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It wasn’t very often that Gabriel Agreste was found outside of his home, but he’d wanted to go to a trendy coffee shop in hopes of finding Ladybug or Chat Noir. They were young and the coffee shop was filled with young people. Dressed in mediocre, plain, bland fashion, sunglasses, and, ugh, polyester, to blend in, Gabriel pretended to be some artist sketching nonsense. In reality, he was eavesdropping on conversations to hopefully find one of the heroes.
A new customer walked into the store, talking on the phone. It was some blonde teenage girl, smiling as she chatted with someone. “I’m at a coffee shop, Jules,” she was saying to whomever she was speaking with, “would you like anything?” She waited for the person on the other end of the line to reply. “Ok, I’ll see you soon. Bye…my lady.” The girl blushed then ended the call.
Suddenly, Gabriel was on high alert. “My lady”?? Clearly, that girl had to be Chat Noir. Who else would call their girlfriend “my lady”? It wasn’t like Ladybug and Chat Noir were named “Couple of the Year” despite not being a real couple.
Gabriel glanced at the girl once more. She had a pixie cut, shorter than Chat Noir’s hair. Her build was also smaller, as was her height. But didn’t the miraculous alter some things? He knew he was taller and more built as Shadow Moth. He’d thought that Chat Noir was a guy, but maybe Chat Noir was genderfluid? Or non-binary? Sometimes the superhero seemed a bit feminine.
“Black coffee and a pumpkin spice latte with extra whip for Rose!” A coffee shop employee called. The person he thought might be Chat Noir practically skipped to the counter, gathered the coffees, then slipped out the door. As soon as the door closed, Gabriel packed his things and left.
Soon, he was standing in an alleyway behind a dumpster, waiting for the person who was obviously Chat Noir to appear. He’d left his miraculous at his office, a silly mistake. It was alright, though. As long as he remained hidden behind the dumpster, he’d be fine.
The person appeared, just as he’d thought. “You there,” he said, trying to be menacing, “stop walking.”
The blonde in pink turned, blue eyes wide. Blue eyes? Weren’t Chat Noir’s eyes green? Or maybe they were blue outside the costume? He shrugged the thoughts aside as the person spoke. “A talking dumpster?” They squealed.
Gabriel was about to take offense when he realized he was hidden behind the dumpster. He cleared his throat, “No, this is Shadow Moth. I know who you are.”
They blinked again, a picture of innocence painted on their features. “Um. What do you mean?”
Now, he was growing irritated. “I know you’re Chat Noir. Hand over your miraculous!”
There were footsteps heading in his direction. Gabriel froze. Were they going to look to see who he was? He adjusted his sunglasses and pulled the hood of his jacket over his head.
A voice spoke from beside him. “I’m not Chat Noir and I’m not sure who is.” They looked up at him, smiling. “But that was a funny prank Mr. Agreste!”
Gabriel blanched. Oh. He’d been mistaken. Oh no. He pretended to receive a call. “Would you look at that? I got to go. So long random stranger. Also, I’m not Gabriel Agreste!” With that, he fled.
Rose watched Gabriel Agreste rush away from the scene, a confused frown on her features. Could he possibly be Shadow Moth? If he was, that would break her heart for poor Adrien. She continued walking with the coffees she got for herself and Juleka.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a red blur. Ladybug. “Ladybug!” She called.
The red heroine stopped, looking around for the source of sound. When she found Rose, she smiled warmly. “Oh, hello, Rose.”
“Hi! So, a weird thing just happened and I figured you’d want to know…”
Rose and Juleka lounged in the living room of the Liberty, coffees in hand. They idly flipped through TV channels, content to just spend some time together.
“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news!” Nadja Chamack said, appearing on the screen. Juleka put down the remote as a picture of Gabriel Agreste appeared on the screen. She shared a glance with Rose. “Today,” Nadja continued, “Gabriel Agreste was arrested for terrorizing Paris for over a year. Here’s Jean-Paul on the site of the Agreste Mansion.”
“Thanks, Nadja,” Jean-Paul said, a smile on his face. The smile quickly returned to a frown as he started to speak of what had happened.
Behind him, the Agreste mansion was surrounded by police cars. Gabriel Agreste was being dragged into one of the cars. Far behind him, Adrien glared at his father.
“…So, Ladybug,” Jean-Paul was saying, “how’d you find out who Shadow Moth really was?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but…a whistleblower said she’d been accused of being Chat Noir because she called her girlfriend ‘m’lady.’ She told me who had said that, and then I walked into the Agreste Mansion. It was peaceful because Gabriel wasn’t expecting it and the police had been outside,” Ladybug replied.
“Did Gabriel deny it?” Jean-Paul asked.
Juleka rolled her eyes, “Do they really think someone would admit they’ve been a criminal?” She turned off the TV, then turned to Rose. “So, I guess you’re the real savior of Paris, huh?”
Rose giggled, “Only because of you, my lady.” She added in a little wink, grinning more widely when Juleka’s cheeks turned red.
For the rest of the evening, all was peaceful in Paris. And it was all thanks to a girl who called her girlfriend “my lady.”