Adrien was still sleeping beside Marinette when the sensation of little arms prodding her cheek woke her up. Her eyes burned and stung, but kept them open to see her kwami hovering right in her face.
"Your mom's coming!" Tikki cried in a hushed voice before flitting out of sight. Marinette jolted up and started shaking Adrien awake.
"What's wrong?" he asked, words slurred.
"Hide! My mom's coming!" That woke him up. He nearly shot out of the covers, darting across the room and throwing himself behind her chaise and a trunk. Not a moment later Sabine came through the hatch, Marinette's cell phone in hand.
"Yes, of course, I'll hand the phone over to her right now." Marinette met her mother halfway down the steep staircase to her bed, reaching for her phone. "It's a woman named Nathalie," Sabine informed her quietly. Oh crap, Marinette thought.
"Hi, Nathalie," Marinette answered the phone. Act natural! Tell her you have no idea where Adrien is! Just stay calm, cool, and collected!
"Good morning, Marinette. I hope you slept well last night. I have some bad news," she said as Marinette's eyes followed her mother, who sat down at her desk chair. STAY CALM, MARINETTE. "Some information about the shoot was leaked last night. Gabriel's stepped up security, but there are bound to be a few breaches. There always are. So I want you to be careful and alert on set today, all right? The last thing we need is a leaked photograph, not to mention perverts seem to flock to modelling like moths to a flame. Just make sure no one takes a photo of you but the photographer, okay?" Shouldn't you be telling the perverts to get lost, Marinette thought critically.
"Got it. Thank you, Nathalie," she replied.
"You're welcome. And tell Adrien he's in trouble when he comes back home tonight. His father and I will deal with him." Marinette gave a nervous, strangled laugh.
"I-I'm sorry? Adrien's not here."
"Don't play games with us, Marinette, we know where he is. Just rely the message for me, please, since he's not answering his phone."
"Okay, can do when I see him at school." She quickly hung up before Nathalie could get another word in. Her mother's eyes were boring holes into her and part of her was surprised she didn't burst into flames from it.
"So Adrien's missing?" Sabine asked.
"I-I-I guess so," Marinette shrugged. Please go and let me get ready for school. Sabine paused.
"Adrien, I know you're hiding behind the chaise." He sighed and stood up, face cherry red and eyes cast to the ground.
"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Cheng. This is my fault. I came over last night and asked to stay over and I'm sorry I didn't ask you and Mr. Dupain permission and -" He stopped abruptly as Sabine put her hand up.
"I don't have a problem with you sleeping over, but Tom and I have an issue with you sneaking over when she's supposed to be grounded. We're not going to ban you from the house but you need to respect our punishment," she said firmly.
"I will. It won't happen again, I promise," he replied hurriedly. Poor thing looked like he was going to pass out at any moment.
"Good, I'm glad to hear that." Adrien glanced at Marinette, still looking awkward and uncomfortable.
"I, uh, I-I should probably go home and get ready for school," he said, inching towards the open hatch ever so slightly. "I'll see you at school, Marinette."
"I'll see you then." He hightailed it out of the room, running down the stairs and out the front door. Sabine glanced back up at her daughter.
"I don't have an issue with sleepovers, but your father does. Tell Adrien he should steer clear of Tom for a few days." Marinette's face turned redder than her Ladybug suit.
"O-okay, Mama."
To say the drive to the shoot was awkward was an understatement. Nathalie seemed to be giving her dirty looks and Gabriel was as aloof as ever. The two teenagers were staring down at the floor, both praying they'd get to the shoot soon.
"I hope Adrien told you he's grounded," Gabriel finally spoke up, making Marinette jump.
"I told her this afternoon, sir," Adrien answered. Sir? Why so formal? You'd think he wasn't Adrien's dad, Marinette thought.
"Good. If you're going to do that again, I'd much rather have you both in our house. I don't trust you staying anywhere." Nathalie snorted at Adrien and Marinette's beet-red faces. Did he . . . Did he just tell us that we could have sleepovers?! "I'm joking. Don't do it again."
Marinette and Adrien couldn't leave the car fast enough, leaving Nathalie and Gabriel in their wake. They parted in silence, going to their trailers to get ready. Today the small space was far more crowded than it had ever been. Marinette hadn't realized how large the shoot was. Five other models were crammed into the space as well as four crew members.
"What's with everyone here?" Marinette asked Marie-Christine as she took a spot next to the tall blonde. A woman she didn't know immediately pounced, pulling out Marinette's hair ties and messing with her hair.
"We're doing group shots. It's swimsuit day," Marie-Christine replied. "Don't look so scared. It's not that terrifying, I promise." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Unless you have something to hide."
"No! Of course I don't!" Marinette retorted.
"Then you have nothing to worry about. But really. If it's bothering you, just think of it like this. Everything essential will be covered. And you'll have a robe to wear in between takes."
"Really?"
"Really." The pair fell silent for a moment.
"Hey, Marie-Christine?"
"Yeah?"
"You don't have to answer me, but how come you and Adrien never hang out? I mean, you're cousins but you don't seem close." The blonde sighed, looking down at her feet.
"Gabriel never liked my mom and didn't want her around Aunt Emilie or Adrien. Since she couldn't be over, I couldn't visit. I mean, of course we saw each other when we were kids, you know during holidays, but not a lot. And then once Emilie vanished, Gabriel outright banned my mom." She slumped in her chair. "Emilie and Mom had a falling out shortly before she went missing."
"Oh."
"It's in the past. What matters now is us getting closure and who knows, if Gabriel's letting me model for him, maybe Adrien and I can start making up for lost time."
This time, Marinette and Marie-Christine were the ones waiting around for Adrien. Marie-Christine insisted on Marinette meeting and befriending the other models, but she wasn't sure about them. They were so pretty and she knew she shouldn't be jealous, but she couldn't help but envy their beauty. Not to mention a few of them were less than kind, but a few harsh words from Marie-Christine was enough to shut them up.
"Sorry I took so long," Adrien said as he joined the group, arm slinging over Marinette's shoulder. "There was an outfit mix-up we had to take care of."
"No worries. I'm just glad you got here before Jérémy blew up," a model replied, smirking as the photographer was talking with Nathalie, arms flailing wildly. "I mean, as weird as Inocencio was with his love of spaghetti at least he never yelled at us like Jérémy does."
"Oh my God, I know, right?" another model piped up. "Just because he was married to Chanel Clement-Dupont doesn't make him a good photographer. I swear, I don't know why Gabriel changed photographers."
"Inocencio had to go back to Italy for the week and couldn't make it. His mom died and he has to take care of the funeral," a male model said.
"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to do your job?!" Marinette cringed as Jérémy turned to their group, a scowl on his face.
"Sorry!" Adrien called back to him. A few of the other grumbled but started moving towards the pool, shedding their robes and putting them over chairs and tables. There was a pit in Marinette's stomach that only got worse as her fingers tugged at her belt. She was the last to take her robe off, shivering and feeling sick as she placed her robe with Adrien's.
"Are you okay?" he asked, hand squeezing her shoulder.
"Yes. No. I don't know. I just feel really uncomfortable in this," she said, hugging her sides tighter. Even though her swimsuit wasn't revealing, she still felt naked. She didn't want to show off so much skin and have it published in a high-profile magazine for just anyone to see. Around friends, sure, that was fine, but in front of loads of strangers from all ends of the earth? No thank you.
"It'll be over before you know it," Adrien said soothingly, rubbing her skin. There was just one group shot to do and thankfully Marinette was a model that had to get in the pool, water ocvering part of her. But still, she had never felt so vulnerable in front of the camera; not even with akumas did she feel the same kind of apprehension, skin crawling and stomach violently swirling.
But it seemed things were just going to get worse.
Marinette sat behind the camera with Adrien, watching as every model took individual shots. Currently Marie-Christine was up in a one-piece suit that exaggerated her curves. On camera, she looked like a goddess but when the camera wasn't flashing, she looked just as awkward and uncomfortable as Marinette felt. For every direction Jérémy gave her, Gabriel ruled it out, telling her to do something else. Tension in the air was rising quickly. Now it wasn't just about getting this over with; now it was finishing the shoot just to leave. When Marinette's name was called, she bit back vomit and reluctantly went to the set-up.
"Look at the camera and smirk like you're better than everyone else," Jérémy instructed her. "Pop your hip on and put a hand there." She did what he asked, praying it would be over soon. "No, I want more of a smolder. More sensuality."
"No," Gabriel spoke up bluntly. Behind him, Nathalie sighed. "Marinette, ignore him. Just do a peace sign and stand in a power stance. Look adorable and sassy." He might be mad, but at least he's looking out for me, she thought as she repositioned. But Gabriel couldn't see the angry looks Jérémy was giving her. Marinette tried her best to not look apprehensive, but when she glanced over at Adrien she could easily see concern written on his face.
"That should be good enough," Gabriel said after what felt like hours of posing. "You're done, Marinette." She murmured her thanks. Adrien rushed out to her with her robe, helping her into it. They started walking back to the dressing rooms when Gabriel caught them by the door.
"Marinette, Adrien, I need to speak to you for a moment," he said and Marinette thought she was going to die then and there.
"Of course," Adrien replied as formal as ever.
"Adrien, stay close to Marinette. I haven't liked how Jérémy treats her and I don't think this is a safe environment for her right now considering what everyone's modeling. And if it looks like he's giving Emcé more trouble, intervene if I can't."
"No problem," Adrien nodded.
"One last thing. Marinette, I'd like to keep you on standby for future photoshoots. You and Adrien work well together."
"I would like that. Thank you, sir," she said, elation building in her stomach. He liked her and he wanted to keep her around, even though she messed up.
Maybe the ride home wouldn't be so awkward this time around.
The moon shone brightly in the velvety black sky as the Agrestes, Nathalie, and Marinette travelled back home for the night. The bright lights passing them were nothing compared to the bright television monitor on the car's console, the whites and pale blues and greys of the local news burning into her eyes. The reporter had an apathetic voice and it nearly lulled Marinette to sleep. Maybe it would have if the subject hadn't grown so dark.
"The search for a killer continues. Police have found the body of a fifteen-year-old boy near Notre Dame. It appears he's connected to the other bodies found but police are refusing to release any more information. The corpse has been identified as Alphonse Javert, a model who went missing six years ago. For safety measures, we suggest . . ." Another body? This is the fourth body they've found, she thought, stomach dropping. Chat and I need to talk about this. This isn't getting any better.
The Eiffel Tower was dark as she waited on a support beam for Chat Noir. He said he'd be here soon, but unless he was there in an instant, nothing was soon enough for her. Her skin crawled at the thought of what they were dealing with. Akuma or no, whatever was driving this crime was dark and sinister and it couldn't be over soon enough.
"My Lady, I'm glad you called," Chat Noir said as he touched down beside her. "I've got something I need to show you."
"Okay?" she asked, getting to her feet.
"Do you trust me?" he asked back.
"Of course I trust you," she replied, offended. He unzipped a pocket and pulled a blindfold out. "Chat?"
"I found a place where we can keep notes about the case, but I can't let you know where it is," he said. "Please trust me." Slowly, she nodded. He wrapped the blindfold around her head tightly, She reached out for his body and wrapped her arms and legs around him. "Hang on." Traveling through the air was fun, but right now she couldn't help but gasp a little as she clung to Chat. He moved from beam to beam before jumping across gardens and rooftops. In the dark, she couldn't tell how he was moving but whatever his method, she hated it and was thankful that she had a yoyo for this kind of thing.
Chat Noir landed on something and began walking. She could hear doors opening and shutting and finally he stopped. "You can let go now, we're here," he told her. She pulled the blindfold off and surveyed her surroundings. The room was clearly a closet, racks of clothes and shoes lining the large space. But it was larger than any closet Marinette had been in before. Hell, there was even a second story loft where she could see even more clothes.
"Wait, are we in your closet?" she inquired. A blush grew on his cheeks and he looked to the soft carpet beneath his feet.
"I'm not eighteen yet, I can't just rent us an apartment for this. And besides, this way I can keep an eye on things and make sure no one comes in here," he said. "But I have everything we need, look!" he added, gesturing to the tables he had pushed against clothing racks and white boards standing in front of mirrors. "I even brought in a mini fridge and snack stash in case we get hungry."
"I still can't believe our base is your closet," she said, sitting down on a circular couch. "Who even has a closet this big?"
"I'd love to tell you, but that might give away my identity," he said with a wink. "Would you rather we have this at your house?"
"No! My room is the size of your closet. I don't even have a closet," she replied. "Let's just get to work."
"Agreed."
"We know that there's been four found victims at the moment." While she talked, Chat grabbed a marker and started writing on the whiteboard. "Emilie Agreste, Nicole Champlain, Arnaud Dupont, and Alphonse Javert. Ages range from fifteen to thirty-five. Clearly, our killer doesn't discriminate between sex and age."
"That makes things easy," Chat commented sarcastically. "We know they must have the same killer and they were all models. That's a start."
"Maybe they were all working on the same shoot?" she suggested. "They have to have some kind of link."
"That's possible. I'll look into it." Chat went to his laptop and began typing away. "Maybe they all worked for the same designer, or were at the same agency, had the same photographer, did the same events . . ."
"So we have a few variables to look at," she said. He confirmed it with a nod. Ladybug ventured over and sat beside him. "How do you have access to model's private info?"
"I have someone working on the inside," he replied.
"What? Seriously? And you're just telling me this now?" she demanded.
"It didn't come up before." He paused to read some information. "Well, Arnaud and Emilie weren't at the same agency so we can cross that out. But . . . but it looks like they've worked under the same designer." Marinette's stomach fell to the floor.
"Don't tell me," she groaned. He nodded.
"At some point in time, they were models for Gabriel Agreste."