Symbiotic Whiskers

Chapter 4

"You know, lately we have faced a lot of guys."

A shadow flung through the streets, claws scraping against the bricks and concrete.

"Robo cop rip off."

It chased down its prey, running but hardly outpacing its opponent.

"Egyption gods who actually knew some magic."

Its feline eyes narrowed, grinning as it leaped over its target and landed in front of them.

The panther slid to a halt, growling as Cat Noir interrupted his chase between him and his dinner. The hero stood up, relaxing as he casually approached the beast. "But you're not the first to go running around with cat themed powers."

With a quick snap of his wrist, a barrage of black shot out from his arm and began ensnaring, entrapping the panther paws against the street. It snarled as its form began to shift, clouded in darkness as it altered its body between several forms. Large, small, its bonds held firm and stretched out to keep whatever it turned into trapped.

"Release me!" The Panther yelled out, struggling to escape.

Cat Noir tapped his foot, putting a finger against his chin as he hummed in thought. Shortly he glanced back to the teenage boy that was being chased just before his arrival. "Mmmm, I don't know. We should probably ask the lady."

"What lady?"

A yo yo swung out, cracking against a small charm on the feline's leg. It released the sinister influence of an akuma, changing the man back into his normal self of a zookeeper. Ladybug landed on her feet, capturing the butterfly before cleansing it of evil.

"This lady." The heroine threw up her lucky charm, a swarm bursting out to renew Paris and fix any damage done in the fight. She bent down towards the man, helping him up as he regained his bearings.

"Where, what?"

"You were akumatized." She began to explain. "Luckily you didn't hurt anyone."

"You were one mean kitty." Cat Noir waved to the boy who was a few seconds away from being ripped apart. Kim, one of his classmates who unintentionally aggravated the man into being akumatized. A bit of an overconfident goofball who pushed his luck too much. Hopefully he will learn from this.

"Yeah, we don't need anymore." Ladybug teased her partner.

"Hey, I'm doing better!"

"Thank you, both of you." The zookeeper brought them both out of their focus on one another. "But I've been meaning to ask you Cat Noir, are your powers really based on a cat?"

"Um, a cat?" The boy in black looked over to Ladybug to see if she had a better answer, only for her to shrug. "I mean, check meowt. I got the claws, the tail, the ears and those big old eyes that no one can resist."

He gave a pointed look over to Ladybug, blinking his big green eyes which she didn't know he could do with his mask. The girl gave a short roll of her eyes as she folded her arms. "They're not as effective as you think."

"You're a predator alright." The zookeeper interrupted, trying to decipher the riddle of Cat Noir's unusual outfit. It wasn't like Ladybug's, a seamless outfit with small hexagons making up its clear design. Cat Noir's was, more fluid with claws that were organic and eyes that made the zookeeper doubt the hero's humanity. "But something I'm not familiar with."

"So, I'm exotic?" Cat Noir guessed, the man shaking his head.

"Maybe something thought to be extinct, or an invasive species, whatever it is, I hope it doesn't exist. Because while I don't have any clear memories being akumatized, I remember how afraid I was being hunted, no matter what I turned into I was terrified from what was right behind me."

Well wasn't that ominous. Cat Noir took another look to his lady, who was gesturing to her flashing earrings and pointing her thumbs to the side. He gave her a thumbs up, letting the girl rush off before her identity was revealed. "Sorry you felt that way sir, but I promise you that I wasn't trying to mount you on the wall."

"Maybe You aren't." The zookeeper's words assured the hero enough as he swung off, the man lingering his gaze on how the tail kept itself pointed towards him the entire time. "But something was."

Their time at the zoo was over, Adrien walking alongside Alya, Marinette, and Nino as the workers announced that things would be closed for the day due to an akuma attack. It was weird why they decided to do that, given everything was already taken care of. Everything was fixed, the animals back in their cages and-oohhh, they were worried about the animals. Makes sense, given they were all out in the city just recently under the control of a man who could turn into any of them.

"Can you believe it?!" Alya geeked out with her phone in hand. "The Ladyblog is taking off! It's so amazing how often I run into her and how I can get all these exclusive shots!"

Marinette seemed twitchy about the subject, nearly tripping over herself. "W-what?! Come on, it's just coincidence not luck! You should consider yourself unlucky with how often we run into akumas and heroes and such. All of that's dangerous!"

"Come on girl, there's no reward without risk. Am I right Adrien?"

Why was he being pulled into this? But, as he thought about it, he did risk a few things in regards to sneaking off to go to school, being a hero, and man was there a big reward. "I couldn't agree more."

"See Marinette." Nino was even in on, whatever it was as he nudged her. "Even Adrien agrees."

Alya was quick to jab him, the boy wincing as he rubbed his arm.

"You told him?!" Marinette accused her best friend in fear.

"Of course I didn't tell him." Alya smoothly assured the girl.

"Yeah, don't worry." Nino leaned his elbow on the girl's shoulder. "She didn't tell me."

Gritting her teeth, Alya snatched Nino by the ear and began to drag him away and out of the zoo. "Ok, looks like something we don't have in common is common sense!"

Adrien watched them go off, confused and feeling more distant from his friends than he originally thought. Today, he was trying to help Nino get together with Marinette but that didn't work out, but now he was closer with Alya? Was his random word vomit about liking Alya true? Then why couldn't he just say that?

Now Marinette, Alya, and Nino all knew something that he was kept out of the loop about. They were keeping it secret from him, for some reason. Was it out of a lack of trust in him? Maybe he wasn't as close to them as he thought.

"Adrien?"

Glancing to the girl at his side, Marinette's eyes flickered back down to her shoes as she couldn't look him in the eye, as always. But still she had to ask, "Are you feeling alright?"

If they were keeping something from him, it was alright to keep something from them. His identity, his powers, and even how he felt. "I'm fine."

"O-ok then."

So back they were, not bothering to catch up to where Alya and Nino ran off to as Adrien bit back a sigh seeing his bodyguard was already at the entrance with the car.

Hungry

His head shifted, gaze locking onto one of the animal exhibits near them. A bunch of monkeys, all hollering and banging their fists against the cage, all of them on the opposite side of him. He felt his stomach rumble, the boy grabbing it as he pictured sinking his teeth into something warm and juicy.

If Marinette was with him, maybe this would be an excuse. "Hey, I could give you a lift back home if you want. I was thinking about stopping by anyways to-"

"Lift?! No, why would I ever want that?! I mean I would want that if I was trying to date you-I mean eat you- I meant-I'll just walk home it's not that far anyways. Gas prices going up and all that!"

"Did they?"

"Yes! And besides, it's probably closed by now. My parents get so sleepy so easily. I'll see you at school."

Again, she turned down an offer. He was really trying, but for some reason there was something about him that made Marinette furious. Stepping towards the fancy vehicle, Adrien lingered his hand on the door, feeling more and more isolated as who he was. "Ok then. See you at school."

This was starting to become increasingly aggravating. No matter who he akumatized, no matter how strong their emotions or their powers were, they were defeated. Lately they haven't been able to last more than ten minutes.

Gabriel, in his chasm of solitude gripped the collar of his suit jacket, tempted just to rip it off out of frustration. Nooroo tried to keep out of his path of rage, but as he needed someone to blame Gabriel soon found him trying to blend in with some of the butterflies. "Nooroo."

The kwami halted, its cover fluttering away as he was left under the rage of the owner of the butterfly miraculous. "Yes master?"

"Why are my akumatized victims so weak?"

"I don't think that's-"

"Silence." Gabriel wouldn't tolerate any side tracking or denying the truth. Grabbing his phone, he quickly selected the videos from the akumatizations, showing how quickly the fights end. He was about to berate the kwami, only he noticed it wasn't his villains that were the issue.

Simply outnumbered in abilities. Cat Noir and Ladybug developed a simple system. When one was attacking, the other was setting a trap. Both had means of restraint, both could handle themselves in a fight.

Though their roles were starting to settle, because while both could cover one another in both aspects, one of them could cure and the other one could destroy. No wonder they were such a powerful team, those two miraculouses together made an unstoppable force. It only made the man crave them even more.

But which one was stronger?

Scrubbing through the videos, he reexamined each of their feats, calculating in his mind how much force it would take to accomplish each task. It didn't take long, because it was clear in their fighting style.

Ladybug dodged, maneuvered around her opponents. And while Cat Noir sometimes liked to play, he also loved showing off. The hero would catch a fist, tear through metal, or even-

"Cat Noir!" The video followed the two as Ladybug pointed towards a fire engine, using her yo yo to block incoming projectiles. "The fire engine!"

"On it!" The hero swooped over to where the truck was pinned against a building, trapping someone inside. Cat Noir grabbed it by the frame, lifting up as his feet made indents in the sidewalk. Once it was up in the air, he seemed in no rush holding it up as the people inside were able to escape, even allowing one to take a photo with him during the moment.

The plan began forming in his mind, Gabriel coming up with a way that Ladybug's luck wouldn't be enough to save her. There was only one concern.

"Nooroo, is this typical behavior of a cat miraculous holder?"

"Well master, every user is different."

"But this one more than any other."

Nooroo nodded, rewatching the footage alongside his master. "Correct. The holder doesn't have a tool, and no cat miraculous holder has ever demonstrated being able to use sticky yarn."

Something had altered the miraculous, perhaps damaged given the random spurts of aggression Cat Noir demonstrated. If he was going to obtain that miraculous, he would need to make sure he can fix it before using it.

Routine as a superhero was hard to obtain, but there were a few things that never seemed to change. Lying to her friends and family, being late to almost everything, and messing up every chance she had with Adrien. Each of these was expected in the disastrous life of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. As for Ladybug, she had never shown up to a patrol early. Or was Cat Noir late?

Ladybug looked around, confirming this was the right place. She couldn't make patrols as often as Cat, and was often late, but he was always waiting for her. Double checking the time, she could see that Cat Noir was late. Well so was she but he always waited. Maybe this time he didn't bother waiting half an hour for her to show up.

"Sorry I'm late."

Ladybug jumped, hand moving to her yo yo on reflex , before seeing Cat Noir standing behind her with a bag from her parent's bakery. "How do you keep sneaking up on me like that?"

"Don't you know cats are an ambush predator?" He easily stepped up, a small push from his foot to ascend up to the chimney right next to the lady as he reached into his bag to pull out a treat. "Sorry about being late, had to make a quick stop to fuel up."

At least he was taking care of himself. "I only got here myself."

He held down the brown bag to her, shaking it slightly to offer its contents. Ladybug brought up her hand to decline the offer, Cat Noir taking no offense as helped himself. It didn't take long for him to finish, Ladybug wondering if she would have to prepare a second helping tonight if Cat Noir was planning on swinging by her place again.

"Alright." Wiping his hands, Cat Noir did a few mock stretches before hopping down onto the roof next to the heroine. "Ready when you are."

"Try not to make it a race this time." Ladybug grabbed her magical tool, throwing it out to tie the yo yo around the corner of a building. Cat Noir already burst ahead, keeping ahead of her no matter what just so he could show off.

"Check it out!" Cat Noir curled up in a ball, letting his tail whirl around to snatch onto a light post to swing from. "No hands!"

Ladybug just followed, keeping an eye around the alleys and other dark corners in case they had to intervene. As much as it irked her to see Cat Noir goofing off during a time they were supposed to be keeping Paris safe, she knew he had keen senses that caught onto crime faster than she did.

As he performed a triple kick spin flip, or whatever he called the move as he landed on a crouch onto the side of a bridge. Ladybug caught up, landing on her feet next to him as she sat down next to the boy. "See anything?"

"A lot of red, hearts, and roses." Cat Noir pointed over to one of the flower carts, more than half of it being the same flowers mentioned earlier. "Speaking of which."

A small black string zipped out from it, snatching one of them and zipping it to his hand. Getting on a knee, holding one arm behind himself and presenting the gift. "For you."

"Did you steal that?"

"I'm working on the second part."

Ladybug peeked over his shoulder, seeing that he was using the hand behind his back to fold a piece of cash into a paper airplane. He threw it out with a flick of his wrist, the airplane carried by the wind until it landed on the cart he snatched the flower from.

Giving out a sigh at his antics, Ladybug plucking it from his hand and spinning it between her fingers. Valentine's day was around the corner wasn't it…VALENTINE'S DAY WAS AROUND THE CORNER!

"I totally forgot!" She shoved the flower back into Cat Noir's chest, hands scrambling around her person to find her yo yo to begin zipping off. "Sorry got to rush I have something I need to work on bye!"

So that left Cat Noir with a crumpled flower in his hands, the boy lowering his head towards the droopy plant with petals starting to fall off. He had quit a bunch of the flirting, proclamations of his undying servitude, but he never actually made it clear how he felt.

Letting himself fall off the side of the bridge, sticking his feet along the bottom of it to hang in place, Cat Noir considered if the reason he kept hoping that something might happen is because he never told her. If he never made it clear, then he would never confirm how she really felt.

But as the months went by, his hopes of her loving him grew dimmer.

"Guess I'll never know unless I ask."

The morning had arrived, the school day had begun, and Marinette was still struggling to come up with a good enough valentine's for Adrien. She had gone this whole time unable to even talk to the boy, and now she was going to try and tell him how much she obsessed over him to the point of sneaking into the gym locker during his fencing class and hiding in one of the unused lockers to try and sneak some photos of him? Ok, maybe not a good idea to tell him that part BUT she did want to make it known that she wanted to be something more than friends.

Even though she wasn't sure if they counted as friends. Letting her forehead hit the desk in front of her, Marinette let it add to the many headaches in her life.

"Adrikins!"

Chloe being one of the biggest. The blonde latched onto the boy before class started, Marinette forced to turn away before she gagged in front of Adrien from the heavy perfume the girl wore. Seriously, how did she not gas herself from all of that?

"So check this out." Chloe brought out her diamond bedazzled smartphone, sitting on Adrien's lap without a care as she showed off to the boy. "I had my daddy reserve the best restaurant in Paris just for us, plenty of high class musicians, and even a day out to shop for the best outfits to wear for the occasion."

Adrien was stiff, rigid as his words came out in short gasps. He must be having a big issue with the smell too. "What occasion?"

"Oh get it through your pretty head already." Chloe gave a couple knocks to his forehead, unaware of how narrowed his brows had become. "Tomorrow on Valentine's day of course."

Adrien tried to scoot out from under her, to try and make it as gentle of a process as he could. "I thought I told you I was busy with-"

"Whatever you're doing it couldn't possibly be more important than me, your one and only true friend right? Besides, it's booked for the whole day so we could even cut school to go."

"Um, hello?" Nino tried to wave his hand in front of the girl's face. "I'm his friend, and so is most of the class."

"None of you count." Chloe waved them off, but then Adrien harshly stood up out from under her. The blonde fell back, nearly hitting her head from Adrien's abrupt move. "Hey! What's gotten into you?!"

"I need some air." Adrien bit back a hiss as he looked down on Chloe. "And I keep trying to tell you, I'm busy tomorrow."

Then he stormed out, Marinette wanting to follow but felt glued to her seat when she saw Adrien so upset. Not that she blamed him, Chloe made her want to rip the hair right out from the scalp. But this was the patient, loving Adrien who could do no wrong. Before she knew it, Marinette went out to follow him, wanting to make sure he was ok.

Usually Marinette was good about knowing where Adrien would go, all his locations in the school from which halls he liked to hang out at or which table he picked at the library. Never did she expect to lose him so fast, nowhere to be seen as she tried to find him before class started.

The whole time she searched, she never thought to look up, where Adrien was peering down from the ceiling watching her. Why would Marinette be the one to go looking for him if she didn't like him. Was she just that nice of a person that she worried for everyone?

He really wished he could figure out what he was doing to make her distance herself from him. Reaching into his pocket, Adrien settled himself to sit in the corner as he pulled out some more rich chocolate, courtesy of his personal chef. "I don't know if this is working or not anymore."

Adrien contemplated skipping school today. Yes it was something that he had wanted for so long, but just for today he wanted some more time to himself. All he could think of was what he had planned this evening. He left a couple messages for Ladybug so she would know when and where to meet. His nerves were getting to him, so much so that he had tuned out whatever the teachers were saying so he could focus on the paper in front of himself.

He wasn't sure he could get out what he wanted to say when the moment arrived, but he needed it to be known, at least to get it out there so that whatever happened next could happen instead of his paranoia making up the worst possible outcomes.

"Adrikins!"

His pencil snapped in his hand, Adrien cursing at the slightly ripped up sheet of paper before him. As much as he wanted to ignore Chloe, she made it impossible as she approached with Sabrina holding a large rolled up poster of some kind.

"What is it Chloe?" His hand went to his bag, searching for another pencil, or maybe he should use a good pen and some better paper for this.

"I had the brilliant idea of going around collecting signatures for a petition to save all the hamsters in Paris! All it needs is your signature."

Sabrina barely rolled out the bottom part of it, Chloe holding out a sharpie for Adrien to use but the boy was incredibly skeptical. One thing he had come to observe of Chloe in a public environment, was that she was prone to lying. "How exactly are you going to save the puppies?"

"We'll sort out the details later." The blonde reached forward, grabbing Adrien's hand and placing the marker inside against his will. "Please? You know it would make me, your only friend happy-"

"You aren't his only friend." Alya stood up behind them, slapping her hands on the desk about to go into another rant.

"I'm the only one that matters." Chloe bit back, before her rage subsided as she began guiding Adrien's hand to the corner of the paper. "Right here Adrien, and a little heart if you wouldn't mind since it is Valentine's day-"

The marker snapped in Adrien's hand, covering his arm in ink as his fist tightened around it. Anyone who was still in the class went quiet, watching Adrien rise up from his seat.

"Let me see the rest of it." He sternly ordered, Sabrina about to comply out of a sudden fear before Chloe snatched it from her.

"Come on Adrien, I wouldn't lie to you."

"I don't know that anymore." The boy's words were cold, cutting through the air as his shoulders stiffened. "But you can prove it right now, and let me see the rest of it."

Slightly startled, feeling like she was getting backed into a sudden corner, Chloe's eyes flicked around the class to see that everyone was waiting. Her stubbornness won out over her fear, the girl bringing the poster closer to herself unwilling to reveal its contents. "Fine, let the kittens or whatever they were rot!"

Then she stormed out, Adrien watching as Sabrina followed right after her. Once they were gone, he immediately began packing his things, crumbling up the unfinished letter he was writing and throwing it in the trash.

"Hey dude, are you feeling ok?" Nino softly called out to the boy who didn't even look back as he left the room. Letting out a sigh, he began to gather his school work for the day as well.

"Nino." Alya was immediately on him, needing to get the scoop of whatever that scene was. "Why is Adrien so tense lately?"

"I don't really know. He does seem like his patience for Chloe is running dry though."

"YES!" Marinette shouted with raised arms, celebrating the small victory before containing herself. "Well we all know how awful Chloe is, maybe Adrien is starting to see that too."

Her best friend gave a knowing smile, leading the way as the teens began to leave school for the day. "It also means less competition am I right?"

Thinking along the lines of competition, Marinette went over to the trash plucking out the page Adrien was working on. Her heart slammed against her ribs, as her eyes took in each word on the page.

'Your hair is black as night, your pretty bluebell eyes, I wonder who you are underneath that strong disguise. Every day we see each other and I hope that you'll be mine, together our love could be so true, please, will you be my Valentine?'

Alya wouldn't leave her alone, snaking an arm around her neck as she sped through the words. "Forget competition Marinette, you already won!"

"What?! No! That could be any girl." But that didn't mean she hoped it was, because out of anything she could dream for it would be Adrien writing her a poem with a declaration of love for Valentine's day. "Do you really think so?"

"You need to respond!" Alya took Marinette by the shoulders, not letting her find an excuse to run away this time. "Adrien has been trying to invite you to so many things, he stops by your parent's bakery every other day, and out of everyone else in the class he's been the nicest to you!"

Marinette's face burned, the girl turning into a mess of words as she tried to make sense of why Adrien would do all those things. Unfortunately, or perhaps out of the rest of Marinette's luck Alya was going to make sure that Marinette finally made a move.

How could he treat her like that, her?! Chloe Bourgeois! Did their life long friendship of fate mean nothing to Adrien? Just because she had to use an excuse for Adrien to sign off on a note of his love for her because he didn't like signing stuff doesn't mean he could accuse her of lying!

Though it did hurt a little, Chloe knew that Adrien would come around. He spends so much time obsessing over the lives of peasants, interested in how they go about their pathetic lives. No wonder he's so agitated lately. That's what she was going to do today, reminding Adrien of the higher way of life they both enjoyed and using as much money as they wanted to buy out everyone else.

"Chloe!" Kim, the big monkey from class, intercepted her path on the bridge, panting as he reached into his jacket shirt for something. "I uh, I have a-"

"Spit it out already, I have dinner plans."

He bent down on a knee before her, Chloe vaguely intrigued by what he was doing as his pants absorbed the puddle underneath him. "Chloe, would you-"

A biker came by, running through the puddle Kim was in and getting him wet. He rubbed his eyes, holding up a red box of sorts. "Chloe, would you-"

An empty chip bag blew into his face, getting caught on his ear as he tried to open the heart shaped box. "Chloe, would you-"

A pigeon flew off the railing near them, dropping a present on Kim's shoulder as he finally undid the latch and presented one of the cheapest pieces of jewelry she ever saw, probably only worth a measly three thousand euros. "Chloe, would you be my valentine?"

It came as a shock at first, the circumstances and how utterly ridiculous he looked for the poor display. Chloe's sense of humor caught up to her as she laughed at the whole thing. Acting fast, the pulled out her phone and captured the moment to send to everyone else to see how hilarious it was.

"That is the funniest thing I've heard all day! Like you would be good enough for me." After all, only Adrien was good enough for her.

So she left the broken hearted Kim in place, the boy clutching the jewel he had worked so hard to afford, all the money he made the last couple of years down the pit forming in his chest.

It was exactly what Hawkmoth needed.

Marinette was paralyzed, feet glued to the ground and hands clamped around the card as she stared at the mail deposit box built into the grand walls surrounding the Agreste mansion. He was a classmate, so of course she knew where Adrien lived. Not the fact that she had on more than one occasion rode on her bike to chase down Adrien's personal car back here to make sure she knew the way, or the fact that if she had the time she would take a detour as Ladybug to swing past the house.

And DEFINITELY not because she would look up the address and use a satellite map to sketch out floor plans on how it would look inside, dreaming of being invited over to his house and possibly inheriting it when they got married and-

"Ground control to Marinette." Alya poked the girl's cheek, Marinette flinching at the touch. "Are you clear for take off?"

""That's a good idea." Pivoting the other way, Marinette almost made a mad dash away from the home if Alya didn't yank her by the collar.

"We talked about this. TODAY is Valentine's! You use a typical post box and it won't arrive for days, maybe even a week. The only way to know for sure that he'll get it today is to drop it off directly. Besides, their cameras probably already noticed us and if we didn't leave something or try saying hello it would-"

"No!" Marinette sat down on the ground, shielding herself from the truth with the card she made in response to Adrien's poem. "I can't even talk to him in school, how am I supposed to talk to him when I'm handing him my heart?"

"Well it has to happen one way or the other." Alya squatted down next to the hopeless girl. "Marinette, you might not want to hear this but this might be the last chance you ever get."

"That can't be true." The girl let the heart shaped card fall into her lap, turning it over in her fingers. "I mean, we see each other all the time and he doesn't even like Chloe."

"Chloe isn't the only one after him though, is she?" Alya sternly reminded Marinette. "Adrien is the thing right now, a super model teen working under one of the biggest fashion names right now. I know that half the girls in our school probably got him something for Valentine's day, and I don't even want to think about how many in the world are-"

"Aaaahhh!" Marinette let out a half hearted whine of denial, imagining herself drowning in a sea of fangirls all competing for Adrien's attention. Where was she? In his class, given one of the best spots anyone could hope for but she keeps wasting it.

Standing up, summoning the courage she always had as Ladybug, Marinette would commit herself to this at the very least. Raising the card to the mail slot, her heart hammered in her chest as every possible outcome ran through her mind. Her message going unnoticed, being mocked, being glanced over, being accepted, being shared with everyone in class, being intercepted by Gabriel Agreste.

Alya's hand latched onto Marinette's wrist, the girl looking over to her friend who seemed off. "I shouldn't, should I? I don't know anymore!"

But Alya's grip tightened, Marinette wincing as her arm was being squeezed. "Ow, Alya that hurts."

"Good."

A winged shadow moving above them caught Marinette's eyes, and when she took another look at her friend she pulled her arm back before it could be broken. Alya had black lips, a twisted sneer on her face, and hatred in her furious gaze. "I always hated your indecisiveness Marinette. You make a mess out of everything, throw away all the effort I give to you, and you keep coming up with horrible excuses to ditch me!"

Dodging under Alya's swipe, Marinette sprinted the other way, running and forgetting all about the card. As soon as she rounded the corner, she popped open her bag to see Tikki inside waiting faithfully inside.

"What she said, Alya would never say that." What was worse about what Alya said was that it felt like it pulled at her thoughts, ones that already existed and twisted them with anger.

"You're right Marinette." Tikki agreed, deciphering how those simple words hurt her master. "Let's go and save your friend."

"Tikki, spots on!"

In a wave of bright magic, Marinette was empowered with the kwami of creation and granted strength beyond what she could achieve on her own. Ladybug swung up to the rooftops, seeing chaos beginning to spread through the city of love. Lovers turning against one another, hearts gripped with rage and violence beginning to spread.

A soft whirring noise was the only warning she had, jumping back to avoid an arrow exploding into a black cloud.

"Everything you love will turn against you Ladybug!" An akuma victim, with blackest wings and deadly arrows aimed right towards her hovering in the air. "Unless you give me your miraculous!"

Oh no, that was Kim! Marinette knew the moment Chloe had sent out that photo to everyone that the boy would be devestated. He always liked Chloe, for all the wrong reasons and was easily pulled around by the girl to do some awful things but he was getting better. Yet to open your heart to someone, and have it stomped on was one of the worst things she could imagine.

She should know, it happened to her once and she hoped it wouldn't happen with Adrien.

Shielding herself with her yo yo as the Dark Cupid began to assault her from long range, his mobility proved superior as he continued to fly circles around her as she could barely dodge his arrows. Ladybug was forced to swing through the streets, keeping low and using as much cover as she could to not get hit.

Increasing her momentum, kicking up to soar above a rooftop Ladybug swung her yo yo down and yanked hard to quickly gain some cover. Dark Cupid soared overhead, just missing her as he kept searching.

Hanging upside down by the magical thread, Ladybug was about to contact Cat Noir to see if she could get some back up sooner rather than later.

"Happy Valentine's Day." The chipper kitty greeted, startling Ladybug as he was laying against the wall right behind her.

"No more hide and seek." Ladybug warned him, tired of all the mini heart attacks he kept giving her. "I think I know where the akuma for this guy is, but we'll have to be careful because he has range, maneuverability, and can fly."

"I do love me a good challenge." Cat Noir rolled forward, keeping himself on the wall with his hand as he matched Ladybug's position upside down. "So, where is the akum-"

Cat Noir grabbed Ladybug, pushing her back as an arrow flew between the two of them. "Let's cut to the important stuff."

Ladybug and Cat Noir pulled themselves back up to the rooftops, keeping light on their feet as they dodged arrow after arrow that was sent their way.

"Pincer!" Ladybug ordered, the two jumping off in different directions as they rushed to the nearest building Dark Cupid hovered over. While a change in tactics, introducing two targets instead of one normally gave them an edge to their opponents Dark Cupid immediately began targeting Cat Noir.

The boy kicked himself up, twirling and spinning as the arrows zipped right past his body, but it slowed him down to where he couldn't approach anymore, forced to take cover behind a ventilation unit. "Looks like he's not a cat person."

"I'll get the akuma!" Ladybug shouted, taking advantage of the odd focus Dark Cupid had of Cat Noir and hoping to intercept him. The villain flew forward, trying to get a better angle on the cat as the black clad hero continued to taunt the villain while throwing out a few strings in response.

"So Ladybug, do you have some time after this?"

"Is this really important?!" Ladybug shouted as she tried to swipe at Dark Cupid with her yo yo.

"It is!" Cat Noir defended himself in more ways than one, using two strings as whips and lashing out at the arrows to hit them before they hit him. "I found this great spot the other day on patrol when you weren't there, and I managed to get a pretty nice picnic set up."

Ladybug's yo yo swung true, wrapping around Dark Cupid's ankle as she was taken for a ride. As she kept her feet running, Cat Noir followed right beside her on all fours, still managing to casually side step any arrows sent his way. "It would mean a lot if you showed up tonight, and I know how you're normally busy but I have something I need to talk to you about."

Dark Cupid pulled up, Ladybug forced to hold on as Cat Noir sent out a line to tether himself to Ladybug, pulling himself up to talk to her face to face like they weren't battling a villain. "So, will you come?"

Seriously, the way he just treats some of these fights like a playground made her so agitated sometimes. "We'll talk after the akuma attack."

"So is that a yes?" He swiveled around her, not even looking as Dark Cupid missed his target once again.

The villain stopped, listening to a voice they couldn't hear as the symbol of a glowing butterfly overcame his face. The instruction was simple, Dark Cupid leveling his bow to aim towards Ladybug instead while the two were more focused on one another.

Arrow

Cat Noir's head snapped up, seeing that in their current position Ladybug had no means of dodging, with an arrow sent right towards her. "Watch out!"

He knew he was tough, but he was about to find out how tough even though a part of him tried to pull out of the path of the magical arrow. Throwing himself in its way, he shielded Ladybug as her yo yo came loose from Dark Cupid's leg.

The two heroes fell, Ladybug rolling onto a platform of shingles as Cat Noir landed harshly on all fours. "Cat! Are you ok?!"

His body was twitching in place, the hero's eyes unfocused as something wrong was happening. Adrien's heart was enveloped by something else, his mind pulled from reality and dragged into a pit of control. It cut him off from everything else, the fight, his partner, and his suit.

It tried to pry Adrien out of the invader's grasp, but his mind was nowhere to be found.

The bond was broken.

They were separated.

He separated them.

"Cat, you have to fight it!" Ladybug hoped that Cat Noir was winning the battle in his mind, because neither of them had been under magical influence before and she feared what that would do. Cat Noir wasn't responding to her, he was trapped in his own head unmoving.

"Cat Noir!" Dark Cupid hovered downwards, a victorious smirk spreading across his face. "Get me Ladybug's miraculous."

He didn't respond to him either, Cat Noir was stuck in place.

"Cat?" Ladybug hoped he was winning, but something didn't seem right.

Cat Noir rose up, standing up as his head rolled unnaturally as his costume seemed to shift over his skin, hands clenching and unclenching as Ladybug took a couple steps away in fear of what might happen. But it wasn't her who needed to be afraid.

"Cat Noir!" Dark Cupid ordered again in frustration. "Get me her miraculous!"

Toxic green claws shot out of Cat Noir's fingers, the mute hero's head rolling over to acknowledge his target. It wasn't Ladybug.

He charged, breaking the brick shingles under his feet as he sprinted on all fours towards Dark Cupid. The villain barely had time to dodge as the sharp green blades nearly ripped out his throat.

Dark Cupid cracked his wings against the air, rearming his bow as he took aim at a safe distance once again at Cat Noir. A black tendril wrapped around his bow, snatching it from his grasp before shattering into splinters. Without a weapon, without a means to attack or defend, Dark Cupid was forced to run, to fly away as fast as possible.

Cat Noir, or whatever had become of him dug his grip into the buildings under him, throwing himself forward and ripping the rooftops apart as he pursued with ferocious intensity.

"Cat!" Ladybug tried to follow after him, kicking her legs forward to try and swing faster. When that arrow hit him, it wasn't just something corrupting the hero, turning his heart against everything that he loved.

Something else had taken his place, and she was scared for him. Running out of ideas and running out of time before Cat Noir caught up to Dark Cupid, Ladybug summoned her lucky charm in hopes it would give her an answer to this.

She caught it mid air, still rushing to catch up to them.

A tuning fork? What was she supposed to do with this?!

"AAAAHHH!" Dark Cupid began screaming as a tendril managed to cling onto his leg, Cat Noir slamming his claws into the ground to anchor himself and pull down his prey.

Out of desperation, he began throwing arrows at the hero without his bow, hoping it would do something. They exploded all around the ground, coating the area in a thick mist of darkness. The tendril still attached to his leg yanked him down, pulling Dark Cupid into the hazy mist where green glowing eyes were awaiting him.

Dark Cupid fought, throwing out his arms and lashing out in every direction as he tried to get back into the air. A glob of adhesive substance glued his hand to the ground as he hoped to crawl away, Dark Cupid yanking as hard as he could to escape.

In that short moment where he couldn't flee, more and more lines anchored themselves to his body, ensnaring him in a wide web. Dark Cupid squirmed in place, finding every limb, even his wings bound in some way to either a building or the ground. This isn't like Hawkmoth said it would be, it was supposed to be easy!

Cat Noir was supposed to turn on Ladybug, not turn on him!

A noise ahead made him freeze, part of his mind hoping that if he remained still then whatever was lurking around him in the dark would pass. Just ahead of him, he saw a figure approach. Larger than he remembered Cat Noir being, claws longer than before, and terrible, large toxic green eyes that curved up like flames.

A small piece of metal pierced through the cloud, hitting the ground in front of them as it reverberated through the air.

The figure recoiled, pulling itself back into hiding as the cloud began to be fanned away by a bright spinning yo yo.

"Ladybug! Over here!" He yelled out, trying to break himself free before the monster made its return. Ladybug came forward, fanning away the cloud as she spotted her attacker. But he was bound, afraid, and looking for anyone to save him even if that meant going against Hawkmoth's word.

Ladybug was still cautious, looking around to make sure she wasn't ambushed as she snatched the pin off his sash and crushed it under her foot. The akuma was released, Kim returning to himself, and Ladybug picking up the tuning fork in confusion.

She barely understood how it helped, or what it did, all she saw was the cloud and took a wild shot. Hopefully this would undo whatever happened to Cat Noir.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

How many candles was too many?

Ten? Twenty? Fifty three?

"Hmmm." Cat Noir scratched his chin, looking over his work. Along a flat rooftop tucked next to the Seine near the Louvre museum and the Sainte-Chapelle, the boy had gone possibly over the top in his decor.

Candles along the railings, with a wide blanket to rest on with a table and chairs to dine at he borrowed from the restaurant nearby. A few assortments of bouquets, a few cushions in case they wanted to lay down, and a few different beverage options in the cooler next to him. Maybe he should have gone with less flowers and spread out some more petals.

He couldn't help it, anytime he thought about doing something for her he wanted to do as much as he could. After the fight earlier that day, he tried to talk to her to determine how much was too much.

Just like always, she was short on time. But now she left before he had the chance to even get a word in. It stung, especially when he finally came to and approached her. Whatever it was, he hoped it didn't ruin their partnership.

His phone vibrated again, Adrien groaning as he could only guess who was messaging him. Pulling it out of his suit, he guessed right as Chloe had left yet another voice message. He told her he was busy today.

Ladybug

His attention was pulled towards the little red bug dancing between the buildings, Cat Noir perking up fully as he nearly yelped out in joy seeing her imminent arrival. Hold on, he forgot to change into something fancier than his hero suit!

The liquid fabric shifted, dressing him in one of his father's most recent black tie creations.

"Too much."

The jacket sunk back into the shirt, leaving Cat Noir in a simple black button up with the sleeves rolled up slightly, collar loose, and tucked into some slacks. "Have I ever mentioned how much I love you super suit?"

"Cat No-woah." Ladybug paused, seeing the lavish spread of romantic candle lit dinner. Sure she saw something like this in a show or two, or fifty as she imagined doing something like this with Adrien.

But that was fantasy, and Cat Noir made it a reality.

"You showed up!" Cat Noir's hands felt clammy, a stutter just waiting to swell his tongue. "I was starting to get a little worried you wouldn't."

"I, didn't realize we would be eating." Ladybug investigated the basket, holding all sorts of foods inside. "A lot."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Cat Noir's mask lifted up, only concealing the top half of his face as he went in to grab a grape. "You can just snack away for all I care."

He was doing his best to keep it casual, lightening the mood because clearly she thought this was going to be another hang out. Though at this rate he wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to hold out. Sitting down in one of the chairs, hoping she would follow his lead, Cat Noir nibbled away at some of the bread to try and fill the growing void in his gut.

Success! Ladybug sat down, having a hard time choosing out of the many options. Eventually she settled for one of the snack platters, carrying assorted cheeses and meats. The plan was to break the ice for all of this, but after a few minutes in silence it felt like it was doing the opposite.

"Are you, feeling ok?" Ladybug questioned.

"A little nervous I'll admit." Cat Noir could barely look her in the eyes, but he kept finding himself entranced under the candlelit evening. "But I'm just happy you're here."

"So, you really don't remember anything?"

What was he supposed to remember? "You mean when I took that arrow and blacked out?"

"Yes." She answered softly, Cat Noir fearing the worst. He saw what happened to others in the street, and if he ever hurt her he could never forgive himself.

"I didn't attack you did I?"

"No!" Ladybug reached out, placing a hand on Cat Noir's. "No, you never did anything to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but that's the weird part. Anyone Dark Cupid hit turned against anyone they loved. The more they loved them, the more anger they had. But you, you didn't even look at me."

Seriously?!

No way would he have not done anything then! He's glad he didn't, but there was no way that he would have tried attacking anyone besides Ladybug when under that spell. Is that why she was quiet? Because she thought he didn't care about her?

Folding his own hand over Ladybug's, Cat Noir knew this was the moment he had to make himself known to her. Blue looked up to green, Cat Noir taking a deep breath as he began to open himself up. "Ladybug, there is no one else I care about more than you."

He could barely register how she was reacting, because while she was left to contemplate how much that actually was, Cat Noir fell back on the poem he had been working on for weeks. Finally, he had just enough courage to say-

"Midnight locks to blueberry eyes, you hide yourself beneath that heroic disguise. Each day and night we met I wished that you would be mine. Stronger together our lives could be, so please, will you be my Valentine?"

Cat Noir held his breath, his mind empty as he focused solely on her because he dare not come up with an answer for her.

Ladybug's free hand went up to her chest, the girl keeping it to herself as she was still catching up on it all. But something about his words reminded her of someone else, a poem she had read and a boy she loved like no other. All of this, she never expected. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because it's how I really feel." Cat Noir gently squeezed her hand still in his. "Ever since I met you."

"But the jokes, the flirting-"

"I meant it."

He kept waiting, Cat Noir desperate and begging in his mind to have her answer him because the silence was hurting. So when he could hear her shortly inhale, opening her mouth to speak, he let every other thought stop so he could fully accept her words.

"I'm sorry." Ladybug pulled her hand away, getting up from her chair and taking a couple steps back with eyes full of guilt. He didn't follow after her, only letting his hands rest exactly where they were as he kept his head straight. "I never realized you felt, this strongly about me. You're a good guy and, you deserve someone who can make you happy"

"You're the only one who makes me so happy." That was the truth, because while he could have fun sometimes with Nino, laugh with a couple of his classmates, because ever since his mother died Ladybug was the only one who made him feel like life was worth living.

Even if it felt like he was dying right now.

Ladybug stepped up onto the railing, gripping her yo yo as she spared one last glance to Cat Noir. There was nothing she could do, she loved someone else and pretending to feel the same about him would be cruel. The best thing to do right now, was to give him space, because she could only imagine the longer she stayed the worse it would feel. "I'm sorry."

As she threw herself back out into the night, Cat Noir remained in place, his heart collapsing on itself as he couldn't dare ask her to stay. Being alone, was the last thing he wanted right now. He couldn't ask anymore of her though, having her show up and hear him out was enough.

Even if all he wanted to say at the end was "Please, don't go."

Marinette laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling with the lights off. On Valentine's day, she expected to only have one boy on her mind. A pretty face with blond hair and gorgeous green eyes. But every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Cat Noir.

Every moment he spent to get her attention, give her compliments, flirt with her, she never knew how genuine he was until tonight. It wouldn't have been right to lie to him, but it hurt so much to turn him down.

Tikki floated into view, clearly concerned for the teenager. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

"I hurt Cat Noir, my partner, he doesn't deserve to feel like that."

"There was nothing more you could have done." Tikki echoed her own reasoning, the kwami lowering herself to rest on Marinette's cheek to give a little hug. "It's not your fault."

"It feels like it is though. I hope this doesn't hurt our teamwork."

"If he loves you as much as he says he does, then he won't let you fight Hawkmoth alone."

Marinette could only hope.

A shadow moved past her window, Marinette watching it move up to the rooftop balcony. Knowing she wasn't going to get any sleep anyways, she rolled the blankets around herself and let her warm fuzzy socks carry her up to investigate.

The city had gone quiet for the night, a bright moon illuminating the dark figure perched at the ledge. It was Cat Noir, still out despite it being so late.

"Sorry if I woke you up." The muffled voice of the boy uttered out, his back still turned to her. "I just….didn't know where else to go."

Marinette's heart broke hearing him, how much he was hurting and how lonely he seemed. She had to remind herself that she was Marinette right now instead of Ladybug, summoning enough strength to go over and just be there near him. "What about your home?"

"It was too empty, it always is."

As much as she wanted to berate herself for accidentally getting a clue towards who he might be, Marinette cared more about helping him in anyway she can, to repair some of the damage she caused today. Walking closer to where he was, shestood right behind his perch on the rooftop, letting the cold breeze fill the gap in the conversation.

"Did you have a good day today?" Cat Noir shifted the subject, clearly trying to move past his own.

"It was, a day." Marinette would admit, feeling off about telling him things she never would as Ladybug. "Should have guessed an akuma attack would happen on Valentine's day."

"Hope it didn't ruin your plans." It sounded like he was blaming himself.

"No, but my friend Alya got shot with one of those arrows, and she ended up saying some hurtful things but I know she didn't mean to." She glanced down towards Cat Noir who sat just in front of her, still staring emptily towards the city. "Thank you for saving us."

"I didn't do anything today, it was all Ladybug."

"But you saved her!" Marinette shouted, Cat Noir finally looking back for the first time tonight as the girl began shuffling her thoughts back in order to cover for herself. "I mean, I saw this one person recording and you guys were high up and you took an arrow for her. You're always doing so much for her, and Ladybug doesn't show her appreciation enough."

"Her putting up with me is enough." Cat Noir abruptly grabbed the railing, swinging himself over to be right beside Marinette as he stood shoulder to shoulder with her. "I actually told her how I felt about her tonight….I just, love her so much and I know she doesn't feel the same but I had to let her know, you know? I know we already keep our identities secret from one another but I just, couldn't keep that from her. I'm just so scared that I went too far now and I won't get to be by her side anymore-"

Marinette wouldn't let him say another word, opening up her blanket to wrap him in a tight hug from behind. She could feel him shaking, his lungs quivering inside his chest as he was fighting the urge to cry. All this time she was worried that he would be avoiding Ladybug, but he was such a loyal partner that he was worried she would leave him.

How awful was she to hurt him so much and just leave him like this?

"I'm sorry."

This is probably the last chapter we got that will be closest to the canon path, because next chapter I'm gonna pull a huge stunt that will set us on a new track for the story. I also feel weird about this chapter, as I do about my writing whenever I feel really tired while writing it.

I'm also a supporter of MariChat, as seen here.

If it felt weird to you guys, or if there's any errors or suggestions you have please let me know.

Planar-Walking-Entertainment: Plagg will be released at some point, just not soon.

Fire turtle: It will be a while before Plagg gets involved, and I don't have any plans of involving other symbiotes at the moment.

Kamen Rider Sentry: I don't know if you came to this story expecting me to make it into a Doctor Who crossover for Chloe, or if you are trying to get me to write one, but if you want to see that I recommend just writing it yourself because I think you're the only person who wants to see that.

SSJB312: Technically it is already communicating, but as for directly speaking to him I don't know if this symbiote will ever have the capability to do so. Maybe twist his thoughts to steer Adrien towards its own desires.