Chapter Text
After four years of fighting, at age 18, they defeated Hawkmoth.
Ladybug sat on the rooftop, watching Gabriel Agreste get pushed into a police car with his assistant Nathalie. She thought that she would be excited when she finally defeated him but all she felt was numb.
There was nothing left for her in Paris.
Of course, this could just be taken in the sense of her running out of bad guys to catch. This was bad, obviously, it had taken away her main hobby and basically what had become her purpose in life.
But, on a far more personal level, she had nothing left in Paris.
Lila had swayed all her school friends to the other side.
Adrien was the last one to go. Despite knowing that everything she’d been saying was false, he’d continued to refuse to speak up about it. They’d stopped talking.
After a while, she’d formed a temporary alliance with Chloe over their mutual hatred of Lila but then her mother had whisked her away to America so they could bond more.
Now her school days were spent all alone, telling herself to take it one day at a time.
Luka was off at university. He was swamped in schoolwork and she was lucky to facetime him twice a month.
Kagami had, unfortunately, not talked to her since Adrien had last done so. There weren’t any hard feelings but with so little overlap they grew apart naturally.
Her parents were the only things she had left but they had recently been insisting she should do university in another country. Privately, she didn't think that was a feasible idea. She’d been lacking in school for a while now. Obviously, there was the whole ‘every person in the class is against her’ thing but, beyond that, she’d been spending most of the past year investigating Hawkmoth. Her grades were too low for the kinds of scholarships she'd need. Her best bet was to get some experience, save up some money, and go back to school at some later date.
She didn’t know where to start, though. Working at her parents’ bakery would likely end in her working there for the rest of her life (she liked baking but not enough to make a career out of it!). Being a professional gamer was unlikely. All that was left was designing but getting a big break would be difficult...
But then she’d gotten a call.
Chloe.
Her eyes widened as she picked up the phone, bringing it to her ear. She hadn’t talked to her in ages, so why...?
“Is this Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”
Not Chloe.
“Yes, Mme. Bourgeois. Why?”
“You’re looking for a job, preferably in the style industry, is that correct?”
She nodded a bit, then realized she couldn’t see and quickly said “Yes.” She didn’t bother asking how she’d known. Rich People Powers included the ability to know way more than you’re comfortable with.
“How would you like to come to work for my magazine?”
Her eyes widened. This was the big break she was hoping for--!
“Before you answer, you should know that you will be coming here. To America.”
Marinette hesitated here. Sure, nothing was left for her in Paris outside of her parents, who were already telling her that it'd be best for her to leave, but...
This was her home. This was where she had grown up. She’d never seriously considered leaving.
“Where exactly will I be?” She asked, feeling a bit lame.
Audrey hesitated for the first time ever. She had clearly hoped this question wouldn’t come up. Still, she told her: “Gotham City.”
Gotham City... where had she heard of that before? She wedged the phone between her ear and her shoulder and turned to her computer. A simple search of the name said exactly why.
She broke into a grin.
“I would love to go.”
~
She was finished packing her things. She’d sent a couple of cookies to her old classmates to say ‘no hard feelings’ (even if, maybe, there was). There was only one more thing to do.
When she’d reached the rooftop, Chat Noir was already there.
“Little kitty on a roof...”
He cut himself off when he heard her footsteps.
She took a seat next to him.
“What’s the call for, My Lady?” He said, that Cheshire grin as prominent as ever. A quick glance at his eyes showed it was fake, though. The question was merely a formality. They knew each other’s identities and he must have gotten the cookies by that point.
“I’m leaving, Chaton.”
His eyes fell to the ground many stories below. “You don’t have to go yet, Paris still has crime and --.”
“You and I both know it’s nothing compared to him.”
Adrien didn’t answer. It was true. Petty crime could never hold up to Hawkmoth. But you know what could? Other supervillains.
“Would you consider staying for me?” He asked, his voice so quiet she barely managed to hear it. But she did.
Her fists clenched.
“We didn’t talk for years before our reveal, Chat! Even if we are friends, you clearly don’t care about me for me! All you care about is Ladybug!”
“But you are Ladybug!” He said.
She shook her head. “Ladybug isn’t the real me. Just like ‘Adrien Agreste’ isn’t the real you.”
He didn’t respond. Couldn’t. How was he supposed to? She wasn’t wrong about him lying about who he was to appease his father, Chat Noir was the closest to his real personality as he got. And if she said that Ladybug was for her what Adrien Agreste was for him...
He stared at the ground. “I don’t want to give it up. Chat Noir is me.”
Her face took on a softness he hadn’t seen in a long time. She reached out and took his hand. “You don’t have to hide who you are anymore, Chat. You have money now and you can do whatever you want. It’s time to be yourself, no?”
Adrien didn’t say anything as Marinette slid the ring from his finger. Plagg popped out.
“May --... can we have a minute?”
She nodded and left. Plagg would come to her on his own eventually.
And he did. She decided not to say anything about the fact that the small god was crying. If he wanted to talk about it, he would. He wasn’t, and she would respect that.
The next day, she kissed her parents goodbye and promised to text every day.
She stepped onto the Bourgeois private jet.
And she was off to Gotham.