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As Marc sat in his room, waiting for Nathaniel to arrive, an unfamiliar figure appeared next to him. Marc immediately jumped up.
The stranger wore a purple suit, a butterfly mask and had a staff on her back. That’s the new holder of the Butterfly Miraculous, Marc thought.
“Easy, I’m not here to fight” the stranger gestured defensively. Marc still couldn’t believe her. He saw all those akumas, all the damage this woman had done. This was the first time she showed herself to anyone. “I’m only here to talk”
“Talk?” Marc scoffed. “You hurt us, you akumatised Nat’s mother, all you do is hurt people” he yelled at her.
“I know,” the girl nodded. She didn’t make any sudden moves. “First, I would like to apologise to you. Of course I want to apologise to your boyfriend too, Rooster Bold, but he’s not here right now” she smirked.
Marc’s heart skipped a beat.. How?! How did she figure it out?!
“I don’t know what–” Marc tried to deny it.
“Don’t even start that. I saw you transform.” the girl interrupted. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Chrysalis. I am the holder of the Butterfly Miraculous. I would like to ask for your help.”
“I would never help you!” Marc said, his voice was angry, but his hands were shaking.
“Just hear me out, Marc. Wouldn’t you like to live in a world where you can be with Nathaniel without being afraid of other people’s opinion? Being afraid of them hurting your boyfriend. Just because you two love each other” she sat down on a nearby chair, facing Marc.
The boy froze. That was everything he ever wanted. A world without people being cruel to others.
“I mean… it would be really nice if people could accept us” he said quietly. “But this world is not kind, and we have to accept that”
“No, you don’t. There’s a way to fix that” Chrysalis shook her head. “And you know what it is”
“You’re asking me to betray Ladybug and Cat Noir.” Marc said with a shaky voice.
“Well, not exactly. You don’t have to steal their miraculous. You don’t have to use your own.” Chrysalis’ green eyes lit up. She definitely saw Marc’s moment of weakness.
“Before you’d say anything” Marc said. “Orikko, Sunrise” he transformed.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at him.
“What are you doing?”
“I am going to grant you the power of automatically muting yourself when you lie to me” Marc said. “Only if you agree, of course. I need to know if you’re actually telling the truth. If you lie, I won’t hear your words. Deal?” he asked.
Chrysalis’ smile grew wider.
“Of course, I don’t have anything to hide” she nodded, then Marc gave her the power.
“So, before we’d start, how about some tea?” he asked with a smile.
“Fine” Chrysalis nodded.
They went to the kitchen, and Marc made some strawberry tea for the both of them.
Nat would’ve killed him for treating the enemy like a friend of his, but this was the best opportunity to gather some information. Chrysalis saw him as the weakest member of the group, so he had to show her how wrong she was.
“So…” Marc started as they sat down. “Let’s start it again. Do I have to hurt anyone in the group?” he asked.
“As I said, no” Chrysalis shook her head. “I told you,” she sipped her tea, “you don’t have to steal anyone’s miraculous. You don’t even have to use your own” she put down her cup. None of her words got muted.
“Then… what should I do?” Marc asked with a confused face.
“I think I know Ladybug’s identity” Chrysalis leaned forward, her green eyes fixated on Marc’s face. He tried not to show how worried he was after hearing this sentence. “You’d have to follow her to confirm. It’s a friend of yours,” she added.
“What?” That was all Marc could say. He couldn’t imagine any of his friends being Ladybug.
“There’s someone in your friend group who has to be her. I’m talking about someone who is brave, kind and selfless. But at the same time she’s incredibly clever, and can solve any problem within minutes. Someone who would always help others first instead of solving her own problems” she said, and with every word, Marc’s eyes grew wider.
He only knew one person like that. Marinette.
“I have no idea who you’re talking about,” he bluffed. It didn’t work, based on the look on Chrysalis’ face, but she decided to play along.
“Okay… Does the name Marinette Dupain-Cheng ring a bell?” she asked, studying Marc’s reaction.
“She’s definitely not Ladybug. Ladybug is a confident person. Someone who never panics, never clumsy and always knows what to do” he shook his head, but deep down he had a feeling. A feeling that Chrysalis was right.
“Let’s say you don’t believe me,” Chrysalis chuckled. “Just look at them. I know that face. That hair. Her height. Her scent. Her facial expressions. I know her.” The last words came out really quiet.
For a few seconds, Marc was quiet. This conversation was the same he had with himself when he suspected Nathaniel was Caprikid, because he thought he was crazy for falling for someone, who was similar to his boyfriend.
“You’re describing a girl you can’t stop thinking about,” he said gently. “Not a superhero.”
Chrysalis’s mouth tightened. “I’m describing both. That’s the point.”
She exhaled through her nose and reached for her tea again, mostly for something to do with her hands.
“I’ve stood close enough to both of them to know,” she said. “I’ve watched her when she thinks no one is looking. I’ve watched Ladybug when she thinks no one is looking. It’s the same person. The way Marinette tucks her hair behind her ears… Ladybug does that too. I am not crazy” she continued.
Marc studied her for a long moment. Then he decided to play this game like Chrysalis would play it.
“I never said you were crazy,” he said finally. “But you sound like someone who’s been paying very close attention. Closer than strategy requires.”
Chrysalis stared at him in silence. Then she was about to say something. But her words got muted.
Marc smiled at her.
“Did you want to say something like ‘I am not gay’?” he asked with a growing smile.
Chrysalis wanted to say no, but her words got muted again..
“Yes” she looked away. “But you don’t understand,” she said, her voice now unsure.
“Then explain it to me” Marc drank his tea and poured himself some more.
“If I’m right…” she swallowed. “Then every time I almost had her I looked into the same eyes that looked at me and asked if I wanted an extra macaron, every single time I visited her parents’ bakery”
“Is that so bad?” Marc asked.
Chrysalis looked at him like he was insane.
“She looked at my civilian form like she saw something in me. She asked me out multiple times. I always had to say no, because I kept telling myself that I can’t date my enemy. Of course it’s bad” she let out an emotionless laugh.
“I’m going to ask one more question,” Marc said carefully. “If Marinette was Ladybug, if she was the superhero you’re trying to defeat every day, would that make you stop loving her?” he asked.
“Don’t even try to say that you don’t love her” Marc added quickly, to which Chrysalis just rolled her eyes.
“I don’t think it would,” she admitted quietly.
Marc removed the power with a smile.
“Then what are you waiting for? Ask her out, do something. Your happiness doesn’t depend on whether you can change the world or not. It all depends on you” he said.
Chrysalis thought about it for a second, then she left through the window without saying another word to Marc. That was fast, Marc thought to himself.
A few blocks away Chrysalis had no idea how to confess to Marinette. The girl had forgiven her for everything she had done at school as Lila Rossi. She didn’t forget though, and Lila deeply respected that, but her being Chrysalis wasn’t exactly something Marinette could just ignore.
“Stupid feelings” she mumbled to herself, then transformed back, and headed toward the bakery.
It was almost dark, Marinette had definitely started closing, so she had to hurry. It was only a street away, but she ran.
Marinette was getting ready to close, when Lila got there. She stood in front of Marinette, but before she could’ve said anything, she had to catch her breath.
“Lila, are you alright?” Marinette walked up to her. “If you need anything, you can just call me, you know” she gave a warm smile. Lila’s plan to ask her out was a hundred times harder now.
“Marinette” she started, gasping for air.
“Come inside for a minute and rest, then we can talk,” Marinette offered. Lila could only nod.
They sat inside for a few minutes, Marinette gave Lila a glass of water, then the girl could finally speak.She was suddenly very aware of how fast her heart was beating.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Lila said with a serious expression.
“About what?” Marinette asked carefully.
“I think I am in love with someone” Lila said with a sad smile.
“Oh” that was all Marinette could say.
“I know”
“No, I mean–” Marinette hesitated. “That's… that's great. At least I think.”
Lila shook her head.
“It’s everything, but great. Because she's the last person I should be in love with”
“Why?” Marinette asked.
“Because she's my enemy”
There was a long silence. Marinette didn't know what to say. Lila let out a shaky breath.
“She’s brave. And kind. And incredibly selfless. She always puts everyone else before herself, even when she has problems of her own” Lila said, smiling.
Marinette's expression softened.
“Sounds like she’s a great person”
“That’s the problem. She IS a great person. And I like her more than I should” Lila looked at Marinette.
“What’s her name?” Marinette asked.
At first, Lila hesitated. Then she smiled.
“Marinette”
“What?”
“Her name is Marinette” Lila's voice became barely more than a whisper. “I’m in love with you”
Marinette stood completely still.
“But we’re not enemies” she said, then the realization hit her. “Wait… you know that I am…” Marinette stopped.
“And you know who I am,” Lila nodded. “And I think you suspected it before”
“I just didn’t want to believe it” Marinette took a step back. “Because you were different from the person who tried to outsmart me every day” she said, looking at Lila.
“I wanted to be different, to be honest,” the other girl said. “I wanted to be someone worthy of your love”
Lila hesitated for a second, then she reached under her jacket and grabbed her brooch.
“I understand if you hate me or despise me” she held her miraculous in her hand. “But I want to give the Butterfly Miraculous to you” she handed it to Marinette.
“To me?” Marinette stared at her.
“I mean, you’re Ladybug. You are the guardian” Lila shrugged. “But I’ll miss our fights”
“Me too” Marinette held the brooch in her hand. “I should hate you”
“I know” Lila said.
“But I don't,” Marinette sighed.
“You don’t?” Lila looked at her, trying to figure out her thoughts.
She expected Marinette to kick her out, to yell at her for everything she had done against her. But Marinette didn’t.
“I don’t” Marinette shook her head with a smile.
“Then what do you feel?” Lila asked with genuine curiosity.
“I’m trying to figure that out”
She leaned closer, giving Lila enough time to pull away. Lila didn’t move. Their lips met in a soft, hesitant kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, but when they pulled apart, neither of them moved away.
Lila stared at Marinette, completely stunned.
“What?”
“That was a start” Marinette whispered. “And we’ll figure out the rest”
Lila smiled.
“I’d like that.”
In a completely different apartment, Marc opened the door to Nathaniel.
“What’s up?” Nathaniel asked as Marc welcomed him with a kiss.
“I think I saved the world today” he laughed against his boyfriend’s lips.
Nathaniel looked at him with a confused expression.
“Okay, I’m late because traffic was horrible, but that doesn’t mean you get to do things like this without me.” He pulled Marc closer, making him laugh.
“I’ll explain everything,” the younger boy said. “But first, let me make some tea.” He grabbed two cups and turned on the kettle.