Lovebug

Part 17

The next day was the day. The day of the merger. Both teens had approached this day with dread and cautious excitement for after tonight, they would have revealed their identities to one another.

After Master Fu had figured out the exact instructions for this complicated ceremony, he called them together for a meeting with these exact instructions; To avoid suspicion on the day of the ceremony, they were to tell everyone they knew that they were going for a college tour and would be back the next day. They were then to pack an overnight bag and leave their homes, transform into their hero alias' and come to Fu's house. The ceremony would start that evening at 11:30 pm.

"A college tour?" Sabine questions her daughter as the family sits around the breakfast table at 11 am that morning. "Does that mean you got accepted to the Paris School of Design?!" she exclaims

Marinette panics a little. "Oh no not yet... it's just a... a tour for all applicants... They haven't sent out any offers yet" she grins falsely

"Wow that sounds intriguing" Tom chirps in "Do you want us to come with you?"

"NO!" Marinette exclaims, eyes wide. "I mean no, it wouldn't be very interesting to you... plus the tour is four till six then... then... it's a welcome party for prospective students.

"In fact" she continues, after leaving a pause long enough for her parents to accept the idea of her going on her own, "It might just be better for me to stay overnight and come home tomorrow... I... I know a few other people doing that..."

Tom and Sabine look at each other. They trust their daughter. They trust that she will be doing what she says she will be. "Alright, you can go" Tom smiles

Marinette instantly relaxes. "thank you so much, you guys!" She runs over and hugs her parents tightly.

Over at Adrien's house, things did not go as smoothly.

"A college tour?" Nathalie enquires. She looks down at her iPad for a few seconds before looking back up at Adrien. "This isn't on your schedule..."

"It's... umm... I forgot to tell you." He lies "But I need to go because... because I haven't really had the full college tour experience yet."

"It's a little last-minute but alright, I will cancel your fencing and chess lessons this weekend." 

Adrien smiles, "Great thanks Nathalie". However, she was not finished.

"And tell G, he will be going with you this weekend," she says. Adrien stops in his tracks, there was no way he would be able to sneak away from his bodyguard like this.

"Does he have to come?" Adrien pleas, "This is supposed to be me asserting my independence and freedom. How are you going to cope with me moving out if you can't even let me go away for one night."

Nathalie pauses. She loves Adrien with all her heart and this is obviously something that is very important to him. She sighs, "I'll ask your father and see what I can do."

Adrien runs over to Nathalie and hugs her. "Thank you, Nathalie, thank you so much!" Nathalie goes straight into Gabriel's office, he isn't there so she goes down to his secret underground lair. Gabriel has transformed into Hawkmoth and is keeping a watchful eye out for negative emotions in Paris.

"Gabriel," she calls out and he turns around.

"What is it Nathalie, can't you see I'm very busy." He snaps

"I'm sorry to bother you sir but Adrien is asking to go away for a college tour this weekend..."

He turns, annoyed. "You interrupted me for that! Send G with him and he will be fine."

"That's the thing, sir, he... he wants to go alone." she cowers

This time Gabriel turns fully and thinks for a minute. "That depends... do you think there is likely to be any negative emotions surrounding him there? There have been so few opportunities for Akuma's recently so I'm taking any chance I get"

"To be frank Gabriel, it's a college campus with thousands of teenagers partying. I don't think there will be negative emotions within a 10-mile radius of him," she says. This statement did reflect what she truly thought, but she mostly said it because she wants Adrien to be happy.

After a brief pause, Gabriel speaks again. "Alright, he may go. As long as he is in constant contact with you the entire time."

Nathalie smiles and rushes back upstairs to tell Adrien the good news. A few hours later, Both Marinette and Adrien have left their homes, heading for their 'college tours'. With hours to kill before having to be at Fu's, Marinette heads to the cinema and watches a few movies. Luckily the theatres were quiet so she wasn't spotted. 

Adrien on the other hand heads to his apartment, waiting for hours in anticipation of the time when he would leave for Fu's house. Just before 11:30 pm, both teens inconspicuously transform into their superhero alias' and make their way to Master Fu's house. However, neither realised that this was the last time they would transform with no one aware of their real identities.

When Ladybug arrives, she knocks on the door and is almost immediately let inside. Dropping her bag in the entrance hall, Cat Noir awaits her inside. 

The main room in the house is decorated differently than either of them had seen before; There were hundreds of candles lit around the room, flowers, beads, and other assorted things hung around the room, over walls and closed curtains and such. The strong smell of incense burned both their noses. The only thing the same in the room was the mat that sat in the centre of the floor, this time it had the open miracle box sitting on it.

All the kwami's were out of the miracle box and holding onto their miraculous' in an organised circle above the mat. Master Fu takes a seat on the mat and beckoned the pair to join him in a triangular type circle.

"Are you both ready to begin?" Master Fu asks, opening the Grimoire. There is only one correct answer to this question, even if they were not ready, it's too late. However, do not underestimate these heroes. They are not ones to shy away from anything.

Ladybug and Cat Noir look at each other with a look of assurance. At the exact same, they both say "Yes".