Chapter 12: Home
In the following days, Marinette had never felt happier. Despite the hardships of finding miraculous, she had found that love really did conquer all. The bond she shared with her partner only grew and her love for him grew with it. In the past, she had been so sure that she knew what love was but this, this was something else. She could feel it in the air around her when they saw each other. It was warm and heavy, and it felt like there were little strings attaching her to him at every limb: when he moved, she moved, and what he felt, she felt too. It was a love she could've never imagined. She had let it consume her and it felt amazing. In some ways however, it terrified her. She had never felt this way before, and it made her scared of her need for him. She had always known that needing someone was something most common in toxic relationships but needing Chat Noir felt as natural as needing water. When she needed him, he needed her, and they melted in such harmony that nothing about it felt toxic. It felt like true, utter, bliss.
She strolled along a bridge near the water thinking about him. A familiar jolt of anxiety flowed into her stomach. This had been happening increasingly often on days where she didn't see him much and she knew he felt it too. She knew separation anxiety was a very real idea to consider, but strangely, this didn't feel like the case. It felt more like a hidden force within them, drawing them towards one another; as though a rubber band held them together and they could feel it stretching too far if they waited too long. Sometimes however, she liked to make the feeling stronger, so that seeing him, and feeling the pull dissipate, would feel just that much better. She thought of his eyes that captured her, his arms that held her on most nights, and his lips. The pull intensified and she felt her yo-yo buzz against her side. She wondered if her thoughts made him call her. She pulled it off her side and flipped it open.
"Hellooo meow-lady, I will unfortunately be running late this evening. Are you missing me?" he mewed through the phone.
She sighed at his voice. Even the sound of his voice filled her with bliss "Missing you? Whatever gave you that impression?" she teased
"You always miss me bugaboo. I can practically feel it." He joked but she could feel the truth behind his playful tone. "Admit it, you can't go a minute without my jokes" he replied
"Ha. Your jokes? I can go days without those" she retaliated, rolling her eyes.
"Oh paw-lease you love my sense of humor. It's one of the top 10 things you love about me if I do recall." He mentioned her previous confession during an akuma attack that made her admit to the things she liked about him.
"Okay I'll admit it. It is pretty sweet to hear you making puns again kitkat." She placed a hand on her hip. "but I do, however, miss your kisses more than your puns, so you better not make me wait too long" she stopped walking and looked out at the river, watching the ripples move.
"Kitkat? Is that a play-on your reference to my sweet puns? How clever, sugar plum" he teased.
"Sugar plum? No thank you." she laughed
"What? I was just going with your candy theme and I'm not a fan of candy coated bugs." He defended himself
"I can think of plenty more candies than sugar plums and coated bugs. You could've called me lady-pop. That could be a lollipop pun" she suggested.
"Or I could call you sugar baby and you could call me sugar daddy" he flirted
"I could call you a nerd" She shut him down.
"Alright lady-pop. You can stick with kitkat." He laughed.
"Good kitty." She smiled
"Your kitty" he sighed
"My kitty" her voice softened. She heard the phone hang-up on the other line, and she frowned, peering down at her yo-yo. Suddenly, she felt two hands covering her eyes. They were familiar black leathered hands. A smile crept onto her face. The feeling in her stomach eased.
"Guess who" he flirted
"is it Brad? Or Jack? Maybe Jake?" she teased him
"You wound me, my lady" he lowered his hand below her chin and scooped her face so that she could see him. "And here I was, about to shower you in kisses. But alas, you have plenty of other boyfriends to fulfill your needs" He spoke dramatically.
"Oh, c'mon kitty, you know you're the only one for me." She batted her eyes at him.
"oh yeah?" he smirked "Prove it" he spun her around and grabbed her waist so that her body pressed against his. Heat rose in her core and she blushed. She pushed him away coyly.
"You'll have to catch me first" she winked swinging her yo-yo in the opposite direction.
He chased after her for a bit when he saw her circle back around to their original spot. A smile crept onto his face, gotcha. He saw her creep behind a lamp post.
"Oh where oh where could my ladybug be?" he spoke dramatically. She giggled behind the post, wanting him to catch her. He slowly crept around the side, blocking the other side of the post with his staff. He grabbed her yo-yo and pulled her against him. "gotcha" he breathed close to her face.
His sudden closeness made her gasp, despite her intentionally making him do it. Her hands landed on the sides of his body and she felt the heat rising again. Her cheeks blushed red and she raised her eyes to meet his. His bright green eyes shown down at her through his eyelashes, making her heart do gymnastics. The heat intensified and she gulped. He took a step forward, holding the small of her back as he backed her into a wall.
"chat" she whispered into the crook of his neck. He reached his pointer finger under her chin and lifted her lips towards his. He now had her against the wall.
"we're in public" she spoke breathlessly, though she honestly didn't mind PDA anymore. He smirked and pressed himself into her core, his hand still delicately placed under her chin.
"Do you really want me to stop now?" he lowered his eyes again in the way that made her lose herself to him completely. He brushed his nose against hers and breathed out, giving her goosebumps. She knew she was a goner. She shook her head. He slowly, and far too gently for her liking, pressed his lips to hers. She made a small sound as he did so and she felt him smile against her lips in response. He took his hand and cupped her face, tilting his head so that he could deepen the kiss. He opened his mouth slightly and let his tongue inside her mouth flicking it lightly against hers. This drove her insane. She made another sound. His other hand had been holding hers against the wall. She felt her entire body burn for him. His kisses deepened but he remained painfully gentle. His kisses were always gentle and seductive, and it only made her want more. She released one hand from his waist and wrapped it around his neck, making him kiss her harder. This time he made a sound. It excited her and she subconsciously arched her body to brush against his core. He pushed her harder against the wall and deepened his kiss further. Though he still seemed to be gentle with her, his kisses grew more desperate. Just before they both lost control, a loud explosion shocked them away from each other.
"Disgusting!" a shrill voice sounded from above them. Ladybug looked up to find Lila, dressed in what looked like a green version of her Volpina suit.
"I know you are but what am I?" Chat teased. He stood, hanging off of the lamp post looking at her with a fearless grin. Ladybug sighed, feeling his absence as he stood away from her. She watched him switch into hero mode. She straightened up and followed his lead.
"I don't think you're very funny" Volpina scoffed, slashing her wand, creating a fireball that shot down hitting the pole. It came crashing down, and luckily, chat noir jumped before it could hit him.
"Wow. Your illusions are so much more realistic now. You should design videogames with all that talent." He held his baton in front of him, ready for a fight. His ears flicked up, he could tell ladybug hadn't been near him and he wanted to be ready to sense where she stood, so that he could protect her if she needed it. He felt a jolt in his stomach. She's behind me, just to the left. He thought.
"Silly kitty. You still think they're illusions?" the villainous girl floated towards the ground.
Ladybug felt the crater in the ground that the explosion left.
"She's right Chat Noir. This crater is real." She scratched her forehead wondering how she had done this.
"She's right Chat Noir blah blah blah real" Volpina mocked her making a ridiculous face. "God you're annoying" She finished
Ladybug made her way next to Chat Noir rolling her eyes. "What do you want Lila?" She asked with anger in her tone.
"I want to talk to you beetle." She spoke through her teeth. The two girls glared at each other with pure hatred. Chat Noir stepped in front of Ladybug.
"Whatever you have to say to her, you can say to me too." He held his staff out.
"I don't think you'll be too hard to get through" She sang. She suddenly held her hand to her mouth and put something between her lips. Just as Chat noticed what it was, he was too late. It had been a tiny tube, containing a dart. It hit him just as Ladybug lurched forward to shove him out of the way, he had pushed back on her, ensuring it didn't hit her instead. Just like that, Chat Noir came crashing to the ground, and lay unconscious in a crumpled heap. Ladybug dropped to her knees and cradled his head.
"What did you do to him?!" she snarled looking at Lila.
"Oh don't worry. It's just a little cat nap" she giggled "See? I can make puns too"
"Not after I'm done with you" ladybug got to her feet, swinging her yo-yo with all her might, directly at Lila to knock her down.
"Shelter!" Volpina called and surrounded herself with a green and orange shield. It knocked ladybugs yo-yo back at her with a thud. Shoot. "Not now… I want to get her's first." She heard Volpina snarl.
Who was she talking to? Ladybug pondered briefly before realizing: Hawkmoth was speaking to her.
Ladybug went running towards the Eiffel tower. There was a lot to analyze. Firstly, her suit change and the power she just called. She had two miraculous on? How was she able to do that? Was she really that strong? Ladybug acted fast. "Lucky Charm!" she called. A mirror dropped into her hands. Maybe I can deflect her powers back at her. She thought.
"A mirror? Are you really that conceited ladybug?" Lila sneered behind her, taking her wand out in front of her. Ladybug watched as she pulled her arm back, and just as she aimed it at her, ladybug held up the mirror. A beam of light hit the mirror and bounced back at lila. "Thanks to hawkmoth, I don't need to trick you. I can create anything I want to defeat you. Thought you were the only one who could create didn't you?" She lifted her wand again and created a lighting bolt that almost hit ladybug in the face but she dodged it. "at least I don't have to say something stupid like lucky charm, to create what I need" She chuckled as she watched ladybug's eyes widen with shock. She shot another lightening bolt at her but ladybug deflected it, sending it crashing towards the villain.
"Shelter!" she called and surrounded herself with another shield. She raised her wand again, and rocks shot out this time, ladybug deflected it again, using her mirror.
"Shelter!" she sang. How did she use it twice? Ladybug thought for a second. Then it became obvious to her. Of course. Her elevated powers could only mean one thing: She had the power of akumatization enhancing them. Ladybug continued mirroring her attacks and Lila kept deflecting. It was getting tiring, but Ladybug stood her ground. She watched as Lila grew weak. Finally, Ladybug swung her yo-yo while simultaneously deflecting Lila's beam of what looked like bricks this time. The yo-yo made Lila falter on her shelter power, and she fell to the ground. The mirror shattered on ladybug and it scraped her cheek. She brought a gloved hand to her face and looked at it. There wasn't too much blood. Swallowing her pain, she made her way towards Lila, she had been knocked to the ground and she lay in a pile of bricks, passed out. Got you. Ladybug swung her yo-yo around her wrist. She reached down and grabbed the bracelet from off her wrist and broke it. She quickly purified the akuma, trying not to feel too worried about Chat Noir lying on the ground. Thinking about it made her wince with a jolting pain in her stomach. She shook it off. She looked at the bracelet in her hand and put it on. Waze appeared in front of her. She turned to face her opponent, she had one more miraculous to purify. Just as she was about to grab Lila's necklace, she got up from the bricks, awoken by the sudden touching of her wrist.
"I'm not giving up that easily!" she shouted swinging her wand. More rocks hit the ground as ladybug dodged them. She made a run for it and looked at the new kwami in front of her.
"I only have a few minutes Waze" She cried "Do you have anything left in you?" she asked desperately.
"I do! I was under an akumatization. My power's weren't truly used. Unify us ladybug! You'll defeat her in time" the green kwami encouraged her.
They nodded at each other. "Waze, Tikki, Unify!" Ladybug called. She felt a familiar weight surround her and felt her powers change. Her suit now sported green spots and a hood. Interesting. Unfortunately, her back had been turned and a massive pile of rusty nails toppled onto her. She felt one dig into her leg. She tumbled to the ground, reaching for her calf. She ripped out the nail and watched as blood poured out. It seared with pain.
"My lady!" she heard Chat Noir running towards her. Thank god he was awake. He reached her and lifted her to her feet, his staff twirling to deflect more violent objects from hitting them.
"I'm sorry I got put out so easily! What did I miss? You're all green! Oh god your leg!" his eyes enlarged at the sight of her.
"It's the turtle miraculous combined with mine. She had it on her. I almost had her kitty, she's not that hard to beat. But my time is almost up" She spoke urgently. A gigantic comet suddenly threatened to crush them. "Shelter!" she called. It burst into tiny pieces, surrounding them with a cloud of dust.
"Go recharge them both my lady, I'll hold her off" he spoke gently and touched her shoulder. "We've got this" he gave her a smile.
"Please try and stay in one piece kitty" she gave him her best smile, though her leg was killing her and she was terrified to leave him. He nodded and began twirling his baton again.
Ladybug sprinted behind the nearest building and detransformed. Her leg still bled but she had a mission to focus on. She handed the two kwamis each half a macaroon from her purse.
"This will have to do" she spoke to them. They ate hurriedly and nodded at her as soon as they were done.
"Tikki, Waze, Unify!" she called, transforming into her green self again. Her leg still bled. Shit. She thought fast as she untied the ribbons from her hair, wrapping them tightly around the wound. This should stop the bleeding, she thought. She booked it back to the Eiffel tower, hoping to find her kitty managing alright. She saw him deflecting as hard as he could but she could tell he was weakening. He now ran fast as he pounced and dodged what looked like massive beams of light. Suddenly, one of the beams hit him and it seared through his suit, leaving a massive gauge in his skin. He made a restrained yelp. The sound pulled on her heart.
"Chat!" Ladybug ran towards him, her arms stretched in front of her. She ran as fast as possible, jumping over a beam of light. His eyes met hers and she felt them dig into her. They both winced as they felt a pull. They needed each other. She made her way towards him as a beam came towards her, she hadn't noticed. She faced the beam with astonishment as she saw a black blurr in front of her face. He spun his baton and successfully protected them both. He turned his head towards her and nodded. A massive metal rod suddenly came hurdling down towards them from one of the legs of the tower. Ladybug wrapped her arm around her partner and carried them away from it as it crashed into the ground. They separated slightly but stayed holding each other's wrists, jumping over obstacles in perfect unison as they made their way behind a giant piece of rubble. The ducked together.
"How are we supposed to reach her? She doesn't stop for even a second" Chat noir shook his head as he leaned towards Ladybug.
"Maybe if we can get her talking, she'll stop. She loves the sound of her own voice" she rolled her eyes. "She has the necklace around her neck and I think that's probably what the last akuma is inside too. It's so close to her though, I can't think of how to get there. If I have the horse miraculous I would teleport closer but…." She covered her face with her palms.
"Talking sounds like something I could do. But the rest im not so sure. Wait, the second akuma? How could she have had two?" he questioned
"I don't know. They're figuring out a lot it seems." Her mouth quivered as she thought of the new challenges they were facing.
He perked up to show her confidence. "We can figure it out together. We always do" he placed a hand on her shoulder and she breathed out. "Your hair looks beautiful down by the way" He spoke gently, twirling a finger in a loose strand of hair that hung in front of her face. He wanted to help her relax a bit.
"I… had to tie my ribbons around my leg, it's still bleeding pretty bad." She shrugged. Then she jerked her head up at him, remembering what she had seen, minutes before. "Chaton! Your chest! Are you ok?" she grabbed his arm and lifted it, her eyes darting towards his wound.
"Oh this little scratch?" he laughed it off. "Don't worry about me right now my lady, I think we may be needing a little extra luck." He winked
"I think you're right kitty cat. Lucky charm!" she called . A small cat plushie fell into her hands. She tilted her head and peered around. Her vision blinked on Chat Noir. She suddenly felt overcome with a wave of strong emotion that almost knocked her flat on her face. It felt like something was changing inside her. It felt oddly similar to the anxiety and the pulling that she had been feeling recently, only this time it felt more powerful and it felt more like a shock wave than a pull.. She clutched her stomach. She tried to think of what the feeling meant but she couldn't figure out what to do. She had been overthinking and it made her lose focus, she had stood up too soon and saw a furious beam of light, headed straight towards her face. She only got to hear herself gasp before she felt herself flying to the side. She got up knowing what had happened. That stupid self sacrificing cat. Her head pounded and she blinked through her clouded eyesight. Her heart sunk after what she saw next.
"No!" she screamed as her eyes fell on Chat Noir on the ground in front of her, his hands holding his chest. "You idiot. You- you…. Why do you keep doing this to me?" she crouched beside him and a brick came flying at her head, she ducked and it missed her.
"Will you two quit with all the whining? I'm getting bored" Volpina lowered herself to them and tapped her chin. Ladybug got up from Chat noir and flung her yoyo at Volpina's necklace. She suddenly vanished into thin air.
"I can still create illusions, dummy" she heard a voice to the left. She faced her with her teeth gritting, still not leaving her kitty's side. The figure disappeared again. Ladybug dropped down next to her partner.
"Please. Don't leave now. I need you" She cried lifting his head into her hands.
He peered up at her, his face sweating and his eyes closing. "I won't be gone for long ladybug"
She shook his head. "Stay awake! Please! I- don't know what I'm doing ! I only have this lousy toy." She squeezed the toy in her hand. Her heart burned for him and she felt the powerful emotions surround her again. She grabbed at her stomach and made a wincing sound.
"I feel it too, my lady." He gave her a pained smile. "funny.." he began but his eyes seemed to drift away.
"No…please… don't leave… I'm begging you.." she whimpered with one last desperate attempt to pretend he had the ability to stay. She knew she would have to save him.
He coughed and lifted his hand to her cheek. "I could never leave you for long. I'll be okay. But you have to focus. You are strong enough for this. Trust me" he gave her another pained smile and closed his eyes. His breathing slowed to a scarily slow pace. Her body began to tremble but she needed to keep herself together. Her eyes glanced down and she felt herself going faint again. He couldn't be gone. He couldn't leave her like this. Not again. She had seem him lying in front of her too many times, the life leaving his eyes and every time, it broke her into pieces. It never got any easier. If anything, it only grew harder for her to handle. And now it felt worse than ever. Now that she felt such a desperate need for him, she found it nearly impossible to gather herself. She forced herself to look away to stop herself from crumbling.
Fueled on pure desperation and anger she turned her face to find Volpina creating a storm behind her. Lightning began striking down towards the duo and it struck between them. Chat Noir's body sprung into the air and fell far away from her. Ladybug gasped, sprinting towards his small figure on the ground. Her ears began to ring. She couldn't bear to see him like this. The sadness consumed her again. Tears flew from her eyes as she fell to the ground.
"I don't feel strong enough!" she wiped her tears from her eyes. He didn't respond. "What if I lose you forever!" she kept weeping though she knew he couldn't respond. She turned around to face her enemy. Though she could barely feel her hands, she stood up and stared at the stuffed cat, still in her palm. She looked around her again, and the same result happened. The only thing she could see with her ladybug vision was Chat Noir on the ground. Her body felt a jolt and the feeling flooded through her again. She saw a cloud of pink surround her partner now and it made her hands tingle. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling. Maybe the toy was telling her to focus on Chat. Maybe the charm was something inside of her. She opened her eyes again, she knew what to do.
"Ready for more? I don't need you alive to take what I want." Volpina threatened. With a small shrug. She swung her wand again.
Ladybugs eyes darted to her wand. With more focus and power than ever, she raised her green spotted fist. "Shelter!" she screamed. She imagined Chat Noir. She imagined what her love for him looked like. She saw a large red light. It reached her soul and filled her with something heavy. Suddenly, images of him flashed before her. Him protecting her, him touching her shoulders, his smile, his eyes. His life force ignited into her soul. She saw his eyes in front of her own. That's right my lady, focus on me. She could've sworn she heard his voice. His powerful image filled her mind as she pushed the power outwards. She felt a shockwave course through her and it almost knocked her over again. It transferred itself into her fist and created a massive pink circle around her and her partner. Volpina's eyes peeled open as it deflected her strike, knocking her to the ground, her wand falling in front of Chat Noir's weakened body. His eyes opened to slits.
"Cataclysm" he croaked, dragging his hand along the ground, touching the wand. It vanished and a butterfly flew out.
"The wand? But what about… the miraculous?" Ladybug spoke confused. Nonetheless she captured and purified the akuma. She turned to find that Lila had vanished, leaving her mess behind. She turned towards her partner again. He wasn't moving and it made her vision blur in and out. Panic rose in her chest as she tried not to think about the fact that he could be gone if her ladybugs couldn't fix him. She tried not to look at his eyes that stared blankly. Her chest sank. The world darkened and she tried to stop herself from vomiting. She took a deep breathe.
Ladybug gathered herself to her feet. She threw the plushie into the air and exclaimed the magic words. "Miraculous ladybug".
Her heart pounded. Please be okay. She turned around to find him standing up, looking around himself, like a confused kitten.
"Kitty!" She bolted towards him, shoving her face into his chest and wrapping her arms tightly around him. His arms captured her accordingly. She tried to hide how much fear she had been feeling before seeing him.
"I knew I could count on you my lady" he sighed. "Sorry I wasn't very helpful again" he scratched the back of his head.
She softened at his action. The sound of his voice and his adorable mannerism lit her up. Alive. She relaxed a little. "Oh chaton. You were more than enough help." She pulled him close to her again. "You have no idea" she breathed in his familiar scent.
"So I wasn't dreaming?" his voice sounded surprised.
"I don't think so" she sniffled. She couldn't help but begin to cry.
"Happy to be of service." He reached his hand between her shoulder blades and stroked her gently. "How's your leg turtle bug?" he spoke sweetly.
"My leg?" she looked down lifting her foot in front of her. "It seems my ladybugs have healed it. "Your chest?" she gasped stepping back from him, scanning his body.
He rubbed his torso tenderly and grinned up at her. "Good as new. You should be a doctor" he winked.
"Thank tikki later" she lowered her head.
"No. I think a lot of it really does come from you. Your strength. Your love." he placed a hand on her shoulder. His hand felt warm and real and alive.
"Maybe so" she blinked at him. His eyes steadied her and allowed her to breathe again. She felt the strong urge to take a bath. Her throat formed a lump and she lurched into his arms again.
Startled at her sudden vulnerability, he placed his hands on the small of her back and lowered his head so he could whisper in her ear."c'mere. Its ok we made it" He spoke against her. The gentle air lingered on her neck.
"Can we go home?" she sniffed "Please?" her tear soaked eyes met his.
He reached out and cupped her face, wiping her new tears. "okay, let me carry you baby" he spoke softly again. She sniffed again, shoving her forehead into his chest. The sound of him calling her his little pet name pulled at her chest. "Jump up, ok?" he whispered gently. She obliged and jumped into his arms, allowing him to scoop her into carrying position. He felt her relax in his hold. "home. I like the sound of that" he kissed her forehead, launching them both into the air, towards the apartment.
