Marinette dashed up her stairs. She ran through her house so quickly that everything was a blur – or maybe that was because her head was still spinning. Up in the safety of her room, she flopped onto her chaise face first. The fabric was too stuffy and scratchy against her skin, but she couldn't bring herself to move.
This was a complete disaster. She couldn't behave like that at school. The teachers would realize something was wrong. Maybe her parents would be notified. All the other students would make fun of her. What if she started acting this way around Cat Noir? What if she got so crazy and distracted on a mission that she got herself killed?
Or worse, what if Adrien was so put off by her behavior that he started to avoid her? Then she'd never make him like her!
But wait. Cat Noir confessed to loving Ladybug. So what was Adrien doing flirting with Marinette? He'd told her – both of her – that he liked Ladybug. What was he doing? She twisted until she was on her side, then tucked herself into a ball.
"What's wrong, Marinette?" Tikki asked. She flitted into Marinette's field of vision, too happy and cheerful for the situation.
"I'm mad at Cat Noir for flirting with Marinette. That's what."
"So?"
"So?! They- He likes Ladybug! He shouldn't be flirting with other girls!"
"But he's not," Tikki said. "This just proves that Adrien likes all of you. You should be happy."
Marinette twisted onto her other side, turning her back on the kwami. "But he doesn't know we're the same person. He shouldn't be leading Marinette on, and he shouldn't be flirting with anyone except Ladybug."
There was nothing stopping Tikki from bobbing back into Marinette's view, so she wasn't surprised to find Tikki's face suddenly inches from her own. "You're jealous. Of yourself."
Marinette picked up the closest pillow and shoved her head beneath it.
Tikki stopped pestering her, but that left her aloen with her own mind, which was more than enough torture. She was being ridiculous. Again. She logically knew that she shouldn't be upset. Cat Noir wasn't technically flirting with another girl behind her back. Adrien liked both halves of her.
She liked both halves of him, too. Cat Noir was her loyal parter, her best friend, the only person she literally trusted with her life on a daily basis. She loved and cared deeply for him. And Adrien... well, she'd been in love with Adrien for as long as she'd known him.
They could be together, she realized. But just as she was starting to get excited about the concept (and accepting that meant she was excited about dating Cat Noir), her intrusive worries brought her crashing back to reality. They could be together, but not if he was flirting with multiple girls at once. She had to talk to him about that, though her stomach squirmed uncomfortably at the idea. She couldn't just go up and talk to him. She'd melt into a mumbling mess again.
She pulled her head out from under the pillow and glanced over at Tikki, who was busy jumping on the buttons of Marinette's game controller in another vain attempt to beat the computer at Ultimate Mecha Strike 3.
She wouldn't stumble over her words if she was in costume.
In under a minute, the game was paused and Ladybug was sailing through the sky toward the Tuileries Garden, where she knew they were – he was – getting ready for a photoshoot. The suit gave her confidence, and her trepidation quickly turned into indignation. How dare he! He couldn't just flirt with anyone he wanted!
She was going to march onto the set and demand to talk to him. She couldn't wait to see his startled face when she dragged him away and gave him a piece of her mind. That would teach him not to flirt with girls he didn't know were secretly her! And then... and then she'd kiss him silly! That would show him!
She had to change her plan slightly when she dropped into the garden. The wide lawn was a luscious green, bordered by overflowing flowerbeds, and thronged with people. She really would love to avoid an audience. While most of the crowd was there to appreciate the fragrant beauty of nature, she quickly spotted the only ones there on business. Several assistants were setting up mirrors and white reflectors, while Adrien's regular photographer waved his arms around at them. There were a few scattered chairs and a large, white tent, but Adrien himself was nowhere in sight.
Ladybug moved to crouch behind a nearby row of tall hedges near the tent and tried to plan her next move. She couldn't talk to him now, not while he was working, and especially if she couldn't find him. Maybe she should just do it later. Or maybe she should hide in her room some more.
A woman with a towel over her shoulder and her hair in a tight bun started walking toward the hedge. Ladybug watched breathlessly through the thick leaves. Had the woman spotted her? She stopped at the wall of the tent. "Adrien!" she called, leaning lightly against the fabric. "Makeup in five."
There was a faint call back, too quiet for Ladybug to make out the words, but it certainly sounded like Adrien's voice. The woman walked back to the photographer, and no one else looked Ladybug's way. Was this her chance? Adrien was probably alone in the tent getting ready. Should she go now? Should she come back later?
She clenched her fists. No, she needed to do this before she lost her nerve. She took a deep breath and squeezed between the tickling branches of the hedge, then sprinted the short distance to the tent and stopped at the door flap. No one looked her way. No one shouted. There was no sound coming from inside the tent. The bottom of the flap fluttered slightly in the breeze that her sprint created.
Before she could second-guess herself, she pushed her way inside. "Now listen, Adri-AAHHH!" Abort, abort!
"Hey!" Adrien jumped and nearly dropped the shirt he'd been putting on. "What?"
Shirtless Adrien! Abort mission!
"S-sorry!" Ladybug yelled. "Uh, thought that you- you were- Uh, I- BYE!" But instead of moving, she focused on the ground at her feet, so she wouldn't stare at him. Or maybe so he couldn't see the shade of ladybug red that her face was surely turning.
"What-"
"Bye! Sorry!" she yelled at him again as she turned and practically fell through the door flap in her need for escape.
She ran and leapt and swung and didn't stop until she was safely out of the garden, across the street, and hiding among the steel beams of a bridge over the Seine. She was hidden from boats below by thick metal and from the pedestrians above by wooden planks, though she was still close enough to hear their footsteps and chatter.
Oh, that couldn't have gone any worse. She walked in on him changing! How could she even look at him tomorrow? Or ever again? Her face burned in shame, so she cooled it against the misted metal and tried to focus on the sound of the water churning beneath her.
After a few deep breaths, she was feeling slightly better- just in time for her to realize that if Adrien was Cat Noir, then she'd also just seen her partner changing. She groaned. Okay, now it was official. It couldn't get any worse.
As she stood up to retreat to her room, she lost her footing and plopped into the river.
Author note: Thanks for reviews, everyone! :D And to my guest reviewer, thank you! And here you go!
So these quotes at the end... The only thing I love more than quotes are incorrect quotes. I literally have a list of them on my computer. XD Not sure if I like them at the end of the chapters like this, though. Should I keep going?
Incorrect Miraculous Quote
Ladybug: Ah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Volpina: A ha ha! Mine is an evil laugh!
-Firefly
