Chapter Text
Adrien stands stiffly as he waits for his father to address him. He was summoned for a reason he isn’t completely sure of. Natalie stands by the door, silent as a sentry with a clipboard in her hand.
“Adrien, why is the Mayor wondering if you’ll be attending public school with Chloe?” Gabriel finally says, hardly looking up from his screen.
Adrien bristles slightly before he replies, “I saw her at a school fair last week. I was just hoping to ask if it would be ok for me to switch schools. They have a fencing program there, and I could take independent Mandarin lessons-” Gabriel’s sharp look silences him.
“Institut Worths is a prestigious school for the elites of society, and you dare to embarrass me by attending a public school?” He makes harsh eye contact. "Chloe attended the last few years as a punishment for bullying at Institut Worths. I’ve already heard a report of you getting kicked out of fencing, basketball, and journalism. I do not care for your mediocre interests, but failing is not something an Agreste does. You’ve disappointed me.” He waves his hand and turns back to his work, ending the conversation.
“Father, please! I never ask you for anything! I go to every stupid photoshoot for your brand, I have perfect grades, and I was president of my class. Chloe’s school may be poor and pathetic, but she likes it, and I can't stand going to Worths for one more year!” Tears stream down his face as he takes a step towards his father, not brave enough to get any closer, but desperate to make his father see him.
“Your tantrum will not convince me. You are dismissed, Adrien.”
Adrien says nothing as he leaves, his sniffles doing nothing to soften his father’s heart. Once he is out of the study, he runs up the stairs and into his room, closing the door behind him. A small black creature shoots from his coat’s pocket.
“Well, that was downright pathetic.” The creature comments, grabbing a piece of moldy cheese from the tray by Adrien’s bed and flying to the highest shelf in the room to nibble on it. He watches Adrien carefully, his tail twitching.
Adrien lies on his bed, pulling at the tight gray turtleneck that feels more suffocating than fashionable at the moment. Everything about his wardrobe is suffocating, nothing but the Agreste brand with neutral colors of the seasonal trends.
“I hoped, just once, he would at least pretend to care enough to say yes. I’ve done everything he’s asked, and I’m still not perfect enough for him.” Adrien stifles a sob.
Plagg frowns. "Humans aren’t perfect. Trying to be something impossible is stupid. Just run away and skip school. All you gotta do is work with Ladybug to find the butterfly miraculous and then return me to Master Fu, and then you can do whatever you want.”
“If Adrien wears the Gabriel brand in a public school, it would be good for promotional content. You could expand your consumer audience beyond your current customers. But of course, it is only my opinion, sir. Perhaps you can call it a favor to the mayor, who has felt disgraced by sending his daughter to Françoise Dupont.” Natalie keeps a steady gaze on him.
“If you think that I would send Adrien to that—“ he pauses, and suddenly smiles. “Tell him I’ve conceded. In the fall, he will attend Chloe’s school.”
“What are you plotting, sir?” Natalie tries to keep a neutral tone, but she knows Gabriel too well not to ask.
“Nothing.” He chuckles darkly.
“You will not include Adrien in your plans.” Natalie orders.
“You are in no position to oppose me. Besides, it’s his mother whom I plan to save.”
Natalie knocks on Adrien’s door, waiting a moment before letting herself in. She gave Adrien some time alone, enrolling him begrudgingly now that she knew his father’s plan.
“Adrien?” She calls, but quickly realizes that he’s not in his room. She notices the platter of cheese he likely stole from the kitchen, something not in his strict diet, but Natalie felt bad enough for the boy not to say anything. Another thing that catches her attention is the sound of the TV.
“-Stormy Weather, she calls herself. Ladybug is already on the scene, and, oh, there’s Cat Noir, arriving fashionably late, as usual. Did you catch what he said, Nadja? I think he made a cat pun. He’s really leaning into his cat persona-” Natalie turns off the television.
“Damn him,” she whispers. She quickly scribbles out a note and sets it on Adrien’s bed, and stalks over to her boss’s office.
Ladybug tightens her grip on her yo-yo as she watches Stormy Weather call for a heavy rain cloud. “Stick to the plan,” she says to Cat Noir.
“As meow-velous as your plan sounds… I hate it.” He spins his staff idly, sending it clattering against a chimney just to hear the noise. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t mastered the spin; he messed up on purpose.
“And what is your brilliant alternative?” She asks, calling for a lucky charm and getting an umbrella to shield herself as the rain travels over them.
“We ditch the rules, smash the magic thingamajig, and you get the bug. No complicated you-go-right-I-go-left or whatever your plan was. I already forgot.” He shakes the water from his golden hair, but the steady rain keeps his locks sticking to his face.
“You mean run in blind and hope for the best?” Ladybug is practically seething.
“Yeah. Improvision is the spice of life, Miss Ladybug.” He flashes a grin. Ladybug pinches the bridge of her nose, but doesn't argue further.
She pulls her yo-yo into position. “Fine. But if we lose—“
“It’s going to be great!” He yells as he uses his staff to make him fly off the roof.
Two weeks before, Master Fu had felt the awakening of Nooroo, one of the missing Kwamis he’d been searching Paris for. With the help of the two most powerful Kwamis, he decided to get some help tracking the miraculous.
“Both of you stay quiet.” Fu had lectured softly as he walked through the Tuileries Gardens.
“I’m so hungry, Master. This scavenger hunt for people to help find Nooroo is stupid. Just let me fly around and go through all the houses in Paris, and I’ll find him.” A squeaky voice complained.
“Nooroo has a user. We need to put your miraculous into circulation again.”
“Is that cheese?” The creature flew through the bag and zipped to the model.
“Plagg!” The little red bug raced to follow him. “What are you doing?! We have to find our users as soon as possible. This is a high school fair.”
“Calm down, Tikki. Ugh, this is just foam. Help me find something edible.” He flew under the tables, Tikki hot on his heels as she tried to dissuade him. Master Fu attempted to follow them, but lost them in the crowd.
He went to the end of the row, finding that Tikki was staring at a colorful poster with fascination.
“Where is Plagg?” Fu asked quietly. He too gazed at the poster, which was titled: "The Science of Style: How Color Affects Mood and Perception."
“I lost him. But look at this poster, Master. It’s so orderly and structured, with color and information that shows resourcefulness. I want to meet the person who made this poster.” She turned to Fu.
“We don’t have time.” He scanned the nearby tables and saw the bright green eyes protruding from a giant skyscraper model. “There he is.” Fu made his way to where the cat kwami hid.
“Watch out!” Someone yelled. He looked up to see the tower model falling above him. He quickly put his hands above his head, trying to shield himself from the object, unsure whether this was his Kwami's work.
Suddenly, a girl jumped between him and the falling model, catching it before it hit the ground. She struggled a little to hold it, her arms wobbled slightly, and her breathing was heavy. She pushed the tower to the side as gently as she could, and it fell neatly with a thud.
The girl ran over to the crying child, who must have caused the fall, and spoke to her softly. She pulled a bracelet from her pocket and handed it to the child, and gave a warm smile.
"I made this for my fashion project, but I think you should have it." The child accepted the bracelet happily and ran off to find her mother.
"Are you okay, Master?" Tikki asked. Plagg darted from the fallen tower model to Fu's bag.
"Of course he's fine," Plagg grumbled. But he did have a bit of remorse in his gaze, which was something.
"Master, can we stay for just a minute? I want to see more of that girl who saved your life." Tikki ignored Plagg.
"Fine," Fu relented. He walked over to the table Tikki had been staring at before, the girl with black hair tied in pigtails who saved Fu's life, standing there awkwardly.
"Good morning, young lady," Fu greeted.
"Oh, hello-Good morning!" she stammers. Fu quickly noticed how easy it was for her to talk to the crying child, but being put on the spot made her nervous. "Do you want to hear about how fashion affects your mood?"
"No, I simply came over to thank you for saving me. That was very brave."
"Oh, yeah. You're welcome. I didn't even think about it. That poor little girl was so sorry. She thought she saw a cat. I'm glad you weren't injured, sir." She gave him an awkward smile.
"Master, I want her to be my holder," Tikki whispered as she hid behind his head.
"Do you have any more of those bracelets?" Fu asked.
"Oh, yes! Let me grab my bag!" She went behind her poster.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Fu responded to the kwami quietly.
"Yeah, I bet Marinette hates cats," Plagg agreed.
"Marinette?" Tikki looks at the poster, finding the girl's name as Plagg must have done. "Can I have her, Master? Please?" she begged.
"Here you go." Marinette returned with a charm bracelet, which she handed to Fu. He saw Tikki, with her miraculous in hand, jump into the girl's bag.
"Thank you, young lady. I will be sure to remember this moment often." He took the charm and walked away, hoping that Tikki made the right choice.
He made his way through the crowd, trying to get out of the fair to find a suitable adult to carry the responsibility of the kwami of destruction.
"-which is why I hate green designer shoes-" A girl bumped into Fu roughly, pushing him to the ground. "Ugh, who let old people in here? This place is already filled with degenerates," she scoffed. The boy with her, hidden by sunglasses and a hoodie, despite the summer heat, crouched down by Fu.
"That's not very nice, Chloe." He helped Fu to his feet as Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Well, it's not my fault if someone can't walk in a straight line. Come on, Adrien."
The boy ignored her. "Are you alright, sir?"
Fu nodded, studying the boy's posture, his silence. Adrien didn't seem bothered by Chloe's cruelty—but he didn't seem surprised either. He seemed used to people doing everything for him, and yet he instantly crouched onto the ground to help a stranger.
"I'm fine. Thank you."
"I would recommend not walking around alone when people like her a running loose." He offered a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, though it was still full of humor. "Here." Adrien pulled a bottle of water from his hoodie pocket. "You look like you could use this."
"Adrien, if you don't hurry up, your bodyguard is going to find you. This is the first time I've seen you in months, and you're wasting it on a clumsy old guy!" she hissed.
"Just give me a minute, Chlo," he said. She grumbled but stayed put, waiting for him. "Do you need help getting out of the fair? The entrance is back that way." Adrien pointed.
"Thank you-" Fu felt a tug from his bag.
"Adrien, there you are. What are you doing?" A sleek woman with glasses, a suit, heels, and a red streak in her dark hair walked up to Adrien.
Fu took the distraction to back away as he lifted his bag. "What is it?" he asked.
"Bye, Master." Plagg held his ring and quickly flew out of the bag, not offering an explanation that he knew Fu would oppose.
"Sorry, Natalie. Chloe said she needed my help with something, then I bumped into this man. I really didn't mean to take so long." He took off his sunglasses and bowed his head.
"The photographer is threatening to quit if he can't get his model back in place. Hurry up, we'll have to get you out of this ridiculous disguise." Her voice faded as they walked away. Chloe huffed angrily and typed on her phone. She seemed to realize Fu was still there and gave him a sideways glance.
"What do you want, old man? An apology?" She turned and walked away angrily.
Fu watched as Adrien accepted the lecture from Natalie quietly, pulling off his grey hoodie to reveal a navy tailored shirt that complemented his casual black jeans.
"You both know what to do now," Fu muttered under his breath.
When night had finally fallen, Fu found himself on the rooftop he knew the kwamis would send their holders to. He stayed hidden to watch the interaction between the heroes before he accepted them as his last hope to find the missing miraculous. Dusuu had led him to Paris when she was activated almost 16 years ago, but it was Nooroo that was active now.
The girl with the pigtails arrived first, her costume making her black hair longer and bluer. Her muscles bulged, and her height was exaggerated by the suit.
"I hope this is the place," she muttered as she paced, spinning her yo-yo nervously. Her eyes scanned Paris for either Fu or the partner her Kwami had mentioned.
Thump. Both Fu and the girl turned to see a tall figure clad in black leather with dramatic green accents--and a random scratch design on one of his baggy pant legs--jump up to the edge of the rooftop with a flourish. His tail whipped behind him, and his ears twitched as if he were a real cat.
"Bonsoir." He gives a comical bow. "You must be the bug I was told about." The cool night breeze ruffles his golden hair, and his cocky smile immediately has the girl wary.
She stared at him agape. "The bug? Excuse you."
"Are you offended?" He hesitated for a moment before smirking, flicking the bell by his open collar. "I guess you're not the guardian. Plagg said the guardian was wise." He circled her, taking her in. His tail flicked with amusement. He could tell she wasn't intimidated by him, but anyone could see that she didn't trust him.
"I guess that assures me you aren't him either, stray." She fired back, crossing her arms.
She sized him up, too, his height, his brawn, his ears that mirrored what he must be thinking. He was only a few inches taller than her, but he would be about a foot taller than her civilian form. He looked decently strong, but her suit had given her more muscle definition, too. His cat ears turned slightly to catch the sound of the breeze shaking the tree where Fu hid.
"I prefer 'Dashing Hero of Paris'." He flexes his muscles. Fu wondered how this boy could be the calm and polite boy of that morning who helped him up.
"There's no way you're dressed in leather in the summer and expect to be called dashing. I bet when we have to do any fighting, you'll be sweating up a storm." She gave him a smart smile, her blue eyes bright with annoyance.
"At least I'm not wearing polka dots. Those have been out of season for like three years." He jumped closer to her, getting into her personal space.
"I'll have you know that last year, Gabriel Agreste's own fashion line had polka dots in several pieces." She retorted, shoving him with her gloved hands that almost matched the elaborate gold, black, and red knee-high boots.
"You're a fan of Agreste? I should've known you had poor taste." He scoffed, shaking his head as he backed away. Fu, by now had enough of their bickering and stepped out of his hiding place.
"That's enough." He stepped into the moonlight, his voice echoing around them.
Both of them jumped, back to back, as they searched the roof for the source of the voice. When the boy met Fu's eyes, he gave a shocked expression of recognition.
"Bug, I think I found the guardian." He gave her a nudge, and she turned to follow his gaze.
"Both of you are cautious. That is good. But you also like to argue and don't seem to work well together. That may be able to be fixed. You may call me Master Fu." He walked towards them, his small frame tiny compared to theirs.
"Why did our kwamis tell us to come here, Master Fu?" the girl asked.
"I wanted to explain why I need both of you, and give you a chance to back out." He gave them a moment to voice their desire to quit, but when both of them stared at him blankly, he continued, "What would you like to be called?"
"I'm M-"
"Not your real name. A superhero name," Fu corrected himself.
"I'm… Cat Noir," the boy said proudly. He even puffed out his chest a little.
"Then I'll be Ladybug."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Ladybug." Cat Noir took her gloved hand and planted a kiss on her knuckles.
"Likewise, Cat Noir." She snatched her hand back.
"First, demonstrate your power," Fu ordered.
"Lucky Charm," Ladybug said, a dotted stopwatch landing in her hands.
"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir yelled dramatically, his hand pulsating with deadly power. Fu handed him a pencil from his pocket to destroy, watching as it turned to ash in Cat Noir's hand.
"Good. The kwamis explained that much. Now, the miraculous you were recruited to find is the butterfly miraculous. The one who possesses it may use it to give people abilities based on their desires.
"Cat Noir, you will destroy the object that holds the akuma, and Ladybug, you will capture it with your yoyo. This is why you must work together." Fu gave them both a look. "Any questions?"
"Tikki mentioned my energy levels being connected to my power usage. She said you would explain it better." Ladybug shuffled her feet slightly, almost shy.
"Each user has enough energy to summon their ability at least once. Powers like the Cataclysm and Akumatization require more energy than the Lucky Charm. How many times you can use your power is based on your age and energy levels when you transform," Fu explained.
"What happens if I use my cataclysm more than once?" Cat Noir asked, spinning his staff absentmindedly.
"It will drain energy you don't have. You may feel dizzy, lightheaded, and even pass out. Sometimes, your kwami will deactivate as well. Do not overexceed your limit."
Fu had eventually let them return home, their resolve strong, and their faith in each other beginning to blossom.
The next day was when the real challenge came. Their first akumatized villain, where they learned their enemy's name, and that Ladybug had a talent for elaborate plans, and Cat Noir had a gift for ignoring them and still winning.
"Hey, Ice Queen, what's with all the terrorizing? Why don't you pick on someone your own temperature?" Cat Noir spins his tail, improvising his lines as well as the plan. With Ladybug's permission, he knew he had to make it spectacular.
"My name is not Ice Queen! It's Stormy Weather!" She screams, her anger amplified by the akuma.
"And I'm Cat Noir. A pleasure." He dodges her windy attack with a grin.
She narrows her eyes. "You think this is a joke? I am Paris's weather girl! Everyone will pay for what they've done to me, starting with you!"
"Me-ouch. You haven't even asked for my tragic backstory." Cat Noir feigns hurt as Ladybug flies past him to kick Stormy.
"Stop making jokes and get her parasol!" she orders angrily.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Cat Noir replies. Ladybug calls her Lucky Charm, a bucket that she puts over Stormy's head. With the few seconds she can't see, he delivers a punch to her stomach, which has her dropping her parasol. She crumples to the floor as Ladybug tosses the object to Cat Noir.
"Cataclysm!" He yells, destroying the object and releasing the akuma.
"You're such a show off." Ladybug catches the butterfly in her yo-yo and lets it free with a, "Bye-bye, little butterfly."
"We really do make the purr-fect team. Second Akuma, and we've only been scolded by Fu once for arguing. Pound it?" He holds out his fist. She gives him an annoyed look but fist bumps him.
"Pound it." She quickly throws her yoyo, slinging away gracefully.
"What happened?" The formerly akumatized girl, Aurore Beauréal, rubs her head.
"Thanks a lot, Ladybug," he mutters, turning to the girl with a large smile. "Do you need help getting home?"
Once everything is settled, he returns home, tired and sulking.
"Where's my camenbert!" Plagg complains.
"Probably in the cupboard, you stinky cat." Adrien notices the note on his bed and is hasty to read it. "He said yes."
A genuine smile forms on his lips. "Plagg, get ready for public school. We’re going to François Dupont in the fall."