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Roi Singe touches down on a random rooftop, somehow out of breath despite the fact he’s even transformed.
The heroes of Paris, simply put, despise him. He didn’t even do anything, just took the miraculous when it was presented to him, and now he’s got Ladybug and Chat Noir on his ass every time he tries to help out with an akuma fight, or even when he’s not.
It’s like they expect him to be a bad person, which is stupid. Didn’t Ladybug literally give him the miraculous in the first place!? (Probably not, he’s beginning to suspect, given the fact she hasn’t ever tried chasing him down as a civilian.) And, anyways, after the fourth or fifth akuma, you’d think that they’d finally offer him a bit of respect, but no!
And Alya seriously thinks that Ladybug and Chat Noir don’t know who each other are. Ha. They’d never trust each other that much if that were the case.
He leans against a chimney as he catches his breath. He grabs his staff, folding it down the middle and watching the screen form.
For some reason, Ladybug and Chat Noir never use the map on their weapons to track him down, but it’s always useful to know where they’re at after a chase. Luckily, it seems that both of their trackers are headed off in the opposite direction.
Roi sighs, relieved, collapsing the rest of the way.
He doesn’t over-exert (that’s the word, right? That sounds like something he’s heard Max say before, probably) himself too much. He’s too good at sports for that, obviously. But after a mad-dash that spanned over multiple arrondissements, he’s allowed to be a little out of breath and sore.
“You’re a sorry sight,” a snide voice comments.
Roi’s attention snaps up, and he grabs tightly onto his staff, glaring down the woman in a bee-themed costume. Not Queen Bee, but definitely a bee hero or akuma.
“I don’t have anything to be sorry about,” Roi states, forcing himself back to his feet, and hoping that his fresh aches aren’t too evident as he takes his stance. “You though, I swear if you’re here to fight me, I will throw you off this roof and won’t regret it. Today’s been way too long.”
The girl raises her hands up defensively. “Hold your bananas, Singe. I’m here to propose… a partnership.”
Okay, on one hand, she’s mirroring the formal talk, and will likely be better at keeping up with that than him. On the other hand, hold your bananas.
He arches a brow, hoping it still comes across despite the dual-brow effect that comes from his miraculous. “Tell me more, buzzy.”
“Ladybug and Chat Noir are both on our asses thanks to things outside of our control,” the girl states plainly. “Which, yeah, maybe I stole the bee miraculous. Maybe! But, let’s be real, Bourgeois was too reliant on being Queen Bee, anyways, and I don’t want to use it for bad.”
Roi hums. “You’re framing yourself as a thief. You sure that we’re in it for the same stuff?”
She waves a dismissive hand. “I want to save the city, you want to save the city, and we both want to save ourselves. And our effect will be noticeable if it can be tied back to a unified front, right? That’s why governments don’t collapse?”
“I’m not that into politics,” Roi says, shrugging while slowly relaxing his stance. He still grips onto his staff tightly. “But how do I know that I can trust you? Again, you introduced yourself as a thief in the first minute of me knowing you.”
The girl, for some reason, rolls her eyes. “Well, yeah, but I was stealing for the greater good. Besides, Bourgeois was just making herself a target for butter-bitch, anyways. But what matters to me is saving civilians from akumas before we pass 5 years of this bullshit. And that’s not going to happen if Ladybug and Chat Noir convince themselves that we’re more enemies to deal with, we’ll just distract them more than it’s worth.”
And, well.
That sounds familiar.
Really familiar.
Because it’s honestly his exact thought process, though he’s never been good at putting any of that into words in a way that sounds smart.
“Maybe we can team up,” he decides, not ready to give her full control quite yet. “But first, I think I’m gonna need a name from you.”
She cracks a small smile, extending a hand. “Goldenrod.”
He nods, clipping his staff back to his harness before shaking her hand. “Roi Singe.”
“Nice meeting you, Curious George.”
“You’ve read those!?” He asks eagerly, a genuine smile blossoming before he can stop it.
Suddenly, Goldenrod’s smile drops.