4Previously:
Adrien tensed and shoved Marinette, hard. She fell back in surprise. A stream of steaming coffee shot past her whizzing past in the space her head had been a moment ago. Screams filled the area. The lady laughed wickedly and grinned.
Marinette groaned, "What does the universe have against me?"
If Marinette had rejected the tickets or if she decided to leave with Alya then maybe the events of the following half hour wouldn't have gone as wrong as it did.
Prologue Part 2: The Fashion Show
Marinette frowned.
Earlier in life with akuma encounters, Marinette would have a moment of panic. She'd shout 'oh no!' and turn that panic into sheer determination, then transform into Ladybug to save the day as a hero of Paris along with Chat Noir. Now it was routine. Now she wanted nothing but to beat the miraculous out of the akuma so she could go back to talking with Adrien as if it never happened.
Other than the akuma she fought off earlier that morning, her day was doing so well. She was just getting into a great conversation with Adrien about design over freshly baked sweets. All of which were now ruined by the akuma in front of her.
The coffee girl laughed and continued with her not so creative introduction. "I am Scaldika. Those who embarrassed me will pay with their lives dearly!"
Why did akumas always have to butt in at the best part of her conversations. Couldn't they wait until after?
The crowd had moved together away from Scaldika, backs pressed against each other. Marinette could hear her name being called but with the bodies blocking her vision she couldn't tell which direction it was coming from.
Scaldika conjured smaller orbs of boiling water that bubbled in her hand.
"Might want to be careful. Don't want to be scalded do you?"
With a swing of her arm they turned into projectiles and hurtled towards the crowd. Marinette heard shouts and felt her body being pressed backwards even more. Out of instinct she covered her head with her arms and ducked.
Wrong move.
Photographers and models stumbled back and tripped over the young teen. In the next moment trampled over each other, limbs tangled, desperate to escape down the stairs to the lower floors and out the building. The evacuation announcement couldn't be heard over the noise.
"Wait a minute. Don't panic!" Marinette tried, but even she couldn't hear herself. Legs kicked at faces and arms pushed back shoulders. It was a mess.
'Okay Marinette, let's not ever do that again' She thought. Peeking through her arms, Marinette could make out a lot of the room now, half as empty as it was just moments ago.
Scaldika cackled as the room fogged in a thick mist.
She turned in the direction of the fleeing citizens and pushed on her legs. The crowd flow was enough to force Marinette back to her feet and she picked herself up.
Not daring to move against the direction of people panicking, Marinette hurried down the stairs. She ignored the pushes and shoves, keeping a tight hand on the railing. She glanced at the next floor. Sequins were scattered and chairs were overturned. She was happy to note the absence of Alya. Thank miraculous she didn't have to deal with this.
"Got to find a place to transform..." She muttered to herself. The sooner she transformed, the better. Maybe there was a bathroom somewhere on this floor. She couldn't see one close by.
Instead she made eye contact with a string of people dash for the fire escape.
Perfect.
Great. Another mess to add to his normal routine. After pushing Marinette out of harm's way, he'd lost sight of her. He somehow managed to be positioned on the edges of the crowd. Within the panic, Adrien turned and dived behind the bar, unsurprised to see the bartender hiding in the same spot too. He took a moment to catch his breath.
Carefully, Adrien took a peek from the edge of the counter. The akumatized villain stood with her back facing him. On the other side of the room, Adrien spotted Marinette disappear down the stairs and smiled in relief. However, the bartender had to leave so that he could transform, and there was no safe way to get to the stairs while Scaldika blocked the way.
To the cat's bad luck, Adrien's hand bumped into the neck of a fallen glass bottle on the counter and it rolled towards the edge.
"No!"
The bottle cracked against the ground.
Scaldika's arm moved and sent a jet of boiling water towards the sound. The bottle shattered instantly.
"Is that a stray rat hiding from me?"
Adrien had ducked just in time. Adrien stifled a cough in his arm as the mist in the room became thicker. It was getting harder to breathe. The bartender covered his mouth with his hands, shaking. He had to get them both out of there fast. His attention turned to movement in his peripheral vision. Plagg was frantically waving at him from his breast pocket. He pointed at a spot in the mist.
Green eyes flickered in the direction and could just make out the lines of a fire escape not that far from their hiding place. If he could use the fog as an advantage to sneak over there, it would be a safer place to transform. Adrien looked at Plagg, then the bartender.
He had an idea.
The villain's heels clicked on the floor, "Come out, come out wherever you are."
Scaldika's mist was a thick fog. She could barely make out anything. She heard a thud again and shattered another bottle. Then there was another one. She shattered a glass cup. Scaldika moved towards the sound and stepped over broken glass. She could make out the shape of the bar. With finesse she jumped on the counter and blasted the figures behind it.
But no one was there.
She clicked her teeth in disappointment.
Adrien leaned his head against the fire escape door as it creaked shut. He had to thank Plagg for distracting her. They had thrown objects in her direction. The resulting noise and unfocused attention of the villain was enough for Adrien and the bartender to slip through undetected. Plagg safely returned to his pocket.
The bartender on the other hand, didn't hesitate to run down the flight of steps, much to Adrien's relief. It would've been much harder to make up an excuse if he decided to stay with Adrien. He could pick up the sound of more civilians in a few floors down. He waited as their footsteps quickly faded away.
Once the coast was clear, his kwami once again floated out of his pocket. "Isn't that two today? I think I deserve some cheese. Throwing bottles and creating a distraction isn't hard at all but it's still worth extra camembert don't you agree?"
"You know what Plagg," Adrien breathed, glad of the clear air, "I think I will give you extra later. On the house."
"Woohoo!" Plagg flipped in the air.
Scaldika's voice from the other side of the door stifled the laughing pair, "Hurry up Ladybug and Chat Noir! I don't like to be kept waiting."
"That's our cue." Adrien looked down as steam began to seep through the crack of the door. He stepped back from it. Plagg's joy immediately left him.
"Do we have to? Ladybug will be here any minute. I think I've already done enough." Plagg rolled his eyes, but a figure caught his line of sight behind the boy. Uh oh. Plagg zoomed back in Adrien's breast pocket.
"Very funny." Adrien snorted, much to the kwami's confusion. Then Plagg realised Adrien was misinterpreting his signal. Plagg panicked.
Adrien watched the kwami shake his head furiously as he gestured an 'x' shape with his tiny arms. Adrien grinned, "I get that you don't want to transform but I don't want to be late to the party. Didn't you want that extra camembert?"
Plagg's stupid charge needed to shut up! He hissed as quietly as he could, "Adrien! Look behind y-"
"Claws out!"
With a green zap, in place of Adrien appeared one of Paris' most beloved heroes, Chat Noir. The famed cat grabbed his baton when his heightened sense of hearing picked up a stuttered squeak.
"A-Adrien?"
Chat Noir smirk was wiped off his face and he froze. The cat's ears flattened as he whipped around… and saw none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng at the bottom of the stairs, wide-eyed as her hand clutched the strap of her purse.
It's out of the bag.
Caught like a deer in the headlights.
He'd jumped out the frying pan and into the fire.
"Marinette..." There were so many words to express his shock, yet he only managed to choke out that one.
If only the akuma had stopped to give them time. The steam against the cracks poured through as the door behind Chat creaked against a strong force from the other side. Spouts of water began to spurt along the edges. The foreshadowed danger brought Chat Noir back from his shock. There was another harsh thud on the door and fractures appeared on it's surface like a pipe on the verge of breaking.
Crack!
The hero tensed. A civilian, a friend, was in harm's way of a looming threat right behind them. Instincts honed from countless battles set in immediately. The door cracked against the force, ready to burst in mere seconds. But when fighting akumatised villains, a moment was all Chat needed.
He bent his knees into a low position, poised like a feline. He pushed against his hind legs to give him speed. Chat lunged for Marinette and hooked an arm around her waist. She yelped in surprise.
Bang!
A steaming flood of water obliterated the door. Marinette felt herself lurch backwards as Chat pivoted on one foot and jumped over the railing, sending them both plummeting to the bottom floor. She screamed. Chat adjusted his hold, moving his arm around her back and his other arm under her knees.
"Hold on!"
Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.
With trained feline abilities, Chat landed on his feet and used the momentum to sprint out of the escape door. Not a second later, a flood of steaming water rushed out the building. Instead of leaving Marinette right outside, Chat pounced onto the rooftops away from the scene. He glanced over his classmate for injuries. Though somewhat shaken, from the way he could feel how stiff she was, she was otherwise untouched. He released a breath of relief.
Out of sight, the cat brought Marinette to an empty alleyway far from the akuma. He set her down and Marinette stood on her feet, shell-shocked. It wouldn't be long before the villain reeked havoc again. Ladybug could already be fighting it off and be needing his help right now!
There was so much to say and yet so little time.
"Look, Marinette." He started. What could he say? What should he say? Chat continued to stare. He stared at everything except the girl in front of him. He couldn't think straight. The adrenaline was still pumping.
Today was supposed to be the normal routine. Live life as Adrien Agreste, ditch piano practice and attend fencing practice. Then do some photo shoots and model some clothes. Then become Chat Noir and save the day with Ladybug. Detransform, rinse, repeat.
The situation was not his normal everyday routine. Who was he kidding, everything about his life was abnormal. In all honesty, he didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth, but his brain couldn't spit anything out for him.
Many times had Adrien fantasised through the ways he would have his identity revealed. He imagined it being with his Lady, charming and romantic. He had also wondered what it was like if he could reveal his identity to his friends. Yes, revealing his identity by valiantly saving them was definitely on the list of scenarios he fantasised about, but it wasn't like this. It was nothing like this. This was too soon. Everything was moving too fast.
Ladybug would positively murder him if she found out. He glanced behind him as he heard a blast in the distance, followed by screams. Guilt crept up his chest. How much time had he stood there, trying to whip up a response? How much time had he wasted?
"I'll explain everything Marinette. Okay? Don't tell anyone about this." Marinette didn't answer. Chat paused, "Please."
With that, Chat Noir scaled the alley walls and headed towards the akuma, leaving Marinette alone in the silence of the alley.
Only then, when she was alone, did Marinette manage to form coherent words, "Wha... what?"
Her legs turned to jelly and she went down in a jumbled mess. She was beyond confused. There was so much to process that she was thinking too fast. She tried to collect her thoughts in order. First, she ran into the fire escape… waited until no one was around. Then she spotted Adrien. Then there was a flash of green. Then… then …?
Marinette's eyes never left the retreating figure of Chat Noir. No, Adrien. Wait what?
Today was supposed to be a normal day. The events of what happened in the previous few minutes finally clicked in place. Marinette's expression morphed as it dawned on her.
Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir.
Oh my kwami.
"What... what the heck!"
Author's Note.
Yes, quite a quick reveal, but the part that is most interesting in my opinion is what follows afterwards. That's why this is only the set up. Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. If I did then Marinette and Adrien would've gotten together ages ago. Alas, these characters are owned by Thomas Astruc. If you somehow haven't watched it yet, do it.