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For years, Adrien Agreste had been content with the darkness he’d lived in.
His father had always bemoaned about how his son’s unseeing eyes were his one flaw, but Adrien honestly didn’t care. He was perfectly happy with his world; sure, he couldn’t see anything, but why would he need to? He could hear things other people couldn’t, like the whisper of sparrow wings flapping. He could feel, and remember the feeling of, things other people couldn’t, like the shift of the air when a person entered a room.
The latter seemed to impress and entertain his friends the most.
“Adrien! Adrien!”
He heard voices coming down the hallway and tilted his head curiously as they got closer, along with the sound and vibration of three pairs of feet. “Kim, Nino, what’s going on?”
“Do you want to play another game of Guess Who?”
The blonde smirked. “Nino, how much did you bet?”
“…a hundred euros.”
“Nino!” Adrien gasped.
“What? I know you’re going to figure it out.”
“Well, I think this is the one that’ll stump him,” Kim interrupted, his voice confident. “Adrien, who’s standing in front of you right now?”
“Hmmm…” The vibrations of the third pair of feet had been light and quick, meaning that it had likely been Alix, Rose, or Marinette.
Adrien tentatively reached out until he touched a face. He lightly ran his fingers over the face’s features and smiled. “Hello, Alix.”
His smile grew wider as Kim groaned and Nino cheered, “I told you he’d figure it out even if Alix held her breath!”
“He literally has all of our faces memorized,” Alix said, exasperated.
“Almost all,” Adrien corrected humbly. “Not Marinette’s face.”
The bell rang, and he stood as Nino hooked his arm around his. “Is she here?”
“Who?”
“Marinette,” Adrien replied, a bit impatiently.
“Oh, yeah, she’s here,” Nino answered.
Adrien hummed thoughtfully as they climbed the stairs.
Marinette was a mystery to him. He’d memorized the voices of all his classmates except her. Due to his blindness and her deafness, she’d never been able to communicate with him directly, though he’d been told she could read his lips when he was talking, and she’d never been comfortable with him running his hand over her face to memorize her features(although this was common, and Adrien would never hold that against her). The only way Adrien could sense her was through the light vibrations of her gait and the light breeze her hands made as she used sign language to communicate with everyone else.
It was as if fate had stuck a cold, hard wall between them, yet it made Adrien yearn to learn more about her.
He felt himself and Nino enter their classroom and head towards the first bench.
“Hey, guys,” he heard a girl greet.
“Hey, Alya.”
A slight cookie-scented breeze grazed the back of Adrien's neck, and he grinned and turned around. “Hi, Marinette.”
A small disturbance in the air.
“Marinette says hi and she liked your project yesterday,” Alya translated.
“Oh,” he beamed. “Thanks, Marinette. Nino, stop laughing.”
“I’m not-“
“I can hear you snickering.”
A flurry of movement in the air.
“Marinette wants to know why you’re smiling like that,” Alya translated again, a teasing lilt in her voice. “And- hey, no I’m not!”
“What? What did she say?” Adrien asked curiously.
“Nothing!” Alya’s reply was far too quick.
Sighing, Adrien turned back around.
If only he could see what Marinette was saying for himself.
…
“Kid, it’s time to go.”
“Nooo….” Adrien flopped over in his bed.
Plagg sighed. “You promised Spots you’d meet her two hours ago.”
Adrien groaned.
It wasn’t that he hated Ladybug; in fact, it was quite the opposite. He loved her.
But going to see her as Cat Noir entailed something else as well.
“I don’t feel like entering the hellscape today, thanks.”
“If you don’t transform, I’ll force the transformation.”
“Don’t you dare,” Adrien growled, resigning himself. “Plagg, claws out!”
He closed his eyes as the transformation washed over him. Holding his breath, he opened his eyes.
And then squeezed them shut.
Then opened them again.
“Curse this world of sight,” he muttered, blinking.
It had been worse the first time around. He’d panicked and made a mess of his room, bumbling around as he tried to figure out his overloaded senses. He’d tried to keep his eyes shut, which had helped…until the breeze that hit his face as he shot out of his window forced his eyes back open, and he lost concentration and crashed into a lamppost.
Ladybug had been the one to help him with it, tying a handkerchief around his head during battles so he could focus on taking akumas down beside her. But as Hawkmoth discovered his blindness and began sending akumas that could only be detectable by sight, Ladybug had begun teaching him how to slowly get accustomed to being able to see.
Didn’t stop making it a pain in the neck, though.
…
Ladybug was sitting on a beam of the Eiffel Tower when Cat Noir finally arrived.
“M’lady,” he greeted sheepishly.
“Cat Noir,” she curtly replied.
The cat hero gulped, sensing her annoyance.
Ladybug looked him up and down, and then let out a breath. “Was it bad this time?”
“Yes.”
She pressed her lips in a thin line. “We’ll have to keep practicing on patrols then, kitty. We can’t let Hawkmoth take advantage of this ever again.”
“Yes, my lady.” At least she didn’t seem angry anymore.
“Come on,” Ladybug said, swinging onto another beam.
…
“You seem distracted tonight, bugaboo.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Cat Noir chuckled as he closed his eyes and ran a hand over the edge of the rooftop. He then opened his eyes and looked at it, committing himself to memorizing the sight and associating it with the surface he’d touched. It was how he made sense of the new world his miraculous opened up to him.
“How did you figure this out, my lady?”
“Hmm?”
Cat Noir gestured to the edge of the rooftop. “This…’feel and then see’ technique. How did you figure it out?”
Ladybug blinked, and her gaze fell. “That’s not important.”
Cat Noir looked at her, slightly hurt. “It is to me,” he said softly.
“Cat Noir, please. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“…you’ve seemed a bit on edge all evening. Is something wrong?”
Ladybug tensed, then sighed and relaxed. “I’ve just been trying to figure out this one problem for weeks, and I’m still no closer to figuring it out.”
Cat Noir hummed. “What is it?”
“How could a deaf person ever communicate with a blind one?”
“It’s possible,” he said immediately.
Ladybug stared at him with an expression he did not know. “But how?”
“If the deaf person could still speak, then they could still communicate with the blind person.”
“But…” Ladybug’s breath hitched. “What if the deaf person is worried their voice doesn't sound good, or is too loud? They can't hear themselves.”
“No one should be self-conscious about their voice,” Cat Noir said firmly. “If the blind person doesn't like their voice, then there's no point for the deaf person to want to talk to them. Clearly they don't know anything.”
Ladybug snorted and laughed. “Alright, kitty.”
…
Adrien strolled into class a couple of weeks later, whistling to himself.
“Morning, Alya,” he greeted as usual.
“Good morning, Adrien,” Alya replied.
There was something about her tone that made Adrien pause. She seemed…excited?
He gave it no mind and sniffed, searching for the familiar scent of baked pastries and sugar cookies. Finding it, he smiled and opened his mouth to say-
“Hi,” a quiet, tremulous voice said.
He blinked. “Who said that?”
There was a pause, and then the same voice continued, “I’m Marinette.”
Adrien’s eyes widened. “Marinette? You can talk?”
“Isn't it great?” Alya’s voice was full of excited cheer. “She started speech therapy a while ago. She'll be able to talk with all of us.”
“That's amazing!” Adrien whooped and sat down, excitedly chatting away and asking Marinette as many questions as he could think of just so he could hear her voice.
It was beautiful. Soft and musical, like a melody. Her giggles tinkled like bells, and Adrien's stomach would do loop-de-loops.
It felt so good to finally be able to communicate with his good friend Marinette.
…
“What does this akuma do?” Cat Noir asked, landing beside his partner. He didn't need to feel out his surroundings; his training was enough to understand what he was seeing.
“I’m not sure,” Ladybug answered, scanning their surroundings warily.
“LADYBUG! CAT NOIR!” The akuma screamed, dressed in pure white. “I AM VERITY! WITH MY POWER, I WILL REVEAL YOUR DEEPEST, DARKEST SECRET!”
The akuma flew in closer. “What's the biggest secret a hero has?” She giggled. “Their secret identity, of course!”
“Oooookay, time to go!” Cat Noir yelped, dodging the akuma’s swipe. He grabbed Ladybug’s hand and they both took off.
They ran and fought for hours, dodging the beams the akuma shot out of her wand.
Somehow, inexplicably, Ladybug was hit.
“LADYBUG!” Cat Noir yelled. He dropped down to where she lay.
“Urghhhh…” Ladybug sat up and held her head. Then she frowned. “My suit’s still on.”
Cat Noir touched her shoulder. “Are you doing okay?”
She looked at him, and her eyes widened. “Oh no,” she breathed.
“WHAT?” The akuma bellowed from a distance. “WHY DIDN'T SHE CHANGE BACK?”
But Cat Noir's eyes had widened to match Ladybug’s, as she hadn't reacted to the akuma’s words at all. He reached up and snapped his fingers near his partner’s ear. Still nothing other than a look of panic.
“You can't hear,” he whispered.
…
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Cat Noir felt Ladybug’s gaze on him as he paced back and forth.
“I’m sorry,” she said, voice barely a whisper. “I thought you would see me as weak.”
He stopped and stood in front of her.
“Why? Because you're deaf?”
She nodded, eyes shiny with tears.
“Ladybug,” Cat Noir said quietly, “do you see my blindness as a weakness?”
“What? No! Of course not!”
“Then how does being deaf make you weak?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I…I thought you would think differently.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “Ladybug. You are the strongest person I've ever seen and will likely ever see. And you're beautiful, and you're fierce, and I love everything about you. You being deaf does not change that.”
Closing his eyes, he ran his hand down her familiar features. “Do you remember our first lesson?” He asked, trying to distract her.
“About colors?” She let out a wet laugh. “And I called your eyes lime green and you called that disgusting?”
“Limes are disgusting.”
“The color is pretty though.”
“I know nothing of the color. The taste is atrocious.”
Ladybug giggled.
“When you were teaching me that day, I was only half listening,” Cat Noir confessed, chuckling. “I was busy thinking about how lucky I was to have an amazing partner like you. You’ve always been a wonderful person, m’lady. I only wish you could see yourself like I see you.”
Ladybug just sighed and hugged him tightly. “I'm lucky to have you too, kitty.”
…
“Adrien!”
He sighed. “Yes?”
“Guess who!”
“Kim, you know I'm going to guess the person right-”
“Not this one!”
Adrien sighed again and reached out for the person, quickly running his fingers over the person's face and expecting it to be Alix, or Alya, or maybe Sabrina…
But it wasn't. It was a different, more familiar face.
Ladybug, Adrien realized, eyes widening. She was standing right in front of him. He knew every part of her face by heart, and there was only one difference.
The edges of her mask were missing.
Heartbeat quickening, he suddenly detected the faint scent of sugar cookies in the air, and he knew exactly who was standing before him.
“Marinette,” he whispered.
His response garnered mixed reactions, as some people cheered and others groaned in defeat, but Adrien paid them no mind. He mouthed, “My lady?”
Sure enough, he heard Marinette's shocked gasp, and then a small hand grabbed his and led him outside the classroom.
“Kitty?” Marinette asked incredulously.
He grinned. “Have I told you your voice is the loveliest melody, m’lady?”
“You flatterer!” She exclaimed, giggling, and hugged him.
They stayed like that for some time, just enjoying each other's company, then Marinette said, “Your eyes are still lime green.”
“Ew,” Adrien replied, and they both burst out laughing.