Kitty: New Fandom, new story.

(Kitty doesn't own Miraculous Ladybug.)

If she had to decide, then jumping off would be the best option. It's better than being thrown into prison for the rest of her (short) life. She glanced down to her best option. Not too far of a fall, and if she was lucky enough, she probably wouldn't land on a rock. She checked which shoes what she was wearing. "Looks like I'd have to ruin my good boots," she muttered.

"It's over, Ladybug! Surrender now, and you'll receive a punishment far less than what you would receive otherwise!"

She rolled her eyes. Punishment this, punishment that. It's been the same spiel that they've heard since the very beginning. Over the years, they have learned how to dodge a few soldiers. Hell, just a couple of weeks ago she and her captain got out of the grasp of a dozen back in Nice. (She had to yet again save his butt. At this point, Ladybug was beginning to question who was the real captain.)

The wind blew behind her, and she smirked. "Okay," she said. The soldiers relaxed a little before tensing again. "I'll take the worse punishment." And then she jumped.

Her arms crossed behind her head as she watched the leading soldiers look after her, their shouts of surprise and anger following soon after. The air was cool against what little skin she decided to show in public. Any second now, he would-

"Are you falling for me, my lady?"

-catch her. Her captain's green eyes shined behind the black mask he wore as he gave her his cat-like grin. Ladybug rolled her eyes again. "Hardly, Captain. Put me down please."

"Aw, so soon? When do ever I get the honor of holding the illustrious Ladybug?" Captain Adrien Agreste (better known as Chat Noir to the world) wiggled his brows before setting his pilot down onto the top of the airship. Both looked up to the soldiers. A few had drawn their arrows and were aiming for them. The captain looked over to her. "Inside?"

"Inside." She agreed.

Slowly and unsteadily, they made their way to the entrance. The airship jerked just as her foot touched the first step. His arm went around her waist, and she glared at him. "Who's driving my ship? Chloé?"

"Actually, it's Nino. And he's driving my ship."

"You're not going to have a ship if-" the ship rocked as it hit some turbulence "-he keeps driving, Cap." Again, the ship rocked, and she grabbed onto his arm when she thought that she was about to fall. If anyone saw the brave Ladybug clutching onto the arm of her captain in fear, they would never believe it. But this wasn't Ladybug. Within their ship, she was more Marinette, the clumsy air pilot that was terrified when someone else drove her ship. (And the girl who may or may not have a small crush on her captain, but she'd never admit it to him. Ever.)

Adrien smiled and steadied her. "Careful, my lady. It'd be a cat-astrophe if my pilot got hurt." He laughed when she hit his chest. "Please. Can you be a little more Adrien and a little less Chat Noir?"

"Only if you'll be a little more Marinette."

The girl blushed then stepped away from him. Her arms crossed over her chest. "On second thought, continue with being Chat."

He frowned. For as long as he could remember, his pilot never liked to show anyone her real self except for Alya. He's seen it before once or twice, but it never stays for long. Ladybug maybe what caught his attention, but Marinette was what made him want more. If that made any sense.

When she stumbled again, he grabbed her shoulders before wrapping his arm around them. "Here." They started to walk again. "Wanna use each other before we can kick Nino out of the chair?" Marinette nodded then squeaked when Nino sharply turned to airship. They shared a look.

It took longer than it should have to reach the cockpit, and the two couldn't be more relieved when they did. Adrien watched as his pilot practically ran to her seat and shove the poor boy out of it. "Paw-lease never steer again! I nearly tossed up my lunch from all the rocking!" She shouted. He smirked at the unintentional pun. Within the past four years, his Chat side rubbed off on her, the puns becoming more and more frequent without her realizing it. Occasionally, she would notice and yell at him for using them too much. But he always noticed the blush on her cheeks when she turned away. It made him want to do it more.

"Hey, hey, Miss Ladybug! Your Chat side is coming out again!" Nino grinned when she glared at him then walked over to the captain. His elbow nudged his arm. "Teaching her your ways, eh?"

"You know it." The two laughed but quieted down when Marinette shot another glare over her shoulder. "Nino, aren't you suppose to be helping Rose with the guns? I'm sure she could use your help down there."

Nino scratched his head before moving his goggles down onto his eyes. He winked then spun around, his metal boots clanking against the floor as he walked towards the door. "Alright, alright, I'm going. Don't want Rose to blow herself up, do ya? Where would we be without our weapons specialist?"

"Stuck with you." Marinette muttered, though the gunner had already shut the door before he could hear her. Impressed, Adrien walked over to the captain's chair and sat down, his ankle crossing over his knee as he leaned against the arm. This was one of his favorite things to do: watch the skies as she moved the airship almost effortlessly. It never failed to amaze him how she could keep her head on her neck whenever she dealt with the stressful situations they went through. From battling with the army to just trying to get out of the air in a storm, his pilot and best friend always managed to be the calm side of him. He often asked himself whether or not he should just hand the reins to her.

Then again, she'd probably kick him to Timbuktu if he offered it to her again. (The last time he did, she yelled at him for nearly an hour about how 'the crew sees him and only him as their captain' and how it was 'incredibly irresponsible it was to offer such a thing to her'. He saw no wrong in asking despite her reprimands.)

"Where to, Cap?" She asked, jarring him out of his thoughts. Adrien watched as she turned around slightly to look at him. "Considering we just got kicked out of this lovely town, we should probably go somewhere else for supplies."

Adrien drew his eyes from her and brought them to the map he kept on the wall. They rarely ever traveled out of Europe, and they probably wouldn't make it too far with the amount of fuel they have now, so the other continents were definitely out. The destination had to be within the next few hours. Sighing through his nose, the captain twiddled with one of the golden buttons on his jacket. Where to, where to? He thought.

Deciding, he asked, "How's London this time of year?"

He could hear the smile in her voice and smiled also when he heard her reply. "I need some new shoes anyways."

London, right after Paris, was her favorite place to get shoes. There was a designer in the city that she knew, and since she was close to them, her connections grew wider just by association. Marinette's smile never faltered during their flight to the wonderful city. Just the thought of going there made her happy.

At some point, Alya came waltzing in, her face smeared in the oil from working on one of the many inventions of hers. She sat down next to Marinette and watched the sky through the large windows while slowly rubbing out her sore shoulder. "Where we headin'?" She asked, her head lolling onto the pilot's leg. Her goggles were pushed up onto her head, keeping her messy red hair out of her eyes.

Marinette briefly looked down. She took off one hand to flex her fingers before placing it back on. "London, Alya. Time to get those new shoes I've been talking about."

Her crewmate looked behind them to their captain. He had fallen asleep at one point, clearly exhausted from the night before. While she had been given the chance to sleep, he had stayed up as they waited for their target to leave the inn. It was a wonder how he managed to stay awake while she could barely keep her head up.

"Got some bad news, girl," Alya said as she stretched her legs. There was a popping sound coming from her knees. "Looks like this ol' rust bucket ain't gonna last much longah. There are too many parts that need to be replaced in the engine, water heatah won't work any mahr, pipes are rustin' too much. Be cheapah to get a new ship then try and fix all 'em problems."

Alya, even though she was probably one of the smartest people on the ship, didn't bother to keep up with proper grammar or finishing her words when she was tired. Her 'r's' were often dropped, an old childhood habit she apparently had. All results of growing up a pirate. Adrien liked to call it her "Lazy Wifi" side.

"Do we have enough for a new ship?"

"Dunno. We'd need one that can withstand the sky and canons and stuff. Should have at least fourteen, fifteen bedrooms fo' the crew. I'd like a bathroom on the sip. Tired o' havin' to go to an inn fo' a damn showah. Half the time they barely let me in!" Alya leaned back onto her arms. "I know a guy in Livahpool that might be willin' to sell us a nice 'un for cheap. 'S not too far from London, now is it?"

Marinette shook her head. Even though she doesn't want to admit it, the ship had been losing one too many battles lately. Repairing it had taken more time than actually flying it. Sighing, the pilot turned the ship slightly. "How much longer does this baby have?"

"Honestly? 'Bout a week. Two at most. Alix, Max, and I are trying everything we can to keep it goin', but it ain't gonna last."

"Who's this guy in Liverpool you've been talking about?" Adrien asked, startling both of the girls. There was a clank as he set down his foot. "And how much is he going to charge us?"

Alya was silent for a moment, her golden eyes focused on something on the ceiling. She popped her knuckles. "If we're lucky, fahrty-fahr grand. He'll charge mahr if we don't know how to bargain. But," she played with her choker, "pirates always know how to bargain."

It never failed to amaze her how a team of three mechanics (one a computer genius) always managed to hide their obvious airship from the authorities in the most obvious places. Somehow, Max had built a cloaking device prototype within the first week of him on the ship. It helped hide it when they were docking for various reasons. So when Marinette turned around to see the ship invisible, her mouth just wouldn't close.

"Close your mouth or you'll catch flies," Alya said as she pushed her jaw up. "You've been seeing this for three years. One would think you would be use to it by now."

"Science never fails to amaze even the simplest of minds." Max called out. Kim and Alix were right behind him, helping him finish in whatever way they could. The bright green of Alix's sleeves and boots could blind Marinette if they weren't dulled out by the black shorts and shirt. She, like Alya, kept her goggles on top of her head. Though at this point, the pilot was beginning to think they were doing for fashion purposes rather than convenience.

"Back in London! Oh Daddy would take me all the time to shop. Don't you just love it, Sabrina?"

Chloé's voice never failed to aggravate her, and no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't get rid of her. She was only meant to stay with them until the ransom was paid, but then her father said that there was not enough money to pay the 'enormous amount' they were demanding. Really, it was only a couple hundred euros. Though the mayor's daughter never said anything about, Marinette knew that she knew that her father was basically saying: "Here, have her! I can't deal with her anymore!" She's been with them ever since.

An arm rested on her shoulder, and she looked up to see her captain. Sometime during the landing he put on the ridiculous captain's hat that he insisted on wearing. She leaned into him. "Do we have to bring her with us?"

Adrien looked down at her. "Would you rather her stay on the ship and screw something up?" He asked, and she shook her head. "I don't want to take her either, but you and I both know she's a pretty damn good negotiator. Besides, now you have a shopping buddy!"

"I'd rather listen to your terrible cat puns than her talk about how 'Daddy and I did this' or 'Daddy and I did that'." The girl reached up and adjusted her black hat, her long hair twisted into a low bun on the side of her head. Sucking in a breath, she pulled away. "Remind me why I decided to wear a corset."

The arm moved to her waist, and fingers fiddled with the chains on the side of the corset. Adrien looked towards the other girls. "Because you're a girl and the girls have to wear those stupid death traps in this stupid town." The fingers kept messing with the chains as he watched Nino cleaned Alya's goggles for her while she shifted the light purple corset a little higher. Chloé was the only girl going to town that seemed comfortable in one. The dark blue matched not only her tiny hat but also her bustle. It was insane how she could walk in that.

Marinette removed him hand before turning towards him. "Who's all going? You and I are, obviously. And Alya. And," her nose scrunched up, "Chloé." Her captain rocked on his heels as he told her no one else was going. He grinned when he saw her confused face. "It's probably best that we act like Chloé's handmaidens and bodyguard of sorts."

She snorted. Reaching up, she took off his hat and smoothed his hair. The jacket was next. "We're not going to pass as any of that. Especially with this hat. Let's just say we're looking for supplies and she's a pretentious heiress looking for some jewels for her jewelry box. Like always."

His green eyes met hers, smiling gently along with him. It was the moments like these that made her insides jelly. When it wasn't just Adrien but Chat as well, the two sides mixing together to become one. When he didn't say anything and just looked. When everyone else really did fade away and it was just them and their inside jokes.

Of course, there was always someone to interrupt. Marinette retracted her hands and wiped them across the red pants she wore as Ladybug. Sweat. She hated sweat. It's one reason why she liked to stay in the cockpit more than any other area of the ship. (It's the coldest besides the deck.)

Grinning the Cheshire's grin, Alya sauntered over to the two with her hands on her hips. The long black side of her skirt rustled as she walked. As Lady Wifi, Alya wore a black shirt like Marinette, though the puffy sleeves were white. She had a frilly and short white skirt with some black fabric draped over one side and more under neath. To make sure she didn't show her legs, she always-always-wore black stockings. Two white belts were draped over her chest to keep her corset up and to hold whatever weapon she decided to keep on her back. Marinette had envied her killer looks since day one.

"Well, lovebirds," her hands clasped both of their shoulders, "let's get going. Chloé's already buggin' me about leavin'. CHLOÉ! WE'RE LEAVIN' NOW! GET YOUR ARSE OVER HERE!"

Blushing, the pilot walked away from her crew mates and towards the city. She crossed her arms. "Come on. It's a thirty minute walk to LC to, and I want to be back before it gets dark." Marinette heard them catch up with her and ducked her head a little. She wasn't in the mood for any puns.

Adrien bumped her shoulder with his. She didn't look up at him, causing him to frown. "What's wrong, princess? Chat got your tongue?" Puns somehow always managed to get her attention, but it didn't this time. Frowning, he looked towards the city they were heading to. It made sense now. Marinette, no matter how much she loved the city, was always nervous to go. Her parents moved to London after she joined him (secretly, of course). They have no idea how, where, or who she was, so going to London potentially puts them in danger. He pouted. "We can go there if you like. Just you and me."

"No," she shook her head. "It'd be better if they didn't see me. Besides, it's mid-day. The bakery is probably full of people, and I don't want to ruin their groove." She smiled. "Thanks though."

He watched her as she walked over to Alya, the two beginning to chat animatedly about some artist that lived there. Chloé was there as well, but she didn't pay any attention. She was too busy with her skirts.

He looked down to his silver ring. It was his grandfather's before he passed on. His mother, a day or two after his death, had given it to him and told him to take good care of it, that it was special. He wasn't sure why it was at the time, but now he does. Always take care of things that are special to you. Glancing over to Marinette, Adrien felt himself smile. He had an idea.