Careful what you wish for

Chapter 3

Just a little while.

A little bit of time to just be Ladybug and not worry about Marinette.

That's all it was supposed to be.

That was a week ago.

A week ago Ladybug lost the ability to detransform. A week ago Marinette went missing. A week ago Ladybug decided to not go back.

She didn't want to go back. The more time went on the more she didn't want to return. Sure sleeping and eating had proven to be a little challenging but she managed. She had to make sure she wasn't seen to often or it would raise suspicion. But she was smart, she could handle it, she could make it work.

The surprising thing was that even after an akuma attack she still didn't change back. Not even when she used her Lucky Charm. After the battle she would leave as quickly as she could so Chat wouldn't notice anything, even during patrols she needed to be careful. If Chat knew.... She didn't want Chat to know.

Chat was acting a little weird too. She had seen him out on extra patrols (she had to avoid him during those), occasionally he looked worried but wouldn't say why and at times he would get distracted during patrol. She wanted to ask but she was afraid of the answer or of having the questions thrown back at her.

She didn't know what to do but she didn't want to stop.

It was ten days after it all started that there was an akuma attack at the school. A student that needed to give a speech had been akumatized. He was throwing a super sized tantrum, destroying the school building and Chat was evacuating people when Ladybug arrived. They quickly beat the akuma but had decided to stick around and help the panicked citizens. They had split up to look for the missing students, Marinette was finishing up when someone called her name.

"Ladybug!"

It was Alya. She was running towards her with one hand up in the air. Marinette was expecting her to want an interview until she noticed that Alya wasn't holding her phone.

"Ladybug you have to help!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's my friend Marinette!"

"M-Marinette?"

"She went missing ten days ago! After the last akuma attack at the school!"

"Calm down. I'm sure she's fine."

"She's not fine! She's missing! She could be hurt! Or worse! Please, you have to find her!"

Alya fell to her knees and began to sob into her hands. Marinette didn't know what to do, so she knelt down in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. We'll find her." She said softly. She pulled Alya to her chest and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. Holding her until her sobs quieted down. Chat Noir came up behind them and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We're going to find her Alya. I promise." He said, his words sure and absolute.

"Please...please find her..." She begged, muffled between sobs

Marinette wiped away her tears and looked into her red, puffy brown eyes. "You should go home, Alya. We'll contact you if we find anything."

"When we find anything." Chat corrected. There were no ifs, he was determined to find her.

"...ok....okay..." She said between sniffles.

After assuring her that they knew how to contact her and that everything would be okay, Chat took Alya home. Marinette headed for the Eiffel Tower where she would meet Chat after 'recharging'.

She felt guilty. She knew people would worry, she knew this. She knew it but she never realized it. She never realized just how bad it would be. Just how much they would worry. It was her fault and now she had to fix it. But how?

"Welp, *sigh* I dug this grave, now I gotta lie in it."