Consider Adrien

Not a friend: Green eyes and messy hair

Another late night in the studio, carving another masterpiece of failure. Theo pulled back from his latest creation to look it over with a critical eye. He'd carved her fringe too short; there would be no fixing it. Six hours wasted!

He sighed and knocked it off the pedestal without caring where it went, but there was no resulting crash. He frowned, turning his head to look, only to shriek and fall back at what he found.

Cat Noir, crouched less than a foot away from his stool with the failed bust in his hands, quirked an eyebrow at him. "I know I'm shockingly attractive, and no one could blame you for screaming over it, but weren't you in love with my partner?" he asked dryly. "I've heard of spurning someone's face before but this is ridiculous."

"How long – where – how –" Theo grabbed at his thumping heart, staring wildly. "What are you… what are you doing here?"

"A couple of different things," he said, as if he wasn't a superhero that had apparently just teleported into Theo's studio without warning to scare him half to death. He carefully set the bust aside, then peeked at him sideways. "Are you okay?"

"You scared the life out of me," he snapped. "How long have you been here for? How'd you get in?"

"Less than a minute, and through the window. You should really lock those things," he said, pointing over his shoulder to the windows high overhead. Sure enough, one of them was cracked just enough for Cat Noir's lithe frame. Which was, Theo noted with an artist's eye, both thinner and taller than he'd previously thought and sculpted. He scowled at the reminder of his failings as a sculptor, but said nothing, just got to his feet and brushed himself off. Cat Noir tilted his head curiously. "You seem stressed."

"Stressed is not the word for it," he said. "I'm just not used to obnoxious superheroes randomly showing up in my studio without warning!"

"Are you used to non-obnoxious superheroes showing up in your studio without warning?" he asked with a cheeky grin. "I didn't think that was how Ladybug spent her free time, but you did clarify, so…?"

He glared at him. "What do you want?"

Cat Noir just continued smiling at him for a moment, then abruptly pushed himself upright and set his hands on his hips. "I lied to you. Sorry about that."

"What?"

He shrugged carelessly. "Ladybug and I are not, have never been, and sadly, likely never will be 'a thing'," he said, his eyes drifting off to the side before returning to him, a crooked smile on his lips. "Partners, yes… in a sense. But not romantic. However, jealousy is something of a personal flaw of mine. And so I lied, thinking that would scare you off. I wish I could say I didn't mean to hurt you, but I did. But I am sorry."

Theo stared at him for a few moments, not entirely sure how to take the whole thing. He didn't remember a lot of his time as Copycat, but he did remember Cat Noir being a smug jerk at the presentation ceremony. It was what had made Theo vulnerable to Hawkmoth. And despite the apology, Cat Noir still looked arrogant and amused, like the whole thing was just a stupid joke. So why even bother apologising? Why bother –

Theo pulled his head back with narrowed eyes, taking another, longer look at the superhero.

God, what was he, fourteen?

How had Theo not known Cat Noir was a kid?

How long had he stared at, carved, moulded that face? How had he not… it… He turned away with a breathless huff, disgusted with himself. Not only had he not noticed Cat Noir was a child, but he'd actually been jealous! Jealous of a… and this! This apology, implying the whole thing had been – been what? The impulsive, pig-headed claim of an insecure fourteen year old? And now said fourteen year old was fronting up to apologise for it, when Theo himself could barely…!

Ugh, he was not doing well this week.

He sighed heavily, running a hand over his hair. "Apology accepted. I'd apologise for framing you for stealing the Mona Lisa, but –"

"You have nothing to apologise for," Cat Noir interrupted, ducking around to see his face again. "That was all Hawkmoth."

Theo glanced at him, then rolled his eyes. He didn't need this from a kid. "Don't be naive."

"Pardon?"

Theo shook his head, heading over to his desk. "I might not remember being Copycat, but I know how the akuma work. They don't control our minds, they make us into… They take our darkest thoughts and feelings and make them real. When we're akumatised, we become the villains we would be if only we had the chance," he said, clenching his fists in front of himself. "Hawkmoth makes it happen, but why shouldn't we be blamed for the things we did as supervillains? It was still me."

"And here I thought it was just a stereotype that artists were melodramatic," he said dryly. Theo went to scowl at him, but Cat Noir wasn't looking at him anymore. He had kept silent pace behind him, and was inspecting the sketches spread across the desk, claws lightly skating over the soft lines and smudged edges. "You made our statue because you like Ladybug, right? You wanted to sculpt her, so you put forward your proposal and design and went for it."

He furrowed his brow, confused by the change in subject. "Yes…?"

"You didn't want to sculpt me."

Theo flinched. Cat Noir was smirking at him from under his hair, like it didn't matter, but it still felt like something Theo should be ashamed of. "I… I didn't…"

"You would have preferred not to sculpt me, but you did it anyway," Cat Noir reminded him, lowering his eyes back to the sketches. "I bet a bunch of artists submitted designs that just had Ladybug, or put her more central, but you read the brief and you designed a statue that worked for us both. That's why you were picked, and why your statue's in the park, not theirs."

"I…" He hesitated, but Cat Noir wasn't finished and overrode him anyway.

"I'm not saying you hated doing it. You're an artist, you enjoy creating. But," He paused, tilting his head to look at one of the pictures sideways. "If you'd had your choice, you would have left me out."

Theo stared at him silently, refusing to admit to what he knew was true. In response to that, Cat Noir just sucked in a deep breath and straightened up, raising his arms up over his head in a stretch. "The thing is," he said, voice strangled with the movement before he let his arms drop like lead weights, "we all do things we don't mind doing. But it's not really a matter of choice. And at the end of the day, it's our choices that decide who we are. Not what we do, not what we say, but what we choose."

"You don't think that's the same thing?" he asked, and Cat Noir shook his head.

"I have to believe it isn't," he said, and for a moment, he caught Theo's gaze in those too-green eyes. "That's why I needed to apologise. It might have been a stupid thing, getting jealous and saying what I did, but it was something I chose to do. No Hawkmoth screwing with my head, no lines I was reciting, no reason other than I was an idiot. And it was wrong. I was wrong. And I'm sorry."

Theo stared at him silently. As an akuma victim, he was inclined to think Cat Noir 'had to believe' on behalf of the victims – that the people the superhero fought and saved alongside Ladybug couldn't be to blame because otherwise letting them go raised all sorts of ethical concerns. But as an artist, he noticed the way Cat Noir had brought it back to his own mistake. His own choices. Cat Noir was so arrogant, carefree and impulsive… what did he do that wasn't his choice?

But… the thought process itself was strange too. He could kind of understand what Cat Noir was trying to say… something about the difference between what you would do versus what you wanted to do, and probably something about free will and thin lines, but he was coming at it from a very strange angle. Like how addicts could justify their actions in a way that made sense until you actually tried to follow their logic alone.

Maybe it made more sense when you had superpowers.

In the end, Theo said nothing, just moved around the desk to sit in his chair. Cat Noir kept watching him for a few seconds, and then refocussed on the sketches. Not really sure how to continue the conversation, Theo waited a couple of seconds before asking, "You like art?"

"Not especially," he admitted. "But I appreciate talent, and you can always tell when someone's doing what they love. The fact that these sketches are all of Ladybug certainly helps my interest," he added with a dirty grin.

"I've been given a few commissions, following the statue," he said in slightly defensive explanation. "Rich people that want a little bit of her in their gardens."

"Sure, sure, I get that," he said playfully. "Doesn't hurt that she's strong, kind, beautiful, amazing…"

Theo raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure Cat Noir was trying to tease him, but he was mostly coming off as love-sick. "Orders are still open if you want a statue of your own."

"Ooh, tempting," he said. "But I think our little love triangle here is messed up enough without us helping each other pine. Hey, do you have the time?"

He blinked, startled again by the sudden change in subject. He glanced at his watch and told him, surprised to see Cat Noir grimace and roll his shoulders.

"I need to get going. I didn't intend to stay long," he said, pulling his hand away from the papers. "Before I go, however, there is one more thing I need to say."

Theo waited, but after a minute it became obvious Cat Noir was expecting another prompt. He rolled his eyes at the dramatics. "Yes?"

He hesitated another second, then asked, "Are you okay?"

"What?"

He sighed, setting his hands on his hips and glancing down at the floor again. "I was going to tell you it wasn't your fault, but I realised that's kind of what we were talking about before I got all self-absorbed," he said, before returning those strange eyes to Theo's own. "So I'll make it simpler. Are you okay with… everything?"

He stared at him blankly for a few seconds. This had been a very strange encounter, and honestly Theo wasn't sure what to make of it. Cat Noir confused him. In a lot of ways, he was so utterly human – just a teenage boy, dealing with things the same way all teenage boys did: bluster and jokes, because that hid the fear. But at the same time, he was a superhero, with the power of destruction literally in the palm of his hand. So much potential for damage, and the worst he'd done was make a few stupid comments about a girl. And even that had brought him here, less than three days later, to apologise.

The artist in Theo instantly warmed to the dichotomy, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks for checking in, kid."

That actually made the cat blanch, before he grinned and leaned forward from the hips. "You know, I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure my lady is the same age as me, so if I'm a kid and you're crushing on her…?"

Theo twitched, and Cat Noir snickered before sliding away.

"But it's good to hear. Until next time, Mr Artist," he said, and started jogging back toward the window.

"You know there's a door," Theo called after him, but Cat Noir just tossed a grin over his shoulder and leapt up into the rafters before launching himself through the window in a single movement.

Theo stared at the empty window for a long time. When he looked down again, his gaze drifted over the paper and sketches in front of him, at the girl he'd watched and idolised. An image. Two dimensional and static.

He pulled a blank sheet before him and picked up a pen. It was green, he realised after putting it to paper. Appropriate.

He started with the eyes.

Ah, Theo. Working like six jobs, randomly appearing in the boys' bathroom at a middle school, going on walks with the KidsPlus weather girl that I assumed was like thirteen… I can justify all of it with headcanons, but not right now.

This could also be expanded into a longer story (or two, actually), but probably won't be. So… Theo. This is the last of these for now, as I have no more written. We'll see how it goes/if it will continue. Please let me know what you thought!