#purrincess-chat

Lunge. Parry.

Feint.

Riposte.

Parry. Counter-Attack.

Point.

“Yield,” Adrien panted, sword falling to his side.  “I yield.”

His opponent dropped her fighting stance.  “It’s not yielding if I beat you.”

He laughed, pulling up his mask with a sweaty grin. “Touche.”

Kagami mimicked him, shaking her hair out and wiping the sweat off her forehead.

“You’re distracted.”

Adrien shrugged, guilty, and fought off a yawn.  “I haven’t been sleeping very well lately.”

“Work?”

“Something like that.”

The truth was he’d been out late with Ladybug again.  After their latest run in with Hawkmoth, one in which he’d not only been cataclysmed but they’d almost lost the Bee miraculous, they both were feeling a little on edge.

Mayura’s appearance certainly didn’t help ease any of their concerns.  With the peacock miraculous in play their enemy was as strong as ever and mistakes could be… costly.

He’d never admit as much to his lady, but his chest still ached from where Miraculer had hit him.  Plagg said they were lucky it was just an ache.

Adrien didn’t ask for clarifications.

Instead, for the last few weeks, he and his lady had focused on more hand-to-hand training.  If Hawkmoth was stepping up then they needed to as well. The additional time spent with his lady was an added incentive.  His loss of sleep… not so much.

“Let’s cut today short, then.” Kagami said.  “No need to exhaust yourself.”

He smirked.  “Are you worried about me, Tsurugi?”

She blushed - it was light and faint and sweet.  Her words, on the other hand, were as sharp as her blade.

“Not at all, Agreste. You’re just not a challenge like this.”

“Sure,” He said, still smiling.  “I’ll see you at practice Thursday then, yeah?”

“I expect you to be at your best.”

Adrien headed towards the locker room, thoughts of a cool shower and warm bed.  He had some reading to catch up on for Lit, but he could do that during the lunch break tomorrow. Despite his father’s thoughts otherwise, the world wouldn’t end if Adrien skipped one night of homework.

He was nearly to the doors when he heard them.

“– just went down!”

“She’s a strong kid, bug.  She’ll be okay.”

“Where is Chat Noir?” She wailed.

“He’s with that other one.” His kwami said.

“You bring him here now, Plagg.  You bring him to me right now.” The second voice grew higher with each word.  “That child, that wretched witch. If you don’t cataclysm her I will.”

Adrien burst through the locker room doors to find Plagg and a small, red and black sprite circling him frantically.

A kwami.

Ladybug’s kwami.

But then where was…?

The thought barely had time to form before the kwami was on him, tugging at his hair, pushing at his back.

“Chat Noir, we have to go!  She’s not responding. She’s all alone.  That awful, awful girl.”

Adrien didn’t have time to register her words before she shot off, phasing through the doors and leaving him and Plagg to give chase.

Panic set in the moment she disappeared.  There weren’t many things that made Plagg stray from his side and he played fast and loose with the rules on his best days.  From everything his partner had told him the same could not be said for the little ladybug. Which meant something must be terribly wrong.

Dread, tight and hollow, constricted his chest.

Ladybug was hurt.  Ladybug was alone. Ladybug was…

Here?

Adrien skid around the corner of the hallway just in time to see the red kwami disappear through the doors of the girl’s bathroom.  He didn’t have time to consider the consequences however and burst through the bathroom doors with Plagg.

“Ladybug, I’m–”

His words caught in his throat as he saw his fencing partner kneeling on the ground.

“... Kagami?” He asked, heart suspended, confused.

The girl in question turned her head, lips set in a thin line.  It took him a moment more to take in the whole picture. Only then did he realize she wasn’t the one who was hurt.

Perfect pink ballet flats tied up with a bow.  Pale capris dirty from the floor and a blazer bunched halfway up her back.  An all-too familiar set of pigtails cradled in Kagami’s lap with a red kwami buzzing agitated overhead.

“Marinette.” He croaked.

Some distant part of him was paralyzed with shock and wonder and a myriad of other completely inappropriate feelings for the moment.  But mostly he was terrified by the image of his partner, lifeless and pale on the floor.

He rushed forward, not so much pushing Kagami out of the way as pushing into their shared space.  His hands hovered over her head, her shoulders, her arms, useless in their panic.

“She’s breathing okay,” Kagami said, recognizing his glassy eyes for what they were.  “I think she passed out.”

Plagg drifted closer, hovering just above Adrien’s shoulder.

“Tikki what happened?”

Ladybug’s kwami - Tikki - landed on her charge’s neck, nuzzling into her jaw only to fly up again and circle nervously over head.  Repeating the process.

“That horrible horrible girl.” She hissed.  “She knows about Marinette.”

Adrien froze, his hands clenching.

“Who knows, Tikki?”

“That liar.”

“Lila?” He asked.  Kagami stiffened beside him. “Lila knows about Marinette?”

Marinette shifted in their laps, groaning.

“Marinette!” Tikki cried.  “Marinette please wake up.”

Adrien hesitated before taking her hand in his.  “Come on LB. You’re okay.”

The girl in question opened her eyes, slowly.  Blinked up in confusion as they met an unfamiliar hazel, expression stoic.

“Kagami?” The words barely left her mouth before her eyes flitted over to Adrien, then Tikki, then Plagg.  “Adrien... Tikki?”

She last word ended on a shriek, as she struggled to sit up only for Kagami to press her back down.

Her kwami hovered, anxious and apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Marinette.  I didn’t know what else to do.”

Marinette’s eyes darted from Kagami to Adrien to Plagg, head throbbing, mind racing.  Too much. This was too much.

“I–” She swallowed. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Kagami pursed her lips. “Please don’t.”

Adrien was already up, grabbing paper towels and wetting them.

He handed them over with shaky hands.  “Are you okay?

“I think it was a panic attack.” She said, taking the offered towels and placing them on her forehead.  Better to look at nothing than piece through the disaster unfolding before her. “I was… overwhelmed.”

Hell, she was overwhelmed now.

Lila knew she was Ladybug.  And judging from Tikki’s conspicuous presence she wasn’t the only one.

Oh god.

Beneath her, Kagami shifted.

“I’m happy you’re not seriously hurt,” She said, cool as the tile beneath her. “But when either of you have a moment– would someone care to explain  those?”

Adrien’s panicked eyes met hers.

She groaned.

~~~~

Tikki suddenly felt the presence of her holder gradually slipping away.

“Marinette?”

Why was it growing colder? Where was the warmth going?

“Marinette!”

Gone. It was gone. She…was gone.

“Marinette!”

Tikki’s eyes snapped open, letting out a strangled squeal. Thankfully, it didn’t wake her holder, whose breaths she could feel remained even.

With a quick nuzzle against Marinette’s neck, Tikki carefully wriggled out from inside the girl’s scarf and into the open night air. She glanced down at her holder, who was snuggled up against Alya’s side.

Safe and sound.

And still warm…

Tikki rapidly shook her head, pushing away the bad thoughts as she flew a little ways off from their current hideout. She settled herself on the top of a lamppost, releasing a shaky sigh.

Four years. It had been four years since their forced induction into the curse. And in about a week, it would be three years since the fateful day that she almost lost her holder.

Tikki could still feel the emptiness, the coldness, the gradual disconnection when Marinette’s life was slowly fading away. It still sent unnerving chills throughout her little body.

For what it was worth, reality could be worse. Her nightmares often portrayed a much more tragic outcome, occasionally leaving her sleepless for some nights. It was what spurred her to grant her holder access to all the powers creation had to offer, but her body could only handle a small fraction of them.

However, it had been a millennia since Tikki last had nightmares about previous holders, especially those whose lives ended abruptly.

She shivered at the thought that Marinette could have been one of them. It still ate at her, no matter how many times the girl tried to reassure her.

Before the darker thoughts could close in, Tikki floated off her perch, making her way back to the hideout. She was surprised to see Marinette awake and moving about.

“Marinette!” she whisper-called, settling on the girl’s shoulder.

“Oh, Tikki! There you are!” The kwami relished the warmth as Marinette cupped a hand around her. “I couldn’t help but panic a little when I woke up to find you gone.”

“I’m sorry,” Tikki replied, nuzzling her palm. “I…had another nightmare. I just needed some air.”

“…I understand. There’s no need to apologize.” Marinette craned her neck and gave a quick kiss on the top of the kwami’s head. “Would you like to catch up on some more sleep? You can snuggle with Alya or sleep in my purse. I’m going to be moving around quite a bit, so my scarf might not be—”

“Nope!” Tikki cut her off as she zipped into her holder’s muffler, poking her head out and wiggling a little as she settled in. “I’m perfectly fine here, thank you.”

After all, the steady beat of Marinette’s pulse helped chase the nightmares away.

~~~~