"Take that!" the man on the rooftop yelled, raining fire down on the Parisians dining at the cafe below. "That will teach you to try to take away The Flame's heat!"
Screams erupted and the lunch goers fled as the umbrellas and tables began to catch fire.
Deciding she had seen enough, Marinette ran into the hedge-lined outdoor cafe, slinging her yoyo toward the akuma-infected man.
"Not so fast!" she called up to him, her yoyo wrapping around his wrist. The man paused in his burning crusade and focused his attention on her.
"Ah, Ladybug," he growled angrily. "You can't stop me!"
Marinette rolled to the side as a spurt of flames shot her way, scorching the sidewalk where she had been standing.
She grimaced as she surveyed the damage. Taking care of this man was not going to be easy. Which wasn't fair. Lunch was already half over. If she didn't wrap this up soon, she was going to be late to class. And if she was late to class, she would risk getting a detention. And she absolutely could not get a detention today, because Adrien had asked her to go out for ice cream after school.
Marinette's heart skipped a bit, even as she dodged yet another blast of fire. She had a second date with Adrien! And she wasn't going to let some fire-blasting, akuma-controlled baddie keep her from it.
"Why don't you come down here and stop ruining everyone's lunch?" Marinette called to the man, using her yoyo as a shield.
The man leapt off the roof top, using twin jets of flames from his hands to land safely on the sidewalk below. For a moment, Marinette thought he might actually be coming down to talk. But then the man narrowed his eyes and shot fire towards her once more.
Marinette quickly used her yoyo as a shield. But after a moment, she realized the fire hadn't been aimed at her—instead, the man was throwing it at the the hedges that surrounded the cafe. She watched with growing panic as the bushes caught flame, surrounding her with a wall of fire.
Ahead of her the man was slowly walking towards her, pinning her ever closer to the burning bushes. "Nowhere to run, Ladybug," the man growled, grinning in a way that gave Marinette shivers.
"Ladybug, look out!"
Marinette looked up just in time to see Chat Noir swipe a fizzling black claw across the cafe's sign. The large sign teetered before careening to the ground, crashing into The Flame and pinning him to the ground.
Before Marinette could take a step closer, The Flame roared, shooting flames in a large berth around himself. Marinette quickly dove for the neighboring building, taking cover from the firestorm.
Chat Noir landed beside her, glancing her over anxiously before hurriedly looking away. The gesture only made her feel bad—she had been so upset with him the other day, but now things were even more awkward. "You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah. Thanks for the save," she told him, trying to brush away her awkwardness. She peeked around the side of the building to where The Flame was still throwing fire balls. "What should we do? There's no way for us to get close to him like this."
"The sign is already starting to melt," Chat told her, not quite meeting her eyes. "We should duck out of here quickly before he gets free so we can think of a plan."
Marinette hesitated—if they waited, she might be late for class. Still, Chat was right. They needed time to find a way to get the upper hand. With a sigh, she relented. "Alright, you lead the way."
Chat quickly shimmied up the brick wall, then darted across the rooftops. Trying to push away her uneasiness, Marinette slung her yoyo and quickly sailed after him.
After crossing a few blocks, Chat slipped back down to the ground. Marinette followed suit, landing beside him in an alleyway.
"Got any ideas?' she asked him.
"Well, actually..." he said hesitantly, glancing toward his hand. Just then, his Miraculous beeped.
"Oh—oh!" Marinette said, realizing that his transformation was going to wear off soon. Stupid, pay attention! she scolded herself. What should she do? She didn't want to be here—would Chat even want her to know who he was now? She shoved those thoughts away to focus on the matter at hand. "Should I try to track him down alone while you recharge?"
"No!" Chat said suddenly, taking Marinette off guard. He was watching her with a worried look, but he quickly dropped his gaze again. "This guy seems really dangerous. I really think we need a plan. I just need a to find a secluded place for a moment."
"Right," Marinette replied awkwardly, glancing around. A small deli across the street caught her eye. "What about there?" she asked, pointing toward the store front. "They have a restroom, don't they?"
Chat sighed in visible relief. "Great. I'll be just a moment."
Marinette watched him hurry toward the deli and hesitated. Should she follow him, or would that be weird? But if he was going into the restroom it wouldn't matter, would it? Annoyed with her uncertainty, Marinette quickly dashed across the street after him and followed him into the shop.
"Do you have any Gouda?" Chat was asking the man at the counter. Before Marinette had a chance to question his odd request, Chat hurried back to toward the single restroom with his cheese.
"Everything alright, Ladybug?" the deli owner asked, giving her a concerned look.
"Yeah, sorry. We'll be just a moment," she assured him. "Would you mind not letting anyone back? We need to take shelter for a quick moment."
The man's uncertainty firmed into determination. "Sure. Don't you worry—leave it to me."
"Thanks!' Marinette told him, heading to the back of the store. She caught a glimpse of Chat slipping into the bathroom before shutting the door.
Suddenly feeling out of place, Marinette shuffled her foot and glanced around. "You sure you don't need anything else?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine," Chat told her, his voice muffled from the other side of the door. "I just—"
He was cut off by a loud hum, which was quickly followed by the sound of animated munching. Suddenly, Marinette remembered the cheese he had asked for—was he eating at a time like this? Then, feeling stupid, it occurred to Marinette that Chat might not be alone on the other side of the door.
Of course, dummy! she realized. You have Tikki. Who's to say Chat Noir doesn't have the help of a kwami? Marinette couldn't believe she had never considered it before. Of course, Tikki had never talked about other kwamis, so it had really never crossed her mind. But given the similarity of their Miraculous, it only made sense.
For a minute Marinette just stood in awkward silence, listening to the munching on the other side of the door. With every passing moment, her uncertainty grew. As angry as she was with how Chat had handled the situation the other day, they were supposed to be a team. And he had seemed genuinely sorry. So why were things still so awkward?
Taking a deep breath, Marinette finally said, "You know, I have to to thank you."
She waited a moment, and when Chat didn't reply, she continued. "I, uh. I finally worked up the courage to confess to the guy I like. And everything worked out. It's thanks to you for giving me a push to finally do it. … I really appreciate it."
For a moment there was no reply. Just as Marinette was starting to worry, however, the door finally swung open.
"That's great, Ladybug," Chat Noir told her with a smile. "I'm really happy for you. I actually started seeing someone, too."
Wait, what?
Without waiting for her response, Chat hurried toward the front of the store. Kicking herself into gear, Marinette quickly trailed after him.
"Anyway, I noticed earlier that The Flame was wearing a watch," Chat told her as he hurried onto the street. "I bet that's where the akuma is hiding."
"Right," Marinette said, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand. "Okay, that's a good start. But how are we supposed to avoid his fire?"
"I've been thinking about it. It'd probably be better for us to keep our distance," Chat told her. "He didn't seem to be able to throw his fire very far. Once we find him, you can stay back and use your Lucky Charm, and then use your yoyo to try to nab his watch."
Marinette nodded, trying to keep her head from spinning. Chat was dating someone?
So much for being earnest and sincere, she thought sourly. For someone who was professing his love just the other day, he gave up rather easily.
Instantly, Marinette felt ashamed. That wasn't fair. Chat had seemed completely serious the other night when he had wished her luck. And what did it matter, anyway? If he had found somebody, then that was great for him. It might even work out positively for her. Maybe Chat Noir would finally settle his flirty ways and stop making silly moves on her. After all, he hadn't tried even once to flirt with her today.
But the thought didn't cheer her up at all. He might not have flirted with her, but things were far from normal between them. And, with a grimace, Marinette admitted to herself that she could have treated him a little nicer last time, despite her own frustration. But she didn't know how to make things better.
Her thoughts were cut off by a wave of flames, which suddenly cascaded from the rooftops. Marinette and Chat both rolled out of the way, darting in opposite directions.
"Not so fast!" The Flame called, turning to chase after Marinette. She glanced over her shoulder, only to see Chat Noir turn on his heel and dash back toward The Flame.
"Chat!" she called, horrified as she watched him tackle the man. But Chat waved at her, urging her further away. Suddenly it clicked—Chat had told her to get far away. She hadn't realized he meant to use his own Miraculous as bait by staying close.
Anxiety boiling in her stomach, Marinette quickly slung herself onto the rooftops, far enough to be out of The Flame's range, but close enough to keep an eye on the battle.
"Lucky Charm!" she cried, keeping a nervous eye as Chat battled The Flame below. Her yoyo glowed, and a boomerang dropped into her hands.
Before Marinette even had time to consider her options, The Flame knocked Chat to the ground and slowly began to approach him, fire glowing in his hand.
Without a second thought, Marinette leapt down to the down to the sidewalk. "Over here!" she called to The Flame, catching his attention. She threw the boomerang with all her might.
The Flame easily ducked out of the way. "Ha!" he taunted, throwing an arc of flames in her direction. "That was a lousy thro—"
He was cut off as the boomerang swept back around and barreled into his legs, toppling him over. Quick as she could, Marinette slung her yoyo at his watch, yanging it from him and quickly throwing it to the ground. She purified the akuma, then quickly rushed over to Chat, who was pushing himself up off of the ground.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, looking him up and down.
Chat smiled awkwardly, brushing off his suit. "Yeah, I'm fine. You should probably fix the city, though."
Feeling silly, Marinette hurried over and picked up the boomerang. She tossed it into the air, then watched as the familiar swarm of hearts doused the flames and put the city back to rights.
Job now done, Marinette turned back to Chat. "Well," he told her, as if unsure how exactly to respond. "I have to get going. But, well… good luck to both of us, right?"
"Oh, yeah," Marinette replied, forcing herself to smile. "Until next time." She watched as Chat used his baton to vault away, flitting across the rooftops.
Her Miraculous beeped, and with a start Marinette realized she also needed to get moving. She dashed into an alley and de-transformed, holding her purse open for Tikki.
But Tikki surprised her by hovering outside instead. "Are you alright?" Tikki asked with a worried frown.
"Yeah," Marinette assured her hurriedly. "I just… wish things weren't still so awkward."
"I'm sure you guys will work it out," Tikki told her, bumping into Marinette's cheek affectionately. "You're teammates."
"Thanks," Marinette replied, giving her a warm smile. "We better head back to school now."
Marinette held open her purse as Tikki slipped inside, then headed back onto the street. A glance at her watch revealed she had just enough time to make it back to school, and Marinette sighed in relief. Still, she couldn't quite squash the uneasiness she felt. Despite Tikki's encouragement, Marinette couldn't help but feel that working things out with Chat wasn't going to be quite so simple.
A/N: I totally wasn't going to write the akuma attack. I have such a hard time writing these scenes, and I didn't want it to turn out too long. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but trying to come up with a bad guy, and then to come up with how the actual battle unfolds, and then how Lucky Charm will work is all very difficult. But when I was writing it, trying to begin the chapter right as the battle was ending just didn't feel right. I hope that it's interesting, at least!
I actually got the idea for The Flame from the guy who makes Sriracha. I remember hearing a while ago that people wanted to shut his facility down because of the intense fumes that it emits. So that's kind of the idea here: he's a man who makes hot sauce, and his plant is going to be shut down because of the extreme "heat" given off by the chilis at the facility. So in retaliation he goes around lighting everything on fire xD But seriously, I REALLY struggle with writing these action scenes. I'm kind of relieved to say that this is the last akuma attack that will take place in this fic. (Although never fear, there WILL be more LadyNoir interactions later on ;D)
I can now say with about 95% certainty that this fic will be 11 chapters, so there are four more still to go. That said, the last two chapters will basically be one long, extended scene. So, even though it might not sound like it, we're getting really close to the end!
ALSO, question! I've been getting further and further pulled into ML hell, and I have SO MANY fic ideas. I'm definitely going to finish up It's Complicated first, but then I want to start another. I have a few ideas:
1) Future AU where Ladybug and Chat never figured out each other's identities before going off to university, and wind up running into each other again in their mid-20s. (This one would likely be M rated… Although I would be able to pull it down into more of a T+ rating/upper YA range depending on what people want.)
2) Current day fic with Adrien and Marinette pretending to date due to extenuating circumstances. (G/T rating, depending)
3) One-shot reveal fic based on Chat noticing flour in Ladybug's hair. (G rating)
4) Marinette waking up one day only to realize that she's got a huge crush on Chat Noir, and being really salty about it. (BECAUSE YOU KNOW SHE WOULD BE. This would probably be G/T.)
5) A fic examining Plagg and Tikki's relationship. Because let's face it, these two probably are well aware of each other, and for some reason I feel like they wouldn't get along the greatest. I'm more on the fence with this one—I don't have a plot figured out for it, unlike all the others. But I think it would be an interesting idea, even as a oneshot or something, y'know? (G rating)
These are in order of how much of the plot I have developed, with the first being most developed. Are you guys interested in seeing any of these fics in particular? ^^
Also, THANK YOU GUYS! SO MUCH! The response from all of you has been absolutely AMAZING. I love getting to hear what you guys are enjoying in the story. It's been seriously overwhelming. Thank you so much for reading. Feel free to come gush about Miraculous Ladybug with me over on Tumblr (Konekat)! Although I've forgotten in recent chapters to include the warning that my blog is NSFW—sorry about that!