"the moth's apprentice" chat noir x y/n

'The final act'

Paris was covered in a thin sheen of fog and darkness. Thunder crackled over head and lighting flashed bright pictures of a doomed city. 

It's funny, how you can wait forever for a day to come, but when it comes, all you feel is disappointment. 

Fear ran through my fingertips as I saw Hawkmoth chain Ladybug to the Eiffel Tower. He secured her right to the top, her feet just inches from the edge. She was like a bright red warning sign — the surrender flag for the hero team. 

Chat Noir didn't take long to arrive, his lithe figure tumbling through the sky at impressive speeds. I admired him from where I stood, but dread pooled in my stomach as he came closer. 

"Don't hurt him," I whispered under my breath. Hawkmoth's gaze flicked to me immediately and an amused expression spread over his face. 

"Isn't that...lovely?" Hawkmoth asked his voice chilled and mocking. He moved at a slow and deliberate gait towards me, standing directly in front of me. With one hand, he moved my chin up so that I was looking him in the eye. A move that reminded me vaguely of Adrien, but I pushed the thought away. "You really have grown to care for the stupid kitten, haven't you?" 

"Don't hurt him," I repeated, stronger this time. "You came for the miraculous, so take what's owed to you and leave him alone. You don't need them." Desperation bit my lungs. "You need me." 

Hawkmoth's gaze turned stony and cold with a false importance. "My beautiful Raven, I don't need anyone." 

This struck an odd familiarity in my heart. The thought came to me swiftly and left my heart pounding even faster than before. Was I like him? Was I doomed to suffer the same fate of a cold, feeling-less heart? 

"Let them go," Chat Noir was there. Suddenly. A dark but impressive figure in the night, he stood perched on the metal pole, claws outstretched. "Let them go, Hawkmoth." 

He only laughed. "You want to do this, Kitten? Let's play yarn." 

They fought like rabid dogs, snapping and clawing at each other in the night sky until the moon had come out fully and the stars gleamed in the sky. Thunder boomed in the distance. 

It wasn't until rain had drenched us all that Chat Noir faltered. His body tumbled through the sky like a rocket. 

I didn't look before I leaped, tucking my wings in to pick up speed. He was covered in scratches  and bruises, and his nose was bleeding when we hit the ground at a slower speed. 

"...Raven.." he gulped, staring up at the sky that he had fallen from. Hawkmoth was descending at a slow speed. "we have to get Ladybug." 

I stood up, and he struggled to his feet beside me. Chat Noir moved to put his arm around me but I stepped back, tears fighting for control behind my eyes. 

"I can't," I said softly. "I'm sorry." 

Confusion clouded his expression. "What?" 

"She's with me," Hawkmoth declared. I was slightly glad to see that he looked worse for wear. Not as bad as Chat Noir, but more battered than usual. He walked towards me. Slow and purposeful. "Your lover has betrayed you, Chat Noir. How do you feel?" 

A dull sort of recognition was sliding over his face. Blood dripped from his nose onto the ground. He stared at me in a way that I didn't like, analyzing my features like he did the first time we met. 

"You." Chat stopped at that singular word. "You and Hawkmoth." 

This was worse than getting caught in an affair, or caught shoplifting. This was real and eternal.