-Julian's POV-
Here's the thing, I watch a lot of movies.
It comes with the family name, both my parents are famous directors, before that they were famous actors. Because of that they basically had a hand in most old and new blockbuster hits, from romance to horror, to action and mystery. My mother is responsible for launching and managing Le Beau Studios, which is not only a film studio, but is also in the works of releasing TV shows, video games and even some board games too.
Needless to say, I've inherited their massive interest in the film and entertainment arts. On top of that, since I am a teenager in the age of computers, I'm also well versed in its sub-categories like fandoms, fanart and fanfiction.
So, when I compile all of my strange and involuntary actions that I do whenever I'm around a certain cute, handsome blond model over the past week, ever since he watched that stupid Disney movie with me because I recommended it (I was Faon Vert at the time but it still counts.) The shortness of breath, rapidly beating heart combined with feeling even more self conscious than usual, I deduce that it can only mean one thing.
I'm dying...
...Is what I prefer to be happening than the other possible answer.
"Maybe it's just a physical attraction." I think to myself as I stare at my bedroom's ceiling in despair while Ossi is distracted watching TV.
"Yeah, that seems plausible. Adrien's an attractive guy, who wouldn't like him?" I look at the recent magazine I bought on impulse of the boy in question. Okay, now imagine him as someone who hasn't slept in a week, wearing severely color clashing clothes (purple shirt with yellow pants or whatever), snotty nose and making a face so sour lemons would be jealous.
…
Damn it he's still adorable.
Groaning into my pillow, I contemplated the idea of suffocating myself with it, but decided against the idea when I remembered a new season of my favorite show would be released soon.
"Ya still breathing there kid?" Ossi asks, sounding closer than I would've expected.
Lifting my head, I sent him a pitiful look, noticing that he had moved from the couch to the bed. "Unfortunately." I mumble, sitting up and messing up my hair for the hundredth time, looking at the magazine again before slowly nudging it off my bed like a cat.
"Is it about that Adrien kid again?"
I let out a whine. "Yes, it's about my platonic friend Adrien, whom I have nothing but platonic feelings towards, one hundred percent no homo, five feet apart because we're not-"
"So we can safely assume thatcha in denial?"
"Most people in denial don't usually say that they're in denial Os."
"That's just cause they're in denial about being in denial, butcha not in denial, ya in de nial ."
We both stare at each other for a couple seconds before bursting into laughter.
"I've trained you well." I say, feeling incredibly proud of my Kwami's progress towards the modern age.
"Yeah yeah, so, wanna talk about it?" Ossi lands on top of my head as I move from the bed to the couch facing the television.
I sigh. "Maybe later, I'm still trying to… decipher all this." I explain, making weird gestures with my hands as if that'll explain my emotional turbulence.
"What's there to decipher? Ya become a mess whenever he looks at ya, it's obvious that ya-"
"What's that!? I can't hear you!" I quickly interrupt, raising the TV's volume to the max.
Ossi lets out a few frustrated comments that were drowned out by the volume before launching at the remote. I yelp as the two of us start yanking the remote between us before I accidentally switched it to the news channel.
"In honor of the heroes of Paris, Mayor Bourgeois has announced that a statue depicting our heroes will be revealed at the Place des Vosges at 2 pm tomorrow." The news anchor says, interrupting both Ossi and I's play fighting.
"A statue? For us?" I ask with wide eyes.
Ossi gives the TV a suspicious look. "Ya ever realize how we always manage to switch to the news every time it's relevant?"
Giving my Kwami a dumbfounded look, I bop him on the head with the remote. "Don't jinx it."
-The Next Day-
Sliding down the railing of the stairs to the kitchen, I could barely contain my excitement.
"Can you believe it Os? A statue, a statue ! For Ladybug, Chat Noir and Faon Vert! And that's me !" I shout. Never in my 14 years of living did I ever imagine that they're going to make a statue in my honor, and it was for defending Paris, like actual superheroes in the movies!
"Well better believe it kid, cause ya deserve that statue, you, and ya teammates!" Ossi exclaims, flying around widely before leaping into the breadbox, obviously affected by my enthusiasm. "They better not screw it up, this is the first time I've seen ya this excited…" The Kwami mutters darkly as he emerges from the box holding a croissant, looking way too fierce for a creature smaller than a plush toy.
"Ossi, you know I'm not that kind of person, I'll love anything they make, it's the thought that counts you know?" I smile at him before turning to look at the clock. "There's about thirty minutes before the reveal, I was thinking we should-"
Suddenly my phone rings, interrupting my conversation and almost scaring the pants off of me. Pulling out my phone with wide eyes, I realize that Alya is calling, no wait... She's video calling!
"Ossi! Alya wants to video call, what do I do!?" I scream, do people usually video call each other? I thought our generation just text people! I wouldn't have given out my number if we're gonna be video calling all the time! (I probably still would because of the pressure.)
"Whaddya mean 'what do I do'!? Answer it!" Ossi yells back. Quickly I angle my phone camera away from the Kwami and click answer, Alya's face appearing on the screen.
"H-Hello!? This is Julian!" I start off screaming, that's what people say when they're answering a call right?
"Hey Julian, you know we're on video right?" Alya greets, causing my face to redden significantly. "Listen we need your help with something." The blogger turns her camera to a very nervous looking Marinette who is staring forlornly at a notebook in her hands before turning the camera back to herself. "You're great at writing scripts right? Does this sound okay?"
"Well I-I wouldn't say I'm great at it…" I mumbled to her, but was ignored as Alya pulled up the notebook to the screen. Giving it a read anyways, I realize that it's a script for asking someone out, more specifically, Marinette asking Adrien out.
A dark unsettling feeling coils up within me, and I feel a hint of a frown forming on my face. Well, this is not a good feeling, and definitely does not help my denial at all…
"Th-This is… Are you sure that I should be reading something so private…?" I ask hesitantly. I don't want to do this if I can help it, but I'll do it if they insist, Alya and Marinette are still my friends after all.
"It's fine Julian, Marinette says it's cool. Besides! Helping each other get together with their crush, that's what friends are for!"
"O-oh! And we are friends!" I say with wide eyes as I remember this fact. Right! We're friends, which means this is my responsibility, even if it's a little uncomfortable, alright then. I read through the lines again as best as I could. "It's fine, and it flows well… But I think you should add in another page on what to say if Adrien doesn't pick up and it goes to voicemail. Something like," I pause for a moment to think. "Hey Adrien, it's Marinette, can you call me back? I have something important I need to ask you." I smile shyly at the two of them, "I mean, if the two of you are going through all this trouble to prepare a script, then it's safe to say that Marinette doesn't like improv, right?"
"More like she's terrible at it." Alya laughs at the bluenette's indignant shout at the background before writing in my lines too. The two of us spend some time discussing the possible dialogue a girl can use when asking a boy out while Marinette suffers further in the background, it was pretty funny. Eventually we came up with a more personal script (with lines for a few unexpected scenarios too, the "if a T-Rex suddenly attacks'' one is my personal favorite) for Marinette to use rather than the previously stereotypical one.
"This is great, thanks Julian! We should write scripts again sometimes." Alya suggests playfully as she hands the notebook to Marinette, who takes a look between the notebook and her phone before groaning in defeat.
"Forget it! This is never gonna work!" She says, and I somewhat empathize with her, it can be tough to talk to someone that you have romantic feelings for.
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to…" I try to comfort her, but Alya apparently has a different mission in mind.
"Too late, it's dialing ." The blogger taps on the call button on Marinette's phone before grabbing the phone I'm displayed on and diving towards the other end of the bed, propping her phone camera up so that we can both watch. The uncomfortable feeling in me suddenly skyrockets, what happens if Adrien says yes? Are they going to start dating? What's going to happen to me then? Am I going to-
Marinette suddenly jumps up from her seat, notebook all but forgotten as she flails around loudly before listening to her phone anyways. Suddenly her eyes widen as she looks around wildly for the notebook, but I think she kicked it away or something because she can't seem to find it anymore.
"It's gone to voicemail!" The bluenette hissed at us.
"It's fine! Just act natural!" I can't help but shout, hoping that she can hear me.
"No way! Just leave a message! Don't improv!" Alya shouts back, I tilt my head in confusion, is Marinette really that bad at improv?
"Uhh, hello. Uh, Adrien's voicemail!"
...Oh.
"Uh, this is Marinette, who, uh, has a message for you, of course, cause it's, uh, your phone, so, umm... Callmeseeyoulater,bye!" She finishes with a crazy giggle before throwing her phone on the bed in front of us.
Okay… she's not great at improv.
On the bright side, she-
No. Don't continue that thought Julian, you're friends with her. Gods is this how Chat Noir feels back then when I talk to Ladybug? This sucks !
Wait! No! Denial!
As the bluenette slowly rolls her chair towards us as I have my internal war, Alya must be making a really disappointed face right now considering the glare Marinette is sending her.
"What? What did you expect me to say? 'Hey, hot stuff, this is Marinette, I'd ask you on a date to a movie, but I've got such a crazy crush on you that the only way I can talk to you without foaming out the mouth is over this stupid phone.' Pretty ridiculous, right?" Marinette finishes, and to be honest it's not bad , I certainly would be blushing like crazy at the confes-
"If you wish to hear your message again, press 1. If you wish to erase your message, press 2."
Marinette and I let out a gasp at the phone, she forgot to hang up!
"Hit 2! Hit 2!" Alya shouts, Marinette quickly dives towards her phone, knocking Alya's phone over, leaving me looking at nothing as a loud beep sounds from the video.
"Message saved, goodbye."
Marinette lets out a frightful scream before slamming down on something, I'm assuming the bed. Alya finally picks her phone up to show me that indeed, Marinette is now lying face down on her bed, wallowing in misery before pointing the camera back to her face.
"Hey Julian, can I call you back later?"
"O-Oh, umm… Sure, and uhh, don't worry Marinette, it wasn't that bad, I wish you luck!" Marinette returns my wishes with another groan before Alya hangs up. I sigh in relief (feeling really guilty when I did that) as Ossi flies out of my pocket with a whistle.
"Well, that was somethin'."
"Tell me about it, I didn't even know voice messages could record for that long…" I say, fearful at how much technology has forsaken us. Taking a sip of water while looking at the clock, I nearly spit out my drink when I notice the time. "Ossi, we're gonna be late!"
"What!? Oh, wow, can't believe that lasted for 25 minutes."
"Well, you know what they say." I point out the pen at Ossi. "Time flies when you're helping a friend ask out their crush?"
Ossi shoots me an unamused look. "I've been around for a long time kid and that saying does not-"
"Horns Drawn Ossi!"
"Aw come ooOOON-"
Ossi gets sucked into the pen as it extends into my blowgun, bright sparkles envelop me, transforming me into Faon Vert.
Leaping towards the location of the ceremony that I found on the internet, I can already see the crowd gathering at the city square, letting out an excited cheer, I land right in front of the tarp covered statue.
"Helloooo people of Paris!" I cheer along with the crowd, it's been so long since I've been cheered on like this, I forgot how electrifying it feels.
Turning to look at the Mayor, I force myself to give him a smile (I'm still quite annoyed at him abusing his power to cater to his daughter's whims). "Good afternoon Mr. Mayor, thank you so much for organizing this, it's awesome! And…" I turn to the other man standing beside him, he's taller than me, brown hair tied up in a bun, wearing a purple shirt accompanied by a black overshirt, gray pants and black boots. He seems to be nervously chewing on a lollipop stick. "You must be the sculptor, Théo right? It's so cool that you worked so hard to make this, I haven't seen it yet but I'm sure I'll love it!" I almost squeal, having to physically restrain myself from outright hugging him.
Thankfully I didn't, because Théo looks kind of nervous for some reason. "Thank you Faon Vert, umm… Do you know if Ladybug is on her way here?"
Raising an eyebrow, I give him a curious look before shrugging, he's probably just a bigger fan of Ladybug, nothing special, she has a bigger demographic of fans anyways.
"I'm not sure, but we all promised to show up for the showing today, so she'll be here soon." I give him a big smile, hoping that it can cheer him up a little, it's not like he has a reason to worry, Ladybug is probably the more responsible one out of the Chat Noir and I combined.
Speaking of the blond, a loud cheer brings the crowd's attention away again as Chat Noir lands on the statue's podium.
"Hey everybody!" He greets, waving at everyone before looking around and finally landing his eyes on me. "Hey deer, I figured Ladybug would be the one here first."
Laughing lightly, I jump up and take a seat beside him. "Me too, but you know what they say, once in a blue moon, the stork delivers a new Smurf."
"...What?"
Drinking in the blond's confusion, I let out another laugh, gods messing with him is just so much fun, I wonder if I can do the same to Ladybug…
"Well you seem to be in a good mood today." Chat comments, sitting down fully beside me.
I can't help but give him an affronted look. "Of course I am! The people of Paris all took the time off their busy schedules to show their appreciation, and I'm just so grateful for it!" I turn to face the crowd. "I love you Parisians!" I yell, receiving even more cheers, turning to look at the blond again, I get caught off guard from the complete fondness in the look the cat hero's directing to me, it's a wonder how Ladybug can't see how much Chat loves her if he wears his emotions so easily on his sleeve (granted I didn't know it as well until he told me, but I'm gonna ignore that little detail.)
Théo walks closer to us, and I realize that Chat hadn't even greeted him yet. "Chat! This guy here is the one responsible for the statue, name's Théo."
"Hey Théo!" The blond smiles brightly at the sculptor, who is still looking extremely worried.
"Hello, Chat Noir, have you seen Ladybug, she's not here." Théo asks again.
The blond, like me, has full belief in our teammate. "Don't worry about Ladybug, I'm sure she'll be here any minute. I can handle this situation for now since I'm the one in charge anyway, you know."
I let out a snort. "Yeah, only when we're looking for something to eat though, and even then you make some… questionable decisions..." I wince at the memory of Chat Noir making Ladybug and I try the food from some sketchy food truck during patrol. Luckily there were no Akuma attacks for the next few days, I don't think I could handle fighting both outside my body and inside…
Chat sends me the most betrayed look he could muster, which makes me giggle. However Théo for some reason is still looking upset!
"Hey Mr. Théo, stop worrying, Ladybug is going to show up, she never disappoints." I gently nudge him on the side.
The sculptor gives me a fake smile before realizing that he can't lie to me anyways, deciding to just pull out a piece of paper. Looking at it I realize that it was a cutout of Ladybug's first debut in the news. "It's just that, I wanted to ask her to autograph this photo. She's amazing. She's so brave and smart, the way she always saves everyone…" He says, slowly brushing his fingers along the picture, almost like he's…
...Oh my gods.
Sneaking a glance at Chat, my fears were brought to life at the sight of the blond's jealous glaring at the sculptor. This is… not good.
If there's anything I learned about jealousy from movies and my own recent experiences (denial), it's that it never ends well.
The Mayor however stops me from saying anything. "Perhaps the ceremony should commence. It might bring her here faster."
I give the older man a small frown. "With all due respect sir, that does not really make sense."
Théo nods frantically, sending the Mayor a panicked look. "Please, just one minute more, Mayor Bourgeois, she's going to come, I can feel it…"
Our pleas however fall on deaf ears as the Mayor decides to just proceed with the ceremony, Chat and I stand by the side to give the crowd a full view of the unveiling. "It's only proper for Paris to pay homage to those to protect us from evil, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Faon Vert!" The tarp falls from the statue, and I stare up at it in awe.
A spitting image of Chat Noir and I lay crouching at the bottom, Chat has one of his claws out, ready to strike, while I face the side, looking way more serious and cooler than usual, blowgun at the ready to launch a volley of ranged attacks at the enemy, but the most grand looking I think is Ladybug. She stands the highest amongst the three of us, a yo-yo expertly sculpted to spin its string all around her.
I was snapped out at my reverie as I felt Chat's hand grab mine, dragging me to the center, waving his and my hand around to the crowd who were in the middle of snapping probably thousands of pictures, right! I'm here as a hero of Paris, I'll come back as a civilian later, I give the audience a cheerful smile.
"Can I get some photos for the Ladyblog?" I hear a familiar voice shout. Looking amongst the crowd, I finally notice Alya wildly snapping photos with her phone, but no sight of Marinette anywhere, did they solve the voice message problem already? I wrap my hands around Chat's shoulder anyways, pointing him towards Alya's camera and giving her a peace sign with my fingers.
"Thank you Faon!" She shouts.
"And thank you, random citizen!" I shout back.
"Is that another movie reference?" Chat asks, turning to me with a smirk, which I returned.
"Possibly."
We ended up having a lot of our pictures taken, but eventually the crowd disperses. Sending a happy couple and their children off with a smile, I turn to see Chat Noir shaking hands with the Mayor, and Théo…
Théo is staring up at the statue, looking downright melancholic.
I walk up to him with a sad smile. "Hey." I stand next to him, leaning a little on his shoulder and looking at the statue with him. "It really does look amazing, I can see the amount of effort you put in it, even if I'm actually taller than Chat Noir in real life." I joke, trying to lighten the mood, but Théo still looks miserable.
"Ladybug didn't show up. I just wanted to express my adoration for her. Let her know that everything I had went into her statue. I'm sure if she took a little time to get to know me, she would see how much we have in common. Our devotion to the things we love."
I lean away from him with a frown, he definitely has some form of hero worship to Ladybug, but… I turn to look at Chat, who is still so animatedly gushing about the statue to the Mayor, he's in love with Ladybug, and we are friends, right?
Friends should be helping friends ensure a relationship with their crushes… right..?
"Umm… Just so you know, maybe it's best that Ladybug didn't show…" I find myself saying before I could even stop it.
The sculptor turns to me with wide eyes. "W-What do you mean?"
"Well, umm… You see the thing is…" I stutter, should I really be doing this? Friends do this right?
"The thing is… Chat Noir and Ladybug are in the middle of…" I feel my heartrate pick up at the sight of Chat finishing his conversation with the Mayor, turning to walk towards us. "They're in the middle of becoming like, a thing you know? So it's best to not get your hopes up!" I finally squeak out.
"Really?" Théo asks, sounding almost heartbroken and- gods am I being a terrible person?
"Y-Yeah! They're like- They're like this ." I cross my fingers, because why not keep digging this hole I'm burying myself in.
Théo outright growls as Chat meets with us. "These statues are amazing. One thing's slightly off though— I'm actually taller than Ladybug." The blond says, looking at the sculptor with a cheeky smile. The latter however was having none of it, glaring daggers at the cat hero before storming off.
"What does Ladybug see in him?" My super hearing picks up his grumble, making me feel like a complete tool.
"What's gotten his boxers in a bunch." The blond looks at me quizzically.
I just sigh. "It's my fault, I was saying all the wrong things, I think..." I explain, Chat just looks even more confused and I sigh again.
"I may have… sort of implied that you and Ladybug are dating."
"You what ?"
"I'm sorry! I just- I thought friends are supposed to help each other out like that!"
"No they don't! They- umm… Wait, do they?"
I freeze at my panic to look at Chat in a whole new light, he doesn't know either? Does he not have enough friends like me in real life? That's interesting to think about.
After I get over what I just did though.
"...No, I don't think so…" I groan, not only did I completely cross the line, I hurt someone's feelings too, and gods know what Ladybug is going to think if she finds out, maybe it is good that she isn't here. "I think I overstepped, I'm sorry."
Chat crosses his arms. "I don't think I'm the one you should be apologizing too."
Letting out a whimper, I nod. "Yeah, I have to find Théo too, but… Maybe when he cools down a little, please…?" I plead, giving him my best doe eyes.
And it actually works! Chat manages to put on a stern face for about five seconds before it all comes crumbling down. "Alright fine, but by tonight at least okay?"
"Of course! Don't go to bed angry, age old advice." I try to joke, emotions plummeting again at the lack of amusement from the cat hero. "I'm… I really am sorry, you know that right…?"
A tense second passes before the blond lets out a sigh of his own. "It's fine Faon, to be honest, I would probably have done the same."
"That's not true, at least, I don't think you would." I give him a light pat on the shoulder before looking at the statue again. "I should probably go, I need to practice on what to say if I don't want to screw everything up again." I give him a sad smile before leaping back home, climbing through the kitchen window and detransforming. Ossi flies out of the pen and gives me a disapproving look.
"What? I already know I screwed up okay? Don't need another person telling me." I grumble, grabbing a soft drink from the fridge.
Ossi's grumpy look dissolves into confusion. "Whaddya talkin about? I was mad at the fact thatcha interrupted my talking to transform."
"What? Oh, right, limited awareness while transformed…" I mutter, turning around, I explain the entire situation again to Ossi.
"And now both Chat and Théo are mad at me, and it's only a matter of time before Ladybug finds out too." I whine, grabbing a nearby notebook and uncapping Ossi's pen.
"Kid, I'm not gonna say thatcha not in the wrong here, but at least ya feel bad about it to wanna apologize." Ossi lands in front of the notebook. "Besides, now ya know better."
I scoff. "Yeah, the next time I find out someone also has a crush on the person my friend also has a crush on, I will be so prepared. They will all be dating each other when I'm through with 'em, anime will be solved forever."
"Ya realize that doing nothin' is also a viable strategy, right?"
"But I'm supposed to be a friend! Not a fantastic earthbender."
"...Ya reference a lot more shows when you're upset."
I glare at the Kwami. "Don't underestimate me, I'll make references anytime an opportunity presents itself, now help me write an apology note."
-Some Time Later-
Turns out, writing a heartfelt apology is harder than it looks, which honestly shouldn't be a surprise, writing something so honest sort of loses its meaning when you have to memorize them, it's a wonder how actors and actresses do it.
"So by this point I would have a bouquet of flowers and a diamond bracelet, kneeling on one knee while Chat Noir blasts an apology song which has yet to be determined, and I would say-"
"Kid I think ya blowing this WAY out of proportion here! Why can't cha just say 'I'm sorry'!?"
"Because it's too late now to say sorry! Wait, I got the song."
"Alright we're taking a break." The notebook gets snatched away from my hands by the Kwami. Shooting him a glare, I decide to just let it slide for now, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV, Ossi is right, I am kind of losing my mind right now.
"And in some astonishing news, there's been a spectacular theft at the Louvre. Amateur video showed without a shadow of a doubt that the thief is none other than the famous hero, Chat Noir."
"What?" Ossi and I say in disbelief.
The news channel plays the video, showing Chat Noir very clearly holding the Mona Lisa in his arms and...
And a lollipop stick in his mouth?
"This painting is the cat's meow!" Chat Noir(?) says, placing the candy stick on a nearby chair before running out of the museum.
"Cat's meow…?" I think out loud, if I have any suspicions about whether it's actually Chat Noir, it's basically confirmed now.
"T-That little-!" Ossi shouts, snapping me out of my own confusion, looking at him, I've never seen the Kwami so angry before.
"How dare that backstabbing little alley cat try to- He worked really hard painting tha- Julian! We need to get that painting back!" He fumes, practically steaming.
"Ossi, are you oka-"
"Nevermind that, we need to get that painting back kid, NOW!"
Nodding frantically (and feeling a little scared), I point the pen at the Kwami. "Ossi, Horns Drawn!"
Ossi immediately dives into the tip of the pen, causing a deer head to appear in front of it. Swiping the pen across my eyes, the mask gets drawn and materializes onto my face, I drag the pen from my left hand back to my right as a brown suit slowly starts to appear from my arms towards the rest of my body. Twirling the pen around effortlessly as it slowly grows longer, I toss it upwards before reaching towards my back and pulling up a newly made hoodie, ears on its side and antlers on top as I catch the pen which has turned into blowgun as I lean against it with a lazy smile and a peace sign raised in the air.
I sigh, I'm going to have to talk to Ossi about this later. "One thing at a time..." I mumble to myself, running up to the library to use the computer, loading up the amateur film on YouTube.
"First of all…" Pausing the video where it shows Chat holding the painting, I zoom in on his mouth. Just as I suspected, the candy stick is what Théo was chewing on during the ceremony.
"Ossi was right, I should've just apologized immediately." I grumble to myself, taking out my blowgun to call Chat Noir and Ladybug.
"Faon, where are you? Chat Noir is trapped in the Louvre by the police!" Ladybug was the first to pick up.
"Hello?" Chat finally answers too, his tone is… understandably frustrated.
"Okay, I know what you're thinking Chat, but it's gonna be alright, I'll handle this." I say, climbing out the balcony and leaping towards Théo's workshop.
"Handle the- Faon you're not going after the Akuma are you?" Ladybug asks incredulously.
"No! Not at all! Well kind of. Listen, Ladybug you work on getting Chat Noir out of there without hurting anyone, and I'll just scout ahead a little, I'll send you a distress call if anything bad happens."
"Faon wait!"
I hang up before Chat can say anything else, I already got him in trouble with the police, I don't want anything bad to happen to him again.
Thanks to my previous stalking of Théo, I know where to find his workshop. A large warehouse somewhere near the outskirts of Paris, its roof was replaced with glass as a way to show how modern it is to be using natural light.
Breaking in through the roof, I land behind a few discarded boxes, enhancing my hearing, I don't hear much sound in the warehouse minus the usual background noise. Peeking out the corner to survey the room, I finally spot the Mona Lisa, placed right in the center of the room, suspiciously.
Frowning, I take a step back, this is obviously a trap, but… It's the Mona Lisa, one of the most valuable paintings on earth, even if it is a trap, I need to make sure it's safe…
Sneaking around from box to box, I quietly land in front of the painting. It's placed precariously on a box, what I didn't notice from before is the note written there.
I open it.
"Cat's in the bag…?"
Suddenly the box beneath me explodes, two sets of chains wrapping around my arms, trapping me in place.
"Son of a-" I pull at the chains, no good, it's stuck.
"What the..."
Gasping at the unfamiliar sound and the increasing volume of footsteps, I grit my teeth in frustration.
"Sticks can be used as toothpicks, Mind's Eye."
All at once my blowgun morphs into a tiny sized toothpick, falling off my back and onto the floor. I step on it with my feet to hide it, even if Hawk Moth doesn't consider my Miraculous a priority, he would definitely want to have it for himself regardless.
"You!"
Looking at the source of the voice, I glare at the Akuma.
"Me. What say you unchain me so we can get this over with, or are ya too much of a scaredy-cat." I spit out.
"That trap was supposed to be for Chat Noir! Why do you always have to ruin my plans!?" the copycat growls, jumping down to face me, pure hatred displayed in his eyes.
Confidence wavering, I gulp. "I'm sorry okay!? I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I'm- I'm actually here to help you."
The fake Chat's glare melts into something more confused. "What?"
"You know, I felt really bad about lying to you, truth is Ladybug doesn't even like Chat Noir, so I came here to give you some tips to better your chances!"
Copycat's face turns from confusion to suspicion. "I don't believe you."
I shrug. "Suit yourself, enjoy Ladybug kicking your butt when she arrives, unless… You're into that." I wink suggestively.
The Akuma growls, looking at a newspaper clipping picture in his hand. Wait, that's the same one Théo has at the unveiling, that has to be where the Akuma's hiding!
"Tell me what you know." Copycat says, putting the picture in his pocket and zipping it shut.
"You're gonna have to come closer, I don't want the real Chat Noir to hear after all…" I smirk, beckoning him with my finger. Hawk Moth's mask appears on his face for a second but he seems to resist it, slowly inching towards me.
Just as he enters my range, I swing at his head, the blow misses the mark as he ducks underneath, but I follow it up with a kick, but the Akuma was too agile, he grabs my ankle and twists it, crashing me onto the floor as I yelp in pain, but still managing to keep my other foot on the tooth pick, for better or worse since the uncomfortable position just made it hurt more.
"Can't believe you would lie to me a second time deer, but I guess we're all full of surprises today huh?" Copycat sneers, pinning me down.
"You don't get to call me that!" I struggle under his grip, this is bad, my Mind's Eye doesn't have much time left.
"Like I care, where's your Miraculous!?" The Akuma yells, voice merging with Hawk Moth's to create a disturbingly distorted sound.
"Why don't you take a look at the stick you have! Right up your-"
Suddenly a loud 'oof' rings through the warehouse, and the weight on top of me disappears.
"Cataclysm!" I hear the real Chat Noir say, and finally the chains gripping my arms dissolve into rust. Jumping up, I flick the toothpick into my hand, turning it back to my blowgun and spinning to see two Chat Noirs in the middle of a battle with their own staves.
"Hold on Chat!" I yell, jumping away and dialing Ladybug on my weapon.
"Faon! Are you okay? Chat Noir broke out of the museum!" Her voice pierces through.
I wince, looking at the cat hero fighting his clone. "Yeah, I figured. Ladybug we're at Théo Barbot's workshop! You need to hurry!"
"I'll be there in thirty seconds."
Hanging up the call, my blowgun beeps erratically, I don't have much time left. With Chat Noir and the Copycat too busy fighting on equal footing, and Ladybug on the way, I can take this opportunity to recharge.
Sneaking off the roof and into an alley, I take a deep breath as the transformation wears off, Ossi flopping onto a nearby crate.
"Is… Is Lisa alright?" He whimpers, I quickly hand him a bag of croutons.
"Not yet, we still need to help Ladybug and Chat Noir, please hurry!"
Ossi immediately starts stuffing his face with croutons, suddenly I hear the familiar sound of a yo-yo break into the warehouse, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Alright I'm done letsch go!" Ossi yells with his mouth full, nodding, I point the pen at him.
"Ossi, Horns Drawn!"
Silently landing on one of the warehouse's railings, I take stock of the situation. Currently Chat Noir and Ladybug are on one side, while the Copycat is one the other, the Akuma's hand glowing black and I widen my eyes in shock, he can use Cataclysm too?
"Let's wrap this up! Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouts, and a spoon appears in her hands. "A spoon? What am I supposed to do with this?" She mumbles.
She needs some time to think. I hold up one of the wooden planks I picked up on the way here, just in case.
"HEY CHAT NOIR, CATCH!" I yell, throwing the plank at the Akuma. Copycat looks up in shock as the board dives to him, quickly reacting, he grabs the plank with both hands before gasping and letting go, but it was too late. The plank immediately dissolves from his Cataclysm, and the dark glow in his hand disappears.
Landing besides my teammates, I give the Akuma a sharp glare. "Figures, you may look like Chat Noir, but the real one is way too good to fall for something like that!"
"Oh, umm, wow, thank you." The real cat hero says sheepishly.
I shoot him a smirk. "Anytime Kitten." I say before assuming a defensive stance. "The Akuma is the picture in his pocket."
"Let's make it snappy." Chat suggests, looking at his ring as it beeps.
The Copycat lets out an evil laugh, showing us his own ring. "You're going to change back before me." He declares before charging at us.
"I got it! Chat, hand me your staff, and that roll of tape." Ladybug orders, pointing at the roll of tape at the workbench before tying the yo-yo to her spoon.
Chat sends me a confused look, to which I shrug. "Whatever the leader wants, I'll stall for time." I volunteer, diving in and fighting the Copycat again, this time without the handicap of being chained up.
Turns out, it's just as I said, you can look like Chat Noir but you can't copy his talent for fighting. Unlike the original, this fake hero is incredibly predictable, his fighting style lacks the flair of the real one. Landing one final kick, I knocked him to the floor, weapon raised in the air to subdue him until…
Until his eyes become wide and rounded, pouting his lips and giving me the most wounded kitten eyes I've ever seen.
"Ch-Chat?" I hesitate, one second too long.
The Akuma's face immediately takes a wicked turn, smirking evilly, he kicks me back to the wall.
"Ow…" I groan, sitting up and rubbing my head, opening an eye, I realize that the two Chats are fighting now. Finally, while the Copycat dives to his original, the cat hero leans back, propping the fake up with his feet. Quickly as it comes, Ladybug's makeshift fishing hook wraps around the fake's belt and yanks him all the way up to the ceiling. Ladybug retracts her yo-yo, wrapping the wire around the Akuma before plucking the picture off of him.
"No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma." Ladybug announces, ripping the picture in half before beginning the purification.
Standing up with a groan, I stretch as the Ladybugs fix up the hole in the wall I made by crashing into it.
"Good catch…" I comment as Chat Noir catches Théo from the ceiling.
The blond gives me a bright smile as he gently lowers Théo to the floor.
"I'm so glad you guys could tell the real cat from the fake one." Chat says to both Ladybug and I. The former gives him a sly smile.
"It's nothing. Once I figured out which cat was really in love with me, it was a no-brainer." She teases, and-
Wait what?
I wince at the implications of that sentence, Ladybug knew about Théo's feelings but not Chat's? That doesn't seem at all plausible.
The blond seems to have realized it too, judging by his suddenly closed off expression. Giving both of us a mirthless smile, his ring beeps. "Better help the fellow out. His crush just got crushed." He says, ignoring my worried look and running off to the exit.
"That makes two of us." I hear him mutter, his heartbreak practically peeling off of him in waves as I feel my own heart sinks, but as much as I want to chase after him right now, there's something else I need to fix first…
"Ugh… What am I doing here? Ladybug? Faon Vert?" Théo finally regains enough of his bearings to ask.
The red superheroine kneels down and hands the sculptor the picture that was fixed by her Miraculous Ladybug while I stand awkwardly behind them, waiting for my turn. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it this morning, Théo." She apologizes.
Théo gives her a small smile, before reaching for a pen in his pocket. "Can you autograph it for me?"
"Of course I can!" Ladybug takes the pen and signs her name. "You've got some real artistry here. You've really captured my essence."
The sculptor gently takes the picture like it was pure gold. "Thank you, Ladybug." He thanks wholeheartedly before looking at me in shame. "And don't worry. Faon Vert told me about you and Chat Noir. It's okay."
"Huh?" Ladybug says in confusion, turning to look at me.
"Right, yeah, about that…" I start, face slowly growing red, I did not plan for this, how do I explain this whole situation without exposing Chat Noir's feelings?
Thankfully, Ladybug's earrings start beeping. "Looks like I have to go." Ladybug stands before sending me a short glare. "And don't think you're off the hook yet Faon, you still went after an Akuma all on your own."
I look down in shame. "I'm sorry, I just didn't want to cause any more trouble for you guys."
"We're a team Faon, that means we're stronger together, not apart. Even if you mess up, Chat and I will still be there to help." Her icy stare turns into something more playful. "We're all in this together, okay?"
Smiling at her, I feel my eye twitch. "...I know that we're having a bonding moment right now, so I'm going to refrain from bursting into song and dance."
Ladybug lets out a giggle which tells me that she totally knew what she was doing before her earrings beep again. "Gotta go now, bye!" She says with wide eyes before launching her yo-yo in the air and jumping away.
Letting out a sigh, I turn to Théo who had been watching our interaction with vague awkwardness. "Listen, I want to apologize for what I said this afternoon, it wasn't right of me to break your heart like that."
The sculptor gives me a surprised look before smiling, surprising me as well with that reaction since in all my prepared scenarios he was supposed to get angrier. "It's fine, you were just helping your friend right?"
"Yeah, I guess so, honestly I thought you would be angrier than… whatever this is." I take a seat on the floor in front of him, crossing my legs and pouting. "To tell the truth, I've probably made a lot more mistakes when it comes to the whole 'having friends' thing than anything else combined, I'm kind of winging it as I go."
Théo lets out a laugh. "I get that. But it's like what you said this afternoon right? As long as they can see the effort in your actions."
Giving him a smile now, I make sure that he's not injured anywhere else. "Thanks Théo, you know I'm kinda glad you end up sculpting our statues, you're pretty chill."
"When I'm not akumatized you mean." He quips.
I wince. "Right, yeah, on the bright side you finally got your autograph!" I pat him on the back before noticing the time. "Listen, I gotta go, but thank you, for being so cool with this."
"Anytime." The sculptor smirks before waving me off as I leap up onto the roof. I have a lot of things to think about, lots to plan too.
-The Next Day-
"You did what ?"
It was the day after Copycat's attack, and we had been grouped up to prepare for a presentation when I found out that Marinette had actually stolen Adrien's phone while he was at fencing class in an attempt to erase her embarrassing voicemail.
I stare at Marinette and Alya incredulously, the pair of best friends at least had the decency to look somewhat ashamed, Adrien's phone sits between them, solidifying their guilt.
"How'd you even get it? Wouldn't it be in his locker?" I ask in disbelief.
Marinette gets weirder, eyes wide and hands fidgety. "O-Oh! Umm, I got lucky, I guess?"
"You got lucky and stole your friend's phone?" I ask again to confirm.
"N-No! It's- Gah!" Marinette has devolved into incoherent babbling, which honestly what else did I expect when we're talking about Adrien.
Thankfully Alya is there to save the day, putting a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder, she looks at me apologetically. "We're sorry Julian, I shouldn't have encouraged her, Marinette doesn't really think straight whenever Adrien is involved."
Yeah well you don't see me stealing his phone. I think to myself, before sighing. "It's okay, just don't do it again." People do crazy things when they're in love I suppose if there's a lesson to learn this past week. Now that I think about it I don't even know why she was so worked up, it's not like people our age check our voicemails anyways.
The blogger lights up in relief along with Marinette. "Great! Now scoot over so Marinette can give the phone back."
Right, the other thing they planned: say that Marinette found Adrien's phone and use that as a segue to ask the blond out to the movies.
Pretty good plan, even if the means for it are a little unethical.
I sigh and move toward the middle while the bluenette scoots to the end of the seat. Adrien is currently talking to Nino, the former looking a little worse for wear.
"Well, if I did, then, whoever has it found it in the boys' locker room. I was checking my voicemail in there during fencing practice." The model says, and wow, maybe people our age do check our voicemails.
"Do it now!" Alya whisper-shouts from my left. Marinette panics for a second before grabbing the phone and just sliding it into his bag.
Well, so much for the plan…
The bag falls onto the floor after that along with the phone, alerting the blond as his best friend as the former reaches down to grab his phone.
"What in the... I already looked in here a thousand times!" Adrien exclaims, looking extremely confused, his face scrunching up in confusion in a way that really doesn't help my denial.
Nino leans back in his chair. "You need some time off. Hey, I know, let's go to the movies tonight." He suggests and a small part in me laughs at the irony of the situation.
Alya, the best wingwoman, knew just what to say. "Hey dudes, mind if a few friends tag along?"
Both Nino and Adrien brighten up at the suggestion. "Sure thing!" The DJ says, Adrien looking at Marinette with a small smile, which made my heartrate pick up.
And instantly petrifies Marinette.
"Marinette…?" I ask carefully, slowy poking her face, which is frozen in joy. No response, how can love even be this deep?
Alya laughs. "Don't worry about it Julian, she just needs a minute." She grabs my shoulder and pulls me in closer to her. "So! Are you going to join us for movies tonight? We can even watch it at your house."
"Movies? Always." Was what I wanted to say, but unfortunately…
"Sorry, I have something else planned for today." I reply sheepishly. The blogger thankfully doesn't question it. "Another time then." She shrugs before returning to our project, all the while asking me about good movie recommendations that are currently showing.
-Time Skip to Night-
Finally, I did it. It took careful lying to the security guards that I'm here on hero business, and sneaking around to the control room to turn off the security cameras for a bit, but it's done, I hope it's worth it.
I take a deep, deep breath. "Alright, Horns In." I whisper, a bright light surrounds me as I transform back into Julian, Ossi flies out of my pen and looks at me.
"What's the matter kid? It's weird thatcha preferred patrol over a movie night."
I give him the most confused look I can manage. "What's wrong with wanting to keep Paris safe?"
"Alright, keep ya secrets." The Kwami mumbles before looking around. "So, where are-" His words get stuck in his throat as he turns to see the Mona Lisa proudly hanging on the walls of the Louvre.
"Kid… Why are we…" Ossi starts to say, but his words seem to be stuck in his throat.
I pat him lightly on the head. "Well, you seem really worried about the painting when we saw it get stolen, so I thought you would want to see it in person."
"But what about you? Ain'tcha scared from being away from home?"
I take another deep breath. "A little, but the Louvre is closed now so no one's here, and I told the guards that I needed to be alone, plus I disabled the security cameras so no one can see us." I take a seat on the cushions behind me. "Besides, you helped me so much already, it's only fair for me to do the same… We're a team- no, not just that, you're my best friend Os, and I… I would do anything for you." I say earnestly.
The Kwami says nothing, choosing to stare at the painting instead, I look at the painting with him in silence. Suddenly a loud sniff can be heard from him and I tense up, did I screw something up?
"Ossi…?" I whisper, did he not like what I did?
The Kwami turns to me and I realize that his entire face is covered in tears, multicolored eyes glow in the dark as he rushes to me, hugging my chest with fierce compassion. "Thank you Julian."
Feeling a soft smile across my face. "You don't need to thank me…" I say quietly, hands awkwardly at the side as I wonder what they should be doing. Slowly I reach out to pat Ossi's back as he lets out another loud sniffle.
As the Kwami's cries gradually die out, he looks up at me with grateful eyes before turning back to the painting.
"It's not quite the same as I remember." He muses.
Feeling curious, I look at the picture more carefully this time. "I'm… not really sure what you mean, but it's probably because this is a fake. It makes sense, I wouldn't want the original to be damaged from the thousands of tourists coming here with their camera flashes. The painting's way too valuable to perish like that."
The Kwami lets out a sharp laugh. "Damn right it is…" He mutters. Before flying up to my head. "Ya know… I think you two would've gotten along."
"Hmm? Who?" I ask.
"The painting's artist of course. Like you he struggled a lot as a kid, never managed to stay focused on a single thing for long, and always said that the letters and numbers don't work like they normally should in his head."
"...You know you're comparing me to a world renowned scientist, artist, inventor, and just overall genius, right?" I point out with a slowly reddening face.
"So? Everyone's a genius in their own right. Ya think I would've letcha use my Miraculous if I didn't see any potential in ya?" The Deer lands on my head fully. "Fate lends the Deer Miraculous to the people whose potential needs a little guidance, for Mona Lisa's artist it's his difficulty reading and writing. For you kid… It's that anxiety of leaving ya home. And if he can create a whole 'nother language that works with his brain, or how another one of my fawns can create symphonies while not hearing a damn thing, imagine the possibilities that you can make." The Kwami flies off my head and stares me directly in the eyes, his own sparkling with fascination and wonder. "Imagine it Julian, the possibilities that await you."
Looking at Ossi in shock, I feel a shudder run through me at the sheer conviction in his words. "I think I get why you're the Kwami of Imagination now." I tease lightly, the Kwami pouts and playfully headbutts me as I laugh, which in turn made him laugh too.
"Hey kid?" The deer asks after we both calm down.
"Yeah Os?"
"Do you think we can come back here during the day next time? Even if it's a fake, it'll be nice to see somethin' one of my fawns made be so loved by the public."
Smiling at his request, I pat him lightly on the head. "Of course Ossi, anything you want." I promise, and for the first time in a long while, I don't feel scared at the idea of leaving my home at all.
