"We can fix this," Chat Noir said cheerily, carefully pulling Ladybug up from the floor so she could lean on him. "Let the Miraculous Ladybug work its magic, and your ankle will be healed in no time flat!"
Ladybug wrapped her arm over his shoulders, trying not to wince as she balanced her weight on her left foot. A poorly-timed trip had caused her to sprain her ankle, and the next thing she knew Marinette had to transform, and was fighting an akuma whilst injured.
"I'm not sure it works like that, Chat. I don't think I can heal something which wasn't caused by the akuma." Ladybug gingerly pressed her injured foot onto the ground and let out a gasp as pain speared through her ankle. The hand which was curled around her waist squeezed her gently as Chat's confident smile fell into a frown of concern. Ladybug exhaled, shrugging as she looked at the skipping rope in her hand.
"It can't hurt to try it, though." Ladybug shrugged before throwing the skipping rope, which had outlived its usefulness once she had used it to trip up the akuma, into the sky. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
Thousands of tiny ladybugs skimmed through the air, rebuilding the city and changing the akuma victim back as they scattered through Paris. The akuma victim, a track star who had been cheated out of victory by her competitor, took a step back as she watched the small insects fix the building in front of her. As the ladybugs faded into thin air, Ladybug nudged Chat Noir, pointing her chin towards the clearly shaken akuma victim. His gaze dropped to her ankle, and Ladybug tested it again, gritting her teeth against the pain as she shook her head at him in response.
Chat Noir made sure his grip on Ladybug was firm as she leant her weight against him, and, slowly, the pair limped towards the ex-akuma.
"Hey!" Ladybug called, smiling as she waved with her free hand. "Are you alright?"
The girl nodded as the two superheroes made their way towards her. "Y-yeah! Fine, thanks!" She looked around, taking in her surroundings before turning back to face the duo. "Uh, one question though: what just happened?"
Chat Noir raised an eyebrow, confused by the question – akumas were common now, everyone in Paris knew about them - until Ladybug replied.
"I'm guessing you're new in town," she said, as Chat Noir let out a quiet "ohhhhhh" of understanding. The girl nodded, eyes wide as she took in the oddly dressed pair.
"Well, welcome to Paris. There's one or two things that the brochures don't mention," Chat Noir said with a grin.
"Are you guys, like, the french version of Batman or something?" the ex-akuma asked, her voice quavering as her eyes flicked between the superheroes. Chat Noir's face lit up at the comparison, and Ladybug let out a small chuckle.
"Not exactly," Ladybug said. "We're a bit cheerier, for one thing."
"We have cooler powers, too," Chat Noir added, earning a nod of approval from his partner.
"Not to mention we have a much better relationship with the police."
"Unless one of them has been akumatised," Chat pointed out.
"True," Ladybug conceded. "But usually-"
A shrill beeping cut her off, and Ladybug's eyes widened in fear a polka dot on her earring faded away, leaving only one remaining. Chat Noir immediately tensed, his green eyes focusing on her earrings. He turned back to the track runner, squeezing Ladybug to him tightly as she gripped his shoulder.
"Aaaaand that's our cue to leave," Chat Noir said with a tense smile. "The police are on their way, they usually turn up a little while after an akuma fight; they'll get you home safely. Ask for Lieutenant Roger, he'll explain everything to you. But don't worry – at this point, most of Paris has been akumatised. I think there's a support group. Look it up online, it'll be a great way to meet people if you've just moved!"
"Uh, Chat? Running out of time here," Ladybug said, urgency lacing her voice. Chat Noir released Ladybug from his supportive hold, causing her to stumble as he spun to face her. His fingers pressed against his chin as he nodded, frowning whilst gazing at Ladybug's ankle.
"You're right, we need to move quickly. And you're not going anywhere fast on that thing."
"I'm sorry, that thing?"
"Ah ha!" Chat Noir cried, clicking his fingers as a grin spread across his face. Ladybug immediately tensed.
"Chat, what are you thinking?" she asked tentatively.
Chat Noir bent forward, his arm sweeping across his stomach as he dropped into a bow. Tilting his head up to look at his partner, Chat Noir grinned.
"My Lady, let your gallant knight sweep you off your feet."
Ladybug's eyes widened as Chat straightened up, his body taut as he took a few steps back.
"Chat, don't you dar-"
Ladybug couldn't even finish her sentence before Chat Noir launched towards her, scooping her into his arms and extending his baton so they were leaping through the air, dashing away from the scene as fast as they could. Chat Noir kept his eyes forward as he darted across the rooftops of Paris, slipping into an empty alleyway when his own Miraculous began to beep. The walls of buildings passed in a blur as Chat wove through the back streets, a flash of red telling him that the girl in his arms had detransformed.
He ran for a little longer before skidding to a halt in the empty alley. Marinette's arms loosened around him as he drew to a stop. Chat Noir gently put her down, making sure that her weight was still resting on him even as his own transformation faded, adjusting himself so Marinette's arm was once again over his shoulders. Plagg spun out of the now silver ring on Adrien's finger, shaking his head as he floated in front of the two superheroes.
"Cutting it a bit fine there, don't you think?" the cat kwami said, folding his small arms across his chest. "You could have detransformed right in front of that girl!"
Adrien frowned at Plagg.
"Hey, she had no idea what was going on, we couldn't just leave her! Besides, a quick getaway was never on the cards today, there were… unfortunate circumstances."
"You know, the 'unfortunate circumstance' is right here," Marinette said, nudging Adrien with her elbow before looking at Plagg. "But Adrien's right, we couldn't just abandon that girl. Although I don't think we helped that much…"
Adrien bumped Marinette's hip with his, quirking his lips as he winked at her. "Hey, it's not our fault if we went a bit off topic. it's not every day we get compared to Batman."
"…I don't think she was actually comparing us to Batman," Marinette laughed.
"She so was. You could see it in her eyes. She was thinking 'these guys are like Batman.'"
"I could only see confusion in her eyes."
"Yeah. Confusion caused by us being so cool. Like Batman!" Adrien exclaimed.
"Are you two quite finished?" Tikki asked, zipping into the alleyway from above. She floated to Marinette, rubbing the girl's cheek with her head affectionately, before shooting a glare at Adrien. "I got separated from you when you detransformed, and someone was running too fast for me to keep up with."
"Sorry, Tikki," Adrien replied, looking down at the ground before meeting the tiny kwami's narrowed eyes. "But I had to get Marinette out of there. Secret identities needing to stay a secret, and all that."
"Speaking of getting me out of there," Marinettte interrupted, cutting off Tikki's response before the protective kwami could protest Adrien's actions, "could you give a girl a bit more warning before hauling her across Paris next time?" Marinette tested her ankle once more as she spoke, letting out a hiss as the sharp pains shot through her. Adrien pressed a kiss on the top of her head in sympathy.
"Sorry, Princess, but there wasn't time to warn you. Besides, I thought it was dashing," Adrien grinned. Marinette straightened up, twisting her head so he could see her narrow her eyes in a faux-glare, the intensity of which was spoiled by the upwards quirk of her lips.
"You would, you weren't the one being lunged at!" Marinette protested, turning her head away from Adrien, who let out a small laugh.
"Okay, okay, no lunging in the future." Adrien conceded, before pressing Marinette closer to him and lowering his head towards hers. "But I can still sweep you off your feet, right?" he murmured.
The words were spoken quietly, just enough so that the kwami couldn't hear them. Marinette's face reddened as Adrien's lips brushed her ear, and she nodded, rendered mute by his sudden closeness. She was used to Adrien now, had been dating him long enough to be comfortable in his presence; but now and again, her old habits came back with a vengeance.
It was incredibly frustrating - for her, at least.
"Good," Adrien whispered, before stepping back and sweeping Marinette into his arms, pulling her up so that he was holding her bridal-style. "Because you'll never be able to walk home on that ankle."
Adrien winked at his red-faced girlfriend before he began to walk out of the alley, leaving the two kwami in hysterics at the look of pure surprise on Marinette's face.