Hey guys! So sorry it has been so long! With work, and then moving, and then no internet, it has been impossible to update!
Adrien stared in the mirror and fixed his hair for the hundredth time. Today was an important day. Today he was filled with jitters and anxiety because today he was going on a date. Well, not exactly a date.
"Hey Lucy" Adrien called out to the blonde girl sitting on a bench in the school court yard. She sat hunched over, her chin resting on her clenched fist, her elbow propped up on top of her thigh. Her other hand held her phone, which her eyes had been glued to before he had called out her name. He could feel hi heart speed up as Lucy's eyes met his and a smile graced her face. Adrien sat beside her and glanced at her phone screen that reviled a movie poster and description.
"Fantastic beasts! I've been waiting for that to come out." He gleamed.
"Harry Potter fan?" Lucy questioned with a small smirk. Adrien smiled and gave a small shrug.
"I enjoyed the books."
"I never read the books." Lucy admitted gaining a wide eyed look from Adrien.
"Never read-! You read all the time but you never read Harry Potter? You're a disgrace."
A loud laugh erupted from Lucy, so much so that her head flew backward. It was in these moments that Adrien wished he had a camera. Something to properly capture the magnitude of how radiating Lucy was. That was when it hit him. He did! Quickly whipping out his phone, Adrien snapped a photo of the laughing girl who then stopped and looked at him with bewilderment.
"Did you just take a picture of me?!"
Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Adrien turned his phone toward her.
"I had to." Lucy looked at his phone screen, her smile growing smaller, not in sadness but in acceptance. It was a nice picture.
"Do you wanna come see it with me?" She then asked. "The movie I mean." And Adrien was sure he forgot to breath. He stared at her in utter astonishment, not believing the words he had just heard out of her mouth. Did she just ask him on..."
"Not like a date!" She clarified, taking in the panicked look on his face, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. "I just mean, I want to see it and so do you, so you can always come with me. My mom will probably come too. She loves everything to do with Harry Potter."
Regaining his composure, Adrien cleared his throat. "Oh! I mean, yeah. Yeah! That would be great."
They set a time and day, and now Adrien was supposed to met Lucy at the train station. Looking at his phone and noticing the time, Adrien quickly grabbed Plagg and put him in his pocketbefore dashing out the door.
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Marinette and Alya ran down the subway steps in a hurry, not wanting to miss the next train. As they waited at the platform Marinette scrolled through her phone confirming the movie start time.
"The movie starts in thirty minutes. Or, we could buy your book first and go to the next showing." She spoke remembering the other stop they had to make at some point in the day. Alya shrugged, telling Marinette that it did not matter when her eyes landed on a familiar face. She grabbed Marinette and made her look in the same direction, where they found Adrien standing.
"Adrien..." Marinette said dreamily. Alya raised an eyebrow as she then noticed another blonde on the other side of Adrien as he walked onto the trian,
"Is that Lucy?" Alya quickly grabbed Marinette and hurried her on to the train. As it took off both girls peeked through the window to see Lucy and Adrien casually talking among themselves. Although there was nothing in their body language that would suggest they were together in a romantic sense, Marinette's mind sent into over drive and went through a number of scenarios in her head, which she of course rambled aloud to Alya, who of course could do nothing but watch.
"What are they doing together? Are they on a date? Maybe they are going to see the same movie as us?! How cool would that be to see a movie with Adrien! But wait! If he see's us he might think we are following him! Like stalkers! What? Me, a stalker? HAH! Although, I would follow him. You know, of course I wouldn't really stalk him! Oh...who am I kidding?! And what about Lucy? Would she really be on a date with Adrien? No! Of course not! She's never shown interest in him like that before. Unless she has been hiding her feelings this whole time! And now she confessed her feeling and he accepted and now she is hiding it so she wont hurt my feelings and-!"
"Marinette, are you done?" Alya interrupted with a laugh. "Stop panicking, I'm sure there is a totally normal expiation. Lucy knows how you feel about Adrien Marinette, I'm sure its totally innocent. Besides, my sources say Little Lucy has gotten close to a particular feline hero, if you catch my drift." She spoke with a wink. Marinette bit her thumb as she looked back through the window, watching the two interact.
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"It's too bad you're mom couldn't make it." Adrien spoke, looking at Lucy as the rode the train to the movie theater. Lucy sighed and shrugged.
"Yeah, it is what it is I guess. There will be other movies."
Adrien couldn't help but be a little excited that Lucy's mom couldn't make it, as it meant he would get to be alone with her. However, he could tell that Lucy was a bit disappointing, being that she didn't get to spend a lot of time with her mom as it was. Understanding that all too well, Adrien couldn't fully bask in the glory of their alone time. A sensation over came him, the feeling of being watched. Turning his head to the train car window, Adrien then spotted Alya.
"Hey look." He said, gaining Lucy's attention from her phone once more. The two blondes waved at Alya who smiled and waved back. She then grabbed Marinette and had her wave as well. Lucy waved awkwardly, suddenly feeling like she was being caught in a secret. But this wasn't a secret. She and Adrien we're simply two friends, going to see a movie together. Lucy sighed anyway, knowing she would be questioned later by the two girls. Marinette especially, would be the one to jump to conclusions.
"What the-!" Adrien exclaimed as he noticed a light going over Alya, transforming her into Lady WiFi.
"Oh god, that can't be good." Lucy said, as they both pressed against the glass.
Lady WiFi demanded dolls from Marinette, who explained she did not have them. This information seemed to upset her, as the villain went on about how she wanted to win.
"Looks like we are going to have to rain check the movie." Adrien said to Lucy, who nodded and followed Marinette off the train as Adrien ran in another direction.
"Manon! This isn't a game!" Marinette called after Lady WiFi as she flew up the steps.
"Marinette!" Lucy shouted as she ran up next to the pig tailed girl. "Manon? Isn't that the name of the little girl you babysit?"
Before Marinette could answer Chat Noir showed up, asking if Lady WiFi had said anything to give away where she might have went. Marinette explained she had some dolls that Lady WiFi or whoever was controlling her wanted at her house. Chat asked for Marinettes address and quickly ran off after she gave it to him. Wide eyed, Marinette looked to Lucy in panic.
"Lucy you need to get somewhere safe!"
"Me? What about you!" Lucy argued. Marinette grabbed Lucy shoulders and gave her a serious look.
"No! You don't understand! If whoever is controlling Alya gets her hands on my other dolls, she will probably control them too!"
"That's a lot of villains."
"Yeah, and one of them is you!" Marinette said, her tone apologetic. "One of them is a Time Breaker doll..."
"Well that's not good." Lucy attempted to joke, though she could feel her eyes sting as they began to water. "Not again..."
"Get somewhere safe Lucy, Ladybug and Chat Noir will handle it, don't worry!"
Nodding Lucy took a deep breath. "Yeah...yeah, okay." She complied, running off.
Marinette climbed down a few steps off the train platform and took out Tikki, transforming into Ladybug.
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Lucy didn't know what to or where to go. The idea of turning back into Tie Breaker horrified her. If she did, who knows what she would be forced to do, or who she would be forced to hurt? Lucy's first instinct was to go to Talia's house. after all, maybe Talia could take her down if she needed too. However Lucy worried about what might happen if she got the upper hand on Talia, if she touched her and stole her life force. Lucy couldn't risk it. As much as she now believed in Ladybug, Tigress and Chat Noir's ability to save the day, Lucy couldn't in good conscious put her friend in danger like that, super hero or not. Instead she went home, doing her best to tie herself to the bed with her sheets, hoping that, although it may not stop Time Breaker, at the very least it might slow her down.
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"Did you capture the akuma?" Chat asked Ladybug after he crashed the WiFi signal. Ladybug shook her head and told Chat how she dint have one and that since Puppeteer was controlling Lady WiFi, the akuma must actually be with her.
"Please tell me you got the Chat Noir doll!" Chat pleaded but was only met with disappointment.
"Sorry, only this one." Ladybug responded, holding out the Ladybug doll.
"We'd better find her fast before she takes control of the other dolls! And me!" Chat said, placing his hands on his chest.
"Chat, your ring! You're about to change back!" Ladybug pointed out, hearing is ring beep.
"Don't let her make me a puppet! You know I like to be in command." he went with a wink.
"You mean second in command. Call me when you're back in business."
Chat Noir dashes off and Ladybug pulls out her yo-yo. She had a phone call to make.
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At the TV station, Ladybug stealthily pressed against the door to try and hear what she was up against when a hand touched her shoulder, sending her into defense mode, only to find Chat who claimed he wasn't a puppet just yet. Ladybug quickly released him from the arm twist she had put him in and apologized.
"Well, he should know better than to sneak up on a lady." Tigress said to her team mates as she approached.
"Glad you could make it." Ladybug said with a smile.
Tigress gave a small nod before looking between the two. "So, what are we up against?"
"Long story short, the Puppeteer got her hand on some Villain dolls a girl made and has the ability to take control of them. Unfortunately, she also has the Chat Noir doll. We don't have much time." Chat explained.
"How many others? Who?"
"Roger Cop, Lady WiFi, Evillustrator..."
"And Time Breaker." Ladybug finished. Chat looked at her with widened eyes as Tigress cursed under her breath.
The three heroes lined up to kick down the door and on the count of three smashed through together, just in time to see Puppeteer taking control of the Chat Noir doll. Chat of course dashed forward to try and stop it, but was too late and was made into a puppet.
"Well fuck." Tigress said, annoyed with how quickly they lost a team mate.
Soon, they were joined by Evillustrator and Roger Cop. Tigress glanced at Puppeteer and looked at the dolls surrounding her.
"I don't see the Time Breaker doll. Why didn't she take control of that one too?"
Ladybug knitted her eyebrows together. "I don't know. There definitely is one. Lets just worry about the ones in front of us for now. Five against two? That's not very fair and square!" Unknowingly to Ladybug or Tigress, the Time Breaker doll currently laid on the floor in Marinette's room, accidentally left behind during Lady WiFi's escape.
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"Miraculous Ladybug!"
Tiny Ladybugs ladybugs swirled around, changing everyone back to their normal selves and fixing the damage around them.
"What happened?" Chat Noir asked, walking over to Tigress and Ladybug.
"You were a puppet. But don't worry, you didn't do anything foolish." Ladybug answered.
"That good." Chat said before taking a look around the room. "Where is Lucy?"
"Puppeteer didn't have the Time Breaker doll." Tigress explained. "It must have got left behind."
"Someone should go check on her, she probably doesn't know she is safe now."
"Already on it!" Chat said running out the door.
Crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, Tigress smirked. "He totally wants to do her."
Ladybug blushed before giving her team mate a scolding look. "Tigress!"
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Chat Noir rolled the dice when he chose to show up at Lucy's home. He wasn't sure where she might go in such a situation but figured her home was a good place to start. Luckily for him, that was exactly where she was. Popping open her window, Chat frowned lightly, finding Lucy asleep against the wall by her bed. Her hands tied up with sheets around the metal bars of her headboard. Slowly, he knelled down and touched her shoulder, shaking her slightly, calling out her name. She awoke with a start and Chat did not miss the momentary fear in her eyes.
"Hey! It's okay...it's just me. Everything is alright."
Lucy let out a deep sigh as she leaned her head back against the fall with a slight thud.
"I didn't turn."
Chat carefully untangled Lucy from her bed sheets and pulled her into a hug and she returned it tightly.
"I was so scared Chat. Why didn't I turn? What happened?"
Releasing Lucy and sitting next to her on the floor, Chat gave a small shrug. "She didn't have the doll I guess."
Chat watched as Lucy brought her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her forearms.
"You okay?" He asked, earning a nod from the girl.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just..."
She couldn't finish the sentence, but she didn't have too. Chat already knew. He had a lot of faith in Ladybug. He was confident in her ability to handle anything, with or without him. It was something he found both endearing and discouraging. This was the second time he had been taken control of, and in the end Ladybug managed to have no problem taking him down as well as the bad guy. This time not just two, but five bad guys. Ladybug was a good person, and she would never admit otherwise but...she didn't need him, not usually. Maybe sometimes, but only sometimes. It felt wrong of him, to want to be needed. To be indispensable to somebody. To need somebody that will eat up all his free time, his ego, his attention. Somebody addicted to him. A mutual addiction. Maybe that was selfish. Feeling his eyes on her, Lucy looked up and met his gaze. Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That's its balance. Chat needed to tell her...what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn't pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her. That without meaning to, he'd begun to lean on her, to look for her, to need her near. The magnetic pull that always brought him closer to her powered up again.
"You know I would never let anything happen to you, right?"
She smiled weakly at him, desperately wanting to believe his words.
"Chat, bad things happen sometimes. You won't always be there to save me. And I don't need you too."
Lucy stood up, with Chat following her movements. He watched as she looked down and brought her right hand up, pushing the neck line of her shirt off her shoulder, tracing one of her scars lightly with her fingers.
"I have a lot of baggage. Been through a lot of shit. I'm not a shiny person Chat Noir, but I'm pretty good at pretending to be."
"I don't want you to pretend around me." He responds bringing his hand over the one she had on her shoulder. "I don't care about you're baggage. I can handle the weight."
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."
"Well when has that ever stopped me?"
Lucy sighed and Chat brought both his hands up over her shoulders to her neck, resting his forehead against hers. He thought about kissing her. He was close enough after all. But e couldn't. It wasn't the right time. He wasn't sure if there ever be a right time really, but he knew this wasn't it. Lucy grabbed Chat's wrists and brought them don from her neck, offering him a small smile as their eyes met.
"Go home Chat Noir."
Chat straightened and gave her a grin. "Would it be weird to say I kinda feel like I already am?"
A small laugh escaped Lucy. "My apartment feels like home to you?"
"Not the apartment."
Lucy's smile faded slightly. Not unhappy with Chat's words but surprised by them. What was that old saying? Home is where the heart is? The sound of his ring beeping attracted both their attention and Chat cleared his throat.
"Until we meet again, fair Maiden." Chat said with a bow, taking her hand and kissing it.
"Until then." Lucy replied as she watched him climb out her window and disappear.
Home was where the heart was, and Lucy couldn't help but feel a little less at home with him gone.
Im sooooooooo sorry for the delay guys. My life is a fucking wild ride sometimes. Anywho I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave comment to tell me what you think! As always I will see you in the next chapter!
