CatWalk

Forty-Three

Emma started the play off with a question to her blonde classmate who was obviously nervous about all the people in the auditorium watching her every move.

"M'Lady, do you know who looks great today?"

"Who?" Charlotte asked fidgeting with her hands as she stared at the ground.

Emma's reply was a cheeky "I do." added with her pointing to herself with her thumbs. Then it quickly turned into shear panic. " Wait! that's not what I rehearsed!"

The crowd laughed. Marinette knew those weren't the lines in the script but it was exactly something ChatNoir himself would say or has said.

Charlotte let out a soft giggle before replying to her cat. "Silly Kitty, there's no time for games we've got Paris to protect."

Emma started to sing her lines as she pulled Charlotte into a 'So You Think You Can Dance' routine. "M'Lady don't change the subject."

Charlotte sung with ease since she was used to singing in front of her church youth choir however acting and dancing  was nerve wracking.  "Protecting Paris is my duty. Fighting for what's right. It's what a hero's to do."

"M'Lady have I ever told that I...."

"Fighting robots, fighting knights, fighting pharaohs, fighting monsters, fighting my fear of heights. Partoling nights. It's what a hero's to do."

Emma frowned as she was supposed to do. She was supposed act as if she wanted to heard. Since the message was very important yet Ladybug choose not to listen so there partnership would stay platonic.

"M'Lady roses are red, violets are blue...." Emma started to say as she pulled out a rose as an attempted to woe her Lady.

Her partner acknowledged the rose with a glance. "Oh, It's what a hero's to do."

Emma looked to the crowd and a made a pinching motion with one hand showing the crowd  that ChatNoir was so close to having Ladybug listen to him. "So close yet so far... It's unfair."

"Swinging through the sky. Never falling to land on my feet. It's what a hero's to do. It's what i'm to do. Fighting robots, fighting knights, fighting pharaohs, fighting monsters, fighting my fear of heights. Partoling nights. It's what a hero's to do."

Emma channeled her inner Tamaki Senpai which was suggested by Adrien when he had helped her prepared for this event. She handed her lady the rose and said: "All I wanted to say was a simple I love you."

The crowd awed at this cute moment between ChatNoir and Ladybug. However Adrien choose to leave from his seat. He knew what to expect after all he read the script when he helped Emma practice but seeing his youth play out before him was a different story. He debated about not going but he didn't want to be like his father and not show up to his child's events. He wanted to be a good father.

Plagg concerned asked "Are you okay. Kid?"  Adrien looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He mentally repeated Plagg's question. "Am I okay?"

"I'd be lying if I said I was. My life is a mess." Adrien said as he rinsed his face off with cold water as an attempt to cool off. He surprised that no one was in the restroom this was mostly due to the fact that he choose the farthest restroom from the auditorium.

Plagg without hesitation replied to Adrien with "Why does your life have to be a mess?"

Adrien tilted his head at Plagg's unique question. 'Why does it?' Adrien thought as he looked himself in the mirror once more. Plagg could tell that Adrien was putting way to much thought in such a simple question.

Plagg inhales deeply then exhales a pep talk. "Kid, look at the people around you. Chloe is divorced, she's the mayor of Paris, she's a mother of three, and she's also a superhero. She somehow doesn't complain about any of that. You know how hard that is for Chloe? Kagami is being forced to choose between becoming the World's best fencer and living her life as a straight woman or come out and be disowned by her family who are very influential in the fencing community. She still remains calm and collected. Marinette liked this idiot's civilian identity but he being the idiot he was too stupid to notice. She was forced to grow up at eighteen because that idiot got her pregnant and after TEN WHOLE YEARS of not speaking to her this idiot decides I think I love her. Of course he only realizes this when he sees her happy with another man."

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows on how his Kwami probably used the 'Pep talk' as an excuse to call Adrien an idiot. Not that Adrien would object. He indeed was being an Idiot.

"That pep talk fell apart. This is why I'm known for being the Kwami of destruction not pep talks. Tikki would probably had said something wayyyy more motivational." Plagg added.

For a brief moment Adrien's brain cells clicked together similar to how a golden retriever's does when it releases that fluffy long thing it's been chasing is actually it's tail. Adrien thought of the name 'Tikki'. He had heard Emma mention that name a few times. Tikki was the name of Ladybug's Kwami if he remembered correctly and Adrien refuses to let any detail about his Ladybug go. No matter how small. Also the description the Emma gave of Tikki just happen to match a description of a Kwami. Of course Emma was way too young to be Ladybug unless Ladybug's powers worked like Shazam's she wasn't a candidate.

This left Marinette. However, Adrien refused to let the idea of Marinette willing putting herself in danger. Sure there was that day with Evillustrator but Ladybug had personally asked Marinette to go on a date with him. Though, it was odd that Ladybug didn't show up until Evillustrator attacked Chloe.

"It's just a coincidence." Adrien thought dismissing everything thought that had previously crossed his mind.

Plagg thought about how Adrien was that dart player who knew how to hit the middle of the target yet often missed. He now saw that was probably a metaphor on what went on inside Adrien's mind. Adrien was Plagg's favorite ChatNoir but sometimes he wished he was less frustrating.