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“Great work today Chat, last mission complete!” Ladybug said with a bright smile, holding her fist out for a routine fist bump, but it wasn’t returned.
“Chat?” she questioned, her smile disappeared as she watched her partner. His eyes were downcast and he slumped over his pole, he looked so spent as he watched the pedestrians go by on the street below. For a second he just stared into space with a sadness in his eyes that Marinette has never seen in Chat, but her charismatic Chat was gone now in replace of Adrien. A boy who had just lost his father. A boy that was heart broken and alone, she would be lying if the last akuma attack wasn’t the hardest.
After finding out that Hawkmoth was in fact his father, he’s been distant. She remembered the day that she found out who Chat was. It was the first fight they had with Hawkmoth, he had unmasked himself showing his face to the duo without an ounce of regret.
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“This power is mine to have,” Hawkmoth said standing tall. “All the miraculous belong to me, all you have to do is hand them over to me.”
“Never Hawkmoth” Chat said expanding his staff pointing it outward. He didn’t look threatened as he crossed his arms a raised an eyebrow.
“Ah, Chat Noir, you can keep your miraculous as long as you help me take the miraculous from Ladybug”
Chat clenched his teeth and took a defensive stance “In your dreams Hawkmoth,” he launched towards Hawkmoth with his staff reared behind his head ready to strike, but the man countered with minimal effort.
Chat was thrown to the ground and Ladybug took the lead swinging her yoyo ready to attack, but her yoyo was caught on something pulling her in as Hawkmoth smiled at her with her yoyo in his hand. He planted his feet swinging her right on top of Chat with as much effort as he took taking Chat down, he groaned pushing her off of him as she saw Hawkmoth barrel towards them.
“Stop” Chat yelled pushing the man back. They locked arms pushing one another back, their strength in parallel Chat struggled to keep Hawkmoth back.
“Chat Noir, I know who you are” Hawkmoth said catching him off guard.
“What do you know” he ground out, pushing the man back.
“That this all will be over soon, son” he whispered. Chat pushed back and jumped away from the man.
“Dad?” he said eyes wide.
“What?” Ladybug said as she stopped from unleashing her next attack. Chat took her arm and lead her out of the door.
“You can’t run away for long, Adrien” he called after him, “This is our destiny!”
But the boy didn’t hear any of it, Ladybug did though, she heard every word as her partner was pulling her out of the building. She was still putting the pieces together in her head as Chat ran them out on to the rooftops far away from whatever building that they chased Hawkmoth to in the first place. They were blocks away when she came to, Chat was found out, and now Hawkmoth knew.
“Chat,” started calmly.
“No,” he growled, he was pissed she could tell by the hurt in his voice in his eyes. This was bad Adrien’s family; his friends they were all in danger. “But your family and your friend’s you should-“
The boy shook his head putting his hands on Ladybugs shoulders, “You already know who I am so it doesn’t matter. Plagg,” He said as he glowed revealing Adrien with tame hair and green eyes. “None of matters anymore, because he knows and I know who he is and I don’t know if I can do this anymore” he looked so broken as he clenched his closed fists. His kwamii sat on his shoulder with sad eyes.
“Chat-, Adrien,” Ladybug corrected herself. “we have to do this together, or we won’t be able to stop him. People can’t keep being akumized and plus, Hawkmoth doesn’t deserve the miraculous that he holds,” Adrien looked towards the street watching the pedestrians and cars go by.
“Then it might be better if another Chat to help you.” He said quietly.
“What?” her and Plagg said in unison.
“Adrien we are a team,” she put her hand on his shoulder, “whether you like it or not. Got it!”
She smiled at him and her smiled back hesitantly and nodded putting his hand on hers with a bright smile. “Great, Tikki” she called to her kawmii and Ladybug was now blushing Marinette.
“We do this together” she held out her fist for a familiar fist bump.
“Yeah, together… Like always,” he returned the favor.
__________
Chat put his staff away, “I think that this charade is over Ladybug,” he claimed. They’d beat hawkmoth, being Chat Noir and Ladybug, it was over. Marinette wanted cry, her partner looked so broken and she didn’t know if it could even be fixed.
“But Chat,’ she reached to grab his arm, he stood still for moment.
“I’m sorry my lady but the situation as it is now…” he pulled his arm slowly from her grip. Ever since finding out the Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste, Adrien’s life had crumbled around him. He avoided contact with his father by, sleeping over at Marinette’s house. Her parents were delighted to have the boy over, but the intensity of the situation shut down the part of Marinette’s brain that forgot that she had a major crush with her partner of 3 three years. He was thrilled to find the dozens of posters of him in her room and will never let her live it down. That was the last time she saw a genuine smile from him. They planned for weeks on how to take down Hawkmoth and it all ended today. Gabriel was stripped of his power and no new akumas will pop up from today onward, but the battle that Adrien had to face would be way greater.
“I don’t think I can continue on as Chat Noir, Milady,” he said with his head bowed. Ladybug felt tears fall onto her cheeks, she knew that would be good-bye and she would see her best friend and partner for a long while or ever with her luck.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll see you for a while,” his hand rubbed the back of his neck with bright smile, but was contrasts with the steady tears that start to stream down his face. Ladybug was not willing the return the favor as she tried desperately tried to keep in her tears.
“I guess always, isn’t possible for us, huh?” he laughed somberly. And gates for Marinette flew open as she cried aloud. She would probably never see her best friend again, even after she learned to love Adrien’s Chat side. She loved him and she will never see this boy again.
A warm pressure increased her as Chat hugged her tightly and she could do nothing else but return the hug with a steel grip, hoping that he doesn’t leave her side. She put her face into his shoulder hoping to conceal her wails.
“I’m sorry, Marinette” he whispered as he rubbed soothing circles on her back as she cried into his shoulder and just waited on what felt like forever in each other arms. They never wanted to let go, because if they did they might never see each other ever again.
“Adrien,” ladybug said pulling back only a little, but not before tightening her grip on his chest, “I- I lo-,”
“I know,” he stopped her, “So do I,” he gave her an infamous Chat grin as he leaned forward to press his forehead to hers.
“But today is not the day, I don’t think I can handle it” he said with a bittersweet smile.
It reminded her of the first day they revealed their identities to one another. She remembered when she tried to confess her feelings to him. She was a stuttering mess and she felt as if she would combust thought of it, but before she could get the words out he stopped her.
“I know, Marinette, I do too. But today I don’t I can handle it right now,” he smiled, “Right now I just think I need a friend”.
And a friend she became for the rest of the day as they cuddled on the floor watching TV on Marinette’s computer as she tried to heal Adrien from the wounds that the battle left him with. Their kwamii’s perched atop their heads as they sat in silence watching Pokémon reruns, eating the plates upon plates food that Marinette’s parents had provided to them.
“I have to go now,” Chat whispered giving Marinette one last hug that last didn’t last long enough. He slipped through her fingers and she watched him jump from building to building until he was out of sight.