-24- Patrol With a Bug & Cat

"It was bound to happen, Adrien. You two deserve each other. Have a good show. I hope you break your leg." Marinette's voice cuts off as she hangs up.

"Ugh!" Adrien throws his phone at the wall, grabs a pillow, and screams in it. He peeks out at the shattered pieces of his now-destroyed phone on the floor. Sighing, he scoops the mess in his hand and storms downstairs, barging into his father's office without knocking or warning. "Here." He drops the broken phone on the desk. "I need a new phone."

Gabriel eyes the broken pieces and asks, "What happened?"

"You got what you wanted, father," Adrien whispers, crossing his arms. "Marinette broke up with me."

His father forces back a sneaky grin. "If you need to talk about anything—"

"There's nothing to talk about anymore," His son interrupts.

"I'll have a phone ready for you in an hour."

"Great," Adrien mutters, already halfway out the door and slumping back upstairs to his room. He's angry, shocked, and heartbroken. He couldn't believe the lengths Lila would go to hurt Marinette. Why? Because the liar had a crush on him? Because she was jealous of her classmate? What were the girl's intentions?

Adrien didn't care about anything anymore. He didn't care about school, Chinese lessons, fencing, and he certainly didn't care about the play. As of now, he's quitting it, and he'd do everything in his power to protect Marinette from Lila. He's also hurt that Marinette would believe her so easily, despite knowing who the horrible girl truly is. But even he had to admit the picture looked convincing.

Back in his room now, Adrien sits on the couch, trying to concentrate on a movie, but he can't. He can't stop thinking about Marinette. I miss her so much. Lila ruined everything for us.

"Cheese for your thoughts, Adrien?" Plagg offers with concern.

He pushes the harsh-smelling cheese out of his face. "No, thank you."

"I wasn't really offering," The kwami tells him, offended he'd refuse his cheese in the first place. "I was being polite. Sugarcube says I should try to adapt to human culture and humans offer each other food when they're feeling sad."

"Oh," Adrien whispers, then smiles. "That's actually sweet of you. I can see Tikki is helping with your table manners already."

Plagg smiles and takes a bite. "I'd do anything for that kwami. So, what are you sad about, Adrien?"

"I can't stop thinking about Lila."

"Uh, don't you mean Marinette?" The kwami corrects.

"No. Yes! That's not what I meant. I can't stop wondering how Lila did it." Adrien leans back against the couch, thinking. "She kissed someone who looks just like me. You can't exactly hire an actor for that."

Plagg shrugs. "Unless Lila was akumatized again and it was an illusion."

He shakes his head. "I thought about that, too. But I don't think so. Lila already knew how jealous Marinette got from us doing the play together. Something simple as a kiss would set her off. Lila doesn't need to be akumatized to mess with Marinette."

"Then how did Lila kiss someone who looks exactly like you?"

Adrien's eyes widen. "Felix! It must've been Felix!"

"Felix, your stupid cousin?" Plagg asks, almost gagging at the mention of his name. "I still can't forgive him for wasting my cheese!"

He rolls his eyes. "Why would Felix team up with Lila?"

"To ruin your life?"

"No, my cousin has to have some ulterior motive. He doesn't even know Lila!" Adrien frowns and whispers, "Well, I guess he's real acquainted with her now."

Plagg stretches and yawns. "Too bad we don't have any proof of Lila's boy toy being your look-alike evil cousin. If we did, Marinette would take you back in a heartbeat."

"Getting proof will be hard, especially with that photo spreading around Paris!" Adrien stands and sits at his desk, checking his online profile. Mean and hateful comments begin to flood his page. "Great. I'm the most hated person in Paris right now."

"Second most hated, behind Hawk Moth, at least," The kwami says, trying to cheer up his holder.

"All my friends and fans have turned their back on me. I can't ask anyone for help."

The kwami flies over and sits on the monitor. "There is one person who would help you."

"Who?" Adrien asks, hopeful.

"Marinette."

Adrien's face falls in confusion. "What? She wouldn't... she hates me! Why would she help me, Plagg?"

"Come on, kid. Deep down there has to be a part of Marinette that knows you didn't actually cheat on her. Besides, she was the first to find out Lila was a liar, remember?"

He starts to nod. "I guess you're right, but Nino and Alya have convinced her otherwise."

"They'd help, too, if you could convince them."

"That's even more difficult than getting proof of Lila lying!"

Plagg rolls his eyes. "I didn't know anything would be easy, you know."

Adrien goes to grab his phone, then remembers he broke it. He leans against his desk, sighing, and taps his foot on the ground as he waits the long hour to pass.

***

Three Days Later

"Pound it!"

Ladybug watches Cat Noir carefully as a sad frown grows on his face after their victory. She knows something has been bothering him all afternoon, but she couldn't figure out what. "What's got you down, Kitty?"

He sighs. "Everything."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Cat Noir stares at his partner and thinks how weird it is to know the girl's identity under the mask. It's the only time he gets to see Marinette, and even then, he had to control what he said and the way he acted. After the whole kiss mishap on her balcony and their breakup, Cat Noir has been keeping his distance from the sweet smelling, bubbly, dark-haired girl.

"Not really," The cat finally answers.

"Well, I'm here you if want to talk." Ladybug stands on her toes and kisses his cheek. A blush burns on both their faces. They smile at each other.

His ring beeps. "I better get going—"

"Wait!" Ladybug shouts, grabbing his hand. "Cat?"

"Yes, Milady?"

Ladybug's heart flutters at the nickname. She's never felt like this before. "I, uh... d-do you want to pet trolls, no! I-I mean patrol tonight? With... me?"

Why is Marinette being shy all of sudden? Cat Noir knows he should say no, keep his distance. Being around Marinette only hurt him, but that didn't stop him from saying, "See you tonight."

Ladybug heads home and de-transforms in her room. She smiles and hums to herself as she cleans her room, putting away loose fabric and getting rid of trash. She's excited to see Cat Noir again later.

"What are you smiling about, Marinette?" The red kwami begins to tease.

Without thinking, she answers, "Cat Noir." Her eyes widen.

"Cat Noir?!"

"W-What? Who said that?"

"You did."

Marinette groans and sits at her desk, slouching. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Tikki! Ever since Cat Noir and I kissed on my balcony after Adrien's birthday party, I can't stop thinking about him. His stupid puns. His stupid nicknames. His stupid face and his stupid lips that I want to kiss again."

"Wow, that's a lot of stupid," Tikki points out.

"I'm stupid, Tikki!" Marinette shouts, pacing her room. "I can't be in love with Cat Noir! I'm in love with Ad..." She cuts herself off and realizes she was about to mention him. "I loved Adrien. It's wrong of me to move on so fast, but when I'm with that cat..." She fades into a smile. "I didn't realize how much I love the things that annoyed me before."

"Plagg, claws in." Adrien stands in the middle of his room and sighs. It's hard being around Ladybug, knowing the girl who broke his heart is there under the mask. "Do you think Ladybug was acting weird earlier?"

"What do you mean?" The kwami asks, raiding the cheese cabinet for a snack.

Adrien sits at his desk and opens the photo album he has of his lady. "She seemed nervous around me, around Cat Noir. And that kiss." He touches his cheek. "I think I was right, Plagg. I think Ladybug's in love with Cat Noir."

Plagg rolls his eyes. "Here we go again."

"Why else would she ask Cat Noir to patrol tonight? I'm the one who usually has to remind her. Why would she kiss me on the cheek? It's all there, Plagg!"

"You can't let Ladybug fall in love with you!"

"Why not?"

The kwami smacks his face. "Because she's actually Marinette! How do you think she'll react if she falls in love with Cat Noir and finds out you're actually you?"

Adrien crosses his arms. "I don't think it'd be a big deal. I was happy when I found out Marinette was Ladybug."

"Marinette's really confused right now. She thinks you cheated on her, and with Lila at that. She's probably heartbroken. Getting involved as Cat Noir is a recipe for disaster. It will only make things worse."

"But that doesn't mean I should just cut Marinette out of my life! Yes, I'll admit I stopped visiting her as Cat Noir because it's been awkward and hard to be around her, but I forgot how much Cat Noir means to her. It wasn't right of me to take him away from her."

Plagg crosses his tiny arms and sighs. "You're going to ignore everything I said, aren't you?"

***

Ladybug sits on the roof of a building, waiting for her partner, and stares out at the Eiffel Tower in front of her. She holds a single red rose, nervous.

There's a soft thud behind. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Bugaboo," Cat Noir greets as he sits beside her.

"This is for you, Cat Noir." She hands him the rose and his eyes widen as he takes it. "You're always bringing me flowers, so I thought it was time I brought you one."

"T-Thanks, Milady," He whispers, holding the delicate flower with both hands. This is worse than I thought. Ladybug might actually be head over heels in love with Cat Noir and that terrified him. He glances over and finds his lady already staring. "It's a beautiful flower."

"When I saw it, I immediately thought of you," Ladybug whispers, scooting closer to him. She leans against him and rests her head on his shoulder. Butterflies swarm in her gut and she's glad it's dark and her partner can't see her cheeks burning. "I'm sorry if I crossed a line earlier. You just seemed sad and I—"

"It's okay, Ladybug."

Her heart aches and hurts from hearing her name, not a nickname she'd grown to love.

"You know what they say about black cats?" Cat Noir asks, staring down at the rose. "Nothing but bad luck."

"I think you're pretty lucky," Ladybug whispers, sitting up to nudge her elbow into his side. "You're as lucky as my lucky charm."

The yo-yo attached to her hip flies off and explodes in red and pink lights.

"AHH!" Ladybug screams, caught off guard, and as she jumps back, she slips off the roof, falling.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir dives forward and grabs her waist, pulling her back up, and the sudden extra weight makes him tumble backwards. They fall, and he lands on top of her. They stare each other, eyes wide with crimson cheeks.

A red and black polka-dotted stereo drops on Cat Noir's head. He hisses and rubs the bump on his head. Ladybug can't help but giggle.

"Sorry," They both whisper.

Cat Noir climbs off of Ladybug and grabs her hand, helping her up. They step away from the edge of the roof. As he looks over, his partner bursts out laughing and grabs her stomach as her chest tightens. "I'm glad you're amused," He jokes, and laughs with her. "I can't believe that just happened."

"At least it made you smile. I haven't seen that in a while, Kitty."

Cat Noir's stomach flips at the nickname and he pushes all warm feelings away. They stare at the stereo. "So, what do we use this lucky charm for?"

"I don't know," Ladybug whispers, kneeling down to inspect it. "I've never had it and not use it for battle." She presses a button and beautiful music plays from the speakers. Ballroom music. "Hmm..."

Cat Noir extends his hand. "May I have this dance, Milady?"

She smiles and grabs it. "Of course, Kitty Cat."

The moon shines bright and casts a gentle glow on the roof as the pair starts dancing. Cat Noir raises her arm as he spins Ladybug, who concentrates on not tripping or stepping on her partner's feet. He pulls her close and wraps his arms around her waist, tucking his face into the crook of her neck. Ladybug's eyes widen and melts into his touch, resting her arms on his shoulders. She closes her eyes and lets herself go. One question remains at the back of her mind: is she falling in love with him?

Her earrings beep.

Ladybug ignores it and continues dancing. "Just a few more minutes," She justifies.

Cat Noir's eyes widen. Ladybug was usually gone by the first warning. What was different this time? Was she going to reveal her secret identity to him? He steps back from his partner, spinning her one last time before lowering her in a dip, a protective hand on her waist. Their faces are inches apart.

Her earrings beep again.

"I wish these stupid identities weren't in the way." Ladybug cups his face. And I wish I could be honest with myself.

Cat Noir raises Ladybug and steps back from her. "You better go, Milady. Before the cat's out of the bag."

She steps forward and kisses his cheek. "Goodnight, Kitty."

"Goodnight, Bugaboo."

Cat Noir watches Ladybug run home. He stands still with a smile on his face, but it soon fades when he remembers his lady is Marinette. He turns around and goes home.

Marinette falls into her bed, smiling, and stares up at the ceiling. She couldn't lie to herself anymore. "I think something's wrong, Tikki."

"What is it, Marinette?"

"I'm in love with Cat Noir."

Tikki's eyes widen. "WHAT?!"

"I know! I know, it's wrong." Marinette turns on her sides and stares at the poster board hanging above her. "I shouldn't be moving on from Adrien so fast, but it's Cat Noir. His stupid puns and flirty charms are finally getting to me. Not to mention that dance earlier..." She smiles. "I'm nervous around him! I'm never nervous around Cat Noir!"

"What are you going to do?"

She stares at a picture of Adrien, frowning. "I don't know. Do I approach this as Marinette or Ladybug?"

"It's a very complicated situation," The kwami whispers.

"I don't even know if Cat Noir likes me like that. Ladybug? Sure, he's always flirting with her, no doubt. He mentions it every chance he can. But I wonder if he could love me, love Marinette."

"No matter what we do, we have to be delicate about it."

The longer Marinette stares at the pictures of Adrien, the more she hurts. "Tikki... can you be honest with me about something?"