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This can't be happening.
This can't be happening.
This can't be happening.
Ladybug stood frozen at the sight in front of her. She knew this was a nightmare, Sandman was at it again, but he looked so real. Standing before her, in a white leather suit, with white hair and lifeless, pale blue eye, was Chat Blanc. She stumbled backward as he stood a step forward on the rooftop, almost losing her footing.
This can't be happening.
This can't be happening.
"Chat Noir!" she called out, hoping to every god she could that he was nearby.
Chat Blanc in front of her twitched, "Chat Noir is dead. I am Chat Blanc."
No, don't listen, she told herself. Chat Noir is coming right now, don't listen to him.
He's an illusion.
He's an illusion.
"Marinette? What's wrong? Are you scared of me?" Chat Blanc asked, something dark in his eyes.
He kept walking to her, and she kept shuffling back unsteadily until her back hit a chimney. She needed to move, to get out of there, but with her back against the chimney she found her feet glued the the rooftop.
Move, she urged in her mind. But her feet did not oblige.
"Such a shame. I thought you'd love me forever, Marinette."
She flinched then. That was the second time he'd said her name. If he said it again he might be heard. As he stepped closer and reached out, he cooed,
"Oh, my poor, Marinette--"
Then he was knocked down by a blur of black. Pinning Chat Blanc to the ground was Chat Noir, the real deal, his baton pushing against Chat Blanc's throat. He looked livid, with his fangs bared and jaw clenched, his tail flicking agitatedly behind him.
"Don't touch her," he said, voice low and menacing.
Chat Blanc shifted, kicking Chat Noir off him. Ladybug caught him with her yo-yo before he could slam into a chimney, not letting go until he steadied himself. He then pounced on Chat Blanc again, his baton now a staff as he raised over his head. Chat Blanc blocked with his own staff, metal clanging against metal as they began to fight that way. Ladybug needed to do something, so she threw out her yo-yo, making sure it caught on a chimney opposite from her, then made sure the line was taut. Chat Noir drove Chat Blanc in that direction, then the white leather clad villain tripped, falling to the ground and disappearing into nothing.
Chat Noir immediately turned back to Ladybug, who was shaking. "M'lady, are you ok? Who was that?"
"I'll tell you later let's just take care of this akuma before he comes back."
With a nod, they went off to pursue Sandman.
Once done with the battle and having fed their kwamis, Chat Noir and Ladybug sat on a rooftop next to one another. The night was quiet again, and he let himself think about what had happened before. Who was that white leather clad villain who called himself Chat Blanc? Why had he called Ladybug Marinette? Was she really...?
He glanced at the girl in question, who turned to him teary eyed then threw herself into his arms. He held her close as sobs racked through her body, making her tremble. He rubbed circled in her back, murmuring sweet nothings into her ear. He told her he loved her, that everything was ok now, and that he was there for her. Somehow that seemed to make her cry harder.
What had happened that he didn't know about? What hurt her so terribly? Why hadn't she said anything before?
He moved away a bit, holding her face in his hands and wiping away her tears. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and anywhere else really. A few times he caught some salty tears, but all her cared about was making her feel better, and making her feel loved. When his lips reached hers, he kissed her softly, slowly, and tenderly, trying to show that he really was there and he was ok and she would be ok too.
Once she'd calmed down considerably, she explained. She told him about an akuma she had to face alone, one that was from another time line where they'd been in love and found out each other's identities. She told him about how Paris was in ruins, flooded, she'd said, and that he had been all alone, singing a sad melody. She told him she didn't know how long he had been like that, all alone, but it had been enough to make him go insane. She told he had wanted her miraculous so he could make a wish and put everything back to normal, not because of Hawk Moth, because in that world, Hawk Moth was one of the many that had died.
The part that hurt the most, was when she said that he'd said it was their love that did that to the world. He didn't want to believe that it could be true. If identities were a part of it, then it would've had something to do with his father probably. Maybe he'd broken them up and then he'd been akumatized, or maybe if was something else. But it couldn’t have been the fact that they were in love.
But hearing the part about identities, he realized that he wasn't meant to hear Chat Blanc call her Marinette. Because if he knew her identity, then surely that meant she was in fact Marinette Dupain-Cheng. On any other given day, Chat would've been over the moon about that. Marinette was amazing, she was creative, honest, and brave. She may have been a bit flustered around him as Adrien, but as Chat Noir he'd noticed her witty and sassy side, the one full of confidence like whenever she stood up for her friends.
Now? He didn't know how to feel. If knowing his lady's name and identity could potentially cause the end of the world, should he tell her what he heard? Should he let her know that her worst fear may be coming true? She deserved to know, but was it the right time? Looking at her in the state she was in, he didn't want to say anything. But if they were talking about things now, he had to.
"I heard him call you Marinette." Her eyes flew wide, she looked like a dear in headlights. "I'm sure there are plenty of Marinettes out there, but... I can't help but feel in my heart that you're a certain Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I understand if you want me to give you my miraculous now, because I know. Maybe that way we can stop the erased timeline from repeating?" He didn't want to give up his miraculous. That meant leaving his lady behind, when they'd finally gotten together. But maybe it was for the best--
"No!"
"What?" He looked at her surprised at how much she seemed to be against that idea.
"I can't be Ladybug without you. And how am I supposed to see my boyfriend then?" She sighed, "Maybe if we just...well..." She seemed to be trying to think of a way to prevent the erased timeline from repeating. "We just can't let Adrien Agreste know, somehow from him knowing word got out and then the stuff that happened, happened."
Chat winced. "I'm afraid that'll be a bit of a problem."
"Why? It's not like--wait. You're him aren't you?"
He gave her a weak smile with floppy, weak jazz hands, "Surprise?"
Her head fell to his shoulder. "What are we gonna do?"
"Well, I have a very strong feeling my father may have had something to do with me getting akumatized. So, keep the relationship as it is with our superhero personas but stay friends as civilians?"
"Will you be able to do that?" She moved her head from her shoulder to look up at him, blue eyes staring into his green ones.
He honestly wasn't sure if he would be able to do that. Knowing his girlfriend was sitting behind him in class and not being able to show her off and shower her with affection would be a hard feat. But he beat up akumas for a living, how hard would it be?
Very hard, his mind supplied.
He sighed, "I'll try my best, but I'll definitely need to visit you as Chat Noir."
"Well...that might work."
He could tell that she was already stressing. "Hey," he said gently, brushing her fringe aside, "we'll figure it out, and we'll make it work. We're a great team, remember? We'll be ok."
She smiled at him softly, giving him a quick, soft kiss. "Yeah, we'll figure it out."