Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.
Copycat
"Nice catch," Chat whispered in Ladybug's ear. She purified the akuma and set it free. "So glad you could tell the real cat from the fake one," he added, smiling at her gratefully.
Ladybug smirked. "Once I figured out which cat was really in love with me, it was a no brainer." Ladybug pointed to Theo who was still lying on the ground. Chat just nodded, but Ladybug could tell that his body was tensed.
"Better help the fellow out. His crush just got crushed." Chat waved farewell and walked away. Once he was out of earshot he whispered, "That makes two of us," to himself. Ladybug noticed him hesitate when he left, but she dismissed it.
"What am I doing here? Ladybug?" Theo spoke up from his spot on the floor and Ladybug turned to him.
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it this morning, Theo," Ladybug apologized. Theo looked down at the newspaper article in his hand, then held it up to her.
"Can you autograph it for me?"
"Of course I can. You've got some real artistry here." Ladybug stared down at the picture of the statue that now stood in the park next to her family's bakery. "You really captured my essence."
"Thank you, Ladybug. And don't worry, I know about you and Chat Noir. It's ok." Ladybug tilted her head to the side. What's between Chat Noir and I? I never said anything about us being togeth…..Ladybug stopped her train of thought before it got onto dangerous territory.
Ladybug helped Theo stand up, waved goodbye, and raced home before she could turn back.
000
Later that night, Marinette sat alone in her garden above her room. Tikki had long since fallen asleep in Marinette's bed, but Marinette didn't quite feel like joining her yet; there was too much on her mind.
At the end of their battle Chat had seemed more detached than normal. Marinette knew that they both kept secrets from each other to keep their identities hidden, but Chat just wasn't acting right.
"I guess the whole topic of our 'relationship' might have changed his attitude. But he knows that I always block his advances. It is just a little game we play while in battle. I mean he's not serious about me. He just jokes around…..Right?" Marinette whispered to herself.
Marinette closed her eyes and saw memories of Chat smirking, laughing, falling on her, call her 'Milady', and 'Bugaboo'. Marinette smiled. She opened her eyes and looked out at her beautiful city. In her ears, a soundtrack of Chat's puns played, making her laugh. She would never mention it to her chaton, but she did enjoy some of the puns.
"Ughh!" Marinette yelled, letting her ladybug side take over. "I hear enough puns as it is, I don't need to replay each one, Brain!" Marinette paused and laughed at herself. "I can't believe I'm talking to my brain. It's official! I'm losing it!" Mariette took one more look at her city, then turned and went downstairs to deal with how she would approach Adrien tomorrow about his phone.
Marinette hummed as she turned Adrien's phone over and over in her hands. "Maybe I can slip it into his bag without him noticing. He could get his phone back…., but then I won't be able to ask him to the movies. Well, it's better than improvising and messing everything up." Marinette suddenly stopped turning Adrien's phone over as a green paw print on the edge of his phone case caught her attention.
She let one slender finger slide across the paw print. It was slightly raised, and with just a little push the paw print sank and opened the tiniest pocket in the phone case. Marinette's wide eyes stared at the small slip of paper that lay in the small pocket. With a slight hesitation, Marinette pulled out the paper and unfolded it. On the paper was scrawled Love is Strength with a delicately drawn ladybug beside the quote. Marinette stopped breathing.
Images of Adrien appeared before her vision. Times when she had mentioned Ladybug and he had blushed. These memories were then replaced with images of Chat Noir where he was flirting with her and smiling at her cheekily.
Marinette dropped the piece of paper back into the secret compartment of the phone case, threw Adrien's phone into her school bag, and hurled herself onto her bed and covered her eyes. "Which one is real?" She whispered into her dark room.
Hey Readers! I really hope you liked this chapter. This was the first chapter I ever wrote for this story, and I totally didn't plan the ending, it just sort of came out. The next chapter will be about the Rogercop episode. Please comment, follow, or favorite if you wish. Until I see you again, TTFN!