How do you go through life loving someone so much but never being able to see her again?
Since the last Akuma attack, Ladybug and I haven't talked once, and I miss her, a lot.
I always had wondered what she was up to because people can really change in 8 years.
When I graduated my father took me up to China for a more advanced in my career, and thankfully when I stopped living in Paris, the akumas stopped as well.
I just excelled as a model and met a lot of girls and friends that aren't really my friends, you could definitely say I wasn't the happiest man on earth.
But when I thought of her...
I actually smiled for the first time in a really long time, because she made me happy and I wish I were really, truly happy again.
About a few months ago I moved back to Paris for a small show, and I had to do a lot of press due to my father's incapability of getting out of the house himself.
I was being driven to the next shoot when I saw a crowd over by the Arc De Triomphe, and since I was bored and super early to my appointment, I told the driver to stop.
"What's going on over there?"
"At the Triomphe? I think the famous dancer from the latest competitions in Paris is doing a live performance for free, 'anyone can come even your dogs' she says, such a kiss up to the people if you ask me."
"Stop over there, I'd like to see this so-called dancer."
The driver pulls over in front and opens my door.
"Merci" as I walk towards the crowd I hear a light melody. As I squeeze through the thick bunch of people, I am surprised to see "Marinette?!"
She looks over, and I was taken back by how much she has changed, she's really... beautiful.
"Adrien?! Hi!" She runs toward me and gives me a hug. "I'm so surprised to see you I didn't know you were in Paris, we could've gotten together!"
She looks at me up and down and waits for my response with a big smile on her face.
"Yeah I only got here this week and every minute is filled with commercials, shoots, or publicity meetings. All in all it's very nice to see a familiar face."
"Well, I'm thrilled to say you've arrived just on time" while holding my hands in hers she faces the crowd "Now it's time for everyone to join in!!"
Everyone seems to gladly dance in with their friends and family, and she presses a button on her speaker, and it plays upbeat dancing music and pulls me in to dance with her.
She motions me to hold on "let me show you my absolute best dance move are you ready?" I nod, "Its called the shopping cart" as she continues to make the utterly embarrassing and adorable dance move she ushers me to try "don't be shy, your home now, these are your people!"
With the music blaring I do the shopping cart, and I laugh so hard my stomach hurts.
I suddenly stop and watched her dance with an elderly person and make her smile.
It's like I fell in love all over again.
Then she looks over at me and time stands still, I've never seen her so confident and so sure of herself.
A slow song plays from the radio and couples come together under the tower, she walks over to me maintaining eye contact she puts her arms around my shoulders after placing my hands on her waist.
"It's really nice to see you again Marinette" I whisper.
"I know." she looks at me understandingly, like she knew I haven't felt entirely happy since I've been away.
She has this way about her that reminds me of someone I know, someone I used to know.
I look at her confused.
"What?" she says without removing her eyes from mine.
"It's nothing... it's just you remind me of an old friend."
"Who?"
"It's-"I hear a loud honk from the car waiting for me.
I step away breaking our eye contact "I'm so sorry I have some business I have to attend to, it was really nice catching up with you, we must do it again."
As I walk away I think to myself: How does she emulate Ladybug so much?
*
*
*
A few weeks later I'm invited to a dance competition in the Palais-Royal Theatre for publicity reasons my father convinced me to go.
I'm placed in a box with some other people I don't know.
After it started, I decided to go get a snack in the hall where they were showing what everyone at home is watching on a TV.
I decide after a while of walking around to watch the TVs instead of going back to my seat.
"She is thrown into the air and caught in perfect consistency."
"Wow, we have not had a better partner than these two here, especially in this competition."
The commentators' words blare through the screen.
"Their contemporary ballet is essentially perfect! I would hate to come after this pair Jessica."
"Its true Marv, the choreography of Marinette Dupain-Cheng is beautiful, and it fits in so well with this weeks theme: Ludus Love. How about we fill in those just tuning in what Ludus really means."
"Well, Ludus is playful or uncommitted love. It can involve activities such as teasing and dancing, or more overt flirting. The focus is on fun, and sometimes also on conquest, with no strings attached."
"Very well put, thank you. let's get back to our lovely dance here--"
Ludus... uncommitted love.
She's a beautiful dancer, she has such control over her movements and her body.
I guess she has the agility for it.
She puts so much thought into it, into her moves and her costume is fantastic, I am not surprised at all that she designed it.
My father would jump the gun to get a design like that. Before the other day, I hadn't seen her in ages, I've forgotten how beauti- I mean how nice she is.
I wonder when I could talk to her again.
"Perfect 10s all around from the judges Marv!"
"Yes, Jessica! That means that they are the winners from this week!"
"Let's call the couple up here, shall we?! Marinette! Luka! how do you feel about the win?!"
"LUKA?!" people around me stare at my sudden burst. How could Luka be her partner? Wasn't he supposed to be off doing something musical? I didn't think he'd be part of any of our lives still.
He's just the fifth wheel of our friend group how dare he be so close to Marinette?
Suddenly a thunderous crash is heard from the inside of the theatre. I rush to see what is happening but I already know the answer before I get there "an Akuma." I see a large ball of fire in the middle of the stage, a person emerges from the said fire.
"My name is Combustion, and I'm here to help everyone feel the burning in their heart when they see someone they love the same way I did... except worse!"
I run into the hall to a place where I can be unseen. "Plagg, Claws out!!!! Alright, let's find this blazing Akuma."
"Aaaahhhh!"
"That's Marinette! I can't see her in the fire though."
"Chat Noir!!! Over here!"
I look over the stairs to see Marinette being held up by a flaming hand.
I pole vault myself to the scene and trick it into dropping her, and before she hits the ground, I catch her and take her to the hall. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm excellent thanks to you! I must go now though."
"Why? what's wrong?"
"Nothing important, you should go help the others."
"Okay," I give her a reassuring smile before I head for the box I was originally sitting in to try and asses the situation. "So he shoots an arrow at a civilian, and they don't feel pain until they see the person they love. "interes-" I see a flash of red light from the box next to me, but when I checked it out I saw Marinette
"Spots On!!"...
MARINETTE?! IS LADYBUG?! How could I have not seen this before?! it makes so much sense! On the one hand, we have a caring and loving person and on the other a brave and heroic person, two personalities that complement each other perfectly.
I hide quickly, so she doesn't know that I know or she would be furious.
But instead, I start getting civilians out of the theatre as fast as possible.
She shows up behind me helping me like clockwork.
We give each other reassuring smiles after everyone is out, and we deal with the monster inside.
"Hey, Blaze Ball! ready to meet your match?" I look at ladybug "You ready M'lady?"
"Always" she looks straight ahead and we go into battle. the guy is relentless, and he won't give up.
"Lucky Charm!!!" Ladybug is always one step ahead of me, so she pulls out her special gift. "matches?" She looks around for a minute and then she makes the face she always makes when she figures it out.
"Go and distract him! Keep him inside!"
"On it!" I jump around and fight off his fireballs but all of a sudden the sprinkler system turns on, she lit the match near the sprinklers and the Akuma broke free
"Pound it," we said in unison.
Ladybug was about to run off after dealing with the akumatized victim, but I held her there.
"Hey, you were great today."
"Thank you Chat, but I gotta go. I'm almost out of time on my miraculous."
"I know, but there's just one thing left I want to do before you go."
"Fine but you have less than a minute."
I pull her in for a kiss, and soon enough she leans into it I can feel her miraculous time run out and I knew for sure it was her.
"Chat you kissed me!"
"Yeah"
"And you know who I am."
"Yup"
"But you already knew?"
"Yup"
"How?"
"That for me to know and for you to find out" I winks and detransform "Claws in"
"ADRIEN?!"
I grin stupidly.
"Wow, I can believe this!"
"Yeah I know it's hard to believe, but I've never been happier to know it was you, are you disappointed it's me?"
"Are you kidding? I've been in love with Adrien and Chat for so long and now to know that it's the same person it makes it ten times better!"
"I feel the same way! The entire time I was in China I was never actually happy but then I came back and hung out with you and it's like I fell in love all over again. I fell in love with you Marinette, TWICE! And if it's okay with you... I'd like to ask for you to be my girlfriend."
"Well of course!!" She leaped into a hug with me, and we kissed once more. I could most definitely say I was the happiest man on earth.
