Chat...is that you?

Chapter 3

Marinette sighed as she collapsed into her bed. It was midday, sunlight streaming into her room, casting rays along her bedroom floor. She could hear the birds outside in her balcony, along with Tikki's hushed snoring, clearly exhausted from helping at the bakery this morning. She half regretted taking that job at her parents bakery. Her dad can be a harsh judge of her baking skills when he wants to be. She ran her hand through her hair as she checked her phone for any new messages.
Alya? Nothing
Nino? Nope
Luka? No
Adrien? Surprisingly no, though he is usually very good at answering texts fast. She swooned, her head sinking into the pillows as her eyes wander to the picture of Adrien pinned to her wall along with an array of her friends.
Ah, Adrien. One day she would confess. Something miraculous would happen that would bring them together.

She sighs as she slips her phone into her pocket, rolling over to look at her tv that she left on while working. She flicked through the channels until she reached the news. Her eyes widened.
There seems to be an akumatized villain in the city. Is it a new one?
She sat up and inched closer, squinting to try and spot the villain in the news as she bit into a leftover macaron.
Oh, it's just that pidgeon man again, no biggie.
This is what? The third time dealing with this guy? How emotional can a person get about pidgeons? What would there be to get sad about? Lack of breadcrumbs?
She sighed again as Tikki floated up from under her coat.

"Sorry Tikki, I know you're tired from helping me in the bakery but duty calls"
Tikki smiles as she nods

"And when duty calls, I'm always ready"
Marinette nodded, before calling

"Spots on!"

Ladybug leapt from her bedroom balcony, scanning the area and leaping from the building, swooping over crowds of people who watch in awe as she scaled Paris' urban landscape with ease. She smiled as she ran over the rooftops. Just another normal day. What more could a girl want?
She checked her yo-yo, sliding it open to reveal the phone feature. She dialled for Chat noir and waited on top of a tall building as she watched the villain come into view.
Well that didn't take long, usually takes a while to catch one. Not today.

Hm no answer? Chat was always a bit fashionably late but come on.
Ladybug sighed. Guess she'd have to start without him. As she swung down, she smiled again at the thought of chat bounding down from a nearby rooftop, uttering some lame cat pun then helping to kick this guy to the curb again.
But where on earth could he be?
Ladybug waited, but ended up having to finish it herself today.

"Bye bye little butterfly!" Another akuma sorted. Ladybug watched as it gracefully fluttered into the cloudless sky, until it was out of sight.

"Pound i- oh wait, he's not here"
She sighed. She could do it alone obviously but, it's not the same without him.
She checked her yo-yo again.
Still nothing from Chat.
It's fine, since it was an easy problem, nothing a lucky charm couldn't solve.
But still, Chat can't just do this when the threat of a worse villain is always possible.
How could he be so reckless? What could he possibly be doing?
She cursed herself. This is the major downside of not knowing each other's secret identities. They had no mode of contact outside the hero suits.
She sighed when she still got no answer from him. Guess he must be busy. She shoved down the hurt in her heart as she scolded herself for feeling this way, about a guy that was just her friend.
He's too busy huh?
Too busy to save Paris.
Too busy to....see her?

The next day, it was Monday. Another normal school week. Even though her hero duties had seemed a bit off lately, at least this would be normal.
Or so she thought.
With a croissant in mouth (late yet again) Marinette rushed through the school doors. Ah, it starts in five minutes, so not completely late. She ran over to Alya, who was chatting to Nino with a smile.