Chapter 25: Glaciator Part 1
The week following Jim's exploits with the Grit-Shaka was abnormally quiet, especially in regards to Strickler's inaction to Jim and Toby's knowledge of him being a Changeling. After Marinette had the chance to calm down from her rage at the betrayal, she was still upset about it but less so to the point that she could go on like things were normal. Fortunately for her, there weren't any akumas following that fateful call and had left both Marinette and Adrien some time to unwind a bit when they weren't training or studying. But the quiet was broken that fateful late Friday afternoon when a runaway bus full of passengers began crashing through the streets of Paris, needing help from the city's protectors.
Thanks to their powers, Ladybug and Chat Noir were able to quickly catch up to the runaway bus and land on the top of the roof, just in time to hear the driver shout about the busted brakes. Now knowing the situation, it gave the heroes all they needed to come up with a plan to save the bus full of civilians.
"Ready, Chat Noir?" Ladybug questioned her partner, followed by her running to the front of the speeding bus for her part of the plan.
"I'm always ready, my lady. Who needs brakes when they've got us?" Chat Noir quipped before throwing his staff to Ladybug, who caught it as she flipped off the bus and threw her yo-yo at it to wrap around the vehicle while falling to the ground.
Once her yo-yo was ready, Ladybug's back met the ground seconds before the bus passed right over her, prompting her to quickly wrap her yoyo around Chat Noir's staff in the process. While the bus passed from above her, Chat Noir jumped from the back of the runaway bus and into the air just as Ladybug came out from underneath it and threw his staff at him to catch. As soon as Chat Noir caught his weapon, he extended his staff while in mid-air and let it go to rest in between two lamp posts, the yo-yo string tied to it keeping the staff from falling to the ground.
Tension in the last-minute catching mechanism grew as the bus kept speeding down the street, which the heroes saw as Chat Noir landed on the ground next to his partner when it was about to hit three civilians. Luckily, the heroes' plan works as the lampposts, staff, and yoyo all manage to stop it from happening, forcing the bus to slow to a stop just inches away from the civilians. With the danger passed, Ladybug and Chat Noir sped over to the bus and released the vehicle of their weapons before escorting the passengers off the bus when its doors opened up.
"So, Ladybug, can I ask you something?" Chat Noir began as he helped an elderly woman off the bus, standing on the side closest to the front while Ladybug stood on the side across from him.
"Of course, Kitty. What's on your mind?" Ladybug asked, helping a shell-shocked teenager ease his way to solid ground.
"Well... I was wondering if you would like to meet up with me tonight for a little rooftop-style dinner." Chat Noir said, a nervous twang in his tone as he kept helping people out of the bus.
"Dinner? As superheroes?" Ladybug repeated, making sure she heard her partner right as she helped a pregnant woman down from the previously speeding vehicle.
"Yeah, that's right." Chat Noir confirmed, followed by him fist-bumping an older man as he left the bus. "Seeing as we're only together when we're saving Paris, wouldn't you actually like to get to know one another a bit more personally?" the feline hero asked while helping a child step out onto the now quiet street, unknowingly bringing up a desire Ladybug had since becoming Chat Noir's partner.
"I... That's so thoughtful of you, Chat Noir." Ladybug said with a lopsided smile, helping the last civilian out of the bus before she remembered one little detail. "But I'm afraid I can't. I already have plans with some friends." the spotted heroine explained in a slightly guilty tone, feeling bad that she couldn't join her partner just as the bus driver stepped out of the bus.
"Thank you, Ladybug. Thank you, Chat Noir." the bus driver thanked as he shook hands with Chat Noir and Ladybug, soon walking away and leaving the heroes alone.
"Well, if your plans end early, come over and join me." Chat Noir offered, stepping up to stand next to his partner with an air of confidence surrounding him.
"We'll see, Kitty. But I can't make any promises." Ladybug warned, knowing that her friends might not be keen on letting her leave early... since Adrien could very well be coming too!!
"In any case, I'll be waiting, my lady." Chat Noir said as he watched Ladybug stepping away and taking out her yo-yo, throwing it at the rooftops above them and leaving. But despite the abrupt departure, Chat Noir smiled at his partner's retreating form for a moment and left too, eager to get his plan underway as soon as possible.
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Following Ladybug and Chat Noir's rescue of the runaway bus, the two heroes raced back home to get any lingering things taken care of before dinnertime. It didn't take long for either teen to finish their tasks, and they were soon enjoying dinner at their respective homes. And over at Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, Sabine, Tom, and Marinette had just finished dinner and started cleaning up their dishes.
"It was delicious, sweetheart!" Sabine praised her husband, sitting in her chair while Marinette and Tom finished putting away the dishes.
"Thank you, honey." Tom happily replied as he went to the fridge, leaving Marinette to sit back down after putting her potion of the dishes away. "And as a dessert..." the baker began as he walked back to the table, leaving Marinette confused by his words before he came closer with his surprise.
"Ta-da!" Tom sang, placing a fancy-looking cake in the middle of the table.
"Wow!" Marinette breathed in amazement when seeing her favorite cake, smiling at the gesture before remembering that she needed to leave soon. "But, no thanks, Dad. I can't have any tonight." the designer said, hoping to ease the decline of her favorite dessert that her dad worked so hard on.
"But isn't this your favorite?" Tom asked his daughter, worried that he made a mistake with the surprise he made.
"And it still is, Dad! But..." Marinette reassured as she moved to her parent's side of the table, kissing Tom and Sabine's cheeks as she went to stand in the middle of them. "I told you I was going out with friends, remember? We're gonna get ice cream at André's." the pigtailed girl reminded her parents, her hands on their shoulders as she spoke.
"Oh, Sweetheart's Ice Cream!" Sabine and Tom cooed, fondly smiling as they leaned towards their daughter and trapped her between them.
"That was where your father asked me—" "To marry him." Marinette interrupted her mother in a fond tone, knowing this story by heart by now due to how many times she'd heard it.
"He hid the ring in a scoop of vanilla ice cream." Sabine continued, both she and Tom wrapping their arms around their little family.
"And you almost swallowed it too. I know, Mom. You and Dad told me and Jim this story a least a thousand times." Marinette said with a chuckle, gently pushing her parents off of her in the process. "But if I don't go now, I'm going to be late." the red-tipped-haired girl chided her parents as she walked to the living room coffee table, grabbing her purse and making sure she had everything she needed.
"You know, they say that couples who eat ice cream at André's will stay in love forever." Sabine tenderly mentioned, both she and Tom lovingly cuddling each other while watching as Marinette walked to the door.
"By the way, Marinette, who are you getting ice cream with?" Tom asked, causing Marinette to suddenly stop walking out of shock when hearing her dad's question.
"Oops, gotta go! Don't wanna be late, see you later, guys!" Marinette rapidly farewelled her parents, running to the door and leaving before she let it slip on who she was... hopefully, going to eat ice cream with. But seeing as her parents knew her so well, Tom and Sabine couldn't help the affectionate 'oh' that slipped past their lips, hoping that Marinette would indeed enjoy sharing ice cream with Adrien.
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Speaking of the boy in question, Adrien was currently in the Agreste mansion dining room, sitting all alone and not even eating his meal. Truth be told, he was glad to be left waiting at the dinner table for his father tonight, knowing that if Gabriel was there, he'd be late for his possible date with Ladybug. Plus, he had already spent a few meals with him during the week, so it cushioned the normally crushing feeling he would have felt before the Simon Says attack.
But then again, his father had been acting a little weird around him lately, being more standoffish and distant to him when they did spend time together. So was Nathalie in regards to both their self-defense sessions; where she had been going a little harder on him for some reason, and the day-to-day stuff. It was weird to Adrien, to say the least. However, he had more important things to worry about that night, so he filed it away for later.
After Adrien was done eating, he sighed to himself in regret before he took out his phone to text Nino, letting him know he wasn't coming to their excursion. While he would normally love spending time with his friends, Adrien was more interested in pursuing his lady love and couldn't risk himself messing up any little detail that could ruin it. Fortunately for Adrien, he didn't have to wait much longer for an excuse to leave when Nathalie came into the dining room just as he was checking the time on his phone.
"There's no point in waiting for your father, Adrien. He'll be eating in his office tonight." Nathalie said as she stood by the door she entered, reporting what Adrien was hoping would happen.
"It's okay Nathalie. I was kind of expecting it, to be honest." Adrien replied as he stood up from his chair, hiding his excitement as best as he could. "Can't have dinner with him every night when he's in charge of a fashion empire, right?" the model added as he walked away to go to his room, passing by Nathalie in the process.
"Don't forget to practice your piano before you go to bed." Nathalie reminded her charge, ignoring her air of professionalism to turn and watch as Adrien walked up the stairs to the second floor.
"I know. I'll get right on it. Goodnight, Nathalie." Adrien responded, pausing halfway up the stairs to softly smile at Nathlie as he looked down at her.
"Goodnight, Adrien." Nathalie parroted, returning the smile Adrien gave her before the boy turned to finish going upstairs.
In no time at all, Adrien was back in his room and closed the door behind him, letting Plagg fly out of his overshirt and float next to his holder.
"You could've at least grabbed the piece of Camembert on that platter!" Plagg whined, prompting Adrien to toss a piece of Camembert to Plagg.
"Fuel up, Plagg." Adrien told his kwami, who caught the piece of cheese while his holder went to turn on some piano music from his phone. "Adrien may not be going out of the house tonight, but Chat Noir is!" the green-eyed boy cheekily declared as he placed the phone in a speaker on top of the real piano, the music playing loudly through the room seconds later.
"You seem in a hurry to get stood up." Plagg noted after he finished his camembert, flying to his owner's side.
"She didn't say she wasn't coming." Adrien argued before getting ready to head out and prepare for his 'date' with Ladybug, having everything he needed packed up and ready to go inside a picnic basket.
"But she didn't say she was either!" Plagg countered, watching as Adrien walked over to the wall of windows and opened one of them up. And after donning his usual disguise rune glamor over himself, Adrien was ready for the last step.
"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien exclaimed into the nearly empty room, his eagerness plain as day as he punched his ring hand into the air.
"Don't even give me a minute to digest my fooooood!" Plagg whined as he was sucked into Adrien's ring, triggering the boy's transformation into Chat Noir.
Now in his hero alter ego, Chat Noir grabbed the picnic basket of supplies and hopped up to his window sill, quickly leaping from his house and landing on a roof across from his room. From there, he jumped from rooftop to rooftop and headed to the spot he already scouted out the previous day to set up for his dinner with Ladybug. Thankfully for Chat Noir, his powers allowed him to arrive very quickly at the spot he found, which happened to be a rooftop balcony near his school. Upon arrival, the feline hero got to work setting up.
First, he set up the collection of candle holders he stashed on the balcony earlier and put some of the candles he brought with him inside before lighting them. Next, he set up the area where he and Ladybug would be sharing the meal he had his chef prepare earlier, laying down a blanket and a large amount of throw pillows on either side of it. Then, he covered most of the balcony floor with rose petals, leaving a path straight down the middle to prevent the petals from being crushed by either hero. Finally, he finished decorating the space by lining the balcony railing with candles, tucking red roses under each of them and scattering more of each all over the balcony. With the balcony set, Chat Noir then placed the last candle on the railing and stepped back to look around to give it one last check, liking what he was seeing.
"Perfect!" Chat Noir decreed, proud of the work he put in before sitting down and waiting for his partner to come.
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While Chat Noir was waiting for his Lady to arrive for the dinner he had planned, across town Marinette finally made it to Trocadéro in time to meet up with her friends.
"Hey, Alya!" Marinette greeted her BFF, sprinting up to the group consisting of her, Nino, Ivan and Mylène.
"Hey, Marinette!" Alya replied warmly as she broke away from the group, meeting Marinette halfway before they kissed each other's cheeks in greeting. But as soon as they finished their greeting, Marinette quickly looked around and behind Alya in the hopes of Adrien being there.
"Where's Adrien?" Marinette asked Alya, her hopes growing smaller the longer she couldn't find Adrien before her friend's face fell at the question.
"Don't get upset, okay?" Alya warned, a sad look appearing on her face as she placed her hands comfortingly onto Marinette's shoulders. "Nino just got a text. Adrien's dad isn't letting him go out." the reporter sadly announced, confirming that Adrien was not there nor would he ever be.
"Once again..." Marinette sighed, dismayed by the news while the rest of the group came over to the two girls.
"Yo, Marinette!" "What's up, M?" "How are you, Marinette?" greeted Nino, Ivan and Mylène as they approached their saddened friend, their presence bringing a smile to Marinette's face at their cheerful welcome.
"I'm fine. Thanks." Marinette assured her friends, hoping to not be a downer despite Adrien not being there. "So, do you know where André is today?" the red-tipped-haired girl asked the group, eager to change the subject as soon as possible.
"The deal with André and his ice cream cart is that you never know where he's going to be. You gotta follow his clues to find out where he's going to set up." Nino explained as he pulled out his phone, checking it to see if anyone had already found him.
"The first time Mylène and I wanted André's ice cream, it took us three hours to find his cart!" Ivan reminisced with a chuckle, his arm wrapped around Mylène's shoulder as he turned to look at her with a smile. "Do you remember?" the gentle giant asked Mylène, who chuckled in response at the fond memory before cuddling into her boyfriend's side.
"Hey! Someone posted a photo! He's on his way to the Pont des Arts." Nino announced, showing the photo to the group once he had found it.
"Let's go!" Mylène exclaimed, prompting her, Ivan, and Nino to run towards the bridge.
"Come on, Marinette!" Alya said before grabbing Marinette's arm, now pulling her along as she started following the rest of the group.
"Yeah! Awesome!" Marinette cheered with a nervous chuckle, letting Alya lead her as they and their friends all left for the Pont des Arts bridge. Fortunately for the group, the bridge wasn't very far from the Trocadéro and they made it just as André was opening his ice cream stand, singing as he did before giving out his ice cream. It was when he was serving a new couple that Nino saw André.
"Hey, he's here!" Nino exclaimed to the group before running up to the stand, prompting Ivan and Mylène to do the same.
"Let's go!" Alya said to Marinette, once again dragging her over to their friends while André finished an ice cream for the couple he was serving.
"Pistachio, vanilla, and strawberry! For the lovebirds from Italy." André rhymed as he handed the cone to the couple.
"Merci, André!" the Italian couple thanked the vendor, smiling at him.
"You're welcome, my friends. Enjoy André's ice cream. May love never end!" André proclaimed, followed by the happy couple leaving before Mylène and Ivan stepped up to him.
"Bonjour, André." Mylène greeted the ice cream man, bringing a smile to his face at the sight of them.
"Striking young Ivan and dear sweet Mylène! If you aren't still the cutest lovebirds I've seen!" André cooed as he embraced them in a hug, soon turning around to scoop up ice cream for the couple. "Chocolate, praline, and white nougat for you! A special concoction to keep your love true!" the ice cream man declared as he handed the ice cream to them, a smiling Ivan and Mylène walking to stand off to the side while Alya and Nino were next in line.
"Ah, these two I've never seen. Is this your first time here with me?" André asked the newly debuted couple, observing how Nino had his arm slung over Alya's shoulder with a cheeky smile.
"Yeah, it is!" Nino and Alya replied with a laugh, happy to share this experience.
"Coconut, banana, and a touch of passion fruit!" André announced as he turned to his cart, preparing the ice cream for Alya and Nino.
But unknown to the couples or the vendor, Marinette was sitting on a bench behind them and watching her friends with a sad smile. Don't get her wrong, she was happy for her friends. However, that didn't mean she wasn't upset to not have someone special to share ice cream with, which Tikki could sense from within her holder's purse and feel compelled to try and cheer her up.
"Why don't you go and get one, too, Marinette?" Tikki suggested to Marinette, poking her head out from her hiding place just slightly to avoid being spotted.
"What's the point? Adrien won't be coming." Marinette reminded Tikki, her heartbroken state bleeding into her tone as she looked at her feet.
"He might not be here, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying a yummy ice cream and a fun night with your friends. And you could give me a taste, too!" Tikki cheerfully countered, her words working to bring a smile to Marinette's lips as she looked back at her kwami.
"And how about this young miss? The pretty one who sighs. I have a flavor just for her! It's sure to make her smile!" a voice in front of Marinette declared, causing her to look up in surprise and find a joyful André walking towards her.
"Uh... Me?" Marinette stammered, looking around to make sure André was referring to her before he placed a soft hand on her upper back.
"What's your name, dear?" André asked as he led Marinette to the front of his stand.
"Marinette." Marinette replied, followed by André stepping to his stand and scooping up ice cream for her.
"Peach pink like his lips and mint like his eyes. Eat this, my dear, and your love will materialize!" André proclaimed as he handed the ice cream to Marinette, who only stared at the ice cream.
"Uh...um." Marinette babbled amid her shock, soon snapping out of it after staring at her frozen treat for a few seconds. "No! I- There's been a mistake! I'm not in love with anyone. And I think I just lost my appetite." the designer dismissed, trying to hand the ice cream back to André.
"Why of course you are, my little one. When there's love burning in one's heart, André knows it from the start." André reiterated, pushing the ice cream back to Marinette. "Enjoy your ice cream, Marinette. I know he'll be here." the vendor assured Marinette, prompting her to stare at her ice cream again with a sad look on her face.
"Green eyes like mint... Who could that possibly be?" Ivan wondered aloud, bringing everyone's attention to him and prompting Alya and Mylène to share a knowing look before Marinette turned to face André again to deny his claims.
"Thank you, but you've got it all wrong. I don't have a-" a whistle interrupted the girl, causing Marinette and her friends to turn in the direction of the sound and see someone walking towards them, wearing the same clothing as... "Adrien?" the Marinette breathed in a hopeful yet broken voice.
But just as she got her hopes up... it turned out to be someone else, earning a sad sigh from Marinette just seconds before the newcomer's friend accidentally bumped into Marinette. While Marinette was able to catch herself, she couldn't stop herself from dropping her ice cream, making André let out a startled gasp.
"André's ice cream has always melted hearts. But the magic will only work if you eat it!" André nearly wailed, his hands flying to the lower half of his face during his shock. "I'll make you another one." the ice cream man hurriedly assured Marinette, turning to his cart to scoop another cone.
"Thanks, but it's not necessary." a now depressed Marinette replied, her mood further dragged down while André showed Marinette the newly finished cone.
"Yes, it is, my dear. See here?" André said before pointing to the top of his cart, showing a collection of pictures tapped on it. "My ice cream has brought everyone together. Every famous loving couple in Paris! Emilie and Gabriel, John and Serge, Sabine and Tom!" the vendor prattled on, remembering all the times his ice cream had worked before turning to face the saddened Marinette again.
"Your loved one is out there! Somewhere! All you need is to believe in the magic of André's ice cream!" André insisted as he held out the new cone to Marinette, who was still looking at the end of the bridge with sorrow.
"You're very nice, André. But I don't have a loved one." Marinette sighed, once more denying André's ice cream.
"Who has green eyes? Do you think we know him?" Ivan said as he looked at Mylène, continuing to ponder the question while his girlfriend looked off to the side with a sympathetic shine in her eyes.
"Lay off, Ivan. There's no one, okay?" Marinette reiterated with a glance at the gentle giant, followed by turning her attention to André once more. "And I don't think there's something magical about your ice cream. It's just... ice cream." the red-tipped-haired girl told André, who looked down at the ice cream cone confused and saddened before everyone watched as Marinette sadly and dejectedly walked away.
Immediately after Marinette left, her friends went after her after Alya pulled Nino away from trying to get the cone Marinette rejected and Ivan quickly finished his ice cream. Unfortunately, it left André all alone to process the reality of his magic ice cream having failed for the first time... ever.
"But André's ice cream always melts people's hearts." André whimpered as he kneeled on the floor sadly, his ice cream scooper and Marinette's ice cream in hand. "At least, it used to." the ice cream man cried, the ice cream cone falling to the ground with a splatter... much like his weeping heart.
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Unknown to André, resident supervillain in civilian form, Gabriel Agreste, could sense his sadness and was all too eager to jump at the chance for a new akuma. In no time, Gabriel entered his lair and transformed into his Hawkmoth persona, followed by the window opening to reveal the city of Paris and bathing him in the fading light of the setting sun.
"A thwarted artist, his shattered dreams and the collapse of his whole little world? Quite chilling." Hawkmoth sinisterly purred to himself before holding out his hand for a butterfly to land on it, turning it into an akuma and letting it flutter free. "Fly away, my little akuma, and freeze the heart of this ice cream maker!" the psychotic manipulator ordered the corrupted bug, watching as it flew out of his lair and towards its target.
Like many times before, the akuma reached the Pont des Arts bridge in very little time, despite the sun having already set minutes ago. But once the akuma was there, it zeroed in on André while he continued to wallow in despair, eager to turn him to its master's side of the ensuing fight.
"I don't understand. It has never failed. Ever." André moaned to himself in sorrow, so caught up in his sadness that he missed the akuma as it entered his ice-cream scooper, the butterfly outline appearing before his face when the psychic link was created.
"Glaciator, I am Hawkmoth." Hawkmoth greeted his newest victim. "Do they refuse to let you melt their hearts? Well then, seeing as revenge is a dish best served cold, I'm giving you the power to melt their entire bodies instead!" the supervillain offered from the safety of his lair, once again aiming to let his minions do all the work.
"I only ask for a little favor in return... Get me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous." Hawkmoth demanded, immediately hooking André with the deal.
"Ladybug and Chat Noir flavored ice cream? It's a deal, Hawkmoth. I'll even give you a double scoop!" André declared, accepting the deal and the power offered to him. Seconds after the butterfly outline disappeared from André's face, the dark aura enveloped his entire body and was followed by the ice cream from his cart flying out of its container to cover his body, turning him into . As more ice cream coats him, nearby civilians start to scream when he grows to a large height, his transformation complete before turning to face the frightened passerby he towered over.
"Hello! How about some ice cream? Will that do? Enjoy it, it's just for you!" Glaciator declared before firing ice cream from his hands at the civilians, forcing them to run and duck for cover.
However, not all of them were lucky to avoid getting hit. Anyone hit by the frozen concoction was frozen in place and turned into an ice cream statue. Laughing at the chaos he was causing, Glaciator then made his way from the Pont des Arts and aimed to expand his attack to the city. But as he reached the end of the bridge, he noticed a couple hiding next to him. And just as they turned away from the akumatized villain in fear of getting turned into ice cream statues, Glaciator refused to freeze them.
Unbeknownst to Hawkmoth, when he akumatized André into Glaciator, he failed to pick up on his victim's existing latent empathetic ability. Before being akumatized, André could sense the emotional connections between any two people presented to him. The only downside was that while he could sense strong emotional links between a pair of people, he couldn't determine the context of those emotions. In any case, he spared the two civilians hiding from him and turned to stomp away into the city.
"MARINETTE!!" Glaciator called out menacingly as he lumbered through the streets of Paris, hoping to find the person responsible for his current state.
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While Glaciator was looking for Marinette, the girl in question had arrived back at her house and was now holed up in her room, lying down on her bed completely agonized and distraught.
"What a disaster! I ruined the whole night for all of my friends and I was mean to André!" Marinette wailed as she grabbed one of her pillows, hiding her face behind it while feeling guilty about how she acted earlier. "I'm so lame." the designer sadly mumbled, letting the pillow fall to rest on her chest as she hugged it to comfort herself.
"You're not lame." Tikki protested as she flew to float next to her holder, hoping to cheer her up. "You just overreacted a little. Just let it go. Tomorrow will be a new day!" the red kwami stated encouragingly. But the only response Tikki got was Marinette turning to face the wall where her bulletin board was, her sadness still present.
"Even then Tikki, it still doesn't change the fact that I might never get to eat ice cream with Adrien." Marinette gloomily argued as she scooted closer to the wall, gently placing her hand on a photo of Adrien on her bulletin board.
Even with the image of her crush, Marinette still didn't feel better and sighed as she let go of the pillow, standing up on her bed to go outside on her balcony. Once she was leaning against the railing and looking up at the stars semi-visible in the night sky above her, Tikki flew out to look at her holder with a worried frown. But when seeing that Marinette wanted to be alone, Tikki let herself fall back through the roof hatch, returning inside and giving Marinette her privacy. Just as she did, however, Marinette's phone suddenly rang from within her pocket. With practiced ease, she got it out of her pocket and opened it to see Jim calling her and quickly accepted the call without wasting any more time.
"Hey boys, you're calling me early tonight." the pigtailed girl remarked, a rueful smile appearing on her face when she saw her brothers on her phone screen.
"Heya, sis! Sorry about bothering you so early. Toby and I need a second opinion on something." Jim greeted his little sister with a lopsided grin, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck while doing so.
"More like we need you to tell us which one of us is right about how to deal with Strickler." Toby butted in, leaning into Jim's side to appear on the screen as well. "I say we take care of him right now, but Jim is saying that we need to wait and come up with a plan first." the rounded boy reported, giving Jim a side eye as he critiqued his friend's idea.
"We have to make sure that he's the one NotEnrique was referring to and see what he knows about the Bridge. If we kill him now, it would definitely not be helpful for us to interrogate a dead man!" Jim exclaimed, trying to get Toby to understand his reasons for not taking their traitorous teacher out.
"Either way, what's say you, MariFairy?" Toby asked, turning both his and Jim's attention back to their hopefully third opinion on the matter.
"Hate to break it to you, Tobes but as much as I want Strickler dead, Jim is right. You don't want to draw attention to you guys with Strickler's sudden disappearance, right?" Marinette reminded her honorary brother, glad to have some form of a distraction from her current heartbreak.
"Exactly!" Jim exclaimed while pumping his free fist into the air, earning a pout from Toby before he noticed Marinette's less-than-interested behavior. "But on an unrelated note, are you okay? Your usual cheerfulness is... lacking right now." the Trollhunter noted much to Marinette's displeasure, prompting Toby to look at her in concern as well.
"He's right. You look like someone just kicked a puppy in front of you." Toby pointed out, quickly seeing Jim was right in his observation of Marinette's behavior.
"I'm surprised it took you guys this long to notice." Marinette sarcastically remarked, not including her hope that they did not notice her heartbroken state.
"We saw it as soon as you accepted the call but didn't want to say anything unless you did." Jim admitted, causing Marinette to look at the ground below her balcony with a sigh. Her brothers knew her too well. "But now that it's out there, is everything okay?" the blue-eyed boy questioned, a worried look appearing on his face alongside his furrowed brow.
"Not really." Marinette mumbled as she let herself kneel on the balcony floor, resting her arms and chin on the railing while keeping her phone facing her.
"What happened?" Toby asked, now worried about the answer Marinette was about to give them.
"You guys remembered when I told you I was going to hang out with my friends at André's?" Marinette said, her arm coming to rest under her chin to cushion it from the railing.
"The Sweethearts Ice Cream cart guy that Dad proposed to Aunt Sabine at? Yeah, we remember." Jim replied.
"Wait, didn't you say that Adrien would be coming too?" Toby inquired, now recalling exactly why Marinette was so excited about going.
"Yeah... I did." Marinette confirmed, earning a slightly exasperated eye roll from Jim at the reminder of her crush on Adrien.
"How did it go then? Did you get a chance to share an ice cream with him?" Toby continued to ask, hoping that it did go well for Marinette's sake. But judging from her current mood, he could safely assume that wasn't the case.
"Please say you didn't." Jim nearly begged, not catching on like Toby had done.
"Well, you'd probably be happy to know that he didn't even show up, Jim." Marinette said, her frown deepening as she looked at the ground below her balcony.
"Oh. Oh..." Jim trailed off, realizing that his being right wasn't the best thing for Marinette's current state of mind. "And I'm guessing his dad stopped him from coming?" the Trollhunter guessed, even though it was obvious that it was what happened.
"You really hit the nail on the head, Jimbro." Marinette said, once again confirming her brothers's conclusions.
"Aw, geez. I'm sorry, sis. Even though I was hoping Adrien wouldn't show up, you didn't deserve to be stood up." Jim apologized, now feeling bad for hoping that Marinette was once again unsuccessful in confessing to her crush. "But to be fair, you guys aren't dating yet. So..." the blue-eyed boy pointed out, trying to cheer his sister up in any amount he could.
"Thanks for the reminder, bro." Marinette mumbled in disappointment, Jim's efforts doing little to help her feel better about her disaster of an evening hanging out with her friends.
"Look, maybe this is a sign that you need to move on from Adrien." Jim suggested, which only earned a groan from both Toby and Marinette.
"Dude, come on! Is this a ploy to win our bet?" Toby interrogated, both he and Marinette tired of hearing Jim go on about her moving on, despite it being a while since the subject came up.
"I'm serious! I could care less about our bet if it means that Marinette sets her eyes on someone more worth her time." Jim explained, voicing his true intentions for the repeated suggestion. "And at this point, I don't care if it is Chat Noir." the Trollhunter added, throwing his free arm into the air in front of him for emphasis.
"Jim, how many times do we have to go over this? The heart wants what the heart wants. I can't just fall out of love with Adrien with a snap of my fingers." Marinette ranted as she looked back at her phone, her free hand coming out from under her chin to do said finger snap.
"Regardless, you deserve better than a boy who bails on his friends just because his father tells him he can't go out. Jim argued, his desire to see Marinette happy bubbling to the surface. "If he's too spineless to defy his father to hang out with his friends, what makes you think he'll do that for his girlfriend?" the blue-eyed boy went on, blatantly pointing out Adrien's flaws to get his sister to 'see the light' and remove the rose-tinted glasses she always wore around him.
"You never know, dude. Maybe he'll hit his rebellious phase if he starts dating Marinette." Toby countered, going a little easier than Jim since Adrien was younger than them and was still holding out hope for the boy.
"He's fourteen! If he hasn't hit his rebellious phase already, then it won't ever happen!" Jim exclaimed, baffled that both Toby and Marinette weren't listening to him.
"He rebelled against his father to come to school. That's got to count for something!" Marinette protested, defending Adrien as her friend rather than her crush at the moment.
"Rebelling just to go to a place full of even more rules and people who can be very judgmental? Yeah, that definitely counts." Jim sarcastically amended, rolling his eyes at how ridiculous Adrien's first bout of rebellion was.
"Okay, you have a point there." Toby relented, knowing that Jim had a solid point regarding that.
"Thank you!" Jim cheered, glad that he managed to get some sense through to at least one of the two of them before turning his attention back to Marinette. "But in all seriousness, Mari, you shouldn't get so bent out of shape over a guy who didn't show up to a friend's hang out." the Trollhunter advised.
"And not to mention he hasn't noticed your feelings for him, seeing as EVERYONE knows you're in love with him! Seriously, how can one guy be so oblivious!" Jim ranted, earning a wince from Marinette at how right he was. "I know I said I would stop going on about your love life. But I can't in good conscience do that when I see you are suffering because of the guy you're crushing on." the blue-eyed boy said, having seen enough up to this point to say for certainty that Adrien would never be good enough for his sister.
"I get it and appreciate that you're looking out for me, bro. But unfortunately for me, it's not going to be that easy to get over him." Marinette sighed, knowing that Jim was just trying to look out for her in any way he could even when she didn't agree with his methods. "Even if I wanted to." the red-tipped-haired girl admitted in a quiet voice, frowning as she looked away from her phone and stared up at the night sky above her.
"Look, I know a thing or two about having no progress with your crush. But I don't think I'm the right person to help with being stood up by someone you aren't even dating yet, otherwise, I would know how to help." Jim reflected, causing Marinette to look back at her phone to see his sympathetic stare in her direction. "I wish I was though, because I highly doubt anyone with a similar situation is just going to appear out of the blue right this second." the Trollhunter added, unaware of a shadowy presence arriving behind his sister's balcony.
"Um... hello, Princess." A shy voice behind Marinette spoke up, causing the girl to gasp and turn to find who had interrupted her and her brothers's call. But when she did, Marinette was surprised to see...
"Chat Noir?!" Marinette gasped, both hers and the boys on call with her eyes wide at the superhero's presence while he was perched on one of the chimney stacks.
"What the...?" Toby breathed in shock, only to turn his attention to Jim. "Dude, are you psychic?!" the geology nerd quietly probed his friend, thinking he knew this would happen.
"No, of course not, Toby! How could I have predicted this!?" Jim replied in the same volume, followed by readverting his gaze back to the black cat as he hopped down to land on the balcony railing. 'Ohoh! If there is a God up there, I thank you for this wonderful service!' the blue-eyed boy praised internally, happy that his prayers were seemingly about to be answered.
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(2 minutes earlier)
"She loves me. She loves me not." Chat Noir muttered to himself, blowing out one candle after the other as he recited the age-old schoolyard ritual. He would have done it with the roses, but seeing as they were in his Lady's color, he could bring himself to do so. "She loves me. She loves me..." the feline-themed hero continued, only to trail off as he was about to blow the last candle.
After waiting a while for Ladybug to come, Chat Noir finally figured out that she wouldn't be coming after all and was left heartbroken. But when seeing his little comfort was nearly at an end, Chat Noir gently picked up the remaining candle, holding the still ablaze candle in his hands. To him, it felt like a lifeline to his hope for Ladybug to show up in the next few seconds, making him hesitate to snuff it out. Even if he only held it for a few seconds, it felt like an eternity to Chat Noir before he finally put the candle back onto the railing with a sigh. Now standing on the balcony with the still-lit candle in front of him, a saddened Chat Noir could only look at his feet in despair.
But just as he mustered the smallest amount of resolve to continue packing up, the hero in black's cat ears suddenly picked up someone talking nearby. At the sound of the voices, Chat Noir looked up and noticed Marinette on her balcony not too far away from him. Upon seeing his dear friend, the feline was filled with an unexplainable urge to go over and talk to Marinette, hoping that she could cheer him up. That being said, Chat Noir made his way over to Marinette's balcony, quietly landing to perch himself onto one of the chimney stacks. And regardless of seeing Marinette was on a call with someone, it didn't stop Chat Noir from opening his mouth to alert her of his presence.
"Um... hello, Princess." Chat Noir timidly greeted the unaware Marinette, who quickly gasped and turned to find him behind her.
"Chat Noir?" Marinette gasped, her eyes wide while the feline could hear somewhat whispers coming from her phone from the caller on the other end.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." Chat Noir apologized as he hopped down from the chimney, now shyly perching himself on the balcony railing like his namesake.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have superhero things to do?" Marinette asked, concerned why her superhero partner was there with her... and looking like he just witnessed a kitten getting killed in front of him.
"No, I don't feel like being a superhero tonight." Chat Noir admitted, looking at his hands while they gripped the balcony railing with an iron-like hold. "And I also don't feel like being alone tonight. Would you mind if I hung out here for a little while?" the feline requested with a hopeful smile, to which Marinette smiled at him in return before giving him a confirming nod.
"Thanks, Princess. You're the best." Chat Noir praised his sort of host as he moved to sit on the railing next to her, his mood lifting a bit thanks to Marinette's hospitality.
"You do know my name is Marinette right?" Marinette questioned her unexpected guest, genuinely curious if he remembered her real name with how often he called her 'Princess'.
"I know. Seeing as we've worked with each other before, how could I ever forget?" Chat Noir assured her, leaving Marinette stunted at his answer.
"Oh, that's nice to know." Marinette replied, sending a small grin Chat Noir's way for how thoughtful he was. Granted, she had seen it plenty as Ladybug... but rarely as Marinette. The only time she could remember was when he rescued her from her akumatized grandmother on her birthday.
"Ooookay, this is our cue to leave. We'll call you later, sis." Jim spoke up, both he and Toby having seen and heard enough after Marinette unconsciously turned her phone at Chat Noir to know that what was about to happen needed to be between just them.
"Love ya. Hope you have a good talk. And goodbye!" Toby quickly added on with a hasty nod, agreeing with Jim's conclusion.
"Boys, wait!" Marinette protested as she turned her phone screen to her, only for it to suddenly go black after her blood brother hung up on her. "And they hung up." the designer sighed in annoyance, letting her arms flop to her sides while Chat Noir chuckled at her reaction.
"Friends of yours?" Chat Noir asked, an amused smile appearing across his lips since he now had an idea of who Marinette was talking to before he arrived.
"My brothers, Jim and Toby. A pair of thorns in my side if you ask me, but they're really nice when you get to know them." Marinette tiredly explained while pulling up a photo of them to show Chat Noir, who grinned at the less-than-serious image of the two boys as they were caught tumbling face-first to the ground after tripping on something.
"At least you've got siblings. I'm an only child so I wouldn't know that feeling." Chat Noir ruefully remarked, followed by him turning to look at the street below him and sulk even more.
"Something tells me that you've got something on your mind other than being an only child." Marinette cautiously observed, putting her phone back into her pocket after turning it off. "Care to share? I can lend an ear to listen." the pigtailed girl offered, coming to lean her back on the balcony rail next to the feline hero while still looking straight at him.
"Thanks, Princess. I appreciate it but I don't want to bother you with my problems." Chat Noir answered, his eyes flickering towards Marinette for a second before looking back at the ground below.
"It's no bother at all. Plus, I've found that talking about your problems with someone else helps you solve them." Marinette reassured her guest, earning a small yet grateful smile from Chat Noir.
"Fair point." Chat Noir mumbled with an amused huff, still looking at the ground.
"I'm glad you agree." Marinette replied, happy that he was now willing to listen to her. "So, what's bothering you so much that you look like such a lost kitten?" the red-tipped-haired girl inquired, causing Chat Noir to sigh and finally look away from the street below them and back at her.
"Have you..." Chat Noir began, only to find the words stuck in his throat. Fortunately, a quick clearing of his throat helped get them loose. "Have you ever had trouble with love before?" the hero in black asked Marinette, who looked at him with shock before it rapidly turned into amusement.
"Are you kidding me? Need I remind you that the first time we met was when a supervillain fell in love with me?" Marinette exclaimed as she threw her arms out in front of her, sending Chat Noir an incredulous look at his forgetfulness. "Talk about bad luck in the love department, am I right?" the designer rhetorically added, her arms dropping to her sides as she hunched in on herself a little.
"I know what you mean. I seem to be having some bad luck in the love department myself tonight." Chat Noir finally admitted, readverting his gaze to look up at the night sky above them while leaving Marinette surprised by his claim.
"Really? What kind?" Marinette asked, hoping to get to the bottom of her secret partner's heartbreak now that he was opening up to her.
"Well, tonight I had this special surprise all planned for Ladybug." Chat Noir explained, still looking at the sky dejectedly as he spoke.
"Oh. I see." Marinette replied tensely, now remembering that he had invited her alter ego to dinner if the plans with her friends ended early. However, despite the guilt bubbling within her, Marinette pushed it down and focused on trying to cheer Chat Noir up. "But I don't understand how that has anything to do with love prob..." the pigtailed girl started, only to trail off when she at last processed all the clues given to her.
Chat Noir's earlier nervousness when asking her to hang out that night. His mention of a surprise for Ladybug at a dinner he most likely spent hours planning for them. And now his current state of melancholy... It all could only mean one thing.
"Wait a minute..." Marinette began, her eyes wide with shock as she turned her body so that she wasn't leaning her back against it anymore. "Are you... in love with Ladybug?! For real?" the red-tipped-haired girl questioned the feline hero, finally voicing her theory even though she already knew the answer.
"Yep." Chat Noir simply replied, confirming a now guiltier Marinette's worst fears before she silently leaned on the balcony railing next to Chat Noir. Seconds later, the equally heartbroken teens look away from the view and at each other, sending the other a sympathetic smile before turning to the view once again.
"So what was this special surprise?" Marinette ashamedly asked as she rested her arms on the railing, causing Chat Noir to let out a forlorn sigh.
"It doesn't matter. She never showed up." Chat Noir said, dismissing the question to keep himself from feeling any worse than he already did.
"Sounds like you and I both need a bit of cheering up tonight." Marinette remarked joylessly, looking out at the city full of so many warring emotions within her. But upon hearing her words, Chat Noir finally looked at his host in surprise.
"Wait... you've gotten your heart broken too?" Chat Noir asked, staring at Marinette for confirmation.
"Yup." Marinette quietly replied with a frown, not looking away from the night sky as she spoke.
"Who is it?" Chat Noir probed, now concerned as to who would hurt one of his most treasured friends.
"I'd rather not say." Marinette said, hoping to keep the seemingly only person other than Adrien who didn't already know from finding out her crush's name. "But I've been trying to tell him how I feel about him ever since Valentine's Day. Any plan I've tried has failed spectacularly." the designer admitted with a sigh, propping her arm on the railing by the elbow and resting her chin in her hand.
"Wait, how long have you been crushing on this guy?" Chat Noir questioned her, curious about what else he and Marinette seemed to have in common.
"Since the start of the school year." Marinette answered, leaving the hero shocked once more as he turned to fully face her.
"You've been crushing on him for months and he still doesn't know how you feel about him after all you've done to tell him?" Chat Noir exclaimed incredulously, not believing that someone could be so dense.
"No, he doesn't. Everyone both inside and outside of school knows how I feel about him, except for the guy himself." Marinette admitted with dismay, her eyes trailing to look at the street below her balcony.
"Wow... What an absolute idiot!" Chat Noir bellowed, causing Marinette's head to snap over and glare at him.
"Excuse me, but he's not an idiot! If anyone's an idiot, it's me for not being able to tell him how I feel." Marinette opposed, not liking the way Chat Noir was talking about her crush since it sounded a lot like how Jim thought of Adrien.
"You're kidding, right? Aside from Ladybug, you're probably the most amazing girl I know!" Chat Noir declared, staring at her in bewilderment. "You're brave in the face of danger, kind to those around you, and always coming up with solutions to the problems around you. Not to mention so beautiful that the stars shining tonight can't measure up!" the hero in black praised Marinette, causing her to blush and look away from him at the flattery she was receiving.
"That's very sweet of you to say, Chat Noir." Marinette shyly replied, smiling to herself before looking back at him. "But we don't even know each other that well. We've only ever talked when you came to my house before the sting operation with Evilustrator." the pigtailed girl chided Chat Noir.
"Don't forget when I saved you from Gamer and Befana." Chat Noir spoke up, listing the incidents on his fingers while reminding her of their previous encounters.
"Right, those times as well." Marinette amended with a nod before continuing. "But still, you shouldn't be making assumptions about someone you hardly know." the red-tipped-haired girl concluded, unaware of how close her partner actually was with her.
"It's not an assumption if it's true. Heck, you are so amazing that you're trying to help me with my heartbreak when you're dealing with your own!" Chat Noir exclaimed, throwing his arms at her for emphasis. "Whoever hurt you is a fool to not see how great you are!" the feline hero proclaimed, making Marinette smile even wider.
"Thanks, Chat. You know, I was hoping that I could tell him tonight at a hang-out with my friends, but he never showed up." Marinette said, feeling a bit better after the praise and willing to open up a little more. "In his defense, I had my hopes up on him coming, so my broken heart is on me." the designer admitted, once again looking at the ground below her.
"If anyone knows what you're going through right now, it's me. I was hoping to tell Ladybug that I was in love with her at a dinner I prepared for us." Chat Noir shared, earning another shocked stare from Marinette after she turned to look at him again.
"Really?!" Marinette squawked, not believing what she was hearing.
"Yeah. I've been in love with her since she openly declared war on Hawkmoth." Chat Noir revealed, to which Marinette continued to stare at him in surprise. "But while I know we're heroes and have to keep things professional, the heart wants what the heart wants. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I was really hoping that things would turn out my way tonight." the hero in black admitted, lifting his right leg to the railing rest his chin on his knee.
"I know exactly how you feel. It's how I feel about my guy." Marinette mumbled, looking at him with a rueful smile.
"What a pair we are. Hopelessly in love with people that don't realize how we feel about them." Chat Noir noted, copying Marinette's smile.
"You could say that again. But that doesn't mean it hurts any less when the people we love unknowingly reject us over and over again." Marinette mournfully remarked, turning to look back at the city before Chat Noir smiled at her and slid off the railing to stand beside his friend.
"Hey, why don't you come with me." Chat Noir offered, holding his hand out to Marinette as she stared at him and his hand in shock. But after processing the request, Marinette took his hand and Chat Noir swept her into his arms bridal style. "Close your eyes and hold on tight, okay?" the feline hero advised Marinette, who smiled up at him as she quickly shut her eyes. Once he was sure Marinette wasn't peaking, Chat Noir lept from the girl's balcony, carrying her away into the night.
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