"Ladybug," Chat said with a small smile and a polite nod. The red and black superhero had just landed softly beside him. The sky was dark, the moon covered by dark clouds threatening to rain over the peaceful city.
"Chat Noir," she replied with the same stiffness. Chat had been painfully aware of the thick tension that had settled between them since she had left, her return had lessened his heartbreak but the damage to their relationship wasn't fully repaired. Truth could be a relief but it was also a burden, one that had weighed on Chat since Ladybug told him about Chat Blanc.
In the small moments of peace he couldn't help but wonder how Ladybug saw him. Did she harbour resentment for his deeds in a timeline he could have never known existed. Her mask hid her identity and the emotions that churned underneath. Was he a monster to her?
"It's been quiet," Chat observed leaning on his baton.
"It has," she replied evenly. She shifted her weight looking into the distance. Chat turned his head towards her for the first time since she had appeared. Even if they were distant, he knew when her mind was busy with troubled thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked unsure if she would even answer.
"That sentimonster, not that she should even be called that," she said with a hardness to her voice.
"Oh," was all he could think to say, he hadn't thought about the amuk Ladybug in a while. It still made his heart hurt when he remembered her being snapped out of existence. Something about the pain that had played out on her face in the moment before she was gone was so human it was heartbreaking.
"What if Hawkmoth made a sentimonster of himself to trick us," the crack in her voice drew Chat's attention back to her. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she looked to the horizon, "what if anyone we thought we could rule out because we saw them during an akumatization was a sentimonster to trick us."
Chat opened his mouth to rebut the thought process but nothing came out.
"What if Mayura made a sentimonster of hawkmoths civilian form and then he akumatized it to throw us off his tracks, we would have no idea that we had ruled him out."
A long silence settled between them, Ladybug was hugging her arms to herself while Chat felt the meaning of her words sink in. His mind raced with every akumatization and the fact that even subconsciously he trusted the victims of akuma's more than anyone else because they couldn't have been Hawkmoth. That idea was falling apart the more he thought about her words.
"We can't trust anyone," she broke the silence with a firm conclusion.
"B-but Ladybug, we have to, I mean you've handed out the Miraculous' before when we needed help."
"Well I can't anymore, what if I trust the wrong person and give a Miraculous to Hawkmoth, that could be a disaster."
"What are we going to do if we can't beat an akuma by ourselves?"
"We don't have the luxury of failing!" Ladybug yelled, forcefully standing up and looking at Chat for the first time since she had arrived. Chat's eyes stretched wide from the outburst. He noticed the redness in her eyes and even under the effects of the Ladybug miraculous she looked pale.
"Are you okay?" He asked in a soft voice, something about his question shocked her and he barely had the time to see tears well up in her eyes before she turned and fled. He watched her swing away with her yo-yo, he was dimly aware that he should be following her to make sure she was okay. Instead he let himself sit on the roof and stare after her with a distant look in his eyes.
He didn't get to chase after her anymore, not since she told him he could be the destruction of the world and everything had gotten so complicated between them.
He played her words through his head trying to find any reason they could be false, any reason he could convince her to trust the miraculous holders. He didn't fully understand why, but it felt dangerous to cut off help from everyone who she had trusted. He'd be the first to admit he didn't like the feeling of being replaced by other holders and he had wished it could go back to just the two of them against the world. But this felt wrong, it felt like they were losing something instead of gaining each other.
Chat pulled his baton infront of him and did what he always did when he felt his emotions getting out of control lately, he found comfort in Marinette. He lifted the baton to his ear listening to it ring multiple times, he was about to hang up when it finally stopped.
"Chat?" A shaky voice came through, something about her greeting tipped Chat off that she wasn't okay.
"Marinette, are you okay?" There was a pause and he could distinctly hear the sound of sniffles.
"Yeah of course," a forced cheer in her voice made him frown and then a sigh, "sorry, no I'm not."
"What happened?" Somehow becoming the support role made him feel better.
"Nothing, ugh I mean something but I-" another sigh followed by more sniffles, "me and Alya have been fighting. We got in a big argument a while ago and I thought we would get over it but then she- she betrayed my trust and she has the- she has something important to me that I need back but it won't be easy to get."
"Have you asked for it?" Chat tried to follow his girlfriend's thoughts but it wasn't easy when she was emotional and scattered.
"No, if I do, she might do something with it that I don't want her to," she sighed.
"Do you want me to give her a visit and tell her she has to give it back?" He said with some jest in his voice.
"No Chaton," she laughed, "I can figure it out, it's just frustrating."
"Tell me what you need and I will deliver," he said with a dramatic tone. There was a pause.
"You?" She asked quietly.
"As you wish princess," he replied and hung up his baton. He knew this was a risk, he was already pushing it by being on patrol, he was likely going to go over 24 hours without sleep if he didn't go home now. Not to mention the chance one of his fathers employees would notice Adrien's absence.
Still he knew that Marinette had been very alone lately, Alya had been ignoring her at best. No matter how much he and Nino tried to make her see reason, she was stubborn in her belief that she and Marinette were no longer friends. He forced himself to stand and began running towards the bakery, he made the trip quickly, landing on her balcony within a few minutes.
"Chat!" The moment his feet touched down the glass trapdoor was thrown open revealing Marinette in her tank top and fluffy pajama pants.
She leapt into his arms and he gripped onto her as if it was dangerous to let go. They stayed in the cold listening to each other breathing as they each held tighter. Finally Chat pulled back and looked down into her eyes, they were puffy with tears and red. He bent down and kissed her cheeks wishing he could sooth her pain through the small gestures.
Marinette looked into his eyes for a moment before pushing herself onto her tiptoes and connecting her lips to his. He lifted her by the waist to close the height gap, kissing her back with all the emotion of being separated for so long. They stayed in the embrace until Chat noticed the chill of the outside had made Marinette's skin cold. He put her down and gave her a small smile.
"Feel better?" He asked, noting the smile on her lips.
"You always help," she answered the unasked question he always seemed to have for her, 'Do I make you happy?', not that he would tell her that he doubted it so often. He looked up at the sky, tearing his eyes away from her, the horizon was beginning to lighten.
"I should-"
"I know," she sighed, stepping away from him. He gave her a sad smile and took her hand in his. He bent down and kissed her knuckles. Before he could convince himself to stay, he turned and leapt off the balcony.
He used the baton to get home as swiftly as his exhausted limbs would let him. Racing against the rising sun he made it into his window and transformed as he heard the clicking of heels coming towards his room. He dived into his bed pulling Plagg with him before the kwami could utter a sound. The moment he had the covers over his shoulders his half closed door swung open.
"Adrien!" He cringed at the impatience in Nathalie's voice, "it's time to go, and keep your door open." He grunted an affirmative reply trying to sound groggy. After a pause he heard her leave and he sighed a breath of relief. He pulled the sheet off and released Plagg. He expected a snarky comment about visiting his girlfriend but he saw a soft expression on the black kwami's face.
Plagg looked at his holder with sympathy, the blonde boy looked absolutely ragged and it seemed like no one noticed just how exhausted he was. His holder was too busy meeting everyone's expectations to see it was slowly breaking him down day by day.