"What did you want to talk about, Marinette?" Adrien asks me once we reach the big cherry blossom tree.
We're standing inches apart. Cherry blossoms fall as the wind rustles through the trees. The setting sun peaks over the many buildings in Paris, and leaves the park with a golden tint. The sweet smell of flowers fills the air. He looks at me with her emerald eyes, and I feel a shiver creep down my spine. He reaches his delicate hand to my forehead and brushes a dark blue lock of hair behind my ear.
"A-Adrien, ever since that first day I met you, I've wanted to tell you something," I squeeze out, holding my hands and bringing them to my chest with my eyes looking down.
He gently places his hands on mine. I gasp quietly, and then look back up at his sparkling eyes. My cheeks quickly become flushed. I quickly look away again, but Adrien grabs my chin and tilts is up towards his.
"You can tell me anything, Marinette."
I nod. I take a deep breath, ignoring the butterflies dancing in my stomach. I feel like can't breathe.
This is it Marinette.
"Adrien, I-"
"MARINETTE, LOOK OUT!"
A loud blast explodes behind me. Adrien jumps on top of me and we collapse to the ground, his hand holding my head. Pink cherry blossom petals fly everywhere, blinding my vision. Adrien quickly scrambles up to his feet, pulling me up with him. The earth shakes below us. He picks me up off my feet, and the next thing I know, my crush is carrying me bridal style out of the park.
"Stay here!" He shouts over the noise as he hides me in an alleyway. "I'll meet you under the cherry tree after everything is over, I promise!"
He sprints away. I gasp and stumble up to my feet, but when I look out to find where he went, he's already gone. I quickly whip my head back to the park. A girl is floating in the middle of the park with an angry emotion resting on her face. Her hair is light pink, and her outfit is silky white. Adrien was right, there is an akuma.
Tikki flies out of my purse, with a worried look on her face. "Marinette-"
"Not now! Tikki, spots on!" I cry.
A bright pink light flashes the alleyway and soon Ladybug replaced where Marinette once was. How did this happen? Everything was going so perfectly! If only I had a second more. I could have told him. I could have told Adrien I loved him!
I fling my yo-yo to the center of the park. I tug it once, then use it as a grappling hook and fly towards the akuma. I land on the warm grass, right next to my partner.
"Hello milady. Nice of you to drop by!" He snickers.
I roll my eyes and sling my yo-yo at the akuma, dragging her towards the ground. I am not in the mood to deal with Chat Noir. He notices my coldness towards him, and his ears fall flat against his head. I don't mean to hurt him, but with an akuma destroying Paris, we don't have time to talk.
"Bye bye, little butterfly!" I giggle, watching the pure butterfly replace the dark akuma. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
"Milady?" Chat asks.
I turn to him and realize we're under the same cherry blossom tree I was under with Adrien just a few moments ago. I immediately have a flashback to me opening my mouth, just about to confess my love for the model, when suddenly the akuma had to come ruin it all.
"Please listen..." He begins, holding my hand and kissing it.
I look back to his bright green cat-like eyes, and find myself blushing for an unknown reason. He tilts his head to the side, and the golden setting sun rests on his cat ears. Pink cherry blossoms fall around him. He smiles softly, and my heart melts in my chest.
Please, don't do this to me, Chat Noir.
"We've been together for so long, milady. I've been wanting to tell you this since I first laid eyes on you."
Tears start to form in my eyes. "Please, don't..."
"Milady..." he interrupts, with his calm, confident eyes staring deep into mine.
The cool spring wind rushes through his golden locks of hair. The sweet smell of flowers returns to my nose. His warm touch comforts me as he holds my hands. He holds his hand against my cheek, and rubs his thumb against it.
"... I love you."
A single tear falls down my cheek. His pupils shrink as he realizes what I'm about to say.
I tear my gaze away from his eyes. "I-I can't. There's this boy..."
Chat drops his hands from my cheek and slowly backs away.
"I... I understand."
I frantically look back up to him. "Chat Noir-"
"I get it, Ladybug. I get it," he whispers.
I bite my lip.
"But if he ever breaks your heart, remember I will be here, and I always will."
He smiles, and his eyes glisten from tears. He salutes his classic two-finger salute, but this time, it's slower and with a tint of sadness. He extends his baton and I watch as he shoots off into the sunset. I want to cry, but I know I can't. I need to talk to Adrien, and if he sees me with running mascara, I know he'll be worried.
Once I de-transform and make my way back to the big cherry blossom tree it's already sun down. The park is illuminated by street lamps, giving the cherry blossom petals a tint of blue to them. I hold my purse tight to my chest and bite my lip as I stand alone in the park, waiting for Adrien to come back.
"Are you sure Adrien will come back? It's almost evening, Marinette," Tikki informs.
I don't respond. I stand with my bruised knuckles from the akuma tightly grasping onto my purse. I bite my lip again, and taste the peach lip-gloss. I taste a salty taste too. That's when I realized I was crying. I don't know why, but soon big globs of tears started pouring down my cheek, leaving streak marks on my blushed cheeks.
"Marinette..." Tikki softly whispers.
"He promised, Tikki," I mumble with my voice cracking. "He promised."
I collapse on my knees. I ball my hands up and rub them against my eyes, trying to wipe the tears away. My quiet sobs fill the empty park.
"Princess?"
Adrien?
I slowly look up with teary filled eyes and I find a certain cat looking back at me.
No, not Adrien. Chat Noir.
"Princess! Are you okay?" He asks as he takes a step towards me.
I shake my head, knowing that if I try to respond, I'll break down. He sighs and picks me up just the way Adrien did earlier. I feel him jump high into the air. I open my eyes and realize we're soaring through the night sky. His golden hair is lit up by the moonlight. I cling to him, afraid of what would happen if he dropped me.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
He smirks. "Your place, of course."
We land on my balcony and he gently lets me down. When my feet touch the floor I look back to thank him, but I notice something. He's crying.
"C-Chat Noir? What's wrong?" I ask.
He wipes his eyes and looks back at me. "Nothing, princess."
I sigh. "It's about me- I mean, Ladybug - huh?"
"She doesn't love me." He whispers. "Nobody does. I'm just some ally cat that everyone ignores."
"Chat!" I shout.
I immediately wrap my arms around him and squeeze him tight. He's shocked, but then hugs me back. He holds me tight against him and squeezes me against his chest. He rests his chin on the top of my head. I hear his quiet sobs.
"Do you still love her, even if she rejected you?" I mutter into his shoulder.
He sighs, and a tear drips down his chin.
"Yes," he finally admits. "I will always love her. No one will ever replace her."
I pull away, and look into his cat-like eyes. "Wouldn't it just be easier to move on?"
He smiles softly as tears continue to fall. "I'll never move on. I know that she's the one."
Suddenly he drops to the ground, clutching his chest. I gasp and cover my mouth, then immediately drop to the floor to check on him.
"Chat Noir! W-What happened?!"
He winces as I touch him. "I... I don't know. I just felt a stab of pain in my chest."
It suddenly clicks. He's refusing to move on from Ladybug. Could his heart be turning into glass?
No. That's impossible. A living heart turning into glass? You're stupid if you believe it.
"I'll go get you water," I suggest. "Here, how about you come inside while you wait."
He doesn't argue, and he follows me as I open my trap door and slide into my bedroom. He sits cross-legged on my couch, still holding his chest. I quickly grab a cup and fill it with water. I drop two ice cubes into the drink, and they clink against the glass. I rush back upstairs and hand the ice-cold drink to the cat. He nods as a thank you, and drinks the water. He winces as he gulps it down, but eventually, it looks like the pain slowly disappears.
"Thank you, Marinette. You're always here for me when I have trouble in the love department," he whispers.
I sigh and climb into my bed with him, and sit beside him.
"I'm actually having trouble too," I admit.
"Really?"
I nod and hold my knees to my chest. He sighs and lays down on my bed, resting his head on my silky pink pillow.
"Tell me about it, princess. What's on your mind?"
"There's this boy..." I start, thinking back to Adrien. "I wanted to tell him something today."
I want to talk about him, but as soon as I remember me waiting alone under the cherry tree, I start to cry.
"Princess..." he whispers sadly, rubbing my back.
I lay down against Chat Noir and cry into his chest. He wraps his arms around me, and squeezes. I cry and bury myself into his shoulders. He just rubs my back until my sobs turn into quiet whimpers.
"Feeling better now?" He whispers.
I nod. "You?"
He nods back. He hugs me once more then pulls away, slowly getting out of my bed. Suddenly he looks back with that classic Chat Noir grin.
"I'll check on you tomorrow, okay?"
I smile. "Okay."
He lifts up the trapdoor and jumps out of my room, into the Paris night sky. Once I'm sure he's gone, I get out of bed, but once I do, I immediately feel sick. I drag my feet across the wooden floor towards my bathroom. Once I reach the bathroom, I close the door and lock it. I turn on the over-head light. It flickers on with a warm color and a slight buzz can be heard throughout the room. I look in the mirror and notice my puffy red eyes from crying.
Suddenly I feel something tickle my neck. I cough once, than again, and again.
Two petals spill out of my mouth. I gasp. I watch as the bloody flower petals slowly fall to my sink. Once they touch the cold marble, the blood from my mouth on the petals slowly oozes down to the drain. I shake my head, and slowly back into my bathroom wall. I press myself against my flower wallpaper in complete disbelief.
I just coughed up flower petals.
Petals.
I find my hand slowly lifting to my mouth. I touch my lip, then pull my hand away to my vision. Blood rests on the tip of my finger. I gasp. I jolt towards my mirror and shoot my mouth open. I try and look down my throat, but there's little luck. I don't see any petals, which is good, but I do see blood. I turn my faucet on. The water rushes against the side of my sink, washing the blood down the drain. I take a gulp of the sink water and swish it around my mouth, then spit the red-tinted liquid right back out.
This can't be happening.
I back away and look at myself in the mirror.
Tikki was right. She was right about everything. The diseases were true. Chat's chest pain, and now my coughing. All of this is happening because Chat's unconditional love for Ladybug despite being rejected, and my love for Adrien that I can never seem to confess.
Chat's heart is turning into glass.
And flowers are growing in my lungs.
Heyyyyyy chapter two is done! Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my last chapter, it means a lot. Comment some ideas if you would like me to include them in the story! And, as always, please upvote this story.
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