Imitatrice

Adrien never gets a birthday present from his father. He thinks Nathalie looks upset but honestly, after hearing that he is Mari's best friend and receiving the wonderful scarf she made him and the cheese for Plagg (which was positively mortifying) and on top of that spending the rest of his birthday as her number one hero and sharing a cupcake with her-

Basically, some petty, lesser part of him (that he's ashamed of) is glad Nathalie is upset because she is in charge of his schedule and she didn't remember his birthday and his dad obviously didn't even wish him a happy birthday…

And while last year he would have been disappointed, he has a real friend this year that cared – even his new friend Nino cared enough to become akumatized trying to make his birthday special! And his dad didn't… didn't even say anything. Even when Nino came to his house to ask about the party, waving the fact that it was his son's birthday in his face…

Adrien is a curious mix of being so happy he could burst and being disappointed and a little bitter. It's a strange combination, but then, he's always been different from other kids, no matter how much he wants to fit in, so why should this be any different.

Mari is… Adrien can't put it into words, honestly. She seemed so sad when he first saw her in class, and then… then on that day, when he couldn't pull her up over the bridge, weak as he was when he was just Adrien, just as powerless in that moment as he was in the rest of his daily life.

She'd babbled something about taking a picture then, but Adrien wasn't that naïve.

He'd initially befriended her because… because she was obviously lonely, had serious problems that she had no one to talk to about, and was desperate the same way he had been desperate when he'd decided to start at school no matter what his father said.

He was desperate for companionship, for friendship, and while he hasn't figured out what Mari was desperate for then, he hopes that their friendship filled up some of that lack for her like it did for him. He can't imagine what it must be like to be pushed to the extreme of even contemplating, even less attempting… you know.

The thought of losing Mari, originally a disquiet thought born of neighborly concern for a classmate, is now enough to turn his stomach.

Mari is amazing. She is his first real friend – her and Ladybug, he amends for fairness. Sure, he's known Chloe all his life, but he never felt that kind of partnership that he felt doing things with Mari, that Ladybug brought out in him. And Nino, he's a real friend too, but in a way Adrien can't explain, it's different from Mari.

He still doesn't know what it was that made him transform and head over to Mari's house. He's lucky she was on the balcony at all, though to be fair he'd gone on the basis that she'd casually mentioned to him at school that she liked taking a bit of fresh air before going to sleep.

Hearing her call herself his biggest fan had made him feel warm all over, but he hadn't thought of it much past that initial rush of satisfaction. He likes being Mari's hero. He likes it a lot.

Seeing her face flush at his presence had filled him up with something potent and heady.

He likes being the reason her cheeks turn pink.

To be honest, he'd had a little, tiny bit of a crush on Ladybug when they'd first met. Just a little bit, because she seemed so unsure and small in the beginning and had surprised him every day since. After their first meeting, he found himself wishing Hawkmoth would attack again so that he could be free to be himself with Ladybug at his side-

Now, though, as much as he enjoys being Chat Noir, he worries. He knows that he and Ladybug make an excellent team and together can take on anything Hawkmoth throws at them – but there's Mari to think of now, and when he looks back at the day that she cites Chat Noir became her hero, he can't help but feel retroactive horror that he hadn't really felt in the moment.

Mari arrived at the park just as Stormy weather was leaving it and she'd been right in the path of danger. If he hadn't acted then to draw Stormy Weather away – Mari could have gotten hurt.

He used to look forward to akuma attacks because he could spend time with Ladybug, the only person he could be free with, be himself without constraints, and now…

Now he finds himself immersed in his day to day life, in Mari.

He's excited to go to school – that was always a given – but he looks forward to sitting next to Mari, to laughing at the faces she makes during math, to scribbling notes to her and teaching her Chinese during break and eating delicious croissants with her from her parents' bakery and maybe showing off a little during fencing because she learned so much about the sport (for him) and he is coming to find that he lives off of her wonder and pride.

And then he visits her on his birthday and finds that she genuinely likes him as Chat Noir, too, likes both sides of him and turns pink when he teases her and gets confident and sassy like she doesn't with Adrien in response to him and-

And he can't stop.

He counts the days, desperate to not seem over eager, before the next visit.

Mari positively gushes about meeting him as Chat to him as Adrien at school and it's a little harder to curb the impulse to sneak out to see her.

Mari is a strong person. He knows she is. She has to be, to smile and laugh when she looks so lost and sad sometimes. But he's starting to understand that she's not ready for what he is beginning to be sure he wants from her. He has to tread carefully because his life is full of secrets and pressure and he will die before she breaks on the wheel of his problems.

He is bitter because the more he hears about Mari's parents, about Nino's home life, the more he realizes something is wrong between him and his father. He is over the moon because he spent his birthday with Mari, who has somehow become the balm that soothes his soul.

He's not sure he's ready for a relationship, not when he is starting to realize that he has his own issues to deal with before he even thinks about winning Mari over… and he knows, he knows she's not ready because while he knows she is a strong person there is something so very breakable about her…but he can't help what he's beginning to want and he knows she isn't ready for it.

He wants a lot. He wants to be the reason her cheeks turn pink, he wants to hold her hand, he wants to be the first person she thinks of in the morning and the last person she thinks of before going to sleep, he wants, like a lot, to know if she feels the same way-

Things are fine where they are. That's what he tells himself, anyway. He has a lot to think about regarding his father, and really, he is only a few short years from being an adult. He has growing up to do. And Mari – he knows she's in therapy, she admitted as much to him. She has healing to do. He thinks she's too mature for her age and wonders what happened to make her like that. He hopes that by the time they have both developed as people they will meet somewhere in the middle, where he can pursue her earnestly.

For now, though, he tells himself, he likes making her cheeks turn pink. He likes showing off during his fencing lessons, and most of all, he likes being her hero.

He couldn't stop visiting her as Chat if he tried and he definitely isn't trying.

"Are you thinking about Mari again?" Plagg asks, deadpan, as he gobbles down a piece of camembert before bed.

Oh God, that just puts Adrien in mind of the horror of being told he really did smell like cheese and by the girl he likes, too!

"Good night, Plagg," Adrien grumbles good-naturedly, rolling over to press his suddenly burning face onto his cool pillowcase.

He has to go to sleep early because he'll have a headache of a time trying to sneak out tomorrow to go to the unveiling of the statue made to honor him and Ladybug…

He wonders if Mari will be there to see him honored for his crime-fighting. She said she would catch the tail end of it, if not the whole thing, because she was doing something for her parents after school. She promised to watch it on television until she could escape to see him live, though.

(Mari is, as usual, the last thing he thinks of before finally falling asleep.)

"But isn't Ladybug supposed to be at the unveiling?" Tikki asks, not in any form accusing, simply curious. "How will you be there as Mari too?"

It takes a minute for my brain to catch up.

"Well, I told Chat I'd be there for the tail end of it," I explain slowly, "so I figure I show up as Ladybug, thank the sculptor profusely, and then slip off to transform. Luckily the unveiling is at the park, so it's right by the house. I can change back at home and job up as the ceremony ends."

I wait anxiously for Tikki's reply as she mulls it over. I didn't put much thought into the plan, to be honest, but it had sounded easy enough, and the ceremony was due to start soon, so I didn't really have time to change plans now that it would be last minute.

"It sounds doable," Tikki agrees after a moment, but it doesn't sound like her concern is completely gone. "But the sculptor was akumatized originally, right? Do you think he might feel slighted if you leave early?"

That, at least, I'm not worried about.

"I'm going early so that I can thank him personally," I affirm, feeling a little better at hearing the heart of Tikki's worry on the subject. "Plus, Chat is hardly going to get jealous and claim he and I are together, so I don't see what he could probably be upset about."

Today is my first day preventing an akumatization with my foreknowledge and I need everything to go well.

I arrive early to the ceremony where I am immediately approached by the shy, star-struck sculptor that had made the statue honoring us.

"You're amazing!" He blurts out around the lollipop stick in his mouth. "You're so brave and smart, and the way you always save everyone is-"

My face, I'm sure, is a furious red under my mask. I wonder for a brief moment how Marinette would have handled this.

"Please, if you wouldn't mind, would you sign this photo for me? It was the inspiration for the statue I'm going to unveil today."

I wonder where Chat is? I wasn't prepared for this guy's earnest adoration.

"Of course I'll sign it for you," I offer readily, a kind smile over my face. "I'm honored to hear that you hold me in such esteem!"

I write 'to a great artist, thank you for honoring me! Bises, Ladybug.' I wonder briefly if I've been to familiar writing 'kisses' on there, but it's a common French letter ending, so surely it's fine.

"Perhaps we should commence," the Mayor says, ignoring the sculptor's star struck expression as he clutches the paper to his chest, with a brilliant smile. "It might bring Chat Noir here faster."

What could his hurry be, I wonder, because he'd been eager to get on with things in the show too, only then it was Ladybug that didn't show up because Marinette 'had' to steal Adrien's phone for some ridiculous reason. I can't remember what it was now, but I remember being disappointed that a role model for children like Marinette was stealing from her friend – even if she intended on immediately returning it.

I'm so lost in thought I almost miss the sculptor giving the mayor the go ahead-

"Wait!" I cry, a little over enthusiastically. "I'm sure Chat will be here any second now. Please, let's wait just a few more minutes for him."

The sculptor, whose name I haven't gotten yet, seems eager to go along with whatever I say and repeats my request to wait for Chat to the mayor, who agrees with a sigh.

I know Chat wouldn't miss this, especially not when he invited me as Mari to see him.

I'm relieved when Chat finally drops in, greeting everyone with an exuberant hello, smiling at his fans and posing by the statue in such a way that for a moment I'm shocked no one can guess he's a model. I greet him earnestly, pleased to have him with me because, well, I feel a little overwhelmed by the sculptor's adoring eyes watching me.

"Why hello there, Milady," Chat returns smoothly, mock bowing to the delight of our audience.

He's great with PR stuff due to his own experience in his daily life, but I know him well enough as Ladybug and Mari to notice that he's preoccupied. His eyes scan the crowd looking for Mari, who I know he won't see yet. But he will, I amend, as soon as I can slip away.

Now that Chat is here, there's no reason for the mayor to delay.

"It's only proper for Paris to pay homage to those who protect us," the mayor said, and then the cloth covering the statue was pulled off to reveal an honestly incredible likeness of me and Chat-

I thanked the sculptor profusely for his efforts while people cheered and then, as soon as I found an opening, I slipped away and left Chat to the adulation of the crowd.

Adrien notices Ladybug leave but doesn't think much of it until the sculptor who suddenly seems to have a problem with Chat corners him beside the statue with an expectant expression and-

"Aren't you going to go after her?" He asks after a moment, and Adrien isn't sure what to say because he doesn't know where this is coming from or where it's going.

"Um, no, Milady can handle herself, that's for sure," he replies light-heartedly, trying to keep it friendly and to hopefully diffuse some of this weirdly tense atmosphere building up. "I'm waiting for a friend. She promised she'd come see the statue unveiling. You really did a great job."

The sculptor is obviously crushing on Ladybug hard, and Adrien doesn't blame him. He'd been there once too, and his partner is fighting crime is a wonderful person who cares a lot about Paris and all its citizenry. Maybe Adrien would have been jealous once, but now he's content to just let the guy down gently on his Ladybug and Chat Noir fantasies(?)… they're not harming anyone, after all.

"She wanted to wait for you," the sculptor points out, sounding a little heated. Just a little. "She got here early and insisted we wait for you to arrive."

Adrien is taken aback.

"I'll be sure to thank her for thinking of me," he says, reminding himself again that he had to be more responsible now – and this guy was giving off some serious akumatization victim vibes with how out of the blue angry he seemed.

Adrien is being responsible and friendly and appropriately grateful but he's done with this weird conversation but now feels responsible to an extent that this guy relaxes a little.

At least – he does feel that way, until he spots Mari on the edge of the crowd, beaming up at him. He waves back. The crowd is starting to disperse, anyway… but the sculptor still looks upset.

"You know," he begins slowly, trying to find the right words to put a band-aid on the sculptor's displeasure, "I've never seen Ladybug so proud of something made for her. She really likes the statue. You did a great job!"

The sculptor falters and then, as though despite himself, smiles, almost shy.

"You really think so?" He asks, looking down at the autographed photo in what Adrien can tell is lovesick adoration.

Adrien nods his head up and down, trying to keep Mari in sight.

"I know so." He promises, because Ladybug did seem embarrassed and awed by the likeness. He's not lying.

The sculptor relaxes and all Adrien can think is – phew, that felt like a close one.

"Chat out," he says in a brief goodbye, before leaping down from the statue eager to meet with his number one fan.

He doesn't see the way the sculptor briefly looks up from his precious autograph just in time to see Chat Noir make a beeline for a girl in the crowd, Ladybug long forgotten.

"Chat!" Mari cries when she sees him, laughing at the way he sidles up, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Is it a great likeness or is my likeness just that great? What do you think, purrincess?" He asks, imitating the statue's pose.

"I think it's a great likeness, Kitty," Mari returns with mock coolness, pretending to inspect him from all angles. "Here I was thinking the it made your butt look big, but I guess that's true to life."

He gasps in mock outrage, resisting the urge to pounce on her (too soon for that and not in public) and instead simply feigning offense.

"Excuse you, my butt is perfect," he responds, maybe meaning it a little because he's a model okay he knows his best angles, and then they both dissolve into laughter.

He doesn't dare be as affectionate with Mari in public as he is when it's just them on her balcony, which is a shame because she looks so pretty in the sunlight he thinks after a moment, his heart skipping a beat-

And then he remembers he is supposed to be at fencing practice right now and it doesn't take this long to get a drink of water and-

"I have to go!" He blurts out, rather regretting it when Mari looks at him quizzically.

She seems to be thinking about something – realization dawns on her face.

"Oh, right, me too," she says, and Adrien nods along, wishing he could stay longer. "Talk to you later, Chat!"

He grins, wishing he could draw her into a hug.

"See you later, Miss President of the Official Chat Noir Fan Club!" He teases, and then leaps away to get back to school ASAP.

He gets through the rest of fencing practice and waits for Mari's inevitable texts about seeing Chat Noir again with warm anticipation – and instead is greeted with his worst fear come to life when breaking news later pings his phone.

I am sitting upstairs by my computer eating a croissant sandwich as a snack before dinner to celebrate my success in avoiding the whole Copycat debacle when I find out I have been apparently been fucking akumatized.

"Mari, look!" Tikki cries, zooming towards the tv I keep on the news channel just in case of akumatization.

"The thief, who called herself Imitatrice, has been identified from museum surveillance footage as an underage girl whose name has not been disclosed by authorities due to her age. The police have yet to confirm whether or not she is a victim of Hawkmoth, but experts believe that-"

"Holy shit," I manage, staring at the screen in horror. The footage being replayed as the news lady speaks is so obviously me I can't believe it. It's Marinette I see on screen, dressed in what could only be described as Chat Noir cosplay without a mask. The long scarf around her neck, complete with green paw print, flaps in the wind, a sick parody of my cozy friendship scarf.

My face was plastered on the screen in a sick parody of itself, Marinette's face but not her expressions, not my expressions, topped with the same type of lollipop the sculptor had been sucking on at the ceremony.

I haven't prevented anything.

I am a step away from hyperventilating. Have my parents seen this? What must they think?

"Mari, focus," Tikki implores, grabbing hold of my sleeve and tugging with all her might to snap me out of the cycle of anxiety I am beginning to drown in.

"Tikki," I manage, my arms wrapped around my middle. I feel like I am going to be sick. Some lunatic is running around with my, with Marinette's face, committing crimes in an effort to call out Chat Noir and – and – why? What could he possibly have said after I left that caused this? Was it something that I said? Ladybug was there on time, he got his autograph, it doesn't make sense.

"Mari, you can fix this," Tikki reassures me. "Transform and we can get through this together."

I want to throw up.

"Yeah," I agree, light-headed already. "Yes. You're right."

Tikki tries to look encouraging for me, though the expression is overshadowed by her obvious worry. I return it with a weak smile and take a deep breath to center myself. I have to be out of here before my parents catch me here and try to help me clear my name. Better if they think I'm akumatized for now.

"Chat Noir will help you," Tikki affirms, giving my shoulder a brief hug. "You're not alone."

It is with that thought in my head, the thought that I am not facing this disaster by myself, but rather with Chat at my side, that enables me to say the magic words and transform.

"Tikki, spots on!"

I am no sooner transformed and heading out that I literally crash into Chat Noir as I head up the ladder onto my balcony, sending us both tumbling into my room.

"Milady?" Chat asks, clearly stunned at my presence here, in Marinette's room.

For a moment I am completely at a loss for words. How do I explain this?

No time.

"Imitatrice isn't here," I say, focusing on channeling my frustration at being slandered and defamed into the words, as though I'd been following a real lead. "I'm guessing since you came here you also figured out the victim in the news real was Marinette?"

"You know Mari?" He blurts out, his ears going back a little. I don't know how to interpret that.

"Marinette, right? I was visiting the bakery when I saw the news," I lie, badly, but this tenuous cover will have to do for now. "I've met her in civilian form. Quiet girl. Her parents are kind people. I wonder what set her off?"

He accepts this at face value, incredibly enough. He's so worried for Mari (for me) that he doesn't stop to think too hard about it.

He trusts Ladybug not to lie to him, I think to myself, feeling sick.

"She's my friend," he blurts out after a moment, looking guilty. "She's me as Chat Noir's friend. I saw her at the ceremony today. She seemed fine, but…"

"But what?" I ask softly, knowing I'm prodding but hearing what he thinks has happened will help me build up a believable cover until I can convince him that it's the sculptor that's at fault.

Chat hesitates.

"Mari has been in trouble before," he admits, looking for all the world as though it pains him. "She was almost akumatized once – in front of a friend. She, uh, told me that once. She seemed fine today, though, so I don't understand what happened to make her vulnerable to Hawkmoth. It's definitely her, though – she has a scarf just like that. I bet that's where her akuma is."

I thought for a moment.

"If you know her so well, Chat, why do you think she stole a painting? I didn't see the whole newscast because I was trying to find a place to transform safely, but I heard she stole something from the Louvre. Do you have any ideas as to what could have upset her?" I ask, prodding just a little bit more.

Chat is silent, and only then do I realize that this is the first time he's been in my room. His eyes drink in the pink walls, the cluttered desk area, her small bed, as though he is searching for some kind of clue there.

Finally, he speaks.

"I think," he tries, pausing again. "I think it's because of me. That maybe… um, I think she thinks you and I are, you know."

I cannot believe this.

"Why?" I ask, aghast. Chat had seemed to much more mature and down to earth in the time I had known him, had he really told the sculptor we were a thing?

"I don't know-" He shakes his head, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "The news footage had her calling me out and saying that you deserve better. I don't understand. I don't think I ever behaved in a way that would give her an idea like that and I've certainly never told anyone we were together, so I… I don't know."

I believe him. Though the evidence of the show and his still cocky, if a little more centered nature compared to his televised alter-ego are proof against him, I don't believe he would lie to me, not about this, when his friend Mari is at stake.

"Do you think," he starts slowly, swallowing hard, "do you think she has feelings for me? And maybe saw something about you and I and got jealous?"

He sounds almost hopeful.

"I don't know," I say, feeling constricted in Marinette's space with both of us here as superheroes. "I think there's more to this than we currently know. But clearly we're not going to find her here. I think we need to figure out some way to draw her out."

Chat nods, clearly preoccupied, and then brightens in tandem with me.

"The news station!" We exclaim at the same time – and then we are on our way.

To be continued in Imitatrice II.

Did anyone else expect the episode 'Copycat' to be the first to take two chapters? Because I sure didn't. Hope you enjoyed bits of Adrien's point of view, there will be more in the next chapter, which will conclude Copycat and feature the repercussions. Hope everyone is staying safe!