Ladybug and Chat Noir had two birthdays each.
Well, not really, but they celebrated them twice, on two different days. Once with their family and friends, and once with each other and whatever other superheroes had their miraculous on that day.
It was a system Ladybug and Chat had created when they were but sixteen, driven by the urge to celebrate each other's birthday but unable to know each other's true age nor birthdate.
So, the only information they shared was the month of their birth. Ladybug told him hers was in April, and he selected a day; the 14th. In realty, her birthday two days earlier, but that was information she was unable to tell.
Chat Noir's fake birthday was November 2nd, though Ladybug was not gifted with the knowledge of his true birthday being on the 19th.
In truth, ever since he turned fifteen, Chat Noir, or, rather, Adrien, hadn't been able to celebrate his true birthday with his friends, due to the flood of deadly akumas that seemed to surge every year on that fated day.
Every year he hoped he and Ladybug could catch Hawkmoth before his birthday so he could actually celebrate it for once, but each year his hopes were dashed as Ladybug and him came to another dead end in their investigations and had to restart their search. Every year they comforted each other, the duo still unaware of the other's identity, and promised next year would be the year.
This cycle was still continuing when Adrien Agreste awoke the day of his twentieth birthday, staring up at the ceiling of the apartment he had bought and moved into two years before.
Once again, he and Ladybug would have to spend the whole day facing the dangerous, vile akumas and try not to die.
Every year, his alarm clock awoke him at midnight on the morning of November 19th, as he would have to spend the next twenty-four hours patrolling until the cursed day ended. And every year, he was already exhausted from the akumas that attacked every few days for six years.
He sighed, tilting his head back to gaze at the white and blue box that rose him from his grave-like sleep every morning.
A quick snap of his wrist, and the loud, annoying alarm stopped chirping.
Dragging himself from bed, Adrien sluggishly dressed, Plagg flirting around his head as he ate his cheese hungrily.
"Happy birthday, kid." Plagg whispered as Adrien finished combing his hair, both pairs of green eyes locking. "I know it doesn't count for much today…but…yeah."
"Thank you, Plagg." Adrien whispered, cupping his hands together around Plagg, pulling him to his cheek to snuggle a bit. "That means a lot, today or no."
Plagg cuddling back for about half a minute, before making a noise of disgust. "Ew. Affection is gross. Get off me and transform already."
Adrien laughed at that, holding out his fist. "Whatever you say, Plagg. Claws out!"
A flash of green light, and way more sparkles then an average person sees in one day, and Chat Noir stood in the place of the former teen model.
Pushing open his apartment window, Chat Noir crept out into the night to meet up with Ladybug, blonde hair blowing in the breeze as he hunted down his fair lady, as he did for every patrol.
A bit of joy always accompanied running through the night, and, chances are, these would be the last of the happy moments he would receive for the next twenty-four hours. Everything else would be filled with turmoil and sorrow and exhaustion…
"Chat!" Ladybug's voice cut through his subconsciousness, waving to him as she ran across the buildings on the other side of the street. "Over here!"
Ah, yes. Chat Noir grinned, gazing at her freckled visage. Joy is also bought when I'm by her side… "Good mew-rning, my dear Ladybug!"
"Starting a bit early today, aren't we?" She chirped back, clearing the distance of the street width with a single bound, landing beside him.
"Oh, I won't have another chance for the rest of the day." Chat huffed, rolling his eyes. "At least I quit calling you Bugaboo. Oh, and making jokes and puns every other sentence."
"That's certainly a plus." Ladybug begrudgingly agreed, fondly punching him as they raced along. "And you're right, it'll be good to have a bit of fun before today starts. Stupid Akuma Day."
"Very stupid Akuma Day." Chat Noir echoed behind her, shaking his head.
"I wonder why Hawkmoth chose today of all days." Ladybug voiced their yearly question, as she did every time. "It makes no sense."
"Maybe it's his birthday." Chat shrugged helplessly, pursing his lips. "Or, his wedding anniversary, or insert-some-other-important-day-here."
Ladybug chuckled at that, shaking her head. "You huge dork."
"I'm your huge dork~!" Chat Noir slyly returned, earning a groan from Ladybug.
"We've been partners for over six years, why are you still like this?"
"I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Chat Noir grinned, rolling his eyes toward the Eiffel Tower in the distance, as Ladybug let out a dry chuckle.
With that, the two fell into a companionable silence, glancing around the surrounding area for akumas that might be lurking.
(:)
Three hours later, the night sky still as dark as it had been at midnight, was when they caught first whiff of the akuma. Or, rather, when Chat first saw the akuma.
In the earliest hours of the morning, when everything remained dark, was when Chat Noir worked best. His night vision easily spotted the slightest movements and was able to transfer the movements into full bodies, and, out of full bodies, created akumas.
Ladybug had her time in the middle of the day, when she was able to see everything around her with ease, for the daylight was the true domain of the beetle.
But the night was when Chat Noir ruled over the city.
"Ladybug." He hissed, grabbing the said hero's arm and pulling her down beside him. "Akuma."
She blinked at the shadows he was gesturing to, unable to see anything. "What's it doing?"
Chat Noir squinted, pursing his lips. "I'm not sure."
"Focus." Ladybug hummed, doing her best to see through the darkness as well.
"It looks like he's constructing a trap." He informed her, creeping to the edge of the roof as he gazed down. "Using psychokinesis."
"That's telekinesis, nerd." Ladybug corrected with a roll of the eyes, trying to focus on where the Akuma was. Chat Noir took her head and pointed it in the correct direction, though it was fruitless to try and help when she simply shrugged, unseeing.
"What do you think was the reason for his Akumatization?"
"Not sure. What's the Akumatized object? That should give us a clue.
"He's wearing a safety hat." Chat Noir noted, tilting his head as he focused. "And a safety-orange jacket, and some boots. I'd say a fired Night-Shift Construction worker."
"Okay; let's make this quick." Ladybug snarled, standing up and cracking her knuckles and neck. "Sooner this repetitive day's over, the better."
"Agreed." Chat Noir nodded, drawing himself to his full height, towering six inches above Ladybug.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug whispered, the charm appearing in her hands instead of up in the air. It took her a lot of tries and retries to develop the ability to activate it without her yo-yo, but it payed off, as it allowed the dynamic duo to become less of a target and let them sneak around with ease. She had informed him that, soon, it wouldn't be the only ability she'd gain, though he hadn't understood, and she hadn't explained, instead settling for a mysterious smile.
Holding her Lucky Charm, Ladybug frowned. "A broken chain?"
Chat Noir gave it a glance, nodding to confirm her suspicion. There were sixteen chain links, one of the center ones nearly completely shattered, thus breaking the shackles. "They are."
"Maybe I haven't gotten the hang of activating it without the yo-yo after all." Ladybug joked, staring down at them with uncertainty. "Though, I feel like night vision goggles would be more helpful."
"Probably." Chat Noir admitted, picking up the chain. "I don't even know what'd we do with this; it's so small. It'd maybe be able to chain up a mouse."
"Maybe it symbolic? I know it's very rare that Lucky Charms are, but maybe?"
"Shattered bonds? It could be." He tapped his chin, considering. "What would it mean, exactly?"
"I'm not sure." Ladybug sighed, shaking her head as she took it back. "I'll figure it out later." Chat Noir handed it back to her, and she attached it to her string belt. "Let's get going." She reached out, nudging his arm. "Mind escorting me?"
"Right!" Chat Noir nodded enthusiastically, scooping her up bridal style, leaping off the building and easily landing on the ground.
Chat Noir set her down in front of the wall closest to the Akumatized man, but it was around a corner so that he would be unable to see them or hear them if they began talking. As it was, though, Ladybug could see Chat Noir beside her, so they could communicate through simple hand motions. Usually, Chat Noir was the team leader during the night, which pretty much meant that he was the only one fighting the Akumas because Ladybug's occasional clumsiness showed when she couldn't see where she was putting her feet.
I'm going to go try to corner him. Stay out of sight. He signed to her quietly, gaining a nod from her. He turned his head to peer around the corner, frowning uncertainly. The Evilized man had vanished by the time they had gotten down to the street, leaving the strange contraption that Chat Noir had earlier seen him constructing in his wake.
Chat Noir reached out his hand, as a leap of faith, and activated his power. "Cataclysm." He hissed, taking a single step forward. A traffic cone came out of nowhere, and he narrowly dodged it, tripping over a trip wire and dislodging a volley of wooden planks upon him. He held up his hand, the claw breaking through them and unleashing ash over his head instead. He hissed, jumping over a bungee cord which would have allowed a large vault of metal pipes to collapse. This was stupid and needlessly complicated. He paused, glancing around to summarize everything around him. A few more traps laid about; a few railroad ties, a couple of hammers, and a bucket full of nails were suspended from the ceiling. One misstep, and the whole barrage would come toppling down.
Chat Noir carefully retraced his path, sidestepping anything that could be a trigger, and arrived safely at Ladybug's side. She glanced up, quirking an eyebrow in concern when she was his empty, butterflyless hands.
No Akuma. He signed, glancing behind him. Trap. I already used Cataclysm.
Ladybug peered down at her hands, much less confidently making signs with them. Twenty/twenty-five minutes?
Yes. He agreed, glancing down at his paw print. To his upmost surprise, not a pad was missing, yet. It appeared that it hadn't taken him five minutes to squeeze through the alleyway of doom, but more like three or four. A relief, really. As he aged, his time limit had increased, so they had about twenty minutes before he timed out, fifteen until he needed to hide and detransform.
Sneak through traps? Ladybug uncertainly inquired, tilting her head.
Too many. Clumsy-girl might… He imitated an explosion with his hands, shrugging. His mind drifted to Marinette, and he almost cracked up. Ladybug, when tripping over her own feet, resembling the designer quite a bit. It was humorous. Dangerous.
Plan? Ladybug questioned, tapping her chin.
Chat Noir shook his head, not sure. Can't have gone far.
Ladybug whipped out her yo-yo, hacking into the city-wide security cameras. She searched for akuma activity on them, and immediately several hundred results popped up from that night alone, all of the same akuma. The most recent revealed him standing in the middle of a street a few blocks over, and she showed them to Chat Noir. He glanced at the address, looking it up on his phone. He nodded, registering where it was and mentally making the map over the rooftops he would have to jump across. Time was also easily calculated, even while evaluating that he would be slowed down slightly by carrying Ladybug, and-
"We're walking." Ladybug said, breaking their silence, narrowing her eyes. "I think the Akuma will probably expect us to come from above. So, we should sneak up from him from side, on level ground."
"Ladybug, that's more dangerous, though, because even the slightest noise-"
"He'll think we're random civilians." Ladybug said, flapping her hand busily. "And if this fails, he'll most likely get away, so we can try again from above or-"
He sighed, reluctantly agreeing. She was the boss, after all. And when they jumped from the building several minutes before, the Akuma had seemingly vanished during that time. "Just…Watch where you step." He warned, taking her hand and pivoting, leading her right behind him.
She followed him, trying to keep up. She lost her balance due to a bump, so he slowed down, but he knew it wouldn't take long for Ladybug to begin stumbling quite often, even going slow. He wished she would just let him carry her, but she did not wish him to do so unless necessary, and the smoothish ground of the sidewalk should be able to traverse. (The street lights looked to be shorted out; probably due to some secondary power the Akuma had.)
Chat Noir led Ladybug through the streets, wincing every time she tripped over something or another that he hadn't even bothered taking notice of. She really, really needed night vision.
"I'm thinking of going home and getting the Fox Miraculous." Ladybug grunted, after she smacked into a shorted-out street light's post, rubbing her nose. "Then I could actually see!"
"As much as I want to agree, we promised; no duo Miraculous unless absolutely necessary. And we can't risk losing the purifying yo-yo to you completely using only the Fox Miraculous."
"I know." Ladybug whined, "it's just so tempt- mmmph!"
Chat Noir's claws pressed into her cheek; palm squeezed against her mouth. He pushed her several steps back, urgently beckoning her to be quiet.
She nodded, and he removed his hand, looking around the corner into the wide, open street, where the Akuma was constructed another trap; one that looked like it would launch cars and even topple buildings if triggered.
Chat Noir really hated these traps.
Akuma? Ladybug signed, curious.
Yep. Back to the same tricks as last time, but more… He thought for a long moment, mind frantically trying to remember the signs which would make the pun…and then it occurred to him. Cat-strophic.
Ugh. Ladybug snorted. He went around the corner and charge in, but she grabbed his arm. Careful?
He smiled down at her, heart squeezing in joy. Always. Wow. Fourteen/fifteen-year-old him would be shocked on how close the duo was. Jealous, even. Poor kid; he didn't know what he had been – currently – missing out on.
He gestured for Ladybug to stay put, then rounded the building, making his way into the middle of the street. "Yo, Sparky!"
The Akuma turned around, one last screw grinding into place on a street lamp. He narrowed his eyes at Chat Noir.
"Or is it Worky? It ends with a 'rky' right? Or is it just Buildy?" Chat Noir taunted, eyebrows raising teasingly. The Akuma remained silent. "Oh, cat got your tongue?"
The Akuma ground his feet into the concrete beneath him, launching one of the cars not installed in his trap at Chat Noir.
Chat Noir used his baton to shove himself up above the car as it passed below him, running along the back of it for a few minutes before landing back on the ground. Right. Look out for the traps. "Ladybug and I were having an argument earlier, good sir. See, she thinks that – woah!" He ducked underneath a bus, snarling at it. "Rude!" He scrambled to cover to avoid a dumpster. He really hoped Ladybug stayed put. "She thinks that your power is called telekinesis, but I think its psychokinesis. It just sounds more scientific, ya know? Cooler?"
The Akuma snarled, reaching out his hand. Chat Noir felt his body go stiff, then begin to levitate.
Chat Noir snarled at him, drawing his arm back then hurled his baton at the Akuma full force. The Akuma's focus broke, and he landed on the ground, leaping upon the Akuma again. He wound his arms around the akumas neck, breaking him into a choke hold. He glanced up just in time to see Ladybug peak around the corner. She tilted her head to listen to the nose and evaluate where Chat Noir and the Akuma were, then she tossed her yo-yo forward towards him.
Chat Noir leaped off the Akuma before he could be caught, diving for the yo-yo. Ladybug had kept her grip on the other end, so he was able to wind it around the Akuma's legs with ease. The Akuma roared, trying to escape from the ties and capture Chat Noir in his psychokinesis. Chat Noir managed to avoid it by leaping over his hands instead, wrapping the Akuma's arms with the yo-yo string as well. He leaped several feet behind the Akuma and tugged, causing the Akuma to trip over his feet, backwards.
The Akuma stumbled over his own tripwire, making a few cars toppled down ontop of him. One of the cars moving also trigger a building, which caused the top floor to fall as well, bricks and posts reigning down on both of them. Chat Noir pulled out his baton and whirled it above his head to protect himself while also grabbing the Akuma's safety helmet. He was only thankful Ladybug was safely out of the line of fire; there's no way she could protect herself and he would be unable to reach her in time.
Once the debris stopped falling, he vaulted over to Ladybug, holding her yo-yo in one hand, pushing the button that'd completely retract the yo-yo string and untie the former Akuma. He landed beside her, handing her the weapon.
"Cataclysm." He said, allowing the helmet to crumble to dust in his fingers. Ladybug opened up her yo-yo, giving him the chance to swipe the Akuma from the air and pushing it into her weapon. She closed it, burning the evil out of it, releasing a perfectly white butterfly from the red tool.
"Pound it!" Both Ladybug and Chat Noir said at once, tapping their fists against one another.
Ladybug beamed at him for a moment, before a frown slowly overtook her face. Her eyes drifted down to his hand, and she tilted her head. "Did…did you just… use Cataclysm?"
"Yeah?" He nodded, confused. "Why?"
She looked at him in worry. "I'll be right back. We'll discuss in a bit." She cast the Lucky Charm chain into the air, jumping over to the Akuma as all his trap damage was cleared up and the shorted-out lamps flickered back on."
She helped the former villain up, smiling at him.
"What happened?" The ex-Akuma inquired, rubbing his head.
"You got Akumatized, sir." Ladybug explained. "But it's okay, though. We saved you."
"Thank you, Ladybug." He smiled, sighing a little. "I'm sorry for causing trouble."
"It's okay." Ladybug sympathized. "We're used to it at this point."
He nodded, pivoting and heading away, down the street in the opposite direction as Chat Noir stood.
Chat Noir watched him retreat, paid attention to Ladybug as she turned around, glancing back at him with the smallest smile on her face.
He thought for a moment about her previous statement. Why was using Cataclysm so…horrendous? It was normal for him to use Cataclysm, wasn't it? It was unlikely that anything else would break the helmet so fast; certainly, the chain would not have. They hadn't even needed it; which was strange.
But he was going off topic. Seriously, why was she against Cataclysm?
Ladybug approached him; head cocked. "So… um… You… you never left to detransform, right? You just used Cataclysm twice in a row, didn't you?"
Chat Noir jolted in surprise, realizing that she was right. He hadn't taken a break between Cataclysms. He peered down at his ring, surprised to find that not even a single pad was missing. "That's…that's not possible, right? Is it…is it cracked or-?"
Ladybug pulled his ring into the glow of the streetlight, tilting it back and forth, a small pout tugging at her lips. "Did it glitch at all when you were transforming this morning?"
"No? I mean, I don't look at Miraculous, that's…why would I need to?"
"I don't know! I just wanted to know if you did." Ladybug snorted. "If it glitches, that means it's broken. Did transforming hurt at all?"
"No."
"Have you been having dizzy spells recently?"
Chat Noir flinched at that; remembering Nathalie and his mother. "No, absolutely not. I…no. No."
"Okay, then it's not damaged. At least, not badly." Ladybug frowned at it, hesitating. "Pay attention to it, and if you begin getting ill at all tell… wait." She shook her head. "No, that doesn't make sense. The Black Cat ring doesn't break. At least, not without a Cataclysm, and, if anything, it would shorten your transformation time and your power's reach, not make it indefinite." She stared down at his ring, thoughtfully. "When is your birthday?"
"We celebrate on November 2nd." Chat Noir said, not understanding why she was asking. She might be bad at remembering dates when they arrived, but before and after, she was fairly skilled at recalling them…
"No, your real birthday." Ladybug insisted, then scowled down at her hands. "Actually, no, that doesn't matter. Don't tell me your real birthday. But, tell me, has your birthday already passed?"
He nodded. "Technically, I suppose?" His birthday was that day, so did it pass or not?
"Did you turn twenty?"
"I thought that was something we weren't allowed to know." He contemplated, tilting his head at her.
"Yeah, but now it's kinda relevant. Did you or did you not turn twenty?"
"I did." He admitted, smirking at her. "But now you need to tell me your age, so it's fair."
She laughed. "Later! Right now, I just…" she waved her hand around. "I think I figured the Lucky Charm out. It was symbolic!"
"Hmm?"
"You see, when a Miraculous Holder reaches a certain age, their powers become unlimited, and they can use them as many times as they want. Usually, Miraculous are given to teenagers who only can use it once to teach them 'responsibility' and once they reach adulthood, well, boom, power-ups! They even unlock new powers. That things which were restricted are known as 'Chains of the Miraculous'."
Clarity struck Chat Noir, and his eyes widened. "And now that I'm twenty, I no longer am bound by the 'Chains of the Miraculous'. So, the chain was broken to show it."
"That's right!" Ladybug beamed. "Happy birthday, buddy!"
"Wow!" Chat Noir breathed in awe. "But what about you?"
"Aw, just you wait. In April I'm going to turn twenty, and you can bet I'll spend the whole day messing around. We can experiment all day today with your new powers and stuff! This is going to make Akuma Day a cinch." She grabbed his ring again and admired it, whistling. "This is wonderful, Chat!"
"Wait, are we just going to ignore the fact that I'm apparently older than you?" Chat Noir grinned. "Doesn't that make me, I don't know, the oldest member of the Miraculous Team?"
Ladybug snorted, shaking her head. "You wish. Viperion is twenty-two But there's no way I would tell a temp that he has unlimited power." She glanced at his expression. "But this does not mean you have permission to call me 'Mini-bug' or 'Little-bug' or 'Baby-bug' or 'Lady-baby' or whatever new nickname you're thinking of."
"Oh, not a new one, but I think an old one would fit just fine…Bugaboo."
"Nooo!" Ladybug whined, burying her face into her hands. "You're never going to stop that now!"
"That's right! I am insuperable!" He cackled, looming over her and smirking down. "Fear me, Bugaboo!"
Ladybug burst out laughing, shoulders bouncing up and down as she tried to contain her laughter.
Yeah, things were looking up. Who knows? Next year, there might not even be a Hawkmoth to even try to deter their mood.
This will most likely stay a oneshot! I'm saying 'most likely' because I just thought of an addition to it that I will never write. XD