Chapter Text
"LUCKY CHARM!" Marinette screamed, and a spotted fork immediately fell to her hands. Really, did Hawkmoth never sleep? It was 2 AM already, and it was a school night, so all Marinette should be doing, wanted to be doing was sleep. But of course, Hawkmoth could not have that, maybe this was a new tactic of his, to run the heroes of Paris ragged, and let exhaustion be the true winner. The victim was a student who felt overwhelmed over the stupid amount of work they had. Seriously, professors should be more lenient towards their students, especially when a supervillain who strives on negative emotions is on the loose.
Chat was busy distracting "Exotherman", God even his name was lame, while Marinette thought of a strategy to defeat him with a fork, once again courtesy of Tikki. But as she looked around, she also noticed how strangely quiet Chat Noir was. Perhaps he was just tired since this was, in fact, the 4th-night Akuma they had in a week, but Chat had also stopped punning, adding that to the fact that he didn't call her "M'lady" once, and Marinette was worried sick.
“Ladybug!” Marinette heard Chat screaming, and she barely dodged the fiery blast intended for her. Right, she had to focus on the battle. Once again Paris depended on its heroes, even though said heroes were running on fumes alone after almost a week of getting almost no sleep.
Her earrings beeped and Marinette looked at the spotted fork in her hand, and the cogs inside her brain started to work again, like a well-oiled machine. But of course! The solution was right in front of her!
So, after one meticulously placed “Cataclysm” and one “Miraculous Ladybug”, the victim was back to his normal self, and his friends were already next to him, asking all kinds of questions that the student had no answers. They climbed to a rooftop near the scene, effectively avoiding the journalists who were arriving at the spot.
“Pound it!” Chat Noir was definitely gloomy, the way he lightly pounded her fist, the silent sigh he released right before saying the familiar words. Something was wrong with her partner, and Marinette would get to the bottom of it.
“Right… I have to go…” Chat numbly informed her.
“Wait!” Marinette grabbed his arm, causing him to flinch slightly and her heart sank. “Is everything okay, Chat?” Her earrings beeped and she cursed. Why couldn’t they have unlimited time like the adult miraculous owners had!
“You should go, Ladybug. You’re about to transform back.” Chat tried to dodge her question.
“Nu-uh! Don’t think you can get away with it, Chat.”
“Seriously, LB, I’m fine!” Gosh, his smile was so fake! Did he think he could fool her? They were best friends, Marinette could read him like an open book. She looked around the rooftops and noticed a tall chimney nearby. It would have to do.
“Chat, you know you can tell me whatever is going on in your life! As long as we don’t compromise our identities, we can share everything.” Marinette looked gingerly at her stubborn partner. “Look, I’m almost out of time, how about we go to that chimney over there, and we stay on opposite sides. I have food for Tikki with me, so I can transform back, and you tell me what’s bugging you.”
Suddenly, the despondent look on Chat’s face morphed into a smirk, his eyes lighting in amusement “Was that a pun I just heard coming from you, M’lady?”
“Well, it was enough for you to start calling me M’lady again!” The weight she was previously feeling in her chest suddenly dissipated almost completely, “So, can we talk now?”
Marinette hoped that Chat was quick in his decision, she would transform back at any moment. Thankfully, he nodded not even a second later, and so each of them jumped to their respective side of the chimney right in the nick of time for that matter, since a pink light engulfed Marinette as she returned to her civilian self, and an exhausted Tikki fell to her hands. “Can you tell me what’s wrong now, kitty?” She picked a macaron from her purse and gently gave it to Tikki.
“It’s just that…” Marinette heard him slump to the floor, “Well, it’s kind of stupid, to be honest…”
“I’m sure it isn’t stupid, Chat…” She heard him sigh softly.
“I… M’lady, you know that I love you, right?” Her heart started to race, the weight on her stomach came back a hundred times heavier than ever before.
“Chat, you know we can’t be together…” Her eyes got misty and her face was starting to feel warm, “I already like another boy…”, Marinette looked up, “Besides, I can’t love you…” She murmured, images of a grim alternative timeline featuring a lonely, bleached version of her partner flashed through her mind.
“I know… I know that... it’s just that…” Chat paused, “I think I’m in love with another girl… She’s always been a friend to me, and now, I’ve started to spend more time with her, only her, and I got to know her better. I guess she always held a special place in my heart, but now… now I see it as clear as water… and I feel terrible.”
Marinette’s heart plummeted. She should be happy for Chat! He was finally moving on, and she didn’t have to break his heart anymore. So… Why was she feeling this strange weight in her gut?
She wanted to be happy for him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Why, uh, why do you feel terrible, Chat Noir?” Marinette stuttered, trying to contain the tears gathering in her eyes. God, why was she feeling like the floor under her feet has been ripped away?
“Because I love you.” He answered as the reason was obvious.
“And you love her…”. A shiver ran down her spine as her heart sank into an ice pit.
“And I love her…”. Marinette heard him sniff.
Her peripheral vision caught the green light, and her hair floated with the soft swoosh signalling his return to his civilian self. She heard rustling. Chat was probably fetching some food for his kwami. Her eyes drifted to Tikki who stopped eating her macaron so she could glance at her and give her a reassuring nod.
“Chat, I don’t know what to say…”
They spent some minutes in silence, it wasn’t tense or uncomfortable, but it wasn’t also like the familiar silence that fell upon them while they were patrolling. It was just silence, as simple as that. Her brain couldn’t stop shifting to selfish thoughts. She could stand up and run to his arms, stroke his soft golden locks, and whisper in his ear that everything would be alright, while she drowned herself in the sea that was his peridot eyes. God, when did she start to think of Chat Noir like that? He just sneaked his way into her heart, occupying a place right next to where her love for Adrien rested. Maybe it was the late meetings that Marinette shared with Chat on her balcony, where she got to know him better than anyone ever could. Spending time with him made her realise that Chat wasn’t only this flamboyant, flirty, larger than life boy. He actually managed to become really small when something was wearing him down. She learned that he was a lonely boy, dropped on this world with no one to look after him. His family was distant, and he always looked down at his feet when she talked of her mum, so she knew better than to ask him if he got along with his mother. He was kind, although she already knew that, and incredibly naive too! He always believed in the best of people, and sometimes Marinette worried if someone would take advantage of that.
Tikki looked up to her, her smiling face telling her that she was ready to transform. Marinette sighed, and she got up. She murmured her transformation phrase and a pink light suddenly enveloped her, turning her into the famous hero of Paris. She heard him mutter his own transformation words.
They both stepped away from their respective sides of the chimney, meeting face to face once again.
“Chat!” Marinette rested her hands on his shoulders. She let herself get lost in his loving gaze, “You are free to love whoever you want. If you love this girl, then don’t let her go! She’s a really lucky girl for having you in her life.” It probably wasn’t what he wanted to hear, since he immediately broke their eye contact. But they couldn’t be together, Marinette saw what happened if their relationship evolved from a close friendship to something else. And Chat deserved to be happy, even if it was with another girl.
“I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you, M’lady…” His eyes were puffy and red, his face was wet, and Marinette could see how his lower lip trembled, trying to contain a fresh wave of tears.
Her fingers searched for his face, and she rested a hand on his cheek, while the other gently caressed his hair, eliciting an involuntary purr from him, “Probably, but you’ll also love this other girl. And that is okay! We will always be friends; you won’t lose me. You deserve to be happy, Chat Noir!”
He smiled at her, and that was enough for her entire being to recuperate from the cold she was feeling inside, for a fresh wave of pure energy to hit her all at once. When had he started to hold such power over her? “Thank you, M’lady. You deserve to be happy too, you know? Go after that boy of yours, sweep him off his feet. And if he doesn’t fall to his knees after you declare your love for him, well, then he’s an idiot!”
“You silly cat!” Marinette laughed with him, suddenly the air around them felt much lighter.
A mellow chuckle replaced Chat’s laughter as he kept looking at her lovingly. He took a step closer, and her heart started to beat faster once again. “Thank you, Ladybug! You always know how to brighten my day!” He delicately said. Soft lips touched her skin, and all Marinette’s blood rushed to her face. She stopped breathing while Chat Noir kissed her cheek, her brain halting all function while her eyes widened, and she gaped in utter shock. He looked at her once again, his eyes reaching something deep inside of her, “Have a good evening, M’lady.” He whispered and took off, leaving an astonished Marinette alone on that rooftop.