The Makara started dissolving in front of them, and Ladybug threw the metal bat in her hands to the side. The police would get that later. They strode to the captured Akuma and purified him. He was out cold, so it was impossible to question him about anything.
Ladybug turned to him, and Adrien braced himself for the word vomit which would spew from her mouth. She was just as cool and competent as ever during the battles, but when everything was said and done and she was just talking to him? It was a completely different story. He couldn't recall if she'd ever spoken to him normally.
"I, uh," she started, "Can't do this."
Adrien blinked. Whatever he'd thought she'd say, that was absolutely not it.
"I have tests and I'm tired and this is hard-this is so hard. I just would need-would like-a break. Just three days. Until the end of the week. I doubt there'll be much, but in case you need me, don't need me. Please?" She looked at him, like she was ashamed for asking for time for herself.
"Don't worry about it," Adrien ruffled her hair. "I doubt there's going to be an Akuma in the next few days, so rest. It'll be fine."
Ladybug looked like she was going to pass out, but she nodded her head gratefully.
"Are you ok? You look really tired."
"I am, but I'll be alright." Ladybug smiled at him. It reminded Adrien of another girl. Another shortie, but the one he had in mind was confident as hell and filled to the brim with harsh words and a feisty attitude. "Thanks, you're gorgeous." Ladybug looked like she was going to combust. "Inside. You have beautiful insides. Great personality. You know. You're great. I'm going to leave now. I'm tired."
She swung away. Adrien shook his head and went his own way home. It was shocking how quickly she could change from being so calm, collected, and in charge, to turning into a stuttering mess.
He landed, de-transformed, and entered his house. It was empty as always. His bodyguard noted his arrival and narrowed his eyes at him. Adrien shrugged apologetically before continuing to his room. No one stopped him or tried to talk to him on his way to his room. Plagg strut around the room, his tail high in the air. Adrien sat at his desk and turned on his laptop. Plagg jumped onto his lap, and Adrien scratched him under the chin. The kwami purred loudly, and it made Adrien smile.
He pulled up the Ladyblog and checked the latest comment threads. It was pretty much the same as always. Oh, Ladybug was so cool. Cat Noir looked cute with the cat ears and bell. The Makara was scary. Not much useful information. Adrien kept scouring, looking. A few days ago, Ladybug told him that Ivan remembered hearing a man's voice before he was Akumatized. Since then, Adrien had been trying to figure out ways to find out who the man was, or at least get a name.
Plagg settled further in his lap, but his eyes were open and on the computer screen, as well.
"Does this help at all?" he wondered. "It seems like a waste of time. It's just a blog run by some high schooler"
"Well, what else can I do?" Adrien rubbed the kwami's head, hoping to keep him quiet. Plagg kept trying to talk.
"I don't know. You could do some actual detective work. You're Cat Noir, you don't have to wait for a Makara to transform, you know." It was hard to understand him through the uncontrollable purring. "Stop that! I can't hear myself think." Plagg jumped off Adrien's legs. Adrien let him be and turned back to the computer. Alya just updated some new pictures of the after-attack damage. Maybe he could ask her for images related to the Akuma.
"The way I see it, you're getting nowhere on your own." Plagg started walking around the room. "And since you asked me for my advise, of course I'll tell you all the options you have."
"I didn't ask for your advise."
"You could either get help from the police, or from any random Parisian on the street."
"Well I won't ask for help from the police," Adrien snorted. "I think Officer Ciel's still holding a grudge because of that time I accidentally knocked him out."
"So you're going to grab some random citizen and get them to help you investigate for the next three days?" Plagg couldn't sound more unimpressed if he tried. Adrien kept scrolling through the Ladyblog.
"Sure. I'll be there to keep him safe."
"You could choose a girl." Plagg pointed out. Adrien paused, his mouse hovering over an old picture of Ladybug posing in front of the hospital. Plagg was right. He could choose a girl. And if he wasn't going to the police, did it matter which civilian helped him?
"Plagg," Adrien turned to the kwami, "You're a genius."
Marinette mumbled to herself when she studied. It was an old habit from her childhood she'd never grown out of. As she read her history book, her voice buzzed around her bedroom. Tikki sat next to the book, nibbling away at some of the day's unsold cookies and slices of bread. Tikki loved her history class, though Marinette had no clue why.
"Flip the page!" Tikki demanded, tapping on the book. Marinette shot her an irritated look and wiped stray crumbs off the page.
"I'm not done yet."
"We both know that doesn't matter," Tikki reached for another treat. "As long as I read it, you'll be fine."
"I should at least try to study," Marinette mumbled, turning back to the page. "I want to know most of the information myself."
"Oh, that's interesting," Tikki stopped chewing on the chocolate chip cookie in her hands.
"I'm not a cheater, Tikki. Well, I try not to be, anyway."
"We've got company!" Tikki flew through the air, leaving a trail of crumbs behind her. Marinette couldn't believe her. She'd just vacuumed a few days ago, and now the room was a mess again. "Cat Noir is here!"
"What are you talking about?" Tikki didn't say anything more and dove under the bed.
A knock sounded from Marinette's skylight. She froze. There was no way. It couldn't be. This had to be a dream? The knock came again, and a familiar voice reverberated through her room.
"Marinette?"
"I'm here!" she yelped, rushing to open her skylight window. Her movements slowed as she remembered her appearance. Her hair was a ratty mess around her head, and her wire-rim glasses sat on the end of her nose. She wore no concealer, and she had mismatching fuzzy socks on her feet. She wanted to run and get ready, but she couldn't just leave him on her roof. What if he left? She opened the window, and he was there, in front of her. "Cat Noir." She sounded breathless. She stepped back and waved him in.
Marinette had been practicing martial arts since she was seven, and helped her dad in the kitchen her whole life. She was a monster-fighting magical superhero. She was always aware of her body and was confident with her movements. In that moment, however, her arms felt like limp noodles, and she wasn't sure what to do with any part of her. She wanted to hide her entire body with a magic cloak which would make her presentable. She looked down at her feet. One sock was green and purple. The other was white, and was almost three inches longer than the other. She just wouldn't mention her appearance and hope he wouldn't look at her funny.
Was she supposed to speak? Had he figured out she was Ladybug? Was he alright? How did he even know she lived here?
"Um," she started, and kicked herself in her imaginary face. Real smooth, Marinette. "Are you ok?" She settled with asking a relatively harmless question. It was short enough that even she wouldn't stumble over it. She waited for his response, feeling stupid as she stood in the center of her room. Her feet and palms grew damp, and she clasped her hands in front of her. Should she move back to her desk, or to her bed? Should she offer him somewhere to sit?
"I'm fine," he said. He didn't look twice at her mismatched socks, or her ratty running shorts, or even her old shirt with holes in it. Of course he didn't. He was just that kind of person. "I didn't mean to worry you." It was nice hearing his voice without any threat of danger around them. His black hair tumbled around his head, only tamed by the new cat ears. The suit, incredibly lame and badly designed, somehow managed to look good on him. The faux leather stretched against him in a way that made her want to drape herself over him and kiss him until he asked her to be his girlfriend, or to at least go on a date. He was so tall, and his eyes were so kind, and he made her want to be gentle for him. God, she was pathetic. Just looking at him made her swoon.
Cat Noir didn't say anything else and instead studied her room. It was pretty large, and was her favorite part of the house. The skylight let in a lot of natural light during the daytime, and the balcony helped her destress at night. The room itself was alright. The previous owner of the building painted it totally pink, and Marinette never bothered to repaint it. Instead, she covered the walls with images of her favorite designs from her magazines, or sketches of her own designs. The floor-space was cluttered with garments she was working on.
"Do you...is there any reason you're-what are you doing?" Marinette stood, cemented to her spot in the room, as Cat Noir stood in front of a wall full of Agreste designs.
"Do you like Adrien Agreste?" There was a smile in his voice. It was like he was making fun of her, or teasing her or something.
"No!" He turned to her, startled at her abrupt tone.
"You don't like him?"
"We're friends, I think. He's in my class. I don't know him very well. Those pictures are for the designs." Marinette patted herself on the back for getting through so many sentences around Cat Noir without stuttering or stumbling over her words.
"Oh," Cat Noir's ears dropped.
"So cute," She whispered. One ear twitched toward her, and he looked at her. His eyes were so unique. The entire eye was colored a toxic hue of green. It made him look dangerous, which Marinette thought funny, considering how sweet he actually was. Marinette pointed at the top of her own head. "The ears. They're cute...I guess."
"Yeah, yeah," Cat Noir pursed his lips. "My...source of magic got mad at me and changed the suit."
"You can change the design of the suit?" Marinette's eyes lit up. Finally, a topic of conversation which would come easily to her. "Does...your source of magic take requests? It would be a lot better, I think, if you got rid of the bell, and it might be more practical if you kept your staff at the side of your thigh instead of on your back. Also, from what I can tell, the fanny pack or pocket belt thing is totally useless-get rid of it. And add padding. You get thrown into walls a lot, and padding might help with that."
"I...thanks, Marinette," Cat Noir smiled at her. Oh, he had dimples. He was gorgeous. "But I didn't come here for fashion advice."
"Why...How...You know my name?"
"It's part of the reason I'm here," Cat Noir sounded proud of himself. "I need your help."
Marinette stopped breathing for a second. This was no longer a dream but a nightmare. She'd asked Cat Noir as Ladybug to give her three days off, and that hadn't been because she was tired. Her family had received an order for a wedding, and her parents needed her help to finish all the small, intricate pastries. The wedding order would require almost all her time for the next couple of days. That, coupled with her regular schoolwork and the history test coming up, had Marinette completely swamped. She'd recognized she wouldn't have time to be Ladybug for the next couple of days and had told Cat Noir in advance, in case something happened. Now he was here. Asking for her help.
His eyes were so trusting, so sure that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a girl he didn't know as Ladybug, was able to help him. She wanted him to like her as much as she liked him. Maybe showing that he could rely on her could push him to ask her out?
"My help?" Marinette wheezed. "How?"
"I've heard from some sources that you're the girl to ask if I need help on the streets."
"Oh," Marinette blinked, suddenly feeling a little defensive. Liking a guy was one thing, but giving away her family secret was another. "Who told you that?"
"My magic source," He tapped his ring. Really? Marinette furrowed her brow. She couldn't really argue with that, or say his kwami was wrong. And she really didn't want to disappoint him. Surely it wouldn't be too bad if she introduced him to the gang? He already knew about it anyway, so what harm was she really doing, anyway?
"I guess if you've already heard," Marinette hesitated in the center of the room. "Do you mind waiting while I get ready?"
"Get ready?" For the first time, he looked down at what she was wearing. "Oh, right. It's late. Did I wake you?"
"Nah, I'm always awake at this time." Marinette tried to sound casual by laughing, but she felt like a deranged lunatic. She trotted to her closet to pick out her athletic gear and brass knuckles. She closed the closet door, trapping herself inside the small alcove, and changed as quickly as she could.
"You're...changing in the closet?"
"I, uh, didn't want to leave you alone in my room. And it felt weird to throw you out on the balcony." She opened the doors and stepped out, grabbing a pair of shoes. "I'm ready. Do you know where we're going, or am I leading?"
"Uh, you're leading," Cat Noir tilted his head to the side and stared at her, like he was piecing together a complex puzzle in his head. "Come out to the balcony. I'll get us to the ground." His voice was distracted, and Marinette was sure he was thinking about something else. She didn't particularly care at that moment. He was going to get them to the ground, which meant he would hold her in his arms. She was unreasonably happy about this.
"Hop onto my back," he said, crouching down so she would have an easier time with it. It was sweet of him, though totally unnecessary. "Hold on tight."
Oh, she definitely would. She wasn't sure when she was going to have another chance to touch Cat Noir, and she was going to take this opportunity and roll with it. She wrapped her arms in front of him, across his chest, and squeezed herself against his back. She was gripping him tighter than strictly necessary, but he didn't complain, and Marinette felt no guilt. The air ruffled her hair as he gently lowered them to the ground. A weight of disappointment settled in her stomach when he crouched, signalling her to get off of him.
She hit the ground with weak knees and stumbled. He reached to catch her. She didn't need his help. She didn't let him know that. Marinette grabbed onto his hand and stabilized herself, but let go as she looked at the position of the moon. It was really late, and she still had an early morning. She started walking, and Cat Noir matched her pace on her right.
"I'm really surprised you know about the gang," Marinette admitted. She only had so much time with Cat Noir like this, when she was a civilian. She couldn't mess this up-she wouldn't allow herself to. She'd embarassed herself enough while she was Ladybug. Marinette wouldn't be able to live with herself if she acted like that outside of the suit, too. "We've kept it such a good secret for so long, I'm not sure how my family will react to you figuring it out."
"When you say gang," Cat Noir said carefully. "What exactly do you...mean?"
"You don't know anything about it?" Marinette looked at him excitedly. This was good. If the entire conversation centered on the history of the gang, she would be less likely to humiliate herself. "My family came to France from China three generations ago. My great-grandparents weren't having much luck with work-there was a lot of racism and prejudice back then, and it was near impossible for immigrants to find work with fair pay. Basically, they were starving. Some guy came to my great-grandpa, offered him a ton of money if he completed a job, and swore him to secrecy. My great-grandparents were desperate, so he took the job. The guy who offered the job was part of the gang, and that was how my family got introduced to the lifestyle.
"My great-grandma got pregnant with my grandma, and my great-grandpa started to really fear for their lives. His French wasn't very great, so he worried the other members were plotting against him. He was very paranoid-I think it was from his drug addiction,"
"Wait, drugs?"
"But I don't know for certain. All I do know is that he somehow killed the head of the gang, and suddenly, he was the new head honcho."
"He killed the gang leader?"
"He and my great-grandma had one kid: my grandma. She took over when he died, and she led the gang into its golden age. No one will tell me how, but she somehow made the Cheng Family gang a household name. The police were constantly after the members. They were really into violent crimes back then-murder, drug dealing, you name it."
"Oh my God."
"Then, my grandpa-he was already married to my grandma by this point-went to a drug information seminar or something. He was so moved by all the information he learned that he begged Grandma to stop dealing with drugs. She agreed."
"This cannot be for real."
"Next thing the Jiang Family knows, they're now fighting drugs in the streets. A bunch of their members left and started their own drug rings, but we didn't care about that. As long as they stayed off our streets, they could do whatever they wanted. Grandma was so fierce, the drug rates in our streets went down to nearly zero.
"After Grandma retired, my mom, her oldest child, took over."
"Your mom ran the gang!?"
"She was good at it, and she had a lot of fun with it, from what I hear. But, after she fell in love with my dad, she realized he'd never be able to live with her life. So, she left her younger brothers in charge of the gang, and went off to run a bakery with my dad, and then they had me."
"You're a part of the gang?"
"Yeah, but I'm not very active. I don't have the time anymore."
"Oh," he mumbled to himself. "Of course. You don't have the time anymore."
"You seem very surprised by all of this," Marinette narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"Plagg-the source of my magic-wasn't very specific when he said how you could be helpful. He just said you probably knew some people who could help, and I trust him. I didn't know all...this."
"Are you," Marinette paused, looking at Cat Noir's disturbed face. "Scared of me now?"
"Not of you," he said immediately, and Marinette wished she could hug him. "But I'm terrified of where we're going."
"Well, no need to fear. We're already here."
Cat Noir looked around the crumbled building and carefully followed Marinette through the wreckage. She pulled the brass knuckles over her leather gloves and knocked the special pattern at the door. It swung open immediately. She stepped through, and Cat Noir nervously followed behind her.
The hideout was largely unchanged from how it looked when it had first been renovated and deemed safe for people. Everything around them outside was crumbled or powdered rocks. The room itself was made of wood, and was sparsely decorated with a table and a few chairs. This was the front room, where everyone gathered to talk. No one did any business in here, so no one had bothered to make the space comfortable. There were always a few dozen people in the room, but no one had even tried to add decorations or style to the room. A few years ago, someone had placed a potted plant in the far left corner of the room. They'd promptly forgotten about it, and now the plant was dead and the pot was covered in dust.
"Who the hell is that?" Marinette's cousin stalked across the room, shoving a chair out of her way. Unlike Marinette, this girl was model-tall, and her hair flowed to her waist. Her knuckles were stained with old blood, and Marinette wondered who they were questioning.
"Hey, it's Mei!" It was their greeting. They had been saying the same thing since they were children and thought rhyming was cute. Marinette waited the customary 'Look at thet, it's Marinette!' It never came.
"Shut up, Marinette, why did you bring a Cat Noir stan here? You know the rules!" Mei loomed over her and her hair curtained Marinette off from the rest of the room. She was trying to intimidate her, and it pissed Marinette off like nothing else in the world. When someone who didn't know about Marinette's background challenged her, she forgave them. They didn't know what they were getting into. When her cousins acted all tough? They knew exactly what they were asking for. Marinette's face tensed, and her voice lashed out like a whip.
"Yeah, I do. Where do you get off telling me to shut up, and come up in my personal space like that? Get out of my face."
"Fine. I'm out of your face. Now explain the boyfriend." Marinette glared at Mei, and her younger cousin stepped back and sat down in the chair she'd moved.
"He's not just some guy, he's the real Cat Noir. He came to me and already knew about us. I just showed him where one of the hideouts is." To the left, Marinette heard one of her uncles walking towards her. She turned her head.
Uncle Delun. She had wonderful memories of him helping her with homework, or defending her against her angry mother when she was a child. He now wore a shirt spattered with blood. His face was blank-no expression whatsoever.
"D'ya tell him the punishment if he squeals?" Uncle Delun crossed his arms and jutted his chin towards Cat Noir. He tensed and moved imperceptibly closer to her. Everyone in the room took interest in this action and focused on him. This wasn't good. The gang was like family to her, and she loved everyone in it to death. She also knew exactly how dangerous they could be, and that they were drawn to fear like sharks to blood.
"Think for a second, would you?" She stood in front of him. "He's got a secret identity, and if he told anyone about us, we'd know it was him." Her eyes shifted across the room, making eye contact with all the cousins there-the blood related ones, and the people who were her cousins just from the ideologies of the gang. Uncle Delun backed away, going back to wherever he'd come from.
"Yeah, and we'd track him down and kill him." Mei called helpfully from her seat
"Where's Uncle Jiang?" Marinette shook her head, "No, I don't care." She trapped Armel, one of her cousins, with her gaze. "Go find him and bring him here. Cat Noir has a favor to ask."
"Actually," Cat Noir piped up, "Maybe I should just-" Marinette elbowed him in the stomach.
"You can't give up now," she whispered to him. "They'll eat you alive."
"They'll eat me alive anyway!" Cat Noir's eyes were wide, and he kept inching towards the exit. She pulled him back to her side.
"You're with me. They won't hurt you."
"Ooh," Mei cooed and leaned forward. "Marinette's got a boyfriend."
"Shut up!" Marinette snapped, but she could feel the blood flood her cheeks. "He's not my boyfriend! He, ah-he just knew I knew the-shut up!"
A man started screaming loudly from the back of the hideout, and Cat Noir jumped, practically landing on top of Marinette. Marinette and Mei turned to see what the ruckus was about. Uncle Delun was dragging a bloodied man into the front room. Armel strode into the room after them, Uncle Jiang in tow.
"You're interrogating him in the front room?" Marinette wrinkled her nose.
"That's not very hygienic," Mei agreed.
Uncle Delun smashed a fist against the man's cheek. His head snapped to the right with such speed Marinette and Mei both winced. The man spat blood at the ground, and Mei announced she wouldn't be the one cleaning up after the interrogation.
"You're worried about hygiene?" Cat Noir gaped.
"I imagine you're worried about something else?" Uncle Jiang stepped forward and addressed Cat Noir. Cat Noir, though, still looked a little traumatized. Marinette squeezed his hand.
"Uncle Jiang!" She grinned. "I've missed you."
Uncle Jiang smiled back at her, coming forward and ruffling her hair. She tsked. It wasn't like her hair had been looking very nice, but she didn't want Cat Noir to view her like a kid. The strange man moaned. It sounded like Uncle Delun jabbed him in the stomach.
"Cat Noir," Marinette gentled her voice. "This is my uncle Jiang. If you need eyes or ears, he's who you'll want to talk to."
"You want eyes on the streets?" Uncle Jiang raised an eyebrow. Cat Noir swallowed and nodded.
"Ladybug and I need to-" he flinched as Uncle Delun whacked the man again. The man started crying. "We need to start figuring out who are making the Makara and Akuma. We have no leads on the Makara, but one of the Akuma said they'd heard the voice of a man before they were possessed by the butterfly. I want to know who that man is. Paris can't keep surviving these attacks. We need to work towards preventing them."
Uncle Delun yelled at the man, demanding to know who he'd bought the drugs from.
"Delun!" Uncle Jian barked. "Get that man out of the damned front room. That's vile!"
"I was making a point!" Uncle Delun argued. "I'm in charge of the gang as much as you are, so quit bossing me around!"
Uncle Jiang turned to him, standing taller, and showed off his full beard. "I can boss you around as much as I like, I'm older."
"By ten minutes!" Uncle Delun protested. "That doesn't mean anything!"
"I'll call Sabine," Uncle Jiang threatened. "You can't argue with twenty minutes older!" Uncle Delun narrowed his eyes at Uncle Jiang, but dragged the man out of the front room, grumbling. A few of her cousins sighed and left to get the blood-cleaning kit. Uncle Jiang turned back to Cat Noir.
"You're right. Paris can't continue like this. We'll cooperate. Meet up with Marinette every week or so. We'll keep her up to date with anything we find, and she can let you know. Don't come here again. Typically, outsiders aren't welcome, you know."
"I won't be back," Cat Noir promised. "I'd like to leave now, actually, if that's at all possible."
Uncle Jiang nodded and gave Marinette a hard look.
"You," he pointed at her. "Don't pull this shit again." Cat Noir tensed next to her and started stepping towards the man. Marinette pushed him back.
"And you," she smacked his hand out of her face. "Don't talk to me like that." She turned on her heel and opened the door. She wasn't an idiot. She hadn't told him all their secrets, she hadn't given him false promises about the gang, and she hadn't even let him step four feet into the hideout. What a bunch of assholes. "See you next week!" The door slammed shut behind her.
The cool night air hit Marinette's face and it helped her calm down.
"Sorry, about-all that." She almost didn't want to look at him anymore. She wasn't sure she'd be able to stand it if he looked scared of her, or like he thought less of her now because of her family or something. She liked him, sure, but family came first. If he didn't like her because of the gang, he wasn't worth her time.
Just thinking that made her heart hurt.
"You're-that was amazing." He started walking away from the hideout, and she scampered after him. "I can't believe you're part of a gang. I can't believe you're part of that gang. Everyone was so aggressive and in-your-face, but you, you didn't even flinch. You went at them with no hesitation, and with such confidence!" Cat Noir turned and studied her. The look in his eyes took her breath away. It almost made her think that he could like her as much as she liked him. "I wish I was half as brave as you."
"I wasn't-it's not like-they're my family. I've always dealt with them. Why would I be afraid?"
"Yeah," Cat Noir looked up at the sky. "Why would you be afraid?"
Marinette yawned. It was almost three in the morning now, and she still had to wake up for the morning shift at the bakery. Cat Noir yawned, too. It reminded her of a yawning cat. He was adorable.
"I know the way to your house from here," he said. "I can take us back by using my staff. It'll be faster. Would you be ok with that?"
"Yes!" She cleared her throat, then tried to sound less enthusiastic. "Yeah, that'd be fine."
She climbed on his back, and once again held on tighter than was strictly necessary. The air rushed by her, and she was suddenly aware of the fact that she hadn't put on deodorant before they'd left. She froze in terror. What if she stank, and Cat Noir was just too nice to mention anything about it?
"Don't be nervous," he raised his voice above the wind. "I'll keep you safe while we're up here."
She nodded, burying her face into his neck. He shivered, but didn't say anything or ask her to move. His hair was as soft as cat's fur. It got in her eye and itched, but she didn't want to move. They reached her house all too soon. He crouched, and her feet touched the ground. Cat Noir held his hands out to steady her if need be.
They stood on the balcony in silence for a moment.
"I guess…" Marinette pursed her lips. "It's late. I think I should-I'll go inside? And go to sleep?"
Why was she asking him?
"Wait," Cat Noir touched her arm, and she spun around to face him. She was tired of calling herself pathetic, or lame. She liked him, and there was no point in disparaging herself for having emotions. She was ready to embrace her feelings. "Can I come back tomorrow? I think I'll need your help again."
Marinette's eyelids were closing on their own, and tomorrow would only be more busy. She would be woken up in a few hours and forced to work all day, with little to no break, and Cat Noir wanted to take away her precious hours of sleep? She looked at him. His face was so pretty and open. She knew he'd understand if she said no. He wouldn't try to convince her to change her mind. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted to spend more time with him.
"Ok."
Marinette woke up a few hours later, more tired than usual. She slapped on concealer, put in her contacts, and stumbled down the stairs. Her mom waited at the bottom of the stairs, ready to yell at her for taking so long. Marinette only half-listened to her and allowed herself to be dragged into the kitchen. Her dad was already hard at work, mixing a new batch of macarons. Her mom went to check on whatever was in the kitchen. Tom tasked Marinette with making the daily batch of bread for the bakery. It took her longer than usual, and he lost his temper with her. It was hard to see her dad so stressed, so Marinette pushed aside her fatigue and attacked the dough with new vigor.
The family immersed themselves in their work so intensely that no one checked the time until it was almost time for the store to open. Marinette was shoved out the door with no coffee, and she had to run to make it to school on time.
Everyone saw her haggard appearance and the absence of her twenty ounce coffee container and left her alone. French literature was a nightmare. Marinette could barely link two words together, and Mrs. Bustier had the gall to ask the class to verbally analyze a page of text. Marinette stumbled through the exercise, and tried to sleep through the rest of class. It was impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, all the stress she was going to face later in the day came at her like hidden muggers. The reminders of all the work she still had to do crept up on her until the anxiety of it snapped her eyelids open.
Before science, Adrien handed her a cup of coffee. She wasn't sure how he'd gotten it, but she told him it was the worst coffee she'd ever had. It was a weak brew, and there wasn't enough sugar in it. He'd laughed and said sorry, but he hoped it helped her wake up. She thanked him tiredly. It wasn't his fault the coffee was shit, and it was nice of him to think of her at all.
Time crawled on, and Marinette couldn't concentrate on anything. She went to the nurse and asked to go home. The brief walk from school back to the bakery was a nice break. It was like a timeout from her hectic schedule, and gave her a chance to hype herself up. It was just a couple more days, then life would go back to normal. Everything would be fine. Two days of stress wouldn't kill her.
At home, her mom didn't even question her early dismissal from school and set her to work. Neither Tom nor Sabine were particularly good at decorating cakes, so they relied on Marinette and her artistic eye to finely ice seven tiers of the traditional wedding cake. After hours of work, Marinette's hand cramped, her vision blurred, and her feet hurt from standing so long. Tom inspected her work and cried from the beauty of it all. She made him take a break. He looked positively haggard. She would bet 100 euros he hadn't even eaten lunch.
While he went to take a power nap, Marinette worked with her mother to decorate hundreds of identical cookies. Only when her hand grew so exhausted that her work started to wobble was Marinette sent to her room. It was seven o'clock. She sat in her spinning chair and closed her eyes for a second, allowing her body to relax for a moment. If only she could sleep for a while. Tikki reminded her of the history test she needed to be studying for. The air burned Marinette's sleep-deprived eyes.
An hour later, the names of important French figures twirled around her brain. Marinette's body was stiff, and she needed to take a shower. Tikki said something, but Marinette waved her off without listening.
The shower was a boost of energy into her body. The hot water hit her back and head with force, and it was the closest Marinette had ever gotten to a massage. The flowery scent of her shampoo and body wash enveloped her. Marinette liked to use it as a sort of relaxing aromatherapy. She exited the shower just as her mirror started to fog over. She folded her favorite fluffy towel around her and started drying her hair with a smaller towel as she walked to her room.
Her face paled and she dropped the small towel on the floor. There, in the center of her bedroom, was Cat Noir.
Adrien wasn't sure what to do. He was in the room of the girl he liked, and she wasn't wearing anything but a towel. Her eyes pierced him, and both of them froze. Maybe he could close his eyes and act like he wasn't there? Should he apologize and wait outside? None of the teen romantic comedies he'd seen had properly prepared him for this moment.
He stared at her. Her hair was sticking everywhere, still dripping wet. Beads of water dripped over her face, neck, and shoulders. She was so short the regular-sized towel covered her from the top of her chest to her knees. The parts of her body he could see were damp, and surprisingly muscular. Now that he knew a bit of her background, it didn't seem so surprising. His eyes traveled back to her face. Her nose was scrunched, and she sputtered for a few seconds.
"Get-why are you-close your-out!" She pointed to the balcony. Right. This was Marinette. She always knew what to do. Why did he even bother freaking out when she could just tell him what to do?
"Right, uh, right! Sorry!" He tripped over himself on his way out. Plagg snorted, and Adrien's cat ears twitched. Of course the little demon would find this funny.
"I told you not to go in," Plagg chortled. Adrien paced the length of the balcony.
"The skylight window was open, I thought she was expecting me."
"Well, on the bright side, she's not asleep like you worried. You shocked her awake." Adrien could just imagine Plagg rolling on the ground, holding his fuzzy little stomach, collapsed in peals of laughter.
"This is not funny," Adrien growled. "It's embarrassing."
"I'm not sure why it's embarrassing for you," Marinette stepped onto the balcony. "But yeah, it is embarrassing." He half expected her to avert her gaze from his eyes, but this was Marinette he was talking about. She stood, straight and proud, and stared directly into his eyes. Her glacial eyes were as captivating as always. Her hair hung around her shoulders, still heavily wet. She shrugged on a thick blue coat. It was the same shade her hair would have been if it wasn't darkened by water.
"Oh, uh," Adrien was at a loss for words. "It just...sorry. I saw the open window and just came in. I'll knock next time."
Marinette crouched down and laced up her brown boots. Even in the simplest outfit, she looked fit to grace the front page of a magazine.
"Do me a favor. Forget it. Please." She straightened and locked eyes with him. Adrien couldn't hold back his grin. Every time she said please or thanks, it sounded like someone wrenched it out of her. He nodded, promising to not mention it. He couldn't promise to forget it-that was just impossible.
"Come on. We've got a lot of work to do, and I don't want to keep you out as long as yesterday."
"Thank you," she breathed, climbing onto his back. He'd wondered yesterday why she clung to him so tightly. Now, he knew. She was so strong, she probably didn't even realize how tightly she was holding onto him. He extended the staff, and they were soon sailing through the air. The fragrant scent of her shampoo swirled through the air. His heart soared. He was here, and so was she, and she was so much nicer to Cat Noir than she ever was to Adrien. This was his chance to talk to her and get her to like him.
"How many people know about your family gang?" He asked her. Cat Noir didn't know as much about her as Adrien did, so he'd have to slowly ease into other topics.
"No one," Marinette's voice was close to his ear. "It's not allowed because it's supposed to be secret. You're the only person I've ever told, and the only person I ever will."
Adrien's heart thumped. He was the only person who knew-not even her childhood friends she trusted so fully. "Got any more secrets?" He knew he was pushing his luck, but there was no harm in asking.
"Oh, you have no clue."
Interesting. "What if I guess your secret?" Adrien asked. "Would you be honest and tell me if I got it?"
"I don't lie," Marinette said with conviction. "It's against my moral code."
"Alright, let's test that," Adrien saw the hospital and slightly slowed his pace. "Your favorite color is pink."
Marinette laughed. "Because of the room?" She guessed. "No. My favorite color is-" she cut herself off and paused. "You'll have to guess."
Adrien went in order through the rainbow. He got through red, orange, and yellow before he guessed green and she finally said yes. He'd wasted so much time on this dumb question they were one vault away from the hospital.
"Alright, here's my next theory about you. You know how to fight?"
"You're right," Marinette snorted. "Probably better than you." They landed at the window of the hospital the staff kept open for him. He climbed in and helped her to the ground. "What are we doing here?"
"We're investigating!" He said cheerily. Being a detective was so fun, especially when Marinette was with him. He showed her around the room. "There are a lot of unpurified Akuma from the past year and however many months. Ladybug and I can only purify so many Akuma at one time. My source of magic gets tired after one Cataclysm, and I have to detransform and feed him. So, I've stashed a lot of snacks here, and we're going to interrogate the Akuma for information."
Marinette nodded grimly. Adrien was a little uncertain about that look on her face. When he said interrogate, he meant asking what they remembered. He wondered if that was what Marinette thought.
"What am I doing here?" she asked him. Adrien held up a small glass jar. The hospital kept a large supply of them in the Akuma ward for these exact situations.
"You'll be catching the Akuma while I detransform and feed my kwami-that's the source of my magic."
Marinette grabbed the little glass jar and nodded resolutely. They moved like a team to the first Akuma. He destroyed the Akuma's weak point, and Marinette caught the butterfly. Adrien woke the woman, but she couldn't remember anything. Marinette told her to go back to sleep, and go home in the morning. They didn't have time to answer her questions.
Marinette turned around as Adrien de-transformed, fed Plagg a twinkie, and transformed again. They woke the next Akuma before he destroyed its weak point. That woman told them she remembered a man's voice, but couldn't recall anything else. The next four Akuma all yielded similar results. They either remembered nothing, or a vague sense of a man's voice.
"This isn't working," Marinette said, almost an hour later. "Let me try." She flexed her hand, and Adrien noticed something shiny on her knuckles. She went to the Akuma and took off the mask covering its nose and mouth-it was a gas mask which pumped the Akuma full of general anesthesia to keep it asleep.
"Hey, what exactly are you planning to-"
The Akuma slowly woke up. Marinette grabbed its face and turned it towards her. "I'm going to ask you once, and you'd better answer. Who are you working for?"
She looked frighteningly similar to her uncle from yesterday. The Akuma shook its head and growled at her. Marinette wound her fist back and punched it in the face. Adrien winced at the hit. The Akuma screeched. Adrien looked out into the hallway. There were a few nurses who were close enough to have heard the noise. One pointed to the door, and the others shook their heads.
"You're going to regret not answering when I was asking nicely." Her voice was ice cold. It actually sent a shiver up Adrien's spine. Looking at her, he knew this was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She had the same blue-black hair, the same almond shaped eyes, the same button nose. However, this was a side of her she'd never shown anyone-he was the first to see it, aside from anyone in her gang. He wasn't sure how he felt about this new side of her.
Marinette hit the Akuma again. There was no way the nurses didn't hear the Akuma's shriek, or the clamor of the Akuma pulling against its restraints. The first nurse pointed at the door again, but the others led her away. Adrien turned back to Marinette, and the now bloody Akuma.
"Marinette, you're going to knock it out!" The savage nature of the interrogation was starting to fray his nerves. When he'd asked Marinette to come with him to the hospital, this wasn't exactly what he had in mind.
"Don't worry," she looked at him grimly. "I've done this before. He'll break soon." She turned to the Akuma and socked him in the gut. Adrien flinched at the sound of the metal brass knuckles against flesh. His gut churned. He looked at Marinette's face. Her mouth was hard, her nose scrunched, but her eyes held a certain weight of wariness. The Akuma grunted, and Marinette pulled back.
"Isn't this against your moral code or something?" Adrien asked. Marinette shook her head. She didn't look at him.
"It's either this, or let Paris continuously be destroyed, right?" He couldn't argue with that. Marinette turned to the Akuma again. Adrien observed her face shut down, not letting a single emotion through her features. She looked down at the Akuma and asked him, once again, who he worked for. Adrien saw the minute hesitation in her before she laid into the Akuma again. He closed his eyes and looked away. They both knew the person beneath the Akuma would come out of this unscathed. She still didn't look like she enjoyed this.
"Hawkmoth," the Akuma hissed. Marinette let her fist drop. "Hawkmoth!" he wailed. Adrien stepped forward and tried to Cataclysm the weak spot. Marinette stopped him.
"No." Her voice was small, but traveled through the room. "We broke him. It'll be easier to ask him more than to get through to another one." The way she said it, with no inflection in her voice, made him feel strange. This was Marinette, the girl who fought for justice and against hurting others, yet here she was, beating a man (Akuma) until they told her exactly what she wanted to know. She was like a shade of herself. While she was normally full of fire and life, she was now tempered and cooled by a layer of emotionless ice.
Adrien stood at Marinette's shoulder as she continued to question the Akuma. It was difficult to see her beat the Akuma when he wouldn't answer her questions, but it got results. Well, all the results they could get from a single Akuma. The creator was Hawkmoth. He didn't make the Makara. The Akuma didn't know where Hawkmoth resided.
Marinette stood back and let Adrien destroy the Akuma's weak point. She captured it, and turned away from him.
"Can I leave?"
He nodded and walked to the window. She didn't follow him. He looked at her, gesturing for her to follow. She shook her head and said she'd walk.
"You can't walk home alone," Adrien said. It was dark out. No matter how strong she was, no matter how capable, he couldn't let the girl he liked walk alone through Paris in the middle of the night. "I'll come with you."
She frowned at him. "You can't. Just leave me alone." He knew how she sounded when she was actually mad. She'd spit enough angry words at him to know the biting quality of her fury. She wasn't angry right now, but she sure wanted him to think she was.
"What's wrong?"
"Don't act concerned about me," she pursed her lips. "Just go home. I'll be fine. Did you get enough information for Ladybug?"
"I'm not acting, I'm actually worried." He studied her face. She still wasn't showing her emotions. It was so unlike her, it made him want to shake her until she went back to normal. "What happened? One second you were fine, and now you're acting...weird."
She turned and marched out the room without a word. Now she was ignoring him, walking away from him without a word? This was so out of character, Adrien couldn't figure out what was going on. He followed her. Doctors and nurses on the night shift looked at them with confusion, but no one stopped them. They stepped out into the night, but Marinette didn't slow down, and his patience wore thin.
"Hey," he snapped at her. "Knock it off!" Her back stiffened. Her gait slowed for an imperceptible moment, but then she kept moving. He grabbed her arm and spun her around. Her eyes were red around the rims, and she wrenched her arm out of his grip.
"What?" She asked. "Is there something else you need? Well, I don't want to. I want to go home."
"What's your problem?" He stared at her, and her face flushed.
"My problem is that I'm tired!" She cried, throwing her hands up. "I want to go home. Don't question me. Please."
There was that please, tacked on at the end like someone yanked it out of her. He pursed his lips, and nodded. "Fine. I'm sorry I kept you out so late, but there's no need to bite my head off when I didn't know there was a problem."
"People need to stop saying that," Marinette frowned. She started walking again, but Adrien stopped her.
"I'll take you back, it's late."
She really must have been tired, because she didn't try arguing again. The journey back was quiet, and unbearably long. Adrien longed for the earlier easy conversation they'd had. He dropped her on her balcony and turned to leave.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled. She was looking at the ground, but when he faced her, she lifted her head up proudly. "I lied. I am tired, but that's not all. I don't want to talk to you about it, though, so I lied."
"Oh." Adrien couldn't think of anything else to say. It felt weird to hear someone directly say that they had lied to him. He wondered what was going through her head, but he also knew questioning her about it would be pointless-she wouldn't tell him. "I'll, uh, see you around, I guess."
"Yeah," she murmured miserably, hopping back into her room. "Sure."
He turned and went home.
"Marinette, what's wrong?" Tikki hovered by Marinette's head as she brushed her teeth. Marinette spat in the sink and slowly went to her bed, sinking into the mattress. Tikki shut the light and zipped back to Marinette's side.
"I've ruined everything," Marinette sniffled. "He said interrogation, and my mind went immediately to what I was trained to do. I got the answers Cat Noir was looking for, but he looked at me like I was a monster or something. He hates me now, and I still like him so much it hurts."
"Maybe he doesn't hate you," Tikki tried to reassure. "Did he say he did?" Marinette snorted.
"He isn't just going to come out and say 'wow, Marinette, you're terrifying, and I hate you."
"Are you sure that's all?" Tikki asked. "It seems like there's something else you're upset about." Marinette stayed silent, memories swirling through her head. Tikki settled on the pillow next to her head, and Marinette sighed.
"Tikki, am I a hypocrite?"
"Everyone is, at some point. Why wouldn't you be, too?"
"Because I'm supposed to be better than this!" Marinette growled, throwing the duvet off of her. She remained flat on the bed. "I'm supposed to be honest, and keep others safe. I've always been that person-I've been protecting my classmates from bullies ever since I can remember."
"So?"
"So, today I beat up an Akuma to get answers. It was vital information, and I knew the person wouldn't be hurt after they got purified, but it felt wrong. I haven't conducted an interrogation for the gang in years. I promised myself I wouldn't anymore. I broke that promise today. I was...ashamed for Cat Noir to see that side of me. I felt like the biggest fraud in the world.
"Then I yelled at him when he was worried about me. I did just what Chloe's been doing for years, and what I've villainized her for. I yelled at him, ignored him, and then I lied to him." Marinette flopped on her stomach. "I feel like the worst person in the universe, and Cat Noir saw it all. He hates me, I just know it!"
"I think you're overreacting," Tikki said simply. "You're a teenager, and you like the guy. Of course you want to show him your best side. Anyone in your situation would feel bad about showing the person they like the dirtier side of themselves."
"I'm not supposed to have a dirty side!" Marinette growled into her pillow. "I can't afford to have one." She was Ladybug, damnit. More than that, she had morals she didn't deviate from. If she suddenly allowed herself to become tainted, who would she be? She wouldn't be any better than the people the gang went after.
"You're putting too much pressure on yourself," Tikki shrugged. "You're human. You make mistakes, especially when they're as sleep deprived as you are. You just happened to make this mistake in front of the guy you like."
Marinette groaned into her pillow.
"At least you didn't stutter around him," Tikki patted her cheek. "And you still have a shot with him as Ladybug."
The next night, Marinette laid in bed with her history book covering her face. Her back cracked, and she sighed in relief. Tikki complained that she couldn't read it when the book was flat on her face like that. Then, she dove under the bed. Marinette didn't think too much about it. She'd probably dropped her cookie or something.
Someone knocked on her skylight. Marinette sighed and snuggled further in bed. Her mom would get it or something. The knock came again.
"Marinette?"
She flung the book across the room and sat up, eyes snapping open. The book slammed against the opposite wall and she winced. Damn reflexes. More pressing, though, were the two glowing green eyes above her, and one cat superhero with the most endearing smile on his face she'd ever seen. She jumped off the bed, wishing she was wearing a bra. She gestured for him to come in and he dropped onto her carpet. She stood in front of him, not sure what to say.
His hair was shiny, as always, and his face was relaxed and gentle. Hope bloomed in her hope-maybe he forgave her for yesterday, for everything she'd said and did.
"Are you-do you…" she trailed off. What should she say? She wasn't often in a situation where she didn't know what to say, and she wouldn't allow Cat Noir to render her speechless. "I'm sorry about yesterday."
"I was really confused," Cat Noir said. He wandered to her spinning chair and sat down, propelling himself across the room until he was in front of her. He was so tall and she was so short that they were almost equal in height. "You seemed to flip a switch so suddenly, and then you were so rude, I couldn't figure out what happened."
Marinette winced at the reminder of how she'd acted the day before. She opened her mouth to explain herself, but Cat Noir spoke first. "I think I've figured it out. You weren't yourself. I see the way you are when we're here, or when we're just talking alone. I also saw how you acted when we were at your gang's hideout. It changes you, and I'm not even sure if you yourself know how different you are when you're in that mode. When we were at the hospital yesterday, when you were...interrogating that guy, you slipped into Gang Member Marinette mode. That was a part of you, but not a part you like showing people, and it bothered you that I was there. Then, I just made it worse by trying to talk to you."
He looked at her. He was so understanding and forgiving. Somehow he understood. She fell for him a little more. He not only thought about her and tried to figure out why she'd acted like the biggest bitch in the world, but he figured it out. He was so smart, so thoughtful, so good-he was everything she wanted to be.
"I should've left you alone," he said. "I'm sor-"
"Don't you dare apologize," she said quickly. "If you do, I'll never be able to look at myself in the mirror again."
"That won't do," Cat Noir grinned slightly. "You have such a pretty face. It'd be a shame if you never saw it again."
"Uh," Marinette's face burned. Was he flirting with her? She hoped he was. Maybe she was just reading into it too much. "Do you have more investigative work you want to do?"
"No," Cat Noir leaned back in his chair. "Is that ok? Is it alright if we just hang out? I like talking to you."
If lighting struck her and she died at that instant, Marinette would have died happy.
She told him she'd recently seen The Watchers and was in the mood to watch the first movie the director had made. He agreed to watch it with her, and she brought snacks up for them as he tried to figure out how to get it started on her laptop. She invited him to her bed and they watched the movie. She interrupted quite frequently to tell him all the facts she knew about the movie, and the process of making the film. He didn't mind at all, and asked questions as the movie progressed. About halfway through he asked if he could turn the lights on.
"Why?" She asked.
"No reason." He paused, "The movie might scare you. I'm just being considerate."
"Horror movies don't scare me." She assured him, and he closed his eyes.
"That's right. They don't scare you," he murmured to himself. He braced himself and turned to her. "Confession time: I'm afraid of horror movies. I don't watch horror or action or thriller. I strictly watch romantic comedies, or romantic dramas, or nature documentaries if I'm feeling particularly adventurous."
Mariniette grinned at him. That was so cute. "No problem, we can turn the lights on." She did so, but when she went back to the bed, she moved closer to him than before. Her heart pounded and she worried he would judge her for being so forward. "I'll be here to protect you if you're scared." she explained. He draped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer.
The movie ended and she turned on another one. Neither of them ended up paying attention to it, and it just served as background noise. He talked to her about all the tutors his father had for him, including the Chinese ones. She made him speak to her.
"Why are you blushing?" She laughed. "You're good, I swear!"
"I feel like I have an accent, and that you're laughing at me." He admitted.
"There's a slight accent, sure, but I can understand what you're saying. Don't worry about it."
"Can we just forget about this?" He asked, studying the pattern on her duvet. She leaned towards him, pushing through her nervousness, and flicked the tip of his nose. His eyes flickered to her, and when he saw she was still watching her, he turned to stare at the wall by his side.
"You're so cute when you're nervous."
She expected him to tease her back, but he just flushed and asked her about the movie. She was happy to talk about it, and the second movie ended fairly quickly. They didn't turn on another movie after that, just talking. She told him about how she got into fashion, and her dream of being the lead designer one day, and showing a collection at fashion week. Cat Noir didn't have any professional dreams yet; he just wanted his dad to notice him again. He was pretty vague about it, but Marinette got the feeling Cat Noir's family life wasn't very happy.
Cat Noir started yawning uncontrollably around one in the morning, and she sent him home. She reminded him to come every week or so to get any news her gang would have found. He agreed before slowly vaulting himself home.
Marinette climbed back under her covers and put her computer away, leaving any leftover snacks out for Tikki. She wasn't sure how long she laid in bed, just smiling to herself and going through all her conversations with him from the past few hours. She eventually fell asleep with a large smile on her face, feeling like she was floating.
