"if this is not a dream, then please, make it so that the thread of fate that binds us never break up" -hirano mayu

☾ ☽

     Let's just say that Marinette didn't scream when a black cat flew into her room. No? Alright then, she did scream. But wouldn't you be surprised if a leather-clad superhero came out of nowhere? It was a casual Paris afternoon; the Akuma was taken care of, she just had one of her father's famous chocolate croissants and was working on a new outfit for Alya's birthday. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

     Except for when she accidentally used her red string to sew up the hem. "Tikki, I'm completely out of it," Marinette sighed, carefully unstitching each stitch to make sure neither her thread nor Alya's dress would be damaged in the process. Her gentle fingers pulled the thread out, and the string wiggled as if it were alive.

     A small breeze blew in from her room's open window with droplets of sunlight speckling the ground.

     The tiny kwami fluttered to Marinette's side, picking up leftover scraps of fabric strewn over her desk. "It's not your fault that there's a red string interfering with your daily life," She said as she tossed the scraps into the nearest garbage can, "But I think you should've at least tried to listen to Chat Noir for a few minutes. It seemed urgent."

     "The Miraculous was going to wear out; what more could I have done?" Marinette placed her needle down while trying to find valid excuses. "And with the string in the way, taking down the Akuma took twice as long." She laid her head down against the table, "That stupid string. What if it isn't Adrien at the end of it?" She shuddered, wondering who else it could've possibly been on the other side. Her body tensed, constricting and tightening as if being compacted into a tiny, inescapable box.

     Tikki fluttered over and sat herself down in her Miraculous holder's hair. She noticed the stiffness in Marinette's shoulders from stress, and tried to help her relax, "That shouldn't stop you; just because a red string you are able to see tells you one thing doesn't mean you're unable to follow your heart!" Marinette smiled at her kwami's comforting words and rubbed Tikki's head with her index finger. Tikki giggled, glad that Marinette was feeling better. She was like a ray of sunshine: warm, bright and full of life, but when dimmed it is hard to get back. Tikki knew that.

     Right in the middle of that warm, fluffy moment, a black blur moved from the corner of Marinette's eye and it tumbled onto her floor from her open window. She screamed, leaping back in her seat with her arms flailing and bending in strange ways. Tikki ducked away as fast as she possibly could, hiding behind the nearest object and peeking out nervously.

     The figure stood upright, revealing a black cat clothed in skintight leather. A belt-like tail dangled from behind him and wriggled like a worm. A mangle of blonde hair draped over his bright, green eyes and a crooked smile was painted on his face. "Good afternoon, Princess. I hope you didn't mind my claw-some entrance," He said, confidently placing his hands on his hips.

     "C-Chat Noir!" Marinette exclaimed while hustling onto her feet, quickly looking over her shoulder to find Tikki safely hidden away, "What are you doing here?"

     "Is it wrong to grant my Princess a visit?" He got onto one knee, grabbed her right hand and kissed its back softly. Her eyes began to wander down at their hands, mostly his pinky, but she jerked her eyes away. She didn't want Chat to realize that she could see the strings, which could eventually lead to him figuring out her identity. She laughed nervously, pulling her hand away and quickly noticed something behind the superhero.

     The collage of Adrien Agreste photos.

     Her breath drew into a thin hiss, not escaping Chat Noir's attention. "Is something wrong?" He began to turn around, but Marinette immediately grabbed his shoulders and swiveled him around.

     "Aha, what are you about talking-, I mean talking about?!" She rushed and tumbled over her words like a ball rolling down a hill. She most definitely couldn't let Chat Noir see them; what if he knew Adrien and told him about a creepy stalker in his class? "Now what can I do for you?" Marinette gestured towards the couch, far away from her desk and the collection of images where Tikki was discretely trying to collect.

     Chat Noir followed her lead, sitting himself down and crossing his legs in the process, "Actually, this might require a bit of purr-suasion, but I was wondering if I could paw-sibly get your advice."

     "Two puns in a row," Marinette muttered, "Could this day get any better?"

     "What was that?"

     "Nothing!"

     Chat Noir leaned forward in his seat and Marinette realized how bright his eyes actually were. They seemed to draw her in, like an endless abyss. The suit defined his muscles; every time he shifted, the suit revealed-, what was she thinking? She shook her head, pushing away her betraying thoughts. "See, I'll be visiting my Lady later tonight for our evening patrol and I wanted to get her something special before I meet up with her. Do you have any ideas in mind; you being a upcoming designer and all."

     Something zipped by in Marinette's mind. "Wait a minute; how did you know that I wanted to be a designer?" She said suspiciously, squinted at the cat.

     Chat Noir's eyes shot wide open and he waved his hands in protest, "U-Uh, see here, I saw your designs in your room!" He quickly pointed towards her sketches hanging on her walls, "And it's no secret that you're talented! I know that good looking model, Adrien Agreste, modeled for one of your derby hats for a competition. It's all over town."

     "Ah." Marinette nodded in agreement. That would make sense on how he knew about her designs; everyone in Paris practically knew Adrien.

     Chat placed a hand on his chest and taking a sigh, as if he just escaped something deadly. As did Marinette, when she noticed that the majority of the Adrien photos were gone from her work area. She secretly reminded herself to reward Tikki with extra chocolate chip cookies for dessert. "So, anything in mind?" Chat interrupted her thoughts, waving a clawed hand in front of her face.

     "Oh!" Marinette exclaimed, pretending to be mildly interested due to the fact that she was helping him decide what to get her, "Uh, jewelry? All girls love those. Bouquet of flowers?" She now had to figure out what to give Chat in return, but what in the world would that cat want? A ball of yarn?

     He shook his head, "No, I already thought about those. Ladybug deserves so much more than trivial, non-lasting items." A sad expression dawned on his face, and Marinette was instantly struck with sympathy for no apparent reason. She reached out, gently stroking Chat's blonde hair in steady, downward motions. He froze at her touch, utterly confused on why she would do so.

     "Why don't you try being yourself?" Marinette recommended slowly, being cautious to not step over the line, "I'm sure she will appreciate you just for being you; no need for buying anything over the top. She doesn't seem like the type to be interested in those sorts of things, anyways."

     "Being myself..." Chat Noir murmured. He shot up in an instant as if downing five bottles of energy drinks which just kicked in, "I got it! Thanks, Princess." He bent over, swiftly planting a kiss on her cheek. It was short and brief, but Marinette was already growing a blush by the time he ran and jumped out the window. But in that moment, she was immediately dragged forward towards the window and as she climbed up onto her balcony, she saw her string being pulled along by a black cat soaring off into the sky with his silver pole.

     It was stretching out, but Marinette caught it just in time before other strings began to interfere. Her jaw dropped, and she couldn't move. Tikki flew up, resting herself on Marinette's shoulder, "What's wrong, Marinette?"

     "I-It, no way," Marinette stuttered as she saw the superhero disappear behind a building. Her legs wobbled and she slumped onto her knees. She noticed and she realized.

     Her string was connected to Chat's.

☾ ☽

     Meanwhile, on the other side of Paris, a certain villain was plotting out his next attack. The last two most definitely didn't go as planned, and Hawk Moth wanted to make sure that this time would be the last. He closed his eyes, trying to sense any feelings of distress, but somehow in this magical land, those emotions were rare.

     "I still cannot understand how no one is feeling upset!" He angrily thumped his cane against the ground, "Why must I be the only one?!" However, the cane pounding caused the window to open and an image came into Hawk Moth's mind. "Let us not waste this opportunity!" He told himself, zooming in on the person, "Alright. So what happened was..."

     He stopped his monologue. It was a girl, the exact same girl who he failed to akumatize on his first trial. She was grumbling to herself on how she didn't have enough time to write and please her readers, and the ongoing persuasion to update only caused her stress and tormenting emotions to grow. Her short, choppy black hair fell onto the keyboard as she began to smack her poor computer once again. Hawk Moth couldn't understand; the electronic did absolutely nothing wrong and didn't deserve punishment.

     But a chance was a chance.

     "Still fighting over your writer's block and demanding pressure? There is no problem, for you will be in control soon enough." Hawk Moth held out a hand, and a trained butterfly landed on his hand without any effort. He carefully cupped the insect, filling it with power. As he raised his right hand, the bright blue butterfly had turned into a dark mix of black and purple. It took flight out of the small entrance in his window, and he slammed his cane into the ground again. "Go and take flight, my little Akuma, and give this author the determination she deserves so she can carry on with her writing!"

     The little butterfly flew over Paris, fluttering into the girl's room and possessing a black bracelet dangling from the girl's arm. She sat upright, and the outline of a glowing butterfly traced her face. "Cliffhanger, I am Hawk Moth," The villain spoke to the girl with delight, "From now on, you have the power to control whoever you want. No one could ever interfere with your time again. Yet in return, you'll have to do something for me..."

     "Which is..?" The Cliffhanger slowly replied, her brown eyes illuminating into a bright purple.

     "When the time comes, bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses!" He squealed, stamping his feet into the ground with excitement like a preschooler. Realizing what he was doing, Hawk Moth immediately stopped and coughed into his fist. Nothing had happened. He refused to believe it.

     The girl frowned, "You must be really desperate if you're coming to me for help. I don't deserve a cool name like the Cliffhanger; Trash Can would be more applicable."

     Hawk Moth just realized that he picked the wrong person to do this job.

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please understand that even if you comment "update" three seconds after i post, i'm not going to write anything immediately.

my brain doesn't think: oh, wow! they asked me to update right when i actually updated! guess i gotta write another chapter! no.

xoxo,
arisa