Adrien stretched his shoulders and back gently, then swiftly knocked an arrow. A deep breath in, and a small motion from his fingertips, and the arrow whooshed to its mark with a thump. Bullseye. He fired two more. He hadn't had extensive archery practice, but he had been athletically talented even before his father's intense training or his secret life as Chat Noir. He continued emptying his quiver, making more shots than missing, and began feeling more relaxed. As he retrieved his arrows, there was a rustle of activity from the direction of the front door.
"The reservation is under 'Agreste,'" she was saying firmly.
"Oh, yes, target twelve," the old clerk replied. As soon as Kagami came around the desk and was in view of Adrien, he waved. She walked quickly and stiffly toward him with a small smile on her face. She carried an ornate case, painted burgundy with white and pink flowers and gold filigree.
"I didn't think our appointment was until one," she said tersely.
"Oh, I was a few minutes early and thought I'd set up," he said. "Do you need some help with your case?"
"No, I can manage just fine." She opened the case and pulled out one of her bows. She ran her fingers carefully over the length of it, checking for flaws. Apparently, she didn't find any, because she stepped into it, bent it to her will, strung it, then swung it over her shoulder and behind her back. "Shall I teach you, then?"
"Uh…huh?" Adrien replied, not sure what she was talking about.
"Archery. You said you weren't an archer. Shall I teach you?" Something about the awkward smile and stiffness of her back made him want to burst out laughing. But she was serious. That's when the idea struck him.
"Oh, I was under the impression we were just going to hang out and have fun today," he said, rubbing the base of his neck sheepishly.
"This is fun," she replied mechanically with the same awkward smile. What was just a thought immediately formed as a fully-fledged plan in Adrien's mind. He would get her to laugh, if it was the last thing he did.
"Teach away, Sensei," he joked with a little bow.
She glared. "Don't call me that. 'Sensei' is a term of deepest respect."
"Oh, sorry," he backpedaled.
She launched into a history of archery, while demonstrating a few stretches that he copied mindlessly. "No, Adrien, like this," she kept saying. "You have the physique of an archer, but you are sloppy."
"Sorry," he said again. He was losing count on how many times he'd apologized.
Eventually she let him pick up his bow. "Now," she instructed, "Tall back, straight elbow, eyes open, train your vision and your breath." She took one of her own long black arrows, knocked it, and let it fly. She was a good shot, there was no doubt to that. If Adrien hadn't been planning otherwise, they would have been evenly matched. "Your turn," she said, stepping back to give him space. He reached for an arrow from his quiver and tossed it in the air, letting it spin a few times like a baton before catching it deftly. Kagami gasped. "Adrien! We do not play with the arrows like toys! These are deadly weapons," she scolded.
"Sorry," he said yet again, but he couldn't help but smirk at the aghast look on her face. He put the arrow on the string and held it as obnoxiously as he could with a closed fist. He let the arrow slip away from the bow a few times.
"No, Adrien, like this," she said, with an edge to her voice, now. She pressed one hand on his shoulder and the other into the small of his back and forced him to stand straight. Then she reached around him and took his right hand in hers on the string, and guided his left with her hand. He could feel her breath on his neck. He turned his head to look at her and waggled his eyebrows.
"Is this better?" he said in a low, flirty voice.
Her eyes were fixed straight ahead. "Eyes forward," she snapped. This was harder than he'd expected. He let the arrow go, purposefully pushing the string so that the arrow lacked enough power to make it to the target.
"No, no, no!" she stammered, her voice raising in pitch and decibel with every word. "You have no strength, no discipline, no form, and what's more, you—what is so funny?" she growled, stamping her foot.
"You're kind of cute when you're angry," he said, trying to tame the smirk that had stolen across his face. "It reminds me of someone else I know."
"Oh yes?" she said, still shrill, but slightly better. "And who might that be?"
"No one," Adrien responded quickly, "Just an acquaintance." Perhaps he'd answered too quickly, but she didn't notice.
"Well, try again." At her command he picked up an arrow and it soared to the left of the target. "Again." He shot it into the ground. "Again." This one went too high. "Again!" He dropped his back elbow and made a little "pew!" sound when he let it go. "AGAIN!" she shouted.
"I dunno, Kagami, I don't think I'm cut out for archery."
She glared at him again, pushed him aside, and pulled her own bow into position. "You're just not—" she let the first arrow go— "trying." A second flew. "You lack strength." A third met the target. "You lack discipline." A fourth bullseye. "You lack focus." A fifth. "And most of all, you lack heart." The sixth arrow slammed into the target and emptied her quiver.
"Wow, you're really fantastic," Adrien said, realizing that the clumsy-archer tactic was ticking her off more than flattering her. He decided to try a new tactic in the get-Kagami-to-laugh-plan. They walked to the target together to retrieve their arrows. Adrien picked his up off the floor and jumped to get the ones from the net behind the target. "Do you want to go get some ice cream or something?"
"No ice cream until you at least hit the target," she said firmly. "You will never improve if you quit before you even try."
He walked back to the other side of the range quietly, took his bow, and grinned wickedly at her. "So, I just have to hit the target and we can go get ice cream?"
"We can go when you've gained some degree of focus," she said with a little nod.
"Thank you, Sensei," he bowed.
Now she glared in earnest. "I told you not to call me that! Do you have any respect for me or my heritage?"
"Kagami—I'm sorry," he responded with slumped shoulders.
"No! You aren't! I'm not sure you are serious about archery at all!" she shouted.
"To be honest, I'm not. I just wanted to spend time with you."
She looked puzzled. "Isn't that what we're doing?"
"Well, yes, but I wanted to have fun. That's what a date is. It's having fun together."
"This is fun," she said for the second time. He just rolled his eyes and picked up his bow and an arrow, which he fired toward the target. He turned away from it before it even hit.
"There. I hit the target. Now can we go?"
She glared at his bullseye, and then at him. "You weren't taking this seriously. You were making fun of me."
"No, Kagami, I was just—"
"You think this is a joke. You think I'm a joke."
"No—" But it was too late. She turned her back to him, scooped up her case, and marched for the exit. He called after her, chased her to her car, but it was no use. This date was a bust. He looked at his watch. His father wasn't expecting him home for a few more hours. Apparently he had more faith in his son's dating abilities than he should. Adrien tried to shoot another arrow or two, but he wasn't feeling archery any more. He retrieved his arrows, put them away in the locker, and slumped to the exit.
Half a block later, he slipped down a quiet alley and Plagg emerged from his shirt pocket with a burst of laughter. "Oh Adrien! Her face! You just… Oh man! Never in ten million years! That was almost as good as a piece of camembert!"
"Shut up, Plagg," Adrien bantered, but he couldn't withhold his smile. "It didn't work. I was just trying to make her laugh."
"Kagami? Laugh? I think the world would self-destruct, even without my Cataclysm!" The tiny cat's words were supposed to comfort him, but Adrien realized they were true. Kagami wasn't a laughing sort of girl. She wasn't someone he could tease, flirt with, or joke with. Mostly to get Plagg to stop laughing, Adrien punched the air and shouted, "Claws out!"
Within a second, he was flying over the rooftops of Paris. He loved this world. This is where he felt alive and free. He didn't think he was going anywhere in particular, but as he launched over the park, he realized his heart was guiding him to where he knew he would feel happy. He could smell it before he saw it. The cheerful little bakery felt more like home than anywhere else. As he got closer, his cat ears picked up the peal of laughter from the open window below, where, undoubtedly, Marinette was helping her parents create those incredible smells. Yearning desperately for some fun, and with his heart still in control, he knocked on the door.
Tom was flabbergasted to see Chat Noir at his doorstep. "Uh, Chat Noir? Can I… Can I help you?"
Suddenly, the boy behind the mask realized that he'd just knocked on the baker's door. He blushed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Dupain, I was just in the neighborhood and smelled your delicious goods and was wondering… if maybe… I could just say hello or something…" He really should have thought this through.
But Tom Dupain was an amazing man. His face broke into a massive grin and his eyes lit up just like Marinette's. "Come in, young man! We're making macarons!" In three seconds flat, Chat Noir went from standing on the front door step like a lost kitten to dressed in a flowery apron with a whisk and a bowl in his hands. Marinette and Sabine watched Tom bustle over his new pet with slack jaws.
"Chat Noir?" Marinette stammered, "What are you doing here?"
"Uh…"
"Nevermind that, this young man would like a lesson in making macarons, and it's his lucky day!" Tom boomed with pride.
Sabine interjected, "Now Tom, did he actually tell you he wanted a macaron making lesson?"
Chat Noir just laughed, realizing what he wanted as he spoke it out loud, "Mrs. Cheng, I would love a lesson in making macarons." Inwardly, he recalled the disastrous date with Kagami, and felt a pang of regret that he was spending this afternoon without her, but he just wanted to be happy again. In the ten seconds he'd spent in this place thus far, he was already far happier than the thirty-minute archery fiasco with Kagami. Sabine smiled and nodded her approval. Marinette was still too stunned to speak.
"Chat—can I call you Chat? Here, start separating these eggs. Sabine, dear, would you get us some more almond flour? Are you ok with almonds? We recently had a disastrous moment when one of our customers ate an almond macaron that was supposed to be coconut…" Tom was talking non-stop. It was just what the doctor ordered.
"So what are you really doing here?" Marinette hissed to Chat, once she'd regained her composure. Tom didn't notice no one was paying attention to him. Marinette was measuring ingredients and had a bit of flour on her cheek. It was adorable.
"Like I said, I was in the neighborhood," he laughed. Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Ok, I was just feeling a little low and this place… your family makes me happy."
"Put your elbow into it!" Tom bellowed. Chat dutifully amped up the speed of his whisking. "So, Chat, what flavor should we make today?"
"Well," he thought, scratching his chin, "I love passionfruit… I mean, my friend Adrien said Marinette made a passionfruit one once, but he never got to taste it. Maybe we could make some, and I could swing a box by for him when we're done? I need to talk to him anyway." Even he had to compliment himself on his smooth coverup. Marinette visibly tensed when he had said the word 'Adrien.'
"Oh, that sounds lovely," Sabine sighed. "Marinette's been trying to get a passionfruit macaron to Adrien for weeks."
Chat was surprised to see Marinette drop her eyes and blush furiously. "No, we don't have to do passionfruit," she stammered, grinding her toe into the floor.
"Young lady, Chat Noir is our guest, and he wants passionfruit, so passionfruit it is!" Tom announced, and Marinette tripped over nothing and the bowl of ingredients went flying. Chat's miraculous-enhanced reflexes jumped into action and he caught the bowl with one hand and scooped the ingredients mid-air. The room was silent. Chat became hyper aware that everyone was staring at him, a whisk in one hand, a bowl full of rescued ingredients in the other, balancing on his toes, Marinette still grasping at air to hold her up, and everyone blinking—too stunned to move. "Marinette," Tom whispered, "I think we just found the cure to your clumsiness…" As if rehearsed, the room erupted in to deafening laughter. Marinette's eyes watered. Tom hugged his ribs. Sabine giggled behind her hand, her cheeks pink. Chat tossed his head back and roared in delight. But deep down, his heart swelled. This was what he had ached for. This was the world he wanted.
"Are you sure you have to go?" Sabine asked as she packed up a third box of passionfruit macarons for Chat. "Would you like us to write a note to anyone to let them know where you were?"
"Yes Ma'am, I mean, no ma'am… I mean, yes I have to go. No, I don't need a note," he responded, "and if I stay here any longer, I won't fit into my cat suit!" He jokingly tugged at his belt/tail waistband.
"Well, thank you for coming, and you know you're welcome any time," she chortled.
Chat looked at Marinette, who was genuinely smiling. "Yeah," she emphasized, "any time." He smiled back at her. He couldn't remember having this much fun with someone in a very long time.
Just then the storefront entrance bell dinged and everyone looked up to see Luka Coffaine enter. He and Marinette made quick eye contact, before she blushed and looked away. It wasn't the same kind of blush that Adrien had seen so frequently. This was different. Her smile faded. Her shoulders dropped. Her eyebrows knit together. Her fists tensed. Luka didn't smile at Marinette; his face remained passive. "Mr. Dupain," he said formally, "I'm here for the first delivery." Tom didn't notice the interaction between the delivery boy and his daughter, but Chat did.
"Yes, yes, Luka, of course," Tom blustered, and began gathering boxes of chocolate croissants and delicate lace tarts.
"Mrs. Cheng, I trust you are well? And Ma-Marinette?" he said stiffly, nodding to each one of them. Then, Luka finally made eye contact with Chat Noir. "Chat Noir? What are you doing here?"
Tom looked up abruptly from his busywork, "Oh, Luka, do you know our dear Chat? He's been here helping in the bakery this afternoon, isn't that wonderful?"
Luka's eyes were doing math. They bounced from Chat, to the boxes of passionfruit macarons, to Marinette (whose angry blush had gone an even deeper shade of pink), back to Chat, and back to Marinette. "He-Helping? In the bakery?"
"Yes, why shouldn't he help out in the bakery? This young man has a fine palate, and has a talent for catching flying ingredients right out of the air!"
"I see," he said. Finally, Marinette looked up at Luka. Chat was surprised to see her eyes slightly red, as if she were holding back tears. Luka kept his eyes fixed on Marinette, but asked Tom, "and was it an enjoyable afternoon? Full of excitement?"
"Oh yes," Tom boomed, still oblivious of the cold air between Marinette (who was now shaking her head slowly) and Luka. "Always an adventure with Chat Noir around! He's a regular riot!"
"I suppose it would be. Well, I'll get that order out, then," he said quietly, taking the boxes and sliding out the door.
"Luka!" Marinette called, making a motion for the door.
Sabine gently grabbed her daughter's hand and shook her head. "Let him go, dear. He still needs some time." As she let go of Marinette's hand, Sabine made eye contact with Chat. It was clear that Chat was much more in-tune with Marinette than Tom was. "Sweetheart, why don't you take Chat up to the balcony so he can head home his favorite way. It'll draw less attention than if he goes via the front door."
Marinette, still flushed, took the boxes of passionfruit macarons and walked slowly to the stairs. Chat followed her. "Um, Marinette, what was that with you and Luka?" he whispered.
"I don't know what you mean," she tried, but he gave her a blazing look. "Oh, alright. Luka and I are friends. Recently, we tried to be more than that. He really wanted it. I did too. I mean, I do too. I don't know… I guess I don't know what I wanted at all. I wanted to love him. But, when we were on a date, well, it was my own fault I know, but I just…"
Chat paused on the stairs and took her arm gently. "Marinette, it's ok, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"No, it's ok, and I love that I have a friend I can talk to about this. Maybe you can tell me, as a guy, you know, what I should do. It's just that Luka is so… calm. It's one of the things that first drew me to him. But we were on a date last night, and all he did was sit and play music. It was sweet at first, but after an hour, I asked if we could go and do something new. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. I probably shouldn't have asked for something more exciting. I feel so stupid." She buried her eyes in her hands.
"You… asked him if he you could do something more exciting?" Chat echoed. She nodded. "And he got angry?"
"Not angry so much; Luka doesn't get angry. He doesn't get defensive. He doesn't get much of any which way. He's just… calm. He was disappointed and calm."
"And you wanted something more?"
"Yeah, I suppose, I just thought maybe we could laugh, or go out on a walk, or to an amusement park, or something fun. You know?"
"Yes. I know." He knew exactly what she meant—about wanting to laugh, to have fun together with someone special.
"I can't believe I've done it again," she muttered. "I just can't seem to make it work out with anybody."
"Again?"
She blushed the smiley-pink this time. "Oh, it's nothing. Just, I blew it with a different guy recently. Someone I had hoped would be someone. Not that he knew. I just couldn't get past myself. Has that ever happened to you?"
"Yes," he admitted. Now it was his turn to blush and look away, rubbing the back of his neck. "But you already know how I feel about Ladybug, and how she feels about me."
"Feel?" Marinette raised an eyebrow. So, she had noticed his choice of tense as well. He surprised even himself. He had been trying to bury those feelings for the past few weeks. But when he said her name, the pain ripped through him, searing like lava. He hung his head. He wasn't sure he would ever get over her entirely, no matter how desperately he wanted to. Marinette reached out to him with concern in her eyes, and Chat noticed how blue they were today. She touched his arm gently, but he stepped forward and pulled her to him in a full embrace. They hugged that way for a few seconds, sharing what words alone could never express.
Suddenly, they were ripped from the moment when Marinette's phone and Chat Noir's staff beeped simultaneously. They both instinctively checked their updates and saw the news footage of a blue-haired supervillain turning the streets of Paris into an enormous roller coaster. Flaming blue carts scooped people up and trapped them inside, then hopped on the tracks and zoomed off while the blue-haired supervillain smiled smugly. Chat realized with a pang in his stomach that the footage wasn't from just any street, but the street they were on—just a block away from the Dupain Bakery. Blue eyes met green. They communicated the horror of the situation to each other wordlessly. "Marin—" he began, but she shook her head, and simply said,
"Go."
The warmth from Chat Noir's hug hadn't left her shoulders when Marinette opened her purse to talk to Tikki. She knew who the supervillain was, and what he was angry about. "Tikki! What should I do? Luka's been akumatized, and it's all my fault! I don't know if I should talk to him as me or as Ladybug."
Tikki looked at her with wide eyes, "Marinette, you know only Ladybug can stop an akuma. Let's get going!"
"I know," Marinette said, racing to the window to see the roller coaster tracks zooming toward her home, "but my parents aren't safe, and Luka needs to talk to Marinette. He needs Marinette."
"There will be time for that after he's been deakumatized! Chat Noir can't hold him off forever!"
"Oh Tikki, what am I going to do about Chat Noir? No matter what I do, he just can't get over Ladybug!"
"Marinette!"
"He was so upset. And so cute, helping in the bakery today, I can't believe how sweet he was."
"MARINETTE!" Tikki was screaming and pulling on Marinette's earlobe.
"Oh, right!" Marinette snapped to attention. "Tikki, Spots on!" She carefully swung behind the park so she would arrive from the opposite direction of her home. The news footage hadn't done justice to the situation. Luka was riding in a flaming blue cart down the road, his hair wild and his eyes mimicking the same eerie blue flames as the cart. From underneath the wheels of his cart issued snakes of roller coaster tracks, that reached into houses and carted off terrified citizens. He had nearly reached Marinette's house.
"Marinette!" he called, in his deadly-calm voice, "I am Adventurer! Come here! Come have an adventure with me!"
"Ladybug!" she heard Chat Noir's voice exclaim. She spotted him battling a piece of track just behind Luka. The track was twisting and slashing at Chat, trying to pin him long enough for a cart to scoop him up. "Get Marinette! She's in there!"
"I know!" she shouted back, carefully choosing her words. She didn't want Luka to go anywhere else; she wanted to keep the fight right here where she could contain the damage. "I warned her to hide but she didn't have time to leave!"
"What?" Chat Noir screamed in an uncharacteristically frightened voice. "You have to SAVE HER!"
Ladybug didn't have time to process Chat Noir's concern for her true self when Adventurer spun to face him—along with three more coaster tracks. "Oh, of course you'd be worried about Marinette," he spat. "Since you two are so close."
"Luka, I don't know what you think you saw," Chat tried to reason, "but I swear, Marinette and I are just friends." A roller coaster track slammed into his stomach and knocked him to the ground with a thud. Another snaked around his leg and lifted him into the air.
Ladybug threw her yo-yo and swung into the fray. She hit the track holding Chat Noir upside down and it dropped him. She slid underneath him just in time to catch him.
"Thanks," he muttered. No My Lady. No cat puns. Not even a smile, just like the last two weeks. Her heart sank, but she shook her head and refocused.
"Adventurer, if you want Marinette, you're going to have to go through me!" she yelled.
"No," Chat countered, "through us!" And he was back on his feet, fighting like a crazed man. Ladybug had rarely seen him so determined. They each had three or four railroad tracks sailing at them. For every one they hacked back, two new grew, like the heads of a nasty metal hydra. They couldn't get past the tracks to get close to Adventurer, who was directing the flow of tracks from his cart with his hands on what looked like a steering device… like handlebars.
"Chat! I think the akuma is in his cart! I think it's his bike!" She yelled over the hubbub.
"But how are we going to get there? I can't use my power because the tracks keep growing back!" Chat was frantic.
"Let me think!" She yelled. She looked around, and no solution popped up. She threw her yo-yo in the air and screamed, "Lucky Charm!" A pink rose fell at Chat's feet. Ladybug took over battling his tracks as he picked up the flower delicately. "What in the world? It went to you," she yelled.
"I think… I think we need Marinette," he said quietly.
The few moments of one-on-one fighting had given Adventurer the advantage. A track flew from his feet toward the bakery, blasted through the front window, and a cart emerged seconds later, encapsulating Marinette's terrified parents.
"No!" Ladybug and Chat Noir screamed in tandem.
Adventurer laughed menacingly. "So, you're not home, are you, Marinette? Ladybug must have been lying about you being there!"
Chat Noir shouted in jubilation at the revelation. Adventurer's cart turned around and zoomed off down the road, leaving a wake of destruction behind him. Chat didn't follow.
"I need to find Marinette," he growled, and launched himself toward the bakery.
"Chat, let's think this through. Where do you think she would be?" Ladybug asked, trying to buy some time.
"She was just there!"
"I know," Ladybug countered, "but I saw her just before I got here, and I told her to hide. It was that direction," she pointed. Chat didn't wait for her. He tore off like a shot, the way that Ladybug had swung in.
She flew to the balcony of her home, slid through the trap door while screaming "Spots off!" Tikki was shaking. Marinette cradled her gently and gave her one of the passionfruit macaroons still sitting on her desk. "Oh Tikki, what do we do now?"
"Well, I would suggest going to see Master Fu—"
"Perfect idea!" Marinette said, racing for the door, but Tikki flew in front of her face with her tiny arms held out.
"Marinette, stop!" Her heels dug into the ground and she skidded to a halt.
The gravity of the situation crashed on her and she sunk to her knees. "Oh." She said. "I can't go see Master Fu."
"Marinette, I think this might be time for Plan A."
"Are you sure?" Marinette said with tears welling up again. She and Tikki had made several contingency plans the night after Master Fu left. She didn't think she would have to use them this soon.
"Yes. He always told you to choose an ally you could trust. And you need to trust them more than ever, now that you're the Guardian."
Marinette thought her heart was breaking. She went to the wardrobe where she had hidden the red miracle box. She pulled the silver key from the chain hanging under her shirt-never would she take it off-and inserted it into the lock. No one gave her a pep-talk this time. She still wasn't sure this was the right course of action, but with Adventurer wreaking havoc on Paris and Chat Noir chasing her true self down, time wasn't on her side. She grabbed the foxtail necklace, locked the box, and ran.
Alya's eyes didn't dart from the screen as she dialed Marinette's phone number for the fourth time in as many minutes. "C'mon Marinette, pick up!" she yelled at the ringtone. "Where is that girl?"
"I'm right here, Alya," Marinette's voice said softly from behind her.
"Marinette? What are you doing visiting me? There's a supervillain after you! I've been so worried!"
"I'm sorry about that," Marinette said. "It's my fault. I'm no good with boys."
"Oh girl, you know that's not true—"
"But that's not why I came to visit you," Marinette interjected. "I am so sorry it has to be this way. I wanted to tell you differently. I wanted it to be when it was all over and we could just be normal girls again."
"What are you babbling on about?"
"Alya," she said, pulling out a small brown box from her pocket, "I need your help."
Of course Alya recognized the Miraculous immediately. Her jaw fell. "How did you get that?"
Marinette just looked at her, shaking slightly, trying to form words. "Alya… Alya Cesaire, this is the miraculous of the..."
But Alya knew. It was as if she'd always known. She threw her arms around her best friend. "You amazing girl…Ladybug… all this time?"
Marinette nodded. "Yes."
"And that mean's you're the guardian now."
"Yes."
"But Hawk Moth knows I'm Rena Rouge—" Alya said. Marinette thanked the heavens for her brilliant friend, who wasn't going to dwell on the details or feel hurt that she'd been left out, but who would understand everything immediately and jump into action. Tikki was right. This was definitely the right person at the right time. "I can't exactly go out right now."
"I know, that's why I need you to not be seen. I've got a plan. Listen to me carefully…"
"Lady, I trust you implicitly."
"Marinette! Marinette?" Chat Noir called hopelessly into the deserted evening. "Where are you?"
"Chat!" His heart jumped as he heard her call his name, and turned to the sound, but when he saw Ladybug swinging toward him, his heart (much to his surprise) fell.
"Oh, Ladybug, I thought you were… oh well, did you find Marinette?"
"Yes," she said, with an edge of panic to her voice. "She's gone after Adventurer. We've got to go help her!"
"Where is he?"
"The Eiffel Tower. C'mon!"
As they jumped over rooftops and ran at top speed, Chat asked, "Was she alright when you saw her?"
"She was fine—why so worried?"
"She's my friend."
"Just your friend?"
"Yeah, and I don't want her to get hurt, okay? Leave me alone about it! It's not like you've ever cared about my feelings!"
"Chat, that's not fair. I've always cared about your feelings."
"Yeah? As soon as someone shows up who seems to like me you get all defensive and crazy. Can't I have friends too?"
"I am not defensive and crazy!"
"Well, I'm not asking you about your friends!" he growled. She grabbed his tail and skidded to a halt. "HEY!" he yelled, reeling back on her.
"Listen to me, Kitty. You are the best partner and best friend I've ever had. You mean everything to me. I know I've broken your heart more times than either of us can count, and I keep telling you I am sorry about that. I think that part of my life is over anyway," she said, as tears slid underneath her mask and softly to the ground. "The boy…he loves someone else. So now I feel even worse that I hurt you over him. I wish I could take it all back, ok? I am sorry!"
He didn't know what to say or do. He sat there, mouth gaping like a fish while his stomach did summersaults.
Ladybug thought about kissing him just to get him to snap out of it, but she knew that would be crossing a line. He had only recently stopped calling her 'Bugaboo' and asking her on dates every other minute. For her to kiss him now would be salt on a very open wound.
"Now," she said quietly, "We need to stop Adventurer. If you want to talk, I will meet you later, after our Kwamis have had time to rest, on the rooftop where you made me dinner. Alright? Chat?"
He shook his head and his eyes sharpened. She loved this about him—the way he would snap to attention when it was needed the most. They raced the rest of the way to the Eiffel tower in silence.
Adventurer was there. The roller coaster tracks swirled up the sides of the tower. Hundreds of carts raced in, filled with victims. The carts linked up and were growing into a huge rocket-shaped dome. "I think when there's enough carts, it's going to take off to the sun," Chat Noir observed.
"You're right, Kitty," Ladybug replied. "But Adventurer doesn't know that we're on a roll," she joked. A tiny smile played at Chat Noir's mouth. "You know, we've really got this whole thing on track. We're about to coast to the finish line, y'know?"
"Meow," he replied before skyrocketing into action.
"There's my Kitty," she muttered, before letting her yo-yo carry her toward the battle.
"Marinette! Come on an adventure with me!" Adventurer was taunting from the middle of the Eiffel tower. Chat Noir silently prowled around the perimeter of the tower, trying to spot a weakness. Ladybug landed next to him so lightly that if it weren't for his cat ears, he wouldn't have noticed her.
"Any ideas?" she whispered to him.
"You're asking me for ideas?" he whispered back. "You're the Ladybug!"
"Yeah, and you're holding the rose," she whispered back. He looked down. He'd forgotten he was still clutching the Lucky Charm. He looked around. There was a shadow in the fading darkness, almost half a mile away, and hiding behind a tree. Again, if it weren't for his Miraculous eyes, he'd have no clue it was there. But his heart did a backflip when he realized who it was.
"Ok, you distract Adventurer. I need to go to her." Ladybug nodded at the plan and with a tiny zip, she was off.
"Adventurer! Give up! I'll never let you shoot these people into the sun!" She flew at him like a goddess, her yo-yo a blur of strength. The metal snakes targeted her every limb. She kicked, hacked, zipped, punched, back-flipped, and kicked again. She inched her way toward Adventurer, whose hands were a flurry of activity as he controlled the metal tracks.
"Just give me your Miraculous and I'll let you go," Adventurer leered. "You're not the one I want."
"Never!" Ladybug screamed and fought harder still.
Meanwhile, Chat Noir stole silently through the gardens to the shadowed figure.
"Marinette?" he whispered, "Is that you?"
No response.
"Marinette, you don't have to do this, you know."
"I do, Chat. It was my fault. He needs to know I'm sorry."
"I can tell him that you're sorry. You don't have to put yourself in danger for him."
"Chat, thank you for your concern, but Luka needs to hear from me. I know what to do." She stepped out from the shadows. There was a hard look on her face. He instinctively reached for her, but she pulled away before he touched her. "No, please, don't stop me," she said, holding up a hand.
"I won't stop you, but I will protect you. That's what friends are for."
"And we might need your cataclysm when the time comes," she added.
"Now that I can do. I await your signal, My Lady." The pet name slipped out before he could hold it back. But she didn't seem phased by it. He charged forward, headfirst into twenty metal tracks attracted to the motion. His staff flew, slashing back tracks faster than they could regenerate. He was making serious headway.
Ladybug, on the other hand, was not. The tracks were hitting hard, and she was losing energy. The rocket of entombed victims began rattling as if preparing for launch. She got caught on the left leg with a fierce blow, then a second on her back, and a third squarely in her chest.
Chat's ears were drawn to the piercing scream and he looked to see Ladybug hit a fourth time in the stomach and go flying backward. It was as if time slowed down. Marinette was feet behind him, sweet, kind Marinette who always listened to him. Alone, defenseless, brave Marinette. Ladybug was falling, flying backwards, defeated, broken, alone, defenseless, brave. He was torn.
But Marinette screamed behind him, for the second time that night—"GO!" so he slammed his stick into the ground and extended it, hurtling himself toward Ladybug. His arms wrapped around her waist a split second before impact, just enough time to twist his torso hard and place himself between her soft body and the cruel pavement. Even with the suit, he was sure he'd cracked a rib.
Ladybug was fighting to stay conscious, but she pushed herself up and away from Chat Noir. He was gasping for breath after the hard impact. "Chat Noir, no! Are you alright? C'mon Kitty, talk to me!" Her hands flew down his arms and torso, similarly to how Kagami had checked the bow for flaws earlier that day. "Oh, Chat, please be ok, you've got to be ok… I need you to be ok…" she whimpered.
A deep rattling breath crossed his lips, and then a painful cough, and at last, he whispered, "I should have tried breaking a five-story-fall for you ages ago." A smile played at his lips.
"Oh, Chat," she sighed with feigned exasperation. "Why would you… you didn't have to—"
"I always will."
She helped him to his feet. He was still a bit shaky, but recovering from the hit quickly, thanks to the magic of the miraculous. He struck an offensive pose and started advancing Adventurer again. His eyes were slits of malice. But someone else was going to beat him to the punch. He watched in horror as Marinette spoke and made her presence known. "Luka, you need to stop this."
"There is no Luka, only Adventurer! Marinette, come take an adventure with me, I promise it will be exciting," he growled. The snakelike metal tracks deserted Chat Noir and Ladybug and slithered toward Marinette. But she didn't flinch, she just kept walking toward him. Her eyes were as intense and brilliant as laser beams. He tried to match her gaze, but he couldn't.
"Please, Luka, please listen to me. These people didn't do anything to you. I did. If you're going to hurt anyone, hurt me." Chat Noir was transfixed by her. "I didn't mean to hurt you. You're a brilliant musician and an amazing friend. I would never want that to change."
"But—all you want is adventure," he said, trying to turn from her hypnotic eyes. But he was enraptured, just like the boy behind the mask. Adrien had never heard Marinette speak like this—so bold, so strong. She kept walking forward and raised a hand toward him. She started singing. It was so quiet that only Adventurer and Chat Noir could hear it. It was a lovely melody Chat had never heard before, but it made Adventurer's twisting metal snakes stop in midair. She kept walking, singing stronger now. There were no words, just this gentle tune.
The music finished. Adventurer lowered his head in despair. "I wrote that for you. You weren't supposed to turn it against me."
"I'm not against you, Luka. I don't want adventure. I don't want you to be any different than you are. I like you just the way you are. I like us the way we are."
"What if that's not enough for me?" he said under his breath.
"Then I don't deserve you," she said, flushing slightly.
She hummed again. The same tune. Adventurer lowered his face. She was inching closer and closer. Her arms reached up. Adventurer closed his eyes, and so briefly he would have missed it if he hadn't been utterly in awe at this new, spellbinding Marinette, she looked at Chat Noir. He knew what it meant, and he responded with the subtlest of motions. But her eyes were closed as well, her body closer to Adventurer than before, her lips reaching forward to find his. He let go of the handlebar controls to take Marinette in his arms. As Luka took her face in his hands and their lips met, Chat Noir couldn't control himself. "NO!" He yelled. Adventurer jumped at the sound, but simultaneously, Marinette disappeared in a wisp of smoke.
"What is this?" Adventurer roared, slashing his hands through the air where Marinette had been. He reached for his controls, but he was too late.
"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir's claws tore through the cart. A tiny black-and-purple butterfly beat its wings in a desperate attempt to escape the wreckage.
"No more evil-doing for you," Chat heard Ladybug recite as she had so many times before. But he wasn't paying attention any more. He'd been duped by the mirage just as much as Luka had been. He had been so transfixed with this unusual, powerful Marinette that he had fallen for it. He felt stupid, but still in awe.
"Chat Noir, is everything alright?" Ladybug asked after she had released the purified butterfly.
"What? Oh, yeah. I just never saw Marinette act like that before. I didn't realize it was a mirage. I didn't know Rena was here." Ladybug nodded a few times.
"What makes you think it was a mirage?"
"Well, she disappeared—"
"Yes, but how do you know it wasn't her words? I asked Rena Rouge for help, yes, but she didn't fabricate a thing. Marinette was with us tonight, even though she used the protection of Mirage." Chat Noir was left stammering. "Now, Chat, can I borrow that, please?" she asked, pointing to the pink rose he had tucked in his waistband before the fight began. He watched her take it from his hand and toss it high into the sky, crying, "Miraculous Ladybug!" Chat Noir watched as the sparkly ladybugs whizzed around Paris, healing the torn pavement, broken windows, and returning all the victims safely home. It never ceased to amaze him.
He took a satisfied breath, reached out his fist to his side, and said, "Pound it!" but Ladybug wasn't there to return the fist-bump. "Milady?" he called, looking around for her. Luka was huddled in a heap under the Eiffel Tower with his bike askew beside him. He was a mess. Chat started toward him, but Marinette came running from the shadows and beat him.
"Luka," she was saying, "I really do like you just the way you are, and I really do like us the way we are. I'm sorry if I broke your heart, but you deserve someone who can love you for everything you are. And no matter how hard I try, I just… I just love someone else. I'm so sorry, Luka, I'm so sorry for everything!"
He looked up at her with tenderness and quiet hands. "I know, Marinette. I know you love him, and you probably always will. I just want to be someone you can trust and be happy with."
The two hugged. "That's exactly who you are to me, Luka. I want you to be happy with me as well. And the best way we can be happy together is as friends."
"I know." Chat Noir didn't want to break the scene, but his ring was flashing.
"Luka, do you need a ride home?" he asked, taking a step forward.
He looked at his crumpled bike, and at Marinette, who nodded. "Sure, I guess," Luka responded.
Chat pulled Luka tight against his Ladybug-healed-ribs and used his baton to effortlessly vault him into the sky. "You know Marinette and I are just friends, right?" Chat said.
"Do you have lots of 'just friends' girls?"
"Well, superheroes don't really get the chance to make lots of friends."
"Chat Noir, I think you'd better watch out if you think you can be 'just friends.' Marinette is an incredible person. You'll be shocked."
"Shocked?" Chat scoffed. "By what? I already know she's incredible."
"Shocked at how fast you'll fall in love with her." They arrived at the boat floating in the Seine. Chat Noir set Luka on his feet, but it was Luka who patted Chat Noir's shoulder. "Just don't hurt her."
Chat Noir tried to respond, but his ring gave another earnest beep, and all he could do was nod solemnly before running to the nearest quiet alley to whisper "Claws in."
As she sat there in the cool night air with nothing but the sounds of Paris to keep her company, Ladybug realized how lonely it must have been for Chat Noir when he had waited for her in the same place, many months prior. She stood up and paced the length of the rooftop, spinning her yo-yo over and over. Why didn't he come? Was he going to come? Maybe this was a good sign. Maybe he didn't need to talk out his feelings with her. She hadn't set a time, really.
This was silly. She didn't need to sit up all night on the rooftop waiting for Chat Noir to visit her, even if she did offer to talk. She threw her arm out and felt the yo-yo grab a distant pole. She stood there, breathing, deciding, hoping, and was about to swing her way back home, when a voice behind her said, "Leaving so soon, Milady?"
"Oh!" she yelped, dropping her yo-yo and tripping on the string so she slipped down the slanted roof. His strong arm scooped her up and pulled her back to the rooftop, like he did so frequently. "Chat Noir! You came!"
He took a deep breath and looked into her captivating blue eyes. "I just didn't want to leave you up here all night. It doesn't exactly feel good, you know?"
She nodded quietly and reeled her yo-yo back to her. They sat down quietly. "Chat Noir, I really don't know how to tell you everything I feel, without telling you everything."
"You know I'd be game for telling everything," he offered hopefully.
"But with Hawkmoth still after our Miraculouses, that's not safe. We must protect our secret identities, above everything! I had to make a tough decision today with Rena Rouge. You deserve to know that I did tell her who I am under the mask." He gasped at this revelation. "But we talked, and she knows that, with this new revelation, and with Hawkmoth knowing her identity, that she will never be able to act as Rena Rouge in the open again. That is the price of being a superhero. That's why we can't share our personal lives with each other, ever—because we would have to give up our Miraculouses and Ladybug and Chat Noir forever. And… and… Oh Chat, if you went away, I would be heartbroken!"
He smiled and ruffled his hair. "I knew you'd miss this old cat. Admit it, you think I'm a-purr-ing!"
She laughed. "A-purr-ing? I think you're out of pun practice!" They laughed together for a moment, but then he got serious again.
"You're right. I'm out of practice. And I can't tell you why because it's personal."
Ladybug looked into those masked green eyes and said quietly, "Is someone making you sad?"
"Not sad exactly, just not happy."
She nodded. "Chat Noir, you need happiness in your life. It's okay to want that."
"But," he spilled out before he could stop himself, "how do I tell her that? She's such a good friend and I don't want to hurt her, but we're just so different and I can't even make her laugh and—" Ladybug pressed a finger to his lips.
"Don't tell me anything more," she warned gently. "But my advice, as a girl? You can't be two people. You'll go insane. It's one of the hardest parts of being a superhero. We have to live two lives, but we can't be two different people."
"So you're telling me that I need to let her go?"
"Only you can make that decision. But if you can't be yourself around her, you're not helping her or yourself. And if she doesn't accept you—all of you—then she really doesn't deserve you."
"What do I say to her then?"
Ladybug pondered that question for a second, then said, "Marinette did a pretty good job with Luka tonight, maybe you could say something like that."
"Marinette? Yeah, Marinette is awesome," Chat Noir responded vaguely.
"Awesome, eh?" Ladybug teased with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh don't start that again," Chat Noir said with an eyeroll, but a smile. It felt so good to be laughing with Ladybug again. "But Ladybug, since we're being serious tonight, I have to tell you—I feel the same way. About being heartbroken if you ever went away."
They were quiet again. She slipped her hand in his, then rested her head on his shoulder. The touch was electric. "Then let's never go away. Deal?"
"Deal, Bugaboo."
Thanks for reading! This is my first fanfic ever. I'm toying with adding a few more chapters to see how this all turns out. Whatchya think?