It's better this way, Marinette convinces herself. It is.

As two days pass, she realizes that she's glad she met his girlfriend. It's actually a relief. There are few things worse than having feelings for someone you shouldn't, and Marinette doesn't like where her thoughts were headed. And she certainly doesn't want to be another Chloé Bourgeois.

Adrien is just. . . friendly. Everyone likes him — their parents, his friends, the business people, if plants could talk, there's no doubt that they'll say that they like him too— and why wouldn't they? He's smart and funny and polite. And, yes, ridiculously attractive. Although, for being so well liked, he doesn't hang out with many people. Just their little group. And since his best friend is usually distracted by Alya, he's taken to hanging out with, well . . . Marinette.

Since their little talk two days ago, he's come to her house numerous times, dragging her out for sightseeing. You need a life, he had said. So, he took her for riding the elevators to the top of La Tour Eiffel (while Nino and Alya waited below on the lawn- Nino because he's afraid of falling and Alya because she refuses to do anything touristy), and he has taken her to the viewing platform of L'Arc de Triomphe. They had visited the bridge again, and got ice-cream as well. Not the sweetheart ice-cream.

But then, just as she feels those twinges again, Adrien disappears. Marinette will be standing at her balcony after dinner, watching the sanitation workers tidy the street in their bright green uniforms, imagining moodily how he'll emerge from his house and vanish towards the métro.

Toward Kagami.

At least, Chat Noir's a good company.

Most nights she's busy arranging for the gala, while he'd knock on the window. When she lets him in, he'd plop down on her chaise and crack a joke about whatever drunken junior was hitting on the girl behind the front desk in his college. (There's always a drunken junior hitting on the girl behind the front desk.) He asks her about her life in LA, and talks how much he missed her.

Chat's been trying to cheer her up with bad puns and cheesy pick up lines, and she appreciates it. She really does. But it's kind of hard to smile when you're thinking of your crush/almost boyfriend/friend making out with his girlfriend.

The thought of Adrien and Kagami doing- things-makes her more jealous than Marinette cares to admit. She has tried to stop that big, stinking, painful, all-the-time, all-consuming thought by texting Ethan, with whom she's been exchanging funny cat videos and their favourite 'Addams Family' stickers (He made her watch it). They FaceTime after the classes, and he animatedly tells her all about his classmates and the exciting things that he did. Not to demean him, but Ethan's like a puppy sometimes. All excited and happy.

And although, Alya's been teasing her non-stop, he's like a little brother. When you love somebody, it's really hard to look at someone else without feeling how similar or different that someone was to the him/her.

It's a relief to know it won't happen. It makes things easier.

Besides, Marinette has more important things on her mind: the gala, her classes that she's been taking online, the exams she would have to give just after she returns home-

She stops thinking, feeling a deep ache of shame wash over her.
Home. Paris isn't her home anymore.

"M'lady?"

Marinette- scratch that, Ladybug- is startled to find a familiar figure pushing away from a wall across her, his feline eyes widening.

She halts dead in her tracks.

Chat Noir was the one person who never hurt her, always walking an extra mile to ensure that she was safe. And she never even bid him a proper goodbye.

A choked sob rises to her throat, and she just wants to cry her heart out. But she doesn't. The sight of him is too much to resist.

The superhero never once breaks their gaze as he vaults towards her, his green eyes locking into her bluebell ones. It was almost as if he never even blinked- as if he's afraid that she would disappear if he did- and he lands in front of her with a soft thump so familiar that it fills her with an aching shame.

He slowly walks forward, and Ladybug notices that his posture turns relaxed as he speaks up again, a metallic ring of doubt echoing in his voice. "You. . . are, aren't you?"

She blinks. "Huh?"

He steps forward again.

"You are my Ladybug, right?"

Nodding, she has to look away from the desperation in his eyes, five years of suppressed guilt surfacing in her again. It was just that. . . she missed him so much! It was okay with Adrien. She could at least convince herself that he betrayed her. But Chat?

Chat Noir was every messy blonde hair on the streets, every flirty smile offered at her direction, every green eyes that were so carefree and loving at the same time, every single joke ringing in her ears, every bit of friendship that was left with her in LA. And she had grabbed onto those small pieces with all of her heart. She thought she'd spend the rest of her life like this, searching for little reminders of her friend.

And now? Now that he's asking if she was his Ladybug? How could she answer that? Did she even have the right to?

Interrupting her bitter-sweet thoughts, a crisp sound of slap follows, breaking the serene atmosphere.

Cradling her cheek, Ladybug glances Chat Noir in bewilderment. The leather clad superhero seems to be trembling, pearly drops of tears falling on the ground through the net of his fingers.

Ladybug steps forward to hug him, but he shrinks away, holding up a hand as a defensive gesture to stop her. She does.

It seems to be an eternity, a very painful eternity for her, before Chat Noir removes his hands from his face. He inhales and exhales quietly for a few times, before he looks at her again. The depths of field green are calm. Red-rimmed, but calm.

"Where were you?"

Ladybug falls into a dilemma. She could not tell him her real whereabouts, because it risked her identity. But she had hurt him enough- she could not lie to him as well, can she? Surely, there are lots of people who went to-

"LA." The syllables tumble out of her lips before she can stop them. "I. . . went to LA."

The fleeting moment of whimsy is quickly followed by a full-blown panic.

'Oh God. Oh. My. God. Chat Noir's going to find out that I'm Marinette, and he's going to hate me, and he's probably going to tell everyone, which means. . . Adrien. . . is also going to hate me. Oh my god! We'll never get married, have three kids and a hamster-'

"Seriously?" A bitter tone creeps into his voice, and Ladybug is scared for one split second that she's caught. "What's with everyone going there? What does that city have that Paris doesn't? Huh? Parties? Hot guys? Americanness? Tell me!"

He sighs, when he notices that Ladybug doesn't answer him. "You could have at least told me that you were moving. While you were having fun there, there were thousands of akumas to defeat. On top of that, Kagami was hardly able to fight."

"But-" She is surprised. "She was so good as Ryuuko. I thought she'd be able to do that. . . Fight, I mean."

Chat Noir is uncharacteristically serious. "Well, she wasn't. Kagami had no idea what to do with the stupid lucky charms, she never considered about civilian casualty, and she never thought to listen to my advice. Did you know how many times my identity was almost revealed?"

Ladybug plops down on the roof sill, and he follows suit. "I'm sorry, Chat. I-I actually-"

"It's okay. I didn't mean to lash out on you. It was just that. . . everything was changing so quickly, you know. My friends got busy with their careers, while I had no fuckin' idea what to do with my life. At least, I thought I had you. As my friend. But you were gone without a word and. . ."

Looking away from her, Chat Noir glances up at the bright stars. "The girl I loved went to LA, too. Right around when you disappeared. But she came back a few days ago as well- wait, wait, can you give me some relationship advice?"

From the small alert smile tucked back quickly, she bursts out laughing maniacally at her partner whose cheeks glow exponentially red. Finally, someone who's more romantic than her.

"Uh-huh. Definitely." Ladybug tries to assume a grave expression, which sets off further spasms of giggles, "So, who is this. . . girl that caught your eye?"

"And don't say the name. Just tell what's she like." Ladybug quickly adds, making sure that their identities remain a secret.

Playing with the ring on his hand, he smiles excitedly. "Well, she was my classmate. And she's got blue hair, and your blue eyes. She actually looks like a lot like you, now that I think about it- "

Boom! It sounded as if a tyre had burst at a distance, but it was so much louder than a simple tyre burst. The crash is followed by screams.

'An akuma?' The heroes look at each other alertly.

They race side by side as fast as they can, swinging and vaulting towards the source of ear-splitting crashes and screams.

The victim, this time, was a teenage girl, not much younger than the heroes themselves. She was dressed in a beautiful dress with purple diamonds, and her hair blowed into a purple frenzy. Teardrops were frozen on her face like tattooes. They knew that it was a case of heartbreak before the villain even shouted out, "I am Revenger. Just tell me your problems, and I'll make all their nightmares come true."

Paris is a chaos. People were screaming, children were screaming and even the buildings seem restless. The Revenger points her left hand at a civilian, who tries to resist for a few seconds before he falls onto the ground, groaning and crying out in pain. It seems as if he's being tortured!

"M'lady, did she take her name from 'Thor: Ragnarok? They are suspiciously the very same!" Another car crashes into a building as Chat Noir yells to her over the chaos.

Helping an older woman stand up, Ladybug rolls her eyes, "Chat! I-"

"Ah! Ladybug and Chat Noir! Just who I was waiting for. Here. A little present from all the people who hate your guts!"

As she cackles, the girl points her hand at the superheroine, and a blast of purple light shoots at the latter. Ladybug quickly shields herself.

"Just save time and give me your miraculouses, Ladybug! No one messes with the Revenger."

"And no one takes my miraculous," Running towards the villain, Ladybug replies, using her yo-yo as a shield. "Chat Noir! The akuma is in her ring!"

The girl sounds even more enraged to hear the heroine. She shoots another purple beam of light at the latter, and Ladybug barely has time to duck.

"Use your Lucky Charm!" Chat slides up beside her quickly, before rushing towards the villain again, "I'm going to buy you some time!"

He vaults up to the roof, immediately attracting the Revenger's attention, "Hey, what's up with all the light shooting? You providing free lights for the poor?"

Smirking at her, Chat Noir runs a hand through his blonde hair, "Sorry, I'm loaded."

"No. One. Makes. Fun. Of. Me!" Angrily stomping, the Revenger shoots another beam of light at the superhero, who ducks it easily.

"You're gonna have to adjust to that, darlin'. I'm a punny pawrson!" Chat Noir shields himself, "Ooh, are we playing chat-and-mouse?"

Realizing that she was staring at him, Ladybug quickly uses her power. "Lucky charm!"

A mini bottle of rose oil falls into her hands. What she going to do with a bottle of rose oil? Ask the Revenger to give her the ring in exchange of it?

She looks around helplessly, when her vision suddenly goes black and white, and a few objects are highlighted in a red and black spotted light. A car, the bottle, her own yo-yo, and Chat Noir.

The puzzle pieces suddenly click in her mind.

Ladybug runs toward him, pausing only to spill the rose oil on the pavement beside the car. She yells, "Revenger! Stop all this! I'll give you my miraculous!"

Chat Noir looks at her incredulously and she winks at him secretively, hoping that he gets the clue. She watches impatiently as understanding dawns on him.

"Ah, yes," he says dramatically, "stop this. Don't hurt my people!"

The Revenger looks skeptical for a while, before she walks towards them cautiously.

Ladybug suddenly breaks into a run, making sure to stop a few metres before the oil spill. From the enraged cries from behind her, she smiles satisfactorily at herself. The plan is working.

Clenching her fists, The Revenger suddenly reaches her and aims her own hand at her, "Give me your miraculous!"

Smirking at the villain, Ladybug shouts to the feline superhero who had crept up behind the former silently. "Now!"

"Boo!" He yells close to the Revenger's ear, making her jump, and slip on the oil, falling headfirst onto the concrete.
But before the heroes could do anything, the akuma flutters out of the ring voluntarily, as if Hawkmoth wanted to take it back. The duo stands there, dumbfounded for a while, before Ladybug swings her yo-yo to catch the purple butterfly, "Time to de-evilize!"

As the white moth flutters upwind, Chat Noir extends his fist distractedly, still not removing his eyes from it, "Pound it?"

"Pound it!"

Their fists meet at one synchronized moment and the two turn their faces to smile at each other, before Ladybug steps forward slowly, as if mentally debating on her next course. Hesitant steps, baby steps. She then suddenly breaks into a ear-to-ear grin and wraps him in a bear hug.

Relaxing when she feels his arms going around her, Ladybug hides her face in the crook of his neck, suddenly holding her breath. Chat Noir smells of freshly baked cookies, and. . . lots of cologne. But not the dizzying kind, the good kind.

She gulps audibly, and then squirms. Was that too loud? This is dangerous territory Marinette, she reminds herself, get out of here before you do something you regret. Why isn't she letting him go? Why?

But her body feels heavy and out of her control and frozen, her heart pumping blood in an unimaginable fast rate. A reckless thought blooms in her mind. He loved her once, right? So. . .

She presses a kiss on his cheek- like she has done for many times earlier- but somehow, this is different. Her lips stay on his cheek, and she could distinctly hear his breath quicken.

Marinette is not a madcap, no. Impulsive, yes. Romantic, of a certainty. But she's also practical and intelligent enough to understand the consequences of being involved with Chat. She loves Adrien.

Who is in a relationship with someone, her subconscious reminds her.

With their faces so close, Ladybug sees that a ruthlessly close shave had not been able to disguise the light grain of whiskers beneath his skin. She suddenly kisses his cheek again, closer to his lips. It was as if there was a need to touch him. Hold him. As if she'd fall apart if not for his support.

Impulse. But also. . . what? What is this?

Looking at her silently, he lifts a leather clad hand and tucks a strand of midnight hair behind her ear, tracing it's outer ridge for a split second. And Ladybug feels the overwhelming urge to close her eyes and revel in his touch. But for some reason, it feels impossible.

The atmosphere grows heavy.

Their eyes search each other's impatiently. Just as she was about to close the distance and kiss him, Chat Noir looks as if he's regained his senses. He jumps apart.

"I can't! I. . . can't. I love-" Taking a large step back from her, he throws his hands in the air exasperatedly, unable to find the right words, "I-I think. . . I think I should go. Uh, good night?"

He speeds away, as fast as he would if she's a contractable virus, leaving behind a very shocked Ladybug.

*

Not my best work, I know and I'm sorry for that. Probably will be editing this soon. Forgive my bad puns if you didn't get 'em. However, did you guys like it? What did you think of Chat Noir's reaction? AND, OH I ALMOST FORGOT, DID YOU LIKE MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT WRITING AN ACTION SCENE?

Please don't forget to leave a comment and tap the star button! It is very very appreciated. Swipe to read the next chapter!

Stay pawsome,
- Upama ♥