I Don't Own Miraculous or Avatar

Chapter Eighteen. Addressing Ladybug.

Marinette was minding her own business, drawing in a book she'd managed to buy in Toph's hometown, when suddenly Katara was next to her.

"So. Who's Adrien?"

"Gah!" Marinette nearly had a heart attack at the waterbender's sudden appearance. Katara laughed.

"Sorry, I've just been curious. The other day you talked about him in your sleep and I wanted to know. Actually, I've been a little concerned about you lately. You've acted strange ever since Aang mentioned it was springtime, so I wanted to have a girl to girl talk, you know, to get to know each other better… and well… maybe cheer you up some." Great. So Katara had heard her ramble on about Adrien. Not only that, but Katara had somehow picked up on her homesickness. Greater.

That particular day was the day Aang was planning on starting earthbending with Toph. Sokka said he would be off hunting for food all day, and Aang was still struggling with actually moving a rock. That, of course, left Katara and Marinette free all day. Marinette had only been planning on doing some design sketches inspired by the ancient asian culture she'd found herself in. She had assumed Katara was planning on watching Aang train with Toph. Apparently, that wasn't the case.

"So… who is he?" Katara pushed. Marinette sighed, weighing her options. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about her crushes like she had done with Alya in Paris. Something told her that Toph was not going to be a good candidate, and Aang and Sokka were…. Aang and Sokka.

"My crush." She admitted. Katara raised an eyebrow.

"But I thought you were dating Cat Noir." Marinette sputtered.

"Oh, no! I couldn't. He and I don't even know each other's real names. Do you know how complex dating someone you've never seen outside of fighting would be? I haven't even seen his face without a mask. Sure, he is my best friend and all of that, but we aren't dating. The flirting and puns I complain about? That's just Cat Noir being his usual self. He did once approach me and ask if we could try and work something out once, but I politely informed him that we were professionals and that I was already interested in someone else. He still flirts with me, but he has backed down since then. We are close, but dating would be a bad idea for both of us, with all things considered. If I knew who he was… maybe… but like I said, I'm already interested in someone else and wouldn't want to toy with his emotions if I chose Adrien over him."

"Oh… I didn't realise you didn't know who he actually was under the mask…"

"In Paris, it was unsafe for a Miraculous holder to know too much about our partner's personal life. It could stir up emotional trouble that could draw… unwanted attention. So for safety reasons, all Miraculous wielders except for one… Queen Bee, keep their true identity secret from the world. Tikki and the man who gave her to me are the only ones who know my real name. Rin isn't actually my real name, it's just a nickname. I promised myself Cat Noir would be the first to know who I really was if anyone had to ever find out."

"But why is it so unsafe?" Katara asked in concern.

"Well, there's this one Miraculous wielder. Nobody, not even the guardian who gave mine to me, knows who he is. But he's a rogue Miraculous wielder… one who uses his powers for selfish purposes. He can sense negative emotions and when he does… he sends these butterfly… things… called Akumas. They land on the person that's upset and… transforms them into a champion with crazy powers of sort that is loyal to him. Cat Noir and I had the job of finding these Akumas, purifying them, and freeing the victim. But if either of us got too upset over something… we'd be compromised."

"That's crazy. So how exactly did you two get separated?" Katara asked. Marinette winced.

"There was a fight. The rogue Miraculous wielder tricked us. He sent and Akuma as a diversion. I feel for it. I didn't realise Cat Noir had seen Hawkmoth… that's the rogue's name… I didn't realise why he'd been calling for me until it was too late. Cat Noir went to face him alone. Cat lost… badly. I defeated the Akuma and went to find him, only to discover Hawkmoth had him. Hawkmoth told me to give him my Miraculous if I wanted to save him. I was going to do it too. Cat wouldn't let me. He used a special power of his and used it to send me to Omashu and escape from Hawkmoth. I haven't seen him since… but Tikki says he's still out there. She can sense his Miraculous. It's faint, but it's still there. I need to find him. I have to know…" Marinette looked down at her drawing. What had started out as a drawing for her design work was now a picture of Cat Noir saluting lazily while leaning on his staff. Tears brimmed at her eyes. Katara pat Marinette on the back.

"Don't worry, we will find him." Katara promised. Marinette smiled up at her.

"Thanks… now… you have to tell me. Have you ever had a crush on anyone? No lying. Be one hundred percent honest or I'll get Tikki to pull pranks on you."

Katara shrugged.

"I mean, the only man around my age in my village was Sokka… so I never had a crush growing up."

"I mean, you are still a kid Katara. Surely you have crushed on some boy during your travels." Marinette pointed out. Katara scowled.

"Just some hero type who turned out to be a serious jerk. I had no idea how bad the war could affect a person until I met him. I mean… the war is how I lost my mom and why my father and the men in my village had to leave, but this… this was different. You know how in Omashu you reminded the general that the firebenders where people too? Just people fighting on the wrong side because the people who are leading them are insane? Well, Jet… he was so angry at the Fire Nation for killing his parents and destroying his town. So mad, that he blamed every firebender for it. So mad that he was willing to kill an entire village of innocent people just because the Fire Nation controlled it. If it hadn't been for Sokka… Jet would have succeed." Marinette gave Katara a smile.

"Well, then, you really don't need a guy like that in your life, now do you? Besides, I noticed a certain young man who has a thing for you." She teased, thinking of Aang's crush on Katara. Katara looked confused.

"What do you mean? The only guys we ever see are Sokka and Aang." Wow. As clueless as Agreste Jr.

"Nothing."

"So… why has this Adrien taken to your liking? Is he cute?" Katara asked.

"Oh Adrien? He is the sun itself. No one is as adorable or hansome as Adrien Agreste… at least in my book."

"No one but Cat Noir." Katara teased, Marinette shot her a glare, "I tease."

"But I don't just like him for his looks. That would be completely shallow of me. He is just one of the nicest, bravest, friendliest, and selfless people I know. He always puts others first. But he is kinda navie, and doesn't see the world quite like most people do. He knows people can be mean… but he is always looking for the best in even the worst of people. He is also a real gentleman and probably as innocent as a human being can get. It's wonderful. There aren't many people like that anymore. And I admire his ability to stay strong in even the worst times."

"Sounds like a real catch." Katara said with a chuckle.

"Yeah… well… he's a little too naive… he has no idea I'm in love with him. The worst part? I'm pretty sure he has a crush on my Ladybug self and I can't just tell him it's me." Marinette said.

"Well, I, for one, am beyond glad that I don't have to worry about who knows I'm a waterbender or not. You make keeping a secret like that sound… stressful."

"Oh, you have no idea. Between school, patrols, Cat Noir, Adrien, Akumas, and helping out my parents? I am surprised I even sleep. Of course I'm alway late for class, which gets me in trouble a lot." Marinette laughed.

"So you did take schooling in your old village?"

"They had a public school, so I could go." Marinette explained.

"Huh. So where exactly are you from anyways… I mean what nation?"

"Oh, uh, I'm actually not sure. It's kinda confusing. Paris was kinda cut off from the rest of this world, so I don't really know which nation it originally hailed from. I'm not Fire Nation, if that's what you are worried about. I'm more of what people call French or sometimes I could be called Parisian or partially Chinese…"

"So… you don't know, and you just randomly picked a side?" Katara asked.

"It wasn't random. I may not believe all Fire Nation people are monsters, but i know they are following the wrong man blindly and allowing him to feed them lies about why they are fighting. I mean… that boy from the other day? Zuko… I don't really think he's evil. He seemed kinda desperate to get to Aang first. Even though it is wrong to hunt down and imprison a person who did nothing illegal or coherently evil, I don't think Zuko is after Aang for the glory of it. The way he looked at his sister? He seemed threatened by her, terrified of her even. Like she was there solely to take something very important from him. Whatever Zuko's father told him about the war and the Avatar… he obviously believes it with his whole heart. So in all, he isn't a monster, but he certainly isn't a good guy or trustworthy. When I got to Omashu… I was confused by the war and which side was good and evil. Bumi seemed nice enough, but it was only when the Fire Nation invaded Omashu that I knew which side I was on. Do you realise that this war only seems to have started because the Fire Nation wanted to conquer for the sake of conquering and 'sharing' their culture with the world? Conquering for the sake of conquering can be a greedy and terrible ground to start a war on. One that obviously led to corruption. So I did be some consideration into which side I picked. Glad I chose the right one."

"So after one impression of Zuko, you automatically assume Zuko was just lied to by his dad and isn't actually a bad guy? Do you even know what kind of person Zuko is?" Katara scoffed.

"No, not really. I guess he could just be a terrible person, but the way he acted when his uncle was hurt? It showed he at least cares about something. But you know, I am the person who has a huge crush on a boy who's known for seeing the best in people. I could be looking into all that stuff a little too far. Has Zuko ever told you people why he wants the Avatar other than 'to give him to my father?'"

"Something about his honor. Which is ridiculous because there is nothing remotely honorable about bounty hunting a twelve year old kid all over the world." Katara grumbled.

"Huh. Weird." Marinette said with a shrug, "Perhaps we'll never get why Zuko thinks that."

"So the other day… why were you upset when you found out it was only spring?" Katara asked. Marinette once more hiestated. Did Katara really need to know she'd been getting homesick? Marinette had been trying hard to avoid talking too much about her home life, other than that she went to school (which is normal), patrolled with Cat Noir (Which makes sense), had a crush on some guy named Adrien (So many Parisian girls did), fought Akumas (Again, this makes sense), and she sometimes helped her parents (Which is something teens do all the time). Telling Katara she was getting homesick would most likely start up a lot of conversations on her personal life, and she still didn't know if Hawkmoth was even in that world with them. Still, she probably shouldn't keep to herself some much about the matter, of she could risk Hawkmoth sensing her negative emotions.

"I'm just homesick." Marinette said softly, "I had to leave mama and papa behind. They had no idea I was Ladybug. Not only that, but I've left Adrien and all my friends. I will go home at least by winter solstice, depending on whether I find Cat Noir or not, but the winter solstice is a little less than a year away." Katara nodded.

"I get you. I miss my parents too… my mom died a while back, and ever since the men left my village to fight, I haven't seen my dad. Then, Aang came and we left the South Pole. I mean, it's nice traveling the world and doing my part in the war by teaching Aang waterbending, but sometimes I miss the simplicity of living in the southern water tribe. Sokka hunting, me and they other ladies tending to the village, cooking, and sleeping all the time. I mean… we can do that while traveling but…"

"It's not the same as being home?" Marinette said.

"Yeah." Marinette shrugged.

"I mean Paris is nothing like this place. There's no bending. We have Miraculous holders. Our buildings are completely different and we certainly don't use birds and leimers to communicate over distances." Marinette shrugged, "It's insane how different Paris is to this." Katara nodded, but then looked a little distracted.

"Sokka should have been back from hunting by now. The sun is starting to set. Not to mention I haven't heard Toph and Aang Earthbending in the background… though I think I heard them get into an argument earlier."

"Should we look for Sokka or check on Toph and Aang?" Marinette asked, "Either way it's more dangerous than sparing Azula." Katara chuckled.

"Oh, don't know. We could ask Aang if they've seen him. But I say we give Sokka a little time. He said he would be back before dark." Katara decided. Marinette smiled leaning back into her drawing position.

"Yeah, you are probably right. Hey, Katara? Could I ask you something? Do you know how to fight outside of bending? I mean bending incorporates a lot of fight styles but…"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, the other day I realized I've been relying too heavily on my Ladybug form. In Paris I never had anytime to get any proper training. I was always busy making clothes for people. See I want to do, uh, tailoring when I get older, so I've been selling a lot of my work. The problem is, I never have time to actually studying fighting. I know I should… but I haven't. Perhaps you could teach me some of what you know so that I'm not completely exposed outside of Ladybug form?"

"Of course. I wouldn't mind helping you out. And maybe you can get some pointers from the rest of the team too. Would Cat Noir need help with that two once we find him?"

"No… I don't think so. He says he's a fencer in his civilian form. Fencing is a style of sword fighting we have in Paris. All he needs is a sword, and he is set."

"Which reminds me. What are you going to do about your identity once we do find him. Surely you don't plan on staying transformed all the time?" Marinette flinched.

"I-I am probably going to tell him who I really am." She admitted. Katara looked up in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah, well, before it was crucial for our names to stay secret… but with all that's happened, we need to move past the blind trust and have complete trust in each other. So yeah. I'm going to tell him."

"Which means he is opened for you to date now." Katara teased. Marinette's face went red.

"Katara!" Katara laughed at her for a good few minutes before wiping away her tears and looking back at the setting son in concern.

"Seriously, where is Sokka?" Marinette shrugged.

"Okay, he is never this late. I'm going to ask Aang were he went. I'll be back." She disappeared down the canyon. Marinette shrugged before returning to her drawing of Cat Noir, adding more details to it to make it more real. It began to get darker, and Marinette got even more concerned. She set aside her work and went looking for Katara. She arrived just in time to see Katara hug Sokka, who's wolf tail had fallen out so his messy bangs fell in front of his eyes.

"You found him!" Katara said in excitement. Sokka cleared his throat, as if prepared to make a speech.

"The entire time I was in that hole, not knowing if I would live or die, it makes a man think about what's really important. I realized-" Sokka began.

"Hey Katara! Look what I can do!" Aang earthbended a giant boulder, interrupting Sokka's moving speech of what he learned while in a… hole? What happened to Sokka exactly. Marinette wasn't sure. She knew she should be proud of Aang for earthbending, but she was too busy cracking up over the randomness of Sokka. Man. Homesick or not, Team Avatar always managed to make her laugh.

So this all takes place during the episode Bitter Works. I just didn't call the chapter that because Katara and Mari are just talking to each other and getting to know each other better. They really aren't working. So... yeah. Anyway, remember to review and leave constructive comments.