Red Strings And Markers

t w e n t y

"Purr-haps." He replied softly. "Are you jealous, my lady?" He asked.

"Me? Jealous?" Ladybug scoffed. "In your dream, silly kitty."

Chat remained silent, purring gently on her shoulder. "Bugaboo?"

"Yes mon minou?"

"What would you say if I wanted to show you who I am?" He asked.

Ladybug stammered for words. "You know that we can't. Our kwamis won't allow us-"

"Marinette, why don't you listen to what he has to say?" Tikki spoke from the back of Ladybug's head.

She gave a small sigh and Ladybug leaned her cheek against Chat's. "Why?" She asked quietly.

"Just in case one of us gets in trouble. What's the point of keeping such a meaningless secret when we are already so close? What would I do if you were to get hurt out of Ladybug? How would I be sure that you're alright? I can't lose you Ladybug. I love you and will follow you to the ends of the Earth and the thought of even the possibility of losing you..." Chat's voice trailed off and he gently tightened his grip on Ladybug's waist. "I can't risk anything... I can't lose you." He whispered desperately.

Ladybug's heart churned at his words. She had seen this side of Chat before and it pained her to see him like this again.

"Chat..." Her voice was weak and soft. She sat up, turning to sit on her knees before him. Ladybug looked into Chat's alluring green eyes that stardom at her lovingly. "I understand why... Why you want to know who I am. Whenever we were at London, whenever you got injured, there's nothing more that I wanted than to follow you home and take care of you. I could feel your pain and I... I was worried."

"I felt the same way when you took the hit from the Kirigami." Chat brought his hand up to her head, his fingers gently grazing the area where a now fading bruise was hidden. 

"I'm just... I'm just so afraid that you're not going to like me or that I'm not worth of someone being your partner or, or..."

Chat noticed her eyes started appearing watery and he felt his stomach churning.

"M... Ladybug, I don't care who you are. I will love you until the day I die." Chat took her hands into his and gave them a gentle squeeze. "You may not know this, but even outside of the mask, I love you. I don't care who you are outside of the mask, or how different you are, you are my partner and I love you and will follow you to the ends of the Earth."

Ladybug's shoulders shook in front of Chat. Her hands had fallen from Chat's cheeks and were shielding her face from him as she silently cried.

"C-Chat... I'm so sorry." Marinette didn't realize how much of a sweetheart this boy was. And to think that up to a couple months ago, she turned him away because she loved someone else.

But she did love someone else and now she was dating that person. This boy was going to love her to the ends of the Earth, even though she was going off with someone else. It broke her heart that she was breaking such a pure heart like Chat's.

"Bugaboo." He cooed, bringing her into his lap and placed many little kisses across her forehead and temples, to soothe her fear and tears. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

"He's right, you know."

Marinette and Tikki were back home from patrol, Marinette lying face down in her bed.

"You two should know who each other are, outside of transformation. Just in case something happens. Everything will be okay." Tikki sat beside the pillow that Marinette was face down in, twisting a couple strands of her hair into a small braid.

"Tikki? Do you know who Chat Noir really is?" Marinette asked, her voice muffled through the pillow.

Tikki momentarily froze, before letting out a sigh. Her silence made Marinette turn, looking at the small kwami who avoided her gaze.

"Tikki?"

"I do."

Marinette felt as if she was stabbed to her lungs. She quickly sat up and scooped Tikki up in her hands, looking down at her.

"Then you can tell me, right? You can tell me who he is and then whenever I meet him next time, I can already know who he is. Or whether I want to see him again." Marinette was rambling, nervous and feeling slightly betrayed that her kwami didn't tell her of such a vital piece of information like this.

"I can't."

Marinette's heart sunk. "Why not?" She almost cried.

"Chat Noir has stated that he wants to tell you on his own who he is. I am not going to betray his word and tell you who he is. Also, even if I did tell you who Chat Noir is, you cannot just choose that you don't want to see him again."

Marinette cowered slightly in her bed as Tikki scolded her.

"As Ladybug, it is your moral duty to aid Chat Noir, no matter who he is."

"You're right... I'm sorry." She put Tikki down on the pillow and laid down, facing her ceiling. "It's just... I'm so scared, I'm so nervous."

"I know." Tikki replied quietly.

Marinette's fingers went up to her collarbone, touching the small, bruised love mark the black cat left her last night.

"I love Adrien, but... I've come to fall in love with Chat Noir as well. I'm terrified."

"Things will work out Marinette." Tikki reassured her. "Not only do I promise, but Chat Noir promises too. Confide in our word - things will get better once you two know who you are."