Dabble in Drabbles 29: In All Honesty

LONG INTRO!

Bridgette/Felix, or which I'd like to dub: Brix. (I laughed for 5 minutes when that name popped in my head)

And for once, can we all focus on how, despite the cliché characters, the former ML idea had a complex plot?

Felix, dark character who's grumpy and a tsundere because of his curse (and here comes sunny Bridgette (Marinette) who's stubborn in her love quest for him) and flirts with Ladybug just so he can remove the curse and the ring because he doesn't want bad luck to spread?

And Ladybug/Bridgette, who doesn't have her yo-yo, but is a total badass with hand-to-hand fighting, cheerful girl despite being clumsy and has a tad, bit of bad luck.

The PV was beautifully made. The effects, the movement of the characters, the fight scenes, it's just so well animated! The PV had potential. (Good job Toei!)

But that doesn't mean I hate the CGI version! I love both of them! I just wished there was an episodic anime of ML based off of the old concept.

Summary: At long last, Felix is finally free from his ring and his curse. But when Ladybug is in danger, will he take up the mantle of the dark superhero once more to save her?

Ladybug scoffed and stuck her nose up the air, rejecting Chat Noir's flirtations for the umpteenth time that night. At the corner of her eye, she could see him deflate and then look at his ring in distaste. That was curious.

"Chat," Ladybug asked, "Are you really serious about this?"

Chat Noir froze and his eyes flicked at her. She saw the tenseness on his shoulders. His guard was up. "Serious about what?"

"The flirting." Ladybug gestured to all of herself. "Do you actually like me?"

His pupils dilated and he stalked towards her, his eyes piercing in the dark night. "Why? Are you curious, Ladybug?"

"Save the flirting, black cat." Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Do you even mean anything you say?"

Chat's eyes widened and he took a step back to contemplate. For some reason, there was a stab of hurt inside her. Was he really unsure of how he felt for her? So were his feelings faked?

His eyes settled back at her, and for the first time, he let his real personality bleed through. "Just because I say such frivolous things, doesn't mean I don't mean anything I say."

"Unless, you've fallen for me, Lady." His flirty persona was back. "So why don't you give me a kiss?"

Ladybug growled in frustration as she turned away from him. "I think you don't even like being a superhero."

"Well, you're not wrong." She stiffened and looked at him. He gazed at the snow-covered city, his posture relaxed. "Protecting the city is hard when you have bad luck sticking to you like glue. Even walking out as a normal person causes disaster every day."

His mouth set in a frown. "And then there's this girl who keeps sticking to me. She annoys me. I just want her to go away. Can't she see that my curse will affect her too?"

And in that moment, Ladybug realized that there was more to her cat partner than meets the eye. She stepped towards him and touched his arm, saying softly, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't know."

Chat Noir watched her as she trailed her hands up to his face, cupping his cheeks. She stood on tiptoes and drew his face to hers. He realized what she was doing and lurched away. "What are you doing?!"

"It's what you want, isn't it?" Ladybug said, looking at him with a soft smile. "You want the curse to go away. The only way for that to work is if I kiss you. My kwami told me about it just now."

Chat Noir stared at her, stunned. This was it. This was the moment where he could finally be free from his responsibilities as a superhero. He would be normal again. But then…why had he pulled away? Why was he reluctant on Ladybug letting him go?

"It's okay Chat." Ladybug said. "I'll be fine on my own."

Chat Noir narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak lest the thickness in her throat betrayed her. He stepped forward and once more, she took his face in her hands, her fingers tracing the sharp angles of his jaw as she savored his warmth through the suit of her fingers. This might be the last time she could touch him.

Closing her eyes, she kissed him.

There was no romantic reveal, nor were there any thoughts of 'this is the moment they realize they love each other' cliché. It was just a chaste press of their lips, more of a brush, really. But Ladybug felt that she had made a terrible decision.

The transformation was immediate. Chat Noir's suit fizzled inside the ring, along with his kwami. Still with her eyes closed, Ladybug slid the ring off his finger, pressing it on his palm.

"You're free, Chat Noir."

Félix stared at the ring and back at her. She turned away and leaped out of sight. Inside him, it was like a huge burden had lifted from his shoulders.

But deeper inside, it was like a string had snapped.

Félix rubbed on the spot where his ring used to reside as he lounged on a chair in the library, his mind wandering from his book. Who knew he would actually miss the annoying chatter of Plagg. With a sigh, he closed his book and got up, ready to return it back to the shelf.

Sniffle…sniffle…

Félix paused and looked over at the neighboring bookshelf. He blinked. The annoying girl – Bridgette – was curled up on the floor, crying over a book. Yes, he did shed a tear or two more than once when he was reading a well-written story, but it was strange to see her cry. He didn't think she liked reading that much.

Without him knowing why he was doing it, Félix had already walked up to her. She stopped her sobs as his black polished shoes came into view. She looked up. He said, "You know, you're going to damage the pages of the book with your tears."

Curse him and his stupid tongue. He wasn't supposed to make her feel worse! She wiped away her tears with the heel of her palm, blubbering out an apology. "S-Sorry, I-I'm such a klutz – you probably hate me-"

"Why would I hate you?"

She paused and looked at him, mouth open. He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Y-You don't hate me?" Bridgette said in shock.

Félix said flatly, "I think you're annoying."

"But you don't hate me?" Bridgette asked again, the color now back on her face, along with her bubbly energy. Okay, now it was time to go.

"No." Félix said and then walked away, keeping his distance away from her energy-draining personality.

"That's good." He heard her say softly to herself. "At least you didn't lie about liking me."

Her voice sent an echo of Ladybug's in his head. His middle finger felt hollow, along with the jewelry box feeling heavy inside his bag. He shook his head.

Chat Noir no longer existed.

"Hello to all ladybloggers, I am streaming live from the Eiffel Tower! It looks like Ladybug, is once again, fighting The Mime. Look at her go! Get him Ladybug!"

Félix watched Alya shout encouragement to the superhero, unconsciously rubbing his finger. He wondered why he was still watching it when he was no longer a superhero. It wasn't like he was worried about her, right?

Plagg's voice echoed inside his head.

Good luck can't exist without bad luck. Just like how Ladybug can't exist without Chat Noir.

"But look at her right now." Félix said to no-one in particular. "She's fighting the Mime and she's doing fine. Ladybug can hold her ground. She doesn't need a mangy cat of bad luck."

But his words felt false even to him. He watched as Ladybug exchanged blows with the Mime, hitting on empty air, but he knew it was just an invincible weapon.

Suddenly, the Mime held his hand to Ladybug; all fingers curled up except the index, and mimed a shooting gesture. Alya screamed in fright as Ladybug staggered backwards, clutching her bleeding arm. She jumped away just as the Mime 'shot' at her.

He barely registered his fingers digging on his legs as his eyes were glued on his computer screen. Alya was shouting at Ladybug, shouting for Chat Noir.

Félix looked away, trying to ignore his classmate's cries. Alya filmed herself in the camera. "Chat Noir! Where are you?!"

"Chat Noir's gone!" Félix shouted, trying to ignore everything. Go away. Go away. He'd come so far. He didn't want to have the curse again.

And then Ladybug screamed.

Félix jolted up and grabbed the edges of his computer screen. His partner was lying on one of the Eiffel tower's iron beams, the Mime's foot on her head. The Mime pulled the 'trigger'. Ladybug's scream was laced with pain.

"Chat Noir! Please! Save Ladybug!" Alya pleaded.

Félix grimaced, his chest clenching inside. He was hyper aware of his ring tucked away in his drawer. And then Alya zoomed on to Ladybug's face. She looked at Alya's camera, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She called out his name.

Chat Noir

Less than ten seconds later, Chat Noir was leaping over the Parisian rooftops, sprinting towards his partner.

She trembled in fear as the Mime stepped away from her, his arm still outstretched, his shadow holding the gun. Her body couldn't move. Pain shot up from everywhere in her body. More than once, she wished her partner was here. But he wanted to go. She couldn't do anything about that. But if she called him…if she called him, would he come to her? Come save her? Come save his friend? They were friends, right?

"Chat Noir…" She said weakly. Tears fell on the iron beam, melting the snow around it. "Chat…Chat Noir…"

She cried out his name, pleading that he would help her. "CHAT NOIR!"

There was silence. Only the howling wind and the police sirens from down below were the sounds in the air. Her shoulders slumped and she thumped her forehead on the iron floor. He wasn't coming. Of course, he wasn't coming. Chat Noir wouldn't –

"LADYBUG!"

Ladybug opened her eyes and gasped. There he was, with his wild golden hair whipping around his head, the sharp lines of his suit a stark contrast on the white snow. From many rooftops away, their eyes met and a connection that had been lost was sparked up once more.

With a last spurt of strength, she got up and started stepping away from the Mime. He was in the process of shooting her, when she gave him a triumphant smirk. She splayed her arms wide and plummeted down the Eiffel Tower, the sound of the gunshot ringing in the air.

Just as the wind rushed around her, strong arms caught her and pressed her in their lean chest, their body's warmth a cocoon in the winter chill. Ladybug wrapped her arms tightly against Chat Noir's shoulders as they bounded away from the Mime, who gave them a dark look and retreated back in the shadows.

Landing on top of a rooftop, Chat Noir sank down, Ladybug still in his arms. She saw him grimace at her wounds and she lifted a hand to part away his bangs from his eyes. She said quietly, "You came back. Why'd you come back?"

He glanced at her and then looked away again. Finally, he said, "I couldn't leave."

"But you did." She said accusingly, causing him to wince.

Chat Noir finally looked at her. She gazed at him, searching for an answer to the question she didn't voice out.

And, for once, he said honestly, "I'll stay."

Sorry if the characters are a bit wonky, guys! I only had 3 minutes of footage for these two characters and not enough background information.

But seriously, the PV was such a really awesome concept. Sure, it wasn't really 'cartoon-ish', but it had that anime potential in it. ToT too bad Félix and Bridgette won't live in the canon universe and only here in the fanfiction world. But hey, that means I can play around with them!

Since there're holes in their characters, it'll be fun to fill in the void. Look forward to more Brix (hahaha) fanfic from me!

Thanks for reading! See ya'll next time!