"You think Akumatizing Nino was some sick, twisted, roundabout way of giving me permission to have that party? After all, far as he knows, Adrien Agreste couldn't defend himself whatsoever against an Akuma." Cat Noir stares up at his sister's head, even as she scans the area for an Akuma - it's been a week since they discovered who Hawk Moth is, and every single day since the blonde boy comes to a new realization about the situation - everything from how he's apparently using Chloe to create Akumatizations, to how several of the events he's funded only to have them spectacularly fail at the last minute in a way nobody could trace to him, to how he keeps flaking whenever there's an Akuma around to how he's killed Adrien several dozen times already.
Ergo, every day they've met up at night, either during a patrol or on the top of the Eiffel Tower where nobody without a Miraculous could get to, so he can vent and talk things out and try not to have a complete meltdown. At the moment, his head is resting in her lap as she runs her fingers through his hair while he talks.
After a minute, Dragon Fyre hums and says "Somehow, I don't think he thought the Bubbler through all the way. Heck, I don't think he thinks half his Akumas through. Mr. Pigeon, for instance."
A grimace flits across Cat's face, and he nods after a moment. Lady Wi-Fi didn't recognize them, Mr. Pigeon apparently has no point despite being Akumatized the most times out of anyone, Mime was practically homicidal, and Volpina tried to drop him off the Eiffel Tower.
Shit, Volpina tried to drop him off the Eiffel Tower. Did his father even know about that?! Did he even care about that?!
Cat Noir bolts upright into a sitting position, heart suddenly pounding even as he tries to calm down and listen to his sister's voice. At least they aren't on the Tower tonight, having picked an abandoned rooftop for the night. Then he finds himself spun around, facing his very worried sister as she promptly encases them in a shield that'll burn any Akuma Hawk Moth sends for him. Figuring she's probably on the edge of magically forcing air into his lungs, he tries to even out his ragged breathing and respond to what she's saying - because she's currently telling him he needs to breathe, and she's very willing to pump air in and out of his lungs if need be. "No…no need for that, Sis. Just…Volpina, is all."
The expression on his sister's face looks lethal for a moment, but then she nods and says "Yeah. Up on the tower. It's why I went on a rampage on her."
Cat Noir lets out a semi-hysterical laugh, and says "Unleash the dragon!" He then doubles over laughing, even as Dragon Fyre puts a hand on his shoulder to keep him from toppling over the side of the building. He spares a thought to acknowledge the detail that it's almost certainly a blessing in disguise that his sister is an emotional freight train - she'll go off like an actual dragon when necessary, but she won't judge when someone's on the edge of an emotional breakdown.
And, for all his acting skills…Adrien's usually exhausted after every single day spent repressing his emotions about Gabriel Agreste. If he didn't have this, he'd go insane, he knows it.
After he stops laughing, she just asks "Got it all out of your system?"
Cat Noir nods, accepting the pastry that gets placed into his hands after seeing the bag of them she's taking another one out of - he knows a Dupain-Cheng pastry, after Marinette's brought some to school for the class, and they. Are. Delicious. Deciding to get his thoughts off Hawk Moth for a moment, he asks "You still doing alright, Sis?"
Dragon Fyre nods, and says "I am. Mari's offered to have me model clothes more times than I can count, and if I didn't know her parents are the type to shove plates of snacks up in her room whenever she's got friends over I'd swear she told them a bit about where all the leftovers are going." Heck, she still might've.
Cat Noir chuckles, and says "Everyday Ladybug indeed…"
Dragon Fyre smirks, and says "The rest of the class came up with that all on their own." Doesn't make it any less true, though. Doesn't make it any less hilarious either, that they came to the correct conclusion and don't even know it.
Cat Noir hums, then says "She's a good friend. If I didn't know any better…I'd think she might be Ladybug." The detail that his sister doesn't say anything, to either confirm or deny that idea, speaks volumes - she was quick to deny that Chloe was Ladybug, along with how Lila Rossi wasn't a Fox Miraculous Holder, but her silence on Marinette being Ladybug is more confirmation than anything else. Still, he won't ask…he wants it to be Ladybug's decision to tell him.
If he gets to such a low point that she thinks it's necessary, though…well, they'll deal with that when they come to it. If he gets to that point, he'll probably just beg her to tell him - he'll regret it sometime later, he's sure, but that's beside the point.
At his pointed look, Dragon Fyre says "Really, Brother, I'm fine. I'm more worried about you right now."
Cat Noir just shrugs, and says "I hardly ever see him. I see my bodyguard more than either him or Nathalie, honestly."
Dragon Fyre scowls for a moment, then says "If you ever get the urge to run away again, go to either Mari or I, Brother." He quickly nods, not wanting to test her on the threat of skinning his hide. She might actually go through with it, if he gets her genuinely furious enough, before healing him. After a minute, she reluctantly says "We've got that test tomorrow for Mendeleiev's class, unfortunately. I'll finish up with patrol, kitty. If you don't want to go back to the mansion just yet…you could drop by Mari's."
Cat Noir tilts his head, considering the idea - Marinette has always been kind to the point of awe-inspiring in him, once he really got to know her after the whole misunderstanding with the gum. Plus, she does know Cat Noir - he saved her from Gamer, after all.
So…she most likely wouldn't turn him away.
Heck, she might even be willing to bring up some Macaroons.
Mind made-up, Cat Noir grins and says "Done. See you tomorrow, Super-Sis." Dragon Fyre gives him a small smile, which he returns with a kiss on the cheek, then leaps away and gets back to Patrol for the night.
Marinette's putting the finishing touches on a commission Penny Rolling sent her and Bloom - Bloom made the base piece, helped immensely by a mannequin of Jagged Stone she made with magic, so all she has to do is the details - a new jacket, vaguely reminiscent of Cat Noir. Apparently, Jagged Stone is a fan of their cat-themed partner - and wouldn't that make his day, hearing his favorite star is a fan of his? She's almost tempted to tell him, just to see the look on his face.
And then there's a tapping on the trapdoor, and she opens it up after Tikki hides to see…none other than Cat Noir.
Marinette plasters what's hopefully an awestruck look on her face, asking "Cat Noir?" He doesn't look like he knows she's Ladybug, he looks…as down in the dumps as he's looked ever since the Volpina incident, actually. He's tried to hide it, with fake grins and taking off almost as soon as the daily Akuma is dealt with, but she knows her kitty well enough to know that whatever it is he's been wrestling with isn't something trivial. He hasn't even called her 'Bugaboo' once since the Collector incident - and that alone is a big warning sign to her, if her silly kitty isn't even making an attempt at flirting with her something is up.
And now Dragon Fyre sent him over…either she's really worried, or she's trying to set us up together.
Marinette's betting on the former, though. Cat Noir doesn't look like he's in the mood for a romantic confession, hasn't been in the mood for one for days now.
Cat Noir nods, a lonely look on his face as he asks "You too busy for some company, Miss Video Game Champ? My sister's out on Patrol, and Ladybug isn't in uniform tonight. But…I really can't stay home right now." Marinette frowns, and just for a moment he thinks she's going to brush him off like his father and Nathalie do all the time.
Right up until she opens the door wider, saying "Come on in, I'll grab some of the leftover cookies. Just don't touch the jacket, it's not done yet." Dear Kwamis, secret identity or no, I NEED to find out where he lives and knock some sense into people with my yo-yo.
Cat Noir nods at once, heading to the Chaise lounge in the corner while Marinette heads downstairs for a plate of cookies. After a minute, she comes back up with a concerned look on her face and a heaping plate of cookies and pastries.
After putting the plate in his hand, she asks "Everything alright? Did something happen?" She knows something happened, but she knows as Ladybug and not Marinette - ergo, Marinette has to ask.
Cat Noir sighs, and asks "You ever idolize someone, think the world of them…only to discover something terrible about them? Something that shatters your whole view of them?" He still can't even bring himself to think about Gabriel Agreste as his father without wanting to be sick - he's the son of a monster, then. He's better off with the man as a complete stranger, with no connection to him whatsoever. It's better for his sanity, at least.
Marinette does, as a matter of fact - she looked up to Gabriel Agreste as her idol, wanted to be as successful in the fashion industry as he is. So the news that he's Hawk Moth…it was devastating to her, and that's without factoring in the detail that his son is her crush. She nods, and slowly says "Yeah, I do, as a matter of fact. You know Gabriel Agreste, the famous fashion designer?"
Cat Noir's head snaps up so suddenly she seriously worries he might get whiplash, and he asks "Yeah, why?" Why is Marinette bringing up him?! Does she know?! She can't know, there's no way she could know... And his sister wouldn't tell Marinette, both to protect her from the man and to keep their identities safe.
Marinette quietly says "Well, I looked up to him for years. Idolized him, actually. I've been designing stuff since I was ten, and I'd hoped that, maybe someday, he'd notice me, maybe make me an intern or something. His designs were incredible, and his brand is wildly successful all over the globe, I…I wanted to do it to, to inspire people with clothing like his clothes inspired me. And then his son started going to school…"
Cat Noir listens as Marinette keeps talking, saying how she didn't even know who he actually was when she first heard of him - she was more interested in his father than him, only knew him as one of the company's models, shockingly enough. How he opened up to her when he gave her the umbrella - which she still has, it's hanging on a hook on the wall! - how he's so much more than what he acts like in public but can't show it often.
"I thought it'd be amazing at first, having my favorite fashion designer's son in my class. But…he always seems so lonely. Not when he's talking with Nino, yeah, but…when it's time to go home he just looks…dejected. Like that's the highlight of his day. If school is the best part of his day, what's the rest like? And his dad, he's a total flake when it comes to him. He couldn't even have his assistant show up with that tablet for career day, or let him have a birthday party. It was only when Nino got Akumatized and sent all the adults away that he got to have one. He's…not the kind of person I thought he was." All of which is true, leaving out the detail that she knows the cold man is Hawk Moth.
The two of them end up sitting together on the chaise lounge, the plate of sweets half-eaten as Marinette shows him her design sketchbook. "So, wait, you two have a brand?! Like, the entire deal? The outfits, the clients, all of it?" He's absolutely amazed,
Marinette nods, and says "So far, it's only Jagged Stone and Penny Rolling. But…according to Penny, Jagged's planning something." She's texted them the date and time of his next concert, which is soon, and said to watch. It's as good as if she'd said he's going to do something.
Cat Noir looks at her in absolute amazement, and says "You're incredible, you know that? Like my Lady once said, simply Miraculous."
Marinette blushes brightly, not able to meet his earnest green gaze - made even more intense by the detail that his eyes actually glow in the night, does he realize that? - and says "It's nothing much, really. Not yet, anyway…"
Cat Noir turns her face back to his, saying "Nope. This is amazing, Marinette. You're amazing, you and Bloom both. If these designs were sent to any high-end designer, they'd be out in a month and a hit." He would know, he's been doing the Catwalk since he could actually walk.
They keep talking until Marinette's eyes start to drift closed, and Cat Noir picks her up gently and sets her on her bed whispering "Thanks for the company, Princess. This Alley Cat's gotta get going, though." He hears her murmur a goodbye, and is out the trapdoor with a whispered goodbye.
Finally realizing there's more than one piece of cheese in the world?
Cat Noir blushes, then quietly says "Says the one who's addicted to Camembert cheese. And refuses to eat anything else unless its an emergency."
Hey, there's nothing wrong with having more than one pot on the stove!
Plagg makes sure to not even think about the detail that his kitten is successfully falling for the same person two times in a row. He'd wonder if Plan B was enacted tonight, but that would also be heard by Adrien. He can only hope it doesn't come down to Cataclysming the mansion and getting his Kitten out from the resulting rubble.
AN: Hey, everyone! Next chapter is up! I know, there's no real action...but, considering the detail that Hawk Moth puts his own son in danger on a near-daily basis - and he knows it - I think our kitty needs some time to talk things out. Seeing as professional therapy is not an option at the moment.
Enjoy! More updates coming soon!