Chapter Text
The heavy sound of running footsteps was stopped abruptly after a harsh crash was heard close by. Adrien froze, looking around frantically trying to pinpoint exactly where the sound had come from; he had been on an evening jog to attempt to clear his head following the events that had happened earlier in the day - as a whole, he had just been feeling very down recently because of the breakup.
After some time, he eventually spotted the area the noise had originated from and he caught sight of an akumatised victim terrorising the streets of Paris.
”Looks like we won’t be home for a while Plagg…”
Quickly transforming into Chat Noir, he used his baton to arrive at the scene as soon as he could, sending a message to Ladybug in order to inform her of the situation on the way there.
When he made it to the street that the akumatised victim had been seen at - a slightly main street that was always busy, even during late evenings - he was met with a flood (quite literally) of tears, as a giant woman who was taller than the surrounding buildings cried desperately, expelling large teardrops from her glassy eyes that, on impact, would appear to place whoever had been drenched by them in a spell of complete and utter sadness and despair, so much so, that all they would do is stand still, slumped down and crying. The whole street was very clearly full of incredibly dejected people and had overall been emanating a gloomy aura.
Sniffling deeply, the woman wailed deafeningly as her eyes shot out even more tears that travelled in a plethora of different directions at an incredibly high speed - one of which had been sent in a direction that happened to be right where Chat Noir was standing. As the giant teardrop zipped towards him, Chat Noir braced his feet and gripped his baton to start attempting desperately to escape the possible grasps of sadness that would envelop the hero if this teardrop made contact with him; but he feared he would be too slow.
Just as Chat Noir was about to accept his fate, and had quickly mentally prepared himself to try to fight against the spell of sadness he would most likely be under, he was swept off his feet by a yoyo retrieving him from the ground and onto a nearby roof. Standing above him, as he had landed crashing onto his back, was his hero partner Ladybug, who looked back at the other hero, as he was slumped on the floor, with a smirk playing on her lips.
”I thought cats always landed on their feet?”
Chat Noir grinned. Ladybug’s sense of humour was, actually, incredibly on par with Chat Noir’s, however she very seldom was the first one to make a joke when they saw each other, especially recently, and whenever she made them they were also at very sporadic times, like now - it was rather unexpected, especially since they had both been going through hard times recently. Ladybug’s comment had admittedly brought a bright smile to Chat Noir’s previously gloomy face; he was elated to have Ladybug to cheer him up, especially in a time like this.
”Why did you look so gloomy? Don’t tell me the akumatised victim’s tears got to you already?”
Chat chuckled heartily “No M’Lady, It’s just been a long day, that’s all.”
“That I can agree with, let’s just get this over and done with quickly, kitty, I want to go to bed.”
Ladybug looked at the woman who was currently crying even harder. She looked heartbroken, it was almost ethereal - the new monarch had made her villain form seem familiar, almost endearing, as if all you wanted to do was comfort her. She was taller and larger than the buildings, even whilst she was kneeling down and sobbing; her hair was long and sprawling, the ends forming curls the shape of broken hearts. Her entire form was coloured a dull white, and she was entirely translucent, but emitted a slight glow so that you could just about see her features; the only extremely visible feature about her was her heart inside of her chest that had seemingly been torn into two pieces, it radiated light and illuminated the surrounding area, as tears continuously scattered throughout the street. Perhaps she was dangerous, but Ladybug and Chat Noir would destroy the akuma and help her - as they always did - now, all Ladybug noticed was how sad this woman appeared to be, and how much she could resonate with her, she looked like a goddess of heartbreak.
Noticing Ladybug staring at the woman, Chat Noir cleared his throat to capture her attention “M’Lady? We have to do our hero duties… remember?”
Despite trying to pull Ladybug from the trance she seemed to be in looking at the woman, he felt her pull too. It was almost as if Chat Noir felt he could relate to whatever she had been through, a sense of familiarity had been created - as if they knew each other.
As promptly as she had collected Chat Noir from the splash zone of tears, Ladybug used her yoyo to round up everybody in close proximity to the woman. She then transported them somewhere safer, further away from where the crash originally started.
”I don’t understand, her teardrops may have negative effects on people's emotions… but they do not seem physically harmful… where did that crash come from?”
”I don’t know… but we should be careful since we don’t know where it came from either.”
Splitting up to attack from either side of the woman, the pair both prepared to edge closer towards her, searching for what could be the akumatised object.
”So Miss, what’s got you feline so sad this evening?”
”Be QUIET!” The woman wailed, sending teardrops spearing towards the two heroes.
Quickly dodging her attacks, Ladybug looked at Chat Noir in slight annoyance. ”Chat Noir… I don’t know if now is the time for jokes!? Look for the akumatised object!?”
The woman’s cries echoed throughout the now deserted street, the sound bouncing against buildings and clawing its way into both Ladybug and Chat Noir’s ears, a piercing sound that left both of them hearing a slight ringing for a few of the following minutes.
Even more tears spilled from her eyes, shooting out in a multitude of different directions, as the woman’s wails got sharper the pair noticed that so did her tears; they were now sharp shards that scattered themselves throughout the sky, stabbing into the ground and buildings, puncturing cars.
At least now they knew where the crash came from.
Tirelessly dodging her abundance of dangerous tears, Ladybug used her yoyo to hook onto the woman’s hair, and pull herself up to balance uneasily on her ear. Once there, she spoke to the woman, trying to resonate with her.
”Okay, Miss-“
”Call me Miseria.”
”Miseria, can’t you tell us why you seem so heartbroken?? I am sure once we help you, you may feel better…”
Miseria shrieked, sending more tears out in every direction. The sudden outburst had sent both the heroes back, creating distance between her and them. Frantically dodging the shards of teardrops, Ladybug thought it was time to think of a sure plan to defeat her, but her thinking was abruptly interrupted as she spoke again.
“It isn’t fair… why does everyone get to love but me?”
Hearing this, a heaviness settled in Ladybug’s heart, suddenly feeling much empathy for this woman. After all, this feeling was something she had felt one too many times recently. Just as Ladybug was about to respond, Miseria spoke again.
“What’s wrong with me… Why did he break up with me? He didn’t even tell me why!”
Now Ladybug stopped to think. The two of them were going through the same scenario, just… different sides of the situation. Her conflicted feelings came bubbling up to the surface, as her mind fought between wanting to comfort this woman, and wanting to defend the other party - in other words, justify her own actions.
Across the other side of the street Chat Noir stared back at the woman, realising why she seemed so familiar: they were experiencing the same heartbreak. Who knew that two different people, strangers even, could go through sorrow that was so alike. The hero was now determined to rescue this woman and help her out of this akumatised state of sorrow. However, as he turned to Ladybug to start trying to come up with a plan, she was already speaking
”Don’t be heartbroken, I know you feel sad but maybe he had a good reason for leaving you… Maybe it was better for the both of you…”
”What?” Chat started, coming closer towards her. “M'Lady, how can you say that? What good reason would there ever be?”
Hearing the heroes arguing, Miseria wailed louder, as her shards of tears became sharper and more intense. Before Chat Noir could receive a response Ladybug had scooped both Chat Noir and herself up with her yoyo as she took them both to hide behind a chimney on a rooftop. Breathing heavily she attempted to catch her breath as she glanced over her shoulder towards where Miseria was crying.
”Ladybug, why would you say that?? What good reason would someone have for leaving the person they love!” Chat snapped, desperate for a response - how could Ladybug even think that?
”I’m saying Chat… we don’t know why this man left her, maybe he had a good reason-“
”There are no good reasons to leave someone you supposedly love. Maybe he never loved her, did you even think about that? Now he has left her heartbroken and has probably ruined her perception of love forever!”
“MAYBE HE DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE!” Ladybug screamed, her voice echoing throughout the streets and silencing Miseria’s loud wails. The two heroes stood there in stunned silence after Ladybug’s sudden outburst.
The loud silence was broken by a crash as Miseria slammed her hand against the chimney area they were hiding behind. The two jumped away just in time to escape as her fist came plummeting down onto the entire building, collapsing it to dust with just one hit.
”Ladybug, Chat Noir… you should just… just tell me who you are - take off your miraculous and give it to me. That way I can finally feel love again. Please.” She begged, looking at the two heroes who were now on the road again, desperately trying to get to higher ground as buildings collapsed around them.
Miseria’s fists slammed continuously into different buildings. Collapsing them one by one, chuckling when she saw a billboard about the celebration for two celebrity newlyweds, and swiftly crushing the image in her hands, the large display now reduced to a wrinkled mess.”
”If I can’t be loved, why should anyone else be? What’s the point in loving if I’m only going to end up heartbroken in the end…”
Whilst saying this, a bangle on Miseria’s left wrist, which was also translucent, glistened in the moonlight and reflected her heart's glow; which did not go unnoticed by Ladybug, however she wondered how she didn’t notice it before, she came to the conclusion that this bracelet, that was actually rather prominent on her wrist, must be the akumatised object. Just as she was about to signal to Chat to cataclysm the bracelet, her partner had started talking, nearly shouting, spewing feelings that aimed directly towards her.
”Ladybug, how could you even say that!? Why would you excuse that man’s behaviour!? No one is ever undeserving of an explanation!” Stepping closer towards her he kept speaking as he grilled her even more for answers. It was then that Miseria started to sway her arms and hands around quickly and randomly - there was no way Chat Noir would be able to destroy the bracelet without risking hurting her safety as well.
”Chat. We will talk about this later! I’m sorry for saying that? But it could be true. And also, in case you haven’t noticed, there is a giant woman destroying Paris! Focus on that!”
Cutting off Chat’s new response, she signalled her lucky charm. She looked around, appearing very concentrated, wondering what she could do with whatever her lucky charm would be, when a large stick of butter landed in her hands. What?
Before Chat could speak again she started looking around desperately, when her eyes landed on the bangle on Miseria’s wrist. That was it.
”Kitty, later - Now, get your cataclysm ready, you’ll know what to do.”
With that she ran up to Miseria, using her yoyo to latch herself onto her wrist as she smeared butter all over the woman’s bangle and arm. Looping the yoyo around the bangle, Ladybug ran back to where Chat Noir had stood, as she swiftly and firmly pulled the bangle, which smoothly slipped off of Miseria’s wrist and landed right where Chat Noir’s hand was extended. The Ultrakuma flew out of the bangle as Ladybug quickly used her Miraculous Ladybug to restore all the damage that had been caused.
Miseria had now returned to her civilian form as she looked around confused, wondering what had happened. Ladybug and Chat Noir both walked up to the woman who had been sitting woefully on the ground.
Helping her up, Ladybug started speaking to the woman whilst simultaneously offering the bangle back to her “I know that often love can cause pain and suffering, trust me when I say we all go through heartbreaks… but at the end of the day, it’s better to have loved and to have lost… than to have not loved at all, right?”
“You’re right Ladybug… maybe… maybe I shouldn’t dwell over this…” The woman whispered, turning the bangle to reveal an engraving on the inner side that read ‘I’ll love you forever, Camille - Louis.’
Camille chuckled lightly “This stupid bangle, he’s probably left me for another woman or something… I should just forget about him.” Despite this, she slipped the bangle back onto her wrist, now nervously fidgeting with it using her other hand. It was truly always hard to let go.
”You don’t know that, don’t make assumptions that will only hurt you.” Ladybug gave Camille a slight hug as she offered her a protective charm, before starting to walk away. She did not get far before she was stopped by a voice calling to her.
”M’Lady… Wait.”
Slowly, Ladybug turned around to face her hero partner.
”Did you really mean what you said… when you were defending that man?”
Sighing, Ladybug started to respond. “It isn’t that I was defending him, Chat. It’s just that maybe… well, I…”
She breathed deeply, ignoring the pit in her stomach and heaviness in her heart.
”You should just never make assumptions, okay? I am sorry that I said what I said though, I worded it the wrong way.”
After answering Chat’s question, she quickly disappeared into the evening sky, not before reminding him to make sure that Camille got home safely.
When Marinette finally got back to her room, it was past midnight. She half-heartedly got ready to go to bed and was finally tucked under her covers, when all her feelings of tiredness had suddenly dispersed. She instead got up and climbed out onto her balcony as she stood alone, looking out onto the streets.
”Marinette, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you sleeping?”
The tiny kwami flew towards her side as Marinette buried her face in her hands and cried out a guilty response.
”Tikki, I caused so much unnecessary damage today, Miseria could have been defeated without any more buildings having to be crushed!! I didn’t even think to call the other Miraculers for help! I let my own feelings get in the way of everything, I’m so irresponsible.”
Nuzzling the side of her holder's cheek, Tikki spoke again.
”Marinette, it's okay!! You still defeated her, and your Miraculous Ladybug fixed everything! This was just a slight blip because of the situation that’s been going on in your life!!”
”That’s the point, Tikki, how can I be deserving of all this responsibility if I can’t even separate my personal feelings from my hero work?”
Marinette did not receive an answer to her question for some time, until Tikki rested on her shoulder and said quietly
”You are the best guardian and the best holder Marinette, you have nothing to worry about.”
After making sure that Camille got home safely - which had consisted of simply dropping her back off to her apartment building - Chat was left alone with his thoughts, and every single thing he thought about circled back to what Camille had said earlier:
”He’s probably left me for another woman or something”
Despite him knowing that Marinette was undoubtedly not the type of girl to do that, as he knew that he was the only guy she had ever had strong feelings for, he could not shake the thought that there could have been a possibility she had done the same thing. Maybe that is why she was tirelessly avoiding him when he was Adrien.
Stuck with this thought playing in his head, Chat Noir had somehow found himself on a rooftop near the Dupain-Chen’s bakery, watching Marinette on her balcony from afar. Her bright eyes, though so far away, were devoid of any happiness, despite brightly reflecting the lively city lights. She looked devastatingly beautiful as the wind blew through her hair, creating a scene that was almost from a dream.
Leaping onto her balcony carefully, Chat landed behind her quietly, standing facing her back as he whispered
”Marinette? Are you okay?”
Abruptly turning around, Marinette's eyes widened as she looked at the hero, shocked by the added presence on her balcony. But quickly regaining her composure she returned to looking out from her balcony.
”I’m fine, just can’t sleep. You?” She responded.
“There was an akuma attack… I’m surprised you didn't hear it… considering you are still awake.”
”Oh… I must have been distracted. I hope it all went okay.”
Stepping beside her, Chat leaned against the railing as they now both watched the city’s evening life in loud silence.
After a while, Marinette let out an audible sigh, causing Chat Noir to turn towards her.
Not looking back at him once, she let out a long, defeated breath. “Just ask.”
”What?”
”You clearly want to ask me something, so… just ask. It’s fine.”
Taking a breath he slowly murmured “Did you leave Adrien… because you love someone else…?”
At this question, Marinette let out a genuine laugh full of amusement.
”Oh my gosh of course not!? I would never do that! I love him too much… besides, I don’t like you anymore-“
”What!? No! I didn’t mean that… I was just… curious.”
Hearing that Marinette did not leave him for someone else was quite reassuring; but not entirely, since he still wanted to know why she had left him. Before he could ask another question, Marinette was already talking.
”Oh? You do know that curiosity killed the cat right? You should be careful, Paris still needs you.”
Hearing this, it was Chat Noir’s turn to laugh, he truly had missed Marinette’s presence, he chuckled lightly as he smiled at her. The two of them returned to looking out into the streets and had settled into a comfortable silence, when suddenly, a shooting star passed through the sky, crossing the universe as it made its way past various constellations, illuminating both of their vision. The beautiful sight was akin to the tears that Miseria had expelled - but of course, that comparison wouldn’t be brought up.
”Make a wish.” Marinette whispered, looking up at the sky
Responding quietly, Chat Noir murmured “Already did… what did you wish for?”
Staring back at him, Marinette lightly smirked “And why would I tell you? Then it wouldn’t come true.” She remarked.
Sighing, Chat Noir agreed “I guess you are right, I won’t tell you mine either.”
The two of them would never know that they had both wished for the same thing: to be able to love and have each other in their lives again.
As the night progressed, the two once again sat down and had settled into light, generic conversation: they were now talking about a new video game that had come out. Just as Marinette was promising the hero that she was the best at the game and would surely beat him, he suddenly got up from his sitting position.
”Marinette, I have to go. You should go to sleep too… early morning tomorrow, no?”
Looking at him confused, she responded
”Not that early, but I guess I should sleep, you should too. Can’t save Paris without your beauty rest.”
Before Chat Noir could leave, Marinette called out to him again
”See you again tomorrow? Well, this evening I guess… Maybe not as late as today, but same place?” She grinned.
Chat Noir looked back at her confused. Did she not remember? Even if she didn’t, he couldn’t remind her - only one of her classmates could. So instead, he smiled brightly at her.
”Yeah, I’ll see you.”
Smiling brightly she waved the hero goodbye “Thank you Chat, you really helped cheer me up. You’re a great friend.”
After that, Chat started to return home, replaying her words in her head:
”You’re a really great friend.”
That was right, a friend was all that he was now, in both his civilian and hero form. And although his heart ached at the thought, he was still glad he could be in Marinette’s life, one way or another.
Returning home, Adrien quickly sent a text to Alya, before getting ready for bed, and drifting off into a sleep that would be filled with dreams where he and Marinette were still together, where they were still one.
Hey Alya, I know Marinette doesn’t want to talk to me right now. So don’t worry it isn't about that. But, I still love and care about her, and I’m worried she may have forgotten about tomorrow. Maybe you could go to hers earlier to make sure she is ready? I don't want her to regret missing out. As I said, I still love her and I always want her to be happy, I don’t think she would have liked to forget.
Thank you.