Miraculous Unoshots

The Cage (Part 2)

The enclosure was lemur-proof. This meant that it was most definitely human-proof unless one of them miraculously had a key, which they did not. The two teenagers learned this very quickly after having the door slammed on them, locking them in a small enclosure together. After having spent a few minutes rushing around the cage trying to find a way out, Marinette sighed and sat on the ground against one of the trees placed inside for the lemurs to climb on. It didn't take long for her cellmate to give up as well as he sighed in turn and plopped down next to Marinette.

"I guess we're stuck in here until Ladybug saves the day," Adrien said. He allowed his voice to sound calm but inside his head, he was screaming. He needed to get out of that cage to be able to transform and help Ladybug to fight the villain. Unbeknownst to him, Marinette was having the same internal panic.

"I guess so..." Marinette replied with a tight smile that was obviously fake. 

The two sat in silence as they watched the chaos around them. Animals running loose in confusion, innocent civilians being turned to animals, and no Ladybug or Chat Noir in sight. 

"Come on, Chat Noir," the girl whispered, her eyes trained to the sky. Adrien turned to look at her and couldn't help but allow a light blush to dust his cheeks as she continued whispering prayers that his alter-ego would soon arrive. Despite the worry on her face, she didn't seem afraid. When he thought about it, he couldn't think of a time he had ever seen his friend afraid and he couldn't help but smile as he thought about her constant bravery. Bravery was one of the features that made him fall so madly in love with his superhero partner, Ladybug. He had never thought about it before but now that he was, he realized that Marinette shared a lot of the qualities in Ladybug that he admired.

"So how are you holding up?" He spoke up, startling her out of her concentration on the sky. She turned to look at him and he noticed her cheeks flush, highlighting her adorable freckles. 

"Wh-What?" She stammered.

"I mean with everything going on out there, how are you doing with it all?" He clarified.

"Oh! Yeah, uhm. I'm fine. Chat Noir will get us out of here. I know it."

Adrien cocked his head to one side and leaned in closer to her so that their noses were almost touching. "Why so much faith in the cat? Do you have a crush or something?" He teased.

Without hesitation, Marinette pushed his face away with one finger on his nose, a move he was familiar with. "No! That stray? Hah, never. Well, maybe not never, never, but yeah never." Marinette's face only turned redder as she stumbled on. When she finally caught herself, she cleared her throat awkwardly. "He's just proven himself to Paris a lot and he's gotten me out of some tough spots in the past."

Adrien opened his mouth to reply, perhaps with another teasing remark or maybe a genuine comment, though he wasn't sure which. However, before a single word could escape his lips, a voice boomed throughout Paris.

"Ladybug, Chat Noir! If you don't show up and give me your miraculous soon, these two teenagers will be turned to mice and dropped off the Eiffel Tower!" The villain threw back her head and let out an evil laugh. Marinette and Adrien both rushed to the bars of the cage to see the villain holding Alya and Nino dangling by their arms.

"Help us, Ladybug!" Alya shouted. Despite the fear in her voice and on her face, she was, of course, recording the whole situation for her Ladyblog.

"No, this can't be happening!" Marinette screamed, tears filling her eyes.

While Marinette was frantically trying to find a way out, despite having already tried every way possible, Adrien was making up his mind to do something that he didn't see much choice in either way. He nodded to himself and before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed Marinette by the shoulders and looked in their eyes.