Chapter Text
It’s a cold night. The air hangs dry, leaving a chemical aftertaste, and breath rises in smoke. A slender moon peaks through the billowing clouds, and yet, the streets below are lit up Still, the girl on the rooftop doesn’t notice it. Her eyes survey the surrounding streets, flickering from behind a pair of red googles, searching for something. Her black hair is pulled up into pigtails, moving at the slightest hint of wind, exposing a twin pair of red and black studs. Her face, calm, collected, confident, her lips not showing emotion.
Another figure joins her, sneaking up behind her silently. His cat-like eyes narrow, content. She’s here, waiting for him. A gloved hand reaches to tap her on the shoulder, the girl whipping around in a fighting stance. It drops when she sees her partner. He’s dressed for the cold, a thicker jacket over a long sleeved black top, and a cute cat eared beanie. It’s cute.
“Hello, my lady.” He drops into an over the top bow, the black cat-eared hat slipping slightly. He won’t admit it, but it’s too cold for him, and seeing Ladybug wearing only a red jacket over her usual outfit doesn’t help at all. How come he, the one who’s a fucking black cat, is the one with zero cold tolerance. Still, just seeing her out here, with the cityscape behind her is breathtaking.
“So, what are we looking out for tonight?” His smile looks a little too big for his face, but, at the same time it looks completely natural. “Even if it’s a pricey necklace, nothing could be more purrfect than you, my lady.” Ladybug rolls her eyes. The puns, they’re just something Chat does. The flirting? Same as always. At first, it could get annoying, but it’s grown on her since then. She taps a button on her wrist, bringing up a small screen. A picture of an old, leather bound book is on it. It looks familiar to Chat, but he can’t quite put his finger on why.
“Tonight, we’re just scouting. I know who owns this book, but, it was stolen from him. We need to find the thief, and the book.” An ancient old man messaged her with the request, and insisted on a reward. It was twice what they’d normally accept.
“Okay? What could be so important about a book?”
“I honestly could not tell you that. Though, I put a few feelers out, and found someone who might have something to do with it.” The picture changes, the face of a high-profile fashion designer filling the screen. Gabriel Agreste. Fifty-something, dignified, and the possible cause of ninety-six percent of all the weird shit that has been happening in Paris. “This isn’t going to be an easy job. He has—”
“Around the clock security, no blind spots, a house that is… um… hard to break into, and enough security stuff to make him look, really paranoid?” Chat interrupts Ladybug, mouth getting the better of him. Shit could he be more obvious? He scratches the back of his head, black ring catching the light. For some reason he wears it on his middle finger, but, it’s not important. “Yeah, this is gonna suck.”
“We’ll make it work. I’ve been working on a few upgrades.” Chat raises an eyebrow, curious as to what Ladybug is talking about. Cryptic like always, but he can trust her with this. He could tell her his darkest secrets, and know that she’ll never use them against him. She’s the entire reason he’s past his “Aimless teen hoodlum” phase, and now into something that’s more rewarding.
“Really?"
“It’s not much. Just some improvements to our grappling systems, friendly AIs and weapons, though if you want to wait I can do more. Just be patient kitty.” Ladybug jumps off the roof top, pulled across by her own momentum. The entire transport system works by using electromagnetic levitation, so rigging up a way to travel safely through the rooftops was easy. “Come on, we need to get moving”
“Hey, I know a faster way. Turn left at the next street.” Chat always has the most fun when it’s just him and Ladybug alone with the rooftops, but this current job leaves him a little nervous. He swallows the worry, directing his partner towards the giant mansion. He follows behind her, enjoying himself, and ignoring the flash of a camera going off nearby.
Even at night it stands out, an imposing sight. It’s a renovated Victorian building, but it always looks cold and lifeless, unlike the other classic buildings. The gardens are too manicured, the statues too well maintained. It’s more of a show house than a home. Still, it’s something. The streetlights and fog surrounding it give it this odd beauty.
They spend some time circling the property, when a beep comes from Ladybug’s earpiece, a sweet, high-pitched voice coming through.
“Marinette, you have 10 minuets left. You really should head home.” It's for her ears only, so there's no worries about it being overheard
“Thanks Tikki.” She turns to Chat, pushing a loose piece of hair away from her face. “I have to go now, sorry.”
“Just wait. I’d really like to know who you are. I always have” Marinette sighs. Again, this question. He asks it every night without fail. Still, the circumstances are different.
“I’m not going to tell you. Not because I don’t trust you, but because I don’t want my identity shared.” Chat’s face falls, but he understands. “However, if we know each other outside of this, and you figure it out, I want you to tell me. Make it obvious. Now, Chat, I really have to go. Goodnight.” Chat’s eyes follow her as she fades into the background. A similar beep comes from his ear phones, a lazy, nasal voice coming through.
“Adrien? 10 minuets, get going.”
“Fine Plagg.” He jumps off the roof, slipping past the guards and cameras, into his loose bathroom window. He sighs, taking off the mask, and then trying to pop out the contacts. A look in the mirror, and a small grin.
It hasn’t gotten any warmer since last night. A chilly wind with flecks of sleet blows into the school, with a damp, foggy haze that smells like pollution and desperation. Marinette trudges into the school building, hair down and bundled up, still half-asleep. A voice, calling her name catches Marinette's attention.
“Marinette, you won’t believe what I got a photo of last night.” A beaming smile and excited voice wake Marinette up from her half-asleep haze. Alya holds up a much loved smartphone, greeting her at the door to school.“I got a photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir, can you believe it?” Shit. Alya caught them. This might become more of a mess than the Agreste job. Still Marinette fakes a smile.
“Wait, seriously? Alya, you have to show me. I’ll try not to delete it by accident, that was one time.” Alya flicks to the photo. It’s a little on the blurry side, but Marinette can’t deny that it’s an amazing photo. It was taken after the first corner, Ladybug with the wind in her hair flying across the gap between streets, Chat below her, wide smile on his face, green eyes reflecting the dim light.
“Yeah, I’ve already got a thousand hits online.” Fuck. “Like, I had no idea that they’re this popular online. Maybe because they’ve never targeted anyone who doesn’t deserve it.” As they’re walking, Marinette’s foot catches on a step, sending her tumbling into one Adrien Agreste— long time crush, and son of the target. Shit. The metal of a familiar looking ring brushes past her ear, Adrien catching sight of a pair of red and black spotted studs. Interesting.
“Marinette? Are you okay?” Marinette jumps up, struggling to piece together a coherent sentence, whilst also making enough exaggerated arm movements to start a new dance trend. Shit. First the photo and then this?
“Uh, yes, I’m fine. A-a-are you okay? I kinda fell.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just be careful, you’re the one who fell.”
“Uh yeah, um, sorry.”
Marinette moves behind Alya, as a taller girl wrapped up in a garish yellow trench-coat all but tackles Adrien. She looks at him through hooded eyelids, coloured a garish blue. Chloè. In all her vapid, queen bee glory. Adrien flinches, but ignores the limpet now stuck to his arm. Until she opens her mouth, talking in a rapid, gossipy tone.
“Adrien! It’s great to see you” She chatters aimlessly until she notices Alya and Marinette standing nearby. A scowl. “What are you doing with them Adrien?” God she’s insufferable. Alya rolls her eyes, sharing a look with Adrien.
Though for some reason, Marinette has a strange smile on her face. Even though Chloe is still clinging onto an unresponsive Adrien, being every teenage girl stereotype at once, and generally being bad company, she’s smiling.
“Marinette, are you okay? You didn’t hit your head, did you?” Alya’s confused, bringing a hand to Marinette’s forehead. Nope, feels normal, and there’s no bruising. So, why is she smiling near Chloè? Whatever, it’s not important.
“I didn’t. Spaced out, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Were you looking for Chat Noir and Ladybug as well?” Marinette goes silent, as Chloè detaches from Adrien, interested in what Alya has to say. Her lips are pursed in a pout, and the designer sunglasses perched on her head slip. At least Chloè makes for a very easy distraction.
“Wait, they were active last night? Really? Oh my god, how did I miss it?"
“Chlo, maybe you were asleep? I missed them as well.” Adrien knows it’s a lie, but as long as the others don’t it’s fine. Chloe pouts harder, pitch rising and eyes narrowing.
“Yeah, but I didn’t want to miss them this time. I wanted to thank Ladybug.” A passive aggressive tone, but the thought of Chloè wanting to thank anyone is absurd. Marinette tunes back in, shocked, and flattered. It doesn’t show. Still, who knew that a move meant to get her away from a stalker they were targeting could mean so much to Chloè.
“Seriously? Girl? You want to thank someone?” Alya pushes her glasses up her nose, finally putting her phone away. Chloè holds her tongue. It’s not a nice thing to say, but Alya has a point. She isn’t the nicest person, and saying anything to defend herself would just be digging a grave.
“Yeah, well. I’m going. Bye Adrien.” Chloè blows a kiss towards Adrien, heels clicking against the concrete. Finally she’s gone. Keeping up that charade is a lot of effort on both their parts. Maybe one day Chloe will stop acting, but, the chances of that look slim.
“I’ll see you two in class. And Alya, Nino’s gonna be late.”
“Damn. Still, see ya Adrien.”
Alya pulls Marinette away, rounding a corner to hide behind some lockers. No one else is within earshot, it’s just them, the walls of the school, and the slowly decaying outdoor lockers. Private conversation. Very private conversation. Namely, asking Marinette what is wrong with her today.
“Wait, you have a really big secret of Chloè’s? Spill.”
“I’m not sure if I should tell anyone.” Marinette avoids making eye contact, trying to find anything else to focus on. Apart from some poorly drawn graffiti, nothing. Alya puts her hands on Marinette’s shoulders, forcing the smaller girl to look at her.
“Come on. Mari, We. Are. Best. Friends. There is nothing we don’t share.” Marinette is torn between wanting to gossip about one of her least favourite people, and understanding that the information she has about Chloè are something she needs to release on her own.
“If Chloè wants it out, she’ll tell people. It’s like, super personal info.” A brief silence, Alya’s eyes widening, her lips pursing into an “oh”. She removes her hands from Marinette’s shoulders.
“Holy shit, it’s something like that? Okay, now I get it. How did you get something like that?”
“Don’t ask. It was an accident, but it’s up there on the list of most awkward situations I’ve been in. Probably just below that incident in chem. That we are not talking about.” Alya shares a terse nod, crossing her arms. It was embarrassing for both of them, and Alya’s not the type to get embarrassed
“Yep. It never happened. Still, I think you should tell Chloè you know.”
“Fine, but if it goes to shit you owe me.”
“I’ll get you a date with Adrien, lunch from that awesome ramen place, and, I’d check the bathroom on the third floor for Chloè if I were you. Good luck Mari.”
“Thanks Alya.”
Sighing, Marinette gathers her strength, and climbs the stairs, the rough surface a godsend in such dreary weather. She reaches the green door to the bathroom, and pushes on it. What she sees confirms her suspicions.