A Masked Getaway

Ladybug

Whoever had placed the highest position at Cloud Nine obviously had never had a boyfriend like Chat Noir, because nine was such a low number compared to where she was sitting at the moment. After he'd asked her to 'officially' be his girlfriend, the night had been full of stolen kisses and nervous giggles. This was her first real boyfriend, and she was pretty certain he was the love of her life.

The time here had done exactly what she'd wanted it to. It had cleared her mind and allowed her to see who she truly wanted: the guy standing opposite her.

The remaining couples for the Mr and Mrs Valentine Island were currently gathered backstage, Adrien giving her and Chat Noir a death glare.

Seriously, she'd never met anyone as unhinged as Adrien before. She was slightly worried he might have some kind of schizophrenia. Maybe when they get back to Paris she could ask Nino if he'd noticed anything unusual, and, if he had, why he hadn't tried to turn her away from him instead of laying down the yellow brick road for her to follow.

"We have five teams and will whittle down to three tonight." Anthoney was as enthusiastic as always, and tonight he'd come dressed for the occasion in a maroon suit and bright green pocket square. She was almost certain that he had wanted to honour their supercolours but failed epically. He had "fashion disaster" written all over him.

She had her arms wrapped around her boyfriend and her body pressed against his. His own hands rested on her lower back, dangerously close to her butt. If it had been up to her, they would've had their amazing meal, forgotten the dessert, and headed straight back to the room.

"What's the challenge?" Adrien asked, his eyes firmly placed on Chat Noir's. Anthoney's own eyes lit up to a terrifying wattage.

"Great question, Signor Agreste. Tonight will be a challenge of strength. You will need to hold your partner for as long as you can."

"I think these two should be disqualified from the competition then. How are we meant to compete against super strength?"

It was on the top of her tongue to ask him exactly who he was implying by these two, but it was quite obvious and she would just sound petty—even though obviously she was.

"We've already been through this, Adrien. 'Power down' means power down. We're just people wearing masks." The way Chat Noir had said Adrien's name sent unease straight to her gut. Something wasn't right, and as cross as she was with Adrien and his split personality, there was something deeper between her boyfriend and her old crush. Did Chat Noir know Adrien? Talk about having beef!

"Prove it!" Adrien said, his eyes glaring into them.

"How are we meant to prove it! We detransform, we reveal our identities, and that wouldn't be good for anyone," she answered.

Adrien snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his head away from them. "A lie, if I ever heard one."

"Why would we lie? We're superheroes," Chat Noir said, backing her up.

"A super idiot more like."

She could feel the growl vibrating through his chest. It seemed the power down didn't cover the intense rage he was suddenly feeling towards Adrien. In a quick movement, she placed her hand over Chat Noir's chest and looked at Kagami. Maybe she could reason with her (ex) friend.

"Listen, we're here to compete fair and square. The power down leaves nothing more than quantum masking. I promise we're not cheating."

Kagami took hold of Adrien's arm, and now Ladybug was fully aware that everyone taking part in this competition was staring at them.