Not Alone: A Miraculous Ladybug Story

Chapter 14

 As it turned out, Natalie was only distracted for about 6 minutes, and the pitter patter of her heels started moving in their direction quickly. With his Chat senses, Adrien picked it up first, signaling them all the hurry and cover their tracks. Marinette went to put back some binders they had dislodged, and Alya went over to the safe, grabbing the peacock pin from off the ground where Marinette had eventually dropped it and something else that caught her eye, before closing the door, spinning the dial and swinging the picture over it.

Adrien went to the window, shoving it open and jumped out, balancing on his baton and reaching for Alya. Quickly he propelled them both up to his room, helping her through the window, and quickly dropping down to do the same for Nino.

He looked out the window just as Ladybug's yoyo zipped up, encircling like a lasso around his wrist. He immediately braced himself against the window frame as she hung upside down like a spider and pushed the window shut from above just as Natalie walked into the room.

The yoyo retracted, and Ladybug tumbled gracefully into the room, coming to rest on one knee.

"Thanks, kitty," she addressed Chat, standing up and giving his bell a teasing flick. "She didn't see me."

"Always happy tabby of help, M'Lady." He winked as he leaned on his baton roguishly.

They grinned at each other and Chat took a step towards her, but then they remembered their audience.

Blushing, Marinette murmured "Spots off" and Adrien followed suit.

"So it's actually true." Nino said.

"Yeah, " Adrien nervously rubbed the back of his head, waiting for Nino to respond similarly to Alya.

"Cool," Nino said instead, as if Adrien told him he painted in his spare time, not moonlighted as one half of Paris' crime-fighting pair. "Guess that explains why you're so in love with Ladybug." He smirked, looking over to Marinette.

"What?!" Marinette and Alya squacked together.

"Yeah, " he chuckled, nodding over to Adrien's computer setup. "His desktop is covered with photos."

Before he had even finished, Alya was up and running towards the desktop, and not even Adrien's cat-like reflexes could stop her. She jiggled the mouse, and up popped his screen saver, a collage he had personally made of official ladybug photos and witness pictures of the two of them zooming over the Paris rooftops, more than a few of them, taken directly from the LadyBlog.

His face was so red it was almost purple by the time Marinette came over and bumped him with her hip.

"Guess we were both half in love with each other before. The only thing in our way was ourselves." She giggled lightly and took his hand in hers. Squeezing her hand, he let go of a breath he'd been holding and kissed the top of her head.

Alya looked over at the two, ridiculously happy for her best friend and grinned in Nino's direction. She had just won another 10 euro.

"Anymore pictures on here, lover boy?" She asked, teasing, and opened his desktop. A picture of his mother at a younger age appeared as the background, jolting them all back on task.

"Alya," Adrien spoke first, "what was that other thing you grabbed out of my father's safe?"

"Oh!" Alya reached into her bag and placed the broach on the table. Lightly beside it, she placed a small figurine, blue with large oval eyes, and a peacock tail. "It was peacock themed too, so I thought maybe it was impor--"

"Adrien!" Marinette gasped. "Is that...?" She trailed off.

"I think so. Plagg, Tikki?"

The two kwamis emerged from their separate hiding places, and Alya and Nino took their appearance quite calmly. After Marinette quickly explained who they were, Alya just shrugged at the appearance of two floating creatures.

"My best friend is a red and black dotted superhero who swings over paris using a magic yoyo." Alya explained, " I think I've hit my quota of weird for the day. Of course you're friends with a small immortal god, that flies and gives you your powers. Why not?"

Tikki smiled gently at the girl, and floated over with Plagg to the table Alya stood near.

"Duusu! What's wrong with her. Plagg?" but for once, the sassy cat had nothing to say.

"We need to get her to Master Fu, " Tikki looked at her miraculous holder.

"So she's a kwami?" Marinette asked.

"Yes," Tikki looked back worriedly at Duusu. "That broach is her miraculous. That's why I didn't want you to touch it; that activated your miraculous. It's an attempt to keep multiple miraculous from being given to one person. That much power can be dangerous." She paused, looking over at Plagg. "How could this have happened? She looks almost...shell-shocked?"

"Something must've happened to her wielder. Some trauma or forced separation?" He shook his head. "Fu will know." He looked at his miraculous wielder in a brief moment of tenderness, remembering at least one traumatic experience when he wished he could escape like Duusu was doing now. Adrien simply nodded his head, opening his jacket for Plagg to get back inside. Tikki did the same with Marinette as the brunette cupped her hands and ever so gently placed Duusu in her purse next to Tikki, where her red friend would make sure she was okay on their way to Master Fu.

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"So who is this Master Fu?"' Alya asked as Adrien called for the Gorilla to drive them downtown. Marinette was proud of her friend for keeping her questions to the minimum for the time being. She would happily tell her everything, relieved beyond words that there was no longer this secret looming between them, but her mind was completely occupied by the worry engendered in her by Tikki's grim expression.

"He holds all the miraculous," she glanced over to Adrien and he waved them all forward. "He chooses the miraculous wielders. He gave Adrien and I ours." She stopped after that brief explanation, aware of the extra set of ears inside the car.

Alya nodded, and pulled her phone out. Tapping away, Marinette assumed she was taking notes or writing down some theories, so she left her to her own devices and instead slid into the car. Placing her purse extra-gingerly in her lap, she made sure to get a secure grip to avoid any unnecessary jostling, and then rested her head against the window, taking comfort in the cool pane of glass and condensation on her brow.

She sat next to Alya, with Nino on the other side. Adrien sat in the front with the Gorilla, but he kept looking back at her and her purse. She gave him a small smile, wishing he were next to her. He smiled back and she distracted herself with thoughts of Adrien. It was amazing, and a bit terrifying, how close they had become in such a short time.

But then again, she though, we've actually been close for over a year. He's mon chaton. Maybe their current relationship was just a composite of the two they had before, and mushing her feelings for Adrien and Chat together just felt overwhelming because it was new, but not new, foreign yet familiar, all at the same time.

I want to kiss him again, the thought sprung into her mind, and she ducked her head against the window, smiling a bit and trying to hide her blush.

They pulled up to the cafe Adrien had directed the Gorilla to, and Adrien was up in a flash and opening the door for her. Careful not to jostle Duusu, she got out of the car. He took her hand, and didn't let go.

Waving to the Gorilla, the four went into the cafe and waited, watching him until he pulled away and turned the corner, before leaving and walking across the street to the unassuming walk-up where Fu lived.

Marinette knocked lightly on the bamboo door. Master Fu, much quicker than his age of almost 200 would suggest, was at the door almost instantly.

"I had a feeling you two would visit me soon."

"Master Fu, " Marinette stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "We need your help." She held out Duusu, with Tikki hovering close nearby.

"Oh, Duusu," he sighed sadly, taking the kwami gently into his own hands. "You'd better come in," He called over his shoulder as he walked in, not questioning their other two guests.

They followed.