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Marinette hummed along to the music playing softly throughout her bedroom as she stitched the hem of a dress she was working on. It was a pale pink color and made of an expensive silk fabric she’d bought after months of saving and had been very excited to work with. She was making it for her to wear to their graduation ceremony in just two weeks, where she and all her friends would receive their high school diplomas. It was the start of new beginnings and new experiences. Maybe that would entail that she’d finally have enough courage to ask out Adrien, her crush of now four years.
She had gotten into the workflow, oblivious to the knocking on the trapdoor, assuming that it was a rock or something. However, the knocking persisted, finally grabbing her attention enough to get out of her seat and see what it was. She groaned as she adjusted her cotton shorts and climbed onto her bed so that she could open the trapdoor. She opened the door, not knowing what to expect. Her confusion melted into worry when she saw Chat Noir on the other side, beaten and bruised.
“Chat!” She yelled, climbing onto the balcony beside him and examining his cuts and bruises. “What happened to you?”
“I-I’d rather not talk about it,” he whispered, voice choking due to the tears pricking the ducts of his eyes. Marinette felt tears rise up in her own eyes at the sight of his busted lip and bloody nose. She cupped his cheek, brushing his hair off of his forehead.
“Are there any bad injuries?” She whispered, not wanting to hear him say it aloud. Saying it aloud would only solidify his response, whether good or bad.
He sucked in a breath, taking his hand off his bicep—one that had grown and become more prominent after years of running across rooftops and fighting off supervillains—and revealing a decently-sized rip in the sleeve of his suit. Because of the tear, Marinette could see a gash with dried blood matted to the skin around it. It wasn’t something grave enough to take him to the hospital to get stitches, but it wasn’t something that could be ignored, either.
Marinette brought her hands up to her mouth, a tear escaping her eye and trailing down her cheek. “No. This isn’t real. I just saw you earlier!” At his quirked eyebrow, she realized what she had said. “On the news,” she amended. “You were fighting an Akuma with Ladybug, and you were just fine!”
“Hey, hey, Princess,” he consoled her, rubbing her back. “Don’t cry. I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine.”
She hiccuped, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m such an idiot. You’re the injured one, and you’re still consoling me because I can’t keep it together.” Before he could protest, she opened the trap door and helped him inside. “Can you walk?”
He nodded, slowly climbing down the ladder before limping to her chaise, taking a seat. She gave him the bowl of Pocky sticks she was munching on while sewing before darting downstairs and grabbing a first aid kit. Anxiety consumed her, causing her to freeze in her place by the foot of the stairs. What exactly had happened to Chat in order for him to be hurt so badly? What had he gotten himself into?
“Marinette? Are you alright?” Sabine asked, snapping Marinette out of her thoughts. Marinette sighed, looking at her mother and hiding the first aid kit behind her back.
“Yeah,” Marinette lied. “I’m just fine.”
“What’s with the first aid kit?”
“That? I… uh… I need an extra-fine needle for the dress I’m working on and I remembered that there was one in here. You don’t mind if I use it, do you?” Marinette held her breath. She’d been Ladybug for years, and that entailed coming up with excuses on the fly, but Marinette always felt anxious whenever she delivered them. Sure, she’d gotten a million times better over the years, but she had always hated liars and disliked when she had to go against her morals, even if it was for the good of Paris.
Sabine gave a skeptical look to her daughter, raising an eyebrow. “Just wash the needle and put it back when you’re done, alright?”
“Yes, Maman.”
“Also, I heard you rustling around in here and came to tell you something. Your Papa and I are going to bed now. Don’t stay up too late designing again.”
“Yeah, of course. Tell Papa I said good night!”
Before her mother could respond, Marinette dashed up the stairs and ran into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her. She saw Chat jump at the loud sound, applying pressure to his wound with one hand while using the other to pick up the Pocky sticks and put them into his mouth.
She wordlessly sat beside him, removing his hand from on top of his wound. “You might need to…” she hesitated, wondering how weird the request sounded in her head. “You might need to remove your suit.”
A fierce blush came upon his cheeks as he grabbed his bell and slowly began pulling it down, unzipping the suit so she could see his chest. His bare chest. Her mind flickered to Adrien for a moment, and she remembered a time she had walked in on him with his shirt off and had practically combusted after witnessing it. Now, at this moment, her heart was beating at a similar pace and her mind was going into overload. Yet, she sucked it up and focused on the task at hand.
Her hand traveled on Chat’s arms until she hit the gash, causing Chat’s breath to hitch. She pulled out the rubbing alcohol from the cotton pad and poured it onto a cotton ball, gently dabbing up the blood around the gash. Chat sucked in a breath when the alcohol came in contact with his wound, and Marinette held his hand as she cleaned the rest of it.
“Nearly done, Kitty,” she mumbled as she pulled out a bandage, wrapping it twice around his bicep before securing it. After, she tended to some of the cuts littered across his face. Thankfully, his nose had stopped bleeding, but there were still the bruises she could do nothing about besides apply moisturizer to soothe the skin. “How does that feel?”
“Better, thanks,” he replied, voice coming out weak. He pulled his suit back on, zipping it back up to the top. With a sigh, he stared blankly at the wall, his clawed finger tracing circles on the fabric of the chaise. “I-I don’t want to go back to my house. D-do I h-have to?”
Marinette rested her hand on his shoulder. “Did someone at home do this to you?”
Chat shrugged, mumbling something incoherent before whispering, “I told you, Mari. I’d rather not talk about it.”
Marinette nodded in understanding, knowing better than to press further. “You can spend the night here. The chaise is comfier than it looks, and I have some more pillows and blankets you can use.”
He smiled a weak smile. “Thank you, Princess, but you... I don’t have to stay here all night; I was only suggesting a few hours—”
“No. You shouldn’t go back home until tomorrow morning. It’s past midnight and I don’t want you to overuse your injured arm. Get some rest, Chaton. You can leave in the morning.” She tilted her chin up and pressed a kiss to his forehead, then got up to grab his pillows and blanket. She returned a few seconds later and set them beside him, pulling him into a side-hug.
“Marinette?” He whispered.
“Yes, Chaton?”
“Thank you.”
“Always.”
***
Marinette woke up the next morning, blinking her eyes to adjust to the bright light seeping through the spaces between her curtains. She reached up to the ceiling and stretched, letting out a loud yawn. She reached over to her phone, checking the time. For once, she had woken up before her school alarm. Maybe it was because Chat’s presence made her sleep earlier than she would’ve otherwise.
“Good morning, Chat,” Marinette murmured, glancing in the direction of the chaise where Chat was supposed to be sleeping. Instead, she found it vacant, with ruffled blankets and pillows with soft indentations of Chat’s face. She quickly climbed down the ladder, trying to figure out if Chat Noir had left, or if he was just gone using the restroom or something. However, she simply found a note in place of him, noticeably written quickly due to the sloppy handwriting.
Hey, Princess,
Thank you so much for letting me stay the night. You really are paw-some.
Unfortunately, where I live, I’m woken up early. So, I had to duck out before my parents could notice I was missing. You’re right, the chaise was very comfy to sleep on. Though it was a little small ;D I don’t know if I’ll be able to visit tonight after my patrol with LB, but I really hope I can. You deserve an explanation for last night.
Chat Noir.
Marinette blinked as she read the letter again and again. Even if the picture of Chat’s legs hanging off the side of the chaise made her laugh—seriously, when did he get to be over six feet tall and how ?—she frowned. It was unfair that Chat had to go back to the place where he’d supposedly gotten hurt the night before. She wasn’t sure that that was how it happened, but she was inclining towards it. Call it a gut feeling.
However, realizing that she still had school, Marinette shoved the letter into one of her sketchbooks and rushed off to get changed. She brushed her teeth and combed through her hair, which had grown out over the years. Getting dressed, she quickly ate breakfast and checked to make sure she had everything in her bag before walking down the street to her school.
Students were gathered in the front courtyard, talking and chattering amongst themselves. A banner to congratulate the graduating class was hung over the main entrance, as well as balloons tied to the pillars. As Marinette walked closer, she found Adrien talking to Juleka and Rose by a bench. She went up to them, bidding them good morning.
“Marinette!” chirped Rose. Marinette wondered how that girl was able to be so cheerful so early in the morning. “You’re early!”
“Crazy, I know?” Marinette chuckled as she sat beside Adrien on the bench. He flashed her a smile and waved, but something seemed off about him. Maybe it was that his eyes seemed duller, lacking their usual sparkle. Maybe it was his disheveled hair, usually styled to the T. “Hey, Adrien.”
“Hi, Marinette! You caught us in the middle of a riveting conversation. What kind of cats are the best?”
“I vote tigers,” Juleka said, her voice quiet.
“Adrien said housecats!” Rose added in.
“I agree. Housecats are the best. Especially black cats. They’re cute and cuddly and I can keep them in my house, unlike a tiger,” Marinette inputted, glancing at Adrien. She froze, noticing a detail with Adrien’s appearance she hadn’t noticed earlier. His lip looked bruised, and there were cuts and bruises, visible only under close examination. Her breath hitched, reminding her of Chat Noir. She remembered a bruise on his left cheek, identical to the one on Adrien’s.
No. There was no way.
“My point exactly,” Adrien said. “Tigers may be big and ferocious, but you can’t carry them around like you can a housecat, Juleka.”
“Whatever,” Juleka mumbled, though there was a hint of a smile gracing her lips. Rose pulled on her shirt, urging Juleka to come with her to some other people she’d spotted. They bid their goodbyes and left, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone.
Marinette, however, was too preoccupied to notice that. Amid a mental war of whether her suspicions about Chat’s identity were true or not, she was only physically present but not mentally. Same green eyes, same blond hair. Both were tall, both were strong. Both were kind, both were dorky. Thoughts like these kept playing on repeat in Marinette’s head. It took Adrien violently shaking her to snap her back into the real world.
“Marinette, are you okay?” He asked, gazing directly into his eyes. Marinette blushed a bright shade of pink, her heart melting at the sight, distracting her from the turmoil enraging in the forefront of her mind.
“Yep… P-perfectly fine,” she stuttered out, forcing out a frazzled smile. Adrien's eyes darted down to her lips for a split second before he backed away, blushing profusely.
The rest of their friends showed up, and the day commenced as usual, but when Marinette looked at Adrien, she couldn’t help but see Chat Noir.
***
Ladybug waited on their usual rooftop for Chat Noir to arrive, twiddling with her fingers. There was a possibility that Adrien would show up, only if he was the man under the mask. She sighed, looking out at the sunset in an attempt to calm her nerves. It was no use, however, as everything in sight reminded her of him .
“Hey, Bug,” Chat said, landing behind her on the rooftop and walking over to take a seat beside her. “What’s new with you?”
Just finding out that you may or may not be Adrien Agreste! “N-nothing!” She stuttered, slapping a hand over her mouth. She wasn’t one-hundred percent convinced that it was Adrien on the other side of that mask, but did she really have to act like it was? “Just a normal ‘ol day, nothing new, nothing special!”
Chat chuckled, though it didn’t sound authentic. Frankly, he seemed just as lifeless as he did the night before when he’d showed up at her house. It made her wonder why he was trying to seem like he was alright when he clearly wasn’t.
“W-what about you?” Ladybug asked, groaning internally. It was going to be a long night if she kept messing up her sentences the way she was.
“I… uh… I actually had to tell you something important. It’s not really something to take lightly, though, so…”
“What is it, Chat?” Ladybug looked at him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “You know you can tell me anything.”
He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I… uh… Well, I… Hawk Moth found out who I am.”
Ladybug’s jaw dropped open. So this was why he had showed up at her house, looking like he’d been run over by a truck?
“That’s not all,” he added, scratching at the nape of his neck. “I know who Hawk Moth is, too. We kind of got into a fight, hence the scars on my face.” He took a deep breath. “Ladybug, I’ve thought long and hard about this, and if you want me to renounce my miraculous because Hawk Moth knows my identity—”
“What are you talking about?” she yelled, cutting him off. “Chat, I can’t replace you. Mostly because you’re my partner and I can’t do any of this without you, but also because you know Hawk Moth’s identity! Hawkmoth! The guy we’ve been trying to chase down for the last four years!”
“But he knows mine. Isn’t that unsafe?”
“It’s the perfect tactic to use to defeat him! We know who he is and when he could strike. Besides, if that man hurt you like this, then I have to kill him. Now, who is he?”
Chat shuddered, peering down at his lap. “My father.”
Ladybug blinked, barely able to process what she was hearing. Hawkmoth was Chat Noir’s—Adrien’s—father? Hawk Moth—Adrien’s father—was the one that had caused Chat to show up at her balcony door, beaten and bruised? Hawk Moth—Adrien’s father—was the one that had been wreaking havoc on Paris for so many years. She peered at Chat, who was sitting beside her, staring blankly into the distance. “You’re really telling me Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth?”
He snapped out of his blank state to stare at Ladybug with his jaw hung open. “How’d you figure out that Gabriel Agreste is my father?”
Ladybug slapped a hand over her mouth, grimacing. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Uhhh…”
Chat leaned closer, expression entirely serious. “Milady, how did you figure out that I’m Adrien?”
Well, she’d already figured out who he was. The least she could do was tell him who she was. “Because you showed up at my place last night and I had to treat your wounds, and then I saw the same cuts on your face this morning at school, and I- I- I—”
Chat pressed a finger to her lips. “You’re Marinette, aren’t you?”
She nodded, not bothering to remove his finger.
He smiled, the first genuine smile she’d seen from him all day. “I’m glad to know the girl under the mask was someone as amazing as you, Mari.”
Ladybug smiled, scooting closer to him. He took his finger off of her lips, brushing his thumb against her bottom lip instead. “We have to defeat your father… I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s fine. I have you now, don’t I?”
“No, Adrien, it’s not fine! How bad are things with you and your father right now?”
“Considering we’re arch-nemesis, it’s been worse than any rough patch we’ve ever had before. There’s more tension in our house right now than when Mother first disappeared. It’s… I just want to get the whole defeating thing over with.”
Ladybug rubbed his back, letting him lay his head on her shoulder. “What do you want to do with him once he’s defeated? Turn him in to the police?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
“And that’s perfectly valid, Chaton.”
“Can I leave the figuring out for later, and just… Can you hold me?”
“Always.”
They stayed there for hours, simply staring at the sun as it slowly set. Marinette sighed, thinking about how much her life had changed in the last forty-eight hours. She’d gone from worrying about confessing to Adrien and graduation to worrying over Adrien’s mental health and defeating Hawkmoth, who was apparently the fashion designer she’d looked up to for her whole life. Now all her past problems felt like little specks of dust.
But there was one speck of dust she still needed to dust away.
“Chaton?” She broke the silence, feeling him tense in her hold.
“Yeah, Bug?”
“I love you too.”