Chapter Text
“Trixx, detransform me.”
Lila exhaled in relief as her transformation fell, stepping forward to drop onto her couch as the fox kwami materialised in the room, fluffing out his large tail crossly.
“That was close!” he huffed. “You need to stop cutting it so fine.”
Lila shrugged, dragging her fingers through her windswept hair. “You’re telling me. Chat nearly caught me.” She smirked. “But I still got away with something.”
Trixx tutted, but his curiosity soon got the better of him. “What did you get this time?” he asked, darting closer.
“Just this,” Lila huffed, holding out the glittering brooch she’d swiped from the safe in the Agreste mansion. “Chat Noir appeared so fast that I barely managed to escape. It was only that Ladybug mirage that got me out of there.” She held the brooch up to examine it, idly watching the light reflect off the circular gemstones set around its edge.
Trixx’s eyes widened. “Lila, do you know what this is?”
Lila glanced at him; he was staring at the brooch with something between delight and shock. “What? What’s wrong?”
“This is a Miraculous!” Trixx shrieked. “The Peacock Miraculous! It’s been missing for decades!” He began flitting around the room, his tail fluffed up. “We need to take it to the Guardian, we need to let him know it isn’t lost- I need to talk to Duusu!”
“Whoa.” Lila caught him as he flew past her head. “Calm down. Who is Duusu?”
Trixx darted back to the brooch. “She’s the kwami of the Peacock Miraculous.” He inspected the brooch more closely. “She’s sleeping in here. I can sense her power.”
“What was a Miraculous doing in a safe at the Agreste mansion?” Lila asked.
Trixx shrugged. “I don’t know. The Peacock Miraculous disappeared years ago, like I said. Only Duusu and her last holder know why she was in that safe.”
“Well… can we ask her?” Lila picked up the brooch again. “Will she come out?”
Trixx looked troubled. “I don’t know. She’s dormant at the moment, she might not wake up without a new holder. We should really be taking her to the Guardian.”
“You know we can’t do that,” Lila said. “Carapace is the Guardian now and he’d only want to take you away from me.”
“I know,” Trixx said, dejected. “Well… I suppose you should just keep hold of it for now.”
Noticing his ears droop, Lila frowned at him as she placed the brooch in her safe. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m happy that you’ve found the brooch,” Trixx muttered glumly. “But I’ve missed Duusu. She’s my other half. I just wish I could see her.”
“I thought bacon was your other half.”
“Bacon?” Trixx perked up instantly.
Lila chuckled, locking the safe. “That did the trick. Hey, at least you know Duusu’s safe now.”
“You’re right!” Trixx flew around her head as she walked to the kitchen. “Oooh! Here’s an idea! What if you found a partner in crime? They could be Duusu’s new holder! Fox and peacock working together again! It’s been so long…”
“This fox is doing just fine solo, thank you.” Lila put the frying pan on the gas, switching on the flame. “Although… I wonder if Adrien knew that brooch is a Miraculous? He looks great in blue.”
Trixx giggled mischievously. “Hey, I bet Chloe would, too…”
“Ugh, don’t even say her name.”
“Why not? You say it a lot. Mostly at night.” Trixx looked thoughtful. “When you’re having one of your long tooth-brushing sessions.”
Lila swiped at him. “Shut up, or no bacon.”
“You wouldn’t deprive your poor little fox of food!” Trixx looked outraged.
“You’re right. I wouldn’t, but only because you’d scream all night if I did.”
Trixx nodded sagely. “What other reason is there for doing anything?”
Lila sighed. “What would I have said when I first met you if I had known that one day I would be awake at 3am cooking you bacon?”
“Hey. Phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty fox body. You should feel honoured to be cooking me bacon.”
“Should I also feel honoured when you fall asleep on my chest and blow bacon breath into my face all night?”
“Kit, you have been touched by the bacon breath of a god.”
“Well it’s a god that needs a breath mint.”
-----
A few nights later, Lila had chosen her next target; the offices of the Mayor, Chloe Bourgeois. Paris was almost a dictatorship under the Bourgeois family at this point; old Andre had retired last year, his daughter, who had been steadily rising to power, had gone for the spot and it had fallen into her lap. There was obviously something going on behind the scenes, but the family also did a good job, so few citizens were really concerned.
Lila scouted the building out for a couple of days. Normally there were windows left open on the upper floors, far too high for any normal thief, but an easy access point for a Miraculous holder with a super jump.
From her carefully-chosen position, concealed in the shadow of a chimney, she watched the comings and goings from the office as the evening drew in. An open window on the seventh floor, her chosen access point, allowed her to hear snippets of sound from within, picked up and magnified by her tall ears. She smiled as she heard the shrill tone of the mayor carry across the street.
-------
“Sabrina, aren’t you finished yet? I have to get to Adrien’s!”
No, Chloe, I’m not finished. Maybe it’s because you dropped a new pile of work on my desk two hours ago. Sabrina bit back the retort. “No, sorry, Chloe.”
“Well, you’ll just have to work overtime then. Come on, Pollen, let’s go.”
The bee kwami shot off the pillow where he had been resting, rushing over to drop into Chloe’s bag. He shot Sabrina a smug look as Chloe headed for the door, and Sabrina glared back at him until he dropped out of sight.
At first Sabrina had been honoured that Chloe had shared her secret identity with her, but she had quickly realised that it was purely so that Chloe didn’t have to come up with excuses when an akuma attacked; Sabrina would just reschedule everything as soon as an akuma alert came in. Sabrina had also somehow become responsible for making sure the office was always supplied with sugared violets, which were all the picky bee kwami would eat. More often than not she was forced to spend an hour or so selecting the very best ones for him, and she’d often get it wrong.
It had been so long now since Paris had been peaceful, without a tempest of Miraculous holders doing battle almost daily. Almost a decade since he had first appeared, Hawk Moth still remained hidden, and was still set on the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses. Half of Paris had probably been akumatised by this point.
Ladybug and Chat Noir had new teammates now, though; Chloe had become Queen Bee a few years back, and shortly afterwards a turtle hero, Carapace, had joined them. The four did a good job of keeping Paris safe, Sabrina supposed, and the public was still fairly enchanted with the heroes, conditioned by now to the constant akuma attacks. Though the city’s population had definitely decreased. Some people couldn’t handle the attacks, and had moved away.
The door slammed as Chloe left, and Sabrina glanced back at the computer. Deciding she’d earned a break from writing Chloe’s speech, she searched for an article about the recent robbery at the Agreste mansion; photos showed Gabriel and Adrien standing outside their mansion with very staged distraught expressions, and a blurry zoomed-in image of the only object taken; a fancy brooch that had supposedly belonged to Adrien’s mother.
Further down was a grainy still of the thief from the mansion’s CCTV, and Sabrina paused, surprised. The figure was clad in orange and white, and appeared to have two long ears poking from their hair, nothing like the clothing of any typical thief.
She scanned the article. The only quote came from Gabriel. ‘I am grateful to Chat Noir for his rapid arrival at the scene; however, he was unable to apprehend the thief, who escaped with a priceless family possession. I will offer a large reward for anyone who can offer information leading to this criminal’s capture, or to the safe return of the brooch.’ There was no mention of the strange appearance of the thief, though discussion was rife in the comments.
Someone in the comment section had linked to a post on the Ladyblog, and Sabrina clicked it, curious. It was a video, only a couple of minutes long, entitled ‘Agreste Mansion Robbery: Chat Noir Official Statement. Fox Miraculous Thief?’ It was a clip from Alya’s news segment; she now had a job covering everything superhero-related on the evening news. She was the only reporter to be able to get regular interviews with all of the heroes, which had allowed her to rise to fame pretty quickly.
Alya smiled at the camera as the video began, sitting opposite a serious-faced Chat Noir. “Hello, Paris! Chat Noir is here to give us a quick statement on what happened at the Agreste mansion on Tuesday night, where a thief made off with a valuable brooch. Chat, you were the only hero to make it to the scene before the thief escaped. Can you give us a description of the thief? I mean, we’ve all seen the surveillance image, and it seems as if they were wearing some sort of headgear?”
Chat didn’t smile. “That’s true. I have already discussed what I saw with my teammates, and they agree that this was no ordinary thief.” He looked into the camera. “People of Paris, please be very cautious about safeguarding your homes. It seems that the missing Fox Miraculous has come into the possession of a thief. The Fox Miraculous grants the ability to create convincing illusions- of people, objects, sounds, anything. Be extra wary, and make sure your precious belongings are locked up. And if you see any sign of this thief I urge you to contact us over the Ladyblog immediately.”
“So can you describe what we should be looking out for?” Alya pressed. Sabrina noticed she was no longer smiling. Her face had dropped, in fact, at the first mention of the Fox Miraculous.
“The thief is a young woman dressed in an orange and white suit, with long brown boots and gloves and tall fox ears in her hair. She also wore an orange and white mask over her eyes, and a fox-tail necklace. If you see anyone who matches this description, especially at night, please contact us immediately. We believe she may also be behind a string of smaller thefts across Paris.” Chat nodded to himself. “That’s all the info we have for now, Paris. Stay vigilant!”
“You heard him, Paris! Keep your eyes open for that foxy thief!”
There were a flood of comments which Sabrina didn’t bother to read. Another Miraculous holder causing trouble, what a surprise. She closed the window and went back to the speech, typing and deleting, typing and rewording, barely noticing as the hour grew later and later.
Sabrina woke up with a start, her cheek pressed into her keyboard. Groaning, she sat up and appraised the enormous string of ‘wwwwwwwwwwwwwww’ she had added to the end of the speech before snapping her laptop shut. The action plunged her into semi-darkness; glancing out of the window she saw a dark, star-studded sky. A check of her phone confirmed that the early hours of the morning had arrived.
Running her fingers across the fading imprints of the keyboard on her skin, she glanced around. Everything seemed to be as it should-
rattle rattle
A rough metallic noise, like a jewellery box being shaken, came from down the hallway. Sabrina froze, listening, and heard soft footsteps.
It couldn’t be Chloe; she would have switched on the lights at least, if not made her presence known. And yet someone was moving around in Chloe’s private rooms.
Sabrina stayed quiet, unsure what she should do. She didn’t want to call the police if it did turn out to just be Chloe, but at the same time she didn’t feel safe calling out or going to check in case it was an intruder. She unlocked her phone. Maybe she could post on the Ladyblog and ask for the heroes to check in during their patrol? Then again, the patrol would likely be over by now.
She didn’t have time to debate, as she heard the door down the hall creak slightly and soft footsteps moving up the hallway towards her. Making a split-second decision, she turned off the phone, opened her laptop and put her face back on the keyboard. With her face towards the door, she closed her eyes to a slit and watched, her heart jumping as the footsteps paused outside the door.
The door handle slowly turned, and then the door was ever so slowly pushed ajar. The person paused again, as if listening, then finally entered the room.
The figure was looking right at her, eyes glinting in the dim light. Sabrina recognised the fox thief she’d heard described earlier as her eyes focused on the tall ears and the shadow of a mask on the woman’s face. The intruder stepped closer, and addressed her in a beautifully accented voice. “I know you’re awake. I heard your breathing change from the other room.”
Sabrina stayed still for a moment, then tentatively raised her head, closing her laptop again. A quick assessment showed her that all the figure carried was a flute; no weapon. The fox ears rising above her coppery brown hair were swivelling around to listen for trouble, but the woman herself did not seem concerned at all.
Sabrina stood up, emboldened by the lack of weaponry. “Who are you?” she asked, forcing her voice to stay steady. “And what are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m just scavenging,” came the response. “I thought the Bourgeois heiress might have some nice treasures.” The thief wandered over to Chloe’s barely-used desk and opened a drawer, rifling through the contents with mild interest. Sabrina almost unconsciously reached for her laptop and clutched it to her chest, and the other woman glanced up to watch, exhaling through her nose in something that sounded like amusement before moving on to the next drawer.
“Excuse me, but you need to leave!” Sabrina warned, marching around her desk to confront the other woman.
“Oh?” The thief straightened up, locks of her long hair falling around her bare shoulders. “Why’s that? Aren’t you enjoying my company?”
Sabrina glared at her incredulously. “You are breaking and ente-”
The thief cut her off. “I didn’t break anything. There was a window open on the seventh floor, I took the opportunity.”
“You are still trespassing,” Sabrina insisted. “And with obvious intent to steal.”
“Is it obvious?” The thief closed the drawer and crossed the room quicker than Sabrina thought possible; her green eyes were suddenly scrutinising Sabrina’s face. “How do you know I wasn’t just seeking company?”
“You- just said-” Sabrina stammered, but she was thrown off by the thief stepping closer once again, close enough that Sabrina felt trapped against the desk.
“I said I was looking for treasures,” the thief hummed. Sabrina’s skin prickled as the sharp green gaze flitted down her body. “Heh. Think I might have found one.”
“Now wait just a minute!” Sabrina pressed herself backwards against the desk in a futile attempt to put some distance between them. “You still haven’t told me who you are, and why I shouldn’t be calling the police right now!”
The fox rolled her eyes, but stepped back, to Sabrina’s relief. “My name is Renardente.” She tossed her head as she spoke, the fox-tail necklace at her throat catching the light where it rested against her exposed collarbone. Sabrina had to force herself to focus on the words being spoken rather than the smooth tan skin. She sensed Renardente’s knowing grin, and felt her face burn. “The fiery fox. And you shouldn’t be calling the police because they’d only interrupt us just as we’re getting to know each other.”
“Why would I want to know a petty thief?” Sabrina jabbed back.
“I’m going to ignore that little adjective,” Renardente said smoothly. “Try 'magnificent' instead. And you do want to know me. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be blushing so much. Or staring.”
“I- I’m not-” Sabrina stammered, but stopped at the obvious lie.
“Don’t worry, you’re not the first,” Renardente hummed, looking smug. “I’m a very foxy lady. Luckily for your little racing heart, I swing both ways.”
Sabrina kept silent, her mind panicking and crashing in on itself simultaneously. What is happening?
Her skin started prickling all over again as Renardente took a seat on the edge of her desk next to her, and she hardly dared look over as the thief leaned backwards to pull open the drawers. Renardente only gave the drawers full of papers a cursory glance before sprawling on the desk, a disappointed pout on her face. “This wasn’t nearly as fruitful as I hoped,” she complained. “Doesn’t little Miss Moneybags have any jewellery stashed around?”
“Like that brooch you took from the Agrestes?” Sabrina found her voice again, and turned a disapproving glare to the thief. “That pin was all Adrien had left from his mother, and you took it. You should be ashamed.”
Surprise glinted in Renardente’s eyes for a moment before she shrugged. “How was I meant to know? And it’s not like I can give it back.”
“Of course, you probably already sold it.” Sabrina turned away in disgust.
Renardente’s eyes narrowed, but then she shrugged. “It’s none of your business what I do with the things I take.”
“What do you want?” Sabrina repeated. She was exhausted, and irritated now, desperate to go home. But obviously, she couldn’t just leave Renardente to ransack the building. “You know there isn’t anything to steal now, so why are you still here?”
“Maybe I was enjoying our conversation.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“Too bad. I thought this could be the start of a promising friendship.”
“Friendship?” Sabrina glared incredulously at the other woman, who was still draped across the desk. She refused to acknowledge the way her face heated up as the fox thief shot her a flirty wink. “You’ve got some nerve!”
Renardente sat up and got to her feet, stretching casually. “It seems we’ve got off on the wrong foot. How about I give you a lift home?”
“What, so you can break in there too?”
“Again, never broke anything. And no, I just don’t think you can drive yourself home safely the way you are.”
“What do you-” Sabrina interrupted herself with a yawn, and when she opened her eyes Renardente was giving her an ‘I told you so’ look. She was also closer than Sabrina remembered.
“No, thank you,” Sabrina said stiffly. “I see your point, but I’ll just sleep here.”
Renardente raised her eyebrow, but eventually shrugged, turning away. “Have it your way.” She headed for the door. “I’m sure I’ll see you again, snappy redhead. I’ll be checking in here every so often from now on, see if Miss Bourgeois leaves me anything interesting.” She vanished out of the door, then whipped her head back into the room. “Not that she didn’t already.”
Sabrina stayed in her office, still clutching her laptop, until Renardente’s footsteps had faded. Realising she would just have to take the thief’s word that she would leave, Sabrina took her few valuables with her for safekeeping when she hurried down the corridor to the employee lounge and set herself up a makeshift bed on one of the couches. Despite her exhaustion, sleep took a long time to come, and when it did it brought confusing dreams of orange masks, white-tipped tails and mesmerising green eyes.