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Cat Walker. Out of all the stupid things he’s done in his life, this one took the cake. How could he possibly think Plagg’s idea was any good?? Sure, it made him spend more time with Ladybug, his Lady. But Cat Walker didn’t call her that. Cat Walker didn’t talk unless it was important and whatever he had in mind was needed. Cat Walker didn’t laugh and didn’t smile and didn’t feel and didn’t express and God why did Ladybug even tolerate him?! Why was she okay with the idea of saving Paris alongside a stupid, emotionless figure she didn’t know? How come she didn’t mind spending time with him when he felt like his heart was going to spill all over the place because damn it, she really seemed to enjoy his presence when he was a stupid, good for nothing, quiet nobody who didn’t say anything original and didn’t show her how much she meant to him.
He hated Cat Walker. He hated feeling trapped even while being transformed. Turning into Chat Noir was exhilarating. It made him happy and energetic, it brought out the parts of him he couldn’t show as Adrien Agreste. It gave him the freedom he’s longed to have for years on end. But now… now he had to put all of those good things in a little box and keep them there once more because Ladybug needed a serious partner who didn’t even laugh at her jokes. Sure, she seemed appalled by the idea of him faking a laugh for her, but she still chose him over Chat Noir.
Stupid Cat Walker and his stupid everything. Stupid Ladybug who chose him when he was only a mere shadow of himself. Stupid people who didn’t even seem to mind the disappearance of Chat Noir and who accepted Cat Walker without a second thought. Some of them even congratulated Ladybug for getting a more serious and dedicated partner.
Feeling miserable as always, Cat made his way towards the mansion, knowing he had nothing better to do out than inside. So what did it really matter, right? At least as Adrien he could talk to Plagg and try and annoy the God of destruction a little just for the sake of passing time. But then his eyes landed on a single figure leaning against the railing of a balcony, her shoulders slumped and her eyes closed as tears streamed down her cheeks. For a single moment he considered what to do. With Ladybug, during Akuma attacks, Cat Walker was all business. But Ladybug wasn’t around and Marinette looked like she could use some help.
So he changed his direction and landed on the railing next to the girl. Marinette blinked her eyes a couple of times, trying to focus on him. He didn’t stand up straight like he always did around Ladybug, instead he kept crouching on the railing, like he would have done as Chat Noir. With Marinette around he could be himself, right? She never truly judged him for anything and was ready to listen if he needed a friend. He trusted her more than anyone, right after Ladybug.
“C-Cat Walker?” She stuttered and then she shook her head and raised an eyebrow at him. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled gently. Usually, Adrien smiled his model smile. Even as Cat Walker. But with Marinette he felt more than any other time like he could let his Chat Noir show a little again, which meant a genuine and real smile. “Well, I thought I could drop in and make sure you were okay.” He wanted to call her Princess. The name was on the tip of his tongue, but it would have been too much. He knew she would have recognized him, so he snapped his mouth shut to keep himself from calling her by her nickname.
Marinette sighed and shook her head. “That’s really… thoughtful of you.” She muttered, her heart not in it. “But you’re the last person who can help me right now.” The apologetic look on her face when she looked at him made him want to cringe. She looked so… broken. What the hell happened to her and why was Cat Walker the last person who could lend her a hand? She used Chat Noir to try and get ready to confess her love to someone but she couldn’t vent to Cat Walker? Then again, Cat Walker was new and she already knew Chat Noir.
Licking his bottom lip in thought, he didn’t move from his spot. “Is it because you don’t trust me? Or don’t like me?”
“No!” The girl lifted both hands and waved them in front of her as if trying to shoo the words away. “No, of course not. I do like you – you’re doing a really good job protecting this city.” It shouldn’t hurt, but it did. Cat put on a smile and tried to hide the pain. Luckily, Marinette was looking away again, her head held down in defeat. “It’s just that…” She gulped and closed her eyes tightly as more tears streamed down her face. “You’re not Chat Noir.”
That left him dumbfounded and he just looked at her as she seemed to finally let everything out, not looking at Cat to see his reaction.
“I was so mean to him when he first showed up and dropped in to fight Evillustrator and he didn’t even know and then he just showed up and opened his heart to me and I don’t know why ME of all people but he looked so sad and heartbroken and it was all my fault but I couldn’t tell him that, of course, so I just tried to comfort him and he helped me feel better too and went to the movies with me even though he must have friends he could do it with, people who are actually close to him. And he fought my dad when he got Akumatized and despite what he might think, it wasn’t Chat’s fault, it was mine again because I lied to everyone and ended up hurting them all just because I was paranoid!” Her breath hitched and she didn’t notice the confused and dumbstruck expression on Cat Walker’s face. “I know he joked around during battles and annoyed Ladybug to pieces, but he was her partner. He was her other half and ready to throw himself in front of her just to keep her safe and instead of being grateful she scolded him for that and claimed he wasn’t doing his best when in reality she was just so bad, she could get hit all the time and Chat Noir protected her. She pushed him away instead of accepting his help and then blamed him for asking for things he DESERVED.
“And I know he’s a goofball and tells his jokes in the wrong time and he flirts with Ladybug when she needs to concentrate on battle strategy and he’s having way too much fun fighting Akumas than necessary considering these people are suffering.” She kept on going and Cat opened his mouth to speak, but she just let more words wash over them. “But he’s still the only Chat Noir out there. He’s MY kitty and I love him and he’s gone now and I’ll never see him again because I don’t even know who he is and he doesn’t have his Miraculous anymore.” She wiped the tears from her face and turned to look at him, her eyes searching his face. “You might be serious and honest and present and to-the-point. You might fight without a flaw and without missing a beat. Without turning everything into some kind of game but you’re not Chat Noir.”
Cat stared at her, his jaw already on the floor and his eyes wider than ever before. He’s seen some crazy things before as both Adrien and Chat Noir because seriously, this city was a crazy place to live in. But watching Marinette sobbing over the loss of Chat Noir and listening to her ranting about how much she missed him… it took him completely by surprise. All he could do was stare at her in shock while desperately trying to gather his thoughts.
He already knew Marinette was in love with Chat Noir, although he also knew that she moved on and had someone else in mind. But… she said she still loved him. She talked about him with such pain in her voice, it sounded like she knew him better than she did. And considering the other things she said weren’t about Marinette but about Ladybug… she might actually know him better than he ever thought possible. So he let his eyes roam over her, taking it all in. Her bluebell eyes and dark pigtails. Her freckles and the spark of determination he remembered taking over her both when she had an idea as Marinette and both as Ladybug, when she had a plan sorted out.
Was he blind or was he blind?
And she missed him. Above all else, she missed Chat Noir. She missed him even though he gave her the perfect partner on a silver platter, ready to fight alongside her without hesitation and with nothing to distract him. She still wanted Chat Noir back.
Snapping back to the present, Cat found Marinette sobbing with her hands on her face, trying to hide herself. Without thinking about it too much he put a hand on her back and tried to soothe her while being careful with his claws. “Shh… it’s okay. It’s okay, Princess. Everything is going to be alright, I promise.”
Her muscles tensed at his words and it took him only a moment to realize what he called her. Princess. Chat Noir’s nickname for her. Oops. It just slipped out. Her watery eyes peeked over her hands and she looked at him, REALLY looked at him, for the first time. She looked like she was trying to piece together a puzzle and she finally had the last piece she needed to do just that. His brain told him to say something to deflect and make her drop the idea altogether, but his heart beat inside his chest, louder than ever. He knew about her. It was time to let her know about him as well, wasn’t it?
Sniffing, Marinette let her hands fall numb by her sides. “K-Kitty?”
Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, he looked away, unable to maintain eye contact with her for much longer. “Hi, My Lady.” There were more sniffles coming from her spot and Cat berated himself for ever opening his mouth in the first place. Whether or not he now knew about her, she was distressed right now and just poured her heart to him about missing him without knowing it was actually him… yikes. He looked back at her. “I can explain.”
Expression turning from dumbstruck to irritated and upset, Marinette actually punched him in the arm. It wasn’t too bad, but he could tell she wasn’t holding back. She was seriously mad at him and he couldn’t blame her one bit. He was definitely the one to blame in this scenario, considering he left and then came back with a different name and a whole different personality. He fooled her and everyone else… for the stupidest reasons imaginable. It was a miracle she was even still standing there, glaring at him.
“You stupid, annoying liar!” She screeched and then turned her back on him to go towards her skylight door, pointing at it and gesturing for Cat to walk in. When he hesitated she just bored her angry eyes into him and he immediately jumped forward and landed inside her bedroom. Despite the low, anxious mattering of the girl he found himself taking in her bedroom with wide, intrigued eyes. He’s been here before but it still felt different every time. “Tikki, you lied to me too!”
Cat turned just in time to see Marinette landing on the floor next to her chaise, the red blob that he recognized as Tikki, Ladybug’s kwami, floating in front of her with her antennas down and her hands holding onto each other as if she was a child being scolded by their parents.
The kwami sighed. “I’m sorry, Marinette. But you needed a partner and you specifically needed Chat Noir. Plus, Plagg was so devastated when he realized he was going to get someone else that he begged me to roll with him – he thought that would solve everything since then you’d have a partner, Plagg would be back with – “ Bubbles escaped her mouth and for a moment Tikki seemed saddened by the sight of them. She got over it pretty quickly, though. “He would stay with his kitten and Chat Noir wouldn’t really be replaced.” She floated closer to Marinette but the girl still glared at her. “I’m really sorry, Marinette. I shouldn’t have lied to like that and I shouldn’t have let Plagg convince me either.” Tikki’s eyes drifted towards Cat’s when the boy climbed down as well, keeping his distance from Marinette, fearing she might actually attack him. “I bet he convinced you as well – this wasn’t your idea, was it?”
Eyes widening under Marinette’s intense gaze, Cat shook his head. “He just came back to me with the ring and basically told me what to do. I…” He took a small step further away from Marinette when the girl just narrowed her eyes at him. “I wasn’t in the best headspace. I wish I hadn’t done it in the first place, but I did. And it’s not the first time Plagg’s convinced me to do something ridiculous and dangerous that ended in a disaster – that’s just what he does.” He looked away, ashamed. “I guess I thought I wouldn’t have to lie for so long.”
“What do you mean?” Marinette asked, her voice still clipped and distant, but not as cold as before.
He opened his mouth to speak, met her eyes and then closed it again, pursing his lips tightly together. He thought back to all this time of working with Ladybug, with HER, as Cat Walker and his mind just couldn’t comprehend the fact that the same girl who seemed perfectly happy with her new companion was the same one as the one crying about missing Chat Noir. It just didn’t make any sense. Ladybug looked so happy and collected around him, like she couldn’t have asked for a better partner to work with. So how come suddenly Cat Walker wasn’t good enough?
“Forget it.” He muttered. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” He sighed and turned around, letting his eyes land on Marinette’s computer. The Ladyblog was open on Alya’s latest post – probably because the reporter herself wanted Marinette to be up to date on everything Ladybug related. Great, just what he needed to see right now. There was a photo taken by Alya herself above the article written by the girl showing Ladybug perched on a rooftop, ready to leap into battle. Behind her he could see himself, standing at a safe distant with his eyes completely focused on the Akuma they were dealing with, his expression somewhat stoic and cold.
Behind him Marinette groaned. “Come on, what is it? Whenever you say something isn’t important, it is.” She sounded closer and Cat assumed she was approaching him carefully. “Ugh, I can’t believe I haven’t figured out you were… YOU. How on earth did you manage to completely scrap down your personality like that?”
Hands clenching, Cat closed his eyes. “When you grow up in the same environment as I have, you just have to learn how to act.” He answered and heard the sound of Marinette inhaling sharply, like she couldn’t believe what he was saying. “I guess I just thought you’d get sick of Cat Walker a lot sooner.” He added in a low murmur. Then he snapped back around to face Marinette who nearly stumbled from the sharp movement. “You know why I loved fighting Akumas despite them being people in pain and under the influence of Shadow Moth? Because even though it was terrible and we had to save the people and the city, when I was Chat Noir I finally got to have some kind of freedom. I didn’t need to be silent or perfect or to pretend I don’t mind people staring at me or talking about me like I can’t hear them. I could go wherever I wanted to go and do whatever I wanted to do and no one could stop me.
“I don’t get to have all of this when I’m not transformed. Heck, getting away to find a way to transform in the first place is already a lot harder than it should be. Anyone else would be able to just slip away, undetected and unnoticed. But not me – there’s always someone around to make sure I’m sticking to my schedule. Or someone who just won’t leave me alone even though anyone else would have probably complained about being stalked or harassed. But I can’t because apparently my dad doesn’t think I should get to have any sort of privacy.” His eyes lingered on Tikki who watched him with a solemn expression. Of course she did – she knew exactly who he was. “So I’m sorry – I don’t know why I let Plagg convince me to do this thing, but I did. And the only thing that meant was that I had to play pretend even with the mask on and I couldn’t back out of this because you seemed to actually like all of this. Plus, the entire city practically buzzed with how much they appreciated the change, to the point where people stopped me in the street to tell me how much better Cat Walker was compared to Chat Noir and all I could do was stand there and nod like an idiot while they kept on telling me my less fake personality was awful.
“It just… hurt.” His shoulder sagged and he felt it when his knees gave up on him before he dropped into the swiveling, pink chair next to the computer. His eyes landed back on the image on the Ladyblog and he gulped. “I don’t even know what I expected people to say – every time I try to open up to people they think I fake it or that I’m better off acting like everyone expects me to…” He lowered his gaze to his hands and then curled and uncurled his fingers as if testing their movements. “People always look at me or talk about me. They stare or touch or latch onto me without a second thought and without making sure I’m actually okay with it and when I try and get away because I’m uncomfortable I get criticize and suddenly people think I’m mean or egoistic or rude and I have to apologize for having limits. But when I transform I can get out of the spotlight and people don’t look at me as much. I know Chat Noir is still a public figure, but people don’t care about him quite as much. And then there’s you – people look at you rather than at me and I never minded because you just took the focus away and I needed that. But now every time I go outside they see someone else and it’s not ME, but they see me more and I can’t stand it. I don’t know why I thought you’d be different.”
It was quiet after he was done talking and, honestly, Cat didn’t even know what to make of the silence. Was it awkward or tense or just… silence? Just… nothing special about it and nothing to make of it. Was that it? Was he just going to go back home without Marinette saying another word to make her thoughts clear? Was he going to have to give her his Miraculous, only this time he won’t have a second chance thanks to Plagg? Was he going to have to face her at school and act like everything was okay when everything was very much not okay?
Before Marinette could say anything, he got up and moved past her. His limbs took him up the ladder to her bed and to the skylight door. He was aware of the girl’s eyes trained on him and when he looked back he noticed the dumbstruck expression on her face again. But there was also pain and sympathy and anger and confusion and disbelief… he looked away and climbed outside before vaulting into the night and towards his house. He needed to calm down and get some sleep unless he wanted Nathalie to inform his father of him being too tired to function during the school day – and the last thing Adrien needed right now was to be homeschooled again.
“You okay, kid?” Plagg asked the moment Adrien got off the car. He stood in front of the school, his eyes blinking slowly at the sight of the familiar building. He didn’t get much sleep the night before after all, but at least Nathalie didn’t get to see him since she was too sick to check up on him (well… not entirely the best news, but better than being stuck at home again).
Concealing a yawn with his hand, Adrien hummed. “I’m fine.” He replied automatically and before Plagg could question him any further about that, Adrien skipped the stairs easily and walked into the schoolyard, packed with students that made it impossible for the kwami to speak without getting noticed. Adrien was pretty sure he heard the way he grumbled from his hidden spot under his jacket but decided to just make amends later by bringing Plagg some REALLY stinking cheese. Even if he knew he’d never be able to wash the smell away enough to feel clean ever again.
And just like that, another day started again. Adrien tried to ignore most of the girls eyeing him from their places spread around the yard, his shoulders relaxed against their will. His father drilled that into him – not to let his body language show any kind of displeasure. He was a public figure, meaning he BELONGED to the public. He had to be perfect for them unless he wanted tabloids all around to rip apart his reputation. And since Adrien honestly didn’t care about his reputation, that was mostly about his father’s reputation and about the whole fashion line that belonged to him. Nothing let Adrien know that his father loved him as a person more than the man himself telling him he was nothing more than a tool to make the company look perfect.
Walking up, Adrien made his way towards Ms. Bustier’s classroom, waving at a few people he didn’t even know by name just because they smiled and waved at him like old pals. He had to take a deep breath in once he’d reached the class’s door because he just knew calming down around Lila and her lies would be a lot harder than calming down alone in the corridor. Which was sad, but true.
Forcing a smile onto his face, Adrien pulled the door open and stepped inside only to be tackled by Chloe. The blond girl talked a mile a minute about… manicure? He was too tired to really let the words sink in, but he just nodded uncomfortably at her in the hopes that she’d let go once she was done telling him about how awful some random worker was (probably not true), and how terrible a job another person did (probably false as well).
“Adrien!” Lila skipped down the stairs from her place next to Nathaniel. She smiled at him with her most angelic smile, meaning he was going to get himself into trouble somehow, and then gave Chloe a look that flashed with dismay for only a moment. “I just heard we have a Physics test today and I didn’t have time to learn because of the charity event I had to attend yesterday since Prince Ali asked me specifically to come. Will you please help me study before we have to take the test?”
Scoffing, Chloe finally let go of Adrien to glare at the other girl. “That is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous! Adrikins doesn’t need to waste his time teaching you for a test you should have been prepared for. Admit it, you were just too lazy to actually bother to pick up the book.”
Widening her eyes in just the right way, Lila gave Chloe a wounded sort of look that immediately made the entire class coo in sympathy. “But Chloe, I really was busy. But you’re right – I guess Adrien shouldn’t have to help me. I should have figured something out. Maybe I’ll retake the test some other time… I just figured he wouldn’t mind since he’s just so good at physics, you know?”
The sound of the door creaking open attracted the attention of all of the glaring classmates towards Marinette. Adrien watched as she stepped into the room, looked up and froze under the heated glares, clearly confused and taken aback by the anger in her friends’ eyes. And then Lila seemed to light up for a split second and Adrien’s stomach dropped – that couldn’t be good.
“Marinette!” The green-eyed girl called excitedly and Marinette actually took a step back at that, her eyes squinted as she stared suspiciously at the approaching Lila. “Oh, maybe you could help me! I need someone to go over everything we need to know for the test today. Will you please help me? I know you helped Mylene last week with our literature test and you also explained everything to Rose and Kim the other day when we needed to hand over our history assignments.” She grinned brightly at the dark-haired girl and there was almost something devilish about it. “So will you?”
Hands clenching at her sides, Marinette glanced briefly at the others in the room. Adrien would have cringed had Chloe not been clinging to him still. Lila was just manipulating Marinette by making it impossible for her to say no with all of their friends watching attentively. Her eyes landed on Adrien for a split moment and she glanced down at the way Chloe held onto him, her eyes hardening for a second. Then she looked away and Adrien wasn’t sure he even saw what he thought he saw.
Seemingly taking a deep breath to get herself under control, Marinette plastered on a smile and shook her head. “I didn’t actually study myself, Lila. I was really busy yesterday.” And she looked pretty tired too. Alright, so maybe Adrien should have guessed Marinette would stay up most of the night after their conversation as well… but he was too busy feeling miserable to consider that.
Lila’s eye twitched.
Alya spoke up next, though. “Girl, you forgot AGAIN?” She almost sounded amused, although there was some kind of understanding in her eyes that made Adrien to hesitate. Did Alya know who Ladybug was? The Ladyblogger… knew who Ladybug was? No… and yet. “Come here, I can help you study.” She smiled brightly at Lila then. “You too!”
Lila’s eye twitched again but then she smiled at Alya and sat next to her, looking as innocent as ever. Marinette looked like she was ready to melt to the ground and sleep for eternity, but instead she just stepped forward, passing by Adrien and Chloe and moving towards the steps leading to her place… only to hesitate and stop before turning back to face Chloe.
“Chloe, did you ever ask Adrien if he’s okay with you constantly invading his personal space?” When the blonde girl gaped at her in both disbelief and shock Marinette went on. “He’s not an inanimate object – he’s a person. I know it might be hard for you to understand what it means to respect others, but at least be kind enough to not disrespect this natural human right.” And without looking at Adrien himself, she saw down and ignored the scandalous stares she got from everyone in the class.
Scoffing, Chloe shook her head in Marinette’s direction. “Huh, Adrikins doesn’t mind. Right Adrikins?”
“Actually,” He squirmed out of her hold and smiled awkwardly while backing up towards his seat next to Nino. “Marinette is right. I’d really appreciate it if you stopped latching onto me like that.” And without another word he sat down, pulled out his phone and tried to busy himself in order to ignore Chloe’s seething glares trained on both Marinette and him.
“Dude…” Nino leaned towards him a little. “What was that about?”
Shaking his head, Adrien just gave his friend a smile before Ms. Bustier entered the room and began their first lesson.
The first lesson ended abruptly after less than five minutes thanks to Chloe getting akumatized. AGAIN. Adrien groaned at the sight of the purple cloud that surrounded her before she transformed into what looked like a female minion with yellow skin and black hair. She wore a blue dress with stripes and floated in the air above her table.
Great, a flying Akuma. Adrien absolutely hated those.
Quickly, Ms. Bustier called for everyone to get out of the room as fast as possible, even though it was really unnecessary seeing as half the students were already on their feet and fleeing the scene, Alix and Kim leading them all. Before Adrien could really pull his thoughts together and think about going to find someplace to transform a hand grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him towards the door and he quickly found himself being led in the other direction from the rest of their classmates by Marinette, her grip not letting up until they’ve reached the empty locker room.
Cautiously looking around, Marinette made sure they were truly alone before she finally let go of his hand and turned to face him, her expression anxious and scared, yet determined. She looked like a mix of both Marinette and Ladybug and suddenly it was just too obvious that this girl was the bug-themed heroine. How could Adrien miss such a thing?
“Oh, I didn’t mean to akumatized her…” She muttered under her breath. “How many times will we have to face Chloe before we defeat Shadow Moth? I swear to God, he’s getting really unoriginal in there…”
For a moment Adrien was surprised that Marinette knew he was her partner, but then he thought back to everything he’d told her the previous day and… it made sense. Marinette was smart enough to put two and two together and get to the correct answer. Of course she figured it out.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Adrien said when it was clear Marinette was too busy thinking about how stupid Shadow Moth and Chloe were to say anything else. At his words she shook her head and turned to look at him with wide eyes. “I really wanna blame Plagg for it but I went along with it so… both our faults, I’d say.”
With a zip of black Plagg appeared in front of them looking offended. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his cat0like eyes piercing through Adrien’s. “Excuse you – I think I deserve a thank you here rather than this walk-of-shame. I helped both of you by maintaining the partnership. You, kid, would have been lost without me, still stuck in your big, camembert-less room.” He pointed his little paw at Adrien and then closed his eyes and gestured for him to go on. “Come on, a quick word of gratitude. I’m waiting.”
The only reaction Plagg got from Adrien was the boy pinching the bridge of his nose. Marinette eyed the God of destruction for a moment before shaking her head. “Plagg, you’re a terrible influence.” She said but when Adrien heard the smile in her voice he looked over to see she was, in fact, smiling. Not at Plagg, but at Adrien. “I get why Master Fu gave Plagg to you – the God of destruction who won’t obey the rules, paired with the goody two shoes who can’t say no to anyone.” She dropped her gaze when he returned her smile. “I’m sorry too. About a lot of things.” She shook her head. “I should have let you know how uncomfortable I truly was with having a different partner, for starters.”
He quirked his lips a little. “That would have been nice, yeah…” He hummed.
“Chloe is still akumatized, you know.” Tikki finally flew out of Marinette’s purse and paused between the two of them. “It’s great that you want to fix things, but maybe have a heart to heart AFTER you defeat the Akuma?”
“Right.” Marinette took a step back and Adrien saw the familiar blush that always covered her face around him taking over once more. An idea regarding its meaning popped into his mind but he assumed that would have to wait for another time as well. “Spots on!” And the next moment Ladybug was in front of him with Tikki nowhere in sight. Ladybug smiled and then moved towards the door of the locker room before stopping and hesitantly looking back over at Adrien. “M-maybe… maybe Chat Noir could come back?”
Adrien and Plagg looked at each other with mischievous glints in their eyes before Adrien closed his eyes. “Plagg, claws out!”
The feeling of the leather suit around his body was familiar but Adrien was still a bit scared to open his eyes. He had to, though. So he anxiously peeled them open and looked down at himself. The familiar black suit was back, with the simple one-shade of black wrapped around his body. His messy hair fell into his eyes, letting him know that was the same as before as well. When he brought his hand up to his collarbone and flicked at his bell a grin broke onto his face and he looked up to see an amused and content Ladybug staring right back at him.
Taking his staff and extending it, Adrien bowed theatrically before getting back up only to lean against his staff like he always liked to do before he became Cat Walker. “Shall we go, My Lady?”
“I think if we don’t Chloe might actually get offended, Kitty” Ladybug replied with a smirk. Then he watched as she pulled out her yoyo and began to mess with its line nervously. “By the way, can you actually help me study for our test after this? I really can’t fail this one or my parents will ground me for the next month at least.”
He blinked at her in surprise before laughing and shaking his head. “This is surreal.” He muttered and then he approached her, standing in front of the door right next to her. “Sure. It’s kinda my fault you’re not ready, anyway.”
Ladybug opened her mouth to reply when a loud crushing sound came from one of the classes above their heads and she seemed to shake everything that wasn’t Ladybug related out of her. “Alright, we really need to get out there now.”
“After you, Bugaboo.” He opened the door and Ladybug didn’t even berate him for calling her ‘Bugaboo’ before she sent her yoyo forward, latching it onto something that pulled her towards the second floor of the school. With a content smile Adrien followed suit. Sure, they had a lot to talk about later, but they both knew they’d be alright. Eventually.
Maybe even better than alright.