Ladybug and Adrien wound up settling on the classic Pink Panther movie. Adrien's hand kept fidgeting and plunging into his pocket, absently playing with the flip phone sequestered in there. I've gotta figure out a way to return My Lady's message without her figuring out that it's *me* returning her message. He saw his opening during the car chase scene when Ladybug excused herself to use the bathroom after a fit of laughter. He paused the movie, waited for the bathroom door to shut, and quickly pulled out his flip phone.
[Ladybug] Holed up for a bit waiting for the rain to stop. Meet this afternoon?
Adrien smiled fondly; knowing that Ladybug was holed up with him made him feel warm inside.
[Chat Noir] Sounds purr-fect. 3 at the Tower? We can figure out somewhere else if it's still raining. =^.^=
He quickly snapped the Chat-phone closed and shoved it in his pocket when he heard water running. A minute later, Ladybug returned. She extracted the flip phone from her yo-yo, rolled her eyes at the message waiting for her, and sent a text back. Adrien felt the phone in his pocket vibrate and smiled. "Oh, I should ask… what does your kwami eat?"
"Cookies, why?"
"Do you have any cookies handy? I just realized that you had to do a quick transformation just now, and that can't be fun for your kwami. What's your kwami's name, anyway?"
"I don't have any cookies handy, and her name is Tikki."
"Tikki, huh? That's a cute name. Since you don't have any cookies, I'll have Chef send some up. That way you have some handy. Keep them in your room, just in case." He reached over to the table, picked up his phone, and sent a quick text. "Ready to re-start the movie?"
Ladybug smiled and laughed. "I can't believe I've never seen this before. By all means," she gestured to the TV, then sat down on the couch.
Adrien hit Start on the remote control and scooted a bit closer to Ladybug as he put the remote on the table. If Ladybug noticed, she didn't say anything.
Kagami was in her room reading when she heard muffled shouting downstairs. She crooked her head and tried to listen. That sounds like Mother… I wonder what's got her all worked up.
"You didn't find anything on that list of people at the wake! I thought you were chasing a foolproof lead!"
"You watch your tone with me, old friend, or you will find yourself consumed with Vengeance and without any power to act on it!"
And that's her houseguest, Mr. Chou, Kagami recognized.
"You're sure you checked everyone who was there?"
"Yes, everyone who signed the guest register has been checked… even the Agreste boy."
"Was there anyone else at the wake who would not have signed the guest book?"
"Yes, actually… the widow… and the caterer."
"Where do you want to start?"
Wake? Agreste boy? Vengeance? Something's not right here. I need to warn Adrien… she grabbed her phone and fired off a text, then sneaked downstairs and ran out the side door.
Adrien's phone vibrated just as the end credits rolled.
"That was good," Ladybug stretched and yawned. "And the rain's let up, too! What a great way to spend the morning!" she exclaimed, then blushed a bit. "Sorry, it's been a while since I've been able to relax like that."
"I'm glad you liked it!" His expression changed as he read the message on his phone. "Huh. I think Kagami's in trouble. You should probably hang in your room for a bit..." He passed the phone to Ladybug so she read the message.
[Kagami] Something's really weird… just heard my mom and her houseguest arguing. Heading over to tell you about it, be there in 15
"What would an argument be about that would cause her to come over here?"
"I honestly have no idea. We're friends, but not share-family-problems type friends." And I can't tell you my suspicions about Serket yet, because they're Chat's suspicions and I'm not supposed to know about them. "Her mom and her mom's houseguest… she did mention the last time I saw her that the houseguest was at Mr. Chan's wake. I wonder if there's a connection there? Other than that, I have no idea."
Ladybug hummed. "That might be too much of a coincidence to overlook. Are you going to be OK alone here?"
"Yeah, it's just Kagami. But if you're uncomfortable… I suppose you could hide in my bathroom and eavesdrop."
"That almost seems like a worse option… but it's the best we have. Let's see what she has to say."
After a few minutes, Adrien shut Ladybug in his bathroom. His phone buzzed.
[Kagami] outside
Adrien went downstairs and let Kagami in. "So, what's up?"
"Not here," she said tersely, and started mounting the stairs to Adrien's room.
Adrien raced ahead of her and opened the door. Once it was shut, he repeated, "What's up? Is everything OK?"
"Everything is OK with me, Adrien - it's you I'm concerned about."
"Me? What for?"
"Mother and her houseguest were discussing something. I don't know what. She yelled at him about checking everyone that signed the guest register at the wake. Your name came up. Has anything suspicious happened around here recently?"
You mean, aside from Serket showing up and demanding Miraculous and defeating me in a quick… fencing match. This pretty much confirms my theory. Holy crap - how do I break this to her? Is she even *safe*? I'm not sure how much I can help out; it's not like my house is suddenly the Home for Girls Threatened by Serket. "Define 'suspicious'," he hedged.
"Has anybody come to visit you? Anybody connected to the wake?"
"Kagami, I can honestly tell you that nobody connected to the wake has come to visit me."
"I wonder what that meant, then. There's something else that worries me. There were two people that they were going to check out next: the widow, and the caterer. Was your friend married?"
Adrien's eyes widened, and panic immediately took over. "Um, I have no idea about the marriage… but Marinette's family catered that wake! I've got to warn her!" He turned around and raced out his bedroom door without checking to see if Kagami was following him. Pushing past his bodyguard, he sprinted down the hall and into the afternoon toward the Dupain-Cheng bakery.
Ladybug's eyes widened as she heard Kagami mention the wake. As soon as Kagami said "caterer", Ladybug leaped out the bathroom window and flung herself toward the bakery. If I get there in time, I'll be able to catch Serket… or Le Faisan… or both. Her heart fell as she approached the bakery and saw a pillar of black smoke rising from it. No! My entire *life* was in there! I'm glad Mom and Dad got the word and got out, otherwise we would really have been in trouble. Things are replaceable. People aren't.
She looked up the road and saw Adrien and Kagami running toward the bakery from the opposite direction. Crap! They got here too soon. It will raise too many questions if Marinette's out of town after she talked to Adrien this morning. She ran into the side entrance and into the shop below, coughing from the flames. When she neared the front of the shop, she shouted "Spots off!". A pink flash of light later, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng closed her eyes, covered her face, and threw herself through the large window of the front door.
"Marinette! Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien raced up to the girl, who was lying in a heap on the sidewalk. He turned her over onto her side and carefully brushed the glass out of her hair and off of her clothes. Marinette was dressed in a Jagged Stone t-shirt, which was slightly singed, blue jeans, and sandals, and her forearms and back were scraped and cut from where she crashed through the window and landed on the hard concrete. Her left elbow was a bloody mess.
She opened her eyes tentatively and coughed. "Adrien…"
He frantically looked her over for injuries. "Are you ok? Are your parents inside? Do you need help?" The wail of sirens in the distance got closer, and a crowd had gathered around the two teens. Kagami stood at the edge of the crowd, making sure Adrien and Marinette weren't engulfed by the people.
"Parents… out of town with Grandma. Bakery… closed. I was asleep. Lazy day today, I guess, with the rain." She looked at him and smiled.
"I'm glad to hear you were the only one in there… but… your stuff! Your sewing stuff! Oh my gosh, the band outfits! You worked so hard on them, Marinette, and the battle of the bands is in ten days… all that work for nothing!"
"I'm lucky, Adrien. I sent the outfits over to Grandma's for the day so she could check them out. You know how she is - she's totally into that rock and roll look," she grinned. "Hopefully they didn't get too wet from the rain, but I can pick them up tomorrow."
"You're going to need a sewing machine and everything at your hotel. How can I help?"
"Just a tailor's kit, and those are easy to come by. The bulk of the sewing is done, and the rest I can do by hand."
"OK, that's good to hear. Still… if there's anything I can do… do you have a place to stay tonight? My, um, guest suite is booked already, but I'm sure we can make room for you somewhere in the mansion."
Just then an ambulance and fire truck arrived on the scene. The firefighters went to work on putting the building out, and the medics came up to Marinette. "Excuse us, sir," they said, bumping Adrien out of the way so they could fit Marinette with an oxygen mask. "You've probably suffered some smoke inhalation and minor burns along with these cuts. Sit in the back of the ambulance so we can examine you, please." They helped Marinette to her feet and into the back of the ambulance, where they began extracting glass bits from her cuts and applying ointments and salves to the burns.
Adrien shuffled his feet and watched the medics at work.
"She's lucky," came Kagami's voice from over his shoulder. Adrien jumped, startled, and whirled around to face her. "Whoa, easy there… you're probably stressed."
"Lucky…" he repeated. "Yeah." He exhaled. Why am I shaking so badly? I'm not the one who almost died there. Marinette is going to be okay… I swore that I would always be there to save her. I almost didn't make it in time.
"I need to talk to Ladybug," Kagami said. "I think I can help put the pieces together. You had some sort of breakthrough with her; can you send her my way? Text me to find out where I'll be when you see her. I'm not sure I want to be at my house right now." She nodded to the ambulance. "Take care of her, Adrien. I know you've got your sights on someone else, but that girl loves you. I… I know I said I was targeting you when we first went to dinner. I'll always fight for you and will stand up for you, even when you're being super-oblivious. But I'm smart enough to know that your heart's not with me, and I accept that."
"Kagami, it's…"
"No, hear me out. This isn't goodbye. You're a special person, and I'm proud to call you my friend. But I'm even more proud that you call me your friend. And friends want the best for each other. I never hesitate, Adrien - and seeing you here today with Marinette gave me all the information I need. I'm changing targets - but that doesn't mean I can't be your good friend, too." She held out her hand, and Adrien shook it. "Remember: Ladybug. It's important. Until next time, friend."
The medics finished working on Marinette and let Adrien approach her after an agonizing half-hour wait. "Is she with you, Mr. Agreste?" one of them asked.
"She is," Adrien confirmed. "I'll be taking her back to my place." At the questioning look on Marinette's face, he quickly added. "Don't argue. You need some rest. I have somewhere to be this afternoon, so please take advantage of my offer. My bodyguard will help you out if you need anything. Call your parents and have them come get you. They're probably on the way here now as it is. They'll want to know that you're safe."
Marinette grimaced. They'll probably want to know why I was at the bakery at all when I told them I was staying with Alix, she thought. This isn't good… and Ladybug needs to meet up with Chat soon to get a scoop on Serket. I don't know how I'm going to get out of this hole I've dug myself into.
When Adrien and Marinette were back at the mansion, Adrien summoned his bodyguard and instructed him to get Marinette some clothes from the Gabriel warehouse. "Here's her size, here's what she likes, but just get her something to wear, please. Call it… five outfits." He called his chef and asked for lunch for two to be delivered to his room immediately.
He walked over to the couch, where Marinette, now bandaged up, was sitting. "I'm glad to see you're OK. Wait here… I have to, um, grab a shower after all this excitement. Chef will be up shortly and will put the food on the table. Don't move a muscle, don't do anything, just relax, OK?" He gave her a reassuring smile, went to the bathroom, and shut the door.
Marinette felt her purse vibrate. That must be the Chat-phone, she mused. I'll just check it real fast… oops. She opened her purse to see a very angry kwami looking back at her. "Um… hi, Tikki. Look, I can explain!"
Tikki flew out of her purse and said in a very low, very irritated voice. "Marinette. You were almost seriously hurt, or worse. Explain yourself, now."
"I panicked, Tikki! I couldn't let Adrien know that I was out of town, especially since I told him this morning I was working on the band outfits! Besides, I'm safe… it's just a few little cuts."
"Are you telling me that you risked your life to save your secret identity?"
"Well… yeah. If Serket or Le Faisan figure out who I am, then we're sunk, Tikki! I can't risk that."
"Marinette." Tikki drew herself up to her full height. Even at four inches tall, she managed to look imposing. Marinette quailed in front of her kwami. "Guardians make better decisions than that. You trust Adrien. He clearly trusts you… on both sides of the mask. It's time to take advantage of that trust, Marinette."
"Are you saying I should tell him who I am, Tikki?" Marinette asked, flabbergasted.
The phone in her purse buzzed again.
"For now, I'll settle with you checking your messages. Chat's probably waiting for news, especially with what just happened at your house."
Marinette pulled out her phone and flipped it open.
[Adrien] I don't know how much you heard but Marinette's in trouble. Also there was a woman at the wake… she's probably in trouble, too
[Chat Noir] My Lady… something happened. Need to talk to you. We still on for the Tower at 3?
Who do I answer first? she thought to herself. I need to meet Kitty, try to save Ms. Lenoir… she winced. And I'm feeling pretty banged up now that the adrenaline is wearing off.
[Ladybug] Yeah… we definitely need to talk. Meet me there as soon as you can /(%)\
She flipped her phone shut, pulled out her regular phone, and texted her mother.
[Marinette] I'm fine, I'm at Adrien's. Take care of what you need to take care of at the bakery and don't worry about me. I'm safe and will catch up with you later.
She then opened a new message and texted Adrien.
[Marinette] Mom and Dad just picked me up, that's why I'm gone. Text you later and thank you for being there for me.
She put her regular phone in her purse, quietly called for her transformation, and opened the bedroom window. She looked wistfully over her shoulder at the closed bathroom door before yo-yoing over to the guest room. Once inside, she rummaged through her school bag, picked out a pen and paper, and began to write.