Music glossary:

Syncopation:
A disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm

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(Mood Music: I Hate Everything About You - Three Days Grace)

Ignoring  Ladybug's and his friends' frantic shouting, Adrien sprinted towards  the villain with only a vague and most likely very, very stupid plan.

Whether  or not it was the intrinsic bond between the cat and ladybug  miraculouses that compelled him to do so, he couldn't say, and at this  point, he didn't care. All Adrien knew was that he couldn't let anything  else harm Ladybug. At this moment, absolutely nothing was more  important than keeping his other half, his partner, his Lady, safe.

Nothing else mattered; not even himself.

Upon reaching the monster he stood in front of it and yelled, "Hey, did you know that Chloe actually has a boyfriend?"

That certainly got Reaver's attention. He stopped in his tracks and bellowed, "She WHAT?!"

"I  bet he thinks you're jealous of him!" Adrien continued his ruse. "Did  he whisk her away from you right under your nose, big guy? Boy, that's  gotta suck!" He could have sworn he saw Reaver's eye twitch, and he had  to suppress a chortle. "He probably thinks you'll never find out who he  is, or that he lives in an apartment by the Seine because you're dumb as  rocks!"

Reaver sputtered, enraged, "Why, that son of a— I'll rip  him apart!! I'll show him! He shouldn't have messed with me!!" In a huff  he spun around and ran towards the Seine river with a new (yet vague  and questionable) goal in mind.

Adrien quirked a triumphant grin,  turning his head to give a quick wink at Ladybug (who was staring at him  slack-jawed like he'd grown a second head, along with Nino and Alya),  then followed behind Reaver. He could hear Ladybug clamoring and  demanding that the couple allow her to stand up and run after him, but  thankfully to no avail.

Once he was far away enough from his  friends that they couldn't see him anymore, he sneaked into an empty  building, its inhabitants having already evacuated to one of the nearby  akuma shelters.

He transformed into Chat Noir and quickly dialed  Hawkmoth's number on his staff's communicator. He struggled to keep his  anger in check while it rang, trying to figure out what he would say.

Hawkmoth's face finally appeared on the screen.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Chat yelled urgently, manners and decorum tossed out the window instantly.

"What I'm supposed   to be doing. Unlike yourself," Hawkmoth snorted loftily. "You had so  many opportunities to take Ladybug's miraculous just now and yet you  didn't. What's the matter with you, Adrien?"

"W-what's the matter with me?!" Chat stammered. "Your akuma is out of control! He's more violent than any others we've ever had! You can't do this, you have to call him off!"

Hawkmoth  scoffed in annoyance, clearly already fed up with this conversation.  "I'm only doing what I must to achieve our goals. Goals which you   clearly seem to have forgotten. You shouldn't have any sympathy for  that two-faced sham pretending to be a hero. All of this wouldn't have  to happen if she'd just give us the damn earrings."

Chat recalled the conversation he and Ladybug had had a few weeks prior, while they were dancing at the akuma's ball.

  "I'm not just holding on to my miraculous to spite you and Hawkmoth, or  because I'd rather keep my superpowers instead of helping you guys. I'm  protecting it. Using a miraculous for  personal gain always ends in tragedy. Always. I know you have no reason  to trust me or believe me, but what would I gain by lying to you?"

Chat  bit his lip, bracing himself for his following question. "But Father,  what if there's a good reason she can't give them to us? What if we  really aren't meant to use both the cat and ladybug miraculous  together?"

Hawkmoth pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing  exasperatedly. "I see she's attempted to deceive you and play you for a  fool. Don't fall for that delilah's sugar-coated words and pretty face,  Adrien. Even if whatever lies she told you were true, it still doesn't  amount to the destruction she's inflicted on Paris throughout all these  years due to her infuriating stubbornness. This fight could have been  over long ago, and yet she continues to allow all of Paris to suffer for  her pride and arrogance."

Shelving aside the accusation of  Ladybug being the source of Paris' misery for a later discussion, Chat  insisted, "But this time you've gone too far. You're going to kill  her!!"

"Good. You might actually manage to collect her earrings if she's a motionless corpse!" Hawkmoth spat, disgusted.

Chat's  eyes grew wide and he gasped sharply, blood running cold. This couldn't  really be his father talking, could it? Had he any love or compassion  left in his soul? Was this another effect of his miraculous; was  misusing the power of empathy rendering him unable to actually feel   it anymore? What could this mean for Hawkmoth and his powers? Was he  losing his control over his abilities and that's why the akuma had  become so ferocious recently, almost feral? Countless questions swirled  around in his head, heart racing at the implications.

"I... You..." Chat stuttered incredulously, clenching his fists, claws painfully digging into his palms.

Fighting  a sudden bout of nausea, Chat struggled to formulate any kind of  coherent sentence. But how could he, when his mind was reeling at his  sudden realization? That this was not the man he'd grown up with and  loved.

While Gabriel hadn't ever really been an outwardly doting  or affectionate parent, Adrien had good memories of a caring father who  loved him; one who had read to him as a child, played the piano with  him, and had laughed with while playing trivia games. And while during  the last few years he'd become more cold, unrepentant, and spiteful year  after year, Adrien would never have suspected that he'd spiraled so out  of control and deteriorated into such a ruthless and uncaring person.

Dismayed, he asked almost in a whisper, "Father... What's happened to you?"

Hawkmoth  snarled with a glower, "If this is how it's going to be, then I have  nothing more to say to you. Just stay out of my way." He huffed, then  added, "You always were a disappointment." He then hung up without another word.

Chat  couldn't help but sit in silence, trying to blink back tears and calm  his heart, which felt like it had just been rent into a thousand pieces.  He didn't know what to think or how to feel. This wasn't how families  were supposed to treat each other. Especially when there were only two  of them left. Or three, if you included his mother.

His stomach dropped. Oh, God... What would Mom   think? She'd be coming back to an insecure and troubled son and a  husband who had become a cold-blooded husk of the man he used to be.  Would she even want to be brought back to life if it was only to suffer?

His thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a bus being thrown against a building, followed by the akuma's enraged roars.

Chat  cursed under his breath and stood. He'd allow himself to mourn later.  Right now he had an urgent task: to stop his father from destroying  Paris.

–––––––––––

"If you were actually a nice  guy, you wouldn't be hounding Chloe and trying to pressure her into a  relationship just because you think you deserve it," Chat barked  irritably at the akuma, who was stuck in the middle of the Seine hanging  with one arm from Chat's staff, which extended from one end of the edge  to the other. "Leave Miss Bourgeois alone and stop being such a  persistent douchebag," Chat scolded, rubbing his sore muscles as he  walked towards the discarded rugby ball off to the side.

The akuma grumbled and grunted as he floundered around in the water, holding onto the thin staff with great difficulty.

"Don't  worry, it'll all be over soon and you can go home. Or better yet, go  apologize," Chat said, turning around to head back to where he'd left  Ladybug and the others.

"Hey, you can't just leave me here!" Reaver howled.

Chat  looked back at him, giving him a cheeky smirk. "Watch me," he quipped,  then dashed away to a string of curses and incoherent shouting.

Shortly after, Chat arrived back at the street where his friends were located.  He took a deep calming breath and, scooping up the stray Lucky Charm on  the way, carefully approached the group, who was still huddled around  Ladybug. She looked exhausted, breaths ragged, beads of sweat trickling  down her face, as if she'd been trying to get up the whole time he'd  been gone only to be held back by his friends. The idea caused a shiver  creep up his spine, and the dusty air became harder to breathe.

Nino  caught sight of him first. A strangled whine escaped his throat, and he  frantically attempted to squeak out, "It's C-Cha-...!" Having failed at  formulating basic speech, he poked Alya's shoulder to get her attention  instead.

The latter's eyes widened in terror, but she quickly  composed herself and darted in front of Ladybug getting into a  protective stance, courage largely fueled by adrenaline. Nino followed  suit, crouching by the superheroine's legs, halfway blocking her with  his body.

"Don't you dare come any closer!" Alya snarled, voice dripping with venom. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?!"

Despite  the numerous powers and abilities the cat miraculous bestowed upon him,  the sight of a fierce and tenacious Alya terrified him. His countenance  fell, hands nervously fidgeting with the rugby ball. He tried to think  of a way to appease her and assure them he meant no harm, but was coming  up short.

Before he could open his mouth, however, they were both shocked to hear Ladybug speak. "Alya, it's okay."

Alya's  jaw dropped in astonishment, having never seen them have any  interaction that wasn't hostile. But after a few seconds she hesitantly  stepped aside, allowing Chat to walk past her.

Chat slowly knelt down by Ladybug's side, offering her a tiny, penitent smile. "Hey."

Ladybug smiled brightly in return. "Hi," she said, chuckling lightly. "You came," she breathed.

Chat  felt his chest flutter at the thought of her being happy to see him.  Still a bundle of nerves, he sputtered, "H-how are y- uhh... Are you oka-  um..."

"I'm alright, Chat," she answered him reassuringly,  touching his forearm. Her brows became knitted and she asked quietly,  "B-but did you happen to see a young man, the supermodel Adrien Agreste?  He's my- I mean, he's their friend," she corrected hastily. "He ran  after the akuma. And I'm worri- uh, we're - worried about him."

"I  did," he replied, touched by her concern even now, and still protecting  the nature of their relationship from anyone else who might overhear.  "He's fine."

Ladybug's shoulders relaxed a bit and a small breath escaped her, a relieved smile replacing tightly pursed lips.

Chat  fiddled anxiously with the hem of his cowl. "I, um..." he stammered, then  reached into his pocket. "I have something of yours," he said finally  as he brought out her yo-yo and offered it to her. "Also this," he  nodded towards the polka-dotted bottle of oil, holding it up with his  tail.

"Thank you," she replied, voice full of warmth. With a hint  of shyness she asked, "Um... I might need a little help, if you don't  mind." She extended her hand towards him tentatively.

"Oh! O-of  course," he said. He took hold of the rugby ball and ripped it open,  freeing the blackened butterfly within. Then he draped Ladybug's arm  around his shoulders, supporting her waist with his other arm, and  helped her to stand up. She hissed in discomfort, Chat's own pained  expression mirroring hers. Handing her the Lucky Charm, she took it and  laboriously threw it up in the air.

"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" she croaked rather than shouted.

Ladybug  had never been as happy to see the swarms of tiny magical ladybugs as  she was now. They sparkled and swirled around them, removing injuries  and setting everything back as it should be. Ladybug's strength and  energy returned and Nino could now stand without aid.

Next Ladybug purified the corrupted akuma, giving it a small wave as it flew off.

Everything was back to normal... and yet everything had completely changed.

Still  in a half embrace, Chat and Ladybug turned their heads to look back at  each other, faces almost touching, and if Chat didn't know better, he'd  say she was looking at him with a fondness he'd never felt from her  before. Eyelashes fluttering slowly, her eyes seemed bluer and more  vibrant than even the brightest of skies; a hint of red dusted her  freckled cheeks and her rosy pink lips looked tantalizingly soft, almost  inviting.

"Um..." they heard Nino say hesitantly.

In a flash  the pair pulled apart, chuckling awkwardly and wearing matching blushes,  nonchalantly dusting off and smoothing out their suits despite no more  dirt being present.

Nino continued, "What do you guys think happened to Adrien?"

"He's probably on his way back," Alya said, shrugging.

A  loud yet familiar beeping suddenly rang through the air. Ladybug  habitually raised her hand to touch her earring, knowing her time was  up.

Apprehensively walking up to Alya and Nino, she nervously  twirled the ends of her hair and said, "When Adrien comes back, will  you– um... Will you please tell him that I really appreciate what he did?  The way that he– I mean, he was amazi- uhh! That is, he was  very..." She took a deep breath to try to get her stuttering under control  and tried again, "I-it was very brave of him," she finished lamely, her  face almost as red as her suit.

Alya nodded with a smile. "Sure thing, LB."

Thanking  her and giving them one last goodbye, Ladybug turned around and was  surprised to see that Chat was just as flushed as she was for some  reason. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, averting his eyes to  look anywhere else but at her.

Gathering up her nerve, she  approached him and cleared her throat slightly. "Shall we?" she asked  amiably, slipping her hand into his. Chat's eyes widened, flicking up to  meet hers. His face turned an even deeper shade of crimson, but managed  to nod in reply. They headed off together, and Ladybug could have sworn  she heard an awed Nino quietly mutter, "Dude..." as they leaped onto  the rooftops.

(Mood Music: Paper Boats - Transistor OST, Ashley Barrett)

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

They  stopped once they had traveled few streets down to a quieter  neighborhood. Chat began to pace back and forth, arms tightly crossed  and tail whipping back and forth agitatedly, still avoiding her gaze.

Is he angry?   Ladybug fretted. Despite being short on time, she decided to give him a  few moments to work out whatever was going on inside his head.

The telltale beeps rang again, more urgently this time. Only 2 dots left.

The  earrings had first begun to beep as she lay helpless next to Alya and  Nino. She'd practically resigned herself to the fact that they'd be  forced to find out who she was, putting them both in extreme danger. To  say that she'd been terrified would be a massive understatement.

And  then Chat Noir showed up against all odds. Even though she'd had no  reason to believe he would help her, inexplicably, deep down, part of  her had faith that he would. She wasn't sure about his reasons or if  anything had happened between him and his father, but she was grateful  that luck had been on her side during this battle, despite having gotten  closer to death than she ever had before.

She chewed on her lip  as she recalled the amount of pain her body felt, how close she'd been  to despairing and yet somehow managing to keep it together for Alya and  Nino's sake. She would surely have some nightmares about it for a while.  But if this experience helped her and Chat begin to solidify a  friendship and started her on the path to rescue him from Hawkmoth, then  it would have all been worth it. He was worth it. She wasn't going to give up on him, not ever. He needed her just as much as she needed him.

Finally  Chat spun around and approached her but stopped short just beyond arm's  length, almost as if he was afraid of her. He opened his mouth to speak  yet couldn't force anything out, and despite him trying to hold himself  together she noticed his fists shaking at his sides. She could sense  the significant inner turmoil he was experiencing, tormented by too many  conflicting thoughts. He was so hesitant and anxious, Ladybug wondered  if he thought she was upset at him for not turning up to the akuma  attack earlier than he had.

Wanting to help or offer whatever  comfort she could, she stepped closer, looking up at him to see if he  approved of her proximity. Not sensing any resistance, she gently took  one of his hands, slowly stroking the back with her thumb. Finally he  looked at her, eyes shining, struggling to keep his composure.

Unable  to hold back any longer, he surged forward and wrapped his arms around  her, pulling her body flush against his into a bone-crushing hug.

"Ladybug," he uttered, his voice almost a whisper. She could feel his arms trembling. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Chat..." she returned his embrace, stunned by his apology.

"You almost– I thought you were..." he trailed off, unable to say the word.

She  squeezed him back firmly and reassured him, "But I'm fine now, it's  okay. I'm okay." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Chat, you saved me."

Hearing  this only made him choke back a sob, a shudder racking his entire body.  After a few ragged breaths, he murmured, "I should have been there. I always should have been. All these years you've needed me and I was never there for you. I fought against you, made your life a living hell along with Hawkmoth, and yet somehow you don't absolutely loathe me? Why?!"

She pulled away to hold his face in her hands, lightly sliding her fingers across it to wipe his tear-streaked cheeks.

Looking him in the eyes, she stated definitively, "Kitty, I could never hate you. I care about you. You've been in a bad situation all these years with no one to help you either. But we're in this together now. And I'd like us to finally be friends, if you'll allow it."

Chats  mouth quirked into a tiny smile and hummed out a small chuckle. "Does  this mean that you really forgive me?" he asked hopefully, knitting his  eyebrows, eyes glimmering with hope.

Ladybug tilted her head in  endearment and smiled back brightly. "Of course," she replied,  struggling to resist a strong urge to snuggle up to him and cuddle all  his doubts away.

Covering her smaller hands with his, Chat  breathed out something between a relieved sigh and a laugh, squeezing  his eyes shut to try to prevent even more tears from falling. Hands  still trembling, he whispered absently, "How are you real...? Why are you  so good to me?"

Taken aback at him being overcome by the concept of being actually forgiven   for his shortcomings, she felt a hard lump rise to the back of her  throat. She wondered more than ever when was the last time anyone had  shown him any affection or understanding at home, or was sympathetic to  him when he made any mistakes. Although come to think of it, she also  wasn't sure if she truly wanted to know the answer, lest her heart break  for him even further.

But how could she answer him? There was so  much she wanted to say, a million words at the tip of her tongue and yet  it was impossible to sum it all up into a single sentence.

Because I want to help.

Because you're deserving of love and kindness, not abuse and exploitation.

Because I want you to know what it's like to be cherished.

Because we were destined to be partners, kindred spirits.

Because we finally found each other.

Because somehow, inexplicably, I love you as I love myself.

Before she could say anything, however, he declared softly, "From now on, I'll always protect you. I swear it. I won't let anything like this happen to you again, not ever. I'll fix everything. I'll make it right."

"We'll do it together," she replied. "And I'll protect you, too. You're not alone anymore, Chat."

Chat's  breath hitched and his eyes fluttered open, boring into hers, the  significance of her comforting words sinking in like a warm breeze, and  he gazed at her as if she'd just given him the most important gift in  the world unconditionally.

But there was something else there too;  something she couldn't put her finger on. Something that had always  been there but had grown from a small flame into a roaring fire.  Whatever it was, it was overwhelming and intimate.

Throat suddenly  dry, she could feel her face redden and was almost certain that Chat  would be able to hear her heart pounding. She'd scarcely noticed how  close their bodies had become, faces almost touching, breaths mingling  together. Chat's gaze flitted towards her mouth and he absentmindedly  bit his lip.

Moments passed in silence; tension slowly ebbed away  from Chat's shoulders and his posture relaxed. His throat bobbed as he  swallowed audibly before opening his mouth to speak.

"Ladybug, I–"

The  abrupt trill of Ladybug's earrings startled them apart, urgently  reminding them that they were out of time. Ladybug held back a frown,  annoyed at the near heart attack those blasted earrings gave her. Stupid  time limit.

"Uh... I guess that's my cue to skedaddle," she chuckled awkwardly, tucking some loose hair behind her ear.

Chat let out a shaky laugh and cleared his throat. "R-right..." he mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I-I'll see you around? Well, I mean, of course we'll be seeing each other- I mean, duh. B-but uhh– Not that kind of seeing! I meant to 'see'   see! That is– AUGH!" she stammered, unsure of the reasons behind her  underwhelming eloquence, and she facepalmed, groaning in embarrassment.

Smiling,  Chat walked up to her while she was busy covering her face in  mortification. He took her hands and pulled them away gently. Ladybug  hadn't heard him approach and gasped lightly, butterflies swirling all  over her insides; her whole body felt like it was made of gelatin.

"See  you around... My Lady," he said, placing a featherlight kiss upon the  knuckles of one hand... and then on the other. Ladybug's chest burned in  a way that had nothing to do with the current summer weather, surprised  she hadn't melted onto the roof.

Not trusting herself to speak  any more, she grinned and stepped back towards the edge of the building  (and almost tripping on absolutely nothing at all) giving Chat a small  parting wave before swinging away.

Minutes later,  Marinette finally found Nino and Alya, who were still a bit disoriented  but no worse for wear. Despite having to endure Alya's stern lecture  about safety and enforcing the buddy system (during which she came  dangerously close to eye-rolling wearily), seeing them again after being  so close to losing everything just a short while prior brought her  untold relief.

"Girl, you are never gonna believe what  happened during the akuma attack," Alya continued indistinct, talking a  million miles a minute, recapping everything in extreme detail. Nino  nodded along and would chime in now and then, still in high alert after  what had transpired.

While Nino and Alya rambled on (with Nino  being particularly bemused by the idea of Adrien literally stupefying  the akuma with the power of shouting, "Just like in Skyrim!") Marinette  felt a tingle run down her spine and became filled with the telltale  distinct feeling that they were being watched.

Hair standing on  end, her gaze darted around discreetly, mentally preparing for another  potential danger. Finally she spotted a pair of familiar emerald green  eyes lurking in the shadows a few meters away, faintly glowing from  within a small darkened alcove behind Nino and Alya. Her eyes widened in  surprise, which made Chat realize that she'd noticed him, and he froze  in alarm.

To Marinette it felt like time had stopped during this  impromptu stare-down. Chat looked like a deer in headlights that was  about to flee because he'd been caught spying (although knowing what she  did about him and his character, Marinette suspected that he just  wanted to make sure Alya and Nino were safely reunited with her and  Adrien)

Tensed like a guitar string, Chat seemed almost resigned  and expectant that she would scream and give him away, as any Parisian  did whenever they caught sight of him. He wasn't prepared for what  actually happened.

Marinette smiled at him.

Chat's furrowed  his brows with a baffled expression. After a moment he relaxed and even  smiled back slightly, looking relieved and even grateful, even if he  didn't understand why he'd been gifted a smile instead of a scowl. Maybe  he would assume that she'd seen him help Ladybug during the akuma  attack and had garnered the tiniest bit of sympathy. That was just as  well. She was sure he would appreciate having two people in Paris that didn't despise him: Ladybug and Marinette. He would need supporters if was to prove to the world that he was no longer their enemy.

But that was a worry for a later time. At the moment she was just thankful to be alive and surrounded by her loved ones.

And now, fortuitously, Chat Noir had finally become one of those loved ones.

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OMG JUST GET MARRIED ALREADY, AUGHHH KJHLKFALKSDF

Things are  looking up for Ladybug and Chat now that they're officially allies, but HMMMMM, Gabriel's not going to be so thrilled about this, is he?? In the  next chapter Adrien's going to talk to him and see if they can all come  to an agreement. Do you think it'll work?  :/

ALSO!!!!  Check out this ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS Discordant Sonata art by  Corgi-loves-chat!!!!!!! I LOVE IT SOOOOO MUCH, OMG!!!!! I WANT TO MAKE  ACTUAL WALLPAPER OF IT AND PLASTER IT ON EVERY SURFACE OF MY HOUSE!!! Do  you think my family would approve? 😆