On Wednesday I had a very interesting comment on chapter 16. I wanted to share it with you and to thank Ladylysline (on the french version) for this insight and this good analysis: "The title of your fanfic actually has a double meaning. The first, which is the most obvious, is that Marinette wonders where is Chat Noir when he'd been kidnapped by Hawkmoth and Mayura, and the second, which is more subtle, is that the character/personality that Adrien/Chat Noir had before his "captivity" in the Sentiworld has disappeared, so "Where is the Chat Noir I knew?" Marinette can ask herself. Especially that in this chapter we see that Adrien turns into Chat Noir for the strict necessary. In my opinion, it is due to the fact that he behaved more violently to Marinette/Ladybug by being Chat Noir and that he is afraid that every time he is transformed to act the same way."
That's exactly it. Here we are, the double meaning of my title gives you somehow the consequences of the wish! I take this opportunity to say that you will certainly hate me for the twists and turns in this chapter 17 but... I promise that you will forgive me next week with chapter 18 (Yes Agiani, I promise the angst will soon be over) . I wish you all a very good reading and I thank you all warmly for all your comments. Keep on giving me your opinions, it's very motivating.
CHAPTER 17 : When the cat's away.
The evening was going well and the four friends had a pleasant time. Adrien and Nino were talking together in the kitchen, always with a beer in hand. Meanwhile, Marinette and Alya laughed at the anecdotes published these last years on the Ladyblog. Anecdotes that, since the revelation of their secret identities, have taken on a completely different meaning. Sometimes totally derisory so much the situation between her and Adrien, Ladybug and Chat Noir had been ironic and absurd.
The laughter of the two young women spread in the living room, which brought the two boys out of the kitchen, curious to know the subject of discussion that provoked so much joy.
"Well, girls, it seems like we are having a lot of fun in here! May I ask what makes you giggle so much?" asked Nino, interested.
"I was pointing out to Marinette the tiny probability that Ladybug and Chat Noir would have been sitting one behind the other in the same classroom, for years, without knowing it," replied Alya, ecstatic.
"Just my luck," replied Marinette.
"Or my bad, if you look at the situation from another angle," replied Adrien, wistfully.
Marinette and Adrien exchanged a look full of unspoken words that had been repressed for too long. They still had a lot to work out between them regarding the reciprocity of their feelings in the past.
"I still can't believe it, during the last five years it was you two... You really never had suspicions?" asked Alya, confused.
"Never," said Marinette.
"More than once," replied Adrien, at the same time as his partner.
Marinette quickly turns her head towards her boyfriend, eyes-widened and incredulous. "Did you really suspect me to be Ladybug?" she asked, sucking her breath in. "When? How? Why?"
"Remember Kwamibuster ?"
"Oh... That day I took you away from the truth by using an illusion of myself side by side with Ladybug," she replied, almost sorry that her trick was no longer a secret.
"Ingenious!" suddenly exclaimed Alya. "Oh... sorry, carry on!"
"Actually, I suspected you the moment I saw you hurriedly leaving the screening room. Plagg tried to take me away from the truth and then you finally did it yourself…" he answered reluctantly. "But it only lasted a little while, and I started to get suspicious again a few months only intensified over the years and our growing friendship as civilians. I am surprised to hear that it wasn't the case for you…" he added bitterly.
"Marinette was too preoccupied and blinded by her unsuccessful attempts to declare herself to you, Buttercup, to think that you could possibly be her attractive partner in tight skin suit," chuckled her best friend.
Adrien raised an eyebrow, turning to his girlfriend who was now burying her face in her hands. "Buttercup?" he repeated, curious.
"Shut up, don't ask me any questions about that. I'm so ashamed. Can someone give me a shovel so that I can dig a hole and bury myself deep in it, please?" Marinette muttered, collecting huge laughs from Alya and Nino.
But Adrien laughed sour, behavior that was immediately noticed by Marinette who put a hand gently on his thigh to show him that it was not his fault. She felt him shudder and pull back his thigh, moving away from her touch.
When she looked up at him, he looked away.
"Speaking of you two... Now that you know that you have been turning a "circle" into a love square, all this time," exclaimed Alya, mimicking the quotation marks. "What was the most embarrassing situation you found yourself in?"
Marinette looked at Alya and Nino with hesitation before confessing.
"Oblivio..." she breathed, looking sternly at the two concerned.
She felt Adrien wincing beside her, certainly surprised by her choice of answer. Then she heard Alya and Nino apologize again for the misadventure they had been victim to about four years ago.
"I feel stupid not to have understood the full extent of the events that took place that day," added Marinette, as she looked at Adrien.
"It's not like you can remember it, it's not your fault..." replied her best friend.
"I may have had no memory of it, but there was the photograph... I had all the evidence right under my nose. I was too stubborn and an idiot not to make the connection between Chat and Adrien, when that was the most logical explanation. In hindsight, this was really a ridiculous situation... " she added.
"And you, dude?" asked Nino.
Adrien seemed to think about his answer for a moment before giving it a verdict. "Glaciator," he declared, coldly, always avoiding Marinette's gaze.
This time, it was Marinette who flinched, not expecting that answer from Adrien at all.
"I hurt you that time too, I'm so sorry…" she whispered.
"I was used to it," he answered, his shoulders slumping.
Alya and Nino looked at them with concern.
"What happened that day?" dared to ask Nino, speaking directly to his best friend.
"I confessed my feelings for Ladybug to Marinette... Then, that same evening, I declared myself to Ladybug... and she rejected me... for... uh... for myself. Anyway, I guess?" he admitted, uncertain.
It's true that this evening, this unusual and absurd situation had reached its peak.
"Of course it was for you! You, Adrien, I mean. It's always been you... the other boy…" she reassured him.
Yet the expression on her boyfriend's face left her thinking that he must have had a hard time believing her.
"Adrien but not Chat Noir," he whispered in a barely audible voice, which Marinette didn't hear. However, Alya was now staring at him severely, having heard these last words.
"Adrien? Can you help me serve dessert?" asked Alya, standing up suddenly.
"Uh, yes, of course," he replied, getting up and following their host in the kitchen.
The young woman waited until Adrien had entered the kitchen, then closed the door behind them.
"What was that?!" she asked him, staring sternly.
"What are you talking about, Alya?"
"Don't play innocent, Agreste! Marinette may give in to your pretty face and kitten eyes, but it doesn't work with me," she protested.
"I don't know what you're getting at," he replied drily, turning his back to leave the kitchen.
Alya quickly advanced to him, putting her hand on Adrien's to prevent him from opening the door and leaving the room. "Wait, I'm serious, Sunshine! Do you doubt the devotion and sincerity of the feelings Marinette has for you?" she asked, upset.
"It is none of your business, Alya," he declared abruptly.
He removed his hand from the young woman's and gave her an exasperated look.
"She's my best friend, Adrien! I have seen her suffering so much for you these last years! She has loved you since middle school! She has always loved you…"
"I know she loves Adrien! But-..."
He thought back to all the times she had rejected him as Chat when he had opened his heart to her without any reciprocity. How she'd seem to take so long to finally be comfortable with him, Adrien. And as much as he knew that he was undoubtedly one of the most important people in her life and that she loved him perhaps more than anyone had ever done before, except his mother. But... what if she didn't love him the way he loved her? What if she loved Adrien but not Chat Noir? He loved her, both sides, Ladybug, and Marinette, for a very long time, but maybe it wasn't the case for her? And maybe it would never be...
"But... what about Chat Noir?"
"You're way too smart to be this dense, Sunshine !" she protested. "Ladybug watched you sacrifice and almost die for her, over and over again, and I was well enough placed to see the sadness and pain your loss caused her every time. The tears in her eyes every time you disappeared, the rage and the unfailing determination with which she fought to bring you back, the relief etched on her face and in every square inch of her body when she found you and finally got you into her arms!"
"She's my partner, my best friend, she's always been. But she never had any feelings for Chat Noir. Not that kind of feelings.
"You're an idiot!" shouted Alya, striking both her fists against Adrien's chest.
"Uh, is everything okay in there? Need a hand?" They heard Marinette's voice rising from the living room.
"NO!" they answered in unison, their sharp and implacable gaze locking one to the other, resolutely opposing each other in a fierce duel.
"Believe me, she fell in love with Chat Noir too. She confessed it to me. So stop acting like an Agreste, blind and selfish and act like the intelligent man and the loving hero you are. You're CHAT NOIR, Adrien! Get your head out of your ass and honor that ring!" she growled, while she took out the pie that was in the fridge. "And take the plates!" she added, as she left the kitchen.
Adrien remained frozen and speechless, watching his friend leave the room and close the door behind her. Alya was right. She was absolutely right. He was an idiot. The worst idiot! He didn't deserve to wear that ring. He didn't deserve to be a hero. And he didn't deserve a girl as extraordinary as Marinette.
Suddenly, a small black lightning spot passed before his eyes, disturbing his thoughts.
"Alya said there was Camembert for me!" screamed the little black ball of fur, who was none other than Plagg.
The next moment he disappeared inside the fridge before coming out, five seconds later, with a piece of camembert in each paw.
Without saying a word, Adrien watched his kwami gobble his first piece of cheese, before he approached him, looking concerned.
"Everything okay, Adrien? They are waiting for you to come with the plates…"
Adrien put a hand on the head of his kwami and slowly scratched the back of his ears. Plagg purred immediately with an undisguised smile, and then swallowed his second piece of cheese.
Adrien watched him feast and then lowered his head towards his hand, sadly observing his ring. The Miraculous he didn't deserve. The life he didn't deserve.
"I'm so sorry, my friend... I hope you will be able to forgive me... I renounce you, Plagg..." murmured Adrien, removing the silver ring from his finger.
"Adrien, what were you doing? What took you so long?" asked Marinette when she saw him entering the dining room.
"Sorry, I was texting Gaston to tell him the evening wasn't over and to not worry about us. That we will call a taxi to get home safely." he explained, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.
Adrien remained silent while they ate dessert, while his friends talked quietly with his girlfriend. The girls then cleaned the table, willingly volunteering to do the dishes. Nino turned on his sound bar and started one of his mixtapes, smiling happily as he reasonably increased the volume.
"Do you want another beer?" he asked Adrien.
"Don't you have something stronger?"
"Are you sure, Bro'? You never drink…" replied his best friend, astonished.
"Never say never. Things are changing, Nino," he replied.
"Well… Vodka? Rum Cola? Gin Tonic?"
"Same as you, man," replied Adrien.
The DJ took out a bottle of brown rum from the Minibar, then entered the kitchen where the girls chatted happily as they started washing the dishes. A few seconds later he came out with two glasses half filled with Coca-Cola and decorated with a slice of lime. He added a little more rum than needed before offering his drink to his best friend.
Adrien carried the glass to his mouth and quickly emptied the contents, as if it were a simple soda.
"Yo, man, drink slowly! It's not fruit juice," Nino exclaimed, laughing.
"We're here for fun tonight, aren't we? So... Second round, Bro'," declared Adrien, smirking.
Nino nodded and returned to the kitchen, but this time came out with a bottle full of soda, ready to serve his best friend more than a second round.
Marinette and Alya finished washing the dishes only thirty minutes later. They had stopped repeatedly to chat and laugh at this and that, thus moving much more slowly to accomplish the task.
When they came out of the kitchen, they found the boys squirreling on the sofa, sipping their concoction and outbursting while watching bloopers with... cats.
But how many alcoholic drinks had those two already drunk?
"I always thought you were dog type, dude," said Nino.
"No! I'm definitely cat type," Adrien replied, without any hesitation.
"Since you are Chat Noir, it makes sense," giggled his friend.
At this point, Marinette saw her boyfriend's smile drop for an unknown reason. At that time, she didn't measure all the extent of Adrien's reaction to Nino's words. Not yet.
Well… talking about cats, where was the little black, green-eyed, party crasher?
Marinette looked around and immediately saw Wayzz sleeping on a cushion. Then she saw Tikki and Trixx dancing at the other end of the room, near the DJ's sound bar. She sighed, hoping that Plagg was not busy making a huge mess in her friends' refrigerator.
Marinette saw Alya collapse alongside Nino and, in turn, she also hurried to the couch to do the same next to Adrien. As his boyfriend reached out to the table for a new glass of rum - this time without any extra artifice - Marinette on the spot next to him. She took his free hand into hers, gently intertwining their fingers, as he delighted himself with the gold-colored alcohol that was flowing through his mouth and warmed his throat.
She frowned when her fingers were comfortably entangled with Adrien's. Something was strangely different. Her eyes fell on their joined hands and immediately she gasped, eyes-widened.
What turned out to be completely different was contact's lack of the hard and cold metal with her sensitive skin.
She felt panic invading her, what did he do with his Miraculous? And where was Plagg gone?
She glared at Adrien, staring at him severely as he finished his glass of rum. He had to feel his girlfriend's eyes weighing on him, because he turned around to lock his green eyes, swamped by alcohol, in her blue irises. A bluebell gaze which at the moment, was as cold and as hard as an ice block.
"The party is over. You drank enough, I'll call a taxi," she whispered to Adrien. The expression on Marinette's face was strict and implacable as she suddenly detached her hand from his.
She took her phone and walked away from Adrien to make the call. Throughout the communication and while waiting for the taxi driver, Marinette stayed away from her partner. However, even though she was at the other end of the room, her austere and disapproving gaze didn't leave the face of the blond, drunk and ignorant.
Marinette and Adrien waved to their best friends who were perched on their small balcony. Then they took their seats in the back of the taxi.
The atmosphere floating above them was electric. She was leaning against the window on the left side, looking lost at the Parisian lights while he was totally at the opposite, glued against the right door, eyes closed.
The silence was heavy and the tension palpable. Marinette was just waiting for one thing: that they arrived at the Manor to set things straight. Fortunately for her and especially for her nerves that were subjected to severe stress, the journey between the apartment of their friends and the villa was quite short.
The taxi stopped in front of the Manor to drop the two passengers.
Marinette got out first and paid for the ride while Adrien, whose gestures were slowed, made his way to the control screen of the gate opening. When the young woman finally joined him, her boyfriend had already entered two wrong codes and was beginning to lose his patience.
"Let me do it." she ordered, while sitting in front of the screen and entering successively the six digits of the security code.
Instantly, the gate opened to let them enter, and again, Marinette was forced to take the lead and steal the keys from Adrien's hands to open the front door. She just couldn't wait for him to finally reach for the lock, because according to Adrien's drunken state, there was a chance that they could spend the night outside.
Once inside, Marinette didn't lose a second to turn back towards her partner with shotgun eyes.
"Where's your Miraculous, Adrien?" she punctuated every word of her question sternly and firmly.
"Pocket," he answered, by putting his hand into it.
"And Plagg?"
Adrien took the ring out of his jeans and spun it around the tip of his index finger.
"Inside," he replied simply, looking to the ring he was spinning.
"You renounced him!" she shouted, now fully aware of the implication of the disappearance of the kwami cat.
"Yes! This cat is retiring, Ladybug."
To be continued...
Wednesday, Chapter 18 : Back against the wall.
Thanks for your reading and please don't forget to sharing your opinion by leaving a review ! I'd be glad to read you Miraculers!
Miraculous kisses.