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Ladybug dived over the police car, inadvertently knocking over Roger Raincomprix and caught Chloe just before she had plummeted to her death.
She had vaguely heard her say something about being nice to everyone though.
"I didn't promise." Chloe said smugly, removing herself from Ladybug.
"What?" Ladybug was disgusted, but not shocked in the least. Chloe was an insufferable brat. Of course she wasn't going to change because a superhero saved her life.
"Daddy! That monster ruined my hair!" She wailed, running over to her father as Chat landed next to her.
Before he could say anything though, they both heard Roger hollering at his men to fire.
"No! Stop!" Chat yelled.
"You know attacking Stoneheart is only going to make him even bigger!" Ladybug pleaded.
"Leave this to the pros." Roger glared at the teenage superheroes. "You've already failed us once!"
Ladybug's heart sank. This was hopeless. There was no way she could ever become one of the badass superheroes in Alya's comics or even like Chat Noir.
It was his first time too, and he looked like he had been doing this all his life.
Wearing a red and black spotted mask didn't change who she really was- the clumsy nobody named Marinette Dupain-Cheng who cannot even stand up for herself.
"He's right, you know." She mumbled sadly to her leather clad partner. "If I had captured the Akuma the first time round, none of this would have happened!"
She looked down at her feet. "I'm so not cut out to be a superhero."
She looked up when she felt warm hands touching her shoulders.
Chat Noir was smiling kindly at her. "No, they're the ones who are wrong. Because if it wasn't for you, that other girl would have still been stuck under the car, and more importantly, Chloe wouldn't have been here,"
He paused to look back at Chloe, who was complaining to her father about their hairdresser.
He sighed. "And alive."
She studied his expression. How was it that he didn't look disgusted or even surprised at Chloe's antics? Did he know her?
"So trust me on this." Chat turned his green eyes back on her. "We're going to fix things. For good this time. Okay?"
Ladybug was vaguely aware of a stupid goofy smile on her face.
Even after everyone had turned on her, he was still staying on her side. No matter what.
"Okay." She nodded, injecting some confidence back into her voice.
A loud gutteral scream tore both Ladybug, Chat and the rest of Paris from their trance.
Stoneheart, still holding Mylene keeled over behind him, but not before atleast a million moths came flying out of his mouth.
"What's going on?!" Mayor Bourgeois screamed, holding his daughter close.
The moths rearranged themselves to form a face that saw with cold, unfeeling eyes. Ladybug visibly shivered.
"People of Paris!" The face spoke.
"It talks?" Chat Noir piped up in her ear.
Ladybug had to hold back a giggle at how adorably confused he sounded. This wasn't the time. She HAD to stay focused.
"I am Hawkmoth." The face continued.
"Hawkmoth?" Both of them echoed.
"Ladybug, Chat Noir," it said, directly addressing them. "Give me the Ladybug earrings and the Cat ring. Now."
Both superheroes looked behind them to see the Mayor and his brat- erm, daughter were still cowering, but the once brave police officers had decided to either run or hide inside their cars.
"Don't you see that these poor innocent people have suffered enough?" Hawkmoth laughed evilly.
She heard a weird noise, like someone was trying to hold back laughter.
Ladybug saw Chat's cheeks puffed up, looking away.
She couldn't help it. She burst out into giggles just as he lost control of his laughter.
Everyone stared cluelessly at the two superheroes, one of whom was doubled up on the road while wiping away his tears.
"You better not be laughing at my hair!!" Chloe yelled maliciously at them, crossing her arms.
No one responded to her.
Chat calmed down even to say, "I was thinking that naming people was the only thing you were bad at, Hawkmoth. I mean, are you a Hawk or a moth? Why would you even want to mix up those specific animals together? And Stoneheart? Really? Now that's just lame." He scoffed, and Ladybug laughed even louder.
"What about something like Skullcrusher? Now that's much more original."
He grinned at Ladybug, sending a wink in her direction.
He didn't even seem to care that no one else had laughed at his jokes. All he cared was that she was smiling again.
It was safe to say her heart melted.
Hawkmoth's face twisted in anger. "You impudent stray! I am much more powerful than you. Both of you! Why would Paris even trust superheroes who showed up out of nowhere? Why would you two be trustworthy?"
"Nice try, Hawkmoth." Ladybug flashed a grin back at Chat. "But we know who the bad guy is. Without you, none of these innocent people would be transformed into stone beings. Let's not reverse the roles here."
She turned to her partner. "Mind giving me a boost?" She asked sweetly.
"Anything to make Am-I-a-bird-or-an-insect know his place!" Chat said energetically.
He extended his staff just as Ladybug jumped onto the Eiffel tower using it as leverage.
This was the first time she had ever purified an Akuma. But it felt so right. Releasing nothing but a mound of pure white butterflies into the sky felt.... miraculous.
That was when Marinette realized. She was more than the clumsy girl who couldn't talk to anyone. She was a superheroine who could save lives and purify akumas. She was Ladybug.
"People of Paris! Yeah!!" Chat fist pumped as he landed on the Eiffel tower next to her. He was enjoying all the attention people were giving him.
"They like us now, m'lady." He grinned at her.
M'lady?
She could get used to that.
Fighting off a blush, she said, "We promise you, no matter when, where or how, Ladybug's and Chat Noir will always be there to protect you!"
"Ladybug! Chat Noir! Ladybug! Chat Noir!" Everyone chanted. Even Chloe did. Begrudgingly.
Chat was busy soaking up the attention good naturedly.
But Ladybug hadn't heard any of the cheers or attention. She had eyes only for the kind cat who had been supportive of her when everyone, including herself had lost hope.
That's when Ladybug realized something.
Well, two somethings. Stoneheart had come back to life to break them into pieces and that she was in love with Chat Noir.
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Adrien opened up his umbrella, still shaking his head at the number of people he heard talking about Marinette standing up to Chloe.
The way they were talking about it, it had to be a big deal. But he had to admit, Marinette never seemed like the shy type to him.
Then again, what did he know? He had barely known her for two full minutes and had managed to piss her off.
Sure, it wasn't his fault, it was Chloe's, but it still bothered him.
Was he always going to make bad impressions on genuinely good and righteous people like Marinette?
"9'o clock, kid!" Adrien heard Plagg whisper from his shirt pocket.
Rolling his eyes, he turned to his left, expecting to see a huge cheese factory exclusively for Camembert, but it was not.
It was Marinette, popping under an awning, waiting for the rain to pass. His heart soared. This was it. His chance to apologise.
She hadn't noticed him, and it felt like his tongue was made out of lead.
"Be yourself, dude!" Nino's words echoed in his ears.
"Hey Marinette! I'm sorry I didn't stand up against the only friend I had who humiliated you for no reason?"
Who was he kidding?
In front of cameras, he was the definition of poise. Yet, he couldn't even talk to a girl without his legs turning into jelly.
"Adrien?"
Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
She was looking directly at him, and though she didn't look too annoyed, he realised he was staring at her like a creep.
Great. I should be banned from communicating at all. He thought.
That was all he was. A pretty face.
"I-I was just waiting for my car!" He exclaimed, stammering. "Must be traffic, heh heh."
He made sure to discreetly punch his pockets to shut up Plagg's loud cackles.
"Oh." Was all she said.
She was looking at him. Not breaking eye contact. And for some reason, he couldn't look away either.
"Listen I-" both of them spoke at the same time and stopped abruptly.
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. This was not going well.
"I heard what Nino said to you." Marinette said hesitantly.
He perked up. "You mean the part about the truth about the chewing gum?"
"Yeah," she said. She didn't sound angry. Good sign then.
"I'm sorry I judged you too harshly." She apologized.
"You were only trying to get the gum off and I didn't even listen to your side of the story."
Adrien was speechless. Marinette wasn't just bold, she was also honest and sincere.
"It's okay." He said, laughing it off. "I didn't know anything about school culture, at least that's what Chloe said."
He saw her tense up a bit. He wasn't stupid. He knew how everyone felt about Chloe.
"The truth is..." He confessed. "This is my first time attending school. I've been homeschooled all my life and all of this is....new to me. Chloe is my only friend and...no wonder everyone thinks I'm like her."
"But you're not." Marinette said, cocking her head to the side. "You're nothing like her. You're nice Adrien. And that's saying a LOT."
His cheeks were heating up. Plagg's muffled laughter mingled with the echoes of his heart thumping wildly in his chest. "You think I'm nice?"
She nodded, smiling. "I hope we can be friends."
If his stomach was turning over earlier, it was conducting an entire circus act now.
He tried to nod, but instead ended up staring into the main street where it was pouring rain.
Suddenly, he got an idea.
"Take it." He said, offering the umbrella to her.
"Thank you, but I couldn't." She said. "You'll be drenched and your car seems no where in sight."
"Friends help each other." He said seriously. "Take it."
Marinette finally gave in, taking the few steps towards him and held out her hand to take the umbrella.
For the briefest of moments, her hand brushed against his fingers. A jolt shot through him like lightning. The feel of her skin was soft, and completely new and oddly familiar at the same time.
"Thank yo-" was all she got out before the umbrella closed in on her completely.
He could not help it. He burst into laughter. They got louder when he realised that she was laughing from underneath the umbrella too.
Marinette wasn't just bold, honest and sincere, she was real too. And he really loved that about her.
He couldn't remember laughing like this in so long without earning a glare from his father or Natalie.
Actually, he could. It was with Ladybug. Just this morning.
"See you tomorrow, Adrien." She chuckled. "Thanks for the umbrella."
"See you tomorrow." He said, relieved that he could talk normally now.
He watched Marinette round the corner out of his sight with the widest grin on his face.
Plagg came whooshing out of his hiding place, nursing his ears. "I swear upon every gooey piece of Camembert I have ever eaten, concerts are less louder than your heartbeat."
He took a look at Adrien's face and started cackling. "Oohh, someone's in lurve."
Adrien glared at his kwami. "No, I am not. And how would you know? You've never been to a concert before."
"Denial's the first stage kid." Plagg grinned wickedly.
He looked up at the sight of Adrien's car arriving and hid inside his shirt promptly.
Adrien ran down the stairs as fast as he could, opened the door and plopped himself on the plush leather seat.
"Whatever happened to your umbrella, Adrien?" He heard Natalie ask from the front seat as the car took a U-turn.
"It was stolen." He said dreamily, his thoughts still on Marinette.
"What?!" Natalie looked like she was having a seizure and Adrien quickly amended his slip up.
"Uh, I-I mean," he stammered. "Stolen is the new word for 'borrowed!" He laughed nervously. "It's what all the kids are saying these days. I gave it to-" he hesitated. "-a friend."
Natalie shook her head, turning her attention back to her tablet.
She suddenly caught sight of a young girl entering the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She was carrying a black umbrella.
Natalie would have dismissed it, anyone could have the same umbrella, if she hadn't seen Adrien staring adoringly at her as the car passed by the bakery.
She sighed. It wasn't his umbrella that was stolen. It was his heart.
She scrolled up, checking the box next to Mr. Agreste's 7:30 appointment.
Teenagers.