Chapter Text
Today had been hectic, firstly there was the whole... wings situation, the rush to get to school in time, talking to Adrien, having her instinct to right wrongs overpower her need not to try to be noticed today when her classmates made a very dumb decision and got Adrien soaked and finally Adrien running away after just standing there in a total state of shock for about a minute. And it's only been about 30 minutes since she woke up, this day was proving to be very tiring. The moment Adrien ran out the door Ms. Mendeleiev came in and demanded order, which obviously was impossible with what just transpired.
"Madame, there seems to be something wrong with Adrien. He just... ran off. Can we go see if he's alright?" Nino asked the agitated teacher.
"What do you think the answer is going to be, Monsieur Lahiffe?" Ms. Mendeleiev answered with an angry tone.
Nino looked downcast, but before he answered, Alya cut in, "Really? We appreciate it. Let's go Marinette"
Alya grabbed Nino's and Marinette's hand and ran out of the classroom dragging her friends with her and only let go of them when they reached the end of the hallway.
"What are you doing Al?" Nino asked the teacher's gonna be so mad.
Alya looked smugly at her boyfriend and responded, "Technically she didn't forbid us from going to find and help him. She asked us what we thought her answer was going to be and act according to that, and I very much believed she'd wants us to act emphatically and go help our friend, right Marinette?"
Marinette knew they were going to be in trouble for this but right now Alya was right, there clearly was something wrong with him and he needed their help (besides every moment where she wasn't expected to take of her backpack was a moment of potential trouble for Marinette avoided). Every day Marinette was reminded that she made the right choice when picking a holder for the fox Miraculous, however temporary a thing it had been for now.
"Okay, when Adrien ran I clearly saw he didn't run in the direction of the school gate, where he would normally go to if he truly had a modelling gig like he claimed, but Marinette, you should go check there just to be sure, Nino you go check the library, when you're finished there go help Marinette, I'll go search the back of the school." Usually when something strange like this happened Marinette would take control of the situation like with the Chevalier Noir incident, but Alya seemed to be in an assertive mood today and her plan was sound, so Marinette wasn't going to argue and put herself at the centre of attention, especially today. So, they all nodded to each other and ran in separate directions.
Marinette arrived at the school's front door's and to her luck, the principle was no longer standing there, that was going to save her an explanation. Adrien was nowhere to be seen around here on first glance, so she opened the doors and walked outside to see if she couldn't find any signs of Adrien's car driving away.
She looked out in all directions but saw no sign of the vehicle anywhere, and there seemed to be a traffic jam around the school and in the timeframe between Adrien running away and Marinette arriving at the front door to look for him wasn't wide enough for his car to have disappeared out of sight, so either Adrien's chauffeur could make his car fly or Adrien was lying and Marinette found the latter option more likely. Now Marinette knew for sure Adrien was lying she started to worry a bit more about the boy of her dreams than she already was, "what if he got akumatised? He really did seem distressed earlier. Can I even transform like this? maybe, but it's way too risky. Do I even have it in me to fight Adrien? I mean, I managed to fight Lady Wifi and La Bafena but who know how my clumsiness will act up when it's Adrien in some kind of skin-tight supersuit."
Marinette went back inside and with a sigh. "We better find him before anything too bad happens" she said out loud to herself.
Marinette walked away from the front doors back deeper into the building, checking some of the rooms she knew should be empty at this hour, first some classrooms that weren't in use at the moment, but those where all locked. Next, she checked the locker rooms luckily for her those weren't locked. She walked in the girl's locker room, and just like Marinette expected he wasn't in here, because surely, Adrien isn't the type to sneak out just to creep around in the girl's dressing room.
"Okay up to the boy's lockers." She sighed to herself. She stood still before the door in a moment of contemplation. Then, she knocked, even though she knew nobody was going to answer and slowly opened the door.
"Adrien... Are you in here?" She said, relatively softly?
"Adrien?" She repeated, at her normal tone of voice this time.
She looked around the room. And noticed nothing out of the ordinary, besides of the corner of one of the locker doors at back of the room being partially bend open. Which was suspicious until she remembered that last week someone's jacket got stuck into in the boy's locker room and they had to bend the locker open to get him free, that must be the one. Out of curiosity she walked closer to that locker room, she had checked her part of the school and would soon meet up with Nino to go check elsewhere, so what could it hurt to look around in a room she barely ever entered besides when she was on one of her phone stealing rampages. The locker had been pried open with a crowbar, you could still see the crowbar-shaped dent in the folded-out corner. She wondered who it was that had gotten stuck, she heard someone did, but all the other specifics where only rumours.
"Dude, you in there!?" She heard someone yell from outside the room, which very much startled Marinette. In a single movement she turned around 180° and the moment she realised it was just Nino she heard a giant ripping sound.
Her backpack had torn and gotten stuck at the locker.
"What was that in there? I'm coming in." She heard Nino say.
In the brief moments of panic she experienced as she saw the door open, she managed to make the tear in her bag even bigger which still didn't free her bag from the locker's hold.
"Oh Marinette, it's just you, have you found Adrien yet?" Nino said the moment she saw Marinette standing in the back corner of the room.
All Marinette could do offer in response was furiously shaking her head.
"Oh that's too bad, let's go search for him somewhere else. Common, let's go Marinette"
"No"
Marinette heard herself say.
"WHAT? Why ever would you think a reply like that would help ANYTHING in this situation?" Her thoughts scolded her voice.
"Hey, maybe he didn't hear me and I can come up with a better response and I can pry myself loose and try to salvage my bag to make sure the wings are still properly hidden." The more optimistic part of her mustered.
"No...?" Nino repeated slowly, "Are... are you okay, Marinette?"
"No" She said again, this time with an enormous sigh.
Alya was dumbfounded, she was the one to find Adrien, and she didn't know what to say about the state he was in, so she just spoke about what she saw "Adrien, are those... cat ears?"
The only times she saw such panic on someone's face was when there were akuma attacks or when Adrien walked by just when Marinette said something compromising. The poor boy answered with a panicked "It's not what it looks like"
Alya grabbed her phone, because any and all of her reporter instincts, plus her experience with her sister, told her that whenever someone says "It's not what it looks like" it's more what it looks like than what they would want you to think. Alya took a picture, she didn't want to take advantage of her emotionally compromised friend, she really didn't, but she needed any level of control over this situation in order not to freak out.
Alya looked down at her phone to check the picture (perfect as usual, if she does say so herself), Took a moment to take a couple of deep breaths, and finally said, "Okay Adrien, what could this possibly be if not exactly what it looks like it is?".
Adrien just stood there, mouth agape, saying nothing for a whole 10 seconds and suddenly answered with "these ears are prosthetic ones for a photoshoot, they won't come of and father said I should just wear them to school until they can properly remove them without breaking them and that I under no circumstance should break them but, of course they got wet, which I presume is bad for them and I panicked because I didn't want anyone to find out I broke them."
As Adrien kept rambling, Alya was completely unamused, which was very much something you could read on her face. She politely waited for him to finish and simply said "Adrien, you do realise that as you're saying all this those ears move around as if you were a real nervous cat?"
Adrien quickly moved his hands to his head to cover up the ears, which very much did not make him look less suspicious. She saw Adrien go through several explanations in his head.
When suddenly, an explanation of her own shot through her head, an explanation that was shocking enough to make her gasp out loud.
"Adrien, you're chat noir" she suddenly said to him, almost yelling her sentence.
"No, I'm not" Adrien replied equally loudly "The truth is... I... I'm turning into a were-cat because Chat Noir bit me last night"
Alya deadpanned him, and with a very unamused tone asked him, "Adrien, ARE you turning into a were-cat because chat noir bit you last night, Adrien?"
"No" Adrien answered, downcast, with shame clear in his voice.
"Are you Chat Noir, Adrien?" Alya asked, still as unamused as before.
"Yes" he sighed.
"Eugh this isn't good, Ladybug is probably gonna kill m-" Adrien began when he was suddenly interrupted by Alya who jumped into him and was suddenly giving him a big bearhug.
"Alya?! I get that you're a fan but this is a bit much?" Adrien, who was very much confused as of what was happening right now asked Alya, who was still hugging him.
"Don't you get it, Chat?" Alya beamed at him "It's me, Rena R-"
Alya managed to stop herself, but it was already too late.
"well... it looks like Ladybug is going to have to kill me as well."
"Rena? But your miraculous? I mean, where... is it?" Adrien asked, clearly very confused.
"ladybug made me give it back after the fight was done, but I can prove it's really me!"
"Alya, there's no need, I... I believe you" said Adrien, who was slowly managing to get his composure back.
But Alya didn't seem to listen, she suddenly grabbed Adrien's right arm with her left hand, pulled it upwards and gave his hand a high five, then she pulled it even further up, positioned his arm so that his palm was pointed down and then gave him a 'down low', now she moved her their arms in a position to do the same thing but in reverse, but time Adrien was moving along with her, next for the next step Alya had let go already and Adrien just gave her the mutual finger gun point all on his own. Alya saw the light shine in his eyes, "yep that's Rena alright", she just saw him thinking and for what was probably the first time today, Adrien genuinely smiles.
Marinette was backed into a corner, literally. Her backpack was stuck on a broken locker, it was probably tared open enough for her infernal wings to be seen by anyone who managed to get even a glance at it and she gave what was probably the worst answer she could have given in her situation.
"What's wrong?" Her concerned friend asked. Marinette decided that is she were to lie right now she'd probably blurt out something stupid and make everything worse so she decided that the truth would be best.
"Honestly Nino, I've been lying to you and everybody else since the beginning of the year, I'm actually ladybug, and have been saving all of you in secret, but now there's something wrong, the broblem probably lies with my Kwami, Tikki, the little fairy-imp thing that gets sucked into these earrings which allows me to transform, and now I've seemingly permanently grown a pair of giant ladybug-wings which I'm very much struggling to hide. Also, in case you SOMEHOW haven't noticed before, I have a huge crush on Adrien, Adrien Agreste, your friend, to make sure there isn't any confusion."
just kidding, but imagine if Marinette actually said that though, that'd be hilarious, I wonder how Nino would react? Anyway, where was I? Oh yea, she decided the truth would be best.
"You see Nino, I've somehow gotten my backpack stuck on this locker, but don't worry about it, please just go look for Adrien while I just pry myse- euhm, I mean the backpack loose" She said, somehow completely calm.
Nino started walking toward Marinette, "Let me just help you out there Marinette, you wouldn't want to damage your back any further by accident" he said.
"Dang it Nino, why do you gotta be so helpful?" Marinette thought. "Oh no, it's okay Nino, I'm fine, really, Adrien needs your help more than I do right now so just go on ahead" she quickly said. Nino stopped dead in his tracks for a moment, took a moment of silence and suddenly replied with "Just because someone else has worse problems than you, doesn't mean that you don't deserve any help" and started walking again.
"Dang, that was a smooth reply "Marinette thought" I really gotta remember that one to use as Ladybug. But right now, I have to get Nino away"
"Nino, stop!" Marinette yelled.
He complied but looked rather confused.
"I think I heard something in the hall, maybe it's Adrien, you should go check it out." Marinette continued, clearly more desperate this time.
"I didn't hear anything" Nino said "Marinette, dude, you're acting really weird right now." He started walking again, he was too close to stop him now. A dozen scenarios went through Marinette's, none of which would were going to work, the last thoughts Marinette could think before Nino stood next to her were: "Dang it Nino, why do you have to be so nice and helpful, Kwami of good luck my butt".
Nino started inspecting her back, "yo, dude the tare isn't that bad. You should be able to fix it if you want" He said. He suddenly stuck his hand through the hole, probably to help get the bag unstuck from the locker, but in doing so he accidentally also grabbed the edges of one of her wings, which didn't really hurt her, but at this point she was so tensed up again that the thing startled her, she yelped, which in turn startled Nino, who in his surprise pulled his hand back, a bit too quickly, and in doing so only tared the bag further open.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry Marninette, I only made it worse, I shou-' Nino began, but stopped with a confused look on his face, at this point he must have noticed there was something weird about the contents of her bag, because of the hole that was now very much big enough to see through. And then the worst thing that possibly could have happened, happened. Her wings started twitching.
Nino screamed.
For the first time today, Adrien felt like he could relax a little, Rena Rouge, or rather his friend Alya Césaire had found out his secret identity, which wasn't ideal, but he finally had someone who could help him, someone he could be honest with, someone he didn't have to bribe with cheese and maybe most importantly someone who would understand.
"Adrien" Alya said.
"Yes, Alya?" He responded.
"I'm really happy you're Chat Noir, but to be honest I hadn't pegged you for such a dork, with the whole hand kissing and punning thing, you've got going on."
"What can I say, Alya?" Adrien responded, with a more... Chat Noir tone of voice "I got to give the people what they want" Alya playfully rolled her eyes and gave him a half-mile, He continued "Besides, it'll be sooner rather than later before Ladybug finally gives into my charms." He gasped, had he really just admitted that out loud, to Alya of all people no less? He looked at his friend in stunned silence but he didn't get the playful, teasing response he expected, instead Alya looked... weird... he couldn't quite decipher the look on Alya's face, she looked kind of... sad? but there was more to it than that. Before he could ask what was wrong though, Alya beamed up again, gave him that playful look he expected in the first place and she said, "Forget it pretty boy, Ladybug's mine, you better find someone else."
Alya was taking this better than expected, but he somehow felt the need to continue the conversation. "What about, my man Nino, Alya? You just gonna dump him for my partner" he answered, playfully. "Nah man, Nino knows what I think of LB, I'm sure he'd be willing to share me with her" she said as she waved her hand upwards, seemingly trying to swat his concern away.
Adrien laughed at that, "we'll see about that RR, but till then we, or at least I, have got to get out of here to find her, ad sort this whole mess out. Do you think you can help me?"
Alya thought for a minute, "have you tried... taking the ring of?" She asked.
"Yes, it seems to be stuck to my finger right now" He responded
"Hmm you're right Adrien, hanging around here will be dangerous for you, now we just have to think of a way to get Nino And Marinette to stop their search. That's going to be difficult, just telling them to give up because you're nowhere to be found isn't going to discourage those two." Alya mused.
"I should have guessed those two were also searching for me" he replied with a little smile on his face.
"Oh, and we have GOT to get you in some different clothes you're not exactly dressed inconspicuously right now, speaking of which what the heck is up with those trousers? You got like, a tail as well or something?" She giggled.
"What!? No, of course not!" Adrien said, way to defensively.
"Oh my god you do." Alya replied in a single breath.
"Can... can I see it?" Alya asked, trying to give her best begging kitten eyes.
Adrien sighed, deeply, "Fine". He started to fumble around his butt and lowered his trousers a little, they were up on a normal height now, because he very much had pulled them as high as he could that morning, which wasn't exactly comfortable.
A thin cat-tail, the same colour as his hair, now stuck out between his belt and t-shirt.
Alya in her excitement grabbed it and pulled it closer to her face to inspect it closer, but it took Adrien by surprise "AUW Alya careful with that, it hurts." He said, more annoyed than bruised.
But Alya wasn't really listening to him anymore and kept playing around with it. Adrien very much felt a blush appearing on his face, this was quite embarrassing, he thought. They stood there awkwardly for about 20 seconds, Adrien covering his face with his hands as Alya was holding his tail practically in her face, when she suddenly asked "Can you move it around for me?"
Adrien's face turned as red as his partner's suit in about two whole seconds as he yelled, "ALYAAAAH" in a shocked and a very embarrassed tone.
"Oh, please just for me, I swear I won't tell anyone" she pleaded, but she couldn't really hide her excitement.
"You're not supposed to tell anyone about any of this to begin with he said" still very much embarrassed, but he still complied and tried wiggling his tail around a bit, which was surprisingly hard to do on purpose.
Adrien kind of felt like Alya was filming him, but he couldn't be sure because all of this was of course happening behind his back. "Are... are you done now?" He asked, still as red as a tomato. "okay yea sorry I got distracted, now for an exit strategy-" Alya started ad she was suddenly cut of by a voice which was comic from further down the hall, from behind a corner "What's going on there why aren't you children in your classrooms?" It was monsieur Damocles, he was patrolling the hallways. and in five seconds he would see the two teens stand there and in all of Adrien's exposed glory no less.
They did the only sensible thing they could do, they ran outside tough the door.
Before they knew it, they were about two streets away from the school, panting in an alley. "Okay, that was a smooth exit, now we still have to find a way to stop Nino and Marinette from looking for us" Alya said as she was leaning against a wall, breathing heavily.
"Do you really think they're actually still looking for me though?" Adrien said, not really looking at her "Surely, I'm not worth so much of their time and effort."
Alya looked at his friend, she felt sad for him " Superhero or not, that boy sure's got some self-esteem issues." She put her hand on his shoulder startling him, and in her sweetest tone of voice, trying to channel her inner Marinette, she told him, "Of course they are Adrien, they're your friends. We all care about you, you silly cat." Adrien started to smile but it didn't really reach his eyes. This day must have really taken a toll on him.
"Anyway, I think our next steps are clear, get our friends of our tail, pun kinda intended, find ladybug, somehow, and fix you and probably ladybug as well."
"Sounds easier said than done, don't you think", Adrien replied, more upbeat this time.
Alya gave a smirk, well, Chat noir I think I'm going to be better at this than you except. Adrien looked puzzled. "What do you mean Alz?" He asked.
"we're going to solve all this" she said her grin widening.
"Because I think I know what caused all this."
Marinette covered Nino's mouth, "Shhhhhh Nino. Please stay quiet. I'm going to remove my hand from your mouth and we are going to have a calm civil conversation about this, okay?" she said, almost whispering.
Nino slowly nodded his head.
Marinette slowly moved her hand.
Nino took a small step backwards, took 3 deep breaths, "okay dude what the heck is in your backpack".
Marinette took a couple of deep breaths of her own as she was contemplating what to say, there weren't any of lies that could get her safely out of this situation, and if there where she couldn't think of them.
Her last deep breath evolved into a sigh and she awkwardly tried to open the zipper on her backpack, which wasn't easy seeing that it was stuck both to her back AND the locker. So, after a handful of very awkward moments, Nino just stepped in and slowly unzipped it himself. Marinette opened her mouth, to say what exactly she wasn’t' quite sure, but it was not to be because Nino was the first to speak "Marinette, dude, have you been akumatised?"
Marinette gasped, Nino had given him the perfect out, if she just said yes now and stared acting all crazy and super villain-y nobody would suspect a thing. She certainly considered it.
"No, Nino, I'm... I'm quite the opposite. Look at the wings, Nino, what type of wings are they?" Marinette asked.
"The opposite...? Well they look like ladybug wi-" Nino replied, but she he stopped right in his tracks as he made his realisation. He took another small step backwards and scanned over Marinette multiple times, which was not exactly how she liked being looked at so casually so she started to blush, but before she could complain, Nino noticed how rude he was being and broke of his gaze and said, "Man, how have I never seen it before, it's so obvious."
"Probably because magic" Marinette mused.
Marinette expected Nino to start asking questions but before she could say anything else, Nino was standing next to her again, and zipped the bag close. Before she could quite process what was happening, Nino was fumbling around with the tare in the bag again.
"Nino, what are you doing?" She asked. "Well we can't have the hero of Paris being stuck to a locker now, can we?" He said absentmindedly as he was trying to carefully slide the bag out of the broken locker.
"Don't you have questions, about any of this?" She asked him.
"Yea, dude, of course I do but all I need to know right now that the person who saved me from being 'the bubbler' is in trouble, and that she really didn't want me to know about her secret identity, I'm sorry about that bee tee dubs, it really seemed like you didn't want me to know, I can respect that. And now I need to pay her back." Nino replied, finally getting Marinette loose.
Marinette really felt bad for making Nino feel bad, so she turned to look at him, grabbed him by both his shoulders and said, maybe a bit too loudly "No, Nino, I'm not angry that you know or anything, and it's not that I didn't want you to know or anything. It's just that I was forbidden from telling literally anyone. Chat Noir doesn't even know, let alone Alya or my parents. And please don't feel indebted to me, it's just what's a superhero is supposed to do, you know?" Marinette said, but after saying it she felt that she might have worded it wrong, but Nino just looked at her with kindness in his eyes and said "No, 'Nette you are always helping everyone, no matter what it might mean for you, you're more than just a superhero and you deserve all the help you can get. So, if you'll let me, let me help you find some duct tape to cover that hole in your bag, find a way to fix this thing that's going on with you and find my main man Adrien so we can help him as well, together. Again, that is if you want my help."
Marinette just found herself just warming up on the inside, she had surrounded herself with such good friends and at the worst times in her life they were really there for her. She jumped into Nino to give him a quick hug and in the most cheerful tone she had used all day, she said "Okay let's go Nino. I've always wanted a sidekick" she giggled that last part. Nino started to roll his eyes but stopped when Marinette pulled him away from his spot out of the room.
Now they were running together looking for the nearest supply closet.