White Butterflies

Ephemeral

Luka jumped up to the safe, pounding in numbers at a frantic pace. After just a second, the door swung open.

"Jackpot," he breathed. "And it only took me a hundred tries."

Without the time to ponder how long that must have taken him, Marinette used her yo-yo to grab the Akumatized object out from the pile of gold coins that fell out of the safe. To the chorus of the Akumatized's protests, she broke the giant gold coin, releasing the Akuma, purifying it, and resetting the damage done to the city with her magical ladybugs.

A man appeared on the ground in the place of the large pile of gold coins, his greed still displayed across his face. Though he was no longer a villain to be controlled, he was still a dangerous man. Marinette, after looking in the face of countless Akumatized citizens, had come to recognize the differences between a person who had simply let their anger get the best of them, and a person who truly had bad intentions.

This man was an example of the latter.

Nevertheless, Marinette knew she simply had to give him a protective charm that, she now knew, did not always work against Shadow Moth's influence. Releasing people like him back into Paris always made her feel uneasy. Despite how much of herself she dedicated to being Ladybug, she always felt like there was more she could do for her city. She felt somewhat useless, as if she never quite lived up to anyone's expectations of Ladybug.

Still, she plastered on a smile for her fellow Miraculous holders and congratulated them on their win.

-----

They really had to stop meeting in the sewers.

The stench of the water made Marinette, still in her Miraculous form, gag as Luka transformed and handed her back the Snake Miraculous.

She reached out for it. "Thanks Luk—"

A large hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her from getting the Miraculous. It was constrictive in its grasp, seeming to command respect and exude arrogance all at once.

"This really takes the cake," an oily voice sneered.

Marinette looked up, knowing that voice all too well. "Grand Master Su-Han?"

"Nine!" he exploded, rage written into the lines of his face. "You used nine Miraculouses to defeat one villain. Chat Noir could've just used his Cataclysm!"

She tried to reason with him, aware of the power he had over her. One misstep, one wrong word and he could ruin her role as the Guardian. "I had to, Chat Noir was missing."

Noir was so going to pay for this.

"What do you mean missing? You can't just let the holder of one of the most powerful Miraculouses go about as he pleases!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette saw Luka look between herself and Su-Han. He looked pensive, as if he was considering Su-Han's rant.

Su-Han continued on. "What if he started making his own decisions or acted out, like Shadow Moth?"

She bit back a burst of bitter laughter. Noir was her partner, her equal. What would Su-Han think if he knew that Marinette had full faith in him to make his own decisions? He wasn't a child that she watched over; he was part of her team. He was her friend. He was a teenager, just as she was, who had learned to fill his role as a protector of Paris better than she could have ever hoped.

She had watched him, over the time they had known each other, turn into a force to be reckoned with. He was responsible and considerate and damn her if she would ever let someone who had only shown up a few months ago bad-mouth the one person she truly trusted in this world.

She tilted her head up to look him directly in the eye. "Chat Noir, act like Shadow Moth? Wow. Aren't you blowing this out of proportion just a little?"

"Not at all," he responded, clearly ready to put up a fight. "In fact, you should find out who Chat Noir really is, so you can have better control over him."

Find out... what?

The demand shocked her more than she wanted to admit. The veil of safety that staying anonymous gave herself and Noir was comfortable; she felt safe in knowing that both of them only knew each other as Ladybug and Chat Noir, superheroes that were nearly unbeatable.

Even in only knowing his identity, that would shatter the routine she had built with him. It would change things, perhaps for the worse.

She just wasn't ready for that, not now. And perhaps not ever.

Pushing away her emotions, she fought back with logic. "What? No way. We can't know our true identities. It would be too dangerous if Shadow Moth got a hold of one of us."

Su-Han breathed out in annoyance. "I. Don't. Care. Deal with this problem quickly. Otherwise, I'll take back his Miraculous as soon as he shows a whisker, and I'll choose the new Chat Noir myself."

She was taken aback by his sheer audacity. To suggest the mere idea that she could have a new partner was infuriating.

"Okay, okay, alright. What if you knew who he was? Would that work?" she ventured, a plan already formulating in her mind.

His eyes darkened for a moment in consideration. "I... I suppose so. But I'm warning you, if you don't succeed—"

"I get it," Marinette cut in, done listening to his lecture, "Chat Noir will be replaced."

His eyes cut between her and Luka before he turned, bounding away down the sewer until he turned a corner and was out of her sight. She felt Luka turn to face her.

"Are you really going to do as he asked?" Luka murmured, clearly as in shock of the request as Marinette was.

"Do I really have a choice in the matter?" she whispered back, a wave of defeat seeping into her veins. "I can't fight the Celestial Guardian, and I don't want to take the risk of losing our Chat Noir." She turned until she was parallel to him, making sure she looked him in the eyes as she began to divulge her plan. "I'm going to need both of you."

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