Second chapter is now up! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: This show and its characters belong to Thomas Astruc. I do not own anything.
"Are you sure you actually forgot?" Plagg asked nonchalantly as he took another bite of his given slice of camembert. "You don't seem like the forgetful type to me, especially when it comes to important things like that."
"Gee, thanks, Plagg," Adrien replied dully as he scrolled through recent posts on the Ladyblog website. "And yes, I actually did forget. I can forget things sometimes too, you know."
It had taken one minute to help the victim down from the Champs-Élysées and another to reassure him that no permanent damage had been done. Which left the last minute for the feline hero to rush back home before he de-transformed.
"Still… I'm surprised. Are you really not afraid of the fact that she can now do something really scary?" the cat Kwami inquired.
"I wasn't afraid!" Adrien argued indignantly. "Really surprised, sure, but not afraid. In fact" — he leaned forward, propping an elbow on the desk and resting his chin on his hand as he stared up at Ladybug's face on the Ladyblog dreamily — "I think it just makes her even more amazing."
"Blegh! Stop that before I lose my appetite!" Plagg cried out in disgust as he swallowed the rest of the slice of camembert whole.
"You wouldn't understand anything outside of your 'adoration' for cheese."
"Because cheese is all I really need," Plagg retorted, rubbing his belly in satisfaction.
The boy sat back in his chair with a sigh. "I just… I can't believe I forgot. There were so many things I wanted to ask her. How strong is she now? Does she… feel any different? What does it feel like for her?"
"…You turn into such a big nerd when it comes to these types of things. She did say "postpone," didn't she? Just ask her the next time you see her."
"Well…" Adrien pondered about it. "School has been lightening up on the workload lately, so we can join up together for patrols again. But I don't want to force the answers out of her, though. She seemed… really nervous just trying to bring the subject up."
"Then don't ask her."
He looked at Plagg incredulously but then shook his head, deciding not to question it.
A thought suddenly occurred to him, however, his curiosity piqued. The boy fully turned to the Kwami, his expression serious. "Hey, Plagg?"
"Hm?"
"Am I… also capable of doing what Ladybug can do now? Does… Chat Noir have that ability too or—"
"You haven't shown any signs."
Plagg's answer was so abrupt, and for once completely serious, that Adrien was rather taken aback. "Wh-What do you mean?"
"Exactly as I said." Plagg stretched, as if bored, but there was a bit of tension in his tiny arms. "Too many details to get into. Basically, some but not all holders of the black cat's ring throughout the years had certain qualities, allowing them to wield a secondary Degree of Destruction. Varied with each holder and whatnot. But the main thing is, you're not one of them."
Adrien, who had been trying his best to absorb the onslaught of information despite his ever-increasing confusion, couldn't help the faint stab of disappointment he felt upon hearing that. And out of all the new questions that were forming in his mind, the one that came out of his mouth was, "I'm not?"
"Don't take it personally. It's been a while since I've seen it happen." The Kwami crossed his arms. "Besides, Chat Noir is already powerful enough with Cataclysm, the main game of physical decay and demolition. Although a secondary degree is a bonus, it's not really needed. I wouldn't really worry myself over it if I were you."
But Adrien did find himself worrying about it, although for a much different reason than the one his initial disappointment stemmed from. In fact, his worries were more for Ladybug than for himself.
If she was stronger now, how much more danger would that put her in?
The boy found himself shuddering at the thought as he powered down his computer monitor, stood up, and walked over to flop face-forward onto his bed with a sigh. Plagg watched neutrally as his holder turned his head slightly, his green eyes gazing out at the city pensively. He was definitely going to ask her about it on the next day of patrol…
Wait a minute.
Adrien suddenly sat up, his brows furrowing as he frowned in thought.
On the next day of patrol, he was supposed to meet up with… who again?
The next morning…
"It doesn't really seem like him, Tikki," Marinette voiced to her Kwami as she walked towards school, still perplexed by the exchange from last night. "Out of everything, I'd have least expected him to be absentminded."
"Everyone lets things slip from their minds once in a while, Marinette," Tikki replied from the girl's purse. "The schoolwork combined with fighting Akumas in between had been hard on you this past week; you've nearly forgotten several of your assignments! Maybe it's the same with him."
"I suppose so, but to forget something like this" — the blue-eyed girl held up a hand, watching in concentration as the specks of glowing, pink-colored energy briefly flashed into view around her fingers before vanishing — "seems to bother me for some reason. And I can't quite put my finger on it."
"If it'll reassure you, why not ask him about it tonight?" Tikki suggested. "It'll give both of you the chance to talk about what you want to talk about."
"Hey, you're right! And he did mention that he was feeling out of it, so I may be overthinking things. Hopefully, we'll get everything sorted out then." The blue-eyed girl sighed. "I just hope Papillon doesn't release another Akuma today. Or school doesn't try to test our endurance again. I barely made it through last week."
"Your endurance is exceptional! Both in and out of costume!"
The girl giggled. "Thanks, Tikki. Your encouragement is really—!"
Too engrossed in her conversation with her little friend, Marinette's foot hit a bump in the sidewalk, and she let out a yelp as her body pitched forward. Her arms flailed, trying to grab onto anything to steady herself, before she shut her eyes and braced for her face to meet the concrete.
The impact never came, however, her fall suddenly stopped as she landed against something — someone. Her arms instinctively wrapped around whoever caught her, just as hands grabbed onto her shoulders to steady her.
"Marinette! Are you okay?"
She froze completely, recognizing the voice. Upon opening her eyes, she glimpsed a familiar white blazer over a black shirt before tentatively peering up into the lucky green eyes of a concerned Adrien.
For a moment, neither of them moved, and Marinette felt herself being pulled into the depths of his irises. She suddenly snapped out of her daze, heat rising to her face as she realized their rather close proximity. His earlier question then registered in her mind and she opened her mouth to respond.
All that came out was a strangled whine.
Adrien's brows furrowed in worry. "That doesn't sound good. I can help take you to the nurse's if you—"
She couldn't scramble away from his hold fast enough, as much as she didn't want to. The heat in her face only increased, her arms flailing briefly around her head before she started waving them in front of her frantically, trying to be reassuring.
"N-No! No n-nurse! Fine I'm! I-I mean— I-I'm just f-fine! Th-Th-Thank you! Hehe!"
The boy only grew more concerned. "Are you sure…?"
Marinette found herself nodding a lot more than she needed to, but the embarrassment she felt was overwhelming. "Y-Yes! N-No problem!"
Adrien smiled, finally convinced. "All right then. If you say so."
Marinette grinned back for a split second before noticing that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes like it usually did. In fact, they seemed rather troubled.
With the roles suddenly switched, the girl worked up the nerve to ask him if he was okay, opening her mouth again while she still had his attention.
"A-Adrien, a-are you—"
She was suddenly cut off, letting out a yelp instead as she was harshly shoved backwards, where another set of hands caught her by the shoulders.
"Adrihoney!" Chloé's shrill voice rang in Marinette's ears as she looked up in annoyance to see the mayor's daughter standing in the spot she had just been a moment earlier. The blue-eyed blonde wasted no time in attaching herself to the boy's arm before practically dragging him away up the school steps.
"Not having much luck this morning?"
Marinette whirled around to see Alya, who had been the one to catch her. The blogger set a hand on her hip, expression supportive and willing to lend a listening ear.
Relieved to see her best friend, Marinette let out a low growl of frustration, clenching her fists in front of her. "She's such a pest, Alya! The worst timing ever! I was just trying to ask Adrien if he was okay because he looked kind of down. And I actually tried this time!"
Alya patted her shoulder comfortingly. "You make the effort where it counts, girl. Maybe you can ask him later during study hall." She gave a sly grin. "You'll probably be able to cheer him up."
Marinette let out a chuckle as they headed to class. "Quit teasing me, Alya. This is Adrien we're talking about."
Nevertheless, Adrien's unusual demeanor was beginning to worry the raven-haired girl. Throughout the day, she would notice slight differences in his body language, facial expressions, and little gestures, no matter how subtle they appeared. She could see the way his shoulders slumped at times when he was alone, as if a heavy weight had been placed upon them. His hands didn't move with as much fervor as they used to when he talked about topics that interested him.
And when he thought no one was looking, she saw the way his smile dropped as his eyes became clouded with an emotion she couldn't place.
It was now study hall, and Marinette had been both thrilled and terrified when Adrien took the seat diagonal from her at a secluded table in a corner of the library. To what little fortune she had, it was just the two of them.
However, when she opened her mouth to try to greet him, she immediately clamped it shut upon seeing that unknown expression on his face. Whatever it was prevented him from even acknowledging her presence at all.
Marinette shrank in her seat, uncertain, watching in concern as Adrien only pretended to read the page of the textbook in front of him, his clouded eyes just skimming over the words. Fiddling with her fingers, the heroine wracked her brain for ideas on how to proceed. She didn't want to be too invasive of his personal thoughts, yet she also didn't want to leave him as he was.
The girl let out an internal sigh. Why was everything so complicated for her when it came to the blonde-haired boy?
Another idea suddenly occurred to her, a lightbulb moment. Fast and simple.
A second later, she had a piece of notebook paper out, tearing a strip of it off one end. Then using her pencil, she wrote down the question she had been wanting to ask him, the words that she could never voice properly.
Satisfied, she quickly set down the pencil and folded the strip of paper in half, note inward, and slid it across the table toward his hand that lay idly beside his book. She slid it just until it rested under his little finger before quickly withdrawing her own hand.
The small contact was enough to startle Adrien out of whatever daze he was in, his eyes lighting up and darting around in confusion before falling on the folded strip of paper. With his brows creasing curiously, Marinette held her breath as she watched him pick it up, unfold it, and read the note inside.
His irises slowly moved from one side to the other, evidence that he was actually reading this time, before he looked up and locked gazes with her.
Marinette's heart skipped a beat as they stared at each other a lot longer than necessary, before she lifted her hand in a tentative wave, a nervous grin spreading across her face. Another moment passed before Adrien gave a small smile in response.
The girl's heart fluttered.
She watched inquisitively as he bent down to fish out a pencil from his book bag before he started scribbling across the paper. He then folded it again and carefully slid it back to her.
Marinette did her best to suppress her bubbling excitement, pressing her lips tightly together to prevent the high-pitched squeal that threatened to escape and willing the tremors in her fingers to go away as she took the paper back in her hands. She fumbled slightly as she unfolded it before her eyes automatically zeroed in on the words that were written beneath her own.
Yeah, I'm alright. Just a lot of stuff going on. Thanks for checking up on me.
Marinette contained another squeal; he actually answered! She could practically hear his sincerity. Taking up her pencil again, she thought for a moment, unsure of how much prodding would be too much.
She finally settled for: Personal?
His response: Sort of. In a manner of speaking.
And it continued, this back-and-forth exchange of written notes between the two students. In a short period of time, they had used up all available space on the paper strip, prompting Marinette to just use the remainder of the paper the strip was torn from.
The topic of their written conversation changed constantly, mostly due to Marinette wanting to take the boy's mind off of whatever he was stressing over. And granted, it wasn't the type of conversation she had in mind. But it worked, as she didn't have to worry about being a stuttering mess while he genuinely smiled at some of the responses.
She soon started drawing random doodles and folding the paper into different shapes, to which Adrien responded by drawing his own figures and folding the paper into nonsensical forms. There were now so many bends in the paper that it slightly distorted the writing.
Before either of them knew it, the bell rung, signaling the end of study hall. Marinette internally deflated, wishing for once that study hall actually lasted longer.
As she finished packing her books and notebooks away, Adrien passed by her, but not before slipping the paper, folded, into her palm. Her fingers automatically closed around it as she looked up in surprise, seeing him give a knowing smile and a wave of farewell before continuing on his way.
Curious, Marinette carefully unfolded the paper, her eyes immediately landing on a lightly circled note amidst the chaos of doodles and responses. Upon reading it, her heart swelled, and she didn't bother to suppress the small happy squeal that escaped from her lips.
Thank you, Marinette. For cheering me up. It helped a lot.
Later that night…
Ladybug was running across the rooftops of Paris, an extra spring in her step as she headed for the patrol meeting place. She giggled giddily for what was the twentieth time since she had returned home from school, no doubt due to what had transpired in the library.
She had tacked up their note exchange right next to his love letter, never to be forgotten.
As she landed on the designated rooftop, she spotted Chat Noir already there, sitting on the roof's ledge with his back facing her.
The heroine smiled, partially because of her good mood, but also because her partner was actually early. Earlier than the scheduled time for once. Excellent. They could get patrol started.
She snickered slightly as she strode toward him, extending her arm outward. As she approached, her fingers lightly brushed against one of his fake ears, intending on giving it a scratch. "Hey, chaton. You're actually—"
The boy suddenly ducked away from her touch upon contact, as if her fingers scorched him. He swiftly rolled off the ledge and onto the roof, putting distance between them as he stood up.
His reaction stunned Ladybug, her arm still frozen in mid-air where she had reached out to him. All the positive emotions she had been feeling immediately ceased as increasing worry took their place. Her brows under her mask creased in concern as she slowly withdrew her arm to turn towards her partner.
"Chat Noir…?"
He whirled around to face her, the usual bright shine in his green feline eyes replaced with the unfamiliar fogginess of a stranger.
…