Chapter Text
Coccinelle was in rare form tonight, Chat couldn’t help but think, whistling as the boy wrapped his yo-yo around two lampposts and began walking backward, pulling the cord into a taut bowstring. With a twang Coccinelle shot upward, rocketing into the sky after the winged akuma of a scorned jewelry collector.
It seemed like a long shot, but somehow Coccinelle was able to overtake the monstrous bird and land gracefully on its back. The akuma replied with an angry squawk, flapping its wings and beginning to rise. If he wasn’t careful, Nevermore could flip over and turn him from a ladybug into a ladysplat.
That was a good one. Chat saved it for later, in case the occasion ever arose where it could be useful banter. There were at least three notebooks filled with similar content stashed under the bed where Nathalie couldn’t find them.
Coccinelle’s cry of “Lucky Charm!” reverberated from the sky, a spiral of red light revealing, of all things, an anchor. There was a second where Coccinelle’s masked face looked a little dumbstruck by the item (“How cute!” Chat whispered, because it was, okay? He got some weird items sometimes, and his thinking face when he was figuring out how to use them? Adorable!), followed by horror as the anchor easily pulled the Nevermore akuma to the brightly-lit streets of Paris.
Just when Chat was sure Coccinelle would not have a chance to ever hear ‘Ladybug, ladysplat, get it? Get it?!’, he flung his yo-yo out and pulled himself free of Nevermore. The giant bird crashed into the road, crushing an abandoned car. A small purple box fell away from the bird’s cage-like chest, now crumpled in like a nest of dark needles. Coccinelle’s foot easily crushed the box, releasing the evil butterfly inside.
Chat sighed as she watched the Papillon’s butterfly become cleansed. He wouldn’t be happy, though sometimes she wondered if he reveled in shouting his revenge one-liners into her ear a little too much. While it was always fun to watch Coccinelle in action, she had a job to do.
“Nice work again, Coccinelle,” she complimented, leaping from her hiding place and down onto the sidewalk in front of him. “Though maybe we should start calling you Ladybird instead?”
The groaning from the akuma victim was definitely from his disorientation, rather than her amazing pun, she was sure.
“Chat Noire,” Coccinelle shouted, the charming smile he always wore after freeing the purified butterfly and reversing the damage it caused quickly falling away to be replaced by a scowl. “Decided to slink out of your hole today?”
“You could say I’m on the prowl,” she winked at him, readying her staff. “I saw a little bug flying around, I couldn’t help myself!”
Coccinelle rolled his eyes (his big, beautiful blue eyes, her mind helpfully supplied). “What do you want? If you’re here to try to steal the miraculous again, I’m going to have to take a raincheck. I’m on a tight schedule.”
She could almost feel her long blonde hair bristle. She hated being brushed off, especially by Coccinelle. He was cute and courageous and clever and intelligent and—okay, okay. He was great, but that didn’t make him—oh wait. Ohhh yes. That was a good one.
“Don’t think you’re the cat’s meow just because you beat a weak akuma like this today,” she said. Yes. Perfect.
Coccinelle gave an even bigger eye roll (and why was he smirking?!) before slowly beginning to spin his yo-yo, legs easing into a battle stance.
“That’s more like it,” she said, tightening her own grip on her staff. “Shall we dance tonight? The moon is out, the Seine is sparkling, and it’s just you and I—“ Another groan in the background. “And whoever he is.”
“How romantic, kitty,” Coccinelle said, unimpressed. But he still launched himself forward, smirk widening his lips.
It was a beautiful night to catch a stray cat.