Marinette learned that little tidbit through personal experience, and while that experience came with knowledge, she would have rather stayed ignorant.
Her perch on a branch was very uncomfortable—leaves poked her eyes and itched at her head, several small branches scratched at her arms.
It was worse for Chloé, who had apparently never climbed a tree before.
She sat on the same branch as Marinette, hugging the trunk of the tree like her life depended on it.
Getting out there hasn’t even been the hard part. The park was barely a street away, and know one seemed to care, or even notice, two teenagers ditching school. Mrs. Bustier didn’t see them as they walked behind her and climbed a tree. She wasn’t all that aware of her surroundings.
The walk to the park was nice and peaceful, orange and red autumn leaves fell around them, and Chloé and Marinette would try to catch them as they fell.
Marinette smiled at her friend, who knew Chloé Bourgeois would be afraid of heights? She had been fine as Queen Bee.
“Chloé?” Marinette whispered, careful to not let anyone but Chloé hear her. “Are you okay? I thought you liked heights.”
Chloé sucked in a breath and turned a little to peer at Marinette. “I’m not afraid! I just don’t like being in such an icky place!” She whisper-yelled.
That’s a load of bullshit, kid. Plagg cackled in her head.
Marinette smiled again, she was about to respond when she heard a noise of annoyance from below.
“It’s just so stupid that she said that! I can’t believe I used to be friends with someone like that! I need a dress and she just won’t make me one? What the hell!” Alya’s angry grumble came from below.
Marinette rolled her eyes, an attempt to cover the hurt from someone she once considered her best friend.
To get the twitch out of her eye, Marinette enacted her plan. She nodded to Chloé, who grinned like a shark. Marinette began to crawl down the tree, making sure she wasn’t seen.
Marinette knew everything about all her classmates, including that Alya always, always, sat down when she was on a call. She had spent weeks learning everything she possibly could about her classmates so that she would never do anything one of them would dislike. She had stopped after the Lila fiasco, and after a while that knowledge sat in her head to rot.
She didn’t think it would ever be useful, but now it finally was. Being obsessive over all her friends had finally paid off.
Chloé whipped out Alya’s phone and dialed quickly, she was smiling so much Marinette thought her smile might start to hurt.
One ring. Two rings. Three.
“Who the fuck is this?” Alya growled and sat down on the bench, crossing her legs and glaring at nothing.
“Did you never learn to answer the phone politely?” Chloé scoffed.
Marinette felt a smile tug at her lips.
She dropped to the ground without a sound and peaked behind the tree to watch Alya.
“Chloé? Why do you have my phone!” Alya asked—or rather, yelled.
She quickly quieted and hid her phone when Mrs. Bustier looked over.
Marinette crawled out from behind the tree. The bench Alya sat on was by the next tree over. She only had to crawl a few feet without anyone noticing her.
The only problem: that few feet was open space, and right next to where Kim and Alix were playing soccer.
She would need a distraction. if only she had her Lucky Charm. But she was still Ladybug, even if she wasn’t wearing the mask.
Right?
She scanned Kim’s posture. He was leaning on his right foot, Marinette knew he favored his left for kicking because of the sprain he had in his right the year before. Alix had dared him to jump from a tree and he landed on his leg, spraining it. Now, he was getting ready to kick.
The angle was steady, ready to kick between the two trash cans they were using as goals. Marinette knew Alix was easily distracted, she was there when Alix was diagnosed with ADHD. One small noise and she would change her position from prepared to preoccupied.
Marinette grabbed a rock from the ground, she waited just one moment…now!
Right as Kim kicked the ball, Marinette threw the rock at the one of the trash cans that made up Alix’s goal.
A loud clang was heard, distracting Alix. Kim kicked the ball directly into her head, where it bounced off and directly into Nino’s back. He fell forward onto Alya, who yelled out and fell from the bench. the weight of her boyfriend knocking her over and onto the ground. The phone flew from her hand.
In the chaos, Marinette darted forward and snatched it before it hit the grass.
Marinette heard a sharp laugh from Chloé’s hiding spot and grinned. The phone was in her grasp, all she had to do was delete the photo.
She couldn’t help the little cheer she let out.
The cheer that got her caught.
As it turned out, during her celebration, the chaos calmed down and Alya had started to search for her phone.
And found it in Marinette’s hand.
“Marinette!” Alya screamed. “Why do you have my phone? And how did you even get out here!”
Marinette fumbled, standing so she could be face to face with her former friend. “Uh, I walked.”
Alya’s face was turning the same shade as the grape jelly tarts her dad loved. “You know that’s not what I—“
“Oh, shut up, Cesaire.” Chloé’s voice flooded through the phone. She definitely didn’t sound as panicked as Marinette felt.
She hopped down from the tree and stalked forward , gracefully—like a panther.
“But you have my phone!” She shrieked.
“I thought I told you to leave your phones in the classroom, kids.” Mrs. Bustier said, walking over and towering over Alya.
Alya whipped around, “It’s not my fault! I was worried about leaving it there with Marinette! She once stole Adrien’s phone!”
Marinette turned bright red and clenched the phone a little tighter. She glanced at Adrien who was staring at her with an indecipherable expression on his face. She didn’t look at Chloé.
“Marinette,” Mrs. Bustier started. “Why do you have Alya’s phone?”
Marinette look up at her, was Mrs. Bustier always this tall?
“I was only picking it up so that I could give it back to her.” She whispered, attempting to sound pitiful and kind.
Mrs. Bustier nodded, hoping this meant Marinette was going back to her old ways. She didn’t ask why Chloé and Marinette were in the park instead of the classroom. They had probably just come down to apologize.
“Okay then. Marinette, you can give me Alya’s phone, I’m going to keep it for the rest of the day. . Alya, you have detention for breaking my rule.”
Did—did that just work? Tikki asked, her voice high and confused.
I have no fucking clue. But now Bustier has Alya’s phone. And my video.
Think, think, think, how do you get it back? Marinette thought to herself.
“Mrs. Bustier!” Chloé called out, stepping forward with a determined look on her face. “I think that Alya was taking pictures of Marinette and I in class. I never gave her permission and I’d like to be able to delete them myself. I’ll feel a lot safer that way.”
Marinette blinked a few times, maybe she was hearing things wrong. Alya hadn’t taken any pictures of them.
Marinette. Think about it. She’s helping. Tikki said.
Mrs. Bustier gasped. “Alya, why would you do such a thing?”
Alya spluttered, face turning even redder. “I didn’t—“
“I’m sorry to cause trouble, but I’m just worried about what she’s going to do with the pictures she took, what if it’s something bad?” Chloé sniffed and hugged herself.
Marinette couldn’t help but think she’d had practice with this kind of thing before.
“Oh, of course, Chloé!” Mrs. Bustier handed over the phone like it didn’t contain Marinette's biggest secret.
Chloé shot Marinette a triumphant look and handed her the phone once Mrs. Bustier returned to her bench.
Marinette deleted the video from the phone, then from the cloud. It was officially gone.
She deleted her number too.
—-
sorry it’s later than usually, I was feeling pretty idea blocked
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So I’m writing a fic where Chloé becomes the holder of the Cat Miraculous after tragedy strikes Adrien. I don’t have a superhero name for her, but that’s because she never gets the chance to make a new name for herself in the fic. Her outfit is inspired by her Queen Bee outfit.
[Image description: two images of a teenage girl; the first one has green lighting and the second one doesn’t. She has long, waist-length honey-blonde hair kept in a messy low side-ponytail by a single dark green ribbon. Strands of shorter hair are falling out of her ponytail, giving the illusion of bangs. She wears a black suit, done in two different shades of black, with a lighter black covering her torso, legs, and arms. A darker black forms her collar, thigh-high boots, and gloves. A gold bell is on a dark green ribbon around her neck, and she wears a dark green belt with a ribbon reaching her knees. There are black cat ears in her hair and a black domino mask on her face. Her eyes are blue with slitted pupils and darker blue sclera.]
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So I’ve got a concept for a role-swap/kwami-swap type AU. Like they sort of switch lives and they switch miraculous and parts of their personality are switched but they keep most of their hobbies and personality traits and stuff.
So here’s the basic swaps and like the whole premise and stuff under the cut.
Audrey Bourgeois is a rich and famous fashion critic who’s husband recently passed away. She was wracked with grief, and began to limit her public appearances and isolating herself and her daughter. A few years afterward though, she decided to use the butterfly miraculous, which she had locked away, to try and find a way to bring him back. She became the supervillain Monarch.
Chloé is her daughter and has been isolated with her mother for as long as her father’s been dead. Modeling is the only thing her mother used to let her leave the house for, and even that was strictly scheduled. Before her father passed, she used to go to public school, and she used to be quite the bully. But now she’s grown up a little and has humbled herself, and her mother has finally let her go to school again. Her biggest freedom now though, is the chance to be Chaton Noir, one of Paris’s most beloved superheroes. Together she fights alongside Ladybird, not only fighting to protect Paris but also trying to win her partner’s heart. She is somehow doing super horribly and super well with that particular mission.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Chloé’s childhood friend and the most popular girl in school for good reason. Not only is her mother, Sabine Cheng the mayor of Paris, but she’s also super compassionate and confident. She can be a bit bratty at times, but her parents come from humble beginnings and she better than to be mean or arrogant. She’s friends with almost her whole class, but her best friends are Chloé and Nathaniel, and she has a big, stupid obvious crush on Nino that turns her into an awkward, blushing mess.
Adrien Agreste is also a close friend of Chloé’s. He lives with his single mom Emilie Agreste. He often bounces around between interests, which his mother encourages the best he can. He’s done baseball, piano, and swimming, but his current favorite activity is fencing. He currently has a small crush on Nino, who is apparently irresistible to all. He can be a little oblivious in social situations, but he cares a lot about his friends and would do anything to make them happy.
Alya Césaire’s dad is a zookeeper, and her mom is a talented chef. Alya and her family live above her mom's restaurant, and Alya often helps out around there. She’s very well liked in school, and generally tries to like people, but is definitely not a fan of Chloé. They both went to the same public school when they were much younger, and Alya was witness to a lot of the bullying Chloé did in her younger years. Though Chloé has apologized and has tried to atone for it, multiple misunderstandings on the first day after she returned to public school only soured Alya’s opinion of her more. Alya is an aspiring photojournalist, as well as a superhero enthusiast, for a number of reasons. The biggest reason, of course, being that she is a superhero herself, Ladybird. As Ladybird she both fights crime, and hopelessly pines after her partner, Chaton Noir.
Nino Lahiffe is a newer student as well as Alya’s very best friend. He’s an aspiring musician as well as a filmmaker, and on top of those hobbies and school, he also runs the Ladyblog, a website of his own creation that celebrates Paris’s superheroes. He’s been able to get video of nearly every fight the two heroines have had since arriving in Paris to a point where people just expect him to be there, a fact that scares him almost as much as it frustrated the heroines. He tries his best to sneak around and stay out of danger when filming, but sometimes that’s not possible, especially when people are looking for you at the scene. The whole thing has made him a bit of an akuma magnet, which is not his favorite thing, but it’s also given him a bit of a reputation in Paris, as well as the chance to meet with and talk to both of the heroines. So, in the end, it about evens out. Nino is somehow both very aware of people and incredibly oblivious at the same time. Some things are totally impossible to hide from him, yet he’s completely unaware of both his best friends status as his favorite superhero and Marinette and Adrien’s huge crushes on him. He’s a disaster.
The classmates haven’t changed all that much, except for the fact that Nathanial and Alix are also Marinette’s best friends. Some akumas will be different based on the changes, but most of them will stay the same. The other miraculous will come into play also but this is the basic stuff. I might end up writing a fic about this, which will be my first Miraculous Ladybug fanfic, so I hope people like it.
Chloe as Chat Noir? Nah. She’d probably not like having messy hair.
So many ways to go through with this:
Her cosplaying as him instead of Sabrina from Antibug.
Her being CopyCat instead to replace Chat Noir.
Her getting the black cat miraculous on accident which really would destroy the world and open doors to her trying to be a good hero, an antihero, or a villain.
Or maybe she’s just borrowing off Adrien as a temporary replacement if he really can’t do it.
The name I’m deciding for her is maybe Queen Noire because apparently female cats can be called ‘queen’.
She would really have a bad hair day every time an Akuma shows up.
The Approximately Week-Long Tale of Alyabug and Chlo Noir
on ao3
@larvesta continues to bless us with incredible gay art and this one was just too good to resist
Words: 3287
Part 1 of 3
Chloé may have been blonde, petty, annoying, superficial, and a thousand other irritating things, but she was definitely not stupid, and now Adrien was going to pay for that. He, like so many boys before him, had underestimated her, which had proven to be his own downfall.
Of course, he had a bit more on the line than most.
He still didn’t know what gave it away. The jokes? Hilarious, sure, but surely there wasn’t anything incriminatingly unique in his brand of humor. Did he slip up--say something only Adrien would know, as Chat, or something only Chat would know, as Adrien? Was it just those unconscious mannerisms that gave him away, like the way he flicked his head to shake his bangs from his eyes? Maybe if he could explain it away he could forgive himself.
It was no use speculating. Nope, he skipped over that right into the next stage of grief: depression. Specifically, the kind that involved a lot of self-pity and laying in bed.
“Plaaaagg. Chloé knows! This is terrible! What if she gives me away? And now she’s never going to leave me alone! What do I dooooo?” he moaned dramatically.
Plagg hovered nearby, exasperation written over every centimeter of his tiny face. “Well, for starters, you could stop being such a whiny little bitch.”
Adrien slid his arm off his face and glared at the kwami with his one exposed eye. “I’m coping,” he said flatly.
“And how is this helping, exactly?”
He was quiet for a moment, then rolled over. “Shut up. That’s what I’m asking you.”
Plagg gently lowered himself to the bed and sat down. “Hey, look on the bright side. If something happens to you, you always have a backup.”
Adrien mumbled something into his pillow.
“Now, I’m not saying something is going to happen to you,” Plagg continued. “I’m just saying, it’s a very real possibility. You could get sick, maybe, or get hit by a bus! Then where would Ladybug be?”
Adrien picked his head up. “Yes, thank you, Plagg. If I get hit by a car, I’ll be sure to give my miraculous to Chloé so she can fill in. I’ll have to remember that between the bleeding out part and the dying part.”
But Plagg was picking up momentum now. “No, don’t you see? This gives you so much more freedom! If you need to go away--go! You’ve got a replacement!”
“You really would trust Chloé to take care of the city?”
Plagg shrugged. “Hey, I wouldn’t have trusted you at first, either, but I had to, and look where we are now.”
Adrien moved onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, his hands folded pensively across his chest. “You don’t think anyone would notice that Chat was suddenly, I don’t know, a girl?”
“Listen, kid. Weird stuff happens all the time, and no one notices.”
“If you’re sure…” Adrien trailed off. “It’s just--I think Father’s getting suspicious that something’s up. He keeps eyeing my ring, like he recognizes it from that book we saw. And he keeps trying to get me out of the country. I’m sure that’s not his intention, but the way he keeps looking at me when I say no… I wonder.”
“Honestly, I wonder, too,” Plagg said. “Here’s a thought. Run the sub idea by Chloé, first. If it’s okay with her, go on the trip with your dad. If not… we’ll figure something else out, okay? This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with suspicious parents.”
Adrien thought for a moment, then banged his fist on the bed, causing Plagg to bounce unpleasantly. Adrien stood up. “All right,” he said determinedly. “Let’s go.”
Chat Noir rolled onto Chloé’s balcony a few minutes later, skidding impressively to a stop, though of course no one noticed. He straightened up and straightened his bell and knocked on the glass door. A figure he hadn't noticed until it moved ducked out of the room, and he shifted uncomfortably in place. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.
Chloé appeared in her bedroom doorway, but Chat barely had time to notice that before she was opening the door and squeezing him into a tight hug. He patted her back awkwardly, then sidestepped his way out of the embrace.
He smiled and waved uncomfortably at Sabrina, who colored slightly at the proximity of one of her idols. He turned to Chloé. “Uh, can we talk?”
She flashed her teeth at him. “Sure! Sabrina, if you wouldn’t mind…” She made a shoo-ing motion with her hand.
Sabrina stared blankly at her for a moment, uncomprehending. “Huh? I--Oh, sure! No problem, Chloé. See you tomorrow!” She started to leave, then turned back at the door. “Bye, Chat Noir!”
He wiggled his fingers back at her and put up a pained smile as he watched her inch the door ever-so-slowly shut. If she was waiting to hear their conversation, she’d be there all day. But eventually the latch clicked, and Chat dropped his polite face and turned to Chloé.
“Hey, so, this might be weird, but hear me out,” he began.
She rolled her eyes and fell backwards onto her couch with an exasperated sigh. After arranging herself into the cushions to be more comfortable, she looked up at him expectantly. “Well? Sit down.”
He did so, perching nervously on the edge of the couch facing hers. “Um. So,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “So, uh, you know.”
“Yes, Adrikins, we’ve been over this,” she replied patiently. “Although, now that you’re done freaking out, I suppose you’re here to tell me I should have just kept my mouth shut for my own good, or whatever. Listen, I’ve seen Spider-Man. I’m sure you were keeping it a secret to protect me. But honestly, I can’t believe you never said anything!”
It was his turn to roll his eyes. Honestly, though, this was doing wonders to make him more at ease. “You know, Chloé, I kind of had bigger things on my mind.”
“But I’m your best friend?” she pouted.
“Sure, okay, but I haven’t told anybody,” he protested. “Technically, I still haven’t told anybody, since you figured it out on your own, but--”
“Wasn’t hard,” she interrupted, smirking.
“Right, but-- Chloé, you have to be careful.”
She leaned her head back and sighed. “Yeah, I know,” she said. “Can’t blow your whole superhero thing for you, huh? What would your dad say?”
“No, I mean, like--” Chat took a deep breath and started over. “If you get akumatized again, Hawk Moth might be able to, like, see into your head and figure out who I am, which is, like, the worst possible thing.”
She gave him a winning smile. “You have nothing to worry about. I am a perfectly pleasant person.” He stared at her in astonishment, and she laughed. “Alright, noted. Don’t worry, Adrien, I’ll be more careful.”
He nodded distractedly. “Good.”
Chloé slowly examined her nails, and seemed startled when she looked up to see him still looking at her expectantly. “Was there something else?”
“Well, yeah, actually,” he said slowly. “Um, it’s about my dad.”
She sat up eagerly. “Yeah, what about your dad? How the hell is he not onto you? How are you getting around when he basically used to have you under house arrest?”
“Hmm, yeah.” He coughed. “He’s not… not onto me, I don’t think. Or, I think he’s suspicious, at least. So I need your help with something.”
“What is it?”
He took a deep breath. “I want you to be Chat Noir.”
All was well; all was perfectly set up. Adrien planned to smuggle a perfectly innocuous wooden box into Chloé’s purse and leave school wearing a cheap plastic ring won from an arcade game. He was pleased with himself.
And just as he had everything arranged, his partner’s fell apart. While Adrien and Chloé reveled in their crystal-perfect plan, Marinette received news that her grandfather died.
“Now, I know it's a lot,” Sabine told her. “But your father and I are going to leave for Narbonne tomorrow, because he has a lot to do and we need to start planning the funeral. I know you have school and we're not going to force you to come along. You're responsible, Marinette, and I understand if you don't want to come along, and your father and I agree that we trust you enough to stay here for the week. Mrs. Chamack has offered to let you stay with her. But I also think you might consider coming with. I know Papa would really appreciate it.”
“I…” Marinette sniffled hard and drew her sleeve across her nose. “Of course I want to come, Maman. I'll just ask Alya for any work I miss, but I don't want to miss Grand-pere’s funeral.”
Sabine enveloped her daughter's slim hands in her own and gave her a soft smile. “I know, dear, I know,” she murmured. A bell downstairs rang, barely heard in Marinette's room all the way from the bakery, and then again, and the tender moment was shattered. She patted Marinette’s hands gently and stood to answer the call.
Marinette closed the door behind her mother and returned to her chaise. She sat down slowly, her face still blank and unmeasured, her mind still clearly in shock. Tikki crept out from behind a pillow and laid a reassuring paw on her leg, gently rubbing in calming circles. “Oh, Marinette…”
She sniffled again. “I just… I can't believe it, Tikki. We haven't visited my grandparents in a long time, but I just keep thinking about the last time we saw them, and he was fine. And I know he had heart problems and I know that can be unexpected but I just…” She broke off into a rattling sigh. “God, Tikki, I did get to say goodbye, but it was three years ago.”
Tikki flew up to reach Marinette's cheek and give her a kiss. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and murmured, “I know, Marinette, it's okay to be sad. I'm so sorry.” After thousands of years of dealing with death, she found she still had no idea how to confront it.
Marinette said nothing in response, simply touching Tikki briefly on the cheek before slowly laying down on her side. She stared at the wall, teetering on the edge of tears but too numb or not sad enough to actually cry, and hating herself for it. At some point in her silent reverie, she fell asleep, her dreams full of the same discomfort and unrest as her waking thoughts.
She awoke some time later, to a room saturated with sunset hues and a stifling warmth. Tikki dozed peacefully on her thigh. Marinette smacked her lips together, trying to wet her dry mouth with her parched tongue, and squinted for her phone in the low light. She found it resting near the edge of the chaise, and managed to slowly sit up and reach over for it without disturbing the sleeping kwami. It was for naught, though, since the clock told her she was late for patrol. Her stomach grumbled and she reflected that her parents must have forgotten to make dinner, or they had decided to let her sleep through it.
She tapped Tikki gently on the head. “Tikki, wake up. We need to go.”
Tikki stirred, yawning widely. “Marinette? What time is it?”
“Late,” she replied, scooping her up so she could stand. “I need to grab something to eat first, but Chat's already waiting.”
Tikki followed Marinette down the stairs; there was no one around, and down the hallway, Marinette saw an unusual sight: her parents’ bedroom door was shut. A strip of light leaked out onto the carpet below.
“Are you okay?” Tikki whispered as Marinette glanced around the kitchen. She grabbed a banana and started peeling, though it was made harder because her hands were shaking. Tikki helped.
“I don't have time to know if I'm okay right now,” Marinette said, taking a bite. “We’we wade fow padrow.”
Tikki gave her a wordless look of concern that said more than she could have voiced, but simply touched her arm reassuringly before soaring off in search of a cracker or two.
Marinette swallowed hard and tossed the banana peel towards the trash can. Tikki caught it before it hit the ground and threw it out, wiping her paws on the back of Marinette's jacket as she hitched a ride back upstairs. One trapdoor shut, another one opened, and Marinette transformed in a flash of pink light. Instantly, she felt a little better, and running across rooftops, breathing in the twilight air, helped calm her mind.
She skidded to a stop at the usual patrol meeting spot, though of course Chat was no longer there. They usually waited five minutes for the other, then started on their own. Ladybug picked up on her route, zipping through it faster than was probably wise to meet Chat at the halfway point.
Apparently he'd had a similar idea in mind, because she arrived he was already pacing nervously. He looked up when her feet hit the rooftop. “Sorry I was late,” he blurted.
“Don't worry about it,” she replied with a tired smile. “I was later.”
“Oh.” He approached cautiously, seeing something fragile in her expression. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course,” she lied. “I just fell asleep. Is everything all right with you?”
He twisted his hands together. “Yeah, yeah, everything's good. It's just--I don't really know how to say this, but… I have to go away for a week. Next week, in fact.”
“Oh.” She was about to tell him that she needed to tell him the same, but he kept going. She heard little of what he said, because the realization that Paris would be without both its heroes for a week hit her hard and she struggled for breath. A thousand images flashed through her head; of Paris, burning, and all its citizens under Hawk Moth’s thrall. Of returning to find a thousand built-up pleas for help, of everyone thinking their heroes had abandoned them.
“Yeah. And that's not all,” he continued, unaware. “Or, that's not the worst. Um, my friend told me that she knows. That I'm Chat Noir. I just found out yesterday. So I, um, talked it over with my kwami, and we decided… I asked her, and she's going to fill in for me. As Chat.”
“Is there any way you could-- wait, what?” Ladybug snapped back into focus to register the tail end of his statement. “You're giving someone your miraculous so they can fill in while you're not here?”
Chat nodded nervously. “Yeah. She's a friend, if that helps. And it's only for a week, I promise. Please don't be mad?”
“I--no, of course not,” she replied in a daze. “That's a genius idea, chaton!”
He blinked. “Well, alright. You're taking this better than expected. I told her I'd ask if you wouldn't mind staying a bit longer her first patrol, assuming you don't see each other for an emergency before then. Just so she can get some practice with my baton and everything.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Ladybug said.
Chat suddenly seemed to notice the distant look on her face. “Seriously, Buginette, is everything all right?”
In gazing off into the distance, perhaps, she forgot to blink, and a tear rolled down her face. Ladybug swiped at it with the heel of her hand, but that one tear had opened the floodgates and, to her horror, her “Yeah,” came out feeble and unconvincing. She tried to say more, but the words stuck fast in her throat, and she suddenly found herself sobbing. Chat drew nearer and placed his hands on her shoulders, but she pulled him in closer for a hug, hiding her face in his neck.
“Hey,” he breathed. “It's okay. You can tell me.” His hands wrapped gently around her back and he pressed a soft kiss into her hair.
They stood there for a few more minutes before she drew back, embarrassed, and wiped her eyes. “I-I'm sorry,” she stammered. “It's just--I just found out a family member died. I… I didn't mean to…” She trailed off and turned away, but Chat grabbed her elbows firmly and held her in place. She looked at the ground as he addressed her.
“It's okay,” he insisted. He wanted to say more, but knew he shouldn't press. “Don't apologize, my lady. I'm here for you.”
Ladybug looked up and was touched by the earnest look of concern on his face. She pulled him into another hug, softer, less desperate and considerably drier than the last, though she could still feel the dampness on his suit when she pressed her face into his neck. “Thank you, Chat,” she whispered.
She drew back. “Alright, come on, we should hurry up so we can get back home,” she said. “We've wasted enough time already. Race you?”
Chat reached back and flicked out his baton. “Ready when you are,” he grinned, grateful to see her smiling back.
A few mornings later, Tikki and Marinette exchanged a tearful goodbye, and that evening, when Alya overturned her schoolbag onto her bed, a worn wooden box tumbled off her blankets onto the floor. Curious, she picked it up, examining the antique carvings on the lid. What was that, Chinese?
She opened it, and was nearly blinding by a growing ball of light. The box bounced back onto the bed as her hands came up to shield her eyes from the glow, and from the light flew a little red bug.
“Hello, Alya,” said the bug.
“Um. What?” said Alya.
“I’m Tikki,” the little being continued. “I’m Ladybug’s kwami. And, for the next week, I’m yours, too.”
“What does that mean?” Alya asked nervously. There was no way… Could it be?
“You’ve been chosen,” Tikki said patiently. “Ladybug needed to go away for a while, and she picked you to help Paris while she’s gone.”
It could indeed.
“No…” Alya whispered in astonishment, a growing grin on her face.
“Yeah!” Tikki smiled back at her. It was nice, after so long, to be able to actually talk to Alya. Tikki had always admired her enthusiasm.
The little kwami settled on Alya’s books as Alya put on the earrings, turning her head to admire the view in the mirror.
“Chat Noir is waiting for you,” Tikki began. “So you can get a feel for your powers and get some practice in before you have to do anything. But first, I should tell you a few things.”
“I already know all about Ladybug’s powers,” Alya said flippantly, still gazing at her reflection. “It’s on my blog.”
“Oh. Are you sure? Maybe it’s best to--”
Alya spun around on her heel. “How do I get the suit on?” she asked. She made a variety of impressive poses, flexing her wrists like Spider-Man and stretching down to do a few squats.
Tikki giggled. “You just say, ‘Transform me.’”
“Transform me!” Alya repeated, watching in cross-eyed awe as Tikki zoomed towards her. A second later, the suit blossomed across her skin, and she gasped.
“This is so cool,” she gushed, bringing her arms up and examining them. She flexed her fingers experimentally and twirled in a circle, feeling a rush of excitement. She turned back to the mirror and her jaw fell.
She looked awesome.
Her mouth took on a determined smirk and she winked at her reflection. “Let’s go.”
