Adrien
Adrien almost jumped out of his skin, coming face to face with Nino's murderous glare as soon as he'd stepped out of the bakery. He had completely forgotten about his friend with everything that was going on today.
"You said one hour! You promised me to go straight home after the beach," Nino barked, his arms folded over his chest. "We had a deal, Adrien. How am I supposed to give you some space if you don't hold up your end of a bargain?"
"I know. I'm sorry, Nino. I promise I did plan to go straight home but—"
"You know I don't like shadowing you everywhere just as much as you," Nino continued fuming. "But we're here undercover, and that crazy woman is trying to find you. Not to mention, Felix joined her efforts. You can't be that reckless, Adrien. They know who they're dealing with. No matter how strong you are, if you're outnumbered and unequipped, you'll need someone to back you up, not to mention Felix knows exactly how you fight—"
"Marinette got hurt!" Adrien threw his arms in the air, his voice loud enough only for Nino to hear. "I couldn't leave her with a possible broken ankle on a beach with no means of getting home."
Nino froze in his spot. "Marinette? What happened? Is she alright?"
"She will be." Plagg poked his head from Adrien's pocket with a proud grin on his face. "I made sure of that. You're welcome."
"Oh, really?" Adrien quirked an eyebrow. "And what did you do? Last time I checked you were the kwami of destruction, not healing."
"A kwami of destruction tied to the one you need." Plagg smirked. "Tikki might be dormant but my proximity will stir her enough for more than usual of her magic to slip out to heal your precious Marinette in no time. That broken bone in her ankle was healed before we even arrived at the bakery."
"So that's what that was," Adrien hummed. "Unexpectedly considerate of you, Plagg."
"You can thank me in Camembert."
"And here I was starting to think you've changed." Nino chuckled as Adrien rolled his eyes. "Selfless as always, Plagg?"
Plagg glared Nino's way and ducked back into Adrien's pocket, murmuring something about ungrateful humans and their rude friends.
"Here. An advance." Adrien opened the pastry box Tom had given him, pulled out a cheese puff and offered it to Plagg. "I'll buy you more Camembert tomorrow."
The kwami grabbed the pastry, shoved it in his mouth, and zoomed back to hide in Adrien's collar without a single word.
"Want some?" Adrien offered the box to Nino, taking a croissant for himself.
"They are spoiling you rotten." Nino shook his head in amusement, pulling a treat out of the box. "But don't you think this will get you off the hook. I'm still mad at you for vanishing on me without a warning. You don't want to know what went down in my head before I tracked you down to the bakery."
"Sorry." Adrien gave Nino an apologetic smile. "It really was an emergency, but I should've let you know."
Nino ran his hands through his hair. "That's fine, but next time just try to contact me, so I don't have to leave my gravity-defying baby and run here to see if you're still alive."
"You could've called me."
Nino's look was anything but amused. "Have you checked your phone lately?"
Adrien frowned, pulling out his cellphone. A single glance at the black screen and it all made sense. "Oops."
"Always charge your phone before going out. That's basic, Adrien."
"Of course. I'll do that from now on. But how is your gravity-defying baby doing?"
Nino surpassed a chuckle. "Changing the subject already?"
"Oh, I'm sure you don't mind. Chastising me will never be as much fun as talking about your tech, right?"
Nino laughed. "Can't argue with that. But before we move on—how did you end up with Marinette if she was supposed to be on a date at the park tonight?"
Adrien shrugged. "I'll let you know once I talk to Ladybug. I'm not sure what happened there. Shall we go, now? I still need to talk to Max today."
"Max called half an hour ago," Nino sighed. "That's actually how I realized you weren't back yet."
"Any news?"
"No changes. Your mother's condition is stable. Your father seems to have forgotten you exist, and Lila keeps trying to contact and locate you. Thankfully, she only goes for obvious tricks, so Max can block her, but I'll have to fiddle with your phone some more just in case. Oh, and Felix tried to contact you, but seeing as he's always with Lila these days, we blocked him as well."
"Sounds good." Adrien nodded, getting on his bike. He loved his cousin, but something was definitely wrong back home, and until he figured out what it was, it would be better to cut off all contact with people he couldn't fully trust at the moment. Unfortunately, that included Felix. As well as his father, someone who might not have been the most loving and attentive type, but who had never before had gone almost two months without talking to his son. For someone who went above and beyond all imaginable boundaries to keep Adrien locked at home for twenty years, suddenly forgetting he existed was a little bit too out of character.
***
"Is there a reason you're hiding from me?" Chat chuckled, spotting his little bug nestled safely in the tree amongst the greenery.
She stiffened at the sound of his voice and shifted away from his view. "I'm not here. You're imagining things."
Chat laughed, loud and clear. Just like the moon shining above their heads. "If you didn't want to be here, you'd say something forbidden about yourself and would be gone before I even arrived."
She whimpered, but still refused to come out of her hiding spot.
Chat stood under the tree, looking up at her. "If that's about you sending me to crash your date, then I almost forgive you. It did work out in my favour in the end, didn't it?"
Ladybug peaked from around the tree trunk. "And what do I have to do to earn your full forgiveness?"
"Just tell me why you did it." She seemed to hesitate, so Chat scaled the branches, settling beside her a few moments later. "I would've settled for cuddles, but I'm a cat, and cats are known for being way too curious."
Looking at him from under her thick eyelashes, Ladybug slightly nibbled on her lip. "You aren't mad?"
He shook his head, opening his arm to her. "More intrigued than anything."
Shifting closer, she leaned into his embrace. "I'm sorry. I really needed to see you tonight, and I know if I'd told you, you wouldn't have gone there."
"Not unless there was a really good reason." Chat cradled her closer, gently stroking her hair. "Tell me."
Ladybug hid her face in his chest, a quiet sniffle slipping her lips. "You know how it's really hard for me to say no to people I like, right?"
"You had no trouble saying no to me the day we met."
She jerked her head up, a silly pout on her face. "I said 'people I like'. I thought you were a male copy of Chloe back then."
"And when we weren't spying on our friends and you refused to have lunch and go to the movies with me?"
"I thought you were in love with another!"
"And—"
"Listen!" Ladybug pulled away, glaring at him. "You're an exception because you're a doofus who wrecked chaos in my life. You deserved every single one of those nos. And it's not like I was going to break your heart by saying No, so man up and accept your fate like a champ!"
Chat's laughter filled the space, tears of joy bursting from his eyes. Ladybug relaxed, soft snickers slipping her lips as well. When both of them regained their composure, Chat placed a gentle kiss on top of her head and whispered, "Don't worry, I get everything—apart from why you wanted me there tonight."
Ladybug cuddled closed, leaning her head against his chest. "I needed you there as a reminder that what I feel for him is not even remotely close to what I feel for you, and as such, I can't succumb again and agree to something I didn't intend to."
"You could've looked at my photo or something."
She shook her head. "It wasn't enough. When I'm cornered with something so significant as a love confession, I panic and often agree to things I didn't plan or want to. Your physical presence would've done a much better job in keeping my head straight than a simple picture or a memory."
"And did it help?"
Ladybug nodded. "Weirdly enough, more so for Luka than me."
"Meaning?"
She lazily drew shapes with her fingers on his chest. "Luka found something important he should be focusing on right now. He just wanted to talk about it and see where we stand, but then he saw us together and, let's just say, he isn't blind."
Chat reached for her chin to raise Ladybug's face to look at him. Once she did, he slowly leaned down, placing a tender kiss on her lips. "I hope you know how much I love you, my Lady."
Cradling his jaw in her hands, she pulled him down for another kiss, capturing his lips with fervour and eagerness he'd come to expect and love from this girl. "Not as much as I love you. And I'm so sorry for tricking you. That won't happen again."
"If you ever need me—" he tacked the stray hair behind her ear, a gentle smile on his lips, "—even if it's something I normally wouldn't do, just tell me. Explain it to me and I'll be there for you no matter what. We're in this together, my Lady. We're a team. Alright?"
She quietly nodded, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. "Thank you, Chaton. Thank you so much."
They stayed like that, entangled in each other's arms, listening to the soft breaths and steady heartbeats, for a few minutes before Ladybug shifted, her lips brushing against his chest. On purpose. He knew that. Chat returned the favour by kissing her hair and pulling her closer. This was his favourite part of the day—just holding this girl close to his heart, lingering in her affection, and not worrying about anything. Well... almost anything.
"Now that we got that out of the way..." Chat pulled away to Ladybug's protesting whimper. "I have one more question for you."
She grumbled, her lips pursed in a pout. "What can be so important to interrupt our cuddle time?"
"Your apparent self-healing powers."
She stiffened, glancing at him. "What about it?"
"Why don't we get down for this," Chat offered. "I don't want you to fall, even if it's in a dream."
"Why would I fall?"
"Just trust me." He quickly climbed down, waiting for Ladybug to follow his suit. Once she joined him on the ground, Chat led her to one of their favourite spots, a large swing hanging on a tree by the lake, and offered her to sit down.
"Chat," she started. "I know you're skeptical, but—"
"You don't really believe it yourself, now do you?"
She looked away, her gaze falling to the stillness of the water. "It sounds logical and believable enough."
"If it did—" Chat settled beside her, "—you wouldn't be keeping it a secret."
She remained silent, watching the lake.
He reached for her hand, lightly squeezing it in his. "I did some research before bed, and while Qigong sounds impressive and certainly helpful to some degree, there is no way it can heal broken bones in a matter of hours. You have to admit it."
"Maman says that perhaps because her part of the family was practicing it for so long—"
"Marinette."
She fell quiet at her real-life name. Her eyes fell to the ground, lingering on the flowers at their feet before looking at him and whispering, "I don't have a better explanation to hold on to without thinking there is something wrong with me."
Holding her by her shoulders, Chat turned her to face him, speaking each word as clearly and as confidently as he could. "There is nothing wrong with you, my Lady. Nothing. You've just got a little bit of magic in you. That's all."
Her eyes widened. "Magic?"
"Yes. Magic."
Her voice was barely audible. "Like healing?"
"That's a part of it."
Her eyes grew even bigger. "Just a part? What—Chat! What do you mean?"
He let her shoulders go, instead of wrapping his arms around her tiny body and leaning their foreheads together. "I wish I could explain more to you, but... this information is closely tied to my identity, so I can't say a lot."
She remained silent for the longest of minutes, her eyes focused on him, a whole range of emotions in them until it finally clicked. "You can use magic yourself."
That wasn't a question. Chat could practically feel the chains on that part of his identity falling off as he nodded. She'd figured it out.
Ladybug pulled away, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. "Chat! What—how? Why is this the first time I've heard about this?"
He let a sigh out and shifted in his seat. "Do you remember how I told you there are only a handful of people who can use magic at present time?"
She nodded.
"Well, powers are unique to each wielder. If I were to mention anything about my abilities, you could've potentially known who I am."
"That's assuming I know who wields what, which I don't!" Ladybug cried out. "I didn't even believe in magic until you told me about it a few weeks ago! And I still am very, very skeptical about it all."
Chat chuckled, bopping her nose with his finger. "First, I don't think this thing that monitors us cares who believes what. And second, fair, but you kind of need to start believing in it if you want to use it."
She sent him an unimpressed look and a pout to rival them all. "What if I don't want to? People will treat me like a freak if I do."
"You don't have to use magic in public. In fact, I'd strongly suggest you don't, but having the powers you do... you will want to use them. I know you would. If not to treat your own wounds way faster than overnight, then for... other things you're interested in."
"Things that are?"
Adrien was about to tell her when a crippling fear gripped his chest. He closed his eyes, breathed in and exhaled. "Our powers are linked together. Our kwamis always search for soulmates to choose as their wielders. Telling you the essence of your abilities will be basically giving away mine. Sorry."
His smile was full of apology when he opened his eyes, but Ladybug stared at him in confusion, a completely different question on her tongue. "What are kwamis?"
"Kwamis... um..." How would he even start to explain that one? He'd never thought about it much himself, seeing how Plagg, Dusuu and Nooroo were always a part of his family. This would've been so much easier if he'd just brought Marinette to Master Fu and let an actual magic teacher explain it to her. "They are these little creatures that give people magic abilities."
"Like fairies?"
"Something like it, but also very different."
"And you have one?"
Chat nodded, but that was all he could do without the dread coming up from the pit of his stomach.
"Then why don't I have one if I can use magic as you claim?"
He pointed to the middle of her chest. "It's still inside you. Still dormant."
Her eyebrows knitted in a frown. "What do you mean inside me?"
"Kwamis choose their wielders at birth," Adrien explained. "They seek out the most compatible person and fuse with their life force. You can live a life and not know you were chosen. Not unless you pay attention to yourself and 'weird things' in your body. Like your self-healing. It's not Qigong that was healing you all this time. It's your kwami's magic running through your veins, repairing damage to your body."
Ladybug looked at her chest, laying her hands over it. "I... that's...inside me?"
"I know it's a lot to take in." Chat took her hand in both of his. "But I promise it's nothing harmful to you Especially not in your case."
She looked at him, her eyes wide, lips parted and trembling. "And yours is out already? Out of your body, I mean."
Adrien nodded. "He manifested when I was still a toddler."
"How do I manifest mine then?" Ladybug jumped to her feet. "I don't want anything living in me. It sounds creepy."
Chat laughed, pulling her back to himself. "I know it sounds awful, but I promise it isn't. Especially for you. Don't you like how fast you heal?"
"Well, yes, I do. But... Ugh! Chat, please, just tell me how to get it out."
He held her close, watching her silently for a moment. "Even though your kwami is dormant because it's fused with you, you can access some of its powers. A lot more than simply fast healing, by the way. And it won't manifest until you'll need to use more than you can now."
"So, if I ever try to cure someone else, it'll get out?"
Chat chuckled. "For your kwami, healing someone else is a speck of sand in a desert. I'm afraid you'll need something bigger than that."
"Like?"
He shook his head. "I'm not ready to wake up just yet."
"Fine," Ladybug grumbled, letting him cuddle her closer. "Maybe it's for the best. Let me process this first, and then we'll figure out the rest." She lay her head against his heart and closed her eyes. "How are we telling Marinette about all of this?"
Adrien sighed. "I'm not sure. I haven't thought about that yet. My first goal was to have her fall in love with me enough to overlook anything 'unconventional' later."
"Well, she is certainly in love." Ladybug echoed his sigh. "But maybe you're right. She needs some rest after last night before we hit her with a magic bomb."
"Do you think she'll mind it, though?"
"Did I just dump you when I found out?"
Seeing as Ladybug was currently lingering in his arms, he suspected it was a strong no. "Doesn't look like it."
"Then why do you ask?"
"You have known me for your whole life. We've been dating for a few years already. That isn't the case for Marinette."
Ladybug looked at him for a full half a minute before replying with a soft smile playing on her lips. "True. Marinette might not know you as well as I do, but we share our feelings. She might not understand why she trusts you so blindly, but she does because I do. And she loves you just as much as I do, despite it being irrational and completely insane in her mind. She'll accept you no matter who or what you are because I already did. You have the kindest heart I've ever met, Chat. You're funny and brave. And you have so much love to give. I don't care if you can use magic or not. If anything, you should be proud that this 'kwami' thing chose you from all of the people available."
He didn't think he could've loved her more than he already did but at that moment that notion proved to be false. His heart swelling up, Chat held back tears as he pulled Ladybug to himself and buried his head in the crook of her neck. This girl... One day she'd be his downfall because he'd give anything for her and her happiness. "I love you so much, my Lady."
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her lips brushing against his cheek. "I love you too, mon Chaton. Much more than you know."