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"I just wish he'd notice me. I mean, we're friends, but why can't he really notice me?" Ladybug whined. With a sigh, she continued, "I guess it's because I'm not all that great when I'm not Ladybug."
Chat scoffed, "'Not that great'? I'm sure you're amazing as a civilian, and he's just blind. I can see you doing all sorts of great things, even in the future. You said you were interested in fashion right? Then you'll make it big, and he'll regret not noticing you."
She giggled, rolling her eyes at him like she always did, "Thanks, mon minou."
Boy, did he regret it.
There she was, Ladybug, Marinette, his lady, his princess, his best friend, and his partner, pale and lifeless, blood continuing to seep out of her body. He'd died in battle, and when he came back to life, he thought everything was fine. He was back and Paris had looked alright. But then he saw her, slumped against a wall, legs giving out from underneath her, and fear struck him harder and faster than it ever had before.
He'd ran. Ran, and ran, and ran, but once he got there her transformation wore off and Marinette collapsed in his arms, coughing and sputtering and holding on to dear life. Her kwami, Tikki, had fallen to the ground, exhausted and battered. He barely heard her muttering the phrase to pass on the guardian duties to him. Barely heard her as she mumbled something about a letter in her room.
"You're not giving up on me," he'd told her. "I'm going to get you to a doctor."
"N-no!" she'd cried, wincing, "They'll know something is wrong, they'll figure it out. They can't know."
"But you're dying!" he'd bellowed.
She had started to cry then, her grip on him and reality loosening, "They can't know."
"Marinette, don't give up," he'd begged, begged with all he could, "Please."
She'd given him a soft smile, that quickly turned into a grimace. Then her face relaxed, her whole body did, and she looked like she saw something wonderful. Maybe she had.
She might've been dead when he'd told her he loved her. Or maybe she was still hanging onto consciousness. He didn't know. He didn't want to know. Because all he knew was how unfair it was that it was her and not him.
She'd had a promising career ahead of her, a life with a purpose and a life that would be filled with love and happiness. She didn't deserve to die so soon, at such a young age. He would gladly trade places with her. She was the light to his darkness, she showed him kindness in a way no one had after his mother had disappeared. She was his everything, and now she was gone.
And boy did he regret not noticing her before.
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Marinette was called upon Bunnyx again, but she didn't know what happened. It was another timeline gone wrong, another timeline needing to be fixed. This time, it wasn't something she'd done that lead to an identity reveal, it was the lengths she went to not ever reveal herself. It was a weird situation, but it lead to another Chat Blanc, this one worse.
She didn't really understand what was going on, an akuma had arrived, and she had been talking to Adrien. She was trying to get away, but Adrien didn't seem to want to get her out of his sight. She'd said she needed to use the restroom and fled before anything else happened.
During the attack, she got distracted, trying to figure out why she got a pocket watch. In that moment, Chat Noir took a hit for her, shoving her out of the way roughly. She tumbled to the ground, looking for him frantically, only to find him crumpled on the ground by a wall. When she reached him, he was dead.
It was then that Bunnyx had arrived, and Marinette immediately thought the worst. That she hadn't succeeded and that he was dead for good. But it wasn't that, somehow it was worse because Chat Blanc was back and worse than before.
Now in some horrible timeline that needed to be erased, she wondered what caused this. What had happened? How long was the world in ruins this time? Why was the moon missing multiple pieces?
Chat Blanc turned to her, face sunken, eyes broken, cheeks tear-stained. "Marinette," he murmured, and the first thing she thought was that they'd somehow gotten together again. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you. But you didn't want anyone to know... I shouldn't have listened."
"Chat Noir, listen to me, I'm here now, stop blaming yourself," she said gently, slowly walking to him.
He stood up, agitated. "Stop blaming myself? It was all my fault that you died. If I wasn't such a people pleaser, if I hadn't listened, if for once in my life I did as I pleased, you wouldn't have been dead! It's my fault, and I'm so sorry."
Chat Noir? People pleaser? Marinette always thought he was some sort of dork who acted like a bad boy. Like someone who didn't care what anyone thought and just did what he knew was right. But a people pleaser? She never would've guessed that he was one.
His voice trembled, "Please give me your miraculous. Just so I can wish for me to take your place. That's all I want. Please, Marinette."
She staggered back, "No."
He sighed, running his claws through his hair as something dark flashed across his eyes, "At least I tried the nice way." He shrugged, "Cataclysm!"
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Fighting Chat Noir again was agonizing. Once everything was set and done, she gave him a long hug as he clung to her for dear life, whispering, "I'm so sorry," over and over again. When he'd calmed down she made sure to let him know that she never would've blamed him, then left.
Now she was running to Chat Noir, akuma purified. Thinking back on the battle, she narrowly missed being stabbed, and narrowly missed having her miraculous grabbed at. Perhaps those things would've led to her death, but thankfully she was alright, and Chat Noir was smiling at her blearily.
She threw her arms around him, crushing him and leaving him confused if the breathless, question laugh was anything to go by. When she loosened her grip on him and pulled away slightly, he held her face in his hands, thumbing her tears away.
"Hey, what's wrong? Missed me?" he asked, a gentle tease in his voice.
"You stupid cat!" She punched his arm, "I could've lost you forever. Don't scare me like that."
"Someone has to protect you, m'lady," he tried to explain.
"And someone needs you by their side, ok? Instead of just shoving me out of the way, come with me to safety." Her anger slowly subsided, and she added quietly, "I can't lose you, you stupid, mangy cat."
"Alright, I'll be more careful. Cat's honor," he winked.
"Ok."
"So, are you up for ice cream later?" he asked with a smirk.
"Busy," she shrugged.
"How about tomorrow?"
"Chat," she said sternly.
"Ok, ok, a cat can dream."
She ended up agreeing to ice cream that weekend.