Mind you, this is the basic idea- I need to do more research and such. Most people kind of seem to assume all the Ladybugs and Chats ever have had the same relationship as our current nerds- this isn't the case for these ones. Chat loves his Lady, and even more openly so. And she loves him back. Perfect synchronisation in battle reinforced by an impossibly strong bond. There is no main villain to fight; it is a time at which some rich Romans have started living in Egypt and slavery is at its height. Our heroes' job is mainly to try and restore justice, free slaves, stop abuse, and it is quite a heavy job. Their identities revealed might get their civilians form to be lynched and they're scared of revealing themselves even to each other. This and Chat's status keep him from revealing himself to his beloved Lady- he's an Egyptian slave belonging to a rich Roman household, paying other slaves to cover for him with meagre rations so he can be free with Ladybug for a few hours, and he's ashamed of it. Ladybug herself is a middle class young Egyptian lady, who's family owns a few, well treated slaves. In a way, things are perfect. They have each other as heroes, they're surviving and spreading goodness. Of course, that doesn't last.... Chat is killed. The family he served under has a son a few years younger than him who decides to impale him for the fun of it. The corpse slumps down and the magical ring that Chat kept hidden in his clothes rolls out, revealing itself to the young Roman, Cassius. Upon taking it and getting a small explanation from Plagg, he decides to take place as the new Chat. Not particularly to spread good, but because like many boys of his age, seeing these two rebels made him admire them, and he absolutely wants to meet Ladybug. Ladybug is mad. She's outraged, she's scared, she's devastated, her heart has been carved out of her chest. This isn't her Chat. This isn't her love. Not only that, but he proudly tells her about him- who he is, what his family owns and, most importantly, how he got the ring. Ladybug is crushed. She hates him. How dare he! How DARE he take away her beloved! For fun, as a game, ending his ever precious life... She refuses to work with him. She goes solo for awhile, ignoring his existence, refusing to call him Chat Noir, a name that only belongs to her beloved, that's all she's got left after all. But he's persistent. He follows. Observes. He still doesn't understand her sense of justice- slaves are below him. Right? Finally at some point, Ladybug is on the verge of defeat, the lives of dozens of slaves are at stake- and he leaps in. He saves the day, and she finally decided to somewhat accept him. It's still not easy- she has much to teach him about battles, and her ideology, her utopia where all are free. She still doesn't call him Chat- but instead, Chaton. He's like a little brother, a pupil who learns from her, and uses it well within his life. In fact, Cassius grows to be a well off man, fighting for slavery to be abolished, and married to a girl he saved at some point. Meanwhile, Ladybug stays alone, never forgetting her dear black cat. @emmaagrestespeaks Wanted to be tagged c: I'll be tagging this AU as two chats Egypt au!
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