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“Agh you made the bags under my eyes disappear, you’re a hero Marinette.”
She did everything she could not to giggle as she held the mirror up for Alya. “It’d be easier if you’d get some sleep.”
“Tell me that when my boyfriend isn’t on the other side of the globe, calling me at obscene hours of the night.”
“Hey, I don’t have one, it sounds like your problem.”
“Speaking of you not having a boyfriend, you going to be alright being on set for this interview?”
Marinette paused a moment. All morning she’d been trying to keep her cool about Alya’s interview with Adrien, wondering if he’d recognize her if he saw her on set. It wouldn’t do to get her hopes up and she knew it. He’d hit the international stage two years after being pulled from school with them and only gone up from there. Still, there was a chance. “Yeah, I’ll be alright. No big deal, right?”
“Mmm, don’t even try to pretend you haven’t had the worst crush on him for the last ten years.” Alya winked conspiratorially. “I might even be able to swing something like lunch after, interrogate him and talk him into modelling one of your lines. You never knoooow...”
Marinette tipped her face up and continued with Alya’s makeup. “Hah! Not likely. He’s a ‘busy man’, remember? Or at least his publicist says so.” She hummed absentmindedly. It didn’t feel like it had been so long. The two years in their class at Lycee before his father had pulled him back out to be homeschooled again felt like last week.
Although she was Alya’s stylist and less of a public figure, she enjoyed her work. It gave her a chance to ply her skills while keeping her cover. Since Hawkmoth’s defeat nearly five years before, the occasions for the suit were few and far between. Still, Tikki had promised to stay by her side until she was needed somewhere else, to fight some new evil.
So she worked as Alya’s stylist and ran an online boutique, and it kept her busy. It was almost comical that her friend had launched her career with a blog about Paris’s resident heroes, but what could you say? Sometimes life was funny like that.
“Get me an autograph and I’ll owe you forever. I never did manage to ask him for one back in school.” Marinette teased.
Alya laughed. “Anything for you, Mari.”
Marinette hadn’t expected her stomach to tie itself in a knot at the sight of him.
She’d seen his movies, but he was taller than she remembered. His smile as he walked out to meet Alya, though, that was the same. He beamed, shaking her hand but then pulling her into a familiar hug. “Good to see you again.”
Alya smiled, turning to the camera to speak to the viewers directly. “Adrien and I were in Lycee together, it’s been years.”
The interview went smoothly, running on time and on topic. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as they settled into a comfortable pattern. She sat back and took a couple relaxing breaths and sipped her coffee, enjoying the interview for what it was.
The banter turned to his personal life and Marinette winced. Adrien had never wanted to talk about his family, especially his parents. It took a turn toward his dating life, and she could see his relief at her change of topic, even though most people might have found it too personal. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want, but inquiring minds are always curious. Maybe they’ll see the interview!” Alya laughed, and Marinette sighed inwardly, hoping the question didn’t turn the interview sour.
Instead, Adrien smiled. “Wouldn’t that be something? Either way, she’s entirely out of my league.”
Alya’s eyebrows rose. “Out of your league? You’re a young A-list celebrity who just burst onto the big scene, the hottest star this year. You recently starred as a villain in Marvel’s most recent movie, and if we know anything, playing a villain with a tragic backstory is a sure recipe for success.” She paused, looking to the camera. “For those of you just catching up with us, Adrien’s most recent movie hits theaters this weekend, where he’s playing the title hero.” She turned back to him. “So! How could someone possibly be out of your league?”
He laughed lightly. “Acting as a hero isn’t easy, but I’d say anyone who’s a real life hero deserves much more recognition.”
“So tell us about this mystery girl.”
“Oh it’s no mystery. I’ve always held Ladybug in the highest respect,” he said.
It was a good thing Marinette had put her coffee down because she would have dropped it in shock. It felt as though someone had dropped her into an ice bath. She barely heard as Alya perked up. “Right? I don’t know if you remember, but my early career started with a blog about her!”
“Yeah, the Ladyblog, I remember! She’s incredible, do you remember that time most of Paris got turned into mummies?"
“Are you kidding? I was there! I almost got sacrificed in some crazy ritual! How about the time the entire Eiffel tower got chopped in half and she fixed it?”
Marinette watched in mild horror as her best friend and her celebrity crush found common ground discussing her former superhero career. Everything felt surreal, a little numb and hyper-tangible all at the same time. This can’t actually be happening.
Alya turned the tide, ever so slightly. “So how long have you been…can I call it ‘crushing’? Is that a bit too much?”
“Since before I can remember.” His laugh was embarrassed and painfully human. “Talk about embarrassing. A celebrity with a crush on another celebrity. It’s like that time I worked as an extra on the latest Star Wars and my hands were shaking so badly when I finally got to meet Mark Hamill I accidentally spilled coffee on him.” He sighed. “As I said, pretty embarrassing.”
“And what are your thoughts on her disappearance? It’s been nearly 8 months since anyone’s seen her.”
He looked distant for a moment, then smiled fondly. “I can only hope that she’s managed to get some peace and quiet. Remember when Chat Noir disappeared a couple years back?”
If anything could have stroked Alya’s ego more, that was it. Her crowning achievement, the interview with Ladybug announcing Chat Noir’s retirement, had been the big step she’d needed to square away her first internship with a national news network and the rest was history. She practically lit up. “I actually broke that news, the interview with her to announce his retirement. I remember.”
He nodded. “Wherever she is, I hope she’s enjoying life, and that she knows she’ll always be a hero.”
Her face was on fire. Her face had to be on fire. There was no other possible explanation for the burning sensation that had flushed her skin. Adrien Agreste, of all people, liked her. Not just liked her, according to him, liked her.
Logic, Marinette. Think it through logically.
He doesn’t even know you.
He’s an A-list movie star, you’d be nothing but another screaming fan to him.
But Ladybug…
She stared at the wall. Of course she shouldn’t use her alter ego for something so petty. It would be completely unreasonable. She waged a war internally.
It’s irresponsible.
It’s not that irresponsible.
Definitely not.
Not if there’s a reason.
It took her nearly ten minutes to come up with a good enough reason. Alya’s career. She'd been toying with the idea of officially retiring for months. Something in her gut told her it was time, and a scoop like this would launch Alya's career even higher.
A good excuse? Not particularly. Good enough? Sure.
She caught them on the way out of the studio.
There was a small crowd of fans clamoring for attention as they saw Adrien, who waved and continued on his way. Alya was following him, and Marinette remembered she’d been trying to talk him into going for lunch, for old times’ sake. Despite Nathalie’s objections, it appeared to have worked.
With impeccable timing, she swung down, landing in a crouch a couple feet in front of them. She stood up, unfolding limbs with ease granted by years of practice, yanked and caught her yoyo. She looked at him, gathering her courage and willing her voice not to shake. “We should talk.”
Adrien blinked slowly and his jaw slacked, his eyes widening in disbelief. Alya gave an undignified squeak. The crowd went silent. Dead silent, for a long moment, and then a girl screamed. “Oh my god it’s her!” and the crowd exploded.
Between them, though, it felt still and silent.
She stared him down, letting the extra confidence the suit seemed to give seep into her words. “You have a few minutes I can steal you away from your busy schedule?”
He nodded, transfixed.
She tossed her yoyo, catching an arm of the pylon atop the building across the street as she grabbed him around the waist, grateful for the super-strength the suit granted her. There was an appreciative ‘oooh’ from somewhere on her right and she looked back at Alya. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring him back. We just need to have a little chat.”
With that, she swung away, feeling the yoyo retract in her hand and trying to keep a serious expression. If she played it right, she’d give Alya just enough time to get a cameraman there when she brought him back.
Adrien clung to her, letting go reluctantly when she let him step down onto the rooftop. He turned back to her, out of breath and awed.
“Sorry to drop in on you like that, but…”
“Where have you been?” he gasped.
She was taken aback. “What? I mean, why haven’t I been around much? Just, you know, life. Like, my own life. Some of us aren’t cut out for the public eye, you know.”
“I’ve missed you.” He seemed to catch himself and corrected sheepishly, “The world misses you.”
She couldn’t keep the faint smile from her face. “The world doesn’t need heroes like me anymore.”
“People looked up to you.”
“And they still can. But the reason I was given powers is gone, the world doesn’t need a hero like me. They need everyday heroes, people that can influence others and help others.”
“Hmm.” He hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “So what do I owe this visit to?”
She snorted. “I heard your interview. You two were so enthusiastic, I thought I’d swing by and say hi.”
His face split into a grin. “Really?”
“Really.”
“If we’re chatting, could I ask you a couple questions?”
She couldn’t keep a smile from her face. “And here I thought Alya would be the one asking questions.”
“True, but I’ve got one that’s a bit more personal. There’ve been rumors going around about a movie being made about you and Chat Noir.” He looked down at the roof and his face started to redden. “I was thinking about contacting my agent to see if she could get me a chance to read for Chat Noir, but…I was wondering what you thought of all of it.”
She snorted. “They can do whatever they want, who am I to stop them?”
“First off, you're Ladybug. That's saying something. But…it’s your life. Doesn’t it bother you that they would make a movie about your life without knowing the truth?”
She shrugged. “They’ll sensationalize it either way. I’m nobody special. I’m just an ordinary person.”
“You’re not ordinary. You’re anything but.”
“I know it might seem like that, but really.” She couldn’t keep from laughing. “I can’t speak for Chat, but I have a pretty normal life.”
“Do you know why he left? Like why he actually left?”
This guy is straight to the point. The memory stung. If they’d planned it out better, they might have been able to stay in contact, but everything had been such a mess, they’d parted ways and hadn’t spoken since. She didn’t even know how to contact him, and she doubted he could find her either. She took a deep breath to brace herself. “He retired. He needed to move on with his life, and to be entirely honest, I can’t blame him.” The prickle in her eyes was unexpected and painful. Even though it had been years, it still stung, like an old wound that split open every time it was brought up.
Adrien looked at her suspiciously, then jolted back as he realized there were tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up…I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s alright, you just caught me by surprise.” She sniffed and blinked the prickles away. “He was a good friend. I haven’t heard from him since then, and I’m not even sure where to look to find him.”
The stupor that seemed to have caught Adrien earlier had returned, and he fell silent. Despite the silence between them, they could hear the crowd still mulling about below, just out of sight over the edge of the roof.
She turned to him, forcing a small smile back onto her face. “Any other questions? I should probably take you back, you were headed somewhere, weren’t you?”
“I…yeah. I suppose.” He seemed lost. “Why did you come to find me?”
“I saw the show and figured, hey, why not? It felt like a sign. And speaking of a ‘sign’, I’d pester you for an autograph, but I think we’re both a little star-struck. ” As lame as the joke was, he cracked a smile and seemed to snap out of the daze he was in.
“So, I’ll swing you back down?”
“Wait,” he caught her hand and a thrill ran up her spine. “Who are you?” The look of intensity in his expression was enough to send a shiver down her spine.
Keep it cool, keep it cool. Ladybug is always in control.
“That would defeat the purpose of the mask, now wouldn’t it?” It sounded smooth enough. Surely he couldn’t hear the slight shake in her voice.
“If you won’t give me a way to find you, someday, whenever you retire or stop with the hero stuff…would you come find me?”
She felt as though her brain had short-circuited. “What?”
“You, uh, saved my life. Several times, a long time ago.” He looked embarrassed. “I know you probably don’t even remember it, you’re busy and save a lot of people, but…”
“Oh, I remember.” The words were out before she could stop them and she cursed internally. Why couldn’t she control her mouth around him?
He looked at her, something like hope in his eyes. “…you do?”
“You were saying?”
“I won’t ask you to out yourself but seriously. When you finally retire the spots, come find me. At the very least I could treat you to lunch or something. Sort of like what you said earlier. The ‘We should talk.’ bit.” Something about his reasoning rang false, but his earnestness was real.
“Are you asking me on a date?” She giggled slightly at the absurdity of the situation.
“Are you going to say no?”
Suddenly, she was struggling to keep up Ladybug’s confident front. She blinked and looked away, thrown by his forwardness. Looking him in the eyes was like looking at sunshine on a lake, usually beautiful glinting greens but occasionally too bright to look at.
She hesitated for a moment, then recovered magnificently, confidence blooming in her chest. “Of course not.” Pushing up on her toes, she touched a kiss to his lips, feather-light but heavy with the weight of his offer. She rocked back onto her heels, looking up at his dumbstruck expression, momentarily worried that she’d gone too far.
Instead, it was like a trigger had been pulled.
His hands wrapped around her, catching her behind her back and pulling her back for another kiss. He took the step she’d been too tentative to take, turning her agreement into a promise of more with a thorough kiss. It was only one kiss, but of the solid, breath-stealing sort that left them both dizzy.
She broke away, trying to catch her breath. “I should…I should take you back. Your fans are waiting.”
He looked at her, his eyes wide. “Call me?”
She laughed, still a little breathless. “You haven’t given me your number.”
“I, uh, right.” He scrambled for his phone, then realized she hadn’t offered him her number. He looked at her awkwardly for a moment before she pulled out her compact and recorded it. Everything about the situation made her want to die a bit inside. “That’s my private number, you won’t have to deal with my manager Nathalie that way.”
“I’m not making any promises…”
“Would you make one?”
She looked at him suspiciously. “What?”
He reddened. “I’m not really sure how to explain it but…whenever you give the whole hero-ing thing up, take care of yourself. And if it’s not too much trouble…let me know?”
She frowned. “What do you care?”
“You just…everything about you has always seemed to be selfless and giving and…you look after everyone else. The world’s seen it over and over for years.”
“And…?”
“And I hope you find happiness in your life. You real life, not just with the mask.” It felt like he could see straight through her, and her throat tightened with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. When she managed to nod agreement, he flashed her a crooked smile of relief. “Good.”
She put him down and found Alya beaming at her, one of her cameramen in the background. “Ladybug! Any chance I could ask you a couple questions?”
This was what she’d been waiting for. “Go for it.”
“Where have you been?”
“Busy with life, finding other ways to help people.”
“Hmm…any involvement with Mr. Agreste?”
She grinned, unable to keep the smile from her face. “Just fan of his work, your interview seemed to give me an opportunity to introduce myself.” She looked at Alya, smiling. “It’s nice to see your career has taken off.”
“Oh, thanks! Any news for viewers?” Alya beamed and held out the microphone.
Ladybug took a breath. Marinette struggled for a moment, the gears in her head spinning with the potential consequences of her actions. It’s time. “Actually, yes. At some point in the next year, I’ll be retiring from the suit for good.” There was an audible gasp, but she composed herself and kept going. “I’d like to call on anyone that thought well of me, or Chat Noir, to do something. The type of evil we fought in the world is gone, but there’s still a lot to be done. I’d like everyone to consider how they can be heroes in their own lives. I want to call on everyone to help each other, and to love each other as best as you can.”
Alya’s voice shook. “But you…!”
She smiled, feeling the telltale prickle in her eyes again. “Don’t worry. I’ll still be around. But I’m someone behind the mask, a real person with a real life. And I think it’s time for me to move on.” She nodded and smiled, realizing that things had taken a turn for the best.
“But do you…?”
“And that’s about it, I think.” She gave her best smile and threw her yoyo, catching the pylon again. “Got to run!”
She texted him about a month later, after the chaos had died down a bit.
You said we should talk. Still interested?
Later, when her phone buzzed, she smiled.
That was some exit strategy of yours. Civilian life suiting you?