Chapter 11

Adrien/Chat Noir

"So," Adrien plopped down across from his friend, passing a bowl of soup to Nino nonchalantly. The police station was relatively quiet that evening; only a few Officers were aimlessly chatting in the opposite corner, their shifts done. "You and Alya, huh?" Adrien prompted. "How long has that been going on?"

"Uh, years, actually," Nino raised an unimpressed brow, taking a spoon and dipping it into the broth.

Adrien's brows knit, confidence visibly waning. "Really?"

"Uhuh" Nino hummed, slurping loudly as if to make a point.

Adrien looked away, concerned at his seeming lack of awareness. "Like secretly – or"

"-Adrien," Nino cut his friend off, deadpan. "You're just really oblivious."

Adrien sputtered, cheeks glowing red with embarrassment. "I am not-" he began.

"-Speaking of oblivious," Nino put his spoon down to give Adrien a flat look. "What was all that dancing around about with Ladybug last night?"

Adrien's eyes caught with Nino's for a moment, the flush in his cheeks returning. "It's complicated," he sighed, fiddling slightly with a napkin he'd stolen from Nino.

"I've got time," Nino slurped another spoonful of soup, expression amused.

Adrien grimaced, lacing his fingers together in front of him to stop them from fidgeting. "I don't know what to do anymore." He said flatly. "I feel like I messed up something with her."

Nino raised an eyebrow, prompting his friend to continue.

Adrien bent his head down slightly, resigned to spilling to his friend. "After you dropped me off at the park, Ladybug ran by, and-" Adrien cut himself off. "She tried to kiss me."

Nino's eyes bugged out. "Again?"

Adrien nodded mutely, hand fisting nervously in his hair. "I sorta panicked after that," Adrien paused, voice dropping lower to a whisper. "I thought the Chief mentioned something about interviewing Ladybug and I started spewing complete Bull Sh-"

"-Ah so that's why you came here," Nino nodded sagely. "And looked downright like you were going to pee yourself."

"What?" Adrien hissed. "I did not."

Nino gave his friend a pointed look.

Adrien huffed in annoyance. "Fine. Whatever," He hissed. "Point is, I don't know what Ladybug talked about with the Chief." Or why she's still interested in making out with Adrien…he thought.

Nino paused in his soup-eating, voice lowering. "Does Chat know what she was talking about…?"

"No," Adrien huffed. "I went to her shop right after, but…" he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "No luck."

"You are the King of Bad Luck," Nino mused. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't blown it with Ladybug yet given your track record with…well, everything."

Adrien chuckled halfheartedly, fingering the napkin again. "You're right, something is bound to happen that'll mess all this up…"

Nino paused again, picking up on the darker side of what Adrien was saying.

"There doesn't have to be some tragic 'end' to this, Adrien," Nino leaned forward. "You can stop seeing Ladybug whenever you want to. Just tell the Chief-"

"-What?" Adrien hissed. "Is that what you think I want? For this – this to end?"

Nino blanched, taken aback. "Wouldn't that solve all your problems?"

"Well, yes, but no," Adrien's fists clenched together. He glanced around hurriedly to make sure no one was paying attention to their heated conversation. "I just," he struggled for what to say. "I know the right thing to do is continue with finding out as much as I can about Ladybug and her business." He paused, voice dropping lower to a whisper. "But another part of me wants to just say 'screw it all' and…I don't know," Adrien sighed again. "I just don't know."

"The closer you get to her the harder it's going to be to betray her," Nino said softly. "You know that, don't you?" It's going to come to a crashing end somehow, you know this, Nino's look seemed to say.

"Of course I do," Adrien hissed, fists clenching. "That's the problem-"

"-Officer Lahiffe," the stern voice of an Officer interrupted. "The Chief needs to see you."

Adrien and Nino stared at the Officer, shocked at the intrusion. They remained frozen until the Officer walked away.

Adrien's spiraling emotions seemed to halt, making way for a new bubble of concern.

"Is this about being with Alya last night?" Adrien whispered, a wrinkle in his brow forming.

Nino gave a tense shrug, standing stiffly. "We'll finish this conversation later," he said in a low voice, giving Adrien one last worried glance before departing from the table.

Adrien's face remained pinched in a frown, anxiety gnawing at his stomach.

Yet another problem I can do nothing to fix, he thought miserably.

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Marinette/Ladybug

"I don't know, Chat," Ladybug sighed, leaning back lazily in her chair. "I think I'm losing steam for the day."

"Too tired to finish that?" Chat asked, striding to Ladybug's side to pick up the mostly finished garment on her worktable. "I can finish this, if you'd like."

Ladybug nodded mutely, resting her eyes and her hands from the fatiguing stitches she'd been focusing on.

A minute passed in relative silence, the only sound being their breathing and the rhythmic thrumming of the sewing machine as Chat fed in thread to finish the last of the stitching on the garment.

"Do you think I'll actually be able to make a difference?" Ladybug said quietly, eyes opening slightly.

Chat stopped stitching, turning to face Ladybug more fully. "Of course you will," he said with determination. "You're already making a huge difference." His brow twitched with concern, Ladybug's disheartened expression pulling at something in his chest.

Ladybug's eyes narrowed in thought, her body still while her mind whirled. "But so many people don't understand the cause." She looked to Chat. "They just see me as a rebellious attention-seeker."

"They don't," Chat said fiercely, kneeling down to be at eye level with her. "The people think that you are a very strong, intelligent, and brave woman." Adrien thought of Alya. "And they want you to win. They believe in you, and in what you're doing."

She stared at him, eyes wide and slightly disbelieving. "Is that what you think of me?" She asked quietly.

He started back, a knot forming in his throat. "How could I not?" He started breathlessly. "Why else would I be here?" If she saw the slight grimace at the end of his words, she didn't make a comment, as she turned to pick at a loose thread on the table.

"I still need more followers to make any real impact," she breathed, cheeks rosy. "If I do anything now I'll get caught."

Chat glanced thoughtfully to her face, stroking his chin slightly. "How about you start with rallying your own followers? See if they can help recruit others."

Ladybug paused, nodding slightly. "That's actually not a bad idea, Chat."

He smiled with his teeth. "This isn't a one man-woman-job," he quickly corrected himself. "Use who you have already to your advantage."

"This might work…" Ladybug muttered, standing up to pace. "And I think I know the perfect place to start rallying…"

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Author's Note: OH MY GOD. (I'm not dead; hoorah). Turns out actual work takes up as much/more time than schoolwork (but at least I get money now?).

Sorry for the wait! Writing the rest of this should go relatively smoothly now that I've made it back onto my plot chart! I'm expecting somewhere around 2-4 more chapters in this story…

I hope all of you are enjoying your summers immensely; I know I am! I got super lucky (ha) and got to go to Comic Con in San Diego for a day and (guess what) there was a fabulous amount of Ladybugs and Chat Noir's there (as well as cool merchandise). So lovely to see all that!

Feedback is always appreciated! Thank you for reading!