The Miraculous Spiderman Series

Adrien stared at Peter, then back at the framed image, then back at Peter. Peter rocked forwards on the balls of his feet, obviously waiting for a response, but Adrien was too captivated by how beautiful the image was.

He had gotten back from hanging out with Marinette (as Chat Noir) only to be reminded via a text message from Nathalie that he had a photo shoot scheduled for that evening. It had been torture, and he’d returned to find Peter holding a photo frame containing one of the most perfect shots Adrien had ever seen, and he’d met plenty of famous photographers. It was of him and Marinette at the dance, her skirt flaring out as the two spun. Adrien had a real, genuine smile on his face, and Marinette’s features were captured in a silent laugh. The lights in the gym had illuminated them perfectly, accentuated by whatever filter Peter had put on the image, and it had the same look as a high quality dream.

“This is beautiful,” Adrien breathed. “How did you…?”

“I’ve dabbled in photography,” Peter said. “It was the perfect shot, I couldn’t miss. I thought you might want to remember the moment with your friends. So when you’re old and depressed you can tell your grandkids about how much fun it was.”

Adrien waited for a comment about how Marinette was ‘more than a friend’ but it didn’t come. Peter was respecting his wishes, something that shouldn’t have been shocking, yet Adrien wasn’t used to it, not from people he knew. But Peter was different than the people he’d grown up around. Peter treated him like a human being, rather than a dress-up doll.

Of course his alleged ‘friend’ had kissed him only a few hours ago, but Peter didn’t know that. Couldn’t know that. Even Marinette didn’t know it had been him.

“Thank you, Peter, really. I have so few pictures that weren’t planned and prepared for. No matter how expensive my other shoots have been, it’s the candid shots like this that are priceless.” He gave his friend a beaming smile.

“How could I resist when you’ve got that model look on twenty-four seven?” Peter rolled his eyes. “It’s like you just attract the perfect shot.”

“Thanks? I think?” Adrien said, sitting in his desk chair. It was late, but he didn’t care. Patrol had already happened and he’d had the evening off. The whole evening to think about that absolutely bizarre interaction he’d had with Marinette and the way Ladybug had acted towards the end of their time together that day. Something had been off, but he couldn’t put his finger on what. And even after all his hours on pondering, it was no clearer than it had been before.

“I’m going to go to bed,” Peter said. “I’ve got work tomorrow.”

“Okay, goodnight!” Adrien waited until Peter had shut the door behind him before opening his jacket and letting Plagg fly out.

“All this kissing girls and no Camembert,” he lamented. “You could’ve at least asked her for some cheese while you were at it.”

“And what would I have done with said cheese? I was transformed and you’ve got plenty of cheese here,” Adrien said, kicking his mini fridge open as an invitation for his kwami to eat his heart out.

“Cheese would’ve kept you from sticking your tongue down her throat,” Plagg said, gripping onto a slice of cheese and taking a huge bite. “And making things more complicated for yourself.”

“I’d like to point out that at no point today did I stick my tongue down anyone’s throat,” Adrien pointed a finger at the unconcerned kwami. “Plus, she kissed me. I just stood there.”

“But you enjoyed it,” Plagg said.

“Of course I enjoyed it! Marinette is my friend!”

“That’s it, you can’t be Chat Noir anymore. You’ve been dropped on your head one too many times.” Plagg eyed him. “I also love sucking my closest friends’ faces off. Are you even listening to yourself?”

“For the last time, she didn’t mean anything by it! She said so herself! She just got a little bit confused.”

The exasperated sigh that escaped Plagg’s mouth wasn’t a quiet one by any means. “Kid, I’ve been alive for a long time. I’ve heard every excuse in the book. But that? That’s a new one.”

“She’s…creative?” Adrien offered then let out a frustrated sigh of his own. “Listen Plagg, I don’t know. I’m just doing my best not to make it complicated. It’s bad enough I slept with her-”

“YOU SLEPT WITH HER?”

“Not like that!” Adrien held up both hands. “I fell off the couch and accidentally wound up snuggled next to her last night. I did not, and I repeat, did not sleep with her like that!”

“Good, because if you’re looking to avoid complications that’s not the way to go.”

“Yeah, I know. I also know Ladybug was acting weird today and while that’s usually a bad thing, it could be a good one this time around. What if she’s finally realized that she likes me?”

Plagg just stared at him with an unfriendly expression. “I am not feeding into your fantasies. If you wanted someone to talk about that stuff with, you should’ve been made Ladybug. Tikki is like a personal therapist.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, now did I? And red doesn’t go with my eyes,” Adrien huffed. “Plus I have the feeling that Ladybug wouldn’t be as supportive of your cheese addiction as I am.”

“Whatever.” Plagg, indifferent, disappeared up to the loft as Adrien got ready for his shower. Adrien was so glad to have such a thoughtful, kind, understanding kwami who not only understood Adrien’s thoughts and feelings but also was willing to talk about them at any given moment. You know, in his dreams.

His stupid, treacherous brain kept drifting back to Marinette’s kiss as he stripped and climbed under the steaming water. The closer to hell’s geysers, the better in Adrien’s opinion. He knew he was just projecting his unresolved feelings for Ladybug onto the event, somehow making it about her which was entirely unfair to Marinette. It had been a good kiss, sure, nothing special, and yes Adrien had been into it for a few seconds at least, but there hadn’t exactly been fireworks. Not like if he’d kissed his Lady, that’s for sure. If she’d kissed him, it would’ve been like he was at Disney World, watching their fireworks show like he had when he was a kid.

Steam rolled out the bathroom door when Adrien exited, as red as a thoroughly cooked lobster.

“Are you trying to kill yourself?” Plagg asked, descending from the loft to give his chosen a withering look.

Adrien adjusted the towel he’d wrapped around his waist. “No I’m not, I’ll have you know. Life has just gotten interesting. I have a friend now who, surprisingly, doesn’t bully me on a daily basis.”

“Bullying isn’t a one sided deal,” Plagg said, settling himself down on Adrien’s pillow. “It takes two to tango. If you’re being bullied, there’s usually a good reason why.”

“You see you can’t just say that,” Adrien sighed, pulling his pyjamas on. “That’s the sort of thing that makes people not like you.”

“Do I look like the sort to care about what other people think of me?”

“Yes, desperately so.”

“I could destroy this house with a swipe of my paw.”

“And risk destroying your precious Camembert? You would never.”

“Fine, I’ll let you live, only because you’re more valuable to me alive than dead,” Plagg squinted at him.

“How gracious,” Adrien flopped down on his bed. “Your mercy never comes to an end.”

“Not yet at least.” And that threat was the last thing Adrien heard before he fell asleep. His dreams that night featured, as always, Ladybug. He awoke feeling refreshed and in a perfect mood.

“What’s got you so happy?” Peter asked suspiciously at breakfast. “Did something happen that I don’t know about?”

“I just woke up on the right side of the bed this morning,” Adrien said. “I’m so happy to be alive.”

“Right.” Peter poured himself a glass of orange juice. “I have to go do work stuff this morning, so I’ll be out of the house. Then I might go commit a triple homicide, you never know, it just seems like the day for it, right Adrien?”

“Yeah,” Adrien sighed dreamily.

“Okay, now I really think I’m being left out of something,” Peter said, putting the pitcher down sharply.

“I just had a really, really good dream. I’m filled with hope for the day.” He could tell he was grinning like an idiot, but at this point he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Whenever I have a good dream, reality always seems like a disappointment afterwards,” Peter said. Adrien paid no mind to his friend’s less-than-chipper attitude. Work always put a damper on one’s day, no matter how much they loved their job, Adrien knew.

“If you’re at work, does that mean Spiderman is going to be swinging about?” Adrien asked, taking a hearty bite of oatmeal.

“Not necessarily, I do other things too, but today he’s agreed to do an interview with the Ladyblog so I have to supervise that. He’s most likely going to regret it, but since it’s Alya, I agreed to ask him to do the interview in the first place. He said yes, so now they’re having a little session. Alya really seems to want to get all the details on his personal life, but I think she’ll be disappointed to learn that being Spiderman is his personal life.” With that, Peter stood up, and Adrien held out a hand to stop him, eyes having just landed on what he’d previously thought to be a plain white tee.

“Peter, what. The. Hell,” Adrien emphasized. “Is that.” Peter’s shirt was a special brand of horrendous.

“Oh? You like it? I bought it off a street vendor,” Peter said, stretching it out so Adrien could see the design unhindered. It had a horse with glasses photoshopped on and its tongue sticking out, but that wasn’t the worst part. Written above it, in English, was a singular phrase: ‘You can’t beat this dead horse!’.

“It’s horrible!”

“Yeah, I actually bought three. Sent one back home to my friend Ned, kept one for myself, and gave one to Mr. Stark.”

“You gave a t-shirt about beating dead horses to Iron Man?” Adrien’s voice cracked as he dramatically pinched the bridge of his nose. Suddenly, he felt a headache coming on.  

“He’s my boss. Gotta show appreciation somehow!” Peter said cheerily. “I’m sure he’ll love it. He’s got a weird sense of humour like that.”

Adrien gave him a look that he tried to make look supportive, but probably came across as disturbed. Peter didn’t seem to mind, mood significantly improved, he practically floated on up to his room, graceful as ever. And now Adrien had the entire morning to himself and nothing to do with it.

As desperately as he wanted to suit up and run around, hoping Ladybug would notice him and come hang out, he settled for a lesser option that was guaranteed results. Pulling out his superhero phone, he sent her a quick text.

[ good morning my lady ;) ] He didn’t have to wait long for her response, and as soon as it popped up on his screen the butterflies in the pit of his stomach started.

[ Do you need something? ]

[ I just wanted to talk to you ]

[ Chat… ] Her typing bubble started and stopped multiple times over. It was stressing Adrien out.

[ my lady? ]

[ What is there to talk about? ]

Adrien pondered that one for a second. What was there to talk about? Nothing really. Just everything. He wanted to tell her every single mundane experience of his life and to hear about hers in return. To not have to worry about secret identities, just to share each other’s company. Was that really too much to ask?

[ anything you want ]

[ how is your day going ]

[ Well I just panicked thinking there was an akuma attack ]

[ But it turns out it’s just my partner texting me ‘good morning’ ]

[ you know you love me ] Adrien attached a heart-eyed cat emoji, grinning as he did so.

[ Do I really now? ]

[ Other than that, my day is pretty slow ]

[ I’m just helping my parents with some chores ] Adrien gobbled up that little tidbit. Of course Ladybug was helping her parents. She was always so helpful and considerate. He typed his next response as he headed up the stairs back to his room, sitting up on his bed, hunched over his phone like a seagull over a stray fry.

[ that sounds fun ]

[ Not really ]

[ What are you doing alley cat? ]

[ lamenting the fact that you’re not here right now ]

[ home alone ]

[ I’m surprised you haven’t burnt the house down yet ]

[ give me time, it’s only nine am ]

[ I’m also surprised you’re not suited up and running around town ]

[ I thought that was what you did every single time you had more than ten minutes of free time ] Adrien smiled. She knew him so well.

[ well I thought I could run around and hope you’d see and come outside… ]

[… or I could just text you and be on your mind instantly ]

[ Who says you weren’t already on my mind? ]

Adrien’s brain shut down instantly. Was she…flirting with him? That couldn’t have just been a harmless comment, could it? Now he was seriously perplexed. How did he respond?

[ well was I? ]

[ Wouldn’t you like to know minou ]

Okay this was definitely flirting and Adrien was panicking. He could spend all day dishing it out, but the second Ladybug gave him a taste of his own medicine he was left reeling.

[ I most definitely would like to know ]

[ because if my lady is thinking about me while I’m not there ]

[ I’d like to give her the real deal ]

[ Ahah you’re cute ]

[ Don’t get a big head about it though ]

[ new achievement unlocked: big head ] Adrien really didn’t mean to make a gaming pun but he was freaking out because Ladybug was flirting with him and he couldn’t do anything about it because Spidey would be at patrol at night. And if Spidey was there, he couldn’t just go up and make out with her. That would be very rude.

Surely his alarm was going to go off soon. There was no way this was reality. He must’ve slept in, and his nightmare about Peter’s t-shirt had transformed into a lovely dream in which his Lady was finally returning his interests. And yet no alarm rang.

“Pinch me, Plagg, make sure I’m not dreaming,” he said. Obediently, his kwami zoomed out from where he’d been watching The Great British Bake Off, pummelling Adrien in the chest so hard it knocked him flat on his back.

“I said pinch me not punch me!” Adrien complained. His annoyance was short-lived, however, as his phone vibrated as another text popped up on the screen, causing him to sit bolt-upright.

[ Then that’s my cue to go ]

[ See you later chaton ]

[ only nine more hours until I see your beautiful face again ]

[ You’re lame ]

Adrien stowed his phone away, unable to wipe the smile off his face. Even when faced with the stern glare his kwami was sporting.

“I’m not transforming you if you’re just going to go canoodle with Ladybug now. Chat Noir is a responsibility and a gift, not an opportunity to live out your hormone-fuelled teenage fantasies.” Plagg folded his tiny arms, hovering in front of Adrien’s head.

“Plagg, I’ve loved her since I laid eyes on her. Hormones are fleeting. This is real. It’s like…,” he struggled to find words the tiny deity would understand. “She’s my Camembert. I want to stick my tongue down her throat and not in a friend way.”

Plagg looked thoroughly disgusted. “You just made your case worse for yourself, mister. ‘I want to stick my tongue down her throat’? What’s wrong with you?”

Adrien dragged a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean that. Well I did, but I didn’t mean it like that. What do I have to say to make you understand?”

“Oh I understand plenty, I just think you’re an idiot.” At Plagg’s words, Adrien groaned, leaning back against his bed, resolving not to get up every again.

“Great talk.” He grabbed his pillow, covering his face. He needed a redo of the day. It had been going great until the little pest had decided it was Make Adrien Miserable day. And he would’ve moped for a little while longer had it not been for the loud crash in the next room.

“Peter?” Was he back already? As far as he was aware, Alya’s livestream hadn’t started.

“Iforgotsomethingit’sreallynothingdon’tworryaboutitI’llbegoneinasecond!” Peter yelled from his room, words all strung together. “Shit!”

It did not sound like nothing, but Adrien chose not to investigate. “You sure you good?”

“Jesus Christ! Don’t do that! Yeah, I’m fine, just some technical difficulties, I just decided I wanted a jacket!”

“Okay?” Adrien called back, throwing his pillow to the side and walking over to sit at his computer, opening the Ladyblog. Alya, in true Alya fashion, had a countdown to the start of the interview. A curious noise, almost like someone spitting violently, came from Peter’s room then all was silent once more. And the interview was starting.

“Welcome back to the Ladyblog!” Alya said cheerfully, looking at the camera. It seemed she’d booked a hotel room for the day at Le Grand Paris, where her mom worked as a chef. Adrien had no doubt that Nino was behind the camera, probably trying to get the perfect shot. He was the only one that could listen to her directions and not break from the stress of it all.

“Today we’ve got a special guest joining us,” Alya gestured and the camera followed her arm to look out the window, pointing at a red speck in the sky that seemed to be getting larger. And suddenly Spiderman was bursting into the room, landing perfectly, without even so much as a wobble.

“Alya!” He greeted her enthusiastically, giving her a quick hand shake.

“Thanks for joining us, Spidey, please take a seat,” Alya smiled, barely containing her excitement as Spiderman took a seat at the pink couch opposite her matching chair. “Where would you like to start today?”

Spiderman slung one arm across the back of the couch, exuding confidence and charisma. That’s how Adrien felt when he was Chat Noir. He most likely didn’t look it, though. Spiderman seemed to have a firm balance on his life, something Adrien could only envy.

“Wherever you want, Alya. I’m afraid I don’t have any groundbreaking relationship stuff going on, unfortunately. Usually that’s what interviewers go to as their first topic, so I’ll save you the effort of trying to build up to that.”

“Being a superhero doesn’t leave much time for that sort of thing, huh?” Alya jumped at the opportunity to delve further into Spidey’s personal life, but Adrien could tell Spiderman wasn’t bothered by it, instead leading the conversation down the path he wanted it to go.

“Nope, afraid not. Some people manage to make it work, but it seems I’m just too busy being a friendly neighbourhood Spiderman to think about anything besides that.”

“By ‘some people’ do you mean Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Why? Are they in a relationship?” Spiderman leaned forwards like Alya was about to tell him some juicy gossip. “You can tell me, I can keep a secret.” He winked, as if to prove a point. That threw Alya for a bit of a loop. She’d obviously been trying to coax some sort of scoop about Adrien and Ladybug out of Spidey and he’d flipped it right back on her.

“So I take it you don’t hangout much?”

“Oh we hangout, I just don’t think they’d appreciate me making assumptions about their dynamic as a team,” Spiderman said bluntly, leaving Alya to blink at his consideration for his partners’ feelings. “But if you want to know what they’re like, I can tell you that they’re as nice as you think they are and more. They welcomed me to the team with barely any hesitation.”

“That’s good to hear,” Alya said. “Now Spiderman, let’s go back to what you said earlier about not having time for relationships. If you were to have a relationship, what would your ideal partner look like?”

Not Alya having a crush on Spidey, Adrien thought, but he could tell that’s where her brain was going. Spiderman was cool and he radiated good energy, really everyone had no choice but to be attracted to him whether it be in a friendly, magnetic way, or a less innocent manner.

“Tall,” Spidey said simply. Well, that crossed Alya off the list.

“Tall? That’s the only requirement?” Alya looked at him. “Well I’m sure I’ve got heels around here somewhere….”

Spiderman laughed. “What’s the next question?”

Adrien happily watched his two friends exchange friendly banter throughout the interview, all while counting down the time until patrol. By the time the interview was over he still had precisely seven hours and fifty-six minutes.

“You need a job,” Plagg snarked as Adrien checked the time for the fifth time that minute.

“I have a job, two if you count fighting evil,” Adrien reminded him, throwing an arm over his eyes and leaning back in his desk chair.

“I don’t, because I don’t think you’d be nearly as enthusiastic if fighting evil didn’t come with Ladybug attached.”

Adrien pouted at that. “You wound me.”

“Good.” Adrien could tell his kwami was sticking his tongue out at him. But a knock at the door caused Adrien to sit up as Plagg zipped inside his jacket.

“Come in.”

“Hey,” Peter peeked his head around the door before stepping into the room. “Work’s done.” He’d gotten back fast but Adrien didn’t question it. Maybe he hitched a ride with Spiderman or something. Either way, Adrien’s brain had clocked out.

“Oh thank god. I need a distraction.”

“Long day, sorry, two hours?” Peter asked sarcastically, glancing at the still-open Ladyblog tab. “Was the interview any good?”

“Weren’t you watching?” Adrien replied, fiddling with his phone.

“Not exactly. Want to go hangout at the park?”

‘Yes’ was halfway out Adrien’s mouth before he reined himself in, remembering who he was. “I better not. I’ve already pushed it enough with my dad being away. There’s no way the Gorilla didn’t notice our little party-”

“I take no responsibility for the events that unfolded that night,” Peter interjected, holding his hands up.

“-my little party, so it’ll be a blessing and a miracle if he doesn’t mention it to my dad. Otherwise you and me are dead, irregardless of how blameless you may be in this situation.”

“Lame,” Peter wrinkled his nose. “Your dad, not you.”

“He’s just a bit protective. I know in his heart he believes everything he’s doing for me is what’s best.”

“My aunt’s protective too, but she knows that I can handle myself,” Peter said. “It’s about boundaries. Your dad doesn’t understand that you’re not something that can be controlled.”

Adrien raised an eyebrow. “Hello? Have you met me? Adrien Agreste, feel free to walk all over me, I’ll probably like you more if you do.” He held out a hand as if to shake Peter’s.

“Nah, I think you just pick your battles.” Maybe Peter was right. Maybe Adrien let his dad boss him around because he knew at night he could suit up and disappear off into the city. Chat Noir was his small relief from reality. And for that he was forever thankful. It was the one aspect of his life where he, Adrien, was in full control of his life and what happened. And tonight, boy oh boy was he going to make things happen.

Adrien was a nervous wreck by the time patrol came around. For someone who flirted shamelessly, he was definitely out of practice of being on the receiving end of someone’s affections. Especially if that someone was Ladybug. He wound up being twenty minutes early, Spidey arriving not too far behind him.

Right, Spidey, Adrien reminded himself. This was going to be patrol with Spiderman and Ladybug, two superheroes who he respected very much and one that he was also currently freaking out about seeing.

“Are you like, okay?” Spiderman asked. “You’re weirdly sweaty for such a chilly evening. I mean, that suit doesn’t look breathable, but I’ve never seen you so…that.” He waved an arm at Adrien whose panic mounted further.

“Yeah, I’m super fine. Super good. I’m totally not freaking out right now.” He nodded so fast he almost thought his neck was going to snap off.

“Take a deep breath,” Spidey advised. “Because I am definitely not up to date on my first aid training. Also this suit isn’t very good for giving mouth-to-mouth. I do, however, have defibrillator webs in case your heart stops.”

“How are you always so cool?” Adrien practically yelled at Spiderman, who took a step back, raising his arms in a ‘truce’ signal. “Sorry, I’m just really not cool right now and I need to get on your level if I’m going to wind up actually getting somewhere tonight.”

“Ooh is something happening with Ladybug?” Spiderman said. “We’ve got time, tell me everything. But refrain from yelling, because that’s not very ‘cool’. Lesson one.”

And so Adrien did. Spidey listened attentively, not speaking until the very end of Adrien’s tale. “And she said I was cute!” His heart was so full just thinking about it, his anxiety leaving him as he thought about Ladybug and why he liked her so much. And he would’ve kept thinking along the same vein if it weren’t for the soft ronron noise coming from his chest.

“Are you…purring?” Spidey tilted his head. “That’s kinda cool.”

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Adrien admitted, doing his best to stop it. “It’s the equivalent of getting a hard-on right before you have to present in class.”

“Okay but I’d argue that purring is considerably more adorable than a stiffer,” Spiderman was flicking a canister of sorts between his fingers, one of the ones that usually hung from his belt.

“Do you have any spider mannerisms?” Adrien deflected, really wanting to stop thinking about his stupid purring in hopes that it would die out.

“Uh, no? I don’t bite people, I don’t spit, I have a normal number of limbs, I usually walk instead of like,” Spiderman crouched down, bending his limbs on either side of him and awkwardly galloping towards Adrien. The sight was hilarious, enough to dispel his purrs and just in time too.

“Do I want to know?” Ladybug asked, touching down right next to Adrien.

“I’m a spider,” Spiderman stated simply, standing upright. Adrien, however, was staring at Ladybug, hoping she’d look his way. She didn’t.

“Of course you are,” she said, then she finally turned to look at her partner. The one she’d said was cute. “Did you break him?”

“I’ll have you know I had nothing to do with this,” he said simply. “I’m too cute to be involved in such shenanigans.” Why are you like this why are you like this why are you like this why- Adrien’s brain chastised him.

And his Lady, well, she gave him a glare he’d gladly be on the receiving end of any day.

“I’m glad you have some self confidence,” Spidey said. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to just do a quick sweep and then I’ve got some stuff to take care of.” He shot Adrien a wink. It was official, Spidey was the best wingman ever.

“Yeah of course,” Ladybug said, genuinely believing that Spiderman had things to do. “I’m sure you’re tired of being suited up, after that like, hour long interview you had today.”

“Being Spiderman never gets old, but I actually have a potential illegal weapons dealer I’m supposed to go talk to. I’d bring you guys, but I don’t know if those suits are bulletproof and I really don’t want to find out.” Maybe he really did have stuff to do. And after one more line about giving them a beat down, Spidey was gone, leaving just Chat Noir and Ladybug, the dynamic duo.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, My Lady,” Adrien sang.

“Correction; it’s just you for now. We still have patrol to do.”

“But talk after,” Adrien said, gripping her hand before she could pull out her yoyo.

“Fine,” she begrudgingly agreed.

Chat Noir had never done patrol so fast. Usually he was pretty speedy, but tonight he was a flash of black and silver, going as fast as inhumanely possible. Every second he wasn’t with Ladybug was a second wasted, truly.

And it seemed Ladybug might have had a similar mindset, as she was already sprawled across a railing on the Eiffel Tower. It seemed like a risky balancing game, but Adrien knew even if she did fall, she’d catch herself long before there was any danger.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, his voice low as he crept closer to her.

“I wondered how long it would take for you to abandon patrol,” Ladybug said, not even bothering to open her eyes.

“You mean you didn’t even do patrols?” Adrien pouted.

“Why would I? I can see everything from up here,” she gestured out at the sleeping city before rolling towards him. Adrien dutifully caught her, helping her to her feet.

“Yes, but can you see me?” Adrien breathed, his arms still wrapped around her waist. He didn’t want to let go, but she danced away from him, ponytails swinging in the night air.

“I can always see you, chaton.” He let her words hang empty without response, simply committing the moment to memory. There was something about the way she said it that made his heart beat faster. And it was true. With her, he rarely felt overlooked.

“I have a small query for you,” Adrien said, uncertain what to do with his arms now that she’d left them. It only seemed natural to be holding her, everything else felt strange and unfamiliar. “What was all that flirting earlier?”

“You always flirt,” Ladybug stated. “I’m not sure why that’s interesting for you.”

“Yes, but usually you’re not flirting back,” Adrien slid closer to her and Ladybug took an instinctive step backwards, back towards the tower’s structure. Adrien could definitely work with that.

“Who said I was flirting?”

Adrien took a step forwards. Ladybug took a step back. “That’s the thing about flirting. You don’t usually announce that you’re doing it.” He gave her one of his signature Chat smiles, relishing the way she gulped slightly. Another step forwards, another step back on her part.

While Ladybug seemed at a loss for words, Adrien took that as a sign to keep going. “And you see, telling someone that they’re cute usually constitutes as flirting, as well is insinuating that I was on your mind.”

“Perhaps I was just stating facts,” Ladybug offered, slightly craning her neck to look at him. Adrien had always been taller than her, but he wasn’t sure when he’d turned their mild height difference into a significant one. But he was finding he definitely didn’t mind, not when she was looking up at him with those big blue eyes.

“Well then, I suppose I should praise you for those astute observations,” Chat stated plainly. He wasn’t Adrien right now, this was his superhero persona completely taking the reins, and Adrien couldn’t bring himself to care or hold back. “But a simple ‘thank you’ should suffice, unless you have more you’d wish to say…?” He tilted his head suggestively, taking another slow step forwards. Ladybug took her step, jolting when her back connected with the metal core of the tower.

Her lips were parted slightly as she just stared at him, eyes charting his face like she was committing it to memory. Chat couldn’t resist one more tease. “It seems I’ve left you speechless….” He leaned closer, face only a few centimetres from hers, allowing his gaze to drop from her lips back up to her eyes. She was blushing now, he noted, his brain doing a happy dance at the sight.

“Why are you just standing there?” She managed, although she spoke in a whisper, what she’d obviously intended to be a sassy comment sounding more like a plea.

“What would My Lady suggest I do otherwise?” He grinned again, liking this flustered Ladybug more and more with each passing second.

“I-” Ladybug started but he didn’t let her get anything more out, instead sweeping down to capture her lips in a tender kiss.

It was everything he’d dreamed of and more. All the fireworks, all the gong show, all the choir of angels singing. Because he was kissing Ladybug and she was kissing him back, her arms wrapping around his neck as his hands sought out her waist. One of his hands rested there, his other creeping up her body to caress one side of her face. Years of longing finally realized on this cold September night as Adrien finally got to do what he’d wanted to since the moment he laid eyes on her.

“Chat,” she breathed as they broke away slightly and he looked at her, his heart swelling at the earnest look in her eyes.

“My Lady,” he responded as she pulled him back into her, lips finding his once more. Their first kiss had been tender but this one was passionate, like a live wire. Adrien was drawing her towards him until they couldn’t be any closer if they tried, kissing her like she was his lifeline. And maybe she was. All he could think about was her, she was the only thing in that moment. And now he knew that he could die happy, as nothing in life could ever possibly top this moment.

“I thought you said we were going to talk,” Ladybug said, pulling away from him again, much to Adrien’s disappointment.

“I mean we could talk,” Adrien said casually. “Or you can talk, and I can…” He moved his hand, tapping it against the back of her thigh once. Ladybug got the message, jumping slightly and wrapping her legs around his waist as he pushed her back against the wall, meeting her in another kiss. But he didn’t stay there for long, his lips working their way down her jaw to her neck, peppering it with soft kisses.

“Chat…” Ladybug repeated. “I-” She cut herself off with a small squeak as Adrien’s teeth lightly grazed against her skin. He paused, head still bowed against her collarbone.

“Yes, My Lady?” His voice was low, his words meant for the two of them only.  

She seemed to be having trouble forming proper sentences. Her stuttering was music to his ears, her small sighs ringing around his brain. “I think that maybe….” But Adrien never got to find out what she thought, because in that moment, Spiderman crashed right next to them, rolling into a standing position, smelling a lot like burnt rubber and metal.

“I just committed arson!” He yelled, spinning on the duo before realizing the suggestive position they were in.

“Uhhhhh.” Adrien said, as articulate as ever as he set Ladybug on her feet, stepping away from her.

“Sorry, I picked the wrong way to update you to the weapons dealer situation,” Spidey said awkwardly, head turning between the two of them, his suit’s eyes the widest Adrien had ever seen them.

“No, it’s fine,” Ladybug waved a hand in the air although she still seemed a little unsteady. “Tell us about the arson.”

“Okay, so you know how you specifically said not to use the taser web? Well I didn’t listen to you at all, and the weapons dealers were firing at me, whatever that happens a lot, right? But one of my taser webs like, connected with the energy core in this one gun this guy was holding and then the whole place was boom! Massive explosion, fire everywhere, and I’m just like, ‘oh shit, they’re still in there’, cuz they’re baddies, but that doesn’t mean they should die for it, right? So I’m just doing my thing going like schwip!, that’s the sound my webshooters make, and then the fire trucks show up and they’re like ‘Spiderman what the fuck’ and I’m all like, ‘sorry guys! I’ll send SHIELD to pick these guys up!’ And then the fire department is like ‘yeah for sure you’re really cool but you also just burned down like this massive building’ and so I had to apologize and yeah.” Spiderman didn’t take a single breath throughout his entire explanation.

“That sounds real fun,” Adrien said, doing his best to hide his annoyance at being interrupted.

“And then I came over here, but it looks like you guys were busy, so that’s one hundred percent my bad so I’m just going to go home now,” Spidey gave them finger guns. “You know, just sleep off the adrenaline. Have fun, stay safe, if you’re going to tap it, wrap it!” And with that he was gone again, his takeoff much more successful than his landing had been.

“What just happened?” Adrien asked, slightly stunned as he turned back to Ladybug.

“Spiderman just interrupted our little ‘talk’,” Ladybug responded, her voice having regained it usual challenging edge.

“Oh, so you can speak now? You know, for a moment there, I thought a cat really had gotten your tongue.” Adrien leaned forwards, his grin so huge he thought it was going to split his face in half. “Get it? Cuz I’m like, a cat, and then we were making out, not that there was any tongue action…but I would like there to be! If that’s cool with you, sometime in the future, maybe.”

Ladybug giggled as his attempt at another suave comment took a nosedive. “It’s not funny if you have to explain it, Chat.”

“Okay, that’s fair, but I wanted to make sure you appreciated how witty it was.”

Ladybug reached up to run a hand through his hair. “Very clever, minou.”

“Soooo,” He could sense their time together was drawing to a close. It was late, much later than they usually stayed out for patrols, but he was dying to know what had inspired her change of heart. How she’d gone from ‘being in love with someone else’ to enthusiastically kissing him within the span of a week. “That was really something,” he summed up, because if there was one thing Adrien Agreste could do, it was talk like a normal person. For sure.  

“Something?” Ladybug raised an eyebrow. “Was it at least a good something?”

“A very good something.” He noticed with no small amount of pride that she was still blushing, staring up at him. “Did something happen with the other guy? Change your mind about him?”

“I realized he didn’t really know me, something that was entirely my fault,” Ladybug explained. “But you’ve always liked me, and you’ve seen me at my very best and very worst, and you’ve just always been there for me. And I finally accepted the fact that we’ve never just been partners and maybe never will. Because I…”

Here it comes!!!!!!! Adrien prepared for the greatest moment of his life as his internal monologue selected a hearty wedding tune.

“I like you Chat, more than just an friend or whatever dumb excuses I’ve used over the years. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to catch on to my own feelings but I was in denial for a really long time and I just…whatever. That’s the past now.” She reached out and took his hand. Adrien’s heart was beating so loudly he was surprised she couldn’t hear it.

“I look forward to having more of this in the future,” Adrien said softly, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She embraced him back, resting her head on his chest.

It didn’t bother him that he didn’t even know her name. Knowing her identity wasn’t important to him right now. Because right now he was Chat Noir and she was his Lady and it would always be them against the world. Ladybug had just confessed to having feelings for him and he it was like he’d died and gone to heaven. He was ready to take on anything life could throw at him.

“I do too, Chat, I really do. But right now we should go home and go to sleep,” Ladybug said softly, rubbing small circles on the backs of his hands with her thumbs.

“Sleep is literally the last thing I care about right now.”

“You have school tomorrow, chaton.”

She was right. Plus, his dad would be coming back tomorrow, so no more freedom, plus he was going to be distracted all day until he got to see Ladybug again and it was just going to be a disaster.

“Can we just run away off into the sunset and never be heard from ever again?” He was only half joking.

“And who would look after Paris?”

“Spiderman seemed pretty competent,” Adrien mumbled into her hair.

“Chat, go home,” she insisted, stepping away from him and reaching for her yoyo.

“As long as you promise to text me goodnight.”

“Of course,” she said, preparing to leave, but then seemed to second-guess herself, instead stepping back towards him and giving him a quick kiss. Then she was actually leaving, giving a small laugh at the defeated expression on Adrien’s face.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, don’t look so sad.”

“That’s so far away though! And Spiderman will probably be there too meaning we can’t…do anything,” he finished lamely.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Ladybug said cryptically, casting her yoyo out into the night and blowing him a quick kiss before swinging away.

“I am so in love with that girl,” Adrien said to the empty night air before making his way back to his house. And when he got back, there was already a text waiting on his phone.

[ Goodnight Chat <3 ]

He only got two hours of sleep, and even that couldn’t dampen his good mood. Adrien woke up elated, mood only improved once he realized that Plagg was fast asleep and incapable of making degrading comments about his newly upgraded relationship status.

“Someone’s in a good mood again today,” Peter commented at breakfast.

“Life is beautiful, what can I say?” Adrien chirped.

“Bro, we have school. As in, six hours of torture. And you’re grinning like Christmas has come early.” Peter was entirely disbelieving, looking at Adrien like he was pulling some sort of prank.

“Trust me Peter, this is better than Christmas.”

Adrien was on cloud nine all day. He vaguely heard Nino and Alya asking Peter what was wrong with him, but Peter didn’t know either and Adrien didn’t bother to come up with an excuse. Life was so much brighter now that Ladybug liked him. He was appreciating every small moment all while counting down the hours until he could see her again.

Turned out, he didn’t have to wait until patrol. As soon as the bell rang, signalling the end of the day, his phone went off with a news alert.

“Who’s Mayura?” Peter asked, reading something off his own phone. It was one of the only things he could’ve said to ruin Adrien’s good mood, his blood running cold at the very mention of the name.

“She’s in alliance with the Papillon,” he said quickly, already looking around for a place to transform. “She can create monsters, just like the Papillon creates supervillains. She’s ruthless and reclusive, so we don’t see her very often. Why?”

“Cuz it says here she’s at the Eiffel Tower with some giant butterfly thing.”

“That’s not good,” Adrien said, bolting away before Peter could say anything more. He needed to get there and fast.

“Plagg, transform me!” He called, rousing the kwami from its slumber. Plagg wasn’t thrilled but did as he was told after taking one look at Adrien’s scared expression. Mayura was relatively unknown to him, but something about her had always seemed familiar, a fact that freaked him out more than he’d ever admit to.

Chat Noir was on the scene in record time. Spidey was already there and Chat had seen Ladybug zipping along on his way over. They didn’t dare approach Mayura or her monster just yet, instead meeting at the base of the tower.

“What the fuck is that?” Spiderman said.

“An amok,” Ladybug said. “It’s the sentimonsters she creates. Obviously she’s working with the Papillon right now, since it’s a giant butterfly, she uses his emotions to create it or something like that. I don’t really know the details, I just know we’ve never been able to defeat one, not without knowing what object the amok is hidden in. For all we know, it’s not even here right now, it could be with the Papillon in his little lair.”

“That’s one ugly ass butterfly,” Spidey shivered slightly. “Never been a fan.”

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Adrien admitted, feeling entirely worthless as he said so. How had he expected to be able to defeat the Papillon when he didn’t even know how to take down his helper?

“Well I can probably wrap the sentimonster up with some webbing,” Spiderman offered. “But without the amokized object, I don’t know how much good that’s going to do us.”

Ladybug looked like she was thinking, her brow drawn as the toyed with her yoyo.

“Any ideas, My Lady?” Adrien braved. She looked at him with a distant expression, something else clearly occupying her mind.

“Just one. And it’s only for a last resort. So I say we exhaust all our other options first. Spidey, you get started with that web.”

“On it, boss!” Spiderman said, shooting a web up and swinging upwards, headed to face off against the monster. It was brave of him, much braver than Adrien felt at the moment.

“Are we gonna be good?” He asked Ladybug as he prepared to join her to face off Mayura.

“You and me against it all, remember?” She gave him a small smile as she readied her yoyo.

“I just hope we can actually win this one,” Adrien didn’t have a single witty comment or pun for this situation as he extended his baton, going up, up, up.

“I’ve got a backup plan, don’t worry,” Ladybug assured, her yoyo pulling her upwards.

Spidey was already engaged in combat with both the sentimonster and Mayura as the duo joined him.

“Karen!” Adrien heard him call. He had no idea who Karen was, but Spiderman obviously wasn’t done his statement. “Activate instant kill.”

Woah. Spiderman made Adrien stop in his tracks as his usually white eye shape turned black, red pupils appearing. Instant kill did not look like it was fucking around.

“We’re not trying to kill anybody!” Ladybug called out, throwing her yoyo at Mayura. She missed, but the miraculous user turned, realizing she wasn’t alone with Spidey on the level. Adrien wasted no more time, leaping into action, going in to strike her with the baton.

“I know we’re not trying to kill anybody, but it lets me use lethal force!” Spiderman yelled back.

Mayura had no weapon other than a hand fan, but boy was she fast and good at hand-to-hand combat. She managed to fend off both Chat and Ladybug as they attacked her simultaneously.

“I hate it here!” Came Spidey’s cry as he alternated between shooting rapid-fire web bullets at the sentimonster and wrapping it with webbing. “Not here specifically, just reality. There we go!” The monster fully cocooned, he stepped back, admiring his work. Not even two seconds later, the monster ripped free from its makeshift cage, letting out a roar that Adrien didn’t know butterflies were capable of making.

“Ladybug? This isn’t working!” Spidey called again as he continued his assault on the monster.

“I know!” Ladybug replied as Mayura kicked her in the gut, sending her flying over the edge of the railing. Every bone in Chat’s body wanted to run after her, to make sure she was okay, but he forced himself to focus on fighting Mayura. Ladybug would catch herself with her yoyo before she hit the ground, he knew that. And he wasn’t about to leave Spiderman to take on both villains.

“Why are you here? Why are you doing this?” Adrien tried his hand at Spidey’s tactic of distracting his opponent. Mayura only laughed.

“Your friend wanted a challenge. Is this enough of a challenge for you?” She kicked him in the head so hard he saw stars.

“Chat!” He heard Spiderman yell, then a web attached itself to his chest, pulling him away before Mayura could strike again. Where was Ladybug?

“Permission to use taser webs?” Spiderman asked, his face coming into focus as Adrien’s vision returned. His eyes had gone back to normal, instant kill having apparently turned off.

“Sure?” He replied weakly. His confidence was fast leaving him.

“Taser webs!” Spidey shot them at the monster but they had no effect.

Shoot at Mayura, Adrien wanted to say, but couldn’t. His mouth had gone dry. Ladybug had returned and was gripping her yoyo so hard it looked like it could break at any moment. Her face was pale, like she’d seen death.

“Lucky Charm!” She cried, throwing it up to the sky. Adrien bounded over to her to see the small box that fell from the sky. It was a box of matches, with a tiny phoenix label on the front.

“Do you know what to do with that?” He asked.

Her eyes filled with tears. Oh no, he’d done something wrong for sure this time. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she beat him to the punch, swallowing hard.

“I wish I didn’t, but it’s clear as day. I should’ve done it awhile ago, but I was scared.”

“What is it?” Adrien asked, but given her lack of information, he already knew what her answer would be.

“I can’t tell you right now, I just need you to hold them off as long as possible. I might need to take Spidey too.” Right now, Spiderman was battling both Mayura and the butterfly, letting the two superheroes formulate their plan. Adrien was frustrated. He knew there was likely a good reason she wasn’t telling him, but he felt he had a right to know.

“If we’re going to be an effective team, I need you to stop keeping secrets from me.” He grabbed Ladybug’s arm. “You can’t just expect me to hold off both of them while you go off on some secret side mission.”

“Chat,” she placed her hand atop his. “I want to tell you, and I will when we have time. And I swear I was going to tell you before, but I was so scared. I need to do this now, no matter what I want. And I really really need you to just trust me right now, because I know if I tell you what I’m doing you’ll try and stop me, but I’ve already tried that angle and it doesn’t work. This is the only way we’ll win, both now and in the end. The lucky charm doesn’t lie. But we’re a team, no matter what happens.” Tears dripped down her face as she looked at him. “It’s time for me to go. I’ll be back as soon as possible. Please try and hold them off the best you can.” Her eyes held a thousand different apologies as she cast her yoyo out, wrapping it around Spiderman’s waist before running off, pulling him with her.

And Adrien let her go, turning to face the supervillain who wanted him dead as his team abandoned him. Because he knew Ladybug was doing the right thing, no matter how much it annoyed him. And he trusted her implicitly. 

Peter didn’t know what to think when Ladybug pulled him away from the action. He’d been trying to avoid killing Mayura but she was not making it easy for him. In some ways he was glad when Ladybug came to his rescue before he got tired and taser webbed her. In other ways, he was anxious to learn why she was forcing him away from the fight. Together, they leapt off the Eiffel Tower, landing nimbly on the ground below.

“We can’t just leave Chat!” He cried, gesturing wildly back at the tower. “He can’t take on both the monster and Mayura at once!”

“Spiderman,” Ladybug said. Was she…crying? She had the same expression she’d had when she’d met his civilian self in the park, when she’d told him he was a good person. “Remember when I told you about that power I’d found, and you said ‘with great power comes great responsibility’?”

“Yeah, of course,” he replied. “The one you said could defeat the Papillon. Are we busting it out now?”

“It’s not something we can just ‘bust out’,” Ladybug said. “It’s not a what. It’s a who. And I need to find them, but I need your help.” Now seemed to be a little bit of a tight time to go on a manhunt, but Peter was convinced he could be speedy. Whoever this powerful person was, he’d find them for her so they could take down the supervillain.

“Is it Tony Stark? Because I think I might be able to get him to come in, but fair warning, this isn’t his usual jam.” His brain was whirring through all the reasons she’d pull him of all people. It would’ve made more sense to have him hold off their enemies while her and Chat Noir searched. So it must be someone only he knew.

She shook her head. “No, I need your ground control.”

What was she saying? Peter was completely lost, given the fact that his ground control didn’t even exist. He was in battle mode, his brain scattered across a million different thoughts all vying for priority. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t quite follow.”

“There’s only one person that can wield that power I was talking about. The one who could die or turn bad, the risk I didn’t want to take. But it’s time now, I know that much. And we can’t win without their help. So I need you to tell me where I can find them.”

“Find who?” Spiderman wasn’t prepared for the answer.

“Peter Parker.” Shit.