Running from the Night (A Ladybug and Chat Noir Fanfic)

Chapter 34

Chat Noir crouched on top of an Adrien, The Fragrance, billboard with his green cat like eyes locked on the familiar balcony of his favourite bakery. He waited patiently in the cool air of the overcast day. His mind wandered briefly away from his mission but he schooled himself back on task. He may not have the rulebook on how to be a good superhero boyfriend but he knew one way he could help.

The subject of his purpose here appeared in the corner of his vision. He immediately pounced towards the fluttering and summoned his cataclysm. His claws closed around the akuma before it could even get a block away from the bakery. Before it could get close to Marinette.

He sighed in relief and returned to the billboard. He squinted up in disdain at the large Gabriel logo. With an angry shake of his head he took cover behind the board and de-transformed.

Adrien walked over to the paper bag he had stashed on the rooftop and pulled out one of many pieces of cheese wrapped in wax paper. He turned and held it out to a squinting Plagg. Adrien raised an eyebrow at him as the kwami refused to take the offering.

"Take the cheese Plagg," Adrien sighed, Plagg just squinted harder at him, "do you have something you want to say?"

"This is the dumbest thing you've ever done Kid," Plagg responded, matching Adrien's exhausted tone.

"What else can I do? I can't let her get akumatized," Adrien shrugged.

"You can tell Ladybug who Hawkmoth is and then you wouldn't have to spend the rest of your life Cataclysming akuma's and I can stop being yanked into that ring every two seconds and eat my cheese in peace!"

"I don't know where Ladybug is! And even if I did she wouldn't storm the mansion immediately and take the broach away from him, which means Marinette would be in danger!" Adrien ran through the thoughts that had been playing on repeat in his head all night and morning.

"This isn't healthy, you've almost been akumatized in the last 24 hours more times than I can count, and eventually you are going to slip up!" Plagg was inches from Adrien's face with watery eyes and an expression of heartbreak Adrien didn't know the kwami was even capable of having.

Adrien felt all the righteous anger leave his body and deflated. He knew Plagg was right. Ever since his conversation with Ladybug, and then the emotional whiplash of having a stranger on the street ask him if he really was in a relationship with the cute bakery girl, he had been harassed by akuma's.

It hadn't taken long for him to realize that somehow the world, or at least all of Paris, knew he was in love with Marinette. Which meant Hawkmoth knew. He had rushed to her balcony only to see a dark butterfly hovering just outside the building, waiting like a predator for its prey to walk into its clutches. He had made short work of the akuma and then waited for the next one to appear. Eventually he realized they were all of course coming from the direction of his, or rather his Father's mansion, and positioned himself in the best spot to see the butterflies incoming.

Of course once he was there, anytime he thought too hard about the absolute shit show that was his life the akuma's would veer towards him instead of Marinette.

"Plagg, there's nothing else I can do, I have to protect Marinette," Adrien sighed in defeat. Plagg gave him another heart wrenching look and then dutifully ate the cheese held out to him. Once the small god had finished eating Adrien opened his mouth to transform.

"Wait," Plagg interrupted him, Adrien stopped and watched as Plagg gave him a serious look, "I need you to promise me something."

Adrien would've protested promising before he knew what it was but the look on his best friend's face stopped him and he just nodded.