Hello everyone! Hope you had a good week? Mine was... kinda hectic.

Anyway, I wanted to say that this story is a collab. with an artist. Since FFN doesn't allow link or picture... If you want to see the art you can still DM me with your email or instagram. I'll be pleased to send you those arts. The artist who had worked on them is very talented and her arts deserve to be showed. So feel free to DM! (There's someone I'll speak in this chapter, I'm sure you're going to be curious to see him and... she drawed him for me :D)

I'm rambling... Good reading!

CurlyMay : Thanks for your sweet words. Writing is my therapy so I just wrote a lot and everything is almost back to normal even if my life is still hectic. I'm kinda happy to publish my chapter on time this week! I hope you'll like it. And again, thank you so much for your support. It means a lot.

CHAPTER 4: 1820

Ever since he and Ladybug had exchanged that unexpected kiss, the heroine had remained rather quiet and on the lookout for another possible victim because of the akuma on the loose. The one that was meant for her.

Chat Noir had immediately given her some space, offering not to talk about the kiss until she had fully recovered from the crisis she had just been through. He had no desire to rush her, nor to make her feel uncomfortable about a decision he had made, single-handedly, in a hurry and in panic.

However he couldn't ignore the fact that, for a moment, hanging on his lips and snuggled in his arms, she had given herself up to him. The mere thought of this memory still made his heart beat fast and made him slightly dizzy.

"Can you de-transform?"

His partner's question, out of nowhere, made him startle and shook him abruptly from his reverie.

"What?" He almost choked.

"Not in front of me. Behind the chimney, you dork," she answered, rolling her eyes.

A smile lit up his face: he had his everyday Lady back.

"I must speak to Plagg," she explained to enlighten him.

He nodded, stepping around the chimney to the side opposite where Ladybug was currently sitting, and muttered the words that would dispel his transformation.

"It's nice to see you too, Plagg," she replied in an amused voice. "Can you stand right there, please?" Ladybug asked, pointing to the side of the fireplace.

The Kwami complied, placing himself where Ladybug and his holder could see him without difficulty.

"So, you need me, do you?" Plagg asked. "You know it's going to cost you a lot of Camembert?" he added with a mischievous but no less serious expression, crossing his paws on his chest.

"Plagg!" Adrien scolded him. "Get a grip, please."

"Fine... But I demand a cheese compensation anyway."

"You'll get your stinking camembert if you do what we ask!" His owner growled.

Adrien sighed and massaged his head before hearing his partner clear her throat, ready to speak.

"First of all, you should know that with the help of the Grimoire, but also of Tikki, since some pages are missing, I was able to find most of the Ladybugs since Ancient Egypt," she declared. "However, for the holders of the Black Cat's Miraculous, the Grimoire is very incomplete. I'll need you to enlighten us, Plagg," she asked seriously.

"You want names?"

"As many as you can," confirmed Ladybug. "None of the other Ladybug's Miraculous holders, except Jeanne d'Arc, seem to have had any particular magical or inexplicable problems."

Adrien turned slightly and put his hand against the chimney.

"So you'd like to search on black cats' side?"

She hummed in agreement.

"Make sense," he whispered. "Plagg, we're all ears."

The Kwami cat coughed and put his paw on his heart, giving a theatrical touch to his presentation.

"I'll start from Ancient Egypt too then. Cleopatra. Then it was Alexandre le Grand,..."

The next few names were totally unknown.

"...Michelangelo,..."

A few more names vaguely familiar and unknown then… "Louis XIV, Napoleon and the last one was—"

"Wait a minute," Adrien cut him off. "Napoleon?" he repeated.

"Yes."

Plagg placed a paw on his abdomen and assumed a conquering stance, perfectly mimicking his former and famous holder.

"Do you think we've got something, Chaton? his partner asked.

"Maybe." The feline cleared his throat and went into the details. "During his six years of detention on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon's physical and mental health deteriorated," he explained. "The details of his death are vague: stomach ulcer, cancer, and even arsenic poisoning have been mentioned."

"Indeed, it's a lead to follow," admitted his partner. "Plagg, did the Emperor have any problems with the Black Cat Miraculous?" She then asked the little cat.

A string of green bubbles escaped from the kwami's mouth.

"Sorry Ladybug. I can't reveal anything, even with all the best will in the world: and for once I had some!" he mumbled. "Miraculous magic prevents me from going into details: it's too sensitive of information," he admitted. "Only the names of the former holders are no longer protected, since we no longer risk compromising their identity."

There was a short silence, but it lasted only briefly.

"Tikki, Fluff, unify!"

Adrien gasped sharply and stood up. "Plagg, claws out."

Chat Noir quickly went around the chimney to join Lady Bunny. "You want to go now ? Are you sure it's a good idea right after—"

His partner interrupted him, a gleam of determination he knew perfectly well shining in her bluebell eyes.

"I'm fine," she declared. "The sooner we get information. The sooner we can heal."

He certainly could not prove her wrong but there was still a free Akuma even though it just seemed to have faded away.

"The Akuma that Shadowmoth sent for you still hasn't claimed another victim. Maybe we should wait a little longer," he said.

"Shadowmoth's more than likely subject to the same overdose as we are: his attacks are far less common. He certainly must have called back his Akuma and given up for tonight," she answered.

Chat Noir didn't think so. "Or maybe he has already found the solution we are desperately looking for. Maybe he's healed and is now looking to take advantage of our weakness: like he just did," he lamented. "Don't you find it strange? He almost akumatized Ladybug tonight. That can only make him want to try again as soon as possible," he noted in a worried voice.

"You're right. That's why we have to hurry to find the solution before Shadowmoth has other opportunities to take advantage of the situation," she declared while opening the pocket watch and setting it for their trip. "And then, if he tries to make me his victim again, I suppose that another kiss wouldn't be too much to ask coming from you," she blurted out, winking to her partner over her shoulder.

Mouth agape the feline observed the heroine, who turned away from him, not giving him the opportunity to answer anything. She drew a circle with her umbrella and the Burrow opened up in front of them.

"If an attack comes while we're gone, we'll come back immediately," he heard her voice in the distance as she slipped through the time portal.

"Don't make a single move, m'Lady!"

"Why? What the—"

A mortar round suddenly crashed a few feet away from them, making Chat Noir's warning perfectly understandable.

The feline didn't waste a single second and threw his body on his partner's, sending them both straight down the rabbit hole. With his heart beating wildly, his ears whistling, and his face only a few centimeters away from his partner's, they both found themselves back on Paris' rooftops.

"As far as I know, there's no akuma, Chat Noir," she murmured, wiggling her eyebrow teasingly. "Kisses are reserved only for rescues," she clarified, her breath caressing the feline's chin.

"It was a rescue," he mumbled while moving back away from her body. "Why did you send us to the middle of the battlefield?"

"To get close to Napoleon."

"I'd rather approach him in one piece, not as cannon fodder," he grumbled. "You could have gotten us killed! It's at Saint Helena that we have to meet him, when he started to get sick. It makes no sense to question him when he isn't sick. Let alone at the war front between shells and mortar fire!"

Lady Bunny stood up and dusted off her costume. "I preferred when you were playing Casanova rather than killjoy." she muttered under her breath while opening the Rabbit's Miraculous." I must have made a mistake and set the needle on the wrong year."

"Say rather that you didn't listen and study in your History classes enough! Send us to 1820. Not 1802!" he scolded her.

"So bossy…" she teased him with a mischievous smile.

A rumbling echoed in the hero's chest and he prowled over to his partner, leaning his face next to hers. "Be careful with your words. You wouldn't want me to show you how bossy I can really be, mon lapin," he whispered in her ear.

"Meow, the chaton stuck his claws out," she giggled as she opened a second portal.

"You're playing dirty, Bug," he groaned as he followed her into the burrow.

The next moment they were facing a medium-sized white mansion, located on a volcanic island in the middle of the South Atlantic: Longwood House.

"Guards, at 2 and 10 o'clock," Chat Noir pointed with a nod.

"Get down and follow me. We'll try to get around them," suggested Lady Bunny. "Tikki, Fluff, divide," she whispered.

Concealed, in the wild flora of the island, they went discreetly around the house. Once, twice, three times, before returning to their starting point.

Chat Noir sighed. "All the access points are certainly guarded 24/7. There is no way to get inside without being seen. Even our camouflage power up won't be enough this time," he muttered with a defeated look.

Ladybug turned to him with a concentrated pout. It was an expression he knew so well. Nose scrunched up, eyebrows furrowed and lips slightly parted: she was thinking of an alternative.

The heroine's eyes suddenly lit up and he realized that she still had a plan in store. "We have our own front door!" she declared, taking out of her yo-yo a pair of sunglasses: the Horse's miraculous.

Ladybug lowered herself to the ground and put the glasses on her nose. "Tikki, Kaalki, un—"

"Are you sure that it's a good idea?" he interrupted her. "You're already using your own Miraculous powers, plus the rabbit's. I'm not sure adding an extra source of miraculous magic is wise in your condition."

He held out an open hand and motioned for her to give him the Horse's Miraculous. "I'm going to unify it. That way it will be fair," he explained.

Ladybug didn't protest and nodded, putting the glasses in his black-gloved hand.

A few seconds later, Chat Noir whispered the words he had prevented her from uttering. "Plagg, Kaalki, unify!" A brief, faint beam of light enveloped his body before disappearing, revealing behind his magic, none other than an elegant stallion. "How is it?" he asked while turning around under his partner's amazed gaze.

"It's... fascinating."

"Fascinating?" he repeated incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"You have ears," she marveled. "I mean, this is the first time I've seen your real ears," she admitted, clearing her throat.

He blinked, somewhat confused, before putting his hands on his ears and realizing that there were no rebellious blonde locks to cover them. Indeed, on the side of his head his hair was even completely shaved, and on top he could distinctly feel a short ponytail. His fingers then slid along his face that seemed different, and it was an understatement: he had a beard. A short and well cut beard, but enough to embellish the 'Viking' look that he seemed to sport now.

His costume hadn't changed that much. It had now, in addition to its usual black color, shades of brown and caramel which, under the sun rays, gave to his costume warm and golden reflections.

He smiled to himself. The effect that his new look seemed to have on his partner brought him priceless satisfaction. She couldn't take her eyes off him, and her cheeks were as red as a traffic light.

"I take your silence for approval of my new look as a virile stallion," he noted, his voice hoarse and sensual.

He took Ladybug's hand in his and brought it to his lips to place an airy kiss. "Call me Pega Noir."

His partner frowned and removed her hand from his. "That is MY idea," she mumbled while crossing her arms on her chest.

"Fine, then call me Centaur Noir or Stallion Noir. Do as you please, I don't care. The blush under your mask is for me a much more valuable reward than a simple nickname," he declared in a seductive voice, leaning towards her with a wide smirk.

Ladybug pointed her finger at the tip of her partner's nose and gently pushed him back.

"Alright handsome Stallion, don't get a big head. You still need to get through the portal," she taunted him.

He humphed before opening the teleportation portal and slipping inside.

Once on the other side, they were greeted by frightened female screams and a rolling pin flying in their direction. They backed away at full speed, the kitchen utensil landing directly in the tall grass beside them as the portal closed.

"Kitchens? How about the bathroom?" she proposed ironically. "Do you ever use that brain of yours?"

"Hey! This is the first time I've used the teleportation power. Be a little lenient!"

She sighed. "Go ahead," she urged him. "Try again."

To be continued…

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See you next week! Miraculous Kisses.