29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Alya stared at the number of views under the interview video. She just sat there and stared at it, watching the numbers climb. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours and there were already over three million views. Her brain couldn't process it.

Several news agencies had even contacted her with internship and job offers. She'd let most of them go to voicemail, figuring she should hear them all out before making up her mind on which one to choose. Choose. She had her pick, from local networks to national conglomerates.

It was too much. Her head was going to explode.

"This story mentioned you specifically," Marinette said as she read something on her phone.

"Really?" Most everything was about Chat Noir, which was expected.

Her friend flipped to her stomach on Alya's bed. "It says that you did an excellent job asking important questions and have a good nose for the deeper story. It goes on to say that you handled yourself well under the stressful circumstance, and they look forward to your future in journalism."

"That's…"

"Amazing?" Marinette suggested. "Because it is."

Alya nodded. "I guess I'm just a little shocked. I mean, I knew it would be big. Chat Noir hasn't done an interview since he turned. It's just that I thought it would mainly be a Paris thing. Maybe Europe. But not around the world. It's insane."

At her friend's silence, Alya realized she was immersed in something else on her phone. "What is it?" Marinette looked troubled. "Did someone say something bad about me?" She'd expected that too. People could be straight up asses online. That she hadn't really come across anything nasty so far had surprised her.

Marinette didn't respond.

Alya pushed away from her desk and moved to the bed. "I'm okay with whatever it says. Just give it to me." They probably said she'd done a poor job because she didn't get into who the girl he'd mentioned was. Everyone wanted to know that tidbit.

Brows now furrowed, Marinette still said nothing.

Peeking over her shoulder, Alya read the headline: Save Paris. Get Rid Of Ladybug. "Wow. That's a bit much. You can't trust Hawk Moth will just disappear once he gets his way. Think about it. If he doesn't, then no one will be left to stop him."

Marinette scrolled down to the related stories and clicked on one that said Chat Noir was the real victim, then another calling Ladybug selfish, and another claiming that she didn't even want to stop Hawk Moth which was why she hadn't done so yet. Each article seemed to depress Marinette even more.

Alya snatched her friend's phone from her. "It's time we get out of the apartment."

They'd been cooped up there since Chat Noir had left, answering questions on her blog, which had nearly crashed as word of the video spread, and conducting interviews with news agencies about Alya's time with the villain. They'd eventually fallen asleep on the bed, and Nino had graciously slept on the couch after keeping Adrien company. Apparently, the boys had felt left out.

Grabbing Marinette's arm, she tugged on her to get her to move. "Come on. Let's get some fresh air and lunch."

"Maybe Ladybug should do an interview," her friend suddenly said.

"What?"

"Yeah. Like a rebuttal. The people should have both sides of the story."

Alya released Marinette and sat beside her. "That's actually a good idea. Do you think she'd do it, though? She's not overly fond of the media."

"Of course she will." She looked at Alya, then added, "Put it on your blog and see what she says."

"Okay."

When she didn't move, Marinette pointed to Alya's laptop and said, "Now. While the story is still hot."

As if prodded by a poker, she jumped to her feet and rushed to her desk. "Right. Good instinct, Marinette." But her friend didn't acknowledge the compliment.

Those news articles had to really be bothering her. Alya knew Marinette was a Ladybug fan, but she'd never realized how much.

Their phones buzzed the familiar akuma alert, and Marinette hopped off of bed. Alya nearly fell out of her chair from the suddenness of her friend's movement. "Holy balls, Marinette. It's just an alert. It's not like the akuma is right outside the window."

"No, no. That's not why I jumped up. I just remembered I forgot my...meeting with Gabriel about the internship."

"You never mentioned it before."

"Well, I forgot about it with all the hoopla going on."

She lifted a brow. It was possible. Marinette did have a villain basically declare his love for her to everyone in the world. In a very roundabout, sadistic way. "Do you want Nino to drive you home?"

Grabbing her purse off the dresser, she said, "I'm good. I actually want a moment to myself, you know?"

"Sure." She stood and crossed the room to give her a hug. "Be careful. And thanks for helping so much. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Please. You can do anything you put your mind to." Marinette squeezed her tighter before letting go and leaving the apartment.

oOoOo

Marinette glanced at her phone to see where the akuma had been last spotted and bumped into someone.

"Hey," Nathaniel said while stabilizing her with a hand on her arm.

Embarrassed, she blushed. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He readjusted the pencil behind his ear.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I wanted to congratulate Alya on her interview with Chat Noir. It's crazy. "

"You didn't have to come all the way over. You could've called."

He laughed. "I tried but it kept going straight to voicemail."

"Oh yeah. We eventually had to turn off her phone. The calls were nonstop." She checked her phone again for an update. "I have to go, but call me later and we can catch up. You can tell me how that project you were working on turned out."

"Really?"

She'd started walking away, needing to get to the akumatized person, but his question took her by surprise. "Of course. Why wouldn't I want to talk to you?"

"I just thought that since you're with Adrien, you wouldn't want anything to do with me."

She furrowed her brows. "You're still my friend, right?"

Pink tinted his cheeks, and he nodded.

"Okay then. Call me." She backed away. "It was nice running into you."

He smiled. "Literally."

"Yeah," she said with a soft chuckle.

Since he watched her walk away, she was forced to go down another street before disappearing into an empty alley and transforming.

Ladybug swung up to the rooftop and jumped across buildings. "Tikki, the alert didn't mention Chat."

Maybe he's controlling the akuma again.

"Maybe." She swung her yo-yo a little harder than she normally would have to cross the highway. "I can't believe he said I was selfish to everyone."

And then turn around and say he would destroy the city if you got hurt.

"What do you think he meant by that?"

That he loves you and fears for your safety.

"Which means someone must know about me and him. Do you think he's been spotted going to my room?"

It's possible. You'll have to be more careful when you're out, just in case.

"Yeah. I can't have Chat turn full dark. He might not ever come back from that." He was already at the edge as it was.

I was thinking more of someone finding out that you're Ladybug.

"That too."

Marinette.

"I know. I just want this to be over with. I want Hawk Moth behind bars, Chat back to normal, and my life to return to being uncomplicated."

I don't think it would. Chat will be different because of this. And you have feelings for him now.

"Ugh." The kwami was right. Succeeding wasn't the same as turning back the clock. "I'll get over those feelings and Chat will be okay. He always bounces back."

Would she, though? She really did like him and it was messing with her ability to compartmentalize.

Let's just focus on one thing at a time. First is Chat's Miraculous.

"Right."

She stopped on a building overlooking the flamboyant man with a...vacuum on his back? Shaking her head, she scanned the area for Chat.

The akumatized man sucked up a child running from him, and Ladybug jumped down without finishing her search for her old partner.

Dodging her yo-yo attack, he said, "I, the Cleaner, will finish what the others could not."

He aimed the vacuum hose at her, and she leapt behind a car, which got sucked up, then behind a metal trash can. Trying to clog the vacuum, she bounced from one thing to another until there was not much left on the street.

"I know what you're doing, but this isn't like the Collector's book," the Cleaner announced. "Mine is a void, capable of holding everything on this planet."

Guess Hawk Moth learned his lesson. Turning away from him to try another tactic, she suddenly was caught up in the vacuum's suction force. She hurled her yo-yo and latched onto a streetlight, gripping the string with all her might. She hovered mid-air, stretched out like a flag being sucked into a black hole. Worse yet, her yo-yo was under too much strain to zip her back to the pole.

Grunting with effort, she slowly pulled herself away from the man.

"Once I have you in here," he said, his voice growing louder and the suction growing stronger as he walked to her, "I will finally be respected. No one will treat me like a doormat again."

Reaching the pole, she latched on it with her arms and legs. "Lucky Charm!"

A red brick wall with black polka dots slammed to the ground between them. The force that had been a constant tug on her disappeared and she dropped to the ground in relief, not even caring that concrete was hard and would surely leave a bruise.

His vacuum whirred louder and smoke drifted her way.

Hopping to her feet, she darted around the wall and found the Cleaner's vacuum stuck to it, overheating. He faced her and snarled, struggling to handle the mechanisms on the side of the cleaning tool.

"Hawk Moth," she called, not entirely certain what she was doing.

Marinette, don't forget you only have a little time left before your detransformation.

The Cleaner's face relaxed and he looked at her with dispassionate eyes. "Yes?"

"What do you want with my Miraculous?"

"Have you finally given up?"

"Maybe I'll hand it over if I know what you're going to do with it." She ignored her kwami's concern.

The man blinked. "Lies. You'll never hand it over."

Well, she'd tried.

She threw her yo-yo at the canister hooked over his shoulder, and the vacuum powered offt as the akuma fluttered out of the hole. The poor man slumped against the wall.

After capturing the akuma, she freed the city of its power and took off toward her apartment.

On her way there, though, the hair on the back of her neck pricked. She looked over her shoulder but found nothing. Weird.

Continuing down the street, she thought she saw something off to the side. Double weird.

She stopped on top of a building and looked around.

A black bird shot to the sky, making her flinch.

Marinette, Tikki said just as her Miraculous beeped.

"I know."

Throwing her yo-yo off to the side, she moved away from the apartment toward the busy marketplace.

What are you doing?

"I have a weird feeling I'm being followed." After running into Adrien in her bedroom, she had stopped going there as Ladybug. But she always transformed close enough to the building to not have to walk far. Now, she'd have to stop doing even that.

She worked her way to the market faster, then dropped into the crowd next to a clothing stand. By the time people realized what happened, she'd already shoved a wide-brimmed hat over her head and threw on a cloak over her shoulders. She tossed the clerk some money and flowed with the stream of people moving around the stalls, careful to keep her masked face hidden.

She was about to transform in public. Her heart pounded in fear of being caught, nearly making her dizzy. Tikki's calm concern was the only thing that kept her knees from quaking.

Her Miraculous beeped its last warning, and the magic fizzled out.

She held her breath, waiting for someone to shout or gasp in surprise.

None of that happened, though. Everyone just kept on about their business, not even glancing her way.

A deep exhale rushed out, taking all of her pent up nerves with it and nearly made her slump. They rounded a corner and she removed the disguise, dropping it to the ground.

She slipped out of the crowd and found Adrien looking at all the people around him. Smiling, she called his name and waved to get his attention.

His looked at her, then at everyone once more, his face hard, before giving her his full attention.

"Hey," she said as she weaved her way through the crowd to reach him. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" His gaze shifted from hers to land on a flower stand off to the side. "I was actually hoping to surprise you, but since you're here." He walked to the lady behind the table filled with flowers, purchased a bundle of snapdragons, then came back to her. "I was just picking up these for you."

She took them from his outstretched hand and sniffed their pleasant aroma. "I love these."

"I know."

Thinking of how Chat had brought a stalk to her, she glanced at him in question, but he was looking around them again. "You do?" she asked.

"I mean, who doesn't? They're cool."

"Yeah." They were even red like Chat's, making her stomach twist for some reason. "So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

"I actually have to get back to my father's."

Her heart sank. "Oh."

"But I'll be home later."

"Okay." She stepped back, trying not to leave all awkward and sad. "Thanks for the flowers."

As she shifted on her feet, ready to turn, he said, "Actually, I can just text him. He doesn't have to see me."

"I don't want to get you in trouble." Especially, since Gabriel would technically be her boss and she wanted the internship to go smoothly.

"It'll be fine." He wrapped an arm around her and leaned in for a kiss on her cheek that landed partly on her lips.

Just that little touch made her insides quiver with delight. She grinned at him.

"What?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm just happy."

For the first time during their surprise meetup, he finally relaxed into his usual self. He pulled her closer against his side and started walking. "Me too."

He led her out of the market but away from the apartment. She looked up at him, and took a moment to appreciate the way the sun lit up his eyes. "Where are we going?"

"I was thinking we could get some ice cream."

"Oh yeah?" she chided teasingly.

He came to an abrupt stop and placed a hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry. I should've asked you first."

She pulled his fingers from his face—her stomach fluttering from the casual contact—and smiled. "I was just messing with you. I'd love some ice cream."

He turned fully to her, intertwined their fingers, and just stared at her, his gaze roaming over her face. "I want to kiss you."

Her cheeks warmed and she had an urge to be silly with him. "You do?" she asked innocently.

Removing his hand from her lower back, he brushed his knuckles across her cheek. "All the time."

She leaned toward him and did her best not to grin mischievously.

He moved closer, their lips now a hair's breadth apart.

"You'll have to catch me first." Freeing her hand from his, she ran away, unable to contain her laughter any longer.

"Hey," he called before giving chase.

A peek over her shoulder showed him gaining on her, fast. Damn. Careful to protect her flowers, she picked up her speed. She couldn't make it too easy for him.

They darted across the street, around people and pets, and then over a bridge where he finally reached her. Scooping her off her feet, she fell into his arms with a gasp, nearly dropping the bouquet.

"I caught you," he said.

"You did." Her heart raced as she gazed up at him.

"Now I get to kiss you."

"It better be good."

His brows shot up. "What?!"

She laughed, wrapped an arm around his neck, and pulled him down to plant her lips on his. He drew her more to him, and she soaked in his warmth, relishing the feel of him against her. It wasn't a long, deep kiss, but, nonetheless, it turned her into mush.

When he straightened and lowered her to the ground, he said, "I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

"To what?"

"Being able to touch you, to kiss you. Having you in my life."

She blushed and considered staying quiet. Instead, she peeked shyly at him. "I know the feeling."

"You do?"

"Are you kidding me? I've only had a crush on you for years."

Beaming, he gave her a quick peck.

A familiar voice singing in the background caught their attention. Andre in his signature beret and striped shirt passed out his signature ice cream to a decent-sized crowd.

"How did you know I was going to take you here?" Adrien asked.

"I didn't. I, um, just saw it on my way to the market and thought..." Afraid to sound cheesy, she didn't finish her sentence and settled on a shrug.

He grabbed her free hand and led her to Andre's cart to wait in line. "I actually saw it on my way to the market too. We must've been near each other."

"Maybe." He couldn't have been near her, unless he was Chat, which was an absurd thought.

"Beautiful Marinette," Andre said as they stepped to the cart. "And what beautiful flowers you have. They mean grace and inner strength, you know." He leaned over the cart and whispered, "But also deception."

She almost looked at Adrien to see his reaction. She was deceiving him, after all. "I can't believe you remember me."

"I'd never forget you." Looking at Adrien, he said to her, "And it seems you found your love."

Just when her blush went away, it reared its ugly head again.

He grabbed the scooper and dug into the canisters. "I even remember the order. Red cherry like his lips, topped with mint green like his eyes." He handed the ice cream to her, then turned to Adrien. "And yours was strawberry with dark chocolate, blackberry for her hair, and blueberry for her ocean blue eyes."

She almost dropped her ice cream. "Really?"

"Yeah. I wish I would've realized it was you." Sorrow flashed across his face so fast she almost missed it. Strange. Who had he thought it represented? He smiled at Andre and accepted the ice cream with a thanks, then handed over some money.

"Where there is love," Andre sang, "the ice cream man, Andre, always recognizes it."

With flowers in one hand and the ice cream of love in the other, she walked beside Adrien on cloud nine.

AN - Season two is out on Netflix! Argkjbidssc

It's a game of cat and mouse now, and Chat is trying to be sneaky sneaky. Let's hope she can stay out of their trap.

Thanks for sticking with the story and showing the love! One of my sister's friends has started reading, and I'm so embarrassed and I don't even know why. Lol! Hi, Kate! In some ways I feel just like Marinette. Mainly because I blush so easily. But with age, I've learned to accept that aspect of myself. If I blush, then I blush. *shrugs* Love ya, sis! Thanks for believing in me!