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Ladybug was deteriorating in front of his eyes, and there was nothing Chat Noir could do about it.
She hid it well, in the public eye, at least. But Chat could see it.
And it was getting worse.
“Ladybug–!” He dashed forward, catching her just before her stumble took her to the ground. They had just defeated another villain, one sent out by the new holder of the butterfly miraculous, and had escaped to a nearby roof to avoid the growing crowd just as they’d been doing more often recently. Chat knew why, but he didn’t understand why Ladybug seemed to be growing weaker after every fight. He could see it in the exhaustion behind her eyes, in her struggle to interact with Parisians for long periods.
And yet, she refused to admit to him that anything was wrong. But he knew something must have happened. He thought he had traced it back to one particular akuma fight, one where she defeated the villain before he’d arrived. Nothing had seemed to go wrong, but he remembered that she had mentioned her lucky charm had been destroyed in the fight, and she’d remarked that she was grateful there hadn’t been any lasting damage to be reversed.
He’d congratulated her, and they went their separate ways.
Once she started showing signs of something going wrong, however, the incident kept creeping back into his mind, and he became convinced something had happened during that fight. Something that she hadn’t been able to cure away.
He was growing frantic with worry for her, and he blamed himself for not trying harder, for not realizing something was wrong sooner. He’d been too weak himself, at least in an emotional sense. After they’d discovered that his own father had been Hawkmoth, he realized his mother was still alive, only to lose her a second time. All right after losing his father to his own Cataclysm, and Adrien Agreste couldn’t take it; he’d disappeared from his civilian self, putting everything he had into being Chat Noir instead.
He should have been paying more attention, instead of wallowing in self pity.
Chat Noir slid under Ladybug’s shoulder, supporting her as they walked away from the side of the roof. He gently lowered them both to the ground, watching her pained expression with anguish as he tried to support her head in his lap.
“My lady, you have to tell me what’s going on. You’re getting worse.”
She winced, but just closed her eyes, turning her head away from the dying sunlight. “I’m just…tired…Chat.”
She went still, and Chat panicked, shaking her. “No, Bug, stay awake for me.” Her eyes shot back open, to his immense relief. “Ladybug, you can’t pawn this off on exhaustion. Something’s wrong. This isn’t normal.” Her suit should have protected her from being hurt, he didn’t understand…
Awareness seemed to trickle back through her, and she managed to get back up to her feet. She gave him a small smile. “You always help me feel better, minou. I’m okay. I just need some rest, that’s all.”
Before he could stop her, she threw out her yo-yo and swung away. He watched her go, frustrated, until she disappeared beyond some buildings.
Adrien detransformed right there on the roof, Plagg appearing with a swirl of green in his hand. The Kwami looked quite exhausted, flopping in his hand and taking the cheese Adrien kept in his pocket.
More guilt filled him; he knew he had been overworking his Kwami for the past month, staying transformed for longer periods than normal.
Adrien sat down on the roof to give Plagg a bit of a break before they headed back to his apartment.
“Ladybug’s lying to me; something is wrong with her. I can’t lose her too, Plagg. I can’t.” The last word came out choked. He’d already lost his father, his mother, Nathalie… he couldn’t lose the partner that he loved as well.
Plagg grew angry in his hand, finishing the cheese and flying around in an agitated way. “I know, kid. If I only knew where to find Tikki, I’d force her to tell me, to tell you.” Adrien knew the Kwami didn’t know Ladybug’s secret identity; he’d complained about it enough times in the past. Not that he would have told Adrien, but in this case, it seemed particularly frustrating.
“Let’s get back, are you ready, Plagg?” The Kwami huffed but nodded, and Adrien transformed once again.
He was about to use his baton to propel himself off the building, but a movement caught his eye. Something small and red darted closer, until a creature zoomed up to them. “Oh, thank heavens you’re still here.” It was Ladybug’s Kwami, Adrien realized. He felt his stomach drop, the panic ramping back up within him as the Kwami reached them, looking frantic. “She passed out, and I can’t wake her up! I had to leave her to find help.” Tikki darted back and forth anxiously.
“Take me to her,” Chat demanded, and the two of them began racing through the city.
Tikki lead him into an alleyway, where Chat could see a figure crumpled amongst the black trash bags overflowing from a dumpster.
“It was the best I could do,” Tikki cried out. “She passed out mid-air, and this was the safest landing spot I could push her to with my magic.”
Chat landed with a quiet thump, running to her side. “Don’t do this to me, Bug.” He leaned down, carefully lifting her up and out of the bags. She roused slightly at his touch, and when she turned her head to him, he realized with a shock that he knew her. Her blue eyes closed again.
“No, no – Marinette, come on, stay with me.” When she made no further movements, he turned angrily to Tikki. “What’s happening to her?”
Small black eyes looked at him with sorrow. “She’s dying.”
The confirmation of what he had feared rocked him, and he stumbled, dropping to a knee to keep her steady in his arms. “How?” He asked, grief filling his throat and choking his words. “From what?”
Somberly, Tikki said, “From a broken heart.”
The response was so unexpected, so strange, he nearly laughed as an incongruent hilarity bubbled up within his chest. He managed to push himself back up, making his way out of the alley and heading towards his apartment, which wasn’t far. “What? Don’t be ridiculous, that’s not a thing.” But her unmoving body in his hands and Tikki’s unchanged reaction cut through him. “I don’t understand.”
“There was an akuma she fought a few weeks ago. Heartbreaker. We think she had the power to literally do what her namesake suggested. Ladybug came upon her quickly; she had been present when the girl was akumatized. She defeated her quickly, but not without a brush with the power. Her lucky charm vanished during the fight, and she couldn’t reverse the effects. Neither of us thought there had been any lasting issues. But we were wrong, and she’s been getting worse. Transforming helps her, but even that started waning.”
Chat felt like he could barely control his breathing as he carried her forward, reaching his door and letting himself in. “There has to be another way. Why didn’t she just tell me? I could have been helping her figure this out. Did she do another lucky charm?”
Tikki nodded, but it was clear by her frown that it hadn’t worked. “She was being stubborn. She thought she could fix it. She didn’t want to worry you, knowing that you were having a hard time after Hawkmoth.”
He clenched his teeth in frustration. He’d been at least partially right; his own pity party had caused her not to open up to him.
He reached his couch, lowering Marinette gently down. Shaking, he placed his fingers to her wrist. Relief filled him as he felt her slow pulse.
Chat stood and closed his eyes tightly, trying to push down all of his panic to think. “What about something else? A doctor?”
“Doctors can’t help with a magical malady like this.”
Chat began to pace. “A broken heart. A broken heart. What about a backdoor?” His eyes snapped open. It sounded ridiculous in his head, but he voiced it anyway, “What about a true love’s kiss? She loves someone, doesn’t she, that boy…” The typical pain that usually plagued him at the thoughts of said boy Ladybug had mentioned having feelings for in the past didn’t even reach him, as focused as he was on finding a way to fix this. He’d do anything, including push her into another’s arms, to save her.
Frustration flashed across Tikki’s face. “We thought of that, and we did actually believe it would have worked.”
“But what?” Chat prompted, feeling impatient.
“...but he’s gone.” The disappointment felt like ice through his veins. Tikki didn’t stop there. “Well, perhaps not gone, but we can’t find him. He’s disappeared.”
“Who is he? Can’t I help find him? I could have been doing that this whole time.”
“We don’t think he wants to be found.” She hesitated, but a glance down at Marinette on the couch seemed to remind her that her identity was already revealed. “It was Adrien Agreste.”
A beat passed.
Sudden hope filled him. None of the implications of that statement sunk in, except for the one that mattered.
He could save her.
“Plagg, claws in. ”
Tikki took in his identity with a gasp, followed by excitement. “Do it, Adrien!”
He wasted no time.
Dropping to his knees on the floor, he carefully placed his hand against her cheek, her skin unnervingly cool. He leaned down, and gently pressed his lips against hers in a kiss.
Nothing happened.
Despair began to build as she continued to lie unmoving below him. He felt tears leak through, falling down his cheek and landing on her face.
Then, warmth began to blossom out from her lips beneath his, and he felt her suck in a breath through her nose. She began to kiss him back, her lips moving suddenly, hungrily.
Happiness exploded through him and he laughed against her mouth, his tears still flowing.
She was alive.
He broke away to look at her. Her eyes had opened and she was staring at him with confusion and wonder. “Adrien?” She whispered, “Is it really you?”
“It’s me.”
She blinked her eyes slowly, gathering her bearings. She struggled to sit up, her eyes turning concerned. “Are you okay? I’ve been so worried about you.”
Adrien let out an incredulous laugh. “You nearly die on me, and you’re asking how I’m doing?”
Confusion filled her expression, and she glanced around the room, then down at herself. “Oh, I did? Wait…” She brought her hand up to her lips, pressing her fingers against them, before turning a shocked look on him. “You…kissed me.”
“I did. I’m sorry I couldn’t ask your permission. I had no other options. I had to try.”
Embarrassment clouded her eyes, and she looked down. “I’m so sorry you had to do that. I’m guessing…” her eyes darted behind him, “...did Ladybug find you and tell you what was happening?”
Tikki flew past him, colliding with Marinette and nuzzling her neck. Marinette froze, staring at Adrien in panic. “He knows Marinette, it’s okay. I’m just so glad you’re better now.”
The girl smiled softly down at the Kwami, bringing her hand up to curl around her. She then turned a shy look back at him. “I’m sorry you got roped into this Adrien, but thank you. If you need to go, you don’t need to stay any longer.”
Adrien placed a hand firmly on her knee. “I really don’t need to be anywhere but here right now. You should have told me, Marinette. I could have helped you figure this out ages ago.”
She looked at him with confusion once again, until Plagg darted in, landing on his shoulder. She stared between the Kwami and Adrien, eyes widening as she began to understand. “You’re Chat Noir.”
Grimly, Adrien nodded once. It wasn’t something he was proud to admit, at the moment.
The concern returned to her face, and she looked anguished. “Oh no, Adrien–Chat— I’m so sorry. Your father…”
Adrien grimaced and looked down, hunching into himself slightly. “I’m not proud of what I did, after. But I just couldn’t…” He huffed in frustration. “It was a terrible decision. I should have been stronger. You nearly died because of what I did.”
Marinette shook her head. “No, Adrien, that wasn’t your fault. It was my decision not to share it with you. I overestimated my ability to handle it. And I think…” she trailed off, staring off to the side. “I think it might have messed with my head near the end. Things felt hopeless, and somehow it made me think I deserved to be alone in my suffering.”
Tikki reappeared, looking distraught. “I should have realized there was more to it, I thought you were just being stubborn. I should have pushed harder.”
“You did just fine, Tikki. You brought Adrien to me, afterall.” She threw another embarrassed smile his way.
The look sparked something in his mind; the connection he hadn’t let himself make before. He reached and took her hand in his. “The boy you used to talk about, the one you loved that you thought didn’t return your feelings…that was me?”
She didn’t meet his eyes at first, nodding shyly. Then she did look up, a wry smile forming. “I guess I turned you down for you, huh?”
Adrien laughed softly, continuing to caress her hand. “And I was too blinded by you to notice you.”
Marinette looked at him fondly. “We sure are a pair, aren’t we?” She grew serious again. “Thank you, Adrien.”
“Anytime, my lady.”
Something sly crossed her face. “You don’t say? Well, how about right now, since apparently I was pretty out of it the first time.” She reached and tugged at his collar, pulling him closer.
The surprise lasted only a moment, and then something warm and happy filled him. He leaned the rest of the way forward, capturing her mouth with his.
Elation began to work its way through his veins as she met his movements eagerly.
She was alive.
She returned his feelings.
He hadn’t realized how far he’d fallen until this moment, when he finally felt the pieces of himself knitting back together.
Art by Vera Braun!