A/N: I see that it's annoying when I switch between Chat and Cat Noir. Sorry about that.
Previously on In the End...
In that old man's home..the same old man who had given him the miraculous of the snake. He didn't dare to go in or even eavesdrop. That would be wrong and as Viperion, be didn't want to lose her trust. So, he would wait amongst the shadows to look out for her...
Marinette knocked and let herself in.
In the dead of night, he was sleeping with a book over his head and his arms to the side of him.
She would wander around and almost trip on the simplest things in his room. She had no intentions of waking him so abruptly. Even as if it wasn't too late, she couldn't stand when Tikki was in pain.
Like the time when she had gotten sick at another point. She laughed to herself about the excuse she gave Master Fu about what kind of pet she had.
She looked down at Tikki to see her bounce back to life as if nothing had happened. "T-t-Tikki?.."
"Aren't we late for patrol?" the ladybug kwami asked in a bubbly voice.
She shushed her.
A moment ago, Tikki was quivering in her purse and the next, she was the kwami she knew and love. She wasn't ready to go back out there where the dark could come and bite her if she wasn't too careful.
Instead of finding the lights to Fu's wonderful home, Marinette would crouch down beside Master Fu and touch his shoulder. It would take a few taps to wake him up.
The old man woke up and took the book off of his face. "Ladybug? What is it?" he sat up and turned on the lights.
The gentle lights illuminated parts of the room but kept the Miraculous box in the cover of the shadows.
The man was still quite tired, but if Ladybug had come to him with this much urgency, it had to be something that threatened her or all of the miraculous altogether.
"Tikki said she felt weak all day today!" she left out the part where she had fallen in the streets of Paris. She didn't want Tikki to be taken away from her. But she also knew that trusting in this man was probably her last resort if Tikki started acting strange again.
"I am not sure what you mean." he set a hand underneath his chin to think. "What happened?"
Tikki would refuse to say anything. She kept pulling on her holder's ear to just leave this alone. There was no danger. The red kwami wanted to ensure that.
"I.." the blunette's eyes darted around the room. She was trying to find an answer to explain herself. "I...Sorry for wasting your time," she said quickly. She ran outside.
Everything was turning out to be a disaster! One, Tikki acting weird. Two, for these past days, Master Fu didn't ask for the borrowed Miraculous back. And three, well, there was no three. Just confusion.
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette cried in the silence of the night.
Pink sparkles surrounded her, covering her in a skin-tight red suit with black dots evenly spaced all over her suit.
It felt great to be Ladybug again. Ladybug didn't need to worry about her problems like Marinette. She could just run across the rooftops of Paris and feel free.
The mask that covered her true identity was another thing she missed too. She wasn't feared as Ladybug.
Ladybug threw her yoyo to wrap around a lamppost not too far away. This gave her the chance to stand on the rooftops of Paris and look around.
In the distance, she could see lights turning off. The people here were going to sleep. And they would have a little surprise waiting for them if anyone caught her in the wake of night.
The young heroine smiled at the beautiful city.
If Hawkmoth were to destroy her home, she would fight back. Even if it meant that her life would be pulled away from the ones she loved.
"Ladybug?"
She almost hit the snake-themed hero with her yoyo. 'He's sneakier that Cat Noir...not bad.' her yoyo would miss its target as Viperion stepped aside. "Hey..." she tried to make it seem that she had no idea who he was. Maybe she could get away with the excuse that Marinette told her about this sweet strumming hero.
"Viperion." he put his hand out to shake hers'.
She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Viperioni. Welcome to the team!" she had no clue who could be the holder under that turquoise mask.
It sort of dawned to her the scale lime texture that she felt through her latex skin-tight suit. Almost like the feeling of a real snake.
Her hand dropped down to her sides. She had her guard up. "Where's your partner?" she asked a little too playfully.
"Ryuko? Ladybug, aren't we all partners in crime?"
"I mean we only just met."
Both Viperion and Ladybug knew she was lying to herself. Viperion would keep the illusion that he had no idea who Ladybug was.
He crossed his arms. "Is Marinette alright?"
"Yeah, uh she told me about this snake hero who helped her, and yeah."
Viperion chuckled to himself. Typical Marinette. He thought her constant blabbering was cute.
"What's so funny?" the spotted heroine narrowed her eyes after hearing the slight chuckle that came from this guy.
He set a hand underneath her chin. "I know we've only met." he trailed off for a moment as if trying to get his thoughts together.
Though unfortunately, those thoughts would be interrupted by that curious mangy alley cat.
Cat Noir stared daggers at Viperion. "Did he hurt you, m'lady?"
Ladybug was a bit overwhelmed by both males. It's like they had eyes on her as Marinette and Ladybug. It sort of crept her out. "Cat Noir!" she smiled at her little kitty partner, whom she had been thinking of. She hugged him.
The cat-themed hero hugged her back. His clawed hands settled on her shoulders. An embrace like this was sorely missed by both of them.
And Ladybug was happy with the sudden appearance of him too. Viperion was kind of getting too kind to her. As if he personally knew her.
The hug lasted a little bit longer before the two pulled away.
Cat Noir grabbed one of her hands gently and kissed the back of it.
Ladybug giggled at that little action. "You still got your charm, kitty." she meant that as a good sign, but that didn't mean she loved him. She had another boy on her mind.
Viperion crossed his arms. He was jealous that Ladybug was giving that cat most of her attention when he felt like he didn't deserve it. But he would never say that or express himself in that way. "I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."
She smiled at him. "It's okay. I'm glad to see you both."
Viperion and Chat both smiled like idiots.
She gave them a small giggle. Then grabbed her yoyo and threw it to another rooftop nearby. "Paris needs us." she swung to the other building with a wink to them both.
Looks like there would be no more flirting tonight. Just patrol on this cloudless and moonless night.