Lovebug

Part 5

Earlier

Adrien enters the car to Nathalie's voice calmly scolding him for his lateness. "I'm sorry Nathalie," he says "I was... helping a friend with something after class."

"That's understandable Adrien, but please let me know next time. Your father worries about you when we are late," she says

"I know" Adrien hangs his head. He can't help thinking that he hurt Marinette by rejecting her, she has always been a wonderful friend and he didn't want this to affect it.

Adrien attends his Piano lesson and his mathematics tutor before being chauffeured home for a dinner he was supposed to eat with his father, unfortunately, he was unavailable again tonight as he often was.

"I'm just going to take this in my room if that's ok Nathalie," Adrien asks. "I... I have a lot of school work to do."

Nathalie agrees and Adrien carries his plate up to his bedroom, something he does often during lonely meals. This way he can at least talk to Plagg.

Plagg yawns, emerging from Adrien's inside pocket. "Man, the sound of your math tutor's voice is so soothing, it just sends me to sleep every time." Plagg laughs, expecting Adrien to laugh along with him. Instead he stares out the large, rain-soaked windows as the street below goes dark.

"Plagg... do you think I was rude to Marinette today?" Adrien asks. Plagg sighs. He knows Marinette and Ladybug are the same person but cannot tell this to Adrien, no matter how many times he has wanted to.

"Adrien, you can't be so hard on yourself," Plagg reassures him. "If you seriously don't have feelings for this girl then there is nothing wrong with rejecting her and she seemed to understand that."

"That's the thing Plagg. I've been in love with Ladybug for almost four years and I always knew that she never liked me back, she even told me before that she has feelings for someone else. I... I just don't know if she will give up this person she loves, even if it's for the good of Paris.

Adrien finishes his dinner, then sits at his desk in an attempt to get some homework done, however, he simply cannot concentrate. It may have been because the work was hard, or because Plagg was watching TV and loudly yelling at the show, but deep down, Adrien knew that his infatuation with Ladybug was the real reason he couldn't focus.

"Are you kidding me?!" Plagg exclaims in a burst of anger. Adrien turns in confusion to see Plagg yelling at a new episode of Pol Rue's Drag Chase. "Mena-jo Twah is the best damn Drag Queen in Paris, nay the world! Why is she in the bottom two again!"

"Plagg, can you please keep it down. I need to finish this before we visit Master Fu again tonight, or else I'll never get it done." Adrien says

"Oh please," Plagg laughs, "You aren't even working, I recognise the 'Bug Catcher' notebook when I see it." He sits upon the open page, covered in scribbled out names of women in Paris. Adrien pulls the notebook out from under Plagg, slams it shut and throws it in his desk drawer. 

"How about, instead of creepily searching for her as Adrien, you message her and try to convince her to go through with it as Cat Noir," Plagg suggests

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," he says. Adrien lightly punches his ring into the home screen button of his phone and watches it transform to Cat Noir's phone. With only just over half an hour until they must meet at Fu's, he types out a quick message and sends it to Ladybug.

A few minutes later, a message comes through from Ladybug. His heart pounds in anticipation to open it and when he does, it reads:

"We'll talk at Fu's"

He shoots her a quick thumbs-up before dragging Plagg away from the TV and saying the immortal words: "Plagg, claws out!"

Once his transformation is complete, Cat Noir turns off the lights in his bedroom, then goes to his bathroom and locks the door, to create the illusion he is in there if people come to his room. He climbs out of the bathroom window and makes his way to Master Fu's house, where Ladybug is waiting outside already.

"good evening m'lady," He says, his voice dripping with charm as always as he approaches her from behind.

She doesn't look at him and instead just uses the cue of his voice to ring the doorbell. Fu answers and hurridly invites the pair inside where they sit beside each other, in front of Fu with the miracle box between them.

"Have you decided what you are going to do?" Fu asks. CatNoir opens his mouth to speak but before he can give his answer, Ladybug interrupts.

"We'll do it," Ladybug says, looking at the floor.

"Are you sure?" Cat Noir turns to her, almost shocked at her answer.

"Paris needs us Cat Noir, we can't afford not too." She replies

"You both have made a very wise and selfless choice," Master Fu tells them with a smile. "I will need a little while longer to decipher the page on Miraculous unification. If done incorrectly, it could have catastrophic results."

"Isn't it just combining the Miraculi?" Cat Noir asks

"Of course not!" Fu exclaims, he seems offended that Cat Noir has absolutely no idea of what destruction that would cause. "Combining the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous like that would give one person ultimate power. An unchecked power with no limits that would grant them the will to do anything they choose. This is why Hawkmoth wants your Miraculous so bad, so he can have that unchecked and unlimited power."

"I'm sorry Master Fu." Cat Noir shies away slightly for the first time in his life. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Just keep doing what you are doing, Paris still needs you both. But be careful as your powers may begin to appear weaker." Fu explains. "I'll send for you both when it is time."

"We'll be careful. Thank you Master Fu." Ladybug says before abruptly leaving. Cat Noir tails out behind her and catches her just before she swings onto a rooptop.

"Cat Noir I've had a long day, we'll talk another time. Ok." she says, her blue eyes, usually full of life appear to be red and sinking into her face.

He sees her face. Instead of the long speech he had prepared, he just says "Yeah alright, I... I guess I'll see you when I see you."

She swings away, leaving Cat Noir standing on a dimly lit street corner by himself. He watches her land on the roof of a building across the street, then jump over to another beside it, hen swing off into the distance.

"Goodbye... Lovebug" he smiles