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Chat expects a lot of things when he arrives for patrols. His lady would swing and arrive exactly on time. They would goof off for a bit before taking off, running across the rooftops of Paris. There would be no akuma, and he would press a gentle kiss to the back of the spotted hero’s hand before taking off for his empty home. Today however, he expected none of what would happen.
First, Ladybug was there before him. He was usually the first to arrive at their patrol spot, her always arriving just on time. To see her there early caught him off guard, but he regained his footing, approaching slightly faster.
Second, she was holding herself tightly, her back facing him. Ladybug normally took up space, confidence seeping out of her as she took control during battles. He had never seen her look this small. She had her knees drawn to her chest, holding herself tight. Her ankles were crossed and her chin rested on her knees. Her face was mostly obscured, but he could tell that she had to have that spacey, glassy, look in her eyes.
Lastly, he wasn’t expecting to see her breakdown before him.
When he landed on their assigned roof —they switched it up often to prevent any unnecessary danger— she was shaking. Her shoulders were trembling and she took in a trembling breath. He figured it was simply the brisk air against her skin. The suits were strong, yes, but they weren’t cold-proof. But when she let out a shuddering breath and wiped her face, he realized.
“Ladybug?” His voice was soft, as if he was afraid she’d break if he spoke too loud.
She snapped her head to him, turning quickly, before rubbing the tears off her face. She tried to hide the fact she was crying. However, the tear tracks, puffy eyes, and flushed face betrayed her.
“Oh! H- hi chat!” She flashed him a smile. To the untrained eye it may have looked convincing, but Adrien knew better. Faking smiles was his day job. There was something specific about her smile, the way it didn’t light up her face the way he was used to. His lady was hurting
He took a few careful steps forward and settled down beside her. She hadn’t left her carefully constructed ball. It was like she was trying to protect herself. Had something happened to her?
The way she looked at him, with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. There was a small cut on her eyebrow and her lip was split. He tried to fight off the urge to cry too.
“Bugaboo?” His voice cracked in a way he wasn’t expecting.
Her eyes welled up with tears and she looked away, putting a hand over her face.
He shifted forward, pulling the girl into his chest. He was afraid she would pull away and leave, having never been one for his affection prior to this. Instead, she cuddled closer nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck.
“Are you ok M’lady?” His hand rubbed her back soothingly. His voice was calm and warm as he comforted her.
She shook her head against his neck.
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
She let out a shuddering breath.
“I cant keep doing this.” She murmured into his neck.
His hands stuttered for a second.
“I- I don’t know what you mean.”
She pulled away and looked out at the Paris sky. She waved a hand out at the skyline, buildings they had been to too many times before.
“This! Chat Noir. We do the same thing every single day. I struggle in a school preparing me for a future I don’t want, I get bullied, then we come fight these akumas and nothing EVER CHANGES.” She broke down, holding herself tightly as she sobbed.
“Ladybug?”
She quickly started to hyperventilate. She stood up suddenly, pushing away the dizzy feeling she got. Pacing was the first thing she thought of. She moved back and forth, raking her fingers up her arms.
“I can’t do this Chat!” She sobbed.
Suddenly, out of the blue, she pulled her earrings out, pushing them into the hands of her gloved partner before falling to the floor. She began wailing, gut wrenching sobs. She seemed to be choking on her own tears, hiccuping and hyperventilating.
He tried to look away after the flash of pink light, but he knew that Ladybug, whoever she was, needed help.
He just didn’t expect for it to be Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
“Marinette?” He gasped. He quickly helped her up, cradling her in his arms. His hand held her cheek carefully against his heartbeat and his other rubbed her back softly.
He had never realized how tiny she was until he felt her in his arms. Ladybug, and even Marinette often, held herself high with confidence. No matter how petite they were, they seemed bigger. Looking at her now, she was just around mid-chest level, and he felt like if he squeezed her too tight she might snap. He knew she wouldn’t —his lady was strong— but it was still scary.
“It’s ok Marinette, I’m here.”
He backed up slowly until he hit the wall, sliding down slowly to hold her in his lap.
“I’ve got you Bugaboo, I’ve got you.”
“I don’t wanna be here anymore.” She whispered. He wouldn’t have heard it if it weren’t for his enhanced hearing. Did this man what he thought it meant?
His tail curled around her waist and he began to purr. His brain was trying, and struggling, to grapple with everything happening right now.
His lady, his lady, was none other than the girl who sat behind him in class.
And she was also in his arms
having a breakdown
“Do you wanna tell me what brought this on? We don’t have to talk, I’m ok to just hold you, but I know that talking can really help.” He offered.
She took in a few deep breaths, turning so she sat sideways on his lap, her head rested on his shoulder.
“Um, remember how I was telling you about that girl who was bullying me?”
Lila
He had never known the name of the girl who seemed to be torturing his lady, but now that he knew who she was, well it was obvious. There was a sharp pain in his chest when he realized, he could have been helping her this whole time.
Adrien seemed to be the only person, besides Marinette, who knew that Lila was lying.
“Oh uh, yeah?”
“Yeah I definitely downplayed what she’s been doing to me.” She let out a bitter laugh, looking down at her hands.
His heart sank.
The torture his lady had described to him seemed like living hell, how could it get any worse.
“Oh Mari…” He placed a gloved hand in her cheek.
“Aside from the isolation, well it’s gotten more physical. She threatened me. She told me she was gonna turn all my friends against me, and ‘take’ the guy I like. She talks about him like he’s some object. But now, when she gets the chance, she hits me, pushes me, I think today was the peak though. I was standing by the stairs by myself,” He knew where this was going. He knew exactly what happened, and what the class thought happened.
“She pushed me down the stairs, hard. Then, she came down and laid on the floor next to me. Then she screamed. My class came and she accused me of pushing her and then faking it, exactly what she had done.”
“Oh Buginette.” He kissed the top of her head gently.
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Every single day of my life is the exact same. I wake up, go to school where I’m miserable. The only person who seems to care about me is my crush and I’m sure he doesn’t even like me.”
“He’d be an idiot not to.” Chat forced a smile onto his face. His heart broke a little as he imagined her happy with someone who wasn’t him. At least she would be happy.
“No he’d be an idiot TO like me.” She let out a warbly laugh. “I’m a mess Chat. You of all people should know that. I mean look at me right now.”
“You’re still as beautiful as ever to me M’lady. Everyone has their flaws. And you, Bugaboo, seem to be under a lot of stress.” He ran his fingers through her hair softly, tugging at her hair bands until her pigtails fell out. He continues to brush through her hair with his claws, letting her cuddle closer.
“Thanks Chat. I just have a lot going on. This bully, she always promises things that never happen, and my class always turns to me to fix it. I used to do a lot for them. I guess old habits die hard. But none of them really like me. The girl made sure of it. So whenever something goes wrong, they turn to me. I also have to be Ladybug, and Marinette, so I’m a student, a friend, the guardian, and a superhero. It’s just kinda overwhelming.”
He kissed the top of her head.
He hadn’t realized she had so much going on. She was only 15 and under such extreme stress. How had he not seen it sooner? He racked his brain, trying to figure out how he could help her.
“Well, for the guardian part, I can take some responsibility. I know you’re stressed, but if you wanna help me learn, I canbe a guardian with you. I can help you out. Hopefully that’ll relieve summer of that stress. As for school, I can say something to Adrien. He’s in your class right? I’m sure I can talk some sense into him. We’ve spoken a bit.”
She let out a gentle laugh, cuddling more into him.
“You don’t have to bring Adrien into this. I’d just embarrass myself. Besides, he’s the one person at school who’s keeping me grounded. I don’t wanna risk messing up anything with him. Thank you though.”
“‘Keeping you grounded?’ What do you mean?” He questioned, still stroking her hair.
“School is… hard. He’s the only person I feel like I can trust.”
“Oooh, does my lady have a crush?” He teased, trying to lighten her mood.
What he wasn’t prepared for was the blush that spread across her cheeks.
Oh
“He’s great.” She mumbled.
She sat back for a moment, and it was the first time he really got to look at her. God, she looked exactly like Ladybug. How did he not notice before?
“I’m glad he makes you happy.” He smiled, trying to hide his excitement.
Marinette was his lady, and she was in love with him.
“Oh!” He remembered. He placed the earrings back into her hand. “These are yours. I think Tikki probably misses you.”
She smiled, putting the earrings back into her ears. Tikki flew out, squealing.
“MARINETTE! I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE OK!” She nuzzled up to her chosen’s face. She turned to the blonde, giving him a genuine smile.
“Thank you Chat. I’m glad Marinette finally got to tell someone her feelings. She was so close to breaking it was scary!”
The boy smiled nervously. Breaking? It pains him to know that this went on for long enough for her to get this close to breaking.
“Of course Tikki. She’s my partner, I don’t know what I’d do without her.” He gave the kwami a big smile.
The whole time, Marinette had been awfully quiet.
He looked over at his partner, only to notice that she had begun crying again.
“Oh no Mari.” He pulled her into a hug.
“I had a plan.” She whispered.
He tried to hide the confusion on his face, until he looked down at the girl in front of him and noticed.
“Marinette?” His voice cracked and he struggled to mask the tears on his face.
Her arms were covered in scratches. Scratches, and bruises, and cuts.
“I’m sorry.” She cracked. It was heartbreaking. She started sobbing again, this time it seemed, almost in anger.
“Hey hey hey bugaboo, you don’t have to apologize. I’m sorry you had to go through this alone. I’m here now.” He tried to reassure her.
“I’m so selfish. It would have just hurt people around me but Chat, I can’t do this anymore. But I just looked at you and Tikki and you guys seemed so happy and I just can’t believe I wanted to end that.”
He let the tears flow down his face freely. He continued to caress her arms, holding her to his chest. He couldn’t picture himself in a world without Ladybug. He had always assumed she was so strong, but here now, he remembered that she was human the same way he was. It pained him to know that she had been struggling so bad that she contemplated leaving them.
“Hey, you’re in a rough patch. And that’s ok. I’ve got you.” He murmured into her hair.
He held her for a long time, letting her cry herself out. He wasn’t sure how long they were there. Tikki was seated on his shoulder, watching over her chosen.
“God this is embarrassing. I’m supposed to be strong.” She muttered. Tikki flew down and rested on the bluenettes hair, cuddling it.
“Not even the greatest can be strong all the time. It’s ok to take a break once and awhile.” Tikki responded wisely.
He continued to rub her back until he looked up at the sky and realized how late it was. The sky was pitch black, different from the deep blue, sunset, color of his arrival.
“Can I take you home, Bugaboo?” He asked. “It’s pawfully late.”
“Ugh even when I’m depressed you’re still punning.” She muttered. No matter what she said, she nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. He slid her into a bridal carry, his arms behind her back and under her knees. Tikki slid into her lap for the ride home.
She clung to him a bit tighter as he took off. The feeling of soaring through the sky was a familiar one, yet scary. She had no control of her body. She trusted Chat, but it was still an anxiety inducing ride.
He landed softly on her balcony, trying to keep as quiet as possible. The bluenette in his arms seemed to be falling asleep, snuggling into his chest. A soft groan escaped her lips when he landed, shaking her a bit.
He slinked into her room, placing her down gently on her pink bed. She instantly cuddled up in the blankets, curling up into a ball. Her kwami flew off somewhere, presumably looking for cookies. She let out a little squeak as she took off. The black clad boy bent down, running his thumb across her cheekbone.
“Goodnight Bugaboo, I’m here now.” He murmured, kissing her forehead. He rose slowly, preparing to head off back to his house. He was about to take off when he felt a hand grip his wrist. Her slender fingers curled around the fabric.
“Wait Chat…” She mumbled sleepily. “Stay?” She tugged on his wrist lightly. She looked up at him with big eyes, they were sleep filled and tired, “Please?”
He thought for a moment. His lady was asking him to lay in bed with her. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was tired, or something else. He felt a little uneasy. Would she wake up in the morning and be disgusted that he was there? Suddenly, his mind flashed back to the marks on her wrists. No, she needs him right now.
“Alright Bugaboo.”
He laid in the bed next to her, careful to keep his distance so as to not make her uncomfortable. There was a bit of space between them. He looked into her eyes, they were swollen with tears and sleep. He reached out and brushed his gloved hand across her cheek. Her other hand came up to meet his, rubbing the back of it.
“How are you feeling?” He asked softly.
“Mmmm I’ve been better. But this all really helped. Thank you Chat. I might try to talk to Adrien about everything, he seems to be the only person who understands me right now.” A soft smile graced her lips and he forced his excitement to the back of his throat. To know that this is what he does to her makes his heart leap in his chest.
“I wish you the best of luck Mari. Adrien would be an idiot not to like you back.” He couldn’t fight the smile on his face.
“I- I guess I made my love for him pretty obvious didn’t I?” She let herself laugh a little.
“L- love?” He wasn’t expecting her affection for him to be that prominent in her life.
Over the years, she had slowly begun replacing the photos of him in her room with those of her and her friends. Eventually it became just the two of them, once her relationship with Alya and Nino began to turn sour. If you were to look around her room now, you would assume the two of them were dating. Dating. Hopefully soon…
“Yeah. I really love him. That’s part of why Lila hates me. She thinks of me as ‘competition’, which I’m not, I know Adrien doesn’t like me like that. But, she sees him as more of a prize to be won. An object she can have that will make her look better. I guess that’s part of why I hate her so much.” Her voice was raw with emotion, it was obvious this was something sensitive for her.
There was a moment of silence before the blonde spoke up.
“I love you Marinette.” He murmured, smiling at her.
She looked to him confused. Didn’t she just?
“I’m sorry Chat, you know how I feel about you and Adrien it’s just-”
“No you don’t understand,” There was a flash of green light, and suddenly Adrien Agreste was laying in bed with her. It took all of her effort not to scream and pass out on the spot. “I love you Marinette.” Adrien spoke.
She was frozen for a second, her hand over her mouth. Tears suddenly flooded her eyes and she grabbed him, pulling him into a tight hug. She buried her face in his sleep shirt.
“Adrien? Please tell me this isn’t a dream.” She sobbed. He pressed a kiss to her head.
“It’s not a dream Bugaboo, I’m here. I’ve got you now. I love you so much.”
She started crying harder. She took in a deep breath and clutched him tighter.
“I love you too. Thank you.”
His hands made their way back to her hair. He twisted the dark locks between his fingers, spinning and running his fingers through them. He let her relax into him, breathing slowly.
“Ugh this is even more embarrassing!” She suddenly spoke after a few minutes.
“What?”
“I’ve been rejecting you for you. I’ve been in love with Adrien for so long that I tried to go ignore Chat Noir! And now, you just watched me have a meltdown, in which I talked about you. Oh noooo.” She rolled to face away from him, her face bright red.
“Mari,” He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her so she straddled his lap. Her legs were thrown on either side of him and she braced her hands against his chest.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You’ve seen me absolutely fail as Chat Noir, I think we’re even.” He smiled.
She simply nodded before taking a moment to look into his eyes. She pulled back a bit, really taking in the forest green.
“Your eyes are beautiful.” She murmured. “Eep! I didn’t mean to say that out loud!” She buried her face in his neck.
He let out a chuckle, the vibrations of his chest flowing through to Marinette.
“Thanks Princess, it means a lot to me. If it means anything to you, I think your eyes are beautiful as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with eyes as blue as yours.”
She sat back and smiled a little. It was a gentle smile, a smile of peacefulness and comfort. She noticed his gaze drift from her eyes down to her lips, darting back up to her eyes when he realized she noticed his gaze. She used this as courage, praying that meant what she thought it did.
“Can I kiss you?” She whispered, inching closer.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He smiled, closing the distance.
The moment their lips met, he felt like everything was coming together. His life may be a mess, but this, here was a safe haven. She felt the same. In the crazy ocean of her world, where waves continued to crash on her, pushing her further out to see, Adrien was her rock. Keeping her safe and grounded and god did kissing him feel so good.
Prior to this, she didn’t see the appeal of kissing someone. It was just lips on lips, saliva and germs everywhere. But here, in his arms, she understood why. She didn’t know how long they stayed there, could have been seconds, minutes, or even hours, but she knew her lungs were screaming for air.
She pulled away gently, looking up at him.
“Thank you, for everything.” She murmured.
There into the moonlight, he had never seen her look more beautiful. Her hair was down, did she know how much he loved her hair down? The way it framed her face. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Her lips were a bit swollen from the kiss and her cheeks had a dusting of pink as well.
“Always…” He smiled, going in for another kiss.
They stayed like that for as long as they could. Continuously going back for more.
The next morning, when Marinette didn’t wake with her alarms, nor after like she usually did, Sabine went to go check on her daughter. She knew her Marinette was really struggling these days, late night panic attacks and sob sessions told her that. When she had seen the scars, she worked with Marinette to find healthier options. She prayed that whatever she said worked.
So, when she entered her daughters room, only to find her curled up in the corner of her bed, in the arms of none other than her longtime crush, she decided not to question. She was happy right now, and that was what mattered to her. So, she began to leave the room, peeking her head back in, only to call out, “Marinette, wake up, you’re gonna be late to school!”. She figured if her daughter managed to sneak a guy in, she could sneak him out. They would discuss the rest sometime soon.
She heard a squeak come from the bed and that was all before she shut the door and made her way back to the bakery with a quiet chuckle.
She groaned and sat up in bed, looking over at the model boy who had stolen her heart.
“Adrien.” She poked his face, trying to wake him up. “Adrien.” She spoke a bit louder, shaking him.
He shot awake with a start, only calming when he remembered where he was.
“Oh jeez that scared me for a sec.” He laughed, pulling her into a tight hug. She could feel his rapid heartbeat against his chest. There was a comfortable silence, just the two of them together, before she heard a faint sound.
“Did you just sniff me?” She tried, and failed, to hold back her laughter.
“Hey! It’s not my fault you smell like vanilla and love!” He retorted.
“It’s ok.” She hugged him again. “You smell nice too.”
“Thanks…”
Suddenly, she ripped away from him.
“Fuck.” Was all she said.
He froze, eyes widening.
“M’lady! Did I just hear you curse?” He faked shock.
“Don’t act like you haven’t heard me curse before.” She called, scrambling out of the bed. He followed suit, taking his time. When he made it down to the floor she was running around.
“No I actually haven’t.” He clarified.
“You haven’t? Wow? I thought everyone had,” Suddenly she stepped really close to him, her hand on his chest. She leaned up and placed her lips near his ear. “Guess I’m not as innocent as you thought.” She whispered in his ear slowly. She quickly pulled away and went on searching around her room for something.
It took his brain a moment to process everything and then he thought he was going to spontaneously combust. He stood in his spot, frozen, before remembering how to function like a human.
“I- wow Bugaboo.” He smiled, his face a firetruck red.
She just laughed, a genuine happy laugh. Thinking back, it was something he hadn’t heard from her in a long time. She had collapsed in on herself, and it took them so long to notice. He then remembered the events of last night and his mood fell.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, sitting down on the chaise.
She stopped her scrambling to look at him.
“Better. It’s still… a lot, but,” She stepped forward and took his hands in hers. “I think with you by my side it’ll be ok.”
“You and me against the world right?” He breathed. She simply nodded and met him with a kiss. His hands cupped her face softly, running his thumb across her cheek.
Then she remembered.
“Oh god I’m gonna be late.” She said as they separated. “Why is it that I live within walking distance of the school and I’m always late! Adrien don’t you think you should be getting home? Your family is probably looking for you.”
“Oh crap!” He shot up. “Plagg, transform me!” He called. Neither of them had any clue where the two kwamis had flown off too, they were simply glad they hadn’t interrupted them last night. Plagg loved to tease his chosen, but he was just as worried about ‘pigtails’ as Adrien was. Unlike Adrien, he had started noticing the bluenette’s odd behavior at school. There was a green glow and there stood Chat Noir.
“I’ll see if I can convince my bodyguard to let me run back here and walk you to school.” He smiled.
She pressed up onto her tiptoes, kissing him one last time.
“Bye bye Chaton, I’ll see you later.”
He started walking towards her trapdoor, preparing to head our.
“Goodbye Bugaboo” He paused, quickly turning and running back to her. “Actually, one last thing, would you consider me your boyfriend?” He cocked his head to the side, eyes wide with hope.
“If you wanna be Chaton. You already know I do.”
“Then, Buginette, I can’t wait to see my girlfriend at school.” He gave her a wink before taking off towards his house.
Life was hard, and it was scary, but with Adrien by her side, she knew everything would be alright. Him and her against the world.