Chapter Text
Ladybug stepped to the well she just saw Fei fall in. “Grab on!” she yelled down, lowering her yoyo to save Fei.
Seconds later Fei jumped out of the fountain, smiling thankfully to Ladybug.
“Wait,” she said suddenly. “Marinette?”
“What? What makes you think that? I’m Ladybug. One of paris’ superheroes Ladybug and Chat Noir. Haven’t you heard of them- I mean me?” Suddenly she was back to her clumsy Marinette self.
“Ladybug? Aren’t you just Marinette in a fancy mask and suit? You have the exact same hair, face, and voice. If I were a superhero, I would try a bit harder to hide my identity”
“I- “Ladybug seemed speechless. Fei simply walked past her. “So, who is that villain you’re here to catch?”
These were her last words before running back to the waterfall, grinning sheepishly. The confused look on Marinette’s face was very funny.
As soon as Ladybug caught up, she started talking: “Hey, so I don’t get how you found out about my secret identity, but would you mind not telling anybody?”
“Yes, sure, I believe that I owe you anyways, so that can be arranged.” Fei said in her most professional voice. Then she laughed. “Did really no one find out while you seriously have not changed your hair cut at all?”
“Yea, I guess that’s just the magic of the kwami”
“The what?”
“The kwami. It looks like a mix between bug and mouse that gives me my powers. I don’t get how it didn’t work on you”
“Yeah, I’m a mystery or maybe I’m just skilled.” They arrived at the waterfall and went into the little cave.
After the villain was defeated, Ladydragon pulled Marinette aside to talk to her.
“So, Chat Noir doesn’t know who you are and you don’t know who you are?”
“Yes, we can’t reveal our identities to each other or Hawk Moth could find out.”
“And Hawk Moth is the evil butterfly man who named himself after a moth whatsoever?”
“Yes. Wow that is a pretty accurate description.”
“Now are you gonna go back to your uncle? After all you’re technically still missing”
“Oh, fuck, right. Thanks for having my back back there by the way.”
“Yeah, you’re really not that good at handling these kind of situations, are you?”
“No, I’m really not. Even after all this time of practice” Ladybug made a nervous hand gesture, shaped, where she shaped a rainbow in the air with both her hands. Then she giggled nervously.
“Well, I’ll always have your back,” Ladydragon walked closer to her. “While you’re in Shanghai at least. After that it could be a bit more difficult.” She grinned. “So, I gotta go now, unless you want me to accompany you of course!” Ladybug blushed.
“That would be nice” Suddenly she returned back to being nervous. “I mean because I still don’t know the way around of course. Not because I have a crush, only the crushing weight of responsibilities. Aah, what am I even saying? Please stop me”
Ladydragon put a finger on Ladybug’s lip.
“We should transform back now. You don’t want to turn up like this at your great uncle’s place.”
Ladybug said nothing she only giggled nervously again. Then she whispered: “Spots off” and suddenly was Marinette again.
“YOU’RE REALLY MARINETTE! I GUESSED RIGHT” Ladydragon looked at Marinette with a shocked face, pointing at her.
“Haha, very funny.”
“I know, right?”
Then Ladydragon also transformed back.
“See I even changed my hair color…”
Marinette narrowed her eyes, looking as angry as she possibly could at Fei. On her mouth however remained a little smile.
Marinette ate another spoonful of her soup. Fei had finished for a while and so just stared at her, waiting for her to finish. She had to talk to her. Normally she was really patient but there was something about this girl, that made her feel like she had no time. Not enough at least.
Now Marinette directed the conversation on her uncle’s birthday present, an accordion.
Since Marinette seemed to take forever finishing her soup and Fei had been taught to wait until a person is finished, she decided to simply pass time quicker.
“You know, I can actually play the accordion a bit,” she said.
“Oh, do you want to try it?” Wang asked her.
She smiled. “I’d love to”
She carefully took the instrument and started to play. It had been a time since she played the last time, but she managed to make it actually sound good, better than she had expected.
“Wow Fei, you’re really talented,” Marinette said making Fei smile.
“Thanks, it’s been a while”
Then, Fei almost couldn’t believe it, Marinette finisher her soup. She didn’t want to seem precipitous, so she finishes the song as casually as possible, before asking: “Hey Marinette, could I talk to you outside maybe?”
Marinette’s eyes widen a bit and Fei could swear she heard a little squeak coming from Marinette. Then the blue-haired girl nodded and stood up, while almost tipping over a bowl. She quickly fixed the plate back to where it was and followed Fei outside.
Fei kept walking until she’s sure they’re out of hearing distance, then she turned around. Maybe a bit too rapid because Marinette ran into her. Marinette stumbled backwards while screaming. Fei only stared at her. Then Fei cleaned her throat, pretending nothing had happened.
“So, what I wanted to talk to you about…”
“Yes?”
“I- well I know you’re not a long time in China anymore but I figured you’re there tomorrow still, so would you like maybe want to go…” Marinette still understood nothing. She couldn’t help her even a bit finding the right words. Fei collected all her breath and courage before saying the second half of the sentence. “… on a date or something?”
Marinette’s eyes widen again and she blushes hard, before nodding.
Fei smiles. Marinette smiles.
Then suddenly Adrien’s there.
“What are you two girls discussing?” he says smiling sheepishly, even though Fei has the hunch that he doesn’t have one.
Marinette turns to him in a way that is a mystery to Fei.
“We’re- “Marinette looks over her shoulder back to Fei, asking her for her help.
They start to have a wild conversation only with their eyes about what to tell Adrien, who looks very clueless.
Then Marinette turns back to him. “-going on a date.”
“Really? That’s awesome!” Adrien exclaims.
Both Marinette and Fei smile in relief.
“But what I wanted to tell you actually is that your soup is getting cold.”
“Huh, but she finished it” Fei says
“Yes, but you didn’t”
Fei arrives at Marinette’s uncle’s house exactly five minutes before 7 p.m.
They scheduled their date for 7 p.m., so Fei waits out the door for those five minutes, while constantly looking at her watch.
Then she rings the doorbell.
Marinette immediately opens. She wears a big smile as well as a pink dress with her emblem on it.
They’re going to the movie theatre, watching the launch of the ladybug and chat noir anime because Fei thought it would be funny.
Only as they arrive at the theatre, they realize that they encounter a slight issue as the anime is in Chinese, which Marinette doesn’t understand. They go inside anyway. Marinette has already watched the anime, so she says she’ll be fine.
Even though Fei doubts that they enter the cinema hall and sit down.
After the excruciating ads the anime finally starts.
Marinette really doesn’t understand a word, so after staring a while just intensively at the pictures, she starts staring intensively at Fei. Of course, a little more subtle. But Fei still notices.
She starts looking a little unsure, before finally turning her head to Marinette.
“You good?”, she asks.
“Yea,” Marinette just says.
Because there is no further explanation, Fei stops wondering and instead also stares subtly intensively at Marinette.
“Okay I get how that would irritate you.” Marinette says.
In that exact moment Fei catches in the corner of her eye a ladynoir kiss on screen.
“Wow that is so confusing.”
“Well, what they can do, we can do. „Marinette decides proudly
“Uuh, I didn’t know you could be that flirty!”
They slowly lean in, but just as they’re about to kiss, they can hear a silent cracking from the ceiling.
They look up as the cracking gets louder and they can see a crack in the ceiling, that spreads quickly.
“Is that a villain?” Fei whispers.
“I don’t know, but we still have to transform.”
They duck between their seats as luckily coincidentally they’re the only ones in the entire row.
“Spots on!”, Mari whispers. Next to her Lady dragon has already transformed.
“Everybody out!” Ladybug yells. The cracks have gotten deeper. “The building is about to collapse!”
That was all she had to say. Within seconds the whole cinema hall pushed itself through till the door.
Ladybug and Lady dragon tried their best to restore a little order and also to delay the collapse of the building.
Luckily no one was seriously hurt although some did stumble or ended up with a bruise by an elbow in their rib or something.
Since Ladybug wanted to finish the Akuma off as quickly as possible, she rushed out together with Ladydragon and called her lucky charm immediately.
“Lucky charm!”
A lifebelt fell out of the air.
“A lifebelt?” both of them asked almost simultaneously.
Ladybug secured it on her suit, then she followed Ladydragon to look for the villain.
Can’t defeat it when you don’t know where it is.
They followed a trace of crushed buildings until they could see the villain.
“I think he destroys buildings.” Ladydragon says.
“What makes you think that?” a voice says behind them. They turn around and see Cat noir.
“Chat Noir?!” Ladybug asks. “Why aren’t you in Paris?”
“I decided to turn this little trip into a vacation. Besides I could ask you the same thing. You flew off at the same time”
“Yes, but I- “Ladybug started, before she realized she had no idea what to say.
“There were issues.” Ladydragon said.
“Issues?”
“Exactly” Ladybug said and turned back to the villain who was already a lot further than before.
Cat noir just shrugged, accepted that Ladybug had to keep her secrets, as he already had done a while before.
“I see you already got your lucky charm. A lifebelt? Do you have an idea.”
“No,” Ladybug admitted. “Wait! Ladydragon, is there a swimming bath nearby?”
“Yes, pretty much just down the road. Why, do you have an idea?”
“Yes.”
“What do we do, m’lady?”
“First we wait.”
“And let him destroy more buildings?”
“My lucky charm will just have to fix everything.”
“Okay, so what do we do second?” Ladydragon asked.
“I need you to transform into the eagle. Then you, Chat, put this on him,” she gave him her lucky charm. “Ladydragon, you need to push him into the swimming bath after he destroyed it. Then you can cataclysm his akumatized object” For the last sentence she turned back to Chat.
“But what could his akumatized object be?”
They looked at the villain. He had a huge club that he destroyed the buildings with. One hit and they were down.
“Okay, I see.” Cat Noir said. “And what do you do, m’lady?”
“I hold the swimming bath up, so that Ladydragon can push him in. A little hard to push him into water when it’s just a pile of ruins.”
Cat Noir nodded.
“But doesn’t it take some time till the building actually collapses.”
“I just hope it collapses when we push against it”
They had reached the end of the road. Ladydragon now flying next to them as an eagle.
Suddenly the villain turned back to them.
“Ladybug! Chat Noir! What are you doing here?”
“Issues,” Cat Noir repeated Ladybug’s excuse from earlier.
“I hadn’t even thought about that. Why would Hawk Moth akumatize someone when he doesn’t even know we’re here?” Ladybug suddenly wondered.
“He’s probably here for Ladydragon,” Cat Noir suggested.
“Makes sense,” Ladydragon said.
Ladybug just nodded.
“Ladybug! Chat Noir! Ladydragon! I’m Destroyer. Hand over your miraculous or I will destroy the entire city!”
“Well, you’re off to a good start,” Cat Noir exclaimed, looking behind him to the whole street, which only consisted of ruins.
“We’re not gonna give you our miraculous. Just destroy the city! It’s not Paris, I don’t care!” Ladybug yelled. She was obviously bluffing, but Destroyer didn’t seem to realize that.
“That’s not very hero-like, Ladybug! But if you wish. It’s still Ladydragon’s city.”
Destroyer turned their back on them and went back to destroying the city. That was exactly Ladybug’s plan. The only way to return back to her original plan.
As soon as he destroyed the swimming bath, her plan went in action. Cat Noir wrapped the lifebelt around the villain, Ladydragon grabbed him with her claws and flew him towards the swimming bath.
In the meantime, Ladybug dug a hole in the wall, which Ladydragon flew destroyer now through.
Destroyer was completely surprised and only started to fight as soon as he entered the water.
Cat Noir jumped through the hole after Ladydragon and Destroyer and now cataclysmed the club.
An Akuma flew out of the ashes of the club. Ladybug who didn’t have to hold up the ceiling after all, caught it.
“No more evil-doing for you little Akuma!” she shouted. As a white butterfly flew out of her yoyo she said: “Bye bye, little butterfly”
Ladydragon threw the life belt back to Ladybug and then saved Destroyer, who turned back to his human form.
“Pound it!” they said together and fist bumped.
He said something in mandarin, which Ladybug didn’t understand.
“What did he say?” she whispered to Ladydragon.
“He said: what happened?” Cat Noir answered before Ladydragon could say anything.
“You speak mandarin?!” Ladybug said in wonderment.
“Yeah,” he said. He didn’t say it in a proud way more in a factual way. It almost sounded contrite.
Probably because there aren’t that many people in his age in France who speak mandarin.
Ladybug could only think of one. But she didn’t give it much thought.
The guy looked at them in amazement.
He really did have no idea what had happened nor what was happening.
“Okay, could you maybe answer?”
Ladybug didn’t understand anything but she just assumed he did.
“He says he’s an architect. And that his boss didn’t like one of his ideas and fired him”
“Ah okay makes sense” Ladybug answered. “So, you can get back to your vacation”
“And you can get back to your issues.”
“I will do that.”
“We’ll see each other in paris. Soon. Bye!”
“Yeah, bye!”
Cat Noir jumped away.
“That seemed… awkward,” Ladydragon said.
“That’s the problem with secret identities. Spots off,” Ladybug detransformed.
Then Ladydragon did too.
“So. You think the movie’s still on?” Fei asked.
“I’m pretty sure it’s over.”
“Well, then we just have to get to the second part of the date I guess.” She sat down. They were on a roof, which gave them an amazing view of the sunset.
“You think anyone’s gonna wonder why there are two girls sitting on a roof?”
“Oh, without a doubt,” Fei said and leaned in.
Marinette suddenly stood up.
“How are we gonna get down? What if someone’s watching when we try to transform?”
“Then let’s just get down now. No one’s watching now.”
“Yeah, and I think I have to get back to my uncle. He’s probably gonna be worried after the villain attack. Especially when I’m at the movies!”
“I understand”
“And tomorrow I have to go already!” She put her head in her hands.
“You can give me your number.”
“Oh of course” Marinette took out her phone. “Why does it say: no SIM-card?”
“Oh. Well… we maybe should buy one,” Fei said.
The next day Marinette flew home.
They had bought a SIM-card and she had Fei’s number. They had also gotten off the roof without anyone seeing them.
So, you could say anything had gone just fine.
But Marinette was sad. Of course. She had to leave Shanghai and with that her – as they had talked about last night – first ever girlfriend.
They were going to try long distance but how often does that work.
They had talked about all the movies and tv shows and how their chances were and then that they were not Max and would not try to calculate their exact chances (although Marinette was going to ask him when she returned), but you don’t have to be a math genius to see that the chances were slim. Mostly because no meeting was in sight. They didn’t know when they were going to meet again or how.
At least Marinette had counter-argued that her uncle lived in shanghai so it was very likely this wouldn’t be her last time there, but it was still pretty much on the other side of the globe.
So, all they were left with was hope and each other’s numbers.