Chapter Text
Adrien
There was nothing Adrien enjoyed more at three o’clock in the morning than running around Paris in a tight black catsuit, chasing a child who’d had a nightmare. The early morning air was crisp, the smog thick, and he got a front-row seat to the Eiffel Tower light show—all while being heckled by drunk tourists on bachelor weekends.
Actually, scratch that.
There were a lot of things Adrien would prefer to be doing. A lot! Like...oh, he didn’t know, maybe sleeping!
He’d stayed up far too late the previous evening, trying to keep Marinette company as she finished designing her end of term dress. A dress which he was all too eager to see. Marinette in anything was a sight for sore eyes, but Marinette in formal wear? That was like the universe had decided to bless everyone with an instant upgrade to perfection.
And she would be on his arm, as his slice of heaven. Man, he was a lucky guy...now if only he could sleep.
‘I’m done. Just take my earrings out and throw them at him. I’m too tired to care.’ Ladybug stood behind him, her forehead crashing into his back as she let out a little whimper. As much as he hated the early morning run-arounds, his partner hated them a hell of a lot more.
He chuckled. ‘Come on, Bugaboo. We’re almost there, just a little longer.’
‘You said that an hour ago.’ She groaned again, slamming her head into his back repeatedly. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to keep herself awake, or punish him for what he’d just said.
Chat Noir couldn’t help but wonder about Ladybug. She hated being woken up early for an akuma attack—but she was just as bad at night. After nearly three years of working together, he still couldn’t figure out what kind of person she was.
Meanwhile, he was one hundred percent a morning one. Which meant right now, he was in the fiery pits of hell. So much for his flawless complexion and his sacred ten hours of uninterrupted sleep. This new butterfly holder was ruthless.
He squatted, holding his arms out. Ladybug jumped up onto his back and rested her head on his shoulder, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist and her arms wrapping around his neck like a baby koala.
‘Do you want me to call in reinforcements?’ he asked, moving across the rooftops in search of their most recent foe. Ladybug huffed, the absence of light making it increasingly difficult for her to see anything too far in the distance—instead, relying on his night vision.
‘No,’ Ladybug sighed in his ear. ‘Last time we had a night akuma, I went to find a couple of them and, well, let’s just say I ended up with more than I anticipated.’
Chat Noir couldn’t help the snort. ‘You saw one of them naked, didn’t you?’
‘I did. And their girlfriend.’
He started to laugh, jumping over to the next rooftop and pacing around—her body still tightly locked around his. ‘I don’t feel like the story ends there, Bug.’
‘That’s because it doesn’t. Look over there.’ She pointed in front of them and they moved again, heading towards the edge of the rooftop. A purple lightning bolt shot upwards into the air, covering Paris in a bright twilight, before plummeting them back into darkness.
‘So what happened?’ he asked, extending his baton and sliding them down to ground level.
‘Well, his girlfriend was so excited to see ‘Ladybug’, she stopped what she was doing, and ran to give me a hug.’
He placed her down on the ground before spinning to face her. That was awful! ‘Ugh!’
‘Tell me about it! I had a full shower in my suit when I got home.’
Yep! He totally understood that one.
‘So, what’s the plan, M’Lady?’
She looked around. Another lightning bolt firing into the sky and lighting Paris up like it was Bastille’s Day. ‘I could try another lucky charm. After all, you know what they say…seven times a charm.’
They both huffed out an exasperated laugh—no humour, full exhaustion.
‘Here it goes.’ Ladybug launched her yo-yo into the air, with as much enthusiasm as she’d check herself in at the dentist.
Her yo-yo rotated quickly above their heads, soundless and spectacular. Little sparks came from it as it moved faster and faster, finally opening up and releasing something into the air above their heads.
The sparks stopped. The yo-yo collapsed back down into Ladybug’s hand as Chat Noir held out his own to cradle the falling object, pulling it tightly into his chest.
Slowly, he held it out in front of them. Confusion clouded his judgement, as he stared at the pack of cards sitting happily in his hands. ‘Huh? I never saw you as a gambling type.’
‘I’m not,’ she said, snatching them.
He studied her. She was an aggressive little thing when she was tired. ‘What’s the deal, then?’
‘Chat! It’s too early to pun!’ Her jaw was so tight he was surprised he couldn’t hear the fierce sound of her molars grinding.
He smiled, taking the cards from her again before she did something stupid like launch them from the top of the building. ‘It’s either that…or I fold.’
She groaned so loudly she gave their position away. In the matter of seconds, they were face to face with a rather angry child dressed as a magician. Apparently, pulling a rabbit out of a hat wasn’t enough for the youth these days.
Ladybug snatched the cards back and opened the pack. ‘Any ideas?’ she asked, flinging card after card at the child.
‘Not a Scooby-Doo!’ Chat Noir replied, flipping himself up onto a lamppost above the child in an attempt to distract him.
Cards were flying everywhere, Chat catching as many as he could before flinging them back to Ladybug to try again. This really wasn’t working, and every throw from his partner was getting weaker. She was exhausted!
Spinning down the pole, Chat began to make his way over to Ladybug to regroup. When Maestrogic, the akuma, lined up a perfect shot, one heading straight for his partner.
She was too tired and too exhausted to see it coming.
Without waiting another moment, Chat Noir pounded forward on all fours and dived, wrapping her in his arms and rotating them around.
But he was too late.
Just as they connected, so did the purple blast, sending them into the darkness and into the void of nothingness.
*