Ladybug wasn't sure how in the world Adrien discovered her identity.

Her glamour was on, as well as her mask, and she was sure that she was very neutral when she rescued him from Stoneheart's clutches. She barely paid him any attention since she was busy fighting with the Akuma and talking to her Kwami at the same time, so why –

"Marinette?" the blond asked again as he made a few steps towards her direction "You're Marinette Dupain-Cheng, right?"

Tikki was seething harshly on her communicator so bad she decided to turn the connection off. She'd be more than willing to face the consequences of her action as long as her eardrum was safe from her kwami's piercing voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered with a straight-laced face "You must have mistaken me for someone else – "

"I know you hate lies, Marinette. We grew up together enough to identify my best friend beneath those spots," he chided as his green eyes brimmed with tears "You went missing for almost a year."

The heroine averted her gaze "I still don't know what you were talking – "

She was taken aback when he launched himself and gave her a bone-crushing hug "Please, no more denials, Marinette. I know who you are – with or without that mask. You're Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Please, admit it that you're Marinette Dupain-Cheng. That you're...that you're..."

Ladybug wasn't ready for a tear-jerking reunion.

She shook her head as she prodded his arms away "I'm sorry, young man, but I don't know what you – "

"I don't care if you've been reprimanded not to reveal your identity," Adrien shuddered and sobbed on her latex-covered shoulder "All I want is to know if the Marinette, the best friend that I grew up with, is still here."

Ladybug mustered all of her strength to keep her emotions at bay and said "Marinette Dupain-Cheng is dead, Adrien."

The blond cried harder as he embraced her more.

"You have to let me go," she deadpanned with staid eyes looking at the battle area "Move on, Adrien, and live your life to the fullest. You have to forget everything about me."

"I don't – "

"Adrien."

"I can't..." he sniffled "You can't make me."

"You have to leave me alone."

"Did you know that I've been looking for you since the day you vanished?!" he bewailed without a care for the world "That I've been searching for you everywhere?!"

She placed her covered hands on his shoulder to push him away but he didn't budge a bit "You have to understand. I'm not the person that you used to know."

"No!"

"Adrien."

He shook his head and mumbled, "I don't want to lose you again. You mean so much to me."

Ladybug took a deep sigh then cupped his damp face, pushing him gently so she could see him eye to eye "Adrien, I beg you. Stop doing this. For me. For us."

His lips quivered when he cracked a smile "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she confessed, wiping his fresh tear with her thumb affectionately while maintaining a dull expression "But I'm not a civilian anymore. You have to let me go."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he said, reaching for her hands that were touching his cheeks "Of course I didn't. You were gone before I could tell you everything."

She groaned inwardly.

"I can't bear to lose you again, Marinette," he pleaded, dropping his hands limply on his side "I beg you, don't do this to me."

"I have a duty to uphold," she reasoned, and somewhat relieved when he bowed down in defeat "You have to understand that we're not on the same ground anymore."

He used the heel of his palms to stop the tears from falling "I want to see you again."

"You can't."

"Marinette – "

"I'm not Marinette," she corrected "I'm Ladybug."

Adrien was silent for a moment to collect himself from overwhelming revelations.

"Ladybug," he pronounced the name as if it left a bitter aftertaste "Alya missed you so much, as well as Nino. Our classmates in Francoise Dupont too. Your parents...you parents..." he trailed off when a realization finally dawned on him "They know...? Tom and Sabine know that you're...that you're..."

Ladybug's silence confirmed the answer.

Adrien stepped back then yanked his blond locks out of frustrations and screamed: "How could they do this to us!"

"No one should know the identities of Miraculous wielders," the heroine answered casually despite his emotional outburst "Not even you."

This made him pause to give her a bewildered look "What did you just say?"

A hand clap from the shadows broke their reverie.

"Good job at babysitting the civilian, Ladybug," a menacing voice sounded, revealing a middle-aged man in a black trench coat as he stepped into the light "I've heard that it was one of your repertoires."

The heroine's posture stiffed at the unwelcomed newcomer then glowered "Why are you here, Plagg? You're not my Kwami."

"Tikki swapped with me. She said that I'm the one that fit for this job," Plagg shrugged nonchalantly then eyed the blond boy with raised brows "Is this the civilian that broke your glamour?"

"Who are you?" Adrien asked with displeasure, then moved his gaze towards the girl "And what is a Kwami?"