And, the next chapter is up!
Things start to get interesting here... but I'll let you read the chapter to find out WHAT exactly I mean by that ;)
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Chapter 2
Family
Once again, Celine awakens long before her alarm wakes her.
It's barely past 5:00am, but the blonde teen knows well enough, she won't get any more sleep.
Today is the official signing of the adoption documents.
She'd spoken to Uncle André, about his expectations of her for the day, over the phone, during the time she'd been living alone in the temporary apartment she'd once shared with her mother.
Since they were already family, Mayor Bourgeois saw no reason to change their familial status. Celine would always be Lena and Matthias' daughter, just as she'd always remain André's niece and Chloé's cousin.
The documents would only ensure that André had complete responsibility for Celine and was listed as her legal guardian in any official documents.
It was one of the reasons Chloé had agreed to go shopping with her in the afternoon.
The documents would be proofed and re-read by Lena's attorney, in the presence of André, Celine, and an anonymous witness, before they'd be taken to the Mayor's Office, where he and Celine would sign them under the scrutinous eye of the camera.
The feed would then be made public exactly one month later.
Hence, the press wanted a few shots of the new family together.
Celine knew that Chloé loved her like a sister, since she loved Chloé the same way. But Chloé and anything media related was always a perfect combination, in her eyes.
So really, it was a win-win situation.
Casting another glance at her black and gold, glow-in-the-dark, wrist watch, the time now reads 5:15am.
Celine groans. The sound startlingly loud in the quiet of her room.
Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, thankful that she already had fluffy socks on, Celine crept over to the balcony, spread the curtains a smidge, and took a peak outside.
It was pouring.
The rain splatters no longer visible, since the entire glass door was one, big, wall of water, rippling down the window according to gravity's will.
Shaking her head, Celine decided that she might as well use the extra time to get herself ready for the day.
A glance at her bed showed Scaale still sleeping soundly in his mini beanie bed.
Creeping over to the left side of her bed again, Celine fluffed her pillow extra high, to better conceal Scaale's presence if anyone happened to come into her room, while she was getting ready.
Her sheets pulled flat, and the quilt carefully laid out and folded back, so that the bed was made, and Celine quickly and quietly retreated to the bathroom.
The en suite was no small space either. An easy three by six meters, double sink, mirror door cabinets, oval bath WITH Jacuzzi jets, large shower, separate toilette, AND organised towel and bathrobe stand.
After a steaming shower, Celine towel dried her hair, opened the bathroom door and windows to let the haze evaporate out, and moved to the make-up area to get ready.
Twisting her, still moist, hair up into a messy bun, held together by a tawny butterfly hairclip, Celine then moved on to picking out, and applying, her make-up.
A facial scrub to get rid of any blackheads, though she rarely ever had any, but the scrub did give her skin a healthy glow. Sparkling over shiny silver eye shadow, and black waterproof mascara. Her favourite clear lip gloss added that extra shine to her naturally rosy lips, and a spritz of her favourite La Tentation Nina Perfume by Nina Ricci. A tantalizing scent mixture of raspberries, almonds, Bulgarian roses and bourbon vanilla, that smelt lovely, and had the advantage that it wasn't an overbearingly strong scent.
It had been her 14th Birthday present from her parents; the last birthday they'd celebrated together.
She treasured it like no other gift she'd ever received, but she also loved the scent, so she did what she knew her parents would have wanted her to.
She used it whenever she felt like it.
The make-up taken care of, and her hair air drying perfectly, Celine then moved on to tackle the next problem.
Her outfit.
She'd need something elegant, but colourful. They had to take her seriously, but also be aware of her status as a teenager. She couldn't forget the mourning black either. Her parents had both died less than two months ago, so something black was a must as well.
Eventually, with half the contents of her suitcase strewn on the bed, her outfit was lain out before her.
Pairing white dress jeans with an orchid purple blouse and violet blazer, which she wore open, the next step was matching shoes and accessories. Matt black, rounded, two inch pumps made a lovely complimentary contrast to her shiny black belt. That, was paired with a black silk scarf, lined with silver, and an inverse silver bag with black accents.
Taking a small key out of her purse, and opening the travel safe, at the bottom of her suitcase, revealed Celine's jewellery choices.
Celine only ever wore White Gold, with the exception of a few Silver pieces she possessed, she had plenty of options either way.
White Gold sets of Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, Ruby or Diamond earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings, were each worth over one million euro each!
She figured her everyday jewellery would suffice for today though.
She clipped her silver snowflake necklace around her neck, the metal laying coolly against her collarbone and throat; fixed her silver diamond stud earrings in place; slid five dainty silver bangles onto her right wrist; and carefully put her mother's rose gold engagement ring, and yellow gold wedding ring, on her right, and left middle fingers.
A quick glance at her left wrist, confirms the time of 6:45am. She had another forty-five minutes until she was expected to meet her uncle and cousin in the hotel lobby.
Moving to the floor-length mirror, next to her, almost empty, walk-in-wardrobe, Celine gingerly removes the butterfly hairclip from her hair, letting it tumble down her back in a swish of satiny softness.
She'd wear it open today.
The hairstyle chosen, Celine returned to the bathroom and gave her hair a careful brush through. No tangle was spared as the brush moved from tip to root with every repeated stroke. Her curly tips bouncing in her grip, as they continued to retain their form, though they straightened the higher up you went.
A final check of her bag, making sure she had an extra pen, her wallet, all important documents that were required to prove her identity and citizenship, and a small packet of almonds for Scaale.
Speaking of which…
"Good morning, sleepy head. You coming today?" Celine asks, a giggle tickling her voice as she recalls a similar question Scaale had asked HER not too long ago.
The tiny Kwami yawns, opens his bleary eyes slowly, groans, and floats into Celine's bag without answer or explanation.
The giggling intensifies.
"Ok, I'll wake you if anything comes up, until then the bag is lined with silver satin, and my new handkerchief is in there too, if it gets too cold."
Scaale's only response is a quiet murmur, followed by a tired sigh.
"Satin? Silk? Fresh Almonds!? Why didn't I pick rich kids more often?"
With the jewellery case locked and hidden away again, her bed still half covered in clothes, and her bag packed, Celine wastes no time in stepping out the door and into the private elevator that had been installed with the extra floors of her, and Chloé's, rooms.
The descent begins, and Celine releases a slow breath as the elevator dings its destination. Her bodyguard, Timeo, already awaits her arrival, and immediately moves to silently shadow his charge for the rest of the day.
As expected, the privately hired press is already awaiting her arrival in the lobby.
She gifts the interviewers with a sad smile, hoping to bring across her sadness at the loss of her parents, but also, her determination that the past not negatively influence her future.
Doing her best to ignore the cameras that tail her all day, Celine greets her uncle and cousin in the foyer, where they then move to the hotel bistro for a light breakfast, and then take one of her uncle's black limousines to his office, where Lena's attorney was already awaiting their arrival.
The documents were read over and signed by both André and Celine.
Turned out, Celine's parents were a slight bit richer than she'd thought, and though they'd set aside a type of child support fund for André to access when paying the higher bills of having another family member to take care of, the bulk sum of their savings were in a trust fund that Celine would gain access to when she turned eighteen.
Her child support account also contained an extra sum that was to be her monthly allowance, quite a healthy sum for a fourteen-year-old to have access to, but Celine's parents had always been very doting on their only child and it wasn't like she'd just go out and spend everything at once, she knew better than that.
The signing documented, and complete, Chloé then made a dramatic show of telling Celine of the latest Parisian gossip; the newest, hottest, classic, and best clothing trends, the most popular stores, typical hangouts for teens, and a variety of clubs that the limo happened to pass on the girls' way to their first destination.
When the two teens, with bodyguards in tow, finally make it back to their home, Chloé orders Hugo and Timeo to bring her shopping up to her room.
The poor guys were carrying stacks of shopping bags and boxes, piled up to their necks.
With a nod of agreement, Timeo does as Chloé bids, letting Celine take five bags and two boxes, which were her shopping, off his load. Accompanying the two bodyguards to the private elevator, and leaving the squished space with a relieved sigh, when she finally made it to her floor, Celine drops her acquisitions onto the other half of her clothing covered bed.
"Well. Remind me NOT to go on any more shopping trips with Chloé, if I want to get anything else done that day." Celine breathes out on a huff.
Scaale, meanwhile, had left the confines of Celine's comfortable bag, and was floating into, and out of, Celine's purchases of the day.
"Yeah, well, you held your own pretty good, kid. Only two of these are Chloé influenced, and even then, they still pass as your style." Scaale praises, flying out of one of the bags with a pair of yellow jeans and a black and white striped belt in each of his paws.
"Yeah, well, it was the last store of the day, and Chloé absolutely insisted I buy these lovely examples of high fashion." Celine says, mimicking Chloé's voice as best she can, while trying to contain her laughter.
They don't last very long, barely a few seconds later, and Scaale and Celine are falling over themselves with laughter.
"Ok, ok. I don't know about you, but I'd like a vacant place to sleep in the next hour, and your bed looks like a maze of clothes right now." Scaale sniggers as Celine rolls her eyes in an exasperated display of affection, a smile lighting her face as she folds, moves and stacks various clothing articles, along the wall, between her bed and en suite.
Twenty minutes, and a lot of quiet bickering, later, and Scaale can finally settle down in his beanie bed, on the pillow next to Celine's, while said girl finishes getting bed ready, brushing her teeth and hair, putting on her pyjamas, and taking off her make-up of the day.
Sleep was not coming easily to Celine that night.
Despite having had an exhausting day, and her body screaming at her to get some rest, Celine was wide awake.
Her mind spinning circles of excitement in her head.
Tomorrow was Sunday, which meant only one more day till she got to go to a public school for the first time EVER! As if she wasn't excited enough over that fact, her schedule was completely free for tomorrow, a miracle both in, and of, itself.
Meaning, she had an entire day to practise her Yiang powers and grill Scaale on anything she wanted to know.
Oh sure, she still had to make a few phone calls to organise day and time preferences for Basketball and Gymnastics training, Piano and Chinese lessons, and her self-defence and Karate classes, but that shouldn't take more than two hours…
Ok, that thought dampened her mood a little, but she was still super excited!
Unsure of when she actually fell asleep, Celine awoke to Scaale's floating form over his beanie bed, a suspicious glint in her eyes as he greeted her with his usual, chirpy, good morning.
Something interesting was definitely going to happen today.
Stretching leisurely, Celine returned Scaale's greeting, before making her bed, and disappearing into the bathroom for a wake-up shower and to spend half an eternity brushing the knots out of her hair.
Only when she stepped out of the bathroom, her hair in her usual Yiang high ponytail, did she notice the lighting outside.
It was dawn. Like, blue grey, no-sun-on-the-horizon-yet dawn.
Aware that Scaale hadn't woken her up, and conscious enough of the fact that she was turning into quiet the early riser, Celine nonetheless turns a questioning eye on Scaale.
"Why are you awake so early?" She finally asks, unsure of if she even wants to know the answer.
"Well…"
He enjoyed baiting her, his eyes no longer glinting, but shining, with that unknown knowledge that he didn't seem to want to share with her… Yet.
"… Every so often, Ladybug and Chat Noir chose a weekend day to do a morning patrol of the city, and… I may or may not have contacted Tikki and Plagg to let them know that we'd be joining them in the next couple of minutes."
His sly smile only broadened at Celine's slightly slack expression.
"You want me to patrol with Paris' two most famous superheroes… What about training? Practise? All that stuff I wanted to do today?"
Scaale snorts. Not one of her best excuses.
"You'll learn plenty on patrol, watch the two heroes for how they move, how they interact with their weapons, what strengths and weaknesses they possess. Observation is one of the best learning methods a teacher can encourage, alongside action and practise… and if we don't leave in the next two minutes or so, we'll be late, so transform yourself already." Scaale says, happy to know that his stern side could still get his chosen moving.
Celine quickly took off the warm bathrobe, and changed into the first outfit her hands came upon. With that done, she quickly calls on the transformation, barely remembering to close the balcony door behind her, flicks her ribbon around her usual chimney, and swings her way toward the Eifel Tower.
-o-
Marinette was NOT having a good day.
For one, she was running late, big surprise there.
THEN. There was Tikki's admission that she was going to have another hero on patrol with her and Chat.
Having another hero around would certainly take a load off of her and Chat's shoulders, she was sure. But, from what Tikki had told her, he was going to be just as irritating, if not more so, than Chat.
At least Tikki assumed it was a He.
The Kwami, Scaale was his name, had yet to ever partner with a girl.
Tikki reassured her that he wasn't sexist, just picky, and that was that.
Now Ladybug clung to the side of the Eifel Tower right near it's tip, her hands and feet helping her maintain the partially horizontal balance she'd chosen to secure her outlook from that morning.
-o-
Yiang swung from one building to the next, landing atop a flat rooved apartment block with a perfect view of the Eifel Tower, and reeling in her ribbon, before readying her wings.
The sky was slowly starting to blush, a sure indication that the sun would be rising any minute, and a buffeting wind was making a safe take-off rather difficult.
"Oh, for the love of…"
Yiang gave an exasperated growl, took a running start and threw herself over the edge of the building.
Spreading her wings about halfway down. The created updraft, and lesser wind at her lower altitude, gave her the perfect flight path.
Sure, the strain on her shoulders was substantial, but it was better than an air crash, which was still possible, considering this was only her second flight.
'I'll worry about any tight curves when they actually pose a problem.' The transformed hero thought to herself, remembering how Scaale had emphasised the importance of instinct when flying, and angled her wings to make a slow turn.
Yiang saw Ladybug the moment her curve was almost complete.
A red and black figure crouched on the side of the Eifel tower, in front of a glowing white cloud, wasn't all that hard to miss, after all.
Readjusting her trajectory, the airborne Yiang stemmed her wing beats, and made her way toward one of her new partners at a slow glide.
-o-
Ladybug had sensed Yiang's presence the moment the new hero had landed on the roof of that apartment building.
She'd almost had a heart attack when she'd seen the black and white silhouette jump from the edge of the roof.
Tikki had forgotten to mention that the Pegasus miraculous wielder could fly.
Continuing her visual analysis, Ladybug noted Yiang's ribbon, wings and attire.
It wasn't until the new hero spotted her, and concluded her flight with a glided landing a few meters lower than her position, that Ladybug was able to take in the hero's more intricate physical features.
Quickly scaling down the beams, Ladybug had her first meeting with Yiang.
-o-
She'd managed to stick the landing. The congratulating thought barely had time to sink in, when Yiang's ears swivelled upward.
A series of soft clangs indicating Ladybug's movement above her, and sure enough, said hero appeared on Yiang's chosen landing beam only a few moments later.
Unlike her own attire, Ladybug didn't sport any antennae or ladybug wings.
Her gloves and boots seemed to have been inlaid with retractable, suction-like fibres, which mimicked a bug's ability to grasp most every surface, at every angle.
Her hair was shoulder length and bluish-black, tied back into her traditional twin tails, or so she assumed from the magazines Chloé had sent her, with red ribbons that were almost definitely a part of her transformation.
Ladybug's suit was latex, like Yiang's own, but in a bright red that was covered in black spots.
The same theme carrying on to her gloves, boots and mask.
Strapped to her side, by the same magic that held Yiang's own weapon at her hip, was a red, black spotted yo-yo, and the last thing Yiang noted was that Ladybug had blue eyes.
Now, going off of her own experience with her transformation as Yiang, Ladybug would have blue eyes in her civilian form too, as well as black or blue hair, or a mix thereof.
Her skin was pale, and a few freckles peaked from beneath her mask, but that was all the transformed Celine could glean from one look.
Deciding that their silence was dragging from unsure into uncomfortable, the monochrome hero lightly cleared her throat.
-o-
She scaled the short distance in no time, curious, hopeful, and the slightest bit excited to be meeting another hero.
When Ladybug dropped down next to Yiang, she turned with the full intent of saying good morning and introducing herself.
However, any coherent thoughts fled her mind at the sight that greeted her.
Yiang was breathtaking.
The first thing that Ladybug's eyes confirmed was that she, well, she was a SHE.
Yiang wore an opaque black suit, the same material as her own, no doubt, with a slight gleam to it, that reminded her of fur.
Stark white gloves and boots covered any other signs of skin, and appeared to be inlaid with horse shoes.
Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, which swayed about her person in the wind. Every strand gleaming silver as the sun finally decided to risk a peak over the horizon.
At her hip was the rainbow ribbon Ladybug had seen her using earlier, and the wings on her back were as black as her suit, but feathered, rather than furry.
Yiang's eyes were partly shadowed, but undeniably blue. It was only the shade that currently remained unknown to her.
A flicker of movement drew her eyes up further, and her quiet gasp made them flick again.
Ears.
A pair of silvery white horse ears, or were they Pegasus ears? Twitched atop Yiang's head.
'Well, that's a new one.' Ladybug thought, finally snapping out of her staring stupor as Yiang broke the silence with a light clearing of her throat.
'Right, patrol. New hero. Where the hell is Chat Noir?'
Ladybug shook her head free of those thoughts, taking a deep breath, before doing what she'd planned to do from the beginning.
"Good morning."
Marinette borrowed her mother's usual bakery greeting cheer, making her voice sound a little more chipper than she usually allowed it to be when Chat Noir was around.
It worked, as Yiang's reply was accompanied by a shy smile.
"Well, I'm Ladybug. In case the spots didn't already give me away."
That got a light little laugh out of the winged hero.
"and you must be Yiang."
Said hero nodded, still smiling.
"It's nice to meet you, Ladybug."
Marinette's tongue stills.
'Why is it always the blondes that get to look, and speak, like models?'
Her thoughts inevitably turning to Adrien, as Yiang's soft voice and polite conduct show some similarity to her unrequited crush.
Yes, she was still in love with Adrien.
Was it so hard to believe?
Sure, she'd managed to overcome her shyness around him, and could form coherent sentences of BASIC structure around him, and yeah, she could even go so far as to call him her friend, but that was her snail's paced progress over the last two years.
No discussions.
No conversations with just the two of them.
Definitely no confessions, and that was that.
Blinking a few times, to clear her head, Marinette reminds herself that she's Ladybug right now, and she has to be home before her parents come to wake her for Sunday Breakfast at 9:30am, and considering autumn sunrises usually happened around 8:00am, she'd have to make today a quick patrol if she wanted to be home on time.
"It's nice to meet you too, Yiang. Now. We have a patrol circuit to complete, and preferably before Paris' civilians start going out."
Her business mode was back. Good. She had to focus, and since Chat obviously wasn't coming, annoying cat that he was, and she couldn't feel his miraculous, so there was no danger of him being caught up in a fight by himself, she'd have to give the newbie a crash course by herself.
Yiang's own expression set into a determined look at Ladybug's words.
"First, we check off the landmarks, then we do a perimeter run, followed by banking calls and we ALWAYS tune in to the police radio, because some things just can't be handled by people who aren't us. Last are the schools of the area. All clear so far?"
Yiang gave an affirmative nod after her quick briefing.
"Great. We're running short on time, and another hero, so we'll have to make this quick."
'Where IS that stupid chat?'
Ladybug hadn't even finished speaking and she was already leaning out from the tower, yo-yo in hand, clearing her thoughts of a certain black cat, who was going to get an EARFUL on their next patrol.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Yiang unclasp her Ribbon, flicking out the colourful fabric and waiting for Ladybug to make the first move.
Swinging her yo-yo down to a lamppost, Marinette took a breath, and jumped.
The string reeling in automatically, as she swung down, and back up, already throwing her yo-yo around her next target.
Yiang was keeping up remarkably well for a first-time hero, but time was running out, and Paris, unfortunately, wouldn't keep itself safe.
Ladybug ran along the rooves of a block of houses, the first lights starting to flick on in the various houses of Paris as she passed.
-o-
Ladybug was amazing.
There really was no other way to describe her.
She'd explained the situation clearly and efficiently. Hadn't even MENTIONED secret identities. Greeted her and introduced herself as any normal person would. Politely dodged the fact that Chat Noir wasn't there. Been honestly kind to help ease her nerves, and NEVER ONCE abandoned her business-like air of sophistication, while keeping everything simple and checking to see if Yiang was following.
If she was impressed that Yiang was keeping up so well, she didn't let it show.
Had Chat Noir been there, the transformed Celine doubted it would've changed her mind that Ladybug was the brains of the duo.
That didn't diminish Chat's value in the team any, it just meant that Ladybug was competent on her own. A rare, and REALLY good trait to have.
Shaking her head to clear her mind, Celine focused on wrapping her ribbon around the next lamppost, keeping an eye, and an ear, on Ladybug's running footsteps on the rooves overhead.
She yearned to stretch her wings, to better keep up with the fleet-footed bug, and test the lengths of her so-called instincts, but ignored the feeling. Reasoning that she'd have to build up her stamina to keep up with her two new partners anyway, and not wanting to be a hindrance if her wings were ever out of commission.
Not to mention that, if she were to fly by an open window, she'd have half of Paris fearing giant birds, or speculating about other flying creatures, before sunset.
They'd almost completed the circuit, and were on their way, from the last school, back to the meeting point of the Eifel Tower, around 9:10am, when Ladybug's Yoyo crackled to life, making Yiang cringe at the static sound now vibrating in her ears.
She kept her ears trained on the sound anyway, a chill racing through her blood, and making the new hero shiver, as she heard of the armed robbery at the bank near her hotel.
The two heroes, currently standing atop a building about a block away from the Eifel Tower, shared a worried look, Yiang also seeing a shimmer of worry in Ladybug's eyes that she felt had nothing to do with the crime.
"Think the police can handle this one?" Yiang asks. Worried, but also genuinely curious.
She knew the Parisian Police were a capable department of law enforcers, but she had yet to face an Akuma, and the mention of WEAPONS, rang numerous alarm bells in her head.
She heard Ladybug swallow, having learned to be hyperaware of everything the red and black hero did, since her signals, and emotions, appeared to be subdued and somewhat suppressed, respectively.
"They typically are, but I usually show up to make sure everything goes smoothly. My presence sometimes discourages the criminals from taking more, DRASTIC measures…"
There was an unspoken part to Ladybug's answer, which Yiang decided to ignore.
"Well. Scaale said I should keep a low profile, and only help out when you and Chat really need my help, but I think Paris' police department can handle this one. You should get home, before your parents realise that you're not there."
She smiles at Ladybug's shocked expression, the first she'd seen her sport.
Winking as she elaborates.
"What? It's not that difficult to deduce that we're about the same age. So, it seems rather obvious that you would've done what I did… Have your Kwami wake you, so that your alarm doesn't alert anyone of your leaving, and sneak out. Intent on returning before the usual time they come to check on you. Am I right?"
Ladybug shakes her head at that, smiling at Yiang with open mirth and trust.
"We're going to get along great if you're like this all the time… and yeah, that's about right, and YOU'RE right too. The police will handle this just fine… See you Wednesday?"
Wednesday. Patrol. Right.
Celine still had to organise her schedule today, but, considering it was an evening patrol, where they met after having pretended to have gone to bed, and returned sometime before midnight, she saw no harm in going.
She nodded.
"Yeah. I'll be there. Eifel Tower, 10:00pm, right?"
Ladybug nodded, still smiling.
The two heroes exchanged goodbyes, and waved their farewells. Ladybug swinging off in the direction of the Eifel Tower, and Yiang spread her wings, and made her way back to her unlocked balcony.
Landing silently on the terrace, Celine quickly opened and closed her balcony door, drew the curtains, turned on the light, and let the final beep of her miraculous signal her detransformation.
"Phew."
The sigh was doubled as Celine fell backward onto her bed, and Scaale made a bee-line for the bag in which she currently had his snacks.
Once an appropriate amount of time elapsed, and Scaale had recharged his energy, a conversation was struck up.
"So, kid. How was patrol?"
Scaale takes the disinterested approach, knowing it's the best way to get Celine to talk.
She sits up, considers her answer, and then speaks.
"Well, Ladybug is just pure amazing. I mean, if I hadn't been looking at her when we'd heard that police radio report, I never would've guessed that she was worried about it..."
"Yeah, she's a great hero, that one. Tikki chose her well." Scaale inserts quickly.
"and she moves through Paris like a fish through water. She really took the time to get to know the streets, and memorize various routes to different locations. Which would DEFINITELY come in handy when getting from where she was, to where an akuma was sighted.
Then there's the fact that she's built up her stamina CRAZY high. Like, high enough that even I get the feeling I'll have to put a few extra hours training in, to be able to keep up with them in the heat of battle.
And that's in ADDITION to my usual basketball and gymnastics training, as well as self-defence, and karate classes.
So yeah, I think that sums up what I learned on Patrol."
She finishes her recount with a smile, growing slightly worried when Scaale's silence continues.
Eventually, the little Kwami shakes his head, a disbelieving chuckle escaping his tiny mouth.
"Yeesh, kid. I knew you'd learn SOMETHING from patrol, but I think I need to elevate my expectations of you a little bit.
I like being the one to surprise people, not the other way around."
His admission sets the two friends off again, their laughter short-lived when the ringing of the private landline in Celine's room cut them short.
'Right. I still have to organise my weekly schedule today.'
Celine thought, her eyes reflecting a sad longing for a few seconds, before she shakes her head, lightly slaps her cheeks twice, and answers the phone.
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Author's Note
So... What did you guys think?
I figured letting Ladybug and Yiang meet as just the two of them first, would help Celine build a more personal relationship with both the main heroes as the story progresses.
I'm looking forward to her first meeting with Chat Noir... It's bound to be, interesting, to say the least. ;)