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kasienda · 2 years

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Rite of Passage - Ch 4: Reunion

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Written for @jennagrinsoverml

Chapter 4: Reunion

Ladybug wanted to scream. This akuma was the worst. She had already gone through three different lucky charms and two cataclysms. She just couldn’t seem to come up with a plan that required only three people to pull off.

She needed four.

But would Tikki give her any clue about Master Fu’s current location so she could borrow another miraculous?

No.

Marinette was never sure how much influence Tikki had on the item produced by her lucky charm, but she wouldn’t put it past her kwami to try and force her hand in handing out the ring.

But Marinette was stubborn. She ducked away and let one transformation fall while instantly taking up the other. She would figure this out. And she would do it without recruiting a new holder for destruction.

Her next lucky charm was a ladybug printed copy of her Chat Noir doll.

“Tikki,” she growled.

“Rena!”

Ladybug’s head shot up at Carapace’s shrill scream.

Her best friend had been thrown up against a cement wall, and fallen to the ground in a crumpled heap. She didn’t move.

Ladybug and Carapace both rushed to her side, a green dome immediately materialized around them as Carapace cradled Rena Rouge to his chest.

Blasts struck the side of the shield, but it held.

“Rena, can you hear me?” Ladybug called.

She stirred, but she didn’t wake up.

Carapace pressed his forehead to hers and whispered something against her hair. She still didn’t open her eyes.

Ladybug looked on, her chin trembling in terror for her best friend. “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed.

Carapace threw her a startled glance. “It wasn’t your fault,” he assured. “This akuma sucks.”

But it was her fault. She could have chosen a new black cat weeks ago, or even just two lucky charms ago.

But she had been selfish.

“I’ll fix this!” She wasn’t sure she was promising Nino or herself. “When your shelter falls, take her to our old rendezvous point, let Wayzz eat, and wait for me there.”

“Where are you going?” he asked, both of their miraculouses beeping in warning.

“To get help.”

“What about the akuma?” Cracks formed in his protective bubble as the shield was struck by another barrage, as if to punctuate his point.

“Don’t worry about the akuma. We can’t win right now. Focus on getting Rena to wake up! Hopefully, the ladybugs will heal everything later. See you in a bit.”

“Aye-aye, boss lady!”

He dropped the shield and she covered his retreat with her spinning yoyo. Once he was clear, she took off in the opposite direction, swinging rapidly between buildings.

She still wasn’t certain in her choice, but it didn’t matter.

There was no one else.

…

Adrien was locked in.

His father had been so pissed at him after the stunt he had pulled with the last akuma that he had apparently ordered Adrien to his room the second the akuma alert had gone off.

Or at least that’s what Nathalie had said. His father hadn’t bothered to grace Adrien with his presence. Adrien had gone willingly, figuring that pretending to go along with the order would cost him less time than protesting.

He hadn’t expected Nathalie to lock the fucking door!

Adrien paced anxiously back and forth across his room with the coverage of the attack on his giant screen. The walk lasted fifty-two paces in one direction, and then fifty-two in the other.

That space suddenly felt incredibly small.

He walked it over and over, watching as the fight went from rough to disaster.

His heart rose into his throat, and his ringless hand clenched into a fist. Fu had been wrong. He needed to be out there. Paris needed him. Ladybug needed him.

When Rena Rouge was flung into the side of a building like she was a strand of spaghetti, super powers or no, he seriously considered climbing out the window.

They needed him.

Ladybug needed him.

When Carapace’s shield came down, Rena Rouge wasn’t standing - she was cradled in Carapace’s arms. Both he and Ladybug fled into different parts of the district, and the akuma ran wild. Building after building came crumbling down like they were built in quicksand instead of solid earth.

He wondered how many people were still trapped in those buildings.

There was no way he could do anything against this akuma without powers, but maybe he could help evacuate people out of those sunken buildings.

He turned towards the window, determined to find a way down, but before he had torn his gaze from the screen, he heard a thump behind him.

He turned and had to blink.

Ladybug was standing in his room with tears in her eyes. She said nothing. She glanced at him for a second and then her eyes locked onto the akuma coverage behind him.

“Ladybug?” he prompted.

She wiped her eyes and turned her gaze back to him. “Adrien… as you know, something happened to Chat Noir. And Paris…” her voice broke and she visibly swallowed. “Paris needs a new black cat.”

He sucked in a breath.

“I…” and she broke off into tears. “I don’t want to see anyone except him wear this ring, but this isn’t about me, and you’re the only person I could think of who… fits what this miraculous needs.”

“Wh-what do you need?” he asked, all too aware that he was wasting time while the akuma still ran free. But he had to understand. He had to know what he had done wrong, so he wouldn’t do it again.

“The black cat needs to care about others more than themself, more about the world than wealth, power or wishes.” She opened her yo-yo and pulled out a black octagonal box. His gaze flashed to the familiar container and then came back to her face even though she refused to meet his eyes.

“The black cat needs to be compassionate and slow to anger,” she explained. “You’re being gifted with the ultimate power of destruction. You have the ability to destroy the whole world,” and she broke off into tears. He was about to go to her, but she recovered quickly. “So you have to have restraint and self-control. Know when to go all out, and when to remove just a single thread.

“You will be given your miraculous full time, so you need to be discreet. Chat Noir has to protect both the citizens of Paris and me. You may have to take a beating on occasion, and so you must be resilient.”

Her tear filled eyes finally rose to meet his. “Do you think you can do all that, Adrien? Do you think that you could be my partner?”

His eyes burned with the need to cry.

“You-you really think I am all those things?” he managed around the brick in his throat.

She nodded. “I know you’re all these things. You’re the only one that has all the traits. But I don’t want to give this to you. It’s… his. I don’t know what happened to him.”

“I… I am honored that you think I could take his place,” he whispered.

“No one can replace him!” she snapped, her eyes flashing in anger. Then she took a slow breath and adopted a more neutral expression. “You’re not his replacement. You’re his successor.”

His eyes watered with threatened tears, and he blinked them back. His crying wouldn’t make sense. He nodded carefully, knowing he couldn’t manage words at the moment.

She offered him the box. And he hesitated. He didn’t know if he was supposed to say no. Fu’s note said a new cat would be chosen.

But one look at Ladybug’s distraught face, offering him the one thing she didn’t want to offer to anyone out of loyalty to him , he knew he could never say no. Not to this. Ladybug had chosen him. He trusted no one more. And if he had to choose between loyalty to Fu and loyalty to Ladybug, there was no competition.

And he knew Ladybug needed him, knew that he could be her partner, whatever Fu had to say about it.

He opened the box. Plagg manifested before him in a familiar flash of green light.

Adrien wanted nothing more than to scoop up the kwami and never let go, but Plagg probably would hate that.

Plagg said nothing for a moment. Just stared at Adrien stoically. Then he turned back to Ladybug, who was still silently crying.

“So this is to be my new holder?” Plagg asked, his tone oddly formal.

“What?” Ladybug asked. “No ‘I told you so’? You were right, Plagg. I need a Chat Noir. And Adrien will take good care of you. He’s really kind and patient and he can afford to buy you whatever kind of cheese you want. He’s also often lonely. Perhaps, your company will be good for him as well?”

He whirled back to Adrien, flashing him a huge smile and a nod.

The joy of the moment finally burst in his chest. He slipped the ring onto his finger.

It felt like coming home.

“Plagg, claws out.” The power slid down his form, cracking with adrenaline and strength that he thought he’d never feel again.

Ladybug stared at him with wide eyes.

A grin stretched across his face. “Good to see you, m’lady.”

But she didn’t smile back. Her face twisted into pure rage. “How dare you pretend to be him!” she accused. “Take it off!”

His grin evaporated. “I’m not pretending,” he told her. “It’s me.”

But she remained rigidly frozen, glaring at him with ice in her eyes. “Prove it.”

He held out a fist. “It will always be you and me against the world.”

Her anger melted away, as she let out a broken sob. She ignored his offered fist and threw herself against him. He grunted from the unexpected impact, but caught her anyway.

He would always catch her.

“Chaton!” she sobbed. “I don’t understand. I thought… I thought…”

His arms tightened around her. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you have the ring?”

“Master Fu took it. He left a note that said for the greater good a new black cat needed to be chosen.”

She looked up at him in horror, her fingers clutching into his shoulders. “He had no right! Why do the guardians get to decide who gets what miraculous?! What Kwamis are allowed to do or say?! It’s not fair!”

“Hey! It’s okay,” he said, gripping her shoulders hoping to anchor her.

“Nothing about these last few weeks has been okay! I’ve missed you so much!” She buried her face into his chest and dissolved into tears.

He clung to her harder. “I’m right here.”

Her sobs jumped an octave at his words. “Y-You tried to tell me,” she whispered in horror.

He laughed. “Yeah. That didn’t go so well.”

“I was so mad at you, then.”

“Why?”

“You sounded just like him.”

He rested his head on hers.

“But it was you the whole time,” she whispered. “You were right there, still helping. I’m so glad I found you again.”

“Apparently, I have all the makings of a black cat!” he said, his face spreading into a huge grin.

She smiled back, though her eyes were still glassy. “I’m so glad you were in my life enough for me to know that,” she whispered.

He stiffened, pulling away enough to look at her face. “I… I’m in your life?”

She nodded. “I’m Marinette.”

“Marinette?” he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

She nodded, giggling.

Something in his brain seemed to shatter and he could see it. They suddenly looked exactly alike.

This was why Marinette had been so distraught over the last few weeks. And so tired. She had been crying over him.

“I love you,” he blurted.

She laughed. “I love you, too. I’m sorry it took losing you to make me realize that.”

His hands held either side of her face, and he pressed their foreheads together letting her cerulean-blue eyes fill up his entire field of vision.

“You never lost me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she asked.

His lips pressed together, as he searched for words. “I… I thought I had made a mistake, or done something wrong. I thought you needed to find a better partner, and…” he rubbed the back of his neck. “And I didn’t want to get in the way of that.”

She shook her head rapidly in disagreement. “No! You did nothing wrong. You’re the best partner in the world! I’ve missed you… so much.”

And she was crying again. He pulled her head back against him, but before he could reassure her further, an explosion louder than all the ones before sounded from over his shoulder.

They both turned in time to see the pile of rising dust and rubble that was in place of the Montparnasse Tower.

“Sounds like we have an akuma to fight,” he said.

She nodded. “We have to go get our allies first. This one is going to need all four of us.”

“After you, m’lday!” he said, gesturing grandly to the window. She grinned at him, and launched herself out the window. Chat Noir was only a second behind.

He vaulted from building to building naturally, wind blowing his untamed locks in every direction. Despite the circumstances, he exalted and laughed in the freedom of it.

He had missed this far more than he had realized.

He faithfully followed his Lady, meeting Carapace and Rena Rouge in an alley. Carapace was still halfway supporting the fox heroine, but her eyes were open.

She blinked at him for a moment, and frowned. “Ch-chat Noir? Am I dead?”

He laughed. “Doesn’t look like it.”

“But aren’t you dead?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

All the mirth faded from his face, and he turned back to Ladybug. “I can’t believe he told you I died.”

“More implied, but yeah. Let’s worry about that later. Here’s the plan.”

The akuma wasn’t easy even with the four of them. But he and Ladybug were both in rare form, playing off each other in almost perfect sync, both of them giggling and teasing one another throughout the encounter. Rena Rouge and Carapace were swept up in their joyous banter. Morale could not have been higher for any of them. It was only a matter of time before the akuma was purified.

…

Fu watched his chosen heroes wrap up the battle like the well oiled machine he knew them to be. He smiled at their obvious joy at being reunited.

He turned towards Sass. Sass had always been the leader of this miraculous box, but Fu had never connected with him the way he had with Wayzz. He definitely missed his turtle companion, though he suspected that the miraculous of protection was never going to be returned to him as Ladybug gradually took over leading her team.

“Was I too cruel to them?” he asked.

Sass hummed in thought before replying. “You were only doing as you had been taught.”

“I’m starting to wonder if what I was taught was the best thing.”

Marinette was amazing. The best miraculous holder he had ever encountered. And she did it with creativity and a flexibility of thought that would have been stamped out of her almost immediately had she been trained by the old Guardians.

“She’s successfully completed the trial in any case,” Sass said. “There will be no more tests for her.”

Fu knew that wouldn’t be the case. She was a miraculous holder who had been thrown against a villain far more experienced and resourced than she, and she was a guardian in training. Her responsibilities wouldn't end even when the villain was defeated. There would always be more trials.

Life would see to that.

But he had one more test for her himself. One of his own devising. Wayzz would have told him it was unnecessary, and maybe it was. Marinette had already proven herself time and again.

But Fu wanted her to be free of any Master. She would become her own Master in a way that he had never been able to.

Even if it meant she hated him, the first human connection he had made in decades.

So with a heavy heart, he transformed with the snake and set off to crash what was no doubt a joyful reunion.

…

Ladybug met the three closed fists in their traditional fist bump celebration with a huge grin. Marinette wasn’t sure if she would ever stop smiling.

She tackled Chat Noir in another hug. Rena Rouge and Carapace were only a beat behind. Chat couldn’t hold them all, and they went tumbling over in a fit of giggles.

“I am happy to see you all, too! But I can’t breathe.”

Ladybug pulled back, a silly grin still stretched wide across her face.

“Can you stay and hangout for a bit?” she asked. “Or will you be missed?”

His head cocked to the side in the most adorable way as he considered her question.

But before he could respond there was a thump behind him. And every muscle in her body tensed at the sight of the man that approached their group.

Chat saw her expression and flipped around to take in Master Fu transformed with the snake.

He scrambled to his feet and to her side, their fingers interlaced tightly as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

It was the most natural thing in the world, and she drew strength from the gesture of support and solidarity. They would never be separated again. They couldn’t be even if Fu took their miraculouses.

Because she knew his name. And he knew hers.

The ancient Guardian’s expression was stone-faced. “I told you to choose a new black cat.”

“You made it sound like the first one had died!” she bit out.

“If you are to become the Guardian you must choose your own heroes,” he countered.

“I did! I chose Chat Noir.”

Chat’s hand tightened around hers.

“Did you tell her who you were?” Fu asked, directing his attention towards her partner.

She felt him stiffen in her hold, and she felt a protective urge wash over her. Adrien couldn’t lose his miraculous. Not again. It was too important to him.

Chat said with his head hung low. “She didn’t know when she offered it to me. And I almost didn’t accept it. But It was clear she needed help and Plagg indicated it was… okay?”

“Plagg has a tendency to choose based on his own preferences rather than what is for the greater good,” Fu announced dryly.

“And why shouldn’t he?” Marinette snapped, feeling as indignant on Plagg’s behalf as she did for her partner.

Adrien stepped forward, as if to shield her, but she took the step with him. He would not sacrifice himself for her. Not this time. They were in this together.

You and me against the world.

“You know I will do what’s best for Paris and for Ladybug,” Chat said. “If that means giving up the ring, I will do it.”

Ladybug opened her mouth to object, but Chat squeezed her hand harder, and she bit her lip.

“But I’m no longer confident that that is what’s best,” he finished.

“Of course it isn’t!” Ladybug snapped, pulling Fu’s attention back to her. “I didn’t know he was Chat Noir when I chose him. I did as you taught me. I thought about all the characteristics that the black cat requires, and he fits all of them! No one else does! Who do you expect me to give it to? I stand by my choice!”

“Even if it costs you both your miraculous?” Fu challenged with arched eyebrows.

Rena Rouge hissed in the background, reminding Marinette that their friends were still there. Ladybug waved her back.

“I won’t give Tikki back to you either,” Marinette insisted.

“I hope you know what you’re asking for, Ladybug,” Fu said coldly, readying his harp.

“I don’t want to fight you!” Marinette insisted, readying her own weapon. Chat and the others only a beat behind. “But I will! Chat Noir is my partner. You do not get to decide that he’s not good enough. It is my choice or his! And the kwamis - they aren’t things! They deserve to be free. To have their own thoughts and choices! And if I give her back to you. If I allow you to take the others back, they won’t be free. They will always be caged and beholden to those who would use them for their power!”

Master Fu smiled. A huge smile. It took a full ten seconds for her to recognize the expression because it didn’t make any sense. She felt like she had just stumbled and lost her balance, but Chat Noir was still holding her steady.

“You’re going to be the best Guardian there ever was,” Fu said, lowering his weapon.

“W-what?” she gasped out.

“In selecting an individual incredibly well suited to the miraculous of destruction, you have passed the Guardian’s Trial. And I am confident that if something should happen to me, the miraculous will be in good hands.”

“This was a test?” Chat Noir asked, and she could feel the tension in his form melting. But she did not feel the same. She felt no relief at all. In fact, she felt more angry.

“You put me through all that for a test?” Marinette screeched. “You let me grieve my partner as if he had died? You let him doubt his own worth and abilities? You let me face akuma after akuma without him at my side to evaluate me? For what?! ”

“Ladybug, I very much apologize for what I have put you both through. Both in making you heroes in the first place when you are so young. There weren’t any other good choices. And for putting you through this trial. It is one you shouldn’t have had to undergo for another several years. But you must understand, the Guardian has the power to change the very fabric of existence, has the power to destroy the world and more, and has access to all of time. It is not something that can ever be passed on lightly. You’ve seen the havoc one miraculous in the wrong hands can bring. Imagine the whole box was lost?”

Ladybug forced herself to take another breath, letting her thumb pass over the back of Chat Noir’s gloved hand over and over. He squeezed her hand again.

“What did your trial tell you about me?” she made herself ask.

“It told me that you were able to identify the perfect holder for the black cat. Someone who would never abuse his powers. It showed me also, that you were eventually willing to put aside your own desires, and do what needed to be done for the good of the world around you. And it told me that your partner was able to recognize his own worth when it had been called into question. And coming to that realization himself it will be harder for anyone to shake him.”

Marinette felt her anger dissipating, which irritated her immensely. She wanted to be angry. And she definitely wasn’t sure if she had forgiven him, but she could maybe understand what he had been trying to do, though there was still one piece that she wasn’t ready to let go.

“Was choosing Chat Noir the only way to pass your trial?” she asked.

Fu shook his head. “No. Chat Noir would have been the only person suitable to be your black cat. But if you had taken up destruction yourself, there were a few other candidates that would have been suitable to wield creation. You also could have chosen another pair altogether. I will admit though, this was the outcome I was hoping for.”

“So you’re saying that I could’ve passed your trial without ever learning that my partner was okay?” Her voice was ice as her anger flooded back to the surface.

“It’s worse than that I’m afraid,” Fu said.

“How?”

“I extended the trial. Normally, it ends when you choose an appropriate holder to replace someone you cared about. But I wanted to know if you would go against me if I was in the wrong.”

“Would you have reunited us?” she demanded.

“I didn’t have a plan one way or the other. You are the best with the miraculous that I have ever seen, Ladybug. Kwami buster was amazing. I’ve never heard or seen anything like that. I knew that you were an excellent guardian, and I knew Chat Noir was a huge part of your life and I knew that you had taken your lessons to heart. I truly did believe that you would find him.”

Chat Noir squeezed her hand soothingly once again. Adrien was there squeezing her hand. Adrien loved her. They loved each other and they had been reunited.

She closed her eyes and took a breath, letting some of her anger wash away. “If I become the Guardian, do I have to put others through these kinds of trials?”

“No, you do not have to do anything. That’s why I wanted to see if you would go against me. The Guardians have an ancient tradition that carries much wisdom from centuries of learning. But it is not perfect or infallible. That’s why I wanted to see if you would go against me. I hope the traditions of the past can teach and aid you, but I hope you do not become beholden to them the way that I was. You’ve taught me that there can be a better way.”

“So I don’t have to limit what the Kwamis do and say?”

“No, but there are consequences of that choice, too, and you must be prepared to face them.”

She nodded. For the first time, she wanted to become the next Guardian. She wanted to craft a system and a team that was better for both the holders and kwamis. One that didn’t require them to live tangled up in censored words and unspoken secrets.

“I understand why you did what you did,” she conceded. “I don’t know that I am over it. Now that we’ve passed your tests, can you leave us? Let us reconnect?” She really didn’t care if she sounded rude. She was exhausted, and she just wanted to curl up in the sun with her kitty and her friends.

Fu smiled. “Of course.”

Marinette sagged in relief as he departed, and she was immediately enveloped in Chat Noir’s - in Adrien’s - solid embrace. “M’lady! That was amazing!”

“Oh my god!” Rena Rouge said at the same time, rushing into their huddle. “You totally told him off!”

Carapace grinned. “Definitely badass!” he said.

She smiled back at all of them. “Only because I have been so supported.”

Rena rolled her eyes as Chat shook his head in fond exasperation. Goodness, she loved them all so much.

She pulled away, and tried to don a more serious expression. “Rena Rouge, Carapace? Will you please release your transformations?”

The two heroes evaporated and were replaced with their friends, but Ladybug paid them no mind. Instead, she watched Chat Noir as his jaw dropped, and then slid into the most gleeful smile she had ever seen.

“This explains so much about these last few weeks,” he said.

She grinned, but didn’t bother to respond. Instead, she turned her attention to the two kwamis who were eating happily out of their holders hands. “Trixx, Wayzz, I have a question for you both.”

They floated towards her.

“How do you feel about becoming permanent partners to your holders?”

Alya and Nino both tensed at the question.

Trixx squealed immediately and did a somersault in the air before whipping in circles through Alya’s hair. Alya giggled at Trixx’s antics.

“Wayzz?” Ladybug prompted. “Would you prefer to go back to Master Fu? I know you and he are close.”

Wayzz shook his head. “Master already suspected that I would not be returning to his care. He and I have said our good-byes, though I would appreciate the occasional visit. The young master Nino is a worthy chosen and I am delighted to stay in his care. But I wanted you to know, Ladybug, that once upon a time before there were Guardians, the kwamis used to choose our own holders. I would be honored if you allowed that practice to return.”

Ladybug nodded. “And would you choose Nino? Or did you have someone else in mind?”

The turtle kwami flew to Nino’s head and phased through his hat and settled there. They all laughed.

“And what about the two of you?” Ladybug asked, turning towards her friends. “Do you want to become permanent heroes? Or has this all been too stressful?”

It was a pointless question. Alya was literally jumping onto her toes in beaming excitement, and Nino was smiling at her fondly.

“We are totally in, boss lady,” Nino said.

Ladybug then turned to Chat Noir who was still grinning like an idiot. “And what do you think? Should we tell them who we are?”

He grinned, squeezing her hand that he had never relinquished. “It would make things a lot easier.”

“My thoughts exactly,” she said.

And they both dropped their transformations.

Marinette grunted as Alya tackled her from the side.

“No way!” Nino gushed. “Dude! You’re Chat Noir?”

Adrien smiled. “The one and only.”

They were wrapped in yet another group hug. Marinette caught Adrien’s eyes.

“You and me against the world?” she asked him.

“Always, m’lady. Always.”

…

#miraculous ladybug fanfiction #love square #identity reveal #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #angst #happy ending #coming of age story #speed write #for jennagrins #My Own Content #Apparently I never posted this here #oops #better late than never

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