Missing My Other Half

Things We Lost In The Fire.

It had been two weeks since Chat Noir had last seen his Ladybug. He searched night after night, hoping to find a clue to her location, but she was just gone. As if she... didn't want to be found. And that's what scared Chat most of all. He'd come to the conclusion that she was no longer in sync with her Miraculous, but also figured that it could mean anything.

What if someone took them? Hawkmoth?! What if someone took her? What if she chose this?

And the thought of that hurt. He knew she could handle herself against Hawkmoth, let alone an akuma. That was who she was. She was the brave, smart, beautiful girl he'd fallen in love with. But to even think that his partner may not see half of the heroine he and all of Paris viewed her as crushed his heart. She was everything.

Chat mentally cursed himself, forcing his brain to push the deceitful thoughts to the back of his mind. Everything would be okay.

The tears he had been holding in began to fall as he clung to the shadows in a nearby alley. In that moment he felt absolutely hopeless. He was suffering from extreme exhaustion, and was running on empty. His mind was drowning in so many thoughts that he didn't even register the fact that he was no longer alone. No longer safe. And too late to sense the knife coming straight toward him.

~~~

Her room was quiet. So quiet. Truthfully, without leading the life of Ladybug, Marinette felt like a part of her was missing. As if she was no longer complete. Everything was just quiet. On multiple occasions while Paris was under attack, she struggled to remember it was no longer her job to save everyone. She no longer had to hide to transform. No longer had to interrupt the important parts of her life to become her alter ego. No longer had to save everyone.

What bothered her most however was the fact that a new Ladybug had not been chosen, leaving Chat Noir to defend Paris singlehandedly. She saw him in recent news stories and could tell the stress of doing the job alone was becoming too much for him. He was always swarmed with questions about the whereabouts of Ladybug, and Marinette could tell how much it hurt him to answer with a regretful "I don't know."

Had she truly abandoned her partner? Was she so selfish that she left him to defend Paris... alone?"

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a loud thump on the balcony.

Groans and heavy breathing were audible through the floor boards and Marinette debated whether or not she should investigate.

After a period of hesitation, Marinette cautiously opened the hatch to her balcony and peaked her head out. Her heart got caught in her throat at the sight in front of her. The cat like hero, Chat Noir himself, was sprawled on his back and clutching his side.

The worried girl rushed over to the scruffy blonde, tears already forming in the corners f her eyes. Blood was seeping from a wound in his leg and another from his abdomen. "This is all my fault." She said quietly, praying he didn't hear.

He was struggling to keep his eyes open, his face badly scraped and bruised. Truing to lift him into a position to assess his wounds easier, Marinette stopped when she saw him wince, his hands immediately going to his stomach. The deep gash puncturing his leg would definitely need to be sewn, but she would have to stop the excessive bleeding in his side before she tended to it medically.

Why couldn't Master Fu have chosen someone else to be Ladybug. If he had, this never would have happened. But she should have been there. She should have protected him! Marinette was internally screamed at herself, knowing she couldn't fail him. Not again. She had to help him.

With that, she ran into her room to get everything she may need in order to treat his injuries and pain hastily and appropriately. Upon returning she said a silent prayer for Chat whilst cursing herself once again for being so stupid.

As she returned, Marinette quickly pressed a towel to the bleeding gashes, noting that they needed to be pressurized, cleansed, and wrapped. Without giving any warning, Marinette poured rubbing alcohol on the first wound causing Chat's eyes to snap wide open. He withered in pain, and quickly grasped Marinette's hand tightly, his claws slightly digging into the skin of her palm.

Once the pain became too unbearable, even for the strengthening powers of the miraculous, Chat finally let out a scream. The walls in Marinette's mind began to quake as she witnessed what she had been fearing for months. The terrifying truth of what she had been hiding from all this time had become a reality, for she could not protect him. She saw the face that haunted all her nightmares. She saw all the pain, all the tears, all the hurt.

Suddenly Chat Noir's eyes began to flutter to a close. Marinette could no longer see the variations of green hiding within his orbs. His body had gone limp, seeming almost lifeless, except for the small pulse that continued to beat from inside him.

Marinette let out a whimper. All she could think about was the fact that her guilt and pain that was nothing in comparison to his. It's your fault... your fault... stupid, stupid girl... you're weak... you can't protect him... your fault.

She struggled to continue with the task at hand but knew she couldn't stop. If she didn't treat him in enough time he'd lose too much blood and...

She kept working.