

"I didn't think Audrey Bourgeois was one for telling fairy tales. But Chloé and I played a game when we were little kids, that she had a magic ring and could tell me what to do."

"So you were the prince in that fairy tale. I grew up learning French because of you."

"But there's no way..."

"I know. I've since realized that I like girls."

"I've seen how you look at Kagami."

"Yeah. She's really cute and she has a hidden artistic side."

"Thanks for talking with me, Zoé. It took my mind off my own problems for a little bit."

"Want to talk about them?"

"I can't."

"I think that's because of your secret," Zoé said. "But you can talk to me because I know – Chat Noir."

Adrian looked shocked. " W-what are you talking about? I'm not Chat Noir!"

"It was in this very locker room where I realized it. The whole class had gone in here to help Juleka when she was akumatized. You were among the first to go in. I was following. You didn't go into the girl's bathroom with the others. You didn't get sucked into the sentimonster portal. I saw Chat Noir come out from the direction of the boy's bathroom. There are no other doors or windows in the bathrooms. So you must have transformed."

"How do you know that I didn't just hide in the bathroom? Because that's what I did."

"You wanted to help Juleka – I don't think you would do that. You have to be Chat Noir. It explains why you kept disappearing on Kagami. Also, it wasn't working with her because your heart really belongs to Ladybug."

"No. Chat Noir and Ladybug are not a couple. That's just the press making things up."

"I see... and you know this how?"

"I've said enough... I'm not Chat Noir. Even though you're wrong, please don't tell anyone else about it, alright?"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"I've got to go! My driver's waiting for me."

Adrien rushed off. Zoé felt like she had given him a new worry instead of helping.

It was clear now that Chat Noir and Ladybug didn't know each other's identities. Zoé wouldn't tell them – they needed to work that out themselves. She felt like Ladybug deserved a little suffering.

Adrien had his driver let him off at the park. He was feeling down, especially when he looked up and saw another big "Couple of the Year" poster.

Marinette came along, babbling about giving him a present that would make him smile.

He unwrapped it. "A potter's wheel!"

"No! This one is just in case they bring back the film or... oh— where— nothing."

"The film?" thought Adrien. "Is she making a joke about Harry Potter?"

"This wasn't the perfect gift at all!" said Marinette.

"That's a shame. A cool gift like that could be useful," said Adrien.

Marinette threw the present in the trash.

"It's not cool or useful! The garbage can is the perfect place for useless stuff that you can just forget about."

Adrien was reminded of what Ladybug said about nearly yeeting him into the trash. He had messed up, and if she found out his identity was compromised on top of everything else...

"The garbage can, right... I have to go. Bye."

Chat Noir went out later, intent on destroying all the "Couple of the Year" posters in town. Plagg complained about being used for so many Cataclysms.

He hadn't gotten very many before he heard Marinette calling to him. It turned out she wanted to rehearse reading a declaration of love to a boy she liked, that she called "Buttercup" to preserve his privacy. She tried several times, not satisfied with his reaction. Finally, she had him perform it for her.

"Dear Buttercup," Chat read. "Ever since I met you, I've had three suns in my heart. They shine so brightly that whenever I see you, they make me melt until the slightest thought has reduced to droplets! Those suns are only three little words, but they're burning my lips! Please soothe me, Buttercup, and tell me that you love me as much as I love you!"

"Wait a minute, do I sound that corny when I'm saying it?" asked Marinette.

"I'm just performing, you know? I'm not here to judge the wording," said Chat.

"Oh man, this is awful! I'll never be able to do this," said Marinette.

"Boy, you sure like to take the hard route," said Chat. "You put too much pressure on yourself. Of course you'll be able to do it. I know: let's take a short break, just to air our heads out."

"Movie?" they both said together.

They wanted to avoid anything romantic, but "Sharktank vs Mechatiger" ended up having a romantic subplot anyway.

They discussed how badly romance could go in real life, a subject Chat Noir could completely identify with.

"But telling someone you love them?" said Marinette. "If it doesn't work out, it's your heart that gets cataclysm-ed, and no Miraculous Ladybug can repair that. That's why I never get anywhere with boys. When things are really important to me, I get so scared that it won't work out that I can't help trying to control every possible outcome! I tell myself stories with wedding dresses, and hamsters, and what people see is not Marinette opening her heart up. It's Marinette talking about some ridiculous nonsense she's made up."

"I like hamsters, too," said Chat.

"And I like to watch the movie in peace and quiet!" said a man sitting behind them.

That made them laugh, but they quieted down for the rest of the show.

After the movie, it was raining. Chat Noir opened an umbrella from his stick and they walked together.

"It's funny, you know?" said Chat. "I'm kind of the opposite of you. I know that Ladybug is not in love with me, but I can't help telling her how I feel. I wish I could fall in love with someone else, but I can't. She's just so incredible! I'm so afraid I'm not the good person I thought I was, and now I've gone too far and she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you," said Marinette with a smile.

"She nearly threw me in the trash today," said Chat.

"Nearly's not the same as doing it. You're a good cat. I'm sure you'll figure out what to do."

Chat Noir took Marinette back to her balcony. He was about to go, but then he remembered the practice session. They were about to give it another try when Glaciator attacked.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir are the ones who should be in love, not you two! My ice cream never lies!" shouted the akuma villain.

"Again?" said Chat.

"No, no, no! We're not in love, it's just practice!" said Marinette.

Chat took Marinette into an alley for safety, and then rushed out to fight the villain.

Soon Ladybug showed up and they defeated Glaciator with a Lucky Charm Ferrari and a manhole with a lot of hot steam.

After the fight, Chat went back for one more practice with Marinette.

She gave up on the written confession and did one from the heart: "The first time I saw you, I misjudged you. I thought you were conceited and superficial. But then, I got to know you. I saw who you really were deep down—someone sweet, sincere, and generous. Since then, there's something I've been wanting to tell you. But every time I try, it's like my brain suddenly freezes. But now, I think I'm ready. I love you."

"Your declaration was beautiful, Marinette. The boy you're in love with is a lucky guy," said Chat.

"Thanks! The girl who falls in love with you will be lucky, too."

They heard Marinette's father calling, and Chat had to leave.

The next day at fencing Adrien was feeling much better, and he won the competition easily. Even seeing Zoé in the audience didn't phase him. (Kagami was also there, and she pulled Marinette into the locker room to talk about something).

As he explained later to Plagg, being able to talk to Marinette naturally had boosted his confidence about Ladybug.

"The thing is, I'm always doing my Chat Noir act with her. Maybe if I were my true self with Ladybug, she'd fall in love with me."

Plagg groaned.