part one

One moment she, Ladybug, can see only Chat Noir's horrified eyes and can only pray he knows she loves him more than life and she forgives everything there has ever been to forgive him for (and this moment was never among his sins; it counts against Hawkmoth alone) and she is so, so sorry she said nothing sooner—the next moment, she, Marinette, is staring at Adrien's father (the scenery is unchanged; they're still in Adrien's bedroom; M. Agreste is gripping her arm just as Hawkmoth was doing a moment ago) and a black-dotted red baton extends (as Chat's silver one does) to force a barrier between them.

"Nice hardware up in that lair of yours," remarks Chat Noir—only it isn't he; but it is, she knows his voice, she knows the way he tenses when he's hiding heartbreak behind bravado—why is he in her colors? "Wonder how big a boom it makes?"

"Yes, that would be my security system," M. Agreste says dryly, "and it operates with pinpoint precision. Surrender the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses, Chat Noir, and I will permit you both to live."

Chat's eyes are on her. "Do you believe this asshole, Marinette?" he says, laughing bitterly. "He's sitting here thinking he's won the hand when I know damn well he's got two pair and thinks I've got fuck-all. Here's my cards, M. Agreste. Remember Markov? Y'know, Robostus?" He taps his earpiece. "Unless I say otherwise, this place will blow ten seconds before I lose the spots. Which I will in about four minutes. And by the way, it's nine pm." He grins; Marinette's used to thinking of him as an overenthusiastic housecat, but that is a jaguar on the prowl. "Do you know where your son is?"

Apparently Chat's baton doubles as a laser pointer; Marinette glances that way and claps her hands over her mouth to muffle her scream.

M. Agreste turns. Sees Adrien, kneeling there gagged and furious with his hands and feet bound. Blanches. "Release him!"

"So how about this," says Chat lazily. "You want your son to survive; I want my girl to survive. You'll let her go, she'll let him go, they'll both run like hell, and you and I will stay here to negotiate the surrender of the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses. Like civilized people do."

Marinette trusts Chat Noir with all things but one; she loves Adrien with all her heart; she knows them both better perhaps than they know themselves. Something is wrong with this picture.

M. Agreste stares at Adrien, heartbroken.

"Tick tock," says Chat.

M. Agreste shoves her away and steps back. Marinette glares at Chat, runs to Adrien, yanks the quick release knot securing his feet, grabs his hand, bolts.

Carapace is waiting ten paces from Adrien's bedroom door. He catches Adrien (who positively melts into his arms), and puts a finger to his lips, and jerks a thumb at the wall behind him. That's Alya's handwriting, inked in orange light:

Trust us ♥

—CN

Carapace holds out to her the Cat Miraculous, and Adrien—oh! oh, she's going to kill Rena, and kill Chat worse—winks.

Marinette slams the ring onto her finger, smirks at Plagg, and whispers "Claws out."

She—Ladybug, she supposes, wearing Chat Noir's colors or no; she didn't get a look at herself before Rena tweaked the illusion to hide her from sight—sneaks back into Adrien's bedroom. Chat and Hawkmoth are fencing with baton and cane; Ladybug has her trusty yo-yo, she just needs a clear shot to use it—

"Peahen down!" shouts Queen Bee. "Peahen down!"

"Book it!" bellows Chat Noir, and Hawkmoth moves one heartbeat too slow. Entangled in Ladybug's yo-yo cord, he falls.

Chat uses his baton to roll the man face-up. He plucks the Butterfly Miraculous from Hawkmoth's collar and bounds for the open window.

Ladybug stares down at Gabriel Agreste. "Why?" she asks. "Why would you hurt Adrien like this?"

Gabriel glares at the ceiling, since he can't see her. "This is for Adrien!"

"And if you'll buy that," says Chat Noir from halfway out the window, utterly disgusted. "Come on, princess."

"Explain," snaps Ladybug.

"Princess!" calls Chat.

"Explain, Gabriel."

"Marinette!"

Behind the sound of her name she hears the Ladybug Miraculous signal the one-minute warning.

...On second thought she doesn't want to know that badly.

She yanks back her yo-yo and leaps, grabbing Chat around the waist and fleeing. Somehow he clambers onto her back, Butterfly Miraculous clenched in his red-gloved fist. "Your balcony," he tells her, holding on for dear life.

"We are gonna have a talk when we get there," Ladybug tells him.

The street lights up ahead of them, their shadow stretching into the distance, and behind them there is an echoing boom.

(She wonders if Gabriel somehow escaped.)

(She isn't sure she cares.)

"That we are," says Chat.

His spots melt off in red sparks to leave bare muscled arms behind. She keeps running.

Her balcony is deserted, but her skylight is open. Alya and Nino are trembling side by side on her chaise longue when they drop onto her bed, Chloé pacing the room, and something glints blue on Marinette's desk beside her open diary. The shape suggests it's the Peacock Miraculous.

Chat Noir vaults off her bed and lands deftly on the floor, and Adrien throws his arms into the air, Butterfly Miraculous still firmly in hand. "And they stick the landing!"

The room explodes with cheers.

"Claws in," murmurs Ladybug, and Marinette descends the steps to join them.

Adrien slaps the brooch onto the desk beside its partner in crime and turns to her, grinning. She glares. His face falls; she can picture how Chat's cat ears droop. The other three fall quiet.

"I read your diary," Adrien says, fast like bullets, "and I owe you so many apologies—so many apologies—but in my defense, you're alive and we won."

"I am so furious with you," Marinette tells him.

Adrien gulps. "I'm sorry," he says, soft, sad, determined. "But I'd do it again."

Marinette sits down at her desk. She slams her diary shut and locks it up where it belongs. Takes off the Cat Miraculous and gives serious consideration to shoving it down Adrien's throat.

She pointedly doesn't react when Adrien comes up beside her and sets the Ladybug Miraculous down. "You'll want to clean these," he says. "I didn't exactly bother to do a clean and sterile ear piercing."

She says nothing. Doesn't move.

Adrien turns away from her. "I don't know about the rest of you," he says, "but I'm going to go get drunk."

Marinette spins her chair to face him. "Did you mean it?" she asks him. "Any of the times you told me as Ladybug you wanted me—did you mean it?"

His eyes flicker to her diary lockbox. "Yeah," he says quietly. "Every word."

"See, if you go get drunk," Marinette explains patiently, "then ethical problems arise with my jumping your bones." He gawks. She smirks. "Wouldn't you rather come get laid?"

Chloé dives through the trap door. Nino and Alya follow; she'd say they move more sedately except they're both laughing their asses off.

Adrien puts on one of Chat Noir's 'I'm sexy and I know it' grins. (Marinette has to admit, those have been working on her for a couple years. She just didn't want them to, so she refused to let on.) "So would you say you call my 'bump fists' and raise me 'bump uglies'?"

Marinette spins the chair the other way. "Nope, we're done."

He comes close enough behind her for his breath to tickle her ear. "Pound it!"

"Chaton!" She meant it wholly disapproving. It came out far nearer delighted.

"You love me," Adrien says cockily. (...Oh, fuck, he's rubbing off on her. —Oh, fuck.)

"Gods help me, yes." Marinette stands, running her fingertips up his arm, the length of his collarbone, down to his hip, watching emerald fire rise in his eyes. Passion, for her. "You're overdressed. Get these off."

Adrien lifts her up to sit on the desk; slides one hand up the back of her blouse to pop her bra clasp. "Whatever it takes, my lady." He's looking at her like she's everything and they haven't even kissed yet. "My love."