I really suck at writing the start of a chapter. I wrote a bunch but it didn't really work out well so I scrapped that, wrote another one, scrapped it again, got busy within the past 3 months, finally got an idea, scrapped it again and now here we are!
Well, I won't keep you away from the fun part.
Enjoy!
To say that Adrien was nervous was the understatement of the century. He was terrified – terrified that she'd grow mad that he never told her that he knew who she was and never talk to him again, or that she'd hate him forever, or that she loved his Adrien self more than his Chat Noir persona and would reject him because she can't stand the other or that -
"Earth to Adrien Agreste. You look like you've swallowed a bug."
Adrien snapped out of his panic-induced daydream and focused his eyes on Alya. He smiled weakly. "Hi, Alya."
"I saw the news yesterday about the akuma attack." Alya clicked her tongue. "Apparently some people were complaining about Ladybug not being there."
"Well," Adrien grinned sheepishly, "You could say that she was quite occupied at the moment."
Alya eyed him as she waved at Marinette. "You know, Prince Charming, if you want to sweep the princess off her feet, you better hurry up or Chat Noir's gonna be way ahead of you."
"So you have told me." Adrien nodded, keeping his grin in check.
"Why not crack a joke or two?" Alya suggested. "She may not look like it, but Marinette actually likes jokes, especially Chat Noir's puns."
Adrien's mind grounded to a halt. "What?"
Alya huffed. "Well, I guess for being homeschooled, you don't really interact with girls much, aside from Chloé."
"Marinette likes puns?!" Adrien gaped. "Ladyb – she likes puns?"
"If that's enough to shock you, imagine who she actually likes," Alya mumbled to herself. Adjusting her backpack, she said to him, "Well, good luck, Adrien."
And thus she accompanied Marinette inside, leaving a secret superhero on the top of the stairs alone with his groundbreaking discovery.
…
"So…you think my puns are punny."
Marinette froze; her hand gripped her pencil a little bit tighter, as a certain black cat's voice drawled out from the outside border of her balcony. Her eyes trailed up from shiny black boots up to a lazy swinging tail and even higher from a well-toned torso and ended up locking with a pair of green cat eyes.
"Chat Noir," Marinette said his name, more so a question than a statement.
"Good afternoon, little lady." Chat Noir said easily.
"Who told you?" She asked hesitantly. His grin, which was wide enough, grew even more.
"Just a little birdy." Chat Noir said in a sing-song voice and leaned on the railings of her balcony. "So tell me, while I am aware that you probably have a minor crush on me-" – "No I don't!" Marinette spluttered – "why Adrien?"
She paused and a dark blush spread throughout her face. "What about Adrien?"
"Oh don't try to wriggle yourself out of this." Chat Noir tutted. "I saw your posters. You're obsessed with him."
"Am not." Marinette protested weakly.
"Are too." Chat Noir sang.
"Am not." Marinette insisted with a mumble.
"Why Adrien though?" Chat asked seriously.
Marinette's blush deepened as she looked away. She said shyly, "B-because he's nice."
"Because he's nice?" Chat Noir echoed.
"He's a great person," Marinette said even softer.
"Because he's a great person?" Chat Noir tilted his head at an extreme angle, his eyes wide. Marinette glared at him.
"He's polite, respectful, and always sees the good in every single person, even Chloé." Marinette ticked off Adrien's good points.
"Because he's polite, respectful, and sees the goo – okay, I'll stop!" Chat Noir laughed as Marinette threw her pencil at him. He deftly caught it and twirled it around his fingers. "How 'bout me? No thoughts at all? The eyes, the smile, the charisma?"
Each word he uttered, he took a step closer towards her. Each word he uttered, Marinette's eyes dilated and the blush on her cheeks reached down her neck as he drew nearer. He asked softly with a hint of hesitancy, "You've never fallen for me?"
"I-" Marinette looked away in embarrassment. "What is it you want, Chat Noir?"
He paused. And then said, "Marinette, there's something I have to tell you."
Marinette noticed the hint of seriousness in his voice and looked up expectantly. "What is it?"
"Promise me you won't hate me after this." Chat Noir said with a pained expression.
She frowned, a hint of apprehension creeping up. "I would never hate you, Chat Noir."
He took a deep breath.
"Actually, I-"
"MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG! Dude, control Alya and make her stop using-" Alya burst through the hatch of Marinette's balcony, only to freeze as the two secret superheroes looked at the young reporter in shock. Alya raised her hands up in defense. "Whoops, interrupted a weird moment. Sorry 'bout that, man. Go on with whatever you're doing."
Marinette stared hard at her. "Who are you and what did you do to my best friend?"
Alya brightened up as if realizing what she just came to Marinette for. "Dude, you're not gonna believe what happened! So there's this akuma and me and Alya were chasin' after it because you know her, gotta have the latest scoop and whatever, not important – and then suddenly – boom! Me in her and her in me – that sounds weird - And y'know?"
Marinette and Chat Noir exchanged looks. She turned her gaze back at Alya. Or more like… "Nino?"
"The one and only." Nino – in Alya's body – nodded. "Pretty crazy, huh? And so now Alya's out there in my body filming and running around and you know I don't exercise, so go out there and stop her before I'm gonna die from cardiac arrest!"
Marinette and Chat Noir stared at him (or is it her?) and burst out laughing. Nino - in Alya's body – crossed his arms and glared at them. "Not cool, bro."
"S-Sorry Nino, it's just – seeing Alya acting like you is just-" Marinette burst out in a fit of giggles while Chat Noir, on the other hand, at least had the decency to hide his grin.
He jumped up on the railings of Marinette's balcony before giving a two-fingered salute. "Well, the sooner I go and fight the akuma, the sooner you get your body back. See you later, my la – my princess!"
And with that, he leaped out of sight and towards the direction of the akuma sighting, leaving Nino/Alya and Marinette. Nino looked at her. "So, whatcha gonna do now, Mari?"
Marinette turned towards him (or was it her?) and said, "You stay here. I'll be right back."
Nino watched as Marinette shut the hatch door, leaving him alone on her balcony. With a shrug, he sat down on a chair and listened to music from his headphones (that he was able to snatch from Alya – or his body, to be more precise).
…
"So what's our new akuma?"
Chat Noir looked to his left and saw Marinette, or more like, Ladybug, standing beside him, ready to take down the new challenge. Apparently he had been staring a bit too much since Ladybug gave him a funny look. "Chat?"
He snapped out of his daze and grinned sheepishly at her. "Sorry, I got distracted."
She raised an eyebrow but asked no further questions as they faced their latest villain. The akuma, which had bushy hair and a gender-fluid body with two large yellow diamond patterns down on its front with its fox-faced Japanese mask staring blankly at them, languidly stood up and flexed their sharp claws.
"The akuma's at the blue gem in the middle of their forehead." Chat said. "Apparently, this akuma, whom I dub as Foxface, can switch the bodies of random people."
"Out of all the names, Foxface?" Ladybug said.
"Hey, I'm not the creative one between the two of us. That's your expertise." Chat pointed out as he jumped out of the way just as Foxface blue light came out from the gem and almost hit him.
"How do you suddenly know what I'm good at?" Ladybug shouted as the duo split up, running on either side of Foxface. Her yo-yo shot out towards the direction of the akuma villain only to be swiped away by the akuma and wrapped around Chat Noir. "Watch out!"
Ladybug slammed into Chat Noir and two of them tumbled on the ground, wrapped around the yo-yo string. Chat grinned at her. "Wow, Ladybug, I didn't know you were so desperate."
"Shut up, chaton." Ladybug snapped, trying to find a way to escape from the mess. Suddenly, a shadow casted over the two. Chat Noir and Ladybug looked up in horror at the ominous mask before a blue light engulfed them.
…
"Ow, Ladybug, your elbow is digging in my ribs." Chat Noir groaned and opened his eyes, only to be met with vibrant green cat-like eyes staring at him in shock. "My lady, since when did you have my eyes?"
"Since the moment you had my blue ones." Ladybug said back, her voice a little too deep, a little too masculine, and a lot like his own voice.
The truth hit them like a sack of bricks.
Chat Noir had swapped bodies with Ladybug.
They struggled with untangling themselves from each other. Adrien stood up and felt a little disoriented at the new perspective he was looking through. Everything was quite taller than he was used to. He looked down at himself. He was covered in red with black spots, his blue-black hair was in twin tails, and he had a yo-yo in his hands.
"I'm Ladybug," Adrien said out loud in disbelief. He looked at Marinette, who was currently Chat Noir. "My lady, you're me."
"How can you be so calm?" Marinette shrieked as she twisted here and there, standing in a way that seemed like someone had just tried on clothes that didn't fit. "I'm literally in your body right now!"
He walked towards a window that showed a reflection of Ladybug – of himself – and pinched him in the cheek. The reflection did the same and winced. The pain was real too. He put his hands on his hips and it mimicked his actions. "This is like those gender-bender anime I've watched."
It felt weird somehow, like there was a sticky wet layer of skin settling on top of one's own real skin. It felt wrong in so many places. The chest felt particularly heavy. Adrien glanced at Marinette, who was occupied with her Chat Noir self, and down at the chest. He lifted his hands.
"NO TOUCHING!"
Adrien jumped at the sharp voice and whipped his hand behind his back and turned towards his lady. He grinned sheepishly at her. Marinette (or Chat Noir at the mo) glared at him. "I know what you're thinking mister. Or miss. Hands to yourself."
"Hands to myself? You do know what that means, right?" Adrien smiled slyly.
Marinette stared at him in horror. "Chat, don't you dare."
"I'm Ladybug right now, ma minette." He said cheekily. He quickly sobered up, however, when screams and shouts of confusion filled the air once more. "Let's go!"
"Since when were you in charge?" Marinette said as they rushed towards the direction of the blue light.
Adrien said, "Since I became Ladybug."
"I'm Ladybug." Marinette said.
"No, you're not. You're Chat Noir. I'm Ladybug."
"Not funny, Chat."
"You mean, Bugaboo?"
"Zip it!"
"Gladly," Adrien said as he threw the yo-yo out at the chimney and flew up on the rooftop with a yell. Balancing precariously on the edge, he waited for his partner to catch up. "This is actually pretty fun. It's like a physics experiment."
"Please, I don't want anything math-related right now." Marinette groaned as she clumsily fell beside him. "And I smell suspiciously like cheese."
Adrien coughed. "Blame it on my kwami."
"Your kwami likes eating cheese?" Marinette asked him in disbelief. "How do you not stink during the day?"
"Showers," Adrien said simply.
Marinette flexed her claws as her eyes were trained on the akuma villain and for a moment, Adrien could appreciate how good-looking he was from an outsider's point of view rather than looking at his own reflection. Seriously, how did Marinette or Ladybug not fall in love with him when he was Chat Noir?
"Okay, while I distract the akuma, you activate the Lucky Charm," Marinette said.
Adrien grinned excitedly. "I gotcha, ma minou."
Marinette rolled her eyes before leaping down, activating Cataclysm on the way. Adrien tried to push down his giddiness as he did the Ladybug Lucky Charm Ritual.
LUCKY CHARM
And out fell a pair of scissors.
"What do I do with this?!" He complained. Adrien looked around, trying to formulate a strategy.
But then several things happened at once.
First, Marinette tripped.
Second, Cataclysm fell in the middle of Foxface's chest.
Chat Noir and Ladybug watched in horror as black miasma spread throughout Foxface's body before they fell on the ground. The gem crumbled away, revealing the akuma butterfly.
Adrien jumped down and captured the akuma. With a barrel roll, he landed on the ground on all fours before standing up and releasing the purified butterfly.
MIRACULOUS LADYBUG
Everything went back to normal.
Everyone returned to their own bodies.
But not everything was returned to its original form.
There, on the ground, lay the still body of the akumatized victim.
Ladybug took a step back as her hand covered her mouth. "I killed her. I killed a person."
"No, my lady, it's not your fault." Chat Noir said urgently. "It was an accident and-"
"It's Chat Noir's fault!"
Both the superheroes paused. A crowd started to form around them, faces angry and shocked.
"Chat Noir killed a person!"
"I thought you were a guardian of Paris!"
"How could you, Chat Noir?"
"Chat Noir is too dangerous."
"He really is a villain."
Ladybug snapped. "Chat Noir is not a villain! It's not his fault! It's because the akuma was-"
"How can you say that, Ladybug, when we all saw that Chat Noir used his Cataclysm on the akuma?" One of them said. A few voices piped up in agreement. "How can you say that when he has the power of destruction literally in his hands? You say that he is a guardian of Paris, but who would want a guardian who can destroy things and kill people?"
"But he's not – Chat Noir would never - It's my fault -" Ladybug protested, but her voice was drowned by people who didn't want to listen.
"Ladybug." She looked at her partner and her heart broke at the sad smile on his face. "It's okay."
And with a bow to the citizens of Paris, Chat Noir bounded away.
…
"Chat? Chat Noir? Mon minou, pick up, please." Ladybug pleaded as she tried to call her partner. Sadly, there was no reply. She had been calling him for the past hour, but Chat Noir never picked up the phone. She detransformed and sank on her bed in exhaustion. "Tikki, what am I going to do?"
"It's not your fault, Marinette. Heroes make mistakes all the time." Tikki said. "This isn't the first time a Chat Noir has been accused for being a villain."
"But this mistake cost a life! And my partner!" Marinette sobbed. "And it wasn't him who killed her, it was me!"
Tikki didn't say anything. She just watched as the guilt and exhaustion took over the young girl whose fault was mistakenly put onto blame on another person.
…
The next day found Marinette exhausted and dead tired on her feet. Not even the presence of Adrien could put a smile on her face. But then her eyes zeroed on a particular object sitting on her desk. She dropped her bag on the floor and grabbed the object.
It was a box. A red box with Chinese inscriptions around it. She knew right away what it was.
Alya tapped her shoulder and handed her an envelope. Marinette accepted it with shaking hands.
To: Marinette (my princess and my lady)
From: Chat Noir (Your Knight in Shining Amour)
Marinette choked back a sob as she ran out of the classroom, the miraculous box and envelope clutched tightly on her chest.
Nino looked at his best friend. "You okay, dude?"
Adrien said nothing. He just shook his head as he buried his face in his hands, willing himself not to cry. He felt as hollow as the finger where his ring once occupied, and as hollow as the lack of his kwami's presence near his heart.
Outside at the park, Marinette sank down on a bench, a sob escaping. Tears fell from her eyes in large fat drops on the paper, staining the ink and making it run. Her small frame shook from the cries she struggled to push down as she read her partner's words.
Marinette,
I know.
I know you're Ladybug and I still love you with or without the mask. I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long. I should have told you sooner - wanted to tell you sooner, but I was too scared of your answer. But now it's too late, huh. I won't tell a soul who you are, but just know that, even without the mask, I will still be on your side. It's not your fault. I believe in you. If it's you, anything is possible. So, don't worry about me. I hope your next partner can be better than I ever was. I'm sorry that our time was cut short. Take care of Plagg for me.
Thank you for everything.
Love,
Chat Noir
Well, writing angst is fun :D
