Nathaniel x reader!

Chapter 10- the Ladrien Chapter

Marinette/Ladybug's POV~
My legs suddenly turned to jelly and I collapsed on the ground.

"Adrien!" I called, weakly.

He quickly hid Plagg, although it didn't matter since I had already seen him, and ran over to me.

"Ladybug! Where were you? There was an akuma attack, and-" he paused. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'll be okay, I just- we..." I didn't know if I should tell him that I knew who he was. "Do you know if Chat Noir is here, or if he was here at all?" I asked. I decided it would be better to wait until I could purify the akuma.

"Uh, yeah he was here but he left... Let's get you upstairs so you can find the akuma." He said, changing the subject. Then he lifted me up and carried me gently up the stairs. He was so careful and loving about it, I wanted to just lay like that forever.

"Adrien, careful of the colorful puddles. Apparently they can make you feel... Um, internal pain or something," I murmured.

"Yes, they do. The akuma victim, well, there were two girls- you know them, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chloe Bourgeois were akumatized because... Well it was my fault, and..." Adrien sighed, sadly. "I'm sorry, I just..." He trailed off once again.

"I'm sure it wasn't all your fault-" I started, but stopped, because I was unsure how to reassure him without letting him know that I was one of the akuma victims.

We finally reached the floor of Chloe's room, and Adrien carried me into the room. He set me down. "Do you see it anywhere? Wait, hang on.... I have an idea. It's not a super great idea but it should work," he said, slightly nervous.

"Really? What is it?" I asked, shakily. The pain was subsiding but I still felt involuntary anger and sadness, although it wasn't directed towards anyone.

"I could find some kind of breakable object, swipe up some of this, um, pain-liquid, and then get akumatized, so that you could get the akuma easily."

"Oh. Well, that is really smart but I really don't want to risk you getting hurt, Adrien. I-" I took a deep breath. I had already done it earlier today, and in turn found out that he returned my feelings, if only in this version of myself. So I would tell him. No, no! What was I thinking?! I could not- if he rejected me as Marinette, how could he truly love me when he found out that's exactly who I was? I would just have to pretend I didn't know that he was Chat, at least for now.

"Just please be very careful, and let me know if you need anything," I said, giving him a weak smile. I looked at him longingly when he turned to find the object that was to be the home of the akuma.

It was now sinking in that Adrien, the boy whom I had had a colossal crush on since that day under his umbrella in the rain, was the same cheeky cat who would do anything for me. He was the one whom our Master had chosen to give the cat miraculous to, the one who I would not be Ladybug without. I realized now that if I had not been so blinded by only Adrien, I might have seen how much I cared for Chat Noir. Chat Noir, who- no matter how many times I turned him away- never changed his mind about me. And I realized the only time he ever mentioned a different possibility,  it had been to me, as Marinette, saying that I was one of his best friends, and-

"Here, do you think this would work?" Adrien asked, breaking me from my thoughts. He held up a small rag, which had likely been ripped clean off of one of Chloe's pillows in the commotion.

"CHAT NOIR?! LADYBUG!!" A voice screamed from the hallway. Adrien's head jerked towards the sound at his name. So did mine.

"Should I-?" He started, looking at me. I nodded. I got up too, the pain finally fading to the point I could move around.