Observation

Sorry it has taken so long. Been working overtime, sleeping the day away, and working on pictures for my D&D group. I'm still new to doing art on a computer, so it's taking me a while to get used to the various brushes and buttons. Not to mention I have to have at least one character pic for each person by this Sunday and I'm only ½ done. It's also the reason this one is so short. Sorry again. I promise I'll make it up to you guys with a nice long chapter and a Ladrien moment.

The other reason it's taken me a while was because my original idea for payment didn't work out, so I had to think of another price for Chat to pay.

Chapter 7: Obsession

"A price?" he asked, uncertain. Of course she wasn't just going to sequel Marinette's secret willy-nilly, but having her actually say there would be a cost left him feeling as though there were a heavy rock in his stomach.

"Of course! You don't think I'd just hand over secret information without gaining something in return, do you? Now then..." Alya stopped the recording on her phone, ignoring the recorder on the tripod. She needed a moment to think, and she had other reasons for stopping the recording on her phone.

Hmm... What to ask for, what to ask...? She could ask that he...no, no, he'd never agree to it. What about? No, that wouldn't work either, though it's not a bad idea for a future cost.

Alya thought long and hard about what to charge him when suddenly a light bulb went off in her head at the mere thought of the topic at hand.

Oh ho ho! Yeeeessss...! That would do nicely. "You're quite the smooth talker, aren't you, Chat." Rhetorical as they come. Chat shifted in his seat with crossed arms, weary of where she was going with this. "Flirts and passes roll right off of you with confidence. I think it's time you put your charisma to good use, Kitty Cat. I want you...to help my Mari confess to her crush."

A few moments of silence passed. Chat was certain his brain had stopped working "Wait, what?"

Alya gave him a sly look. "You heard me. Marinette has a huge crush on a boy in our school, but she can hardly talk to him, much less confess."

"...What?" he asked again, resisting the urge to shove a clawed finger in his ear in case it was clogged. He must have misheard her—twice—because it sounded like she was asking him to help Marinette confess to a boy he didn't know. A boy Chat had been asking about in order to (secretly) keep him away from her.

The girl rolled her eyes. "You were the one who said you could help her and give her pointers before the interview started, remember? This is just an official exchange of service. So, are you going to pay the price or no? Either way she'll eventually tell him, with or without your guidance. But with your help, maybe she'll be more confident in herself and when interacting with others. So...your answer?"

This time it was his turn to be deep in thought. His teeth pinched the inner part of his bottom lip, rolling the flesh between them as he thought of the pros and cons of this agreement. The boy wouldn't deny—to himself at least—that he disliked the thought of sweet Marinette liking some boy. The thought of her confessing to the guy and hanging out with him rather than Chat's alter-ego was less than appealing.

It had taken him almost a year to get close enough to hang out with the second friend he had made since entering the school. Their unpleasant first encounter had been a horrible misunderstanding to which he worked hard to fix. They were on easy speaking terms now. ...Or as easy as you could get with Marinette when she'd constantly stutter, mix up her words, clam up, or run away.

But if she got together with this stranger, then the time they could spend together would be halved. The time they had now was already short and far from frequent. She was fun to hang out with, a master at Ultimate Mecha Strike 3, she had a warm and welcoming family, and kind attitude. And her designs! If her other designs were as good as that hat she had made, he'd love to see them one day. But if that chance was taken away from him...

Chat scowled and tried to focus on the pros. The cons were already winning by a landslide in his opinion and he couldn't see much chance in agreeing to the deal. He let out a short breath of air and focused.

Pro... Pro... He'd get to spend time with her. It would be as Chat, but it would still be time together none the less. That thought alone seemed to knock out a good portion of the cons. His eyes closed at the vivid interactions they could have. Maybe he could make her forget all about that other guy. It would be nice to boost her confidence as well. He knew she could be pretty brave and calculative as the class president, but Alya was right, Marinette was still a shy girl at heart. Chat vaguely wondered if he helped her be more confident, would she show it to Adrien? Would she open up more? Would they get to hang out more?

Even as the cons clearly outnumbered the pros, Chat nodded. "I'll teach her the purrfect way to capture a guy's attention and be more confident." Alya smiled triumphantly until a lingering, "but," was said. "I don't promise to help her get together with this guy she likes. I'll just help her show the world how amazing she is."

The auburn let out a breath of frustration, but after a moment of observing Chat, finally smiled."Alright. Deal! You'll probably have to meet with her at night since that's when she's usually at home."

"I'm cool with that. Princess will be a cool cat like me in no time. Now, about your part of the deal?"

A pleased smile appeared at her work so far. Hopefully Marinette could handle this "cool cat" better than she could Adrien. "I won't tell you his name, but I'll say this: he's completely oblivious to her feelings towards him. He is a nice guy who is honest and loyal towards his friends; but...I'm not sure if he really is that clueless to her or if he's just pretending not to notice, because she's really obvious about liking him. I think most of the class knows she likes him. However she hasn't confessed yet because she's too shy or she misses her chance. She even let one of her hand-made presents get stolen by someone else as a gift to him because he was happier thinking it was from that other person." the teen shook her head at the memory. "And she gets so upset whenever another girl gets close to him, and there are a LOT of girls who try to get close to him. I've tried to help them get together, but this ship doesn't seem to be sailing anytime soon."

"She...did that just to make him happy? The gift, I mean." Alya looked up to find the hero had lowered his hands from his face. She couldn't make out his eyes with the shadow cast by his hair. "That sounds just like her. But...that must have hurt her. She's really too nice sometimes, especially towards a guy who doesn't notice how she feels."

Alya hummed with a knowing smirk She could see how tight his fists were. The sound of the leather was audible at the display. "I wouldn't say he doesn't notice her sweet personality. He just doesn't notice her love. They have quite a bit in common, but they don't get to spend much alone time together. They did almost kiss once, but that was set up for something."

Chat felt his teeth grind together at this. He was showing too much for what was supposed to be a private interview. Adjusting himself once more in his seat, he took on a different position. More relaxed and laid back with laced claws resting on his stomach. A playful and smug smirk reached his lips. Top model quality. "I'll see what I can do. But for now, we have an interview to finish, yes?"

The reporter grinned and pulled out her phone again. "How much do you know about ladybug outside her mask?"

The interview went on without a hitch. He was honest and charming in his opinions, and vague where needed on the facts and secrets. It was obvious in her questioning that Alya was fishing for more secrets or juicy details in her questions. The male refused to be fooled twice, however, and focused on keeping his facial expression in check; pausing before answering her questions just to make sure he didn't blurt out anything too important.

After a few minutes, his eyes darted to the side to see his lady enter the field. Alya fallowed his gaze, knowing her time with Chat was now up. Alya turned her camera around. "Well, that's all the time we have for this interview, folks. If you haven't already, take a look at Ladybug's new interview on the Ladyblog and look forward to keeping an eye on Chat Noir's blog, Chat's Chat for new information about out Feline hero." Chat waved goodbye to the other recording device. "And don't forget to keep an eye out for the special interview featuring BOTH heroes that I'll be releasing in a few days. This is Alya Cesaire sighing off."

Both recordings were stopped allowing Chat to stand up and stretch his stiff limbs. The reporter watched his muscles flex with some fascination and another question for later popped into her head. "So, why are you posting the duel interview later?" The question had her looking up at the cat who's attention was not on her, but on the heroine who made her way up the stands; a warm smile plastered on his face.

"Publicity, anticipation, and excitement. Having the two interviews will give the blog a hype of attention and views. And more people will keep an eye on the blog during the few days to see when the new interview will be up. Think of a demo to an awesome game. An excited few want to play, reviews come out of their experience with it, and then more people are willing to play the actual release."

"Smart." Alya puffed out her chest proudly. "Now, if you'll excuse my leave, you've got a bug to talk to, and I've got a Lady go greet."

Chat didn't waist any time reaching his Lady. He didn't bother with talking the rows or isles to reach her, but instead walked atop the tops of the chairs with his arrogant, happy, swagger; balancing perfectly as he bee-lined towards her; the ever-so-smug smile on his face. Ladybug stopped, seeing he was already on his way with his hands linked together behind him. One hand perched on her hip, patiently.

'Here we go,' she thought as he reached her, taking a dramatic bow and kissing her hand. Such a gentleman.

"My Lady." Ladybug rolled her eyes and retracted her hand, though not too quickly, he noted.

"You were careful, right?" she asked, more than aware of how driven Alya could be at gathering intel on any little thing that interested her.

"Of course. Everything was either unidentifiable, vague, or the explanation of everything... magic." Truly the best escape to most questions involving them, their suits, or their powers. "Be sure to keep on your toes, LB. This reporter is on her game with leading the direction of the interview." His warning had her give him a nod followed by a suspicious look. A pair of hands went up in defense. "Hey! I said I was a good kitty, didn't I?"

Ladybug sighed, "You did. But knowing Alya, you probably gave her more than you know."

Chat nervously rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sheepish chuckle. There was no way he was going to admit to being tricked so easily or led into a deal like that. He had an image to keep with his lady. It was certain she wouldn't approve of frequent meetings with a civilian when he could be patrolling the city. She'd probably warn him that his identity could be compromised or something. At least he could play off the situation with Marinette as totally harmless service. Maybe he could tell her it's a thank you for helping him against that one akuma.

...Or he could just blame this all on Alya.

"Well it's my turn, so keep a distance. I don't want you eavesdropping on everything, "off the record"."

The male leaned forward. "Oh? Worried I might overhear about your unending attraction towards meow, Bugaboo?" He wiggled his eyebrows for added effect and was rewarded with a snort and a tug of her lips. The closeness gave her the pleasant smell of leather, mint, and some kind of expensive cologne.

"You wish, Kitty." Gently her finger pushed his face back. "I like guys for more than just their looks. Now behave yourself." The red-colored hero waved him off and hurried over to the interviewer who had been adjusting the equipment to look busy while secretly watching them.

Chat didn't hide the goofy grin as he watched her leave. "As you wish, M'Lady."

Some ways away, he had taken his seat. It was just far enough not to be able to listen in, but close enough that he could hear if they got loud. It was also the perfect spot to watch the love of his life without having to dodge pesky akuma or shimmying along the high-tops of Paris while on patrol

Speaking of which...

The superhero pulled out his baton and opened the screen to play the news. It had been a few days since the last akuma attack. Best to keep an eye out just in case...even if his eyes would wander over to the pretty lady across the stands.

(OwO)

Elsewhere in Paris, a young man and woman stood arguing. It was clear to be more one-sided as the woman, furious with the man, stomped her foot and pointed to the paper card in the man's hand. Her other hand went to her bulging stomach. The man wasn't nearly as angry as she was. His feelings and words were closer to that of someone trying to explain their case. A provider who surely had a winning ticket.

"That money was for our child's future and you blew it off on gambling and lotto tickets!?" Though there was a fire in her tone, her voice cracked as if to hold back a sob.

"But Sarah, this IS for our family! Once I win big, his future will be set for life! We could have a big house and even bigger family! The chance of me winning is so high right now. I can feel it! I even found my grandfather's lucky rabbit's foot! See? This time, I'll win for sure!"

"NO! I've had enough of this, Michael! We're already in debt! I won't let you drag this family down any farther. If that card doesn't give us back the money you wasted to spend for your own, selfish, bad habit, then we're through!" She stormed, or rather, waddled off.

"SARAH!" He called to her, but his voice fell on deaf ears. The man looked down at his ticket, his voice dropping low enough for only himself to hear. "I'll win this time. You'll see."

Michael walked off to the park to sit at one of the benches. Looking down at the rabbits foot clenched in his hands, then to the ticket, he inhaled slowly and exhaled. The gambler picked up a coin and scratched at the card.

"Come on...come on... please. Pleeease!"

All the numbers were revealed at last. He gasped, staring down at card in horror. "No... NO! Not again!"

Across the city, a window opened up to a dark room full of luminescent, white butterflies and a lone man in a suit. A smug smirk passed Hawkmoth's lips.

"Ah, the pain and realization of loosing everything you love because of a stroll of bad luck. One should never have too many obsessions. It's the perfect pool of anguish and desperation for an akuma to fester in and soon he''ll be mine to command." he opened up his hand for a butterfly to land on. Cupping it between his palms, the beautiful bug took on an evil dark glow and took off. "Go, my little akuma. Give this man the last chance he desires and evilize him!"

The pleasant night was warm with a gentle breeze. Quite a few people and tourists walked the streets, enjoying themselves, oblivious to what was above them and the danger that would lie before them. The akuma flew over the streets of Paris, to the pitiful man crying on a park bench. Passers by chose not to interact, not wanting to get involved in whatever problems the man might have. They had their own lives to live, so none spared him a second look and none saw the quiet insect land in his lucky rabbits foot.

"Good evening, Doctor Lucky. I am Hawkmoth and I have a deal for you you can't refuse. I've felt your pain. You wish to provide for your family more than you could on your own meager salary, so you decided to try your luck but to no avail. Those around you seem to be swimming in it, while you on the other hand... But don't worry. I can help you have all the luck in the world if you'll help me a little in return. All I ask is for Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous. Do we have a deal?"

Doctor Lucky grinned. "Deal."