Chapter Text
When people are born blind are asked to describe what it is they see, there is no reference to what that is. There is no color, no black, no white, nothing. But for Adrien, there was something that no other blind person could see. When he looked at someone, he saw their aura, or colour as his mother called it. This aura was something he learned from her, something she passed on to him. He soon learned the names of every colour he could see. His mother was a lively light green, a colour that drew him in and embraced him. From his father, he learned that colours may change in intensity and hue, but they will remain. Before his mother's disappearance, Gabriel was a bright silver, shining confidence into those who saw him. Now, he was a cold, steely gray. When he first arrived in public school, Adrien learned another lesson: everyone's colour was unique, no two people had the same colour. Chloé and her best friend (besides him) Sabrina had the same colour, but were very distinguishable. Where Chloé was a harsh and blinding yellow, Sabrina was a soft dark yellow that worked more to compliment Chloé than herself, much like her real personality.
His newest friends had similar colours as well: Alya and Nino were both shades of orange. Nino was more often a darker, relaxing orange while Alya was vibrant and exciting. Before the end of the first day though, Adrien saw that their colours were more fluid than what he had known possible to be: they could both be the same colour and flip to each other's at a moment's notice. But all their colours paled in comparison to the girl who sat behind him in class. Her colour blinded him, but he didn't mind. With a blue brighter than any other, deeper than any sea, and far more powerful than he had ever felt, he almost didn't want to look away. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was like no other person he had ever seen before. Yet, she could barely speak to him, her stutter overpowering her. Adrien was afraid: why was she so nervous? His blindness often got him special treatment as it had throughout the day with the other students, was she too scared to say the wrong thing and insult him?
Before he knew it, the school day was over and Adrien walked out, hearing the heavy patter of rain echo through the courtyard. As he saw nameless colours running to their rides or homes, while he just stood there. He could see a light charcoal colour walking to him: the Gorilla, his bodyguard. With a sigh, Adrien went to step out, but was stopped when he heard a groan from his side. Turning, he could see Marinette's colour just before where he heard the rain. She wasn't making any motion to walk or run through the rain, just standing there.
"Marinette, right?" he asked and she jumped. "A-adrien! H-how did you know it was me?" Her hue brightened slightly, and he smiled. "Lucky guess," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Adrien couldn't tell her about the colours he saw; that was something his mom made sure he knew. Only his father and the people closest to them could know his secret. "What's wrong?" he asked her, and her colour fidgeted. "I-I was going to bring a raincoat today, b-but I left it at home..." she trailed off and Adrien took his pack into his hand. Taking out his umbrella, he held it out for her. "My ride is right there, and you'll need it more than me today," he said with a smile. An arm of her colour reached out hesitantly before he felt her hand brush against his own. Suddenly, a clap of thunder echoed and she jumped, pulling the umbrella over her. Without a warning, the top half of her colour disappeared with the tell-tale sound of an umbrella suddenly closing. Putting two and two together, he simply walked over and helped remove the umbrella. She stood there, unmoving for several seconds before mumbling out a merci and stumbling through the rain.
Feeling a heavy hand land on his shoulder, Adrien knew the Gorilla had finally made it to him, ready to lead him to the car. With cane in hand, they started off. Unbeknownst to Adrien, the Gorilla smiled at the girl heading to wherever her home was as she looked back. The rain wasn't enough to soak them, but Adrien still used the towel kept in the car for such occasions.
With a sigh, Adrien just stared ahead. He couldn't see colours through anything, and as her shining blue disappeared behind the car window, he knew he would have to wait to see her again. And as the car drove off, some part of him wanted to roll the window down, regardless of how much rain would get in, just in the hope that he may see her again.
Having been blind all his life, Adrien knew where everything in his room was. From every braille book to the couch in the middle of his room, everything had it's place. When something foreign entered his room, some clothing that his father made entered his closet, or anything moved by his bodyguard, he could almost sense it. But this was no ordinary change; there was something of great weight in his room, coming from his desk. Making his way over to it, not bothering to use his cane, his hands came across a wooden box sitting on his desk where it had never been before. Feeling it over, he discovered a latch on the the side. With a flip, the box opened, and the power Adrien felt increased tenfold. His hand trembling as he reached towards the box, he felt something cold and metal in the center. Picking it up, he could tell it was a ring.
He paused, unsure if he should wear it or not, then put it on quickly. Suddenly, a little black creature appeared in front of him, and he screamed. The creature grimaced and flew towards him as he stumbled back, covering his mouth, whispering, "shut up kid, you wanna get us in trouble? Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you. In fact, I'm doing the opposite. I'm Plagg, a kwami of destruction, and you are my Chosen. Now, I'm a secret, so when whoever comes through that door-" The kwami was cut off as Adrien's door opened, his bodyguard looking around as Plagg disappeared into Adrien's jacket.
"What happened?" the Gorilla asked, his eyes scanning the room for any threats.
"N-nothing, I just tripped over my cane. S-sorry for frightening you," Adrien said. With a huff, the Gorilla left, shutting the door behind him.
"So," the kwami asked, "got any cheese? I'm starving."
"Why can I see you?"
"'Scuse me?"
"Why...can I see you?" Adrien repeated. Plagg looked at him confused, before really looking Adrien over. When he saw the white cane in Adrien's hand, his hands went to his head. "Oh that turtle loves to give me a headache," he mumbled. "Alright, so let me explain a few things to you, uh, what's your name?"
"Adrien, Adrien Agreste."
"Nice to meet you kid. Ok, so I told you I'm a kwami, and that's basically a god in a fairy's body. Therefore, all can see me, including the blind. My job is to grant you powers in order to defeat akuma, people turned into monsters by a guy named Hawkmoth. You'll be working with another kwami-powered person, and her power is gonna revolve around creation. What else...what else..oh! When you're powered up, you'll have this wicked costume, your agility, stamina, and strength will all be increased, and you'll have a destructive power called "Cataclysm." But, most importantly for you, all of your senses will be heightened. Why don't you transform, get used to it? Cause an akuma's bound to show up sooner or later. All you have to do is say, "Plagg, transformez-moi." Plagg hovered for a second, then said, "and most importantly for both of us, I need cheese to power us up." Plagg looked around the room, hovering over to where he knew his desk was, to where his bed was, and came back. "Camembert is the best kind of cheese for me, and I've already found several places where you can stash it in here. Now, let's go get some Camembert and see where we go from there."
Adrien was too stunned to say anything. Instead he used his cane to get to the door and called Nathalie to request some cheese for his new...guest.
"I didn't even know you knew what Camembert was," Nathalie told him. "W-well, I met someone at school today who loves it and said I should try it out," Adrien lied to the intercom he was using. "Very well, Adrien. I'll send some up to your room later." With that she hung up, and Adrien turned until the kwami entered his sight again, jumping at actually seeing something instead of colours, something that had a definite shape and details.
"Look, I know this is a lot to take in, especially the whole blind-kid-seeing-me thing, so take some time to let it all sink in," Plagg said. Adrien moved to his bed and sat down, staring at Plagg. "Hey, this might help," the kwami said, "let's learn a couple colors, help you process. My fur is black while my eyes are-"
"Green. Yeah, I-I know colors," Adrien finished. "Why me, though? Why choose someone who's blind?"
Plagg floated, staring at him. "To be honest, I have no clue. Until we fight off our first akuma, I won't know anything. Afterwords, I'll give you all the details you need, tell you everything you wanna know about why you. What I'm shocked about is a blind kid knowing what green is. Were you blinded as a kid or something?"
"No, I," Adrien paused, "how long will we know each other for? And how well can you keep a secret?"
"Kid, I'm not the one who's gotta keep a secret. That's you, remember?"
Adrien rubbed his neck. "My mother had a...unique ability that she passed on to me when I was born. I can see people's auras, or colours I call them. Using that, I can tell who people are, where they are, and how they are."
Plagg nodded, "I've heard of people having that ability before. Don't worry about it, kid. I won't tell anyone. Well, you seem to be handling it well right now, wanna try transforming, get a feel for your new powers?"
"Transformez-moi, that's what I have to say, right?" Plagg nodded.
"Then Plagg, Transformez-moi!"
After a brief suiting-up montage, Adrien stood, sensing nothing more than he did before, the kwami missing. "Plagg?" Suddenly, the room around him became clear, quickly fading, until he gasped. With his gasp, the room lit up around him again, although not as bright this time. He clapped, and could sense his room around him, seeing everything almost crystal clearly. "Echolocation," he mumbled to himself, "wicked." Walking over to his window, he threw it open. The sounds of Paris coming in gave him a vague outlook on how the world outside his window looked, and he laughed in delight.
Suddenly, several cries came from somewhere in Paris, and judging by how quiet they were, he knew it was far away. Without hesitating, he leaped out of his room, surprised he cleared the fence in a single jump as he landed on some rooftop, the gravel roof under his feet crunching, telling him where he was. His hand brushed against something metal on his back. Bringing it around, he could see it was some kind of cylinder. Feeling it over, a button depressed, and it extended. More than that, he felt it extend to fit his height. With another press, it shrunk back to it's original size, just how he wanted. Holding it in his hand, he ran towards the sound of screams that now came from somewhere new. Pressing the button to extend it so he could vault to the next building, he was shocked as it grew the distance between buildings, launching him far into the heart of Paris.
Adrien felt alive as he ran. He knew that something terrible was happening, but he was elated nonetheless. Looking around, he saw colours on the ground below, except now they also had an undefined human-shape surrounding them. As he approached the screams, he saw a colour that he knew was wrong. But the aura wasn't the problem; it was the shape that he could see surrounding it. It seemed to be a large creature made out of something hard, something like brick or stone. It's colour was familiar, but it was surrounded by a royal purple colour that sent a shiver down his spine.
The creature-akuma, that's what Plagg called it-let out a shriek that let him see everything around him, see all the terrified people running away, see the creature in great detail, but also let him sense something new: one person who was running across the rooftops towards him. "Miraculouses," the akuma growled before swinging his arm towards Adrien. Reflexes beat his mind to action as he leapt upwards, backflipping out of the way as the other person reached him.
"Are you one of those akuma too?" she asked, her voice betraying exhaustion. He turned to her and saw a brilliant, shining red. It filled him with passion and strength, and it took everything to do anything or say something.
"Been fighting long, my Lady?" Did I really just call this Goddess mine?
"Look, if you're not an akuma and are here to help, then-LOOK OUT!"
Adrien had already felt the blow coming as his hand went to his baton and used it to slam the coming fist into the building he was standing on. He felt something wrap around his waist and pull him to her. Stumbling as he landed, she grabbed his arm and pulled him along as they ran. "We have to get Coeur de Pierre away from here; there's too many people! I'm Ladybug, by the way."
"Coeur de Pierre ?" Adrien asked.
"The akuma," she said curtly. "Introductions can be done later, we have to find out some way to get the akuma so I can cleanse it. What's your power?"
"Power? Oh right! Plagg said it was something called Cataclysm, something destructive." He heard her moan. "I hear enough puns in my normal life. Now I gotta put up with yours?" Ladybug said. "I have Lucky Charm, it gives me a random item I can use to win a fight and repair all damages after the akuma is cleansed. But I can't find Pierre's object."
Putting two and two together, Adrien realized that whatever the akuma was, it had to be in some object, probably on said person. Which could only be one thing...
"My Lady," again Agreste?!? "I believe I know what it is. There's a balled-up piece of paper in his hand that he isn't letting go of."
"If you're right, you have a good pair of eyes on you." Throwing whatever in her hand was into the air, she shouted, "Lucky Charm!"
If Adrien had judged her beauty solely on her colour, she was gorgeous. But her shout allowed more than him just seeing the intensity of her bravery and courage. He could see the twin pigtails, just beginning to come apart from exhaustion. He could map out her entire face in great detail, details that were burned into his memory. He could see her outfit (minus designs) and body, poised beautifully, embodying her strength, her power, her energy. At that moment, he fell in love. It didn't matter what this girl did, she was the one for him. And he would do anything for her.
Hearing something land in her hands, for a moment he saw a metal rod land in her hands. "A crowbar?" she asked. "A crowbar! I have a plan, but you'll need to distract Pierre for a moment while I prepare," Ladybug said as she threw something. A yo-yo is her weapon? Adrien thought as he said, "leave it to me, Ladybug!"
"Oh Pierre!" he called out as he dropped from the building into the street where the akuma had just started climbing from. Seeing the monster's face shift down to face him, the world went dark once again. Before Adrien could say anything, he sensed something falling fast and jumped back as Coeur de Pierre landed feet away from him. That was close; I gotta get used to making noise, Adrien thought as the akuma yelled again. As he deflected punches flying at him, Adrien looked around to find some way to help stop the akuma's rampage while Ladybug did whatever she did. He sensed something on the sidewalk, a fire hydrant. If anything, destroying it would give him a moment to catch a breather. Before he could get to it, though, he saw something red out of the corner of his eye, the bright fiery colour of his Lady. She was motioning to him, and thanks to the noises that the akuma was making, he could see her trying to get him to move to her. An idea sprung to his mind as he began to lead the akuma towards the hydrant, Ladybug preparing to do something behind the akuma's back. With a final roar, Adrien saw everything: Ladybug's yo-yo string was woven like a spider's web between two lampposts, the akuma ready to smash him to smithereens, and the hydrant, where a simple touch of destruction could cause the right pressure of water to knock it into Ladybug's trap.
"Cataclysm!" he shouted and swiped at the hydrant, leaping out of the way as Coeur de Pierre's fists came down. The water pressure from the now-disintegrating fire hydrant knocked the akuma backwards. Ladybug was ready as it fell into her web, the posts coming down and tangling it in the apparently indestructible wire of her yo-yo. Using the crowbar, she pried something from the akuma's hand, a balled-up piece of paper. She gasped, "this is a love song from Iv...someone I don't know named Ivan. He must have been rejected and akumatized by Hawkmoth because of it!"
Ivan, wasn't that one of his classmates? Adrien thought. Now that he thought about it, the akuma's colour matched Ivan's exactly. Well, minus the purple cloud that surrounded it...
Ladybug tore the paper apart and a royal purple colour flew out of it. With a swing of her yo-yo, she caught whatever it was. Touching it, the yo-yo opened and it flew out again, this time having a pure white colour. "Au revoir, petit papillion," Ladybug said. She threw the crowbar into the air, shouting "Miraculous Ladybug!" and a swarm of her colour flew everywhere, encompassing everything that had been broken. "Bien joué," Ladybug said. He sensed her fist raised towards him, but not in a threatening manner. Copying the pose, she met his fist with hers. "By the way, I never caught your name. And by that, I mean your hero name, not your real name."
Adrien paused for a second, thinking of a name. He had no idea how he looked, what he wore, or anything. "Um...I haven't decided on a name yet," Adrien said as he rubbed his neck. He paused as what seemed like a hundred colours started to come out now that the damages were done. "Let's take this conversation upwards," Ladybug said before throwing her yo-yo to the nearest roof. Extending his staff and trying to control how far he shot up, Adrien was left flailing as he realized he didn't make enough sound to see the top of the building. He landed hard on a tiled roof, stopping his slide down by grabbing a chimney that jutted up. A giggle that melted his heart came from Ladybug, who stood a few feet away. "Seems like you have a black cat's bad luck," she said with a smile. "Black Cat, I kinda like it. Maybe that's what I'll call you."
"How about Chat Noir?" Adrien suggested, and Ladybug's colour lightened. "Chat Noir, I like it. It fits nice," she said, reaching her hand out to him.
He took it, and she pulled him up to flat ground. "Listen, would you mind keeping our identities a secret for now?" she asked, "it would be a lot safer for both of us if we didn't know who the other was. If Hawkmoth were to-"
"I understand," Chat said. "And as much as I'd like to know who you are under that mask," I have never seen such a beautiful colour "I doubt I'd know someone as lovely as yourself in real life," he said with what he hoped look like a sincere bow. A loud beep came from both of them.
"Well, that's our cue then," Ladybug said. "Later, Chat," and with a leap to the next building, her colour began to disappear. He looked around, making several noises to try to find his way home with no luck. Jumping to an alley that no one was near, he detransformed. "Plagg, I've made a huge mistake!"
"You didn't make a mistake, you were fantastic out there!" Plagg said. "Now, let's get home to the Camembert."
"That's the problem! I don't know how to get home!" Adrien nearly shouted. Suddenly, his pocket rang, and he realized he had his flip phone with him ('cause a blind kid can't use a smartphone (yet)). Opening it and responding, Adrien heard Nathalie say, "he finally answered," before returning to ask him a myriad of questions about where he was and if he was alright.
"Yeah, I'm ok. I was just hanging out with a friend." As he walked out of the alley, he looked around, colours in every direction. Suddenly, he saw a cool orange that he knew: Nino. Waving at him as Nathalie scolded at him, he covered the mouthpiece. "Nino, I need your help," he pleaded as Nino got to him. "Dude, how did you know I was there?"
"That's not important; just tell my dad's secretary we've been hanging out all afternoon," he handed Nino the phone. "Hello? I'm Nino. Lahiffe. Yeah, Adrien and I have been chillin' all afternoon...we're at the park next to school. Ok...ok....ok, ma'am." With that, Nino held the phone out to Adrien, "she wants to talk with you." Guiding his hand to the phone, Adrien took it and held it to his ear. "I am very disappointed, Adrien. But, I am glad you are safe. Next time you wish to go out with friends, tell Nathalie first," his father's cold voice said over the phone. "Yes father. It will not happen again." Hanging up, Nino asked, "what are you even doing out here?"
Thinking quickly, Adrien said, "I like to take walks occasionally, you know, get out of the house. I normally get back before anyone notices I'm gone, but I got lost today because of the attack. I have to go now, unfortunately. Thanks for covering me, Nino."
"No problem, dude. See you in school tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Hopefully."
As Adrien sat down the next day in school, Chloé was doing something on the seat behind him.
"If she thinks she can be so much better than me, then she's in for a surprise!" she gloated to Sabrina.
Suddenly, a heavenly blue light walked in the door, and Adrien forgot all about what Chloé and Sabrina were doing as they left both her seat and his mind. Marinette walked over to her seat, Adrien struggling not to stare as she passed, and paused.
"Who put gum on my seat?" she asked to the room. The only response was a snicker from Chloé's general direction. Marinette zeroed in on the bratty girl, her blue outshining the yellow as tension filled the air. "I've had to put up with you for how many years now, Chloé? I have never done anything to you, and yet you delight in teasing not only me but everyone in class as well! Well, I'm not going to take it anymore, no matter how powerful your father gets."
Suddenly, Adrien went wide-eyed. In all his years of life, people's colours could only change in intensity and hue. But now, as Marinette stood above Chloé, standing up to her, her colour shifted. From her center, a bright, fiery red began to grow as she continued to stand up to her nemesis. Looking to see if Chloé was changing at all in response, her yellow just grew darker with rage. But soon he couldn't see any yellow behind the bright red of Marinette. And as Marinette walked back to her seat, her red remained, glowing with power. Adrien couldn't help but stare as Marinette did something to her seat before sitting down. It wasn't until a few moments passed that her blue began to shine again, replacing the fire with it's deep coolness.
He could feel Plagg shift in his jacket, and he quickly turned forward, facing the front of the room. He barely heard Plagg whisper something about not doing anything stupid, his cheeks burning up.
He needed to get to know this girl better.