Turning A Monster Into A Man

Five

Ladybug sat with a bag of pastries at her and ChatNoir's regular hangout spot. She attempted to call him wanting someone to talk to. But she only reached his voicemail.

"Has the cat got your tongue? Leave a message!"

She giggled hearing his young and naive voice. He was only fourteen when he recorded the voicemail. A little blast from her past as she missed when they were just stupid kids trying to make the world a better place.

"Hey, Chaton….. it's not an emergency or anything just thought we could talk about stuff. I kinda need company. I brought snacks and a bottle of wine, you like white right? Oh… shoot it's red isn't it? Welp…."

Ladybug groaned as she had reached the max length. She stared at what laid before her. A blue sky that turned a slight violet as time went on. She tried to enjoy the highlight of this spot. Which was that it was the perfect spot to view the Eiffel Tower. A building that seemed to be a staple of both Paris, France and Ladybug and ChatNoir's adventures.

"He's probably busy." She said to the air as know one was listening just her and the thoughts that she wasn't afraid to say out loud. "I'm not expecting him to drop everything for me. That would be inconsiderate and selfish and I'd be at work if I just WOMANED UP. But I am stupid." Ladybug stood on the edge of the roof. "YOU HEAR ME PARIS?! I AM STUPID! SO IS GAB-"

Ladybug was disrupted by her ringing yo-yo. She quickly picked it up as it may or may not be an emergency.

"LADYBUG! GABRIEL WAREHOUSE
…..NOW! COLLECTOR….. BACK!"

ChatNoir's connection was going in and out. A problem that was mostly likely him trying to defend himself. "REALLY?! MY BAD! BE THERE ASAP!"

ChatNoir dodged The Collector's notebook by diving underneath a desk causing the desk to vanish into the book. The book then returned to it's master as if it was a book shaped boomerang.

"What's got your panties in a twist this time, old man?" ChatNoir asked purposely playing the antagonist. He needed the fashion monstrosity to target him for his plan to work and if it didn't at least it would stall until his Lady arrived.

The Collector's lilac toned face flashed with fury. He threw his book only for ChatNoir to counteract it with a stapler. "I think that will be the STAPLE of your collection." He let out a slight self satisfying chuckle.

"Useless cat." The Collector spat.

"Useless? You have called me worse." He jabbed as unbeknownst to The Collector his opponent was his eldest son, Felix Agreste. A person who tried his best to ignore reason and rules when he sported his leather costume. Usually until Ladybug came around and knocked some sense back into him.

The Collector watched as ChatNoir remained at least ten feet away. Not risking hand to hand combat, not when The Collector had a flying trap at his beck and call. All he had to do was distract ChatNoir long enough then let the book do the rest of the work.

"Here, kitty, kitty." The Collector called.

ChatNoir's ears flattened. "Don't patronize me, Prince Lotor." An insult that compared The Collector to a character on the show, Voltron. A character with purple skin, white hair, and a bad habit of ending up on the wrong side.

'CRASH!' 'THUNK!' 'CRUNCH!' 'THUD!'
Noises courtesy of the superheroine breaking a window for her grand appearance. "Whoa, what happened here? Looks like somebody had a little tantrum."

The room that was once full of cubicles and desks was upturned by the ruckus. There were areas of exposed floor due to ChatNoir using anything in his radius to throw at The Collector. 'Fill up the book.' The same plan as last time when they unfortunately had to deal with The Collector. A simple plan that would somehow or someway be messed up. That's just how it always went and that's how it will always go according to her.

"You okay, Chaton?"

"Me? Paw-lease M'Lady this old man is barely a challenge."

Ladybug rolled her eyes at her overly suave partner. 'If he only knew.'

"Collector! You're better than this!" Ladybug wanted to convince him to refuse the Akuma. She didn't want to fight him as it would be equivalent to beating a dead horse. Why kick him why he was already down? To be that cruel?

"He's really not though." ChatNoir added.

"CHATON!" Ladybug scolded as she dodged the book for a second time. "Look, Collector, Gab- Mr. Agreste, sir if this is about a gir- muse then uhhhh…. how bout finding someone else to inspire you?"

"Nothing can inspire me more than imprisoning……" He paused as he knew whose name that he wanted to say but he refused to say it. To go after her would defeat the very purpose of trying to obtain Ladybug and ChatNoir’s Miraculouses. "Ladybug and ChatNoir!"

"How original!" ChatNoir added as it was all about Miraculouses this, Miraculouses that. ChatNoir was beginning to think that he'd never have his happily ever after if Monarch kept sending out patsies to do his bidding. "Monarch should change his name to Chicken at this point. Eight? Nine years? Give it up already."

Ladybug raised a mask-brow at her partner's comment. "Dang, what's with you today?"

"Called off my engagement."

"Again?" Ladybug chuckled as she threw a rolling chair at the book avoiding being touched.

ChatNoir had mentioned an on and off relationship that seemed toxic to her, not that Ladybug was personally the greatest at relationships herself. He had mentioned how he was impatient and couldn't put his life on hold just because she wanted to keep their identities a secret. So he moved on, not well but it was a start. She was oddly proud of him.

"Yeah." He tried to open a filing cabinet as he had a somewhat brilliant idea for once.

"I have a collection I want to show you." The Collector smiled as he thought he had the superhero cornered.

"If it's something with that ugly ass capital G slapped on it, I will sue." ChatNoir let The Collector with book in hand get closer and closer as he kept insulting the Gabriel Brand. A luxury of being unrecognizable he could speak his mind. "And what designer pairs orange converses with forest green suede pants? Are you trying to make me rip out my own eyes?"

The Collector threw his book and watched as a devious grin appeared on ChatNoir's face. He pulled the drawer open and paper scattered about most being taken into the book filling up the leftover pages. The Collector curled his lip in frustration as he prepared to fight the feline.

But Ladybug had other plans. She threw her yo-yo and was shocked when The Collector caught the end she threw and pulled tangling them together. "You weren't supposed to catch it." She pouted as she watched ChatNoir laugh at her circumstances.

"And I'm the one that's acting differently?" He teased as he tied the book around his waist with his belt tail for safe keeping. At least until Ladybug was free.

"Can you hurry up?" She couldn't look up at The Collector as she was pretty sure his akumtiztion was her fault. The timing it fit.

"Oh, so when you're tied up, it's suddenly an emergency but when I get in the same situation,it's okay to ignore me."

"Chaton?! You're choosing now to bring this up."

"Why not? It's not like you're going anywhere."

He was right but the longer she stayed, the faster she realized she was in very close proximity to someone who had expertise in something besides throwing tantrums. She could feel her face start to turn red as she could hear his heartbeat. A heartbeat that was abnormally calm for such a situation. Hopefully that was just a perk of being Akumatized and nothing more than that.  "I SWEAR TO GOD CHATNOIR!"