Chapter Text
~Bridgette~
“You’re a very bright girl, Bridgette, why are you so nervous when it comes to public speaking?” Tikki asked, sitting on the side of a cardboard box, puppies curled up inside of it. Bridgette crouched down in the rain, setting up her umbrella to shelter the puppies. She had passed by this street on her way to defeat the villain earlier, though she had already notified a local animal shelter, she couldn’t help but worry for them until they were in safe hands. Bridgette sighed, now that Tikki was visible to her, the two had been conversing since the attack.
“I don’t know, I just freeze up. My mind goes a million miles an hour, but I can’t seem to get anything out.” Bridgette said, searching through her bag for the dog food she bought. Tikki tilted her head, eyeing Bridgette.
“You didn’t seem to be nervous around Chat Noir, even if you were borrowing some of my confidence.” Tikki said. Bridgette removed a tattered blanket from her bag and draped it over the puppies.
“You’re okay now.” Bridgette said softly. She looked back up at Tikki, a smile danced across her lips, Chat Noir was just a flirt, he didn’t count. “If only I could be as articulate around people as I am around animals, maybe then I could…” Tikki’s gaze shot up to something behind her, Bridgette turned on her heel to see Félix staring down at her, a curious look on his face. “Fe-Félix, I, um, I’ll be going now and…”
“Wait.” Félix said, extending Bridgette the umbrella he was holding. He averted his gaze but held out the umbrella anyway, he seemed earnest. “I was going to give this to you earlier, but you seemed preoccupied.” He said, Bridgette’s face flushed as she realized he’d overheard her talking to Tikki. He wasn’t able to see Tikki, so she probably looked crazy.
“I-I should be going now, thank you for the umbrella.” Bridgette said quickly, taking the umbrella from Félix. Only when she grabbed the umbrella from his hands, she accidentally pressed the self-closing button, causing the umbrella to snap down over her body. Félix’s eyes widened in surprise and then he chuckled warmly. Bridgette blushed upon seeing his genuine expression. She had known for quite some time that he acted formally and put in all his effort into maintaining his public image. This was the first time she’d seen him let his guard down… he… truly had a kind soul, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
“Very well then, I have to go back inside. Do stay away from my house though, or I’ll think you’re stalking me.” Félix said smirking, gesturing toward the Agreste mansion. Bridgette’s blush deepened from underneath the umbrella.
“I-I’m not a, it was an accident, I didn’t know…” She stuttered before giving up to cover her bright red face. Félix smiled once more before turning on his heel to return to his house, Bridgette followed after him, holding out the umbrella for them to share as she escorted him back across the street. Félix didn’t say a word, only offering a questioning look her way but accepting the kindness regardless until they parted ways.
Bridgette walked back home in silence, the soft pitter patter of the rain on the umbrella, and the sound of her feet stepping through the collecting puddles weren’t enough to drown out her beating heart. Tikki looked at her knowingly, itching to say something. Bridgette shook her head, there was no way she had a crush on Félix , she just wanted to be his friend, and see him smile like that again.
...
Bridgette tapped her pencil on her desk, contemplating the incident. As far as she could tell, the akumatized victim had been attacked in a negative emotional state, leaving him open to a sort of hypnotic suggestion, the only question remaining was if he still had a sense of self. Based on his attack patterns, he was still able to think logically despite remaining in a constant state of anger,. However, since the victim had no clear objective, besides causing mayhem, Bridgette was unable to determine the goal of the mastermind behind this. Tikki had not yet provided a potential cause, and Bridgette wasn’t keen on the idea of stopping a serial killer.
“...Chat Noir…” Bridgette furrowed her brow at the name, what was his deal anyway? He couldn’t have been all bad, considering he did help her, but his constant shallow flirting and joking was quite distracting. There was a chance he was the mastermind behind the attack, but that seemed unlikely given the power set he possessed… unless he possessed two miraculouses, in which case… Bridgette sighed. “Bridgette, were you listening?” Allison’s words finally pulled Bridgette out of her thoughts.
“Sorry, I was thinking.” Bridgette admitted, scratching the back of her head. Most of their homeroom class was out today, given yesterday’s shocking events, it made sense that not all were keen on showing up. The class was reduced to Bridgette, Allison, Ivan, Melodie, Félix , and Gavin, he had a buzz cut and wore orange headphones around his neck. Allison frowned but started over.
“I went to the scene yesterday, after the superheroes showed up and saved the day, primarily to check on my dad, but when I got there, I ran into Chat Noir. I asked him for an interview, as any good reporter would. Anyway, I want to start a blog following these heroes, I was hoping you could grammar check the French version of my site.” Allison stated clearly, Bridgette blinked back her surprise.
“S-sure!” She said, not quite sure what she was hearing, “So, you had an interview with Chat Noir?” Bridgette asked, Allison smiled brightly.
“Yeah! The cat superhero, he said to call him Chat Noir and his partner, Ladybug. I have the interview on my cell, it’s got some exclusive scoops.” Allison pulled out her phone, turned up the volume and handed it to Bridgette.
The frame shook slightly as the orientation changed to a wide shot.
“Excuse me! Are you the one who healed the man earlier!?” Allison’s voice rang out as she approached Chat Noir. Curiously, Chat Noir’s face was blurred in such a manner that Bridgette couldn’t see his features clearly, nothing distinctly identifiable. It was odd since it wasn’t like the blurring filters news stations used, but like a magic filter to prevent her from even telling his hair or eye color. It was likely an effect of the miraculous. Chat Noir’s eyes flickered to the camera before fixing his posture, a devilish grin appeared on his face.
“Don’t ya know it. The name’s Chat Noir, Paris’ finest superhero.” Chat Noir replied, surprisingly relaxed in front of a camera, he was a natural.
“Have you fought a supervillain before? Did you do it alone? Can you explain what just happened?” Allison’s questions flew out at high speed, the ring on Chat’s left hand started blinking, accompanied by a beeping sound, indicating he was running out of time before he reverted back to his civilian form. Chat smiled softly, formulating his answer.
“I’m helping Ladybug and her quest to defeat evil. As long as there are people we can save, we’re going to be there to help. That’s all the time I’ve got, later!” Chat Noir waved as he used his staff to propel himself over the nearest rooftop.
Bridgette turned to look at Allison, goose bumps on her arms, she was grateful Chat Noir didn’t say more about the situation, not causing panic was a high priority, and if they really were facing off against a supervillain, the less the mastermind knew about them and their knowledge, the better. Allison grinned widely.
“Cool, right? Real life superheroes, and the beeping ring, you think he turns back to normal after using his powers? Like Cinderella!?” Allison beamed, excited at figuring out how the miraculous worked, Bridgette chuckled, some information would get out from observation, but it would be best to keep as much information hidden as they were able.
“Are you going to try to find out their secret identities?” Bridgette asked, wanting to address the possible threat right away. Allison frowned, her eyebrows drawing together.
“I’m not sure. It would be nice to know so that they can get help from the government in and out of uniform as needed, but I don’t know what caused the man to become a supervillain in the first place. If there’s an evil mastermind out there, having their identities exposed could put them more at risk than they already are. So… no, not for now at least. I’ll need more information on the situation before I can decide whether it’s okay for me to investigate.” Allsion said, Bridgette smiled, nodding.
“‘Reserve anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution or other harm, and have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere.’ One of the key pillars of the journalists' code of ethics, if I’m not mistaken.” Félix said absentmindedly as he flipped the page on the book he was reading. Bridgette blushed at knowing he had overheard them talking, they were being too loud.
~Félix~
Félix sighed, sitting in the school library. He wanted to stay home today, he wasn’t entirely sure why school was open in the first place, but he was expected to go regardless. Yesterday was hectic, and Paris was still trying to process what happened in the Latin Quarter. The existence of real-life supervillains and superheroes, combined with the upheaval of known science, and the aftermath of the National Alert Network sounding was, admittedly, confusing to navigate. Unsurprisingly, most of the students elected to take the day off, with the exception of a handful of scholarship students, Melodie, the student council president, and Félix . Classes were relaxed, the material today was rather simple given that anything covered would have to be easy for the absent students to catch up on. Either way, Félix was hiding out in the library, his own safe haven. Plagg made his presence visible to Félix , but lied down on the table to take a nap. Félix scoffed, but recalled the spells he’d used versus the ones that Ladybug had. Ladybug’s spells were in French, but Félix ’s were in some language he was unfamiliar with.
“Plagg, is there a French translation for the spells I need to know?” Félix said, narrowing his eyes at the cat spirit. Plagg opened one eye slowly, glaring at Félix .
“Yes.” Plagg said succinctly before closing his eye again, Félix scowled, Plagg was truly something else.
“What are they?” Félix asked again, playing Plagg’s game. Plagg didn’t bother opening his eye a second time.
“‘Claws Out’, ‘Cataclysm’, and there are some others, but you need to form a contract with me before I can grant you those.” Plagg said, yawning deeply before tucking his tail underneath his chin. Félix took a deep breath to relax, hating himself for giving the maleficent spirit the time of day.
“Tell me.” Félix said, Plagg’s ears twitched happily.
“‘Black Storm’ can release a ball of energy at attackers, and ‘Black Hole’ can capture them, the price to pay would be more bad luck in your civilian form. Consequences of that could be extremely beneficial to you and allow you to keep your enemies at bay.” Plagg explained, appearing relaxed. Félix crossed his arms, it could be a useful trade off, but he was already quite annoyed with the bad luck he had now. Anymore misfortune and his modeling career could be in jeopardy. Plagg certainly had a way with words, but the spirit could not be trusted, he was fundamentally a god of destruction, any affiliation with Plagg was bound to lead to disaster.
Félix straightened his posture, causing his muscles to cramp from the sudden movement. Though he was quite athletic, any added workout would put strain on his body. Plagg’s magic dampened the effects significantly, but he kept a mental note to R.I.C.E. after ballet practice. R.I.C.E., an acronym for rest, ice, compression, elevation, was a first-aid treatment method for soft tissue injuries, including muscles, nerves, tendons, and the like. Rest should be taken as light exercise and gentle stretching rather than complete immobilization of the injury site, as the acronym would suggest. Félix massaged the muscle cramp out of his leg, paying attention to keep his breathing even. Chat Noir was great, he didn’t feel any lingering injuries, soreness, and was never out of breath. If anything, it seemed to enhance the skills he already had rather than set all possible skills at a new maximum. Perhaps that was why Ladybug had so much trouble, she likely wasn’t an athletic person, explaining her poor coordination, but she was extremely clever, manifesting itself in her ability to think on her feet and strategize in real time. Félix frowned, if that was the case, then he wouldn’t be able to trick her into kissing him. He’d have to romance her. However, he knew next to nothing about her, what she looked for in a partner, her love language, and the like. The time spent with her was limited, so he’d have to work efficiently.
Someone tapped Félix 's shoulder, causing him to turn around, coming face to face with Melodie. She smiled brightly before sitting down in front of him.
"How are you feeling? Holding up okay?" She whispered, resting her hand on top of Félix 's, he pulled away, scowling into the book he was reading. Melodie of all people should know how little he liked being touched, and yet she was always so clingy when it came to him. Melodie rolled her eyes but continued. "Rumor has it that you've been making suitors cry when you reject them. Think you could be more gentle about it, for me?" She said softly, tilting her head to meet Félix 's eyes behind his book. Félix scoffed, not seeing why Melodie cared about his own affairs. He had so many fans profess love to him, but when he asked them what they liked about him, their answers were always superficial. If they weren't, they were stalkers, which provided an assortment of other issues. One such incident last year involved someone sending him a lock of hair baked into a cake, which, fortunately, his bodyguard had intercepted before he had to see it. "You know…" Melodie trailed off, standing up, "... if you want to let them down easy, just say you're dating me. That's believable enough, don't you think?" She said, chuckling. Félix scoffed.
"That's not funny." He said, his gaze sharp. Melodie stuck her tongue out at him playfully, giving him a tight hug.
"Sure, sure. I was just checking on you, I have some other things to take care of, so I'll be going now. I'm always there to talk if you need it." Melodie said, leaving the library once more. Félix sighed, happy to have some peace and quiet once more.