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Ladybug and Chat Noir grin at each other as they land on the roof of the Montparnasse Tower. They sit down side by side, catching their breaths while they get comfortable.
"I won the race," Chat says once they've calmed down, "didn't I? I got here first."
Ladybug scoffs and boops his nose. "You did not. I did."
"But I did!"
"No, I did!"
They laugh — they both know that neither of them would be able to win the argument — and Ladybug rests her head against his shoulder while Chat puts an arm around her.
(Moments like these without having to worry about akumas are the best.)
“The tower is always an interesting place to fight,” Chat says, “there have been so many fights here.”
Ladybug stiffens at his offhand comment. There have been many akuma fights that have happened at this tower, but there’s only one she remembers vividly, one that…
“Ladybug?” Chat frowns in concern. “Are you okay?”
She looks away and sighs. Despite her being guardian, after the reveal, they’d decided to try and keep as few secrets as possible between them.
But…
Images of icy blue eyes, a cold white suit, and a world driven to destruction flash through her mind.
Chat Blanc.
The air is squeezed out of her lungs as she recalls it; the moment he’d been so close to destroying the universe. If she looks to her right she’ll see—
“-bug! Look at me, focus on me. It’s just me, I’m right here.”
Green. At the sound of his voice, her head snaps to the side to find green . His eyes are green and his suit is black.
Everything’s okay.
“Something’s not okay, Buginette. I can tell.”
Her eyes widen as she realizes she must’ve said that out loud.
How can she possibly tell him this?
And what happens if she does tell him this? What happens if there’s a possibility it could happen again in the future? They may know each other’s identities now, but Hawkmoth is still a threat, and Ladybug's feelings….
Our love did this to the world.
Her feelings for Chat, for Adrien, have only grown since she’d seen that alternate timeline. They’ve learned so much more about one another; after the reveal, everything just clicked into place. She falls for him more and more every single day.
But she doesn’t know if he feels the same way.
And frankly, while some part of her hopes he does, the other part knows it would never end well if he did love her, too.
“Our love did this to the world,” she breathes without thinking.
“What?” Chat whispers.
Ladybug jolts up at the sound of his voice. She sighs as she knits her eyebrows and looks down, trying to find words that won’t get stuck in her throat. “I... there was another timeline. You were akumatized and- you destroyed the world. you said it was our love that did that.”
He takes in a sharp breath next to her.
“And I- I love you, you know that? I love you, and I want to be with you and kiss you and everything, but every time I think about it, I see him and I can’t-“ she looks up at him with watery eyes. “I hate it. this awful duality of how you’re my best dream and my worst nightmare.”
There’s a flash of green light, and Adrien pulls her into his arms.
Ladybug lets him, and soon enough, there's a flash of pink as she detransforms, too. Marinette takes in deep breaths as Adrien soothingly rubs his fingers in circles along her back. She closes her eyes to hold back tears.
She hates this. Marinette hates how Chat Blanc continues to plague her thoughts like this, how the thoughts come back every time she thinks they’re finally gone, and she hates the way she’s afraid, terrified of being vulnerable with him.
Because Chat Blanc is Adrien.
“He's not me,” Adrien whispers, “I’m here, buginette. I'm not him. I'm not the person who was akumatized.”
But what if it happens again, what if-
“I don't know the details, but you know what?” Adrien presses a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you too, my lady. It's not a weakness. It’s never been a weakness. I love you, and my love for you has always been a strength.”
She hiccups as a few tears spill out. "Adrien..."
"I'm serious, 'Nette." He moves back to look her in the eyes as he whispers, "it's you and me against the world, Princess. Always. So if this is something you want... we don't know everything. I don't know what happened. But I do know that I'll be with you every step of the way, right by your side."
Her chest flutters at that; there's nothing she wants more than to be with him, to press her lips against his and tell him yes, please, I love you too. Except...
"I-I can't let you get hurt."
He shakes his head. "I know you won't let that happen. We're a team, Buginette."
Marinette can't help but be hesitant, and yet, there is truth in Adrien's words. This isn't the same timeline she'd seen before. And after all, it's them against the world. Even if it is risky, even if there's so much at stake, even with all of the what ifs...
Isn't it worth the risk?
"Okay," she mumbles.
Maybe it’s worth the risk
for him.
Adrien stares at her. "Really?"
Marinette takes his hand and gently presses a kiss to his wrist. "Really," she breathes. "I love you, Adrien."
He beams back at her and turns to press their foreheads together. Marinette giggles as their noses brush against each other's, and, as their eyes meet and Adrien leans forward to press his lips against hers, she can't help but lean in, too.
Definitely worth it.