Reading Note: Rating Pg-13 to T, please proceed carefully my smol ones.

Adrien led Marinette into her bathroom and turned on the water in the sink. He finally let go of her to grab a washcloth and wet it under the water. He turned back to his girlfriend and began to wipe her tear stained face. He jerked back when he saw her flinch, pain making its way across her features. He tried again, trying to make his approach lighter, more gentle. He wiped her face, clearing it of saltwater and dirt. He set a light kiss to her brow as he moved his hands to tug her cardigan down.

Marinette immediately became defensive. Shrugging her shoulders upwards, arms coming to cross her body, tugging her cardigan tighter in front of her body. Her eyes turning downwards, avoiding his gaze.

"Marinette..." He began, a balmy warning held in his voice, "I need to see, we need to see how bad it is.", he finished softly, "I swear, I'll try my best not to hurt you. I'll be as gentle as I can."

"I know." Marinette said as she swallowed hard, "I'm not worried about that, but Chaton, you're not going to be happy." She whispered while looking up from her eyelashes. Adrien frowned at that, obviously he wasn't going to be happy. He tucked a loose hair behind her hair and blew out his breath.

"I'm already not happy, bugaboo, but that's not the issue right now. We need to get these wounds taken care of."

Adrien's frown deepened as Marinette's eyes strained to the floor again. Her arms fell to the side as she gave a little nod, but her stance was still the same. Defensive and...guilty. His eyes widened as he made the realization.

"Mari...", he started softly, taking her hands in his, "you can't possible think that I'm mad at you for getting hurt?"

He saw her shift, her eyes still trained on the floor.

"Marinette, I'm not mad at you. True, I'm upset that you're hurt, but I'm not mad at you."

He heard her sigh again, and finally saw her look up.

"Chat, I know...I just...I don't like making you worry. I don't like seeing how you look at the cuts and bruises. I hate how I'm the cause of your unhappiness!" Marinette's volume changed drastaically from a zero to a ten in the span of three sentences. She yanked her hands out of his and turned away from him. His eyes widened as his hands reached out to her instinctively. They stopped in midair as his hypersensitive hearing, picked up the barely whispered phrase that left her lips next.

"Especially, when you are my happiness."

He felt like his world collapsed. In the best way. In the most amazing way possible. I'm her happiness, he felt the phrase pulse through his veins before sealing it away in his heart. He deflated a bit, when he saw Marinette's back, seeming impossibly small.

"Marinette, turn around and look at me...please."

Marinette turned around with her head down, bangs shading her eyes. Adrien sighed, and hooked his fingers under her chin, moving his fingers slowly to ascertain no accidental pressing on bruises, and lifted it lightly. Marinette allowed her face to be lifted but defiantly, refused to meet his eyes. He sighed again.

He pressed the pads of his fingers to her hips, trying to bring her closer as gently as possible. Marinette understood his intentions and after hesitating for a second, moved to comply with his unspoken request. Her eyes still determinedly down. Adrien leaned down, put his forehead on hers and nuzzled her slightly.

"Now where did you get the idea that you were the cause of my unhappiness?"

"BECAUSE I KNOW I AM, Chat!" Adrien jerked back at the fire burning in her voice. Meeting her eyes for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he remembered another memory of blue, one that he hoped he never had to see again; he saw the inky blue of the sky, sparkling with stars. But this sky was a bit different from the one he remembered. The inky blue was definitely the same, but the stars in her eyes burned with guilt and self-loathing; connecting to make constellations of pain and self-hatred induced delusions. He opened his mouth to begin a counter-argument when she interrupted.

"Whether as Ladybug or Marinette; all I cause you is pain and heart break and worry and unhappiness! Its not fair to you! I am never fair to you, Chat. I'm always letting you take the fall or take the hit, I'm always letting you suffer alone...while no matter who I am...you..y-your always... saving me" This was all Marinette managed to get out before abandoning her fabricated self-composure and sobbing into her hands.

Adrien stood there in shock, his jaw dropped open, as his girlfriend broke down in front of him.

Is this what she has been feeling all of this time? How could she possibly think that? It was just the opposite!

"You-you're always ta-taking all the problems onto yourself. You-u always bur-burden yourself with all of the responsibility! And I-I always let y-you. And...and..and I-uungh-I am always taking advantage of you...I'm always letting you be my shield, C-Chat. I'm always u-u-using you as my security blanket...I let you take o-on all of my problems and leave you to deal with your own by your s-s-self." Marinette wailed. Rubbing her eyes, she continued on while Adrien stood looking at her, wide-eyed and wide-mouthed, open with disbelief.

"An-and I didn't jump...to save...the little girl. B-but---I still want you to l-love me because--because I love you a-a-and you know I'm Ladybug and I'm Marinette b-but they're two---two---two separate people! And I'm not, I'm not, I'm not.. either of them! I-hng- I'm just me and I know I'm not enough...and y-you deserve so much better! But I'm...I'm selfish enough to want you and want to be happy and I k-know I shouldn't! A-and I'm a mess and e-everything is a mess and I ca-can't fix it...and...and it hurts. Everything hurts...and I make you unhappy and sad and worried an-and I can't do it anymore! I just...j-just..." She managed before dissolving into incoherent sobbing again.

And Adrien just stared at this girl, this beautiful girl. Who was making absolutely no sense, but at the same time, made perfect sense to him. Oh, this lovely, vulnerable, foolish girl. Damn, he adored her.

Adrien's body moved before he could think about what he was doing, but for once his mind agreed with his unconscious actions.

One of his hands came to the back of her head and the other to the small of her back. Pressing lightly, he pressed her to his chest. For a minute Marinette, was shocked into unresponsiveness. But Adrien just wrapped his arms around her a bit farther, having no intention of letting go anytime soon. Suddenly Marinette buried her face into his chest, her body shaking and trembling with heartbreaking sobs. Her hands clenched the smooth fabric encasing his shoulders.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." Adrien tightened his grip as he heard Marinette's muffled whisper.

"Okay, okay. You're going to be alright, sweetie. Everything's going to be alright. Mari...My Lady...you'll be okay. I'll make sure of it. That's right, my love, just calm down. We'll be okay. We'll be fel-ine. Oh, my sweet, beautiful, silly, Marinette." Adrien kept whispering her name and calming words over and over again, waiting until her sobbing had stopped and her trembling had quelled.

"Okay, princess, we need to have a talk." Adrien pulled back a bit and started to stroke her silky, raven- colored, hair when he felt her nod, her head faced the floor again but only to hide the budding tears that were threatening to spill over. She reached a hand up to wipe them away, before she looked up at him. Adrien allowed himself a small smile; for the first time in weeks her eyes were calm and serene, just like the morning sky. She looked adorable, her lower lip poked out slightly, her cheeks rosy from her emotional exertion, her hair mused from where he had been playing with it, the realization that Marinette, that Ladybug, was human. All of it was slightly irresistible. Oh hell, who was he kidding? It was totally and completely irresistible, there was no slightly at all.He stopped his ministrations of her hair, in favor of planting his hands on her hips.

He gave her a soft smile, silently asking her to trust him, as she looked up at him questioningly.

"Up we go, yeah?" Adrien motioned with his head towards the bathroom counter. She nodded and placed her hands on his where they rested on her hips, signaling her permission. He hoisted her up as lightly as possible, taking extra care to make sure his gloved fingers weren't pressing to hard into her bruised skin.

After making sure she was in a comfortable position on the counter, he let his hands drift to the hard surface on each side of her. He let his head dip down as he decided what to do next. He blew out his breath and looked up, making sure to meet Marinette's eyes.

"I know we need to talk, but right now, I'm also starting to seriously panic over your injuries, so let's multitask. We'll talk as I bandage and clean you up, okay?" Adrien asked as her lightly stoked the top of her cheek.

"Okay." She agreed softly.

"Alright, now where to begin? First thing's first, you are literally the best thing that has ever happened to me, got it?"  He let a little smirk light up his face as he saw her nod, before continuing, " Okay, now where do you keep your first aid kit? Downstairs or? Oh, underneath here? Okay, I'm going to take off your cardigan now, okay, princess?" Adrien asked her as he pulled out bandages, band-aids, antibiotic ointment and re-wetting a new washcloth. He set the box aside as he tugged down Marinette's cardigan. He tried not to inhale too sharply as he saw the blood smeared in brown crusts down her arms and shoulders. And he tried not to let the worry slip onto the features as he saw the rainbow of bruises that decorated her skin.
But, I guess, Adrien failed.

Marinette rested her hands in her lap, her head downcast, once again.

"Sorr--"

"Nope, do not apologize." Adrien cut her off before she could finish her apology, " This is not your fault. Which brings us to the next topic of our little chat." He began as he washed her arm before starting to bandage it. " You're right, I get upset when I see you hurt. I don't like it, in fact, I hate it. It's only natural for me to be worried and upset when the one I love is in pain. I-opps, I'm so sorry, sweetie, I pulled too hard. Look, Mari, you are my everything. So that means that when you're happy, so am I and when you're sad, so am I. So, the same goes for your pain. And no, before you start, it is not your fault. It is because I love you, end of story. Here, I'm going to pull your tank top strap down a bit. " Adrien was trying his best not to blush, as he pulled the strap down. Picking up the antibiotic ointment, he slathered some on the large gash that was taking up the top of Marinette's right shoulder. Sticking a band-aid on the cut as he continued.

"My Lady...I know I'm reckless when I'm protecting you. And a lot of times I get hurt because of it, but its fine with me, because at least then I know you are safe. I would much rather know that you are safe and harm free than to forgo a little pain. I know...I know you don't like it, just as much as I don't like it when you do it for me. But you would do it for me over and over again without any thought, right? Exactly. Lift your head up a bit for me, there you go." Adrien ran the washcloth over her neck before running it under the faucet to clean it off again. After wringing it out, he continued his path down his neck onto her shoulder.

"Marinette, I have already told you that I love you and that nothing will change that. And it's true, god is it true, Mari. And I know I've already said it but you are my everything. My entire life, my entire world, my entire universe. You are my everything. So don't ever worry about burdening me or that you're undeserving me, because that is, sure as hell, not true." Adrien paused here, and looked up into her face, seeing the slight doubt in her eyes. He stopped cleaning her off, pausing midway down her arm to lean in and lightly peck her on the lips. "It's not true. It's not.  In fact, I feel like its the other way around." Adrien kissed her again, taking her lips in his, letting her warmth wash over him and effectively silencing the argument she was about to pose. He let himself stay there for a minute, his lips pressed against hers, sparks passing through his lips and somehow infiltrating his bloodstream. For a minute, he let himself melt. He pulled away, only to lean in again and give her another peck on the lips.

"Marinette, I feel the exact same way that you do, all the time. Those little doubts and insecurities...everyone feels them from time to time. And so it's my job to reassure you when you feel like that, but bugaboo, you have to tell me when you're feeling that way, or I won't know." He picked up the washcloth, rewashed it and continued on with the rest of her arm. Beginning to gently wrap her bruised wrist. Dabbing antibiotic ointment on cuts, here and there, as he went.

"Now, what I really want to discuss with you, is about that last part. What did you mean about how you didn't jump to save the little girl? And about Marinette and Ladybug? And not being good enough?" He paused in his rapid firing of questions, trying to give her time to prepare herself. He also had a dilemma. He had bandaged all the injuries he could, that were on the outside of her clothes.

Oh.

Fucking.

Bloody.

Hell.

"Mari..." He started softly.

"I know, I know. I'll answer, I'm just trying to figure out how to say it." Marinette said hurriedly.

"Umm...no, it's just that, to finish the bandaging...I..um, well, I need to take off your shirt." Adrien scratched the back of his head as a blush painted his cheeks. He saw her head snap up, and her jaw drop open. He saw her look down before looking up at him, and flushing a dark red all the way down to her neck. Finally, he saw her look away again, before nodding.

"Okay, go ahead."

"Its okay if you not okay with this, but you're too weak to bandage yourself so we can find another way, a---wait, what? Go ahead?" Adrien had rushed to reassure her but was left flabbergasted when he finally registered what she had said.

Marinette finally turned and looked him. Her blue eyes drilling into his green, a blush still staining her cheeks but her words rang out clear and concise.

"Yeah, I can't bandage myself and I can't ask my parents or Alya. Right now, I need your help and its not like I don't trust you. ....besides, it's not like you weren't going to see me eventually.... although my body isn't in the best of shape right now..." As Marinette finished, her words started to dwindle and she looked down at her hands gripped in her lap.

Adrien couldn't help but chuckle. He wrapped his arms around her waist, letting his head rest on her shoulder and snickered into her neck.

"It's not that funny!" Marinette huffed indignantly.

"No, it's not that. It's just...you're cute."

She huffed again as he pulled back, a gentle smile replacing his wicked one. He let his hands run slowly from her waist to her hips where the hem of her shirt rested. He gripped it lightly in his fingertips before looking up at her one last time, asking for a last minute approval. Marinette lifted her arms over her head, signifying her approval.

He leaned forward, making sure his mouth brushed her ear as he whispered;

"And you know, any glimpse of your body, in any state, is a glimpse into heaven itself." Adrien could practically feel the heat of her blush coming off in waves as he lifted her shirt.

The only thing Adrien could think of when he looked down was;

Black.

Lacy.

Not good girl, at all.

Bra.

He tried really, really hard not to stare at said black, lacy, bra and the cleavage between it. He really did. He tried really hard to focus on the blackening bruises circling her ribs, mottling down her finely toned stomach. He tried really hard to  remember he was bandaging his girlfriend, who's entire torso and upper and middle back was a swirl of unnatural colors.

He was trying really really really hard.

He knew Marinette was watching him swoop his gaze up and down, and he knew she saw the blush on his cheeks darken. Remembering, where he was and who he was, he snapped his gaze back up to her face from the dark confines of where it had begun to rest.

"W-well, at least you're collarbone isn't too bad, hardly any bruises!" His faked casual air, was well noted by Marinette. And he couldn't help but feel his heart leap all the while his stomach sank, when he saw her devilish smile.

"Would you like to change that?"

1...

2...

3...

Three seconds, is about how long it took for him to process her request. Three seconds until she had rendered him incapable of responding. Ever.

He groaned and dropped down to to his knees, leaning his forehead against the edge of the counter. The Universe was testing him to resist temptation. If there was a god out there, this was his test. He peeked back up to see his girlfriend grinning down at him, obviously amused. She raised her eyebrows expectantly. He groaned again and dipped his head back.

"Chat, I was kidding. You don't have to." She laughed while leaning forward to peer over the edge at him.

He looked up at her again, and he was sure that by now his entire face must be red. Suddenly, he could never be more glad that he was wearing a mask that covered half of his face.

"That was not nice."

His comment was met with more laughter, and then a sharp intake of breath as pain marred her features. Adrien took a deep breath and stood up, quickly. She looked at him, amusement making her eyes wink and shine at him. He took another deep breath before gesturing to her bare collar bone.

"May I?" Adrien was trying to not blush too hard, when Marinette took his hands in hers. Stroking her thumb over his, she replied;

"I offered, didn't I?"

That was all he needed. Adrien swooped down gently and kissed the center of her collarbone before taking the skin into his mouth. He swiped his tongue over the area, earning him a small moan, before lightly sucking on the skin. He sucked harder as he heard her intake of breath. Her hands came up to settle into his hair, and his hands tried to find a place to hold that wasn't covered in bruises. He finally settled with one hand on her right hip and the other on her left mid-thigh. He stroked the covered skin with his thumb, sucking harder still when he heard her moan a little bit louder. He felt her desire alight under her skin, and was enchanted with the thought that he was the one who caused it.

He pulled away, quickly, before he lost control of himself. He rubbed his thumb over the red mark he had created, before looking at her with heady eyes.

Marinette looked much the same, with her mouth opened a bit, her breaths coming heavy. A blush blossoming over her cheeks, and her eyes dark with desire and power. And for probably the billionth time since Adrien met her, he couldn't tell if he was in heaven or hell. And for the billionth time, he didn't care.

Suddenly he straightened up and pulled his hand away. Grabbing the bandages he began to ramble, to take his mind off things he was not supposed to be thinking of.

"Here, we better finish this quickly, a-and you still have questions to answer, don't you?!" His hands trembling a bit as he started to wrap her stomach.

The grin wiped off her face, Marinette was silent for a while and Adrien waited patiently. She sighed before deciding to speak.

"I don't think I jumped to save the little girl, Chat...I think I jumped to...escape....or maybe to prove something or maybe both."

"What do you mean?", he muttered, focusing all his energy on wrapping the bandage and her words and definitely not on her bra, inches from his fingers.
He heard her swallow hard before continuing.

"I, I don't feel like Ladybug, Chat. And I'm still not sure, that she is me at all. I feel like she is a whole separate person. A person, who is much better than I am. After all, Ladybug is Paris' hero. And I'm just...Marinette. I'm no one, compared to Ladybug. And I can't help but think, is she really me? Or is it just awkward, clumsy, Marinette stuck in a superhero suit. Sometimes it feels like that's all I am, when I'm Ladybug, all I am is a suit. I think, I jumped to prove that I can do something without her. That I'm just...just as good, as Ladybug. It was stupid."

Adrien listened silently, his attention, now, focused completely on her and what she was saying.

"I also think, that maybe, I jumped to escape. Escape all my responsibilities as Ladybug and even, as Marinette. I think I was trying to escape everything, unconsciously....the pressures and the pain. I can't explain it well, but I just...As Ladybug, Marinette's life is put on hold. Everything is sacrificed to save other people, and sometimes that frustrates me. And I guess, lately, its been overwhelmingly frustrating. I don't know how to balance Marinette and Ladybug. But being Marinette...I have my family to take care of, my friends, my school work and everything else, I still have all of those responsibilities. And I'm tired of lying to everyone and making up excuses. I'm tired of lying to myself. And I know I sound really whiny, but sometimes it feels like there is too many responsibilities. And Sometimes it feels like a lot of those are forced on me just because I am who I am....Sometimes I feel, like I'm neither Marinette or Ladybug, that they're just two masks I put on."

She paused and Adrien took the chance to interrupt.

"Maybe its true, that you jumped to prove or jumped to escape, but I also, think you jumped to save the little girl. You deal with the struggles of Ladybug and Marinette, day after day, because you love the people who you're involved with. You're right when you say you have a lot of responsibilities, no one else would be able to handle half of what you do. It's one of the reasons I've always admired you, but its okay to feel like it's too much. Its human to feel like it's too much. But I also know that you can handle it, you're strong enough to. Right now, you're trying to figure out just who you are but I can tell you, Mari, you were right when you said you were neither Ladybug or Marinette; you are both, together they blend and mix until they create something beautiful...you. I can see it, a little bit of Ladybug invading on your Marinette side and a little bit of Marinette invading on your Ladybug side. Its all you, sweetie, just you. You don't have to label yourself as Marinette or Ladybug. You can call yourself whatever you want. I don't care what you decide, I will love you no matter what. Because I love all of you, including Marinette and Ladybug and whoever is in-between. I love you."

He nuzzled Marinette, giving her an Eskimo kiss, which she easily turned into a kiss more native to France. Despite the passion, the kisses were slow and sweet, but as deep and with as much feeling, as Adrien could manage. All too soon, for Adrien's tastes, he broke away;

"But there is one thing I never want to hear you say again; I never want to say that you are not good enough. You are good enough for me, you are good enough for Paris, you are good enough to be Ladybug. You are Ladybug, and you are Marinette and you are you. You are beautiful, gorgeous, bad-ass, talented, kind, strong, compassionate...I could go on and on, and one day I will, Marinette. I just need you to know, that you are amazing and don't you ever think differently." He kissed her again, his hands resting on her knees and her hands on his neck, pulling him closer. Every touch sent  blazing heat running throughout his body. Every touch left him breathless and dizzy. And he loved every minute of it.

Adrien pulled away, a frown on his face. Marinette had shared her most vulnerable side; her inner thoughts that she hadn't told anyone; she had told him everything, and the guilt festering under his skin was beginning to eat away at him painfully.

"Marinette, I know, you've had a long day and a lot has happened today but I need to tell you something."

"Hmm, what is it, Chat?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Mari, I want to show you my identity." He paused and held his breath, and waited for her to object. It was a force of habit, by now.

She looked at him pensively, before bringing her hand up to his cheek, resting it there.

"Minou, you don't have to, if you don't want to."

"I want to." Adrien rubbed her hand, before continuing, "I'm just not sure, that you'll like who's on the other side of the mask. He's quite different from, Chat, you know."

Adrien had expected gentle reassurance, however, he should have known better.

He felt Marinette's hands leave his face, before coming back to strike his face, her opposite hand mirroring the action.

"OWww!" He reached up to rub his cheeks to find her hands still there, squishing his cheeks together.

"Chat Noir, you idiot. Didn't we literally just go through this? Weren't you the one spouting sappy crap about how it doesn't matter what other names I use, that you'll love me just the same? So why the hell, do you think that that doesn't apply to you too?"

"Umm, wwheell." Even if he could have gotten out a coherent answer with his cheeks mushed together, he didn't have a good answer.

"Chat Noir, my silly Kitty. I love you. Simple, remember? End of story. It doesn't matter who is on the other side of the mask. Because its like you said, you blend together to make a big, beautiful picture. It doesn't matter what other name you go by, because I will still love you."

Adrien smiled, a strange sight due to his girlfriend's hands. God, he really loved this girl. He was still smiling when he removed her hands and replaced them on his chest. He was still smiling when he pressed his lips to hers. He was still smiling when he released his transformation.

He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he knew he was going to keep smiling. Because she was definitely the best thing that had ever happened to him. And he was so glad she jumped, because it gave him the chance to fall for her.

And he had continued falling every day. He could only hope, that she continued jumping and that she would continue to let him catch her.

Author's Note: I know...this seems like the end, and I assure you the end is near! Buuuuttt there is going to be one more chapter, you lucky ducks. Is this enough angst and fluff and sin to satisfy your hunger, my little ones? I hope so.  Anyways, as always leave me your thoughts in the comments below! I love you guys!!!

Have a good whatever!

Love, Cutesylittledemon

P.S. I apologize for the weird author's note and if this chapter is not as well edited as the others (as if those were well edited, you fool) but it is really late and I start my new school tomorrow and I'm freaking and panicking and I'm just a little bit wonky. But then again, aren't we all? Love you >.<

Updated P.S. So I didn't end up starting my new school yesterday because we don't have the correct paperwork and can't get it until next week, but thank you guys so much for wishing me good luck and all the nice things you said to help comfort me, it meant so much to me.