One Clue

Hi guys! Just a little story... this is my first Ladybug story, so please review and tell me how I can improve, and if you'd like to see anything else like this! Story prompts and suggestions are most appreciated.

Thanks!

The Dancing Princess

Marinette sighed heavily and dumped her bag on her desk. She slid into her seat, and her head sank on to her arms, hiding her face from the watching class. Marinette was late for class. Again.

Alya turned around, fixing an annoyed glare on her face, daring anyone to jeer at poor Marinette, who was obviously exhausted. The many eyes at once turned away, no one willing to subject themselves to the wrath of Alya. Alya turned back, and, waiting till the class had continued, nudged Marinette.

"Pst! Mari!" she whispered softly. Marinette groaned at the constant elbowing, and sat up. She turned to Alya, already knowing what she was going to say. "What's wrong? You've come in late everyday this week!" Alya paused, and yawned. This week had been tiring for her too. There had been Akumas every night this week, and Alya had diligently gone out to record Ladybug and Chat Noir battling them.

Marinette shook her head. "I overslept again. I just can't seem to fall asleep at night these past few days." She covered a yawn with the back of her hand and slumped down on her desk again. Hawkmoth seemed to have no shortage of victims this week, she thought foggily.

Alya grinned and nudged Marinette again. "Bet it's because you're thinking about Adriennnnnn..." Marinette rolled her eyes, blushing even though it wasn't true. Alya gleefully giggled, thinking her blush was a confession.

"Alya, I wasn't!" Marinette tried to protest, but Alya just giggled again.

Her last giggle must have been a little loud, because the teacher gave them a stern look, and both Marinette and Alya quickly busied themselves with their geography.

Marinette flopped tiredly onto her bed, and Tikki flew out our her purse to hover anxiously over her head. Marinette had somehow managed to get through the day, although she had tripped over once every ten minutes, had tipped her bag all over the ground twice, and when Adrien had said goodbye, she'd simply stared blearily through him, as if he wasn't even there. Oddly, Adrien hadn't exactly been his usual self either. He'd tripped over several times, and answered questions with single word responses. Nino had mentioned it to Alya, but she'd brushed it off.

"Adrien's a Ladybug fan, right? He probably stayed up watching the live-stream of their battles!" Nino had agreed. Adrien was totally a Ladybug fanboy.

"Marinette!" Tikki's gentle voice cut through the fog clouding Marinette's mind. "I'm sorry, but we have to keep going! Patrol tonight won't be as hard as fighting, I promise," Tikki softly patted Marinette's hair. Surely Hawkmoth could have picked a different time, with so many attacks all in one week?

Marinette heaved herself upright. "But Tikki, you're exhausted too! How long can you keep this up? Paris needs you, but you have to stay safe and well."

Tikki sighed. "You're so sweet, Marinette, but I'm an god. I can recharge with a cookie and a nap. But you need sleep! Come on, we can make tonight's patrol shorter, and then you can have a proper rest."

Marinette nodded. "Tikki, spots on!" And with a flash and a blur of light, Ladybug slipped out of the window.

By the time Marinette appeared on the rooftop of the meeting spot, Chat Noir was already there.

"My lady!" he said, as Ladybug sank to the ground, concern written all over his face. "Are you alright?" He rushed forward, but Ladybug lifted her hand to stop him.

"I'm fine Chat, just tired."

Chat Noir anxiously looked at her. She most certainly didn't look fine. Sure, he was tired too, but Ladybug had obviously worn herself out. He cursed Hawkmoth silently. Ladybug was already panting, and they hadn't even started patrol.

"But my lady, you look pawsitivly exhausted! Purrhaps I could do patrol alone tonight?" he offered, kneeling by her, trying to cheer her up with his puns. But Ladybug was having none of it.

"I'm fine. Paris needs me." Ladybug squared her shoulders determinedly. With that, she sprang up and threw her yo-yo, swinging away. Chat Noir hesitated a moment, before he followed her, being sure to watch her carefully. If his lady were to collapse, what could he possibly do?

Ladybug could really feel the effect of her exhaustion as she swung and leapt through Paris. The Ladybug suit emphasised all her skills, but it also emphasised her tiredness. She threw her yo-yo, and jumped with all her strength, but the repeated exercise was rapidly wearing her down.

Throw, jump, land, sight and throw again. Paris needed her. She couldn't let anyone down.

Ladybug gasped as she slipped, her yo-yo sliding through her fingers. She had been so focused on moving as swiftly as she could that she'd mistimed a throw. The ground rushed up towards her, the wind shrieking in her face as she frantically tried to grab something, anything to stop her headlong plummet. It felt like she was falling in slow motion, and she heard a yell, and vaguely, in a separated corner of her mind, realised it was Chat.

"Chat..." Ladybug called weakly, as her eyes closed.

The instant before she hit the ground, Ladybug felt something grab her and lift her upwards, away from that terrible drop. She grasped desperately at her saviour as her heart gradually calmed. Ladybug looked up to see Chat Noir, holding her tightly, as he resolutely bounded towards the Eiffel Tower. She weakly clasped her hands around his neck, too tired to even care.

Never, in the whole of Adrien's life, had he ever experienced the terror that he did at that moment. Ladybug, his Ladybug, had been falling, and he almost hadn't got there in time. His relief in grabbing her, lifting her up and holding her tight was so great, but what now? She was in no state to continue patrol, and her kwami would definitely need to recharge. As he bounded up the iconic tower, Chat Noir considered his options.

Option one, he could cover his eyes as Ladybug transformed and gave her kwami something to eat, and then take her somewhere where she could rest without taking her to her home. If her house was familiar, then her identity would be at risk.

Option two, he took her to a public place, away from both their homes and they found a place to transform, without seeing each other, and without anyone seeing them. Then Ladybug could feed her kwami, and then go home herself. But after seeing that terrible fall, Chat Noir wanted to make sure she got home safely. Ladybug was in no state to travel around, and trying to get anywhere alone by herself could be dangerous.

As he reached the platform where they often sat after patrol, he gently set Ladybug down and lent her against a beam. She closed her eyes, and he sat next to her, looking into her face with concern. He came to a decision. Option one was the only way to go. He couldn't let her try to find her own way home, if was too risky. She was clearly overworked, and he would blame himself if she was injured in anyway before she reached her home. Chat peered at her pale face and took her hand.

"My Lady... are you okay?"

Ladybug nodded slowly. "Yeah... give me a minute...I'll just.." she trailed off, her head leaning back against the beam. Chat sat down next to her, taking her hand.

"Ladybug, you scared this cat out of one of his nine lives!" he joked weakly, laughing out of relief, rather than at the joke. Ladybug didn't reply, and he sighed. Ladybug, the girl he cared so much about, had nearly been seriously injured... or worse. Chat gulped, shaking that terrible thought from his mind, and stood up, touching Ladybug gently on her shoulder. She opened her bluebell eyes and stared up at him, unseeing at first, but eventually looking straight at him.

"My lady, we have to go. You need to rest before Hawkmoth sends another akuma."

Ladybug nodded, and Chat gently lifted her again. This time, Ladybug protested, insisting that she could walk, she was fine. But Chat held her firmly.

"Bugaboo, I am not risking you falling again. Now..." He stood for a moment, thinking. "My lady, do you attend school?" That was a safe enough question. He was pretty sure she was school aged.

"Yeah," Ladybug said quietly, her eyes questioning. Where was this going?

"And do you walk to school?"

Again, Ladybug nodded. "Yeah, I live right acr-"

"No no no, don't tell me!" Chat interrupted quickly. "I'll just take you to your school!" he beamed at her, please with his idea. "That way you're close to where you live, but not close enough for me to work it out! Your identity is safe. Now, where is your school?"

He listened carefully as Ladybug described it, and his eyes widened. Ladybug noticed.

"What's wrong Chat? Do you know where it is?"

"Yeah, I do," he admitted quietly. "I go to that school."

For a moment they just stared at each other. Finally Ladybug broke the silence. "Do you think we know each other in our normal lives?" she asked hesitantly.

Chat shook his head. "I don't know," he answered honestly, "But I would hope I knew you well enough to recognise you." Ladybug shook her head too.

"No Chat. I'm different when I'm not Ladybug. I'm clumsy and a total dorkasaurus. I can't even talk to the boy I like. I'm a klutz. I drop things everywhere, I come in late to class, and my best friend is always having to help me."

Chat's heart dropped as he listened. Not only because she'd mentioned that she liked someone else, but also because his lady was putting herself down.

"My lady," he started, but Ladybug stopped him.

"Chat, please just take me there." Chat paused, then nodded, taking off towards the school.

When at last they reached the school, Chat Noir set Ladybug down, and stepped away.

"Ladybug?" he asked her quietly. She looked up. "If we do go to the same school... could you please give me a sign?" As Ladybug tilted her head in confusion, he elaborated. "Have you ever been to the corner of the library with the yellow streaks?" he tried, referring to a part of the library that had been half painted before an akuma struck, and the job hadn't been finished.

Ladybug nodded. "Well, I'll go there at the start of the day, and put something there." He saw her start to ask, and stopped her. "Yeah, I don't know what, but something. You'll know it when you see it, I promise. Then at lunch time, you go there, take what I've left, and at the end of the day, I'll go see what you left."

Ladybug tilted her head. "Okay," she said slowly. "But why?"

Chat Noir took a breath. "I've been thinking about it for a while, and I think we should reveal our identities. Not all at once, but just give little suggestions, and see if we can figure it out. My lady, I want to know the civilian you." Chat Noir finally looked into her eyes. She was doubtful, but eventually agreed.

"I've been thinking it might be time too. You showed me you could be trusted." Ladybug shuddered at the memory of that close fall. "You were there for me. And you've always been there for me. I-I know I can trust you. We could help each other better if we knew who we were helping." She gave a tired grin. "I'll leave something that is related to me as a civilian, and you do the same. That can be our first clue! But only one clue. That's it. We still have to be careful of Hawkmoth. Only one." Chat Noir nodded eagerly and took her hand. He knelt, kissing it and stood.

"Until then, Bugaboo!" he said cheerfully, with his two fingered salute. "Get home safe!" And with that, he was gone, vanishing to the top of the school, leaping across the roofs.

Ladybug watched him go, then released her transpiration, catching a tired Tikki in both hands and beginning the short walk home. Marinette was excited. And she couldn't wait till tomorrow.

"Oh, Tikki, what shall I give him?" she squealed happily, her tiredness partly forgotten. Above the school, Chat was thinking the same thing.