Chapter Text
Adrien ran his hands over the beige carpet in the library, searching beneath one of the chairs. He’d sat in the library while he still had Plagg, so it was possible the ring had fallen off here. He’d looked everywhere he could think of for his ring. Scoured the mansion from top to bottom, looking in all the places he spent time before it went missing in the hope he’d dropped the ring somewhere. But even if he dropped it, why had Plagg disappeared? He hadn’t the other times.
Today had been rough. Three, unrelenting akuma, two of them not even spaced out. Back to back. The last time they’d had back-to-back akuma was Antibug and Vanisher, and afterward they’d both been exhausted. His poor lady. She looked bone-weary and Adrien was willing to believe her kwami was just as tired.
Although she struggled to hide her emotions, Adrien thought she’d looked defeated and upset as she swung away from the last akuma. Her eyes kept looking for Chat Noir, searching and searching, despair clearly written on her face when she came up empty. Her eyes had passed over Adrien without seeing him as he lurked in the crowd of people, desperately trying to find a way to talk to her. Or help. Let her know she wasn’t alone. Anything.
She didn't need him. If anything, the three akuma she’d taken down on her own proved that. She’d been fantastic and amazing, but the evidence was insurmountable. She didn’t need him.
And while that thought should’ve stung and eaten his confidence, it hadn’t. Because there was desperation in her eyes. The dashed hope when the akuma was defeated and Chat Noir still hadn’t come broke Adrien’s heart. She wanted him beside her, she wanted to work with him, and that's what kept Adrien going.
“Adrien?”
Adrien closed his eyes, then pulled himself out from beneath the chair. Resting his hand on the cushioned seat, he gave his father a sure-but-game smile. “Hello, Father.”
With tilted head, Gabriel stood in the doorway, a piece of paper in his hands as he looked at his son. “You’re up late tonight. What are you doing?”
“I misplaced my phone,” Adrien said and cast his eyes around the room, still looking for his ring. “It’s run out of battery, so I can’t call it. I’m just checking all the places I saw it last.”
“I see. Very irresponsible of you.”
“Well, that’s me,” Adrien said and stood so he could move to the next chair. “Irresponsible central. Can’t trust me with anything.”
“Or, perhaps we have a thief in the household,” Gabriel said, scratching his chin. “It does appear that a lot of things have gone missing in recent days.”
Adrien blinked. Then blinked again. Slowly turning to face his father, he asked, “A thief?”
“Obviously it is not one of our staff,” Gabriel continued. “They have all been screened. But I wonder if some of our access points aren’t too accessible, allowing someone to come and go as they please.”
Adrien’s limbs locked up. He swallowed heavily, wondering at the inflection in his father’s voice. Did he know something? Did he suspect? Adrien knew where all the cameras where and how to avoid them, but was it possible his father had added more.
His father had the Miraculous book. Had his father taken the ring?
Adrien couldn’t exactly accuse his father of taking his ring without proof, because he couldn’t admit how important the ring was. He needed to tread carefully and figure out if his father really did take the ring, and where he’d put it if it were gone. The safe? But how would he get into it?
No. No that wasn’t possible. His father wouldn’t do that. He’d know how much Chat Noir was needed. He’d even complimented Chat Noir and Ladybug. As stern and emotionless as his father was, he’d never stolen anything from Adrien before. When Adrien had things confiscated because of behaviour (or danger), Gabriel always made sure Adrien understood why the action was necessary.
So, was he overreacting and he’d really just lost the ring?
Nervous, Adrien licked his lips. “Oh?”
Nathalie appeared behind Gabriel. “Monsieur Agreste, you have a scheduled video conference from Puerto Rico in five minutes.”
Gabriel turned his head. “Of course.”
“Ahh, Adrien,” Nathalie said, lifting her tablet. “There you are. We need to review your schedule for the coming week. How much time would you like set aside for study for your exams?”
“Ahh yes,” Gabriel said, turning back. “Those are soon.”
“As much as you can give me,” Adrien replied.
Gabriel nodded. “I agree. Exams are important.” To Nathalie, he said, “Free up as much time as you can.” To Adrien, he said, “Consider your extra lessons cancelled and all non-essential photo shoots postponed.”
Adrien smiled, pleased with that. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll do my best.”
“I expect nothing less.”
“Your meeting,” Nathalie reminded Gabriel.
Gabriel nodded and strode away and Nathalie approached Adrien with her tablet ready. “Let’s check your schedule.”
Adrien really hated working on his schedule because it always felt like Nathalie chopped his life into little pieces. Having to schedule ‘free time’ and argue for it was a burden. Having to schedule ‘Nino time’ was even worse, because Gabriel hadn’t been impressed with his friend since the Bubbler incident. Today, with Gabriel’s blessing, Nathalie managed to clear most of Adrien’s week of photoshoots and lessons in lieu of study. Although he’d be expected to be in his room, he probably wouldn’t even be checked on for the majority of the time. His father trusted him not to be disobedient.
With his schedule cleared, it was more time to look for his ring and more time to track Ladybug down.
Free at last, Adrien walked into his room and slumped at his computer. He wished he and Ladybug had devised a way to contact each other if they couldn’t transform and vowed that, when he got his ring back, he’d make sure they had a way to communicate, even if they had to resort to emails. They really should’ve thought of something before. A message board. An email system. A regular meeting place. They relied on their items and their kwami too much.
With all this technology at their fingertips and he didn’t even have his lady’s phone number. They’d been partnering for a nearly a year, they should’ve thought to give themselves another way to talk to each other.
“No point crying over it now,” he muttered and stretched out his arm to nudge his computer out of sleep mode. A couple of clicks and the Ladyblog loaded. “I just… need to get her to listen.”
Maybe he could use Alya’s blog to leave a message. Except that he’d once overheard Alya complaining heaps of people claimed they were Ladybug or Chat Noir, or wanted to use her blog to arrange a meeting with their heroes. Adrien lacked any sort of proof that he was who he claimed to be. Maybe that was why Ladybug wouldn’t listen too…
She was alone. Fighting alone. Without him. Worrying about him because he wasn’t there. He’d seen it, the way she was always looking for him. She worried.
He was letting her down. She needed him and he was failing her. He hated this feeling.
Resting his elbows on his desk, he cradles his head in his hand. “What am I going to do?” Huffing out a breath, he muttered, “A plan. I need a plan. Maybe…” He flicked his head up and googled ‘Chat Noir Cosplay costumes for sale’.
The next fifteen minutes were spent failing to find a costume which was even close to his original. They were close enough to fool the average person, but they all lacked something. Gloves guards the wrong shape or ankle guards too long or too short. Belts too thick or armour pads too large. Masks which covered too much or not enough of their faces. Ladybug wouldn’t be fooled.
He’d have to commission one and he didn’t think his father would approve of that. He barely approved of all Adrien’s anime purchases, but did so because Adrien’s mother had insisted every child needed an outlet, a passion that they loved. If Adrien added cosplaying to his lists of requests, it was sure to be vetoed.
He sighed, slumping back on his chair and let it spin idly in circles. “Now what… think, think.” His eye caught sight of a small charm bracelet on his desk. Adrien sat up straight in his chair. “Marinette!” he blurted, talking aloud because he was so used to Plagg talking back. “She sews. Maybe she’ll make me a cosplay of Chat Noir that would be believable enough to get me close to Ladybug.” He clapped his hands. “That’s perfect!”
As he reached for the phone to leave Marinette a message, and maybe if he was lucky, talk to her tonight, a Ladyblog alert went off advising him of an akuma wreaking havoc in Le Quartier Latin. Alarmed, Adrien turned all his attention to the phone. Four akuma? Four? Ladybug was going to be exhausted. While Le Quartier Latin wasn’t far by baton or car, Adrien had neither of those. He swiped his phone, hunting more information.
And then distance didn’t matter anymore. Fire. The akuma was fire.
Pre-Plagg, sneaking out of the mansion had been a complicated process, one which Adrien rarely had the patience for since the payoff wasn’t exactly large. He hadn’t known anyone but Chloé, so sneaking out had only been tempting when there was a movie on he couldn’t get at home. But now, Adrien knew all the nooks and crannies, all the ways in and out of the mansion. Ones he could take while transformed, and ones he could use to sneak back in if he de-transformed before he managed to make it home.
He’d never snuck out his secret entrances before and he was fairly certain he made too much noise for it to be considered sneaking. He was lucky his father was on a call and that the rest of the staff had left for the night.
Once he was clear of the mansion, he broke into a run.
She’d head for water. She'd have to head for water. It was the most logical thing she could do. The largest and closest body of water was the Seine. So he pre-empted her decision and angled for the river, hoping he’d come across her that way. It meant he had less distance to travel too.
Sprinting wouldn’t help, he couldn’t maintain that sort of speed and it was fortunate that he was incredibly fit, thanks to his father’s grueling regimes to keep his figure perfect for modelling and the fact that being Chat Noir made being physical a necessity. But without the suit to supplement his own strength and endurance, Adrien had to rely on himself.
He managed to jump on the back of a late night bus travelling along the river, standing on the rear bumper and completely disregarding his own safety, just so he could get a little closer to the akuma. Even with that, by the time he got there, his chest heaved in effort and he was soaked with sweat.
Ladybug wasn’t at the river, but she was close and he followed the flashing lights and sound of crackling fire. Many people milled around, watching the action and staying a safe distance away from the area cordoned off by police. Adrien could see the path the akuma had taken to get here as firefighters fought flames in buildings and trees beyond. Finding a free space to view, Adrien was just in time to see Ladybug turn her back on the akuma and curl into a ball to protect herself before being engulfed in flame.
People around him stifled shrieks and gasps of shock and he could understand that. It felt like his heart stopped beating. Everything stopped. His skin chilled, his lungs froze, his legs locked. His mind shut down, repeating a single word over and over again, an eternal loop of grief and pain. No.
Fire continued to pour from the akuma’s mouth and swept over Ladybug’s form. Heat from the blast seared Adrien’s face even from this distance, but he couldn’t move to protect it.
He couldn’t see her within the fire. Would her suit be strong enough to protect her? Her head was unprotected. Oh, god, what if she was already dead?
People watched. People waited. They talked among themselves, treating the whole thing like a spectacle to gawk at. Why weren’t any of them doing anything?
That thought spurred Adrien to take a step forward, only to smack his chest into a wooden cane held before him. Startled, Adrien glanced over to see a small, Chinese man standing beside him and watching the fight.
“And just what do you think you can do?”
“Help,” he responded, looking back at Ladybug. “She’s in trouble.” He could see it. She was dead on her feet and still fighting because how could she not? People were in danger and with or without a Miraculous, if Ladybug could help, she would. And so would he, even if she yelled at him for it again.
The akuma paused his fire belch to breathe. Ladybug unfurled from her protective position, blooming like a flower as she yanked hard on her yo-yo to pull the fire akuma off balance.
The sheer relief at seeing her unscathed made Adrien’s knees weak.
“Looks to me like she has everything under control.”
Adrien shook his head, then bit his tongue to keep from retorting. The old man didn’t know her. Didn’t know what it was like. What Ladybug needed was a partner. Someone to distract the akuma so she could do her work. Someone to tag team. Someone to be by her side.
She needed him and he couldn’t be there for her from the sidelines.
His brain worked overtime as he watched Ladybug duck and dodge flame and play tug-a-war with the akuma. There had to be something he could do. Call to the akuma. Distract it, even for a second. Sneak up behind it and whack the akuma on the head. Something. Anything.
Flicking his eyes to the akuma, he studied it. The belt. It had to be in the belt. It was the only thing which didn’t quite match the rest of the outfit.
He watched as Ladybug darted in close only to be struck across the face and flung across the street.
Adrien lurched forward only to smack into the old man’s stick again.
“What could you do, boy?” the man asked. He seemed completely relaxed as he watched Ladybug fight for her life, his life and everyone’s safety. “She’s a hero. You’re not. This is hero business.”
Adrien clenched his hands into fists. “I can help.”
He shook his head. “You’re not indestructible.”
“That doesn’t matter,” he said, watching Ladybug pick herself up and call on her lucky charm. “If I can distract the akuma even for two seconds—”
“You’d get yourself killed.”
He didn’t care about himself. All he cared about was buying her time to defeat this akuma. “It’s a risk I have to take.”
“Why you?”
“Why not me?” Adrien snarled, glaring at the man. “She needs someone to back her up. She can’t do everything alone. She’ll be a target. He’s already targeting her and—”
“She has Chat Noir.”
“No. She doesn’t.”
“Because your ring is gone.”
Blood drained away from Adrien’s face and his stomach fell through the world. His lungs emptied, then refused to take a breath in. He’d never felt so side-blinded by anything before. “What?”
“Miraculous wielders are always so altruistic,” the old man continued with a shake his head. “Even in the more dire circumstances, they put others needs before their own. It’s a wonder any of you survive.” He sighed. “If you truly must help, even without your ring, use this.” He held up a box. “At least you’ll be around to find him.”
A box which looked exactly like the one Plagg had come to Adrien in.
Adrien squeaked in shock.
The old man placed it in Adrien’s hands. “Good luck, Adrien.”
Eyes fixed on the box in his hands, Adrien didn’t notice the old man leaving. He didn’t snap back to awareness until Ladybug ripped a fire hydrant from the ground, metal shrieking and groaning, to use her lucky charm umbrella to deflect the water. Steam filled the area, fogging up his vision.
Should he use this? Would that be betraying Plagg? He felt a fierce sense of loyalty to his little friend, but it was also divided between Plagg and Ladybug. And right now, Ladybug needed him.
Plagg would… well, maybe he wouldn’t understand, but Adrien could deal with that when he found his friend.
He ducked away, hiding behind some boxes a shop owner had left out and opened the box. A golden comb with a bee perched in the middle lay nestled on velvet. Not even wondering why or how he’d been given the chance at another kwami, he plucked it out of the box and waited.
A golden ball of light, before a small pop and the bee disappeared from the comb as a delightful little creature floated above. Black paws up to her elbows, a stripy stinger and stripes on her head, she had solid dark blue eyes and a patch of fuzz around her neck which looked so soft. “Hello,” she chirped. “My name is Deedee and—”
“What’s the phrase?” he blurted, peering around the box at Ladybug. She was still trying to keep the fire akuma contained by using an umbrella to redirect water. The fire akuma was gaining precious ground on her.
“Rude!”
Cringing, he continued, “I’m sorry, you can sting me later. Right now, she’s in trouble.” Taking a deep breath, he shoved the comb into his hair haphazardly. “Wax on. Honey up. Stripes on. Stingers out.” He went through every combination of bee related things he could think of, switching up the words but she still remained.
An exasperated sigh from the bee kwami. “Fuzz up.”
Adrien blinked. “Really? Fuzz up?”
Giving him stink-eye, Deedee shot into the comb and Adrien was engulfed in yellow light. Blinking open his eyes, he glanced down at himself. Black boots to his knees, black gloves to his elbow, the rest was yellow. Striking, thick black stripes on his stomach, ending in a v point in the middle. Around his neck and down his upper arms puffed the same fuzz he’d seen on Deedee. The mask felt odd, thicker and more encumbering. Glancing in the shop window, he saw in his reflection, instead of a mask, two blue globes, much like goggles, covered his eyes. He ran his hands along the goggles, finding the bee comb tucked in the band at the back of his head. His blond hair had frosted black tips so the spikes looked like stingers, and two stood on end at the top of his head, resembling antennae.
“She’s not going to recognise me,” he muttered, barely recognising himself.
But maybe she would. She’d been able to tell him apart from his doppelganger… but only after he’d shown her it was him. He’d just have to do it again.
Glancing over his shoulder, he wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or not to find his back absent of wings. A golden hammer was attached to his hip and he lifted it to study it. Like his staff, he was willing to bet it could extend and retract, but he wondered at the hammer end. What was its purpose? The flat end of the hammer head was hexagon shaped, much like honeycomb was, while the other was a bee barb instead of being two pronged. Was he like ‘Fix it Felix’? He really should’ve asked Deedee what powers she had instead of being so impatient. He’d have to apologise.
And rely on skill instead of powers.
Ladybug cried out and the new-bee launched himself upward and onto the roof of the shop. Scurrying along, he made sure he was well behind the akuma before he engaged.
He threw himself into the fray, playing dirty as he hit the akuma from behind. Kicks behind the knees, a hammer to the back and then an uppercut when the akuma turned to confront him. While the akuma had his back to the water, the new-bee fumbled for the akuma’s belt and ripped it from him. Separated from the akuma, the man slumped to his knees.
“Ladybug, catch!” he bellowed, throwing the akuma in a belt to his lady.
She worked quickly to purify the akuma and cast her cleansing spell to fix all the damage. Slumping to her knees as her ladybugs raced away from her, she looked completely spent. His heart went out to her, but he was back now. Back at her side. Right where he was supposed to be.
Walking to her, he offered her his hand to help her to her feet. With a grin, he said, “Wasps up, Ladybug.”
Her eyes went wide as she followed his arm up. They went wider still as they landed on his face.
“I know I’m late, bee-utiful,” he said, still smiling. “But it s’warms my heart to see you’re—”
She decked him. Surging out of her kneel to issue a sharp and decisive punch to the nose. As he staggered back, she dropped and swept his legs out from under him. He hit the ground on his shoulders and she pressed her foot into the fuzz on his solar plexus. “I am about done with you akuma!”
Wide-eyed and startled, he lay still so he didn’t infuriate her more. “I’m not—”
Her yo-yo span. “You tell Papillon he will never—”
“—an akuma!”
“How dumb do you really think I am,” she snarled. “Volpina. You are not going to do that to me again. Never again. So. What idiotic name did you give yourself?”
“Um... Bumblebee,” he said, thinking quickly. “You know. Like in the Transformers. ‘More than meets the eye’?”
She didn’t look like she understood the reference.
“I helped you,” he pressed. “I threw you that fire akuma’s… akuma.”
“You de-pants one of your own,” she said, then snorted. The ghost of a smiled appeared and she turned melancholy. “Oh, Chat would’ve loved that.”
An opening! He could tell her, he had to tell her. No lies or secrets between them. Grinning his best Chat grin at her, he said, “I do—”
She ignored him. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
“My lady, I’m—”
She snarled and her foot pressed all the air out of his lungs. “Let’s get one thing straight, ‘new-bee’. You do not get to call me that. You do not get to call me ‘my lady’ or flirt or anything else with me. I’m Chat’s, do you hear?”
Wait. What?
Her toes pushed against his chest more. “Do. You. Hear?”
“Purrfectly,” he gasped.
She rolled her eyes and stopped spinning her yo-yo, returning it to her hip. “Congrats. You turned out to be my easiest akuma of the day. I hope it was worth it.” Bending down, she grabbed Bumblebee’s golden hammer. “Bye, bye, Bumblebee. Nice talk. Give my regards to Papillon.” Gripping the hammer, she tried to break it.
And failed.
Confused, she tried again. “That’s not right.”
“I told you,” he said, and rested his hand on her calf. “Not an akuma. He can’t do two at once, can he? I’m Bumblebee, your new partner.”
Blood drained away from her face and Ladybug’s mouth dropped open in horror. Dropping his hammer on his stomach, she stumbled away from him. “What?”
Winded, Bumblebee sat up and clutched at his stomach. “I have a kwami and a miraculous—”
Her hands covered her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. “No.”
He frowned, wondering why she was so upset. “Ladybug, what’s—”
She turned on her heel and fled into the night.