Just Another Day
This wasn't always how his day normally started, but it was a common enough occurrence.
"C'mon Ladybug, when are you gonna realize that the cat always gets the fly?" he snarked with a wide grin swinging his staff in her direction again.
"I'm a ladybug not a fly, and if you bothered to educate yourself you would know we bite back." His opponent a slim crimson clad ravenette with azure eyes dished back.
"I think your confusing yourself with an orange lady bug." He smirked, letting her yo-yo wrap around his bow so he could pull her close. "I've got you now."
"No way!" she glared regaining her balance and flipping over him at the last second.
He watched her, caught off guard for a second as she used the momentum to throw him against the chimney behind him. With an ugh he slammed into it before sliding to his feet. The wind was knocked out of him and it took him a second to get his bearings and by then they had another problem.
BEE-BE-BEEP!
"Damn." He hissed.
"Not now." She whined.
They were down to their last two spots, if they didn't get out of there now than their transformations would wear off.
"Looks like we'll have to pick this up again some other time, milady." He jeered.
"What's a matter fraidy-cat? Is the little kitty afraid I'll see him in his civilian form?" she smirked—though he could see it was strained.
"I could ask the same of you." He grinned. "But then again, and I'm pretty sure you'll change back first, I'll see your civilian side and there will be nothing to stop me from coming after you and your family."
Her smirk died twisting into a glare.
"Fine, you win this time kitty." She growled before using her yo-yo to swing away.
"Victory is sweet. A small one admittedly, but a victory all the same." He chuckled before taking off across roof tops.
He didn't want to go back to being his civilian self but if he didn't there would be hell to pay.
Just as soon as he landed behind the wall of his estate the transformation wore off letting an exhausted Plagg stagger in the air before Adrien could catch him.
"Just how long did you plan on pushing me?" The little black cat grumbled unhappily.
"Sorry, Plagg, but we were so close to getting her miraculous." Adrien sighed making his way inside.
"Really? Was that before or after she defeated the akuma?"
"That wasn't my fault. That stupid kid only cared about making his teacher pay. It's not my fault if father can't control his akuma."
"Speaking of which, what are you going to tell dear old dad?"
Adrien paused in his stride and sighed.
"The usual; I did my best but it wasn't good enough." He murmured.
"He is not going to like that." Plagg tutted.
"When does he ever like anything I do?" Adrien groaned.
He entered the mansion and began his long trek up the stairs where he eventually winds up in his father's tower. Coming to the door he expected to find a very stoic standing Nathalie.
"Your father will see you now, Chat Noir." She said hand on the knob.
"Without the mask it's just Adrien." He corrected rolling his eyes.
"Of course." She nodded opening the door so he may enter.
Before he could step fully inside a violet mass suddenly blinded him.
"Ah! Nooroo, I can't see!" He cried staggering against a wall.
"Sorry." Nooroo chirped as she backed up a bit.
"One of these days he's gonna back off over a cliff." Plagg glared.
"I'm just happy he is okay. That last akuma was a bit unpredictable." She said nervously.
"And who's fault is that." Plagg grumbled.
"Plagg." Adrien hissed.
"That is enough." All three froze as Gabriel Agreste's voice echoed loudly through the room. "Nooroo."
"Yes master." The little moth Kami said hastily going too her master's side.
Adrien kept his head low as he walked further in stopping only when he was a few feet from his father's towering form. They were quiet for a moment making Adrien all the more tense. It wasn't until Adrien started clenching his fists did Gabriel finally speak.
"Inpatients leads to poor results." Was all he said.
"Yes father." Adrien agreed stiffly forcing his fists to relax.
"What do you have to say about today's mission?"
"I did not retrieve Ladybug's miraculous, however it wasn't entirely my fault. The akuma would not listen to me or to you and thwarted my efforts. I attempted to use my cataclysm to trap her but again he got in the way. In the end, she de-evilized him and I engaged her in a fight. But our miraculous wouldn't have lasted so I had to retreat."
"Blaming others is poor showmanship, Adrien."
"...Yes father."
"Tell me why didn't you wait till she turned back then get her miraculous when she was a defenseless civilian?"
"I used my miraculous before she did. I had lied to her making her think that she used hers first somehow so she would leave first. If I hadn't down that then my identity would have been compromised and our whole mission for nothing."
At this Gabriel was silent, Adrien thought just for a second his father understood his predicament. But reason rang through and he knew that would never happen. So he waited quietly.
"I want you to write a report on the events of the battle and think about how you could have done better. Next time I won't be so lenient, am I understood?" Gabriel finally said a tightness to his voice.
"Yes father."
"Then go. You have a schedule to keep to."
"Yes father." Adrien nodded turning and leaving with Plagg and Nooroo close behind.
"He does care for you Adrien." Nooroo tried to assure. "He just had trouble conveying his feelings."
"Whatever. That guy is a total jerk." Plagg hissed.
"Plagg don't say that." Nooroo chided.
"Or what?" Plagg shot back.
"Guys stop." Adrien sighed glaring at his kwami. "Thanks Nooroo for trying to make me feel better but I think I just need to focus on my schedule for now."
"If that's what you want." Nooroo nodded. "I'll help you in whatever way I can."
"God, why don't you too get a room already." Plagg gagged.
"Plagg!" Adrien groaned.
Adrien hand tuned out the kwamis as they bickered back and forth while he carried out his routine. It was a typical procedure for a model celebrity, or at least he thinks it is. He never had anything to gauge it off. He would begin with his studies. The general with a dash of extracurricular. History, math, grammar and composition, literature, and government understanding. His extracurricular activities consisted of fencing and a few other martial arts and Chinese. The rest of his day after a quick lunch consisted of studying business then hours of photo shoots.
It was all so tasteless in his opinion. He would rather spend the entire day running around the city as Chat Noir. Though he knew that Plagg wouldn't last all day. Still the freedom on being Chat without his father in his ear was addictive. For just a short while he was free of his cage and could do whatever he wanted. He just had to keep telling himself, once when they get Ladybug's miraculous everything will be better. It will all be okay after that and he will be free once and for all. That was his only solace. That and what he will be able to do once when he achieves his freedom.
As soon as he was home from the studio he went straight to his room and started typing out his report for his father. He knew the sooner he was done he would be able to do as he wished, but he had to be as thorough as possible. So, with a heavy sigh he tapped away at the keyboard and let his mind relive events that led up to the fight with Ladybug.
His day had started as it always had. He woke up and dressed taking care of his hygiene before heading to the dining room for his breakfast. While he quietly ate, he waited patiently for his father's assistant—aka Adrien's babysitter—Nathalie to bring him his schedule.
"Here you are Adrien." She said as she entered the extravagant room, handing him a tablet.
"Thank you, Nathalie." Adrien nodded listlessly.
He scrolled through the page resisting the urge to groan at all the photo shoots. He was to begin his studies right after breakfast. Yet, his father seemed to have other plans. His phone rang a dreary melody letting him know that it was in fact his father calling.
"Yes father." He answered putting up his obedient façade.
"Come to the tower immediately." His father said flatly before hanging up.
Adrien sighed, dabbing his clean lips before pushing away from the table.
"It seems my schedule must be put on hold for now." He informed his overworked nanny.
"Of course, I'll inform your instructors of the delay." She nodded tapping away at her own tablet.
He gave her his winning smile trying to let her know that he did appreciate all she did for him. Weather she saw it or not he couldn't tell since she kept her stoic mask. Either way it didn't matter, he had other pressing concerns.
"So what do you think the old fart wants with us now?" Plagg asked as they ascended the stairs.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Adrien shrugged though he had a pretty good idea of what it was his father wanted to talk to him about.
"Bet you're a wheel of camembert that it's about some akuma he made." The obsidian feline folded his arms and legs nodding to his 'wise' assumption.
"Your probably right."
"Of course I'm right. That's all that geezer talks about. That and Ladybug's miraculous."
"Please don't talk about her." Adrien gritted. "I can't take hearing anymore about that spotted brat for much longer."
"Well until you get her miraculous you'll never hear the end of the great Ladybug."
"Don't remind me."
"Honestly you should be working with her. That's how it's supposed to be."
"Not when my fathers' concerned. If he keeps to his word, I'll help him get her miraculous. Besides I don't think I could ever stand someone so cocky."
"Looks who's talking. The way you and she go at it is practically foreplay with words."
"Shut up Plagg." Adrien groaned.
They stood in front of the door now. He took a deep breath then pushed them open. His father stood where he always did, in the center of the room surrounded by butterflies.
"You wanted to see me father?" Adrien asked standing straight with his hands behind his back.
"I have just sent an akuma after a disgruntled boy. It will reach him soon. I want you to be there when he turns and help him get his revenge and Ladybug's miraculous. Go now, he is at the school."
"Yes father." Adrien nodded. "PLAGG CLAWS OUT!"
Though the cat struggled and resisted he ended up going into Adrien's miraculous ring beginning the transformation. Within the blink of an eye Adrien was replaced with the black leather clad Chat Noir.
"I will do everything within my power to retrieve her miraculous, father." Chat promised bowing with his arm across his chest.
"Do not fail me this time." Hawkmoth growled.
Chat said nothing as he leaped through the grand window following the akuma. He wouldn't promise his father that he would be back with the miraculous, not again. Nothing is ever certain when Ladybug is concerned. There may only be one of her and normally two on his side but she is strong and resourceful. She had managed to match him in several battles always ending with them leaving before they could resolve anything. Their miraculous would just run out of time. He needed one battle where she used her miraculous and he didn't that way he would just have to wait till she ran out of time. But so far he hasn't been able to not use his destructive power. Something always comes up and he must use it. Weather it's to save the akuma, himself or to try and trap Ladybug. There have been a couple of times where he managed to trap her but then the akuma would get in the way and she would escape. Honestly, he thought he had a better chance of getting her if he was on his own. But that would mean he would have to cause chaos and probably hurt someone and he wasn't down with that. He may be a bad guy but he wasn't a monster.
Either way he had a job to focus on right now. As he jumped from roof to roof he searched for any sign of Ladybug. She has been known to randomly show up while he was on his way to meet the akuma. So far so good. He made it to the school and found the kid sitting in the courtyard sulking over a stack of papers. Just as he landed on the balcony overlooking the entire court the akuma merged with the stack of paper. An outline of Hawkmoth's mask covered their face as he whispered words of revenge into their head.
"I wonder what father is going to call this one?" Chat wondered silently watching as the transformation happened.
The boy now stood in a skin tight white suit with writing all over and a mask made of running ink, his stack of paper now a hard-covered book.
"I am the Bad Writer." He shouted with an evil laugh.
"Well that answers that question." Chat rolled his eyes. "Really dad that was the best you could come up with."
He ignored his father's lack of creativity leaping down in front of the new villain putting on the confident smirk.
"Well I think you get the gist." He grinned. "Now let's get your teacher and once when Ladybug shows up you will help me get her miraculous."
"OH MY GOD!" someone cried.
We both turned finding two girls standing in the doorway looking horrified—okay one looked horrified the other looked like Christmas came early.
"No way, its Chat Noir and a new villain." The darker girl squealed getting out her phone. "This is so cool. I bet you anything that Ladybug will show up soon and there will be an awesome fight."
"Alya, we need to get out of here." The other girl urged trying to drag her friend away. "This is too dangerous."
"Marinette..." Chat could help the soft whisper that escaped him.
"C'mon girl they're not interested in us." Alya tried to reason.
"You silly girls wish to stop me in my pursuit of revenge I see." The akuma chuckled opening his book.
"No, they're not important." Chat hissed trying to keep his emotions masked. "Focus, you want your teacher not them. Now let's find him already."
"They have seen too much. They can't be left to tell of what they have seen. They will live the rest of their days out in my story now." Bad Writer smiled manically pointing his book at the girls.
To Chat's horror it started to glow.
"NO!" he snarled pushing the others arms down stopping whatever he was planning on doing. He turned his glare on the girls hoping that they would understand. "Unless you want to be hurt get out of here and find someplace to hide!"
The girls shrank back before taking off.
His heart ached watching the black-haired beauty run from him but it was worth it.
"You don't need to hurt any civilians." Chat hissed. "Your only after your teacher. C'mon."
"Chat Noir." His father's voice growled through his coms system in his ear.
Chat winced holding his ear before composing himself.
"Yes father?" he answered quietly.
"If you had allowed Bad Writer to attack those girls then Ladybug would have come all the sooner. Why did you stop him?" Hawkmoth demanded irritably.
"Now that they have seen the danger that is here they'll try to get a hold of Ladybug. They are the perfect messengers." Chat answered without falter. "Besides, those civilians are not who he's after. It seemed pointless for him to hurt them."
"... Fine. Do as you wish. Your little plan better of worked or their will be consequences." Hawkmoth grumbled sternly.
"Yes father." Chat nodded continuing to follow the manic Bad Writer through the school.
They bashed blindly through door after door as Bad Writer called out for his teacher smiling like he was strolling through a meadow of daisies. Chat was about to call it quits on the school and suggest they look through the city when a random red yo-yo with black spots came out of nowhere smacking him in the head.
"Ow." He winced glaring at the yo-yo's owner.
"Why hello kitty." Ladybug smirked.
"Well, look who decided to join the party." He smirked taking out his staff.
"HE'S NOT HERE!" Bad Writer suddenly cried.
"Calm down." Chat sighed. "Help me get her miraculous and I'll be sure you teacher pays dearly."
"NO!" the akuma roared. "She doesn't matter. That woman needs to pay for what she has done to me."
"We'll get her, but first Ladybug needs to be taken care of. She is in your way. She'll stop you from getting to your teacher."
"I'd like to see her try once when she is trapped in my story." He chuckled getting his book ready.
"No you idiot we need her here so we can take her miraculous." Chat snarled.
"I don't care for such things. Bye, bye little bug."
"Father!" Chat called through the coms. "Control your akuma he's gonna ruin everything!"
"Bad Writer, you will get your revenge soon enough. But if you absorb Ladybug into your book then our deal is off and I will take away your powers." Hawkmoth warned.
"You wouldn't dare." Bad Writer hissed, slowly lowering his book.
"I would. Now help Chat Noir and get the miraculous."
"Are you done having your little pow-wow over there because I've got a busy day ahead of me so I'd like to rap this up quickly." Ladybug snarked having had enough of waiting for them to make the next move.
"So eager to have your miraculous taken?" Chat smirked twirling his staff.
"You haven't managed it so far so why should I be worried?"
"Maybe I have a surprise up my sleeve."
"Oh yes your just so full of surprises this day, aren't you?"
"I don't know what you mean by that milady."
"Those girls you stopped Bad Writer from attacking, why did you protect them?"
"They got your attention, didn't they?"
"I should have known."
"What expected that I had a sudden change of heart?"
"I never expect much from cats."
"There she is!" Bad Writer suddenly cried shocking the other masked teens. "You will pay!"
They looked behind Ladybug to see a red-haired woman running for her life.
"Come back!" Bad Writer roared leaping over Ladybug and running after her.
"Oh no, you're not going anywhere." Ladybug scoffed throwing yo-yo out.
Of course, Chat wasn't going let her get the akuma so he jumped in front of him and smacked her yo-yo away like baseball.
"Why don't we let them sort things out and have it meowt bugaboo." He smirked splitting his staff down the middle so he had two.
"Again with the stupid cat puns and pet names." She sighed singing her yo-yo with a false nonchalant demeanor.
"What can I say, you bring the tom cat out in me." He chuckled going in for the attack.
But she wasn't going to let him distract her from the akuma. She threw out her yo-yo to the left before swinging up onto the roof. Chat slammed one of his staffs down in the empty space where she previously stood glaring up at her.
"Sorry kitty, but I've got bigger fish to fry." She smiled before zipping off.
"After her, we can't let her de-evilize Bad Writer before we can get her miraculous." Hawkmoth suddenly shouted through the coms making Chat wince.
"Don't have to tell me twice." Chat said more to himself then to his father.
He reconnected his staff then used it to lift himself onto the roof and off he went in pursuit of Paris's hero.
It didn't take long for him to find her. She was fighting Bad Writer in the middle of the street while trying to protect the civilian. Above her was a crane holding at least five seventeen-foot iron beams for the construction crew across the street. He knew an opportunity when he spotted one.
"CATACLYSM!" he called leaping for the steel wire suspending the beams before grabbing it letting it corrode and crumple releasing the beams. He called out with a laugh. "Look out below."
Ladybug looked up in time to see the danger and push the civilian out of the way. The beams fell perfectly impaling themselves in a nearly perfect closed circle trapping Ladybug. The beams were close enough together that they resembled prison bars and left no space for her to squeeze through. The only way she could go was up and Chat was blocking that by balancing on the one of the beams with his staff elongated.
"Nowhere to go bugaboo." He snarked looking down his nose at her, figuratively and literally.
"There is always a way pussycat." She glared.
"The only way I can think of is that you use your lucky charm and slowly lose your time." He shrugged.
"She is getting away!" Bad Writer cried holding up his book.
"NO!" Ladybug cried gripping the bars like she could bend them.
"Better hurry milady, before he absorbs his teacher. I don't want to know how his powers will advance once when he gets what he wants."
Her glare got even more intense before she growled getting into the stance.
"LUCKY CHARM!" she called, and of course the result was confusing. "A boomerang..."
"Well that looks helpful." Chat chuckled.
"Oh I think it is." she smiled throwing it at him.
On instinct, he swung his staff deflecting the attack but sending it in the direction of Bad Writer.
"Oh crap." He winced.
The boomerang knocked into Bad Writer's head sending him sprawling and knocking the book out of his hand. The boomerang then came back hitting one of the beams from the inside then another until it hit all five beams knocking them over outwards freeing Ladybug and forcing Chat Noir to take to higher ground. Before Chat could have a chance to recover Ladybug ran for the book ripping it apart and setting the akuma free.
"Time to de-evilize." She called catching the akuma in her yo-yo and purifying it. "Bye, bye little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!"
As she threw the boomerang into the air it became a swarm of Ladybugs that flutter all over the city fixing all damage—best superpower ever, makes the civilians like you even more if your self-cleaning.
"Well that takes care of that." She smiled getting ready to head home.
"Don't think so." Chat called swinging his staff down on her hard, missing her by mere seconds. "You're not going anywhere until I get that miraculous."
The rest of the report what their little fight before he was forced to leave. This was almost always how all his battles with Ladybug went unfortunately. Once when he was done he read it over making sure he left out certain parts about the civilian girls that had gone and got Ladybug lest his father get suspicious. He edited any mistakes he made then printed it out and headed to his father's study.
"Father." He called softly standing in the doorway.
His father said nothing, didn't even look up from his tablet, he just held out his hand and waited. Adrien handed him the small stack of papers and stood waiting as patiently as he could for his father to read through it. Even though he was sure that he had fixed every mistake his father still went through with a red pen marking all the things he missed—which was a lot apparently. Then finally he looked up at Adrien.
"Next time I want you to think about this failure and to not make the same mistakes. Understand?" Gabriel deadpanned.
Adrien wanted desperately to yell that none of that was his fault and that Gabriel should see that and find a way to better control his akumas. He knew though that would only end in a terrible punishment. So instead he nodded.
"Yes father."
"You are dismissed." Gabriel waved his hand going back to his tablet.
Adrien waited till he was down the hall before he sprinted for his room.
"Finally." He smiled looking out the window.
"Do we have to tonight?" Plagg complained rubbing his belly. "I'm still so hungry, I don't think I can go this night."
"You ate three wheels of camembert at dinner and two before that at lunch. Not to mention all the slices you had as snacks in between." Adrien said crossing his arms raising his brow at the floating cat.
"Fine I just don't want to go. All we do is run around and stalk that girl." Plagg groaned.
"She was really close to Bad Writer today." Adrien argued. "I want to be sure she is alright."
"I'm sure she's fine. She went and found Ladybug, didn't she?"
"Still want to check on her."
"But I don't want to."
"To bad. PLAGG, CLAWS OUT."
With a green flash Adrien was covered in black leather from head to toe becoming Chat Noir once again. He took a moment to stretch and loosen up before hopping out the window. Taking to the roof tops he reveled in the feeling of the wind brushing against his cheek with a brisk chill. He breathed in deeply loving the smell of the crisp night air. He lived for this moment. Being Chat Noir without having to be his father's good little kitty. He was free in these moments to do whatever he wanted. And what he wanted to do in this moment is check on a special girl. Like almost every night.
It didn't take him long before he reached the Dupain-Chang bakery. The bakery itself was dark and unconscious but the apartment above was alight with life. He settled himself on against a brick chimney within the shadows and watched.
Marinette was in her room working on something at her sewing machine. This wasn't and unusual occurrence. The young designer was either always working on a design in her sketch book or sewing something either at her machine or by hand. If she wasn't doing that then she was talking on the phone with someone or at the computer or the ever-popular working on her homework. He rarely saw her face when watching her like this, her desk was facing away from the window from which he felt gave him the best view. So, he was normally staring at her back. Still he would notice a tiny red stuffed animal that was suspended in front of her from time to time. He had thought it was a kwami when he first saw—this is when he started spying on her to see if he was right—but as time went he saw less and less of it and assumed it was just a toy she had hanging in her room. Now his visits were purely to see Marinette. To check on her, to see what she was up too. He didn't understand why he kept coming back, but eventually gave up trying to reason with himself and just followed his instincts. For whatever reason, he was drawn to her. It might be her smell. Even from the distance he was at he could smell her. She smelled like freshly baked bread and strawberry-mint with a hint of that smell that bolts of cloths carry though it was a bit faint. Either way her smell was like catnip to him.
He settled himself completely, getting comfortable and just watched. Everything about this girl made him smile. The way she would trip over herself or how she would start freaking out because she thought she messed up beyond repair. This girl was the embodiment of disaster and humility; she was everything he wasn't or rather what he was forced to become. He loved that about her. And he would do whatever it took to make sure she would never become one of his father's akuma or be attacked by any of the others. He would protect her even if it meant defying his father. At first these feelings scared him. He couldn't ever imagine disobeying his father, but this girl just awakened the rebel in him. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She was so innocent and he would fight to keep that.
She was his princess and he her faithful and protective feline.
"I will always watch over Marinette." He sighed as he watched get settled in her bed and turn out the lights. "Sweet dreams princess."
Knowing she was safe for another night he took off running through the city till his miraculous started to blink then headed home.
Just another day for Adrien Agreste.