Chapter Text
“Adrien?”
Miss Bustier didn’t even look up when she called his name, pale lashes fixated on her attendance sheet. But after a moment of silence, she glanced up at the empty seat in the first row of the classroom.
Marinette sat right behind it, and she squirmed in her seat as the teacher looked right past her.
“Adrien Agreste …?”
“He’s not coming today,” Nino said helpfully, and Miss Bustier nodded, marking it down on the sheet.
“How many times does that make this week?” Alya whispered into Marinette’s ear, and her best friend shrugged, like she hadn’t even noticed.
(She wished she didn’t notice.)
Because this was the second time this week. The fifth time this month. From a student who had missed class occasionally, sure, but it was always for a photoshoot or some other good reason, and would take tests early to compensate. Adrien Agreste was a star pupil and an all around good person.
Or so she had thought.
Marinette pushed her pencil with the tip of her nail, watching it roll across the desk and back to her with a detached sort of glumness. Mostly, she was trying not to stare at Adrien’s empty seat.
Because, despite the fact she had sworn off any and all feelings for Adrien Agreste, obsessive behavior was a tricky thing to quit. She counted every absence, noticed every facial expression and weird comment. Not that he talked to her. It was like he knew the moment she stopped trusting him, because he hadn’t spoken a word to her or Alya since. Nino and Alya kept wanting to talk to her about it, but Marinette didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say.
Because worse than Adrien’s behavior was the fact that she hadn’t seen Chat Noir since that night. Not once.
No one had.
Which was why Adrien’s absences were so frustrating, because now she couldn’t corner him, shake him by the shoulders and demand answers. How did he know Chat Noir? What did he do to him? Was it related to why he asked her if she had seen him outside the bakery?
She had joked about Chat to him, she had been elated that he had even spoken to her, and he had turned around and - in some way - hurt her partner. Hurt one of her best friends. And she was an idiot, fooled by a pretty face and a high profile family.
And now Chat Noir had gone missing in action. Or … maybe action wasn't the right word. The break from Akuma attacks was still ongoing - so maybe he wasn't missing. Just laying in wait. Not risking a transformation for pointless bakery visits anymore.
To assume the best - that he was absolutely fine, and in no danger from the Agrestes or anyone else - was also to assume the worse. Because that meant he simply didn't want to see her - Marinette - anymore. In addition to him avoiding Ladybug. And she had no idea how to process that.
But it was still infinitely better than the alternative.
But if Adrien had hurt him - if he had kept him from being Chat Noir - Marinette would … She would …
Well, she didn't know what she'd do. But it'd be bad.
She groaned, and dropped her head against her desk and sulked until class ended.
“Hey,” Alya said, tapping her back to get her attention. “Do you want to see a movie or something this afternoon? My treat. You need some cheering up.”
Marinette didn’t remove her head from the desk, but lifted her hand from the desk and waved her fingers. “I have to help at the bakery. Maybe some other time.”
“Figured,” Alya said, sighing. “You know, if you ever want to talk …”
“Nothing happened,” Marinette said, not bothering to put any conviction in it.
“Right,” said Alya. “... I know. But I’m always here.”
“I know,” Marinette mumbled. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” Alya said, squeezing her shoulder, and she heard the sound of her chair scraping against the floor and her footsteps as she left.
Marinette stayed, alone in the classroom, the only sound the rain hitting the windows. She felt Tikki stirring in her purse, and she lifted her head up and unlatched it. Tikki flew up in front of her face, giant blue eyes deflated with concern.
“It’s been two weeks, Tikki,” Marinette said, feeling exhausted just saying it. “He straight up … disappeared. We don’t even know if he’s alive!” She moaned, dropping her face to her hands. “I should have just told him I was Ladybug that night, even if he didn’t want to-”
“It’s good you didn’t! ” Tikki cut her off. “You weren’t thinking clearly. What if he’s in trouble, or someone found out his identity? You could have gotten in trouble, too. Or something … else could have happened.”
“You told me when we met that I could lose my powers if I told someone who I was, or use my abilities selfishly. But how - how likely is that? Would it have happened--”
Tikki gave her a tiny shrug. “It’s not worth the risk, is it? Look, Chat Noir just wants to make sure you and your secret identity is safe. I’m sure that’s what was he was thinking, he only wants the best for you-”
“I know,” said Marinette. “Which is why he’s always getting hit by evil arrows or erased from the space-time continuum, or disappearing for weeks on end. And why I’m always left on my own, feeling … useless.”
“You’re not useless. You’re anything but!” Tikki protested.
Marinette peeled her fingers apart to look at the kwami, who continued with renewed energy. “You always save him, Marinette! I’m sure you will again, and it’ll work out fine.”
“Maybe,” said Marinette, quiet, and then she shook her head. “No. I’m sure you’re right. There’s gotta be a way to fix this.”
“Who knows,” Tikki said, sing-song. “Maybe it’ll be another kiss?”
“Tikki!”
“Ha,” Tikki laughed, gloating. “You’re smiling again!”
Marinette touched her mouth, and felt her own smile falter.
There must have been a way to fix this.
But Marinette was fairly certain it wasn't going to be as easy as a kiss.
“So Nino practically scaled the Agreste Mansion today and nearly got a restraining order courtesy of that assistant lady, but! He did manage to get an “answer” for all these absences.”
Marinette sighed into the phone - nestled between her shoulder and cheek - while she painted her toenails. “Do we have to talk about this?”
There was a pause on the other end. “Marinette,” Alya said, speaking slowly. “In the past year that Adrien Agreste has been attending our school, I can’t remember a day where you didn’t bring him up in a conversation. Now you don’t even want to talk about him disappearing and being quiet and sulky all the time and pretending we don’t exist?”
Marinette dipped to get a better angle for her pinkie toe, and her towel slipped down her brow. She scowled, adjusting it. “I’m just … it’s not really any of our business.”
“What? Marinette, just a few weeks ago you spent twenty minutes talking about the fact he started wearing his ring on a chain around his neck and ‘what does it mean!?’ Obsessing over Adrien Agreste isn’t just your hobby, it’s a full time job. It’s in your blood! Who are you and what have you done with Marinette?”
Marinette screwed her eyes shut and sighed. “Maybe I’m just over that. Over the obsessing. Over… him.”
There was a long period of silence, and Marinette put down the nail polish so she could check the call hadn’t dropped.
“... Um, Alya?”
“... Really?”
“What?” Marinette said, defensive.
“It’s just …” Alya trailed off. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
“What?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Alya said, in her most annoying it-is-certainly-NOT-nothing voice. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“But-”
“Night!”
Marinette closed her eyes and groaned when she heard the click on the other end, and tried to focus all of her nervous energy on keeping her polka dots even.
Marinette woke to a BOOM like the world had just exploded.
Her first groggy thought was fireworks? But it was November. So why would… what was - god, she was so tired. She sat in bed for a few minutes, her mind buzzing with confusion but her body refused to move into action, as the seconds ticked by like nothing had happened. She decided she had dreamt it.
She must have fallen asleep again, despite it all, because the next thing she could remember was being awoken by silence. The eerie sound of every piece of technology in her home shutting off all at once - every buzz, every hum, every beep.
And then complete darkness.
Marinette jumped out of bed, stumbling to her window in the pitch blackness, and stared, slack jawed, into nothing. The entire city of Paris had gone dark.
“Tikki,” she whispered, right as another firework had gone off, trailing behind a man in black like rocket exhaust. He flew across the sky in a flight of oddity that could only mean one thing - an akuma.
Her transformation gave off it’s own light, a dazzling pink light show performance, and she tried to memorize the quickest path out of her room before it went off again. She succeeded, except for when she smacked her face into the ladder that led to her balcony. So much for Ladybug’s effortless grace.
She crawled up onto the roof, resisting the urge to drop to her knees and crawl on all fours, illumination coming only from the occasional firework racing across the sky, accompanied by another BOOM and manic laughter.
It had been so long since she had done this, she realized. Since this had happened at all - it was a month since the last attack, and it had almost made her forget what it felt like. What it meant.
It was a freezing November night, and maybe - if this had been some other time, a month earlier - she would be groaning and wanting to crawl right back in bed.
But it was a Akuma attack, at long, long last.
And she might - no, she would see Chat Noir again.
The thought sparked through her, setting her nerves alight, making her heart pound and her cheeks burn despite the cold. She jumped through the city, using her yoyo’s light as she went, towards the source, with a hellbent determination. She would see him again. She would, she would, she would. He was there. He had to be. He had never missed an attack, and whatever this thing was, it wouldn’t keep him from saving the day.
That was just who he was.
She kept that thought close as she ran down the streets, a mad smile on her face, until she finally ran right into the path of Fireworker.
“Where’s the cat?” the man said, more genuinely confused than taunting.
“Probably running late,” she said, speaking through a confident, toothy grin. He’s fine. He’s coming. He’ll be here any minute.”
Fireworker gave her a look, and then shrugged and flickered, emerging the world back into darkness.
She hoped Chat and his night vision were coming sooner rather than later.
Her confidence burned bright through the first hour, waned in the second, and was left a sputtering, defiant spark in the third.
Even as she broke Fireworker’s sparkler beneath her foot she was hoping Chat Noir would run out from a corner, acting surprised that she had handled it all on her own.
But he never did.
Her call of “Miraculous Ladybug” sounded tiny and pathetic in her own ears, and the usual rush that came with the ability was absent.
She swallowed as the lights of Paris slowly came back to life, like the city was letting out a huge breath. This was usually her favorite part, but all she felt was … cold.
She waited with the akuma victim until the police came to take him home, and then she slipped out, walking back on foot as her transformation gave out. Her pajamas were thin and she was freezing, but at least she’d be home soon. She had never seen the streets to Paris so quiet and empty.
“Marinette?” Tikki asked, and Marinette clenched her teeth and pretended she didn’t hear it. She wasn’t in the mood to chat.
She turned another corner and was startled to find herself at the back end of the Agreste Mansion. There was one light on, coming from a huge window. She stared up, and for a section, she thought she saw…
She blinked, and the light was off, but the image of someone standing in the window burned in her mind.
Marinette had a headache, a runny nose, and a vendetta the size of Jupiter the following morning.
She had felt so sick waking up this morning, only a couple hours after she had bid the butterfly adieu. (Seriously, why did so many of these attacks have to take place in the middle of the night?). Her father had tried to convince her to stay home, but she wasn’t having it. Marinette needed answers, and she wasn’t going to get them from staying in bed all day. Even if she did feel like she had been ran over.
She slinked into class a couple minutes late, unnoticed, and walked right past Adrien, back from his leave of absence, staring a hole into the surface of his desk. A part of her wanted to slam her textbooks down right in front of him, to yell and get his attention and shake him by the shoulders until he told her everything he knew about Chat Noir. Instead she slipped into her seat and pulled her knees up, curling herself into a tight knot, almost shaking. She was so mad. She couldn’t even remember being this angry at anyone that wasn’t Chloe.
So she settled with glaring a hole into the back of his head all morning.
“Hey,” Nino whispered to Adrien, at their first break. “Welcome back. Everything okay?”
“So,” Alya said a second later, turning to Marinette. “Did you see the Akuma Attack last night? With the loud noises and the blackout? It was wicked!”
“Yeah,” Marinette said, distracted, straining to hear Adrien’s response.
“I’m still under house arrest,” Adrien mumbled, and Nino made a pained face.
“Okay, now I know something’s wrong, because you never miss the opportunity to make an arrest/Agreste pun.”
“-- I crawled up on the roof with a few flashlights and watched the - Marinette, are you even listening to me?”
Marinette blinked. “Hmm? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Go on.”
“And they’re mad at you for that?” Nino asked, and Marinette groaned quietly, realizing she had missed something Adrien said.
He spoke up again, voice even quieter. “They won’t let me out of the house. It’s worse than it’s ever been - they’re even guarding my door at night…”
Alya sighed, and Marinette realized she had ignored her again. Oops. “Fine,” Alya said. “Nino, Adrien, did you see anything from the Akuma attack last night?”
They turned, and Marinette saw how exhausted Adrien looked. He still wouldn’t look either of them in the eye.
“The - what ? Oh, man, did I miss it?” Nino groaned. Adrien just shook his head silently.
“How did you miss it? It was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“I sleep like the dead, Alya, and I was up until two-”
“Did you notice that Chat Noir wasn’t there?” Marinette said, quickly, and Alya’s eyes widened.
“What? No! I didn’t hear Cataclysm or any puns when it got closer to my house, but I just … are you serious?”
Marinette fidgeted at the sudden change in attention - Alya had even pulled out her phone to take notes - and then shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seemed like it took longer than usual, and I didn’t hear him either…”
“Yeah,” Alya said, nodding deeply. “It was by your place for the end of it, wasn’t it? Oh man, I need to research this more!”
Nino pulled down on his face. “That’s … that’s super scary, dude. Do you think something’s happened to him?”
Adrien just stared at the floor.
“Maybe he just slept through it,” Alya suggested, raising an eyebrow. “Like a certain someone.”
“Hey--”
“I don’t think so,” Marinette said. “I think something did happen to happen. There’s no reason why he just wouldn’t show up. It must be that something - or someone - is keeping him away.”
Adrien flinched, and she felt a flicker of triumph. So she did have a lead.
“Alright,” said Ms. Mendeleiev, walking into the classroom. “Settle down, settle down-- oh, be quiet! ”
Chloe and Sabrina ran in, right on cue. Chloe hesitated for a moment at Adrien’s desk, meeting his eye.
“You should be in your seat when class starts, Miss Bourgeois!”
Chloe startled, and then put her hands on her hips. “It’s not even started yet, you’re just--”
Mendeleiev narrowed her eyes, and Chloe grumbled and returned to her seat. Mendeleev was one of the only teachers who actually followed through on giving Chloe detentions - even if she was in danger of being fired every time she did.
It was the best thing about her.
… Everything else? Less great.
Chemistry was far from her favorite subject, and they weren’t even doing a lab that day - just lecture, lecture, lecture. Marinette stared into the back of Adrien’s head, wishing she could stare right through and see every one of his thoughts. What did he know? How was his family involved with all of this? Did he know where Chat Noir was?
The class dragged on, until Nathanael, as always, managed to irritate Mendeleiev in some way. Poor boy, Marinette thought, watching as their teacher walked to the back of the classroom and lectured him for doodling in his notes, or whatever crime it was today, and she took the momentary distraction as an opportunity.
“Nino,” she whispered, making sure she caught Adrien’s attention as well. “Isn’t it horrible that Chat Noir is missing? Don’t you think we should do something about it?”
“I mean … what could we do?” Nino whispered back, glancing over his shoulder. “We’re not superheroes.”
“Yeah,” Marinette said, “but we could investigate suspicious characters. Maybe… ” she stumbled. “Uh, maybe like people the akuma victim works with?”
“Wowww,” Alya said. “I’ve never seen you get so interested with something involving those two. I’m proud.”
Marinette fidgeted. “Adrien, you have a lot of connections, you could probably find something.”
Adrien said nothing.
“I don’t think so,” Nino said. “His dad’s been weirder than usual lately.”
Marinette bit her lip. “Why’s that, Adrien? You have any idea what’s going on? Right when Chat Noir disappeared too. Wow, maybe the two are re-”
Something hit Marinette in the ear, and Marinette swerved around to see Chloe glaring at her.
“Oh my God, Marinette,” Chloe stage whispered, her sharp, high voice cutting right through her thoughts. “Leave him alone and shut up. We’re in class, remember? You’re not supposed to talk!”
Marinette tensed, shoulders up nearly to her ears. “Kettle, meet pot? And this isn’t any of your business--”
Chloe scowled. “Adrien’s my friend, I’m not going to just sit here and listen as you go off on him for some freaky deaky Marinette reason-”
Adrien’s mouth was a thin line. “Chloe, it’s not worth--”
“It is! She’s being a--”
Marinette growled. “I’m being a what, Chloe? A jerk? A bully? Because you'd know all about that--”
“Ugh, shut up.”
“You three!” They all spun around, as Mendeleiev walked down the steps towards them, spinning to face their tables. Her face was red and scrunched up like she was holding in a scream. “Out. Get out of my classroom.”
“But--” Marinette and Chloe spoke at the same time, their voices creating a needling whine.
“Out!”
They scampered out, and Marinette tried to ignore Alya’s facial expression and insistent pointing at her phone. Her entire body felt hot. She never got in trouble with teachers. Stupid Chloe. Stupid Adrien.
“Uch,” Chloe said, the sound crawling out of her throat like she was trying to cough something up. “This blows. I’m going to fix my make up. Tell her I have my dad on the phone if Mendeleiev freaks. Okay, Adrien?”
“Chloe,” Adrien said, shaking his head slightly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I’m not sitting around to deal with her if she has another one of her freak outs,” Chloe said, pointing a thumb at Marinette. “See you in a bit. Good luck,” she added, voice sickly sweet, and Marinette wanted to scream.
They stood against the classroom wall, looking at anything but each other, and Marinette could hear the sound of Chloe’s flats trailing through the hallway and then down the stairs. And then nothing.
It was quiet enough that she could still hear every word Mendeleiev was saying in her lecture. Marinette wondered if she took notes that it would win her back some teacher’s pet points. Probably not.
She still feeling sick, so she slid down against the classroom wall until she was sitting, knees up and arms folded on top of them.
Adrien started to sit next to her, and she hopped right back up and crossed the hall to stand at the other end. He stared at her like she had smacked him across the face.
“Guess that confirms it,” he muttered.
“Confirms what?” she snapped.
He looked startled, like he didn’t realize he had spoken out loud. “Nothing,” he said, finally, and Marinette scoffed, sitting against the wall opposite the classroom.
While she sat and waited, her obsessive imagination spun a million tales. The Agreste’s had figured out Chat’s secret identity and were blackmailing him, or they were going to make him the new face of the Gabriel Agreste Fashion Line against his will, or they had him locked up in the basement of their huge mansion, or …
“... Does Ladybug even need Chat Noir?”
Marinette’s head jolted up, and she narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about? She does. One fight where she got lucky doesn’t mean anything. She almost lost her miraculous eight times last night. … Apparently.”
His mouth tightened. “Is it worth the risk if he loses his, though?”
Marinette stood, her brow creased. “Where’s this coming from?”
He took a step back. “I just …” he exhaled, slowly. “Never mind.” He sat down, and she spent the next few minutes glaring at his reflection on the floor.
“Do you really need to fight every battle?” he asked, looking at her over his knees.
“Who’s going to stand up for people if I don’t?” She exhaled slowly. “Funny actually, because you used to. You used to - we used to…” she trailed off, and looked at him.
He was wearing makeup, she realized. Not that that was super uncommon, but … she tilted her head, saw the foundation expertly covering under his eyes. She could only spot the minute difference between the color of this make up compared to his natural skin tone because she had spent so many hours studying his face. She had been so dumb. So, so, so dumb.
“You used to care,” she said, at last. “About Mylene. And others. Why defend Chloe when she’s a awful and hurts people?”
“I can't pick the people I care about. I don't… I don't have a lot of "people", in general.”
Marinette scoffed. “You have Nino. And everyone in our class likes you. You could have had… Whatever. Just … whatever.”
The conversation died again, returning them to awkward, tense silence.
Chloe strolled back into the hall, and groaned in dismay. “She still hasn’t let us back in? God. Well, I’m glad Marinette hasn’t clawed your eyes out yet. You okay, Adrien?”
Marinette glowered, and stood up again.
“I’m fine,” Adrien muttered.
“I’m so sorry this is happening to you,” she said. “I mean, I have to put up with this all the time from her, but I thought you’d be safe, at least...”
“Mm,” he mumbled, studying a spot on his knees.
“You know,” Chloe said, leaning over him, her hands on her hips. Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “It's so weird because she's been in love with you for, like, a year.”
Marinette’s heart jolted to a stop.
“Chloe,” she started, but her mouth was so dry she could barely hear herself.
Chloe continued whispering, clearly not caring if she could hear or not. “I mean - could you tell? Did you know? She was so obvious.”
Adrien glanced at Marinette, his lips trying to form a word but unable to.
“Did you?” Chloe urged, and then nudged him. “Huh?”
“I--” his eyes were still on Marinette, and she wanted to scream. “... Yeah,” he said, swallowing.
Marinette’s skin burned.
“Ha,” Chloe said, grinning. “I thought so. Everyone knew it, it was so pathetic-”
“Chloe,” she said, her voice flat. “Shut the hell up.”
The blonde’s expression turned into a smirk. “Is that why you’re so mad? Did he reject you? Wah, poor freaky Marinette, can’t get--”
And then the next thing she knew she had grabbed Chloe’s arm - enough to hurt, yeah, but not enough for her to start screaming like she had been shot--
And that, of course, was when Ms. Mendeleiev walked out the door.
Marinette honestly didn't know what was worse - getting her first detention ever, or the fact she was going to have to spend a Saturday afternoon with Chloe.
Her parents had clearly gotten the phone call while she was still at school, because they were standing right at the front door when she walked in.
“You got into a fight!?” Her mother exclaimed immediately, shaking her head. “Marinette, this is - this is so unlike you!”
“It wasn’t a fight,” Marinette mumbled. She had grabbed Chloe. She had screamed. And okay, yeah, Chloe’s arm was a little bruised, but it wasn’t Marinette’s fault that Chloe had the skin of a peach.
Her mother shook her head. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”
Her father seemed to have his disappointed speech prepared. “Your mother and I - we get calls every time you defend a student, did you know that? And we are proud - immensely proud. And we knew you had a problem with that Bourgeois girl, but … a fight over a boy?”
Marinette stared at the ground, trying her hardest to keep her cool.
“Look,” her mother said. “I know you really, really like that Adrien boy, but--”
Marinette couldn’t stand another second of it - couldn’t stand to hear his stupid name. She shoved past her parents and ran up the stairs, ignoring their shocked looks and how easily she could push her father away even when she wasn’t transformed.
She hopped up through the trap door, chest heaving, and didn’t even realize she was crying until she curled into a little ball on her bed.
She didn’t know how much time had passed - or how loudly she had been crying - until the trapdoor creaked open, a hand pushing a note inside.
You don’t have to come down to dinner if you’re not feeling better. Leftovers will be in the fridge. We love you.
PS: You’re still grounded.
She picked up the note and groaned, falling onto her sofa. She was done crying and was angry with herself for doing it in the first place. It was tears of frustration, of being treated unfairly, of …
Of missing Chat.
“Marinette,” Tikki said, sounding gentle but stern. “You know what you did today was a reaaaally bad idea, right?”
Marinette groaned, her headache so bad she didn’t even want to open her eyes. “I know. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Hormones?” Tikki suggested, and Marinette glared at her.
“Sorry,” she said, quickly. “I’ve been working with teenage girls for thousands of years. That’s usually the answer.”
Marinette rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know what to do. He clearly knows something.”
“I agree,” she said, nodding her giant head. “There’s what Chat Noir said, and his weird comments today … Your interrogation skills need work, though.”
“You taught me how to be a superhero,” Marinette said. “Not a Bond villain.” The words brought back a memory - of threatening Chat with a shark tank. She exhaled. “I miss him, Tikki. And I don’t think I can do this flying-solo thing for very long…”
“Don't worry, Marinette. I’m sure we’ll find him before the next attack--”
There was loud BANG from outside, and Tikki cut herself off mid sentence as they both turned towards the street.
“MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!” cried a familiar voice from outside her window, booming and whiny. “Come out, come out, wherever you are, freak!”
Marinette stood at her window and stared as a girl clad in a yellow and black ensemble flew towards her house, a swarm of people in similar (but less avant-garde) outfits right behind her.
“... Or not,” said Tikki.
“Bye bye, little butterfly,” Marinette said, voice flat, and watched it float off and then returned her gaze to Chloe from her perch on top of a building.
She only had a couple minutes to use Miraculous Ladybug before her transformation timed out, but, well, she could probably enjoy the image of Chloe with her feet trapped in wet cement for a little longer. Her outfit was ridiculous, too. She hoped Alya got good footage of it.
Though that wouldn’t be difficult. This fight had gone one for … four hours? And Chloe had an earring between her fingers before Marinette had managed to kick her and get away. She wasn’t going to last much longer like this, she needed … She needed to get Chat back.
She exhaled slowly, her need for petty revenge gone. “Miraculous -”
A car stopped, and she dropped to a crouch, watching as Adrien burst out of his black car and ran - faster than she thought he could run, actually - right towards them. He stopped as soon as he spotted Chloe, standing stock still a few feet away from Marinette’s hiding spot. She flattened herself, hiding, a hand protectively over her Miraculous.
But he hadn’t notice her - just took another shaky step towards his friend. “Chloe,” he whispered, sounding ... broken. “He took … he used Chloe.”
He ran a hand through his hair, and let out a slow breath. Marinette’s fingers curled tighter around her ear, and she felt a curious tightness in her chest.
“Miraculous Ladybug,” Marinette whispered, and waited until he had taken a dazed but cured Chloe back into the car before jumping down.
“Maybe he’s not…” Tikki murmured, and Marinette bit her lip.
“I know. But there were those comments he made, and … I trust Chat,” she said, finally. “I … I can figure it out when I get him back.”
Tikki looked at her, blue eyes ancient and unfathomable, and then nodded.
THE LADYBLOG
Thursday, November 19th, 2015
Posted by Alya Cesaire at 5:56 am
Hello hello hello! It’s 5am as a write this and I haven’t slept a wink, but it’s WORTH it for you guys!
Long time no blog, huh? Well, if you didn’t already see from the videos I uploaded last night, our Ladybug hiatus is OVER! She’s back to saving Paris again, after an attack late Tuesday night and then another one Wednesday afternoon. And of course, she’s as cool as ever.
Here’s the weird thing though: Chat Noir is missing. Yeah, that’s right, put up your missing cat posters, because he was nowhere to be seen yesterday, and according to one of my sources, was MIA from Tuesday’s events as well! No word on what’s happened, or where he’s been ... but I hope for all of our sake’s he’s just taking a cat nap!
As a result of losing her feline friend, Ladybug’s fight went on for a record breaking four hours yesterday! Ladybug seemed to be in low spirits yesterday as she battled a bee themed akuma alone. Her sticky honey attacks and ability to make civilians into her own swarm of Honeybees made her quite the enemy, especially for someone who was down a teammate! No official word on what activated the attack, though I did hear a certain mayor’s daughter got a detention yesterday … but that’s neither here nor there!
Hope our superheroes get reunited soon, or the shippers are gonna have a heart attack, ha ha.
If you have any tips, of course, send them right to the Ladyblog!
#BringBackChatNoir2015 !
The next morning at school, everyone was talking about it. Chloe had come to school incognito - big white sunglasses, and a scarf around her hair, like she was some American movie star avoiding paparazzi. The metaphor wasn’t too far off. Even the teachers seemed to be gossiping. But what people were most intrigued about had little to do with Chloe Bourgeois. The entire world had caught on that Ladybug was missing a partner, and everybody had their own personal take.
“I heard he was kidnapped--”
“Kicked off the team!”
“Became evil--”
“Turned invisible!”
Alya, ever devoted to her line of duty, was talking to everyone to get their personal take. Marinette hoped that she might find some real lead among the rumors and gossip.
She was doing her own investigation, in the meanwhile.
“Hey, Nino, is Adrien around?”
He shook his head. “He’s trying to make up for the days he missed at the beginning of the week, so he’s in the library. He wouldn’t mind talking to you, though! Not at all. Actually, you should definitely initiate a conversation with him cuz--”
She frowned. “Um. Cool. Actually, I wanted to ask - do you know what his opinion is on Ladybug and Chat Noir? Or his father’s?”
Nino snorted. “Me and Adrien’s pop don’t exactly get along. And by that I mean he’s literally threatened to give me a restraining order. So I have no idea if he secretly has a Ladybug shrine in his giant walking closet. As for Adrien …” He trailed off, lost in thought. “He seems to like them? I don’t know. Mostly Ladybug I think. No surprise. Chat’s kinda a ... well. He's awesome and tough but like, the whole perfect hair and romantic shtick? Pretty hard for us normal dudes to live up to those standards.”
Marinette raised an eyebrow. “So … he supports Ladybug?”
“Far as I can tell. Again, the subject doesn’t come up much.”
Marinette’s frown deepened. So, what? Could Adrien want to get Chat out of the way to replace him as Ladybug’s partner? … No. That was a far stretch, even for her. Adrien wasn’t the evil mastermind behind this. But his father still could be.
“Hey, y’know what I think happened to Chat? Remember how in The Incredibles, when the bad guy is bringing everyone to the island to off them…”
After getting a very thorough recap of the Pixar film, Marinette managed to slip away right before break ended, so she could check the library. She slipped through the stacks, until she heard a murmur of a familiar voice.
“--I know, I know, but they searched my room, and won’t let me out without a chaperone, and it’s so…” Adrien groaned. “All that matters is that the ring is--”
Marinette rounded the corner of the shelf, and saw Adrien speaking to … no one.
She stared, blinking at him.
He grimaced, and then ran off in the other direction.
She went to bed stupidly early that night - at eight pm. Her parents were convinced she was sick. Not really that far off. All of the gossip and rumors about horrible things happening to Chat were making her feel queasy and anxious and useless--
She had a stress nightmare about paperclips, and woke up, sweating, a few hours later. Her phone said it was still only eleven, and she got up to go to the bathroom. After, she paused at her window, seeing movement outside. Someone walking outside, wearing all black. It wasn’t exactly unusual, but she hesitated a moment, watching them walk past. She shook her head, turned away -
And then did a double take.
She pressed her face against the window as a person in black clothes leaped across the street, flying up towards the alley and touching down in a three point landing like a movie superhero.
Black clothes.
With a cat eared silhouette.
Her heart pounded and her ears rang as she tugged her jacket on and opened up the trapdoor.
Marinette completely forgot to be quiet until she had already flew down the stairs, and only stopped when she heard Tikki’s voice, a pleading whisper.
“Marinette, be careful,” she begged, zipping along behind her. “You're grounded, remember?” Gingerly, Marinette crossed the first floor and was only a few steps away from the bakery’s door when she heard a knock.
A knock.
It was real, she wasn’t dreaming, he was…
She surged towards it as Tikki darted behind the couch. He was back, he was back, he was -
She pulled the door open, careful not to make too much noise. Her face hurt, she was smiling so hard.
And there he was, grinning like the Cheshire cat, the ears standing out against the streetlight behind him.
He was ...
… He was not Chat Noir.
Marinette head swam as she took in the stranger before her. Because, obviously, he was a Chat Noir. The confidence, the black, the cat ears ... Her gaze fell to the ring on his finger, looking the same as it always did, but everything else …
This Chat Noir wore a comfortable hoodie, the hood pulled up with big cat ears on it. His mask was the same, but beneath it his eyes were a witchy yellow gold, and his skin was a warm brown. He had massive headphones around his neck - decorated with the same green paw print as his ring - and fingerless gloves. The bell around his neck was smaller, serving as a zipper pull, and he wore black jeans and lace up boots.
It was far, far too perfectly made to just be a fan costume - she could see from how the material subtly shimmered it was made from the same indestructible material as her suit. But how…
He was still smiling at her, though her own grin had long since fallen off her face.
“Who are you?” she said, taking a step back.
“Chat Noir. Obviously,” he said, beaming. “Look, look, I’ve even got the baton, it’s sick. ”
“But how-” she pressed her fingers against her lower lip. “Are you an akuma? Like the Copycat? Because if this some kind of--”
“No!” He said, quickly. “I’m real!” He took a deep breath. “Cata-- actually. No. That’s probably a bad idea. But I promise. It’s … c’mon, Marinette, don’t you recognize me?”
She stared blankly. “... No?”
The smile fell off his face. “Are you serious? We’ve known each other since we were eleven. Our first conversation was about snails? ... Still no?”
“I …” she frowned. “I’ve only met one Chat Noir. And … you are not him.”
“Well, duh,” he said, but not unkindly. “It’s me. Your classmate? Your friend? Nino.”
… Wait, what?
Marinette clutched the doorframe to keep herself from falling over.
“What? ” But then it - she looked closer, and saw the familiarity in the golden eyes. And the headphones, that was-- of course. “Nino, how did you … since when have you…?”
“I don’t know!” he said, sounding confused and giddy all at once. “When I went to my locker at the end of the day I just saw this - this weird black box in my locker. And when I opened it, it had this --” he flashed her the ring, “and this little cat dude who told me I was the new Chat Noir.”
“The new - but what happened to the old one?”
Nino deflated. “I don’t know. The cat dude - Plagg - wouldn’t tell me. He just told me to come here. Said that you and Chat were friends, so I thought maybe you knew something…”
Marinette swallowed and shook her head. “No, no I - I haven’t seen him in weeks. The last time we talked he was in some sort of trouble, and I when I saw you, I thought - I, hoped ...” she bit down on her lip, frustrated at the threat of tears. “I thought that he had come back."
“Hey,” he said, softly, grabbing her hand. “Hey, don’t … Don’t cry, Marinette, it’s …” he winced. “Euugh, I feel so useless when people cry! Um. It’s gonna be okay, doesn’t this mean he’s fine? If he handed his Miraculous off to me, then…”
Marinette swallowed. “Yeah, you’re… You’re right. Yeah.” The more she spoke, the better she felt - she could feel the pieces fitting into place in her head. She started talking faster, more eagerly. “You found the Miraculous after class today. So that means he has to be at the school, right? Who knows your locker combination?”
“Oh, right!” he said. “Easy. Adrien. … And Alya. And most of the teachers, and Mylene’s dad. Max too. And Ivan, and Alix. Oh, and Rose, she leaves me snacks sometimes, she’s awesome.”
Marinette stared. “... So, the entire school.”
Nino at least had the decency to look sheepish. “... Pretty much, yeah.”
Marinette ran her hands down her face. “Maybe I should - maybe I should just talk to your kwami. See what he knows.”
Nino frowned. “Wait, how did you know that word?”
Marinette flinched, Tikki’s words of warning echoing in her head. Don’t let anyone know who you are - under any circumstances!
“Um,” Marinette said. “Chat and I were… close?”
Nino raised his eyebrows, eyes wide, and Marinette scowled. “Not like that, it’s just … I can’t explain right now. Can I just … talk this out first with him?”
Nino shrugged. “Fine with me.” And - like it was no big deal at all - he tugged off the ring.
Marinette watched, amazed, as the transformation faded, green light passing over and returning Nino to his usual self.
“Aw,” he said, adjusting his glasses. “I was hoping the 20/20 vision would stick. Anyway, here we are…”
Plagg darted out from the ring in a swirl of black and green magic, forming into a … absolutely adorable cat … thing. With him, the blackness left the ring, leaving it a sterile white. Marinette tilted her head, taking in the kwami’s giant green eyes and itty bitty fangs.
The kwami blinked at her, looking bored.
“Plagg,” Nino said, handing the kwami his ring. “Marinette. Marinette, Plagg.”
“Yo.”
Marinette gestured for the two of them to come in, and gently closed the door behind them. “My parents are still asleep, so … keep quiet. Actually, Nino, would you … would you mind staying in the kitchen for a bit? So Plagg and I … I need to ...” She looked at Plagg, lost for an excuse.
“Nino, the grownups are talking,” he said dismissively, his voice lower than she’d expect it to be.
Marinette flashed an apologetic smile. “You’re free to any pastries on the counter, they’re fair game.”
“Get me some cheese pastries,” Plagg said.
Nino frowned. “I thought you only--”
“Get me some.”
“You might want to reconsider your sass levels before you start demanding things,” Nino muttered, and then slipped into the kitchen. “Good luck, Marinette,” he added, poking his head through the doorway.
Marinette watched until she heard the fridge open, and then let out a big breath. “Um, Tikki? You can come out now.”
Tikki zipped out from behind the couch, her tiny arms crossed.
“Plagg,” she said, eyes narrow slits.
“Tikki,” he said. “You’re looking … red.”
“So,” Marinette said, exhaling slowly. “I can’t - I won’t say it, but I’m…”
“Ladybug?” Plagg said. “Duh.”
She and Tikki both let out a squeak of alarm. Marinette spoke up first, her heart pounding. “You - you two knew? But I -- how long?”
Plagg shrugged. “Not until that ‘secret for a secret’ thing. He figured it out soon after. Well, I’m assuming he did. I did. ‘Course, he might still be in denial.”
“Chat? Is he okay? Where is he?”
“I …” Plagg hesitated. “... Can’t tell.”
Marinette took a step towards the kwami, her mouth a thin line. “What do you mean, you can’t tell? If you abandoned him while he was in trouble, I swear to God-”
Plagg put his tiny paws up, eyes wide. “Whoa. Whoa. Look. He’s alive. He’s … been better. He … realized that this, uh, evil mastermind, what’s his face-- Hawkmoth? Was starting to catch on to him, so he made the decision that it would be safer for both of us - for all of us - if I stayed with someone else for a while. Lay it low. Eat some cheese. And I can’t tell you anything more than that. Or he’d have a fit.”
Tikki frowned. “He doesn’t want her to know who he is?”
“He thinks it would keep her safer,” Plagg answered. “Dumb kid. Sweet, but … dumb.”
Marinette frowned. “I thought Chat Noir wouldn’t lose his powers if he told people about who he was.” Plagg was giving her a look, and she pulled back. “... Because his powers aren’t altruistically motivated like mine?”
Plagg’s eyes narrowed, and then he glared at - to Marinette's numb shock - Tikki. “What did you tell her?” he said, voice flat.
Tikki shot back, ducking behind Marinette’s head. “I… I don’t know what you mean,” she said, voice bubbly as ever.
Marinette glanced between the two of them, her brow creased. “I risk losing my powers if I tell someone who I am,” she said, slowly. “That’s how it works for Ladybugs, isn’t it? That … telling people who you are is too selfish?”
Plagg eyes narrowed. “Tikki.”
“I had every reason to do it,” Tikki said, voice suddenly tight, defensive. “It was for the best, you know what happens when we let them go all willy-nilly--”
“Tikki,” Marinette said, her voice sounding small and childish to her own ears. “What did you do?”
The kwami looked away. “I may have … told you a teeny weensy, itty-bitty fib.”
Plagg snorted. “Uh huh. Get used to it, kid. She’s always been a stickler for the secret identity thing, and she lies a lot-- ”
“I do not,” said Tikki, stamping her foot in the air. “And, and if I do, it’s for the greater good. It really was for the best, Marinette, trust me-”
Marinette could only gawk at her in horror. Tikki sighed and switched her attention back to Plagg. “You know I’m right. Unless you think we should have another incident like Austria in 1914--”
“Oh, so that was my fault?” Plagg scoffed.
“If you had kept your charge in line instead of getting distracted by food it would have never happened--”
“What’s going on?” Marinette asked, her voice small, but the kwamis continued arguing like they didn’t hear her.
“How was supposed to know that would happen? And you weren't any help back then either!”
“It's not my job to help you!”
“And maybe if you didn’t let them go out every night all willy nilly,” Tikki continued, “we would never be in this situation--”
“If you let her tell him who she was he would have trusted her enough to talk to her in the first place, so it’s all your fault-”
“My fault? You little--”
“Wait, are we talking about Chat now?” Marinette said, struggling to keep up.
“Yes,” Plagg snapped, without looking at her. “And maybe if you were a little nicer to him as Ladybug this wouldn’t have ever happened--”
“Hey!” Tikki said. “Hey! That’s not her fault! I never know where you find these boys, why should she go waltz off with some cat off the streets--”
“My wards are fine, if you had any idea what this kid went through just to keep your oblivious charge safe--”
“Oh, so my charge is oblivious, but yours is perfect, even if he nearly got himself caught and couldn’t last a year as--”
“Don’t blame Chat,” Marinette cut in, but Plagg was already speaking over her like he didn’t even remember she was there.
“--It's your fault for being a lying know it all--”
“I lied because I had to--”
"Fine! Then it’s her fault--”
“No it isn’t, and if you took some responsibility for once in your life--!”
“Stop,” Marinette said, and then raised her voice to be heard over the squabbling. “Stop! Look, just - calm down, and we can sort this out--”
The kwamis both stared at her, with those giant, unblinking eyes, and suddenly, without any warning, switched to an alien language, full of chirps and trilling letters.
Marinette took a step back, eyes wide.
“Um,” said Nino, stepping carefully into the living room. “Is everything okay? Whoa, where did the red one come from?”
“Yeah, so, about that,” Marinette said, her voice flat. “I’m Ladybug.” The words weren’t as relieving as she expected them to be. She couldn’t to tear her eyes away as Plagg and Tikki turned into blurs of red and black, flying around each other and screeching.
“Oh,” said Nino. “Huh. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense.” They stood quietly, left with not much else left to say. His gaze dropped to their feet. “Nice polkadots.”
She wiggled her toes. “Thanks.”
Meanwhile, Tikki and Plagg had reached a pitch that could only be heard by dogs.
Marinette hadn’t put a lot of thought into the fact that Tikki was, essentially, an alien. (A God? A something.) It was so easy just to think of her as a cute little plush fairy come to life. But she was a millennia old creature who had experiences and grudges. Really old grudges.
She didn’t know when she was supposed to break this up. When they started hurting each other? Could they even be hurt? If Chat Noir and Ladybug were indestructible while transformed, what did that make these two?
She was still debating when she was supposed to intervene when her answered was formed by the sound of gentle footsteps.
Someone was walking down the stairs.
Heart pounding, Marinette slipped into fight or flight mode. She grabbed Nino by the back of his hoodie and shoved him behind the couch, praying Plagg and Tikki would know to get out of the way on her own. In the last few seconds she had she tried, with difficulty, to compose herself into someone who looked sleepy and bored instead of panicked and confused and very much wide awake.
“Marinette?” Her dad said, ducking his head down. “Everything alright?” She watched Plagg and Tikki dive behind the staircase.
“Just, um,” she said, around a wide grin. “Getting a snack?”
“...Oh. Okay. Don’t eat too much,” he said, and then shook his head. “You didn’t have the TV on, did you? I thought I..”
“Oh, I, uh… yeah, actually, my phone’s volume was up and I accidentally clicked this weird bird video.” She gave him a wide, slightly panicked grin.
“Ahhh,” he said. “I thought I was going crazy! Night, sweetheart.”
“Night,” she whispered, and held her breath until he had disappeared back up the stairs.
Tikki noticed Nino, her eyes widening and dived back behind the stairs, and Marinette exhaled.
“He walked out while you two were … Squeaking. He knows.”
“You told him? But Marinette…” Tikki’s expression was adorably, heartbreakingly betrayed. Marinette didn't care.
“No. No more secrets. If Plagg’s right that's what got us until this whole mess. So… Please. Tell me who Chat is, so we can help him.”
Plagg hesitated, and then shook his head. “I can't. I swore. I’d get trapped in that ring for a hundred years if I broke that promise. Cross my heart.”
Marinette frowned, leaning towards him.“That’s … inconvenient. I’d ask Tikki to confirm that, but seeing as she might just lie to me anyway...”
Tikki pouted. “It wasn't like that, Marinette. But… I don't know. His magic works differently than mine. It's chaos, black magic --”
“Oh, whatever, like your magic is so pure--” Plagg started, and Marinette held up a hand.
“No. No. You two are not doing this again. No more bickering or I’ll lock you both in my diary box.”
“She’ll do it,” Nino said, nodding seriously. “Marinette’s got a wicked vengeance streak.”
Marinette shot him a look, and he shrugged. “What? It was a compliment.”
“Whatever. Look, you said Chat is in trouble. You can't tell us who he is, but… Is he still in danger? Even with the Miraculous in safe hands?”
Plagg waited for a long time before nodding, face uncharacteristically grim.
“That's it, then,” said Marinette. “We - the four of us - help him. We save him.”
“That's not our objective,” Tikki protested. “You're supposed to stop the Akuma attacks.”
“I agree, surprisingly,” Plagg said, and Marinette opened her mouth to protest, but he spoke up again before she could. “Look. You defeat this Hawkmoth guy, and you’ll… You’ll get Chat Noir out of his trouble. I promise.”
Marinette exhaled shakily. “Okay. Deal.”
Tikki did not look happy. But Marinette still couldn’t find herself to care. A year - a year of keeping that secret with her life, just to find out it was some attempt to keep her in line? So Tikki didn’t trust her, fine. She wouldn’t trust her either.
“Sooo,” Plagg said. “If we’re going to go directly for Hawkmoth … our first order of business is gonna have to be training the new recruit.”
They all turned to look at Nino, staring at them like a deer in headlights.
“... What?”