16- Mister Bug

Marinette's POV

One Month Later

Unknown: Watch your back. You never know who could be watching.

No. No, this can't be happening. I stare at my phone in disbelief. Five minutes have passed since I got this text message this morning. I can't have a stalker. Adrien was only joking around. This has to be a prank. Oh, if this is Adrien's way of a joke then he's sick. No, he's not like that, and he apologized when he made that insensitive comment. Who is this? Why is someone sending me weird texts? Three knocks come from the bedroom door and I jump, dropping my phone. "Y-Yes?" I call out, scrambling to get my stuff together.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien says through the door. "You're usually down for breakfast. We don't have time now, so I packed you a little to-go box."

Smiling, I stand up and open the door. He waves and shakes the box. "Strawberry waffles again. I also snuck in some bacon."

"You're the best, Adrien." I take my breakfast from him, closing the door behind me, and we head downstairs to his car. I check my phone, rereading that text. Should I tell Adrien? He'd want to know, but what if that puts him in danger? I'm supposed to be safe living here, at least that's what he keeps telling me. We were fine for a month. No akuma attacks. Now I get this text out of nowhere and I don't know what to do. "Adrien?" I ask, pausing on the stairs. My hands start shaking and I look around, trying to calm myself down. "I..." My voice catches in my throat and I push down a sob.

Adrien stops walking and looks up at me. "Marinette? What's wrong?" Instead of saying something, because I can't, I just hand Adrien my phone. I start chewing on my nails as he reads the text. He looks mad. No, pissed. "When did you get this?"

"This morning," I choke out, eyes watering. "I-I don't know who it's from. I don't know what to do, Adrien!" Loud cries escape me as I cover my face, crying. "I don't know what to do..."

"Hey, hey. Marinette, it's gonna be okay." Adrien hands me my phone back before wrapping his arms around me in a hug. He lets me cry into his shoulder as he strokes the back of my head, whispering, "I promise it's going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you."

Digging my nails into his shirt, I hold on tight as I keep crying, like if I let go I would lose Adrien forever.

"What are you two still doing here?" Mr. Agreste asks, walking out from his office. His eyes widen when he notices I'm crying. "Oh... what's going on?"

Adrien takes my phone and storms up to his father. "Marinette's stalker sent her a text this morning. He basically threatened her!" He places the phone in Mr. Agreste's hand. "We have to do something, father, before it gets worse."

Mr. Agreste squints at the phone as he reads the text. "Oh my... this is quite serious."

"There has to be something we can do, right?" Adrien asks as I walk down to stand beside him. "I don't care if my bodyguard has to come everywhere with us. I won't let anyone hurt Marinette."

Mr. Agreste stares down at his son as he hands my phone back. "Don't be so senile, Adrien. Of course there's something I can do. Like you said, your bodyguard will escort you two everywhere. I'll check with Nathalie and make sure our security system is up to date."

Adrien looks shocked, stunned even, that his father is willingly helping him. "Okay... I guess we'll go to school now."

"You do that." Without another word, Mr. Agreste walks back into his office.

"My father has never been so helpful before," Adrien admits as we head outside. His bodyguard is already waiting for us in the car. "But it's good, right? That he's helping?"

I nod, though I'm not so sure. "I guess. Your father's a very powerful man in Paris. Maybe he knows what he's doing."

"I sure hope so," Adrien says, opening the car door for me.

An explosion comes from the park, knocking us off balance, and I land against Adrien as we're flown against the front gates.  Smoke starts filling the sky, dark gray clouds starting to cover Paris. I squint and see a familiar face. Oh no. Stormy Weather's been akumatized again.

"No, not an akuma attack!" Adrien mumbles, freaking out. "Marinette, we have to go back inside. It's not safe out here."

He's right. Without Ladybug anymore, I'm in much danger as anyone in Paris. "Okay," I whisper, letting Adrien lead me back inside.

"Father!" Adrien shouts, knocking on Mr. Agreste's locked office doors. "There's been an akuma attack! You need to hide and stay safe!" He grabs my hand and we run upstairs to his room. His door slams against the wall as he leads me to his bathroom. "Marinette, get inside. You'll be safe here."

"What?" I ask, shocked. "Adrien, where are you going?"

"I have to... check on my father! And Nathalie and my bodyguard." Adrien grabs my shoulders and practically shoves me inside. "I promise I won't be gone long. Please, stay here." He shuts the door in my face before I can protest.

"Ugh!" I scream, slamming my feet. Why does Adrien have to be so sweet and caring? He's putting himself in danger to make sure his family's okay. What does that make me, though? A coward? No! I'm not a coward!

Opening the bathroom door, I run over to the window to check on the damage done to Paris. Oh, I hope Master Fu has a plan. Without the lucky charm, the damage is permanent. Is that Adrien?! I squint out the window and watch as Adrien runs through the front gates. "What are you doing?" I shout to myself as Adrien disappears around the corner. "Where are you going?"

Without  a second thought, I run out of his room, heading outside, and take off in the same direction Adrien left. He's a fast runner. I lost him. Standing in the middle of the city, I look around, wondering which way he could have gone. Why did Adrien leave? His father, Nathalie, and his bodyguard were all home.

"Chloe!" Stormy Weather shouts, floating through the park. "You can't hide forever! Show yourself!"

Maybe I can calm Stormy Weather down, try and minimize the damage before it gets worse. I can't do anything as Ladybug, but maybe I can do something as Marinette. "Hey!" I shout, waving my arms like crazy as I sprint towards the park. "Stormy Weather! Over here!"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Stormy Weather asks, lowering herself to the ground. "You're not who I'm looking for." She points her umbrella at me. "Do you know where Chloe Bourgeois is?"

Even if I don't like Chloe, I'm not going to sacrifice her. I don't even know where she is. "Aurore, what happened? What did Chloe do?"

"What did Chloe do?" Stormy Weather asks, laughing. "What she always does! She torments everyone in school and gets away with it! No. Not this time."

"Please, Aurore, you need to let go of that negative hate!" I beg, trying to reason with her. "You don't need Hawkmoth. Trust me, he's not going to help you."

"I'm not Aurore anymore! She's weak. I'm Stormy Weather again and this time, I'm going to make Chloe pay!" Stormy Weather aims her umbrella, angry. "I'm only going to ask once. Where is Chloe Bourgeois?"

"I don't know!" I admit, shaking my head. "I wasn't even at school when whatever happened went down between you two."

Stormy Weather laughs. "Well, if you don't know, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, then you're of no use to me." Her umbrella opens as lightning flies at me.

Gold streaks head towards me. Everything moves in slow motion. I feel something tight wrap around my waist as I'm thrown in the air at the last second. Lightning hits the building behind me, windows breaking as flames appear. The wind beats against my face as warm arms wrap around me. We jump from building to building, getting distance between us and the park. Once my eyes adjust, I look at my rescuer, and gasp. It's Cat Noir, but he's using the ladybug miraculous. "Mister Bug?" I question, a million thoughts racing through my head right now.

He doesn't answer me as we keep running. Using the yo-yo, he ties it around a tree, swinging and lowers us on a bridge. We should be far away now. "Marinette, what the hell?" Mister Bug finally shouts, shaking my shoulders. "Why would you go up to Stormy Weather like that? You could have been hurt!"

"I-I..." My words escape me as I stare into his eyes. I'm used to seeing Cat Noir's cat-like eyes, but now I can see the white, and it's different. Mesmerizing. I realize he's still waiting for an answer. "I saw my friend Adrien leave and I had to make sure he was okay. Then I saw Stormy Weather and I thought I could calm her down."

"Marinette, that lightning would have killed you!" Mister Bug holds my shoulders steady as he keeps looking at me. "I can't lose you, too, okay?"

"I'm sorry." I didn't realize Cat Noir cared so much about me, about Marinette. "I'm sorry, Cat Noir."

Mister Bug's eyes widen. "What? How did you know it was me?"

Now my eyes widen. "Uh... a while ago, Ladybug told me how you two had to switch miraculous. Ladynoire and Mister Bug. So, of course I'd recognize you." To break the awkward tension, I reach up and tap his nose, but I think that only makes it worse. I nervously laugh, smiling.

"Wow. I guess Ladybug told you everything." Mister Bug chuckles, looking behind me. "If I tell you to stay put somewhere, are you going to listen this time?"

"Yes," I whisper, nodding. My breath catches in my throat as Mister Bug scoops me in his arms without a warning. "Woah!" I shout as a tight arm wraps around my waist and he uses the yo-yo to swing and find a hiding spot for me. I find myself staring at his earrings, jealous almost, and it takes everything in me not to rip them off his ears. So, this must have been Master Fu's plan. Have Cat Noir become Mister Bug when Hawkmoth attacks. I look down at his hand; he's not wearing his ring. Smart. If Hawkmoth got both miraculous at once, Paris would be doomed. "Where's your ring?" I find myself still asking.

Mister Bug hesitates for answering. "I can't tell you everything, but I'm not allowed to have both miraculous at the same time. It's too dangerous. This way, though, as Mister Bug I'll be able to purify the akuma faster." I recognize the building we're on and see my house come into view.

"We're going back to my house?!" I shout, freaking out. "No! My parents! I can't put them in danger!"

"It's the closest place right now, Marinette!" Mister Bug defends as he lands on my balcony. "It's not like we have many options. Besides, I thought you'd be excited to be home, even for a few minutes."

My hands start shaking as I stare down the sky window, all memories of that night flashing in my mind. Hawkmoth attacking me in my room and threatening to hurt me. Paris needs Mister Bug right now and I can't keep him long. "O-Okay. I'll stay here. I promise."

Mister Bug smiles. "Okay. Go inside and stay safe." Snow starts falling from the sky, covering Paris in a cold blanket. "I'll make sure to defrost Stormy Weather."

"Seriously?" I ask, an eyebrow raised.

"Yup." Mister Bug grins and winks before jumping off my balcony. "Stay here!"

I know it's safer inside, but I can't bring myself to go any closer. No, I can't. "It's so cold," I whisper, hugging my arms to my chest. I pull my jacket closer as I sit in the lawn chair, hugging my legs to my chest. Snow falls faster. "Hurry, Mister Bug."

Adrien's POV

"You can't hide from me, Chloe!" Stormy Weather shouts as she starts terrorizing Paris. Lightning strikes against the mayor's hotel, windows shattering. "I'll find you and make you pay for what you did!"

I lead Marinette upstairs to my room, the safest part of the house. The door bounces off the wall as I slam in the room, making a detour to the bathroom. "Marinette, get inside. You'll be safe here."

Her eyes widen. I knew she would be stubborn. "What? Adrien, where are you going?"

Paris needs me, Marinette! "I have to... check on my father! And Nathalie and my bodyguard." I push Marinette inside, telling her, "I promise I won't be gone long. Please, stay here." I slam the door shut.

"That was rude, don't you think?" Plagg asks as his tiny heads pops out of my jacket.

"I didn't have a choice, Plagg! Paris in in danger." I run through the foyer, outside. "I have to see Master Fu. He'll know what to do." Staying close to the walls, I take the secret shortcut to Master Fu's secret location. My feet hurt from running and I stop to catch my breath.

"No time to breathe, kid!" Plagg points behind me. "Weather Girl's going crazy."

"I know, Plagg," I mutter, crossing the street and down the subway. Soon enough, I reach the building and run inside. "Master Fu!" I shout, slamming the door open. "I need the ladybug miraculous!"

"Adrien, we already talked about how dangerous that is!" Master Fu counters, crossing his arms. "You need to believe in yourself, Adrien! You need to believe in Cat Noir!"

"Cat Noir could never do anything without Ladybug!" I shout back, tears in my eyes. "Please, there's no time. Here." I take off my ring and hand it to Master Fu. "Like you said, I can't have both at the same time."

"Are you absolutely sure, Adrien?" After nodding a hundred times, Master Fu finally gives in and opens the miracle box. He drops the earrings in my hand. "Here. Be careful."

A red flash appears and Tikki floats in front of me. "It's good to see you again, Adrien."

"You too, Tikki." I take in a deep breath. "Tikki, spots on!" I close my eyes as a red light takes over me and I'm covered in black polka dots. It feels weird being Mister Bug again. I jump out the window, tying the yo-yo out ahead and swing across Paris back to Stormy Weather. It's a lot easier this time than before.

"Look! Who's that?" I hear someone shout as I land at the entrance of the park. I wave at the kid before running in.

"I'm not Aurore anymore! She's weak. I'm Stormy Weather again and this time, I'm going to make Chloe pay!"

Who is she yelling at? I scan the park and my eyes widen. Marinette?! What is she doing here?!

Stormy Weather aims her umbrella at Marinette. "I'm only going to ask once. Where is Chloe Bourgeois?"

"I don't know!" Marinette screams. "I wasn't even at school when whatever happened went down between you two."

Stormy Weather laughs as I ready my yo-yo. "Well, if you don't know, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, then you're of no use to me." She shoots lightning at Marinette.

"No!" Jumping in the air, I swing my yo-yo in Marinette's direction, wrapping the tight string around her waist. I pull her up just in time as lightning passes her and sets a building on fire. I catch Marinette in my arms and start running her away from Stormy Weather. Why is she out? Why didn't she stay in the bathroom? I'm so mad I can't even say anything! Doesn't she know it'll kill me if something bad happens to her?

"Mister Bug?" Marinette quietly asks, staring intensely at me.

How does Marinette know my name?

Once we get far enough, I set her down, and face her. "Marinette, what the hell?" I shout, grabbing and shaking her shoulders. She stares back with frightened eyes. "Why would you go up to Stormy Weather like that? You could have been hurt!"

"I-I..." Marinette's words trail off. She doesn't say anything. She just stares. "I saw my friend Adrien leave and I had to make sure he was okay." My anger starts to wash away. She just cares about me. "Then I saw Stormy Weather and I thought I could calm her down."

"Marinette, that lightning would have killed you!" I keep a tight grip on her shoulders, making sure she hears and understands what I'm telling her. "I can't lose you, too, okay?" I can't.

"I'm sorry," She whispers, frowning. "I'm sorry, Cat Noir."

"What? How did you know it was me?"

Her face matches mine. "Uh... a while ago, Ladybug told me how you two had to switch miraculous. Ladynoire and Mister Bug." Wow, that seems like forever ago. "So, of course I'd recognize you." Out of nowhere, her hand reaches out and she taps my nose, laughing, and she smiles, and damn, she's so cute.

"Wow. I guess Ladybug told you everything," I say, chucking, and I peek behind Marinette. Stormy Weather still needs to be stopped. "If I tell you to stay put somewhere, are you going to listen this time?"

Marinette nods. "Yes." I sweep her off her feet in a heartbeat, surprising her. "Woah!" I notice her eyes glued on me as I swing and jump across Paris. "Where's your ring?" She asks, catching me off guard.

I have to be careful with what I say. "I can't tell you everything, but I'm not allowed to have both miraculous at the same time. It's too dangerous. This way, though, if I'm Mister Bug I'll be able to purify the akuma faster."

"We're going back to my house?" Marinette starts screaming, shaking her head. "No! My parents! I can't put them in danger!"

"It's the closest place right now, Marinette!" I shout back, dropping in on her balcony. I set her down. "It's not like we have many options. Besides, I thought you'd be excited to be home, even for a few minutes." Doesn't Marinette miss her house? Her family?

Marinette stares down at the sky window, quiet. "O-Okay. I'll stay here. I promise."

I grin. "Okay. Go inside and stay safe." A snowflake falls on my cheek and I look up to see snow covering Paris. "I'll make sure to defrost Stormy weather."

Marinette glares at me. "Seriously?"

"Yup," I whisper, smirking and winking before I climb on the railing and jump off.

I head towards the park, hoping I can stop Stormy Weather before she causes any more damage. "Lucky charm!" I shout, throwing my yo-yo into the air, watching it turn into a red and black polka-dotted hairdryer as it drops into my hand. "What am I supposed to do with this?" Ladybug makes it look so easy. Okay. I can do this.

This should be a piece of cake.

***

It was not a piece of cake.

Stormy Weather is defeated and the akuma has been purified, so that's a win in my book. Before heading back to Marinette, I stop by Master Fu and switch back my miraculous. I actually missed Plagg, surprisingly.

"Finally!" Plagg shouts as we start walking through Paris. "Master Fu wouldn't give me any cheese! No matter how many times I begged."

"Here you go, you big baby." I open my shirt and pull out a piece of camembert. Plagg eats it in one bite. "Good. Plagg, claws out!"

Now that Paris is thawed from any snow, it's easier to track back to Marinette's balcony. I jump down, expecting to have to knock on her window, but I find her sitting in the lawn chair, shaking and shivering. "Marinette? What are you doing out here? Didn't you ever go back inside?"

"C-Cat N-Noir," Marinette gasps, laughing. "F-Finally. You're... back. What? No... I didn't go in-inside. I couldn't." She shakes her head, eyes shut tight. "I just kept r-remembering that night... when Hawkmoth attacked m-me... and I started freaking out and I couldn't... move." Her body shivers.

I place a hand to her cheek. "Woah, Mari, you're so cold! I can't believe you sat out in the snow."

"Is-is Adrien okay?" Marinette whispers, looking up at me. "I asked you to find him, r-right? No. But is he okay?"

I nod. "Yes. Adrien's fine. He's back at home waiting for us. Here. I'll take you back." As I pull Marinette to my chest, she wraps her arms around me, sighing.

"You're so warm," She whispers, closing her eyes, dozing off. "So... warm..." Her head falls to the side. Yup. She's out.

Shaking my head, I smile down at her, using my baton to lower us down. I avoid the busy streets back to the house and sneak in through my window. It's too dangerous for me to walk through the house as Cat Noir, so I set Marinette on the couch before sneaking off to the bathroom to de-transform. Plagg raids the cabinet as I walk out.

Marinette burrows herself into the couch as she mumbles, yawning. I'll let her sleep. She looks too comfortable to wake up. I walk over, drape a blanket over her, cupping her face with my hand. She's warming up. I look past her face and notice her hair's loose in her ponytail. Huh. Marinette's not wearing her earrings anymore. The black studs are gone.

I go and sit at my desk. "Marinette was so reckless today," I whisper to Plagg as he sits in front of me, devouring a wheel of cheese. "Why would she do something so stupid like that? She could have been hurt. Or worse..." I shake my head, along with the thought. "I couldn't live with myself if something happened to her."

"Marinette's always been stubborn," Plagg deadpans, burping. I roll my eyes. "Like she said, she wanted to help you, make sure you were okay." He squints at me. "You seem to care an awful lot about her. Even more so than usual."

"I've always cared about Marinette," I admit, turning to look at her. "We're best friends. She's means a lot to me."

Plagg rolls his eyes. "You use that word too much. 'Friend'." He pretends to gag.

"What are you talking about, Plagg?"

"Kid, you can't tell me you've never thought about Marinette being something more than a friend," Plagg starts, floating up and smacking my forehead. Ouch. "You've never stopped and thought about what it would be like if you and Marinette were dating?"

"Well, of course. We're pretending to date right now." I keep my eyes on her. "I mean, honestly, I have thought about it before, but then I started dating Ladybug. I love Ladybug, Plagg."

Plagg sighs. "I give up."

"I'm going to take a shower." As I stand up, Marinette's phone dings. She doesn't wake up to check it. Fear runs through me. What if it's the same person from earlier? Stepping over, I carefully pull Marinette's purse away, opening it, and grab her phone. I enter her password and click on the text.

Unknown: Your secrets will soon be exposed. Everything you know isn't safe.

My hand forms into a fist and I have to stop myself from punching something. What does this even mean? Secrets? What other secrets does Marinette have besides being friends with Ladybug? I could snoop through her phone, but that wouldn't be right. I'm not that kind of person. I shut her phone off and place it back in her bag before going to take a shower.

An hour later, I'm dry and dressed. Marinette's still sleeping. It's almost noon. She's probably hungry. I send my chef a text, asking him to make strawberry waffles for her. That'll cheer her up when she wakes. I read a text from Nino, asking where I am. Even after the akuma attack, they didn't cancel school.

Adrien: Hey Nino. Marinette and I were freaked out by the akuma attack, so we decided to skip.

I shut my phone off and drop it on my desk. Today's been crazy and I wish it were over. I glance up at the trophy, sighing, and stand up.

"Adrien?" Marinette mumbles as she sits up on the couch. I run over and sit beside her. "Ouch. My head hurts. Hey, what am I doing in your room?"

"Do you remember?" I ask. She shrugs. "Cat Noir brought you back. You were so cold from Stormy Weather's snow storm on Paris and you fell asleep."

Marinette stretches and yawns. "Oh. I remember now. Except Cat Noir wasn't Cat Noir. He was Mister Bug." Her eyes widen. "Pretend I didn't tell you that."

"How are you feeling?" I ask, eyeing the purse as it moves with her. "Any warmer?"

"Yeah. A little." She opens her purse and grabs her phone.

"Marinette..." I place my hand over it before she can see it. "You got another text."

Marinette's face pales. "W-What? From the same person?" I nod and she frowns. "It's okay. I can read it, Adrien." I move my hand and her eyes start back and forth across the screen. Her hands shake and she drops her phone. She stares up at me. "Adrien, I think I know who's sending the texts."