"Wait," she cried after him. "Stay with me this once. Please."
"I'm always here for you, I want to help you Ladybug," he pleaded, with those beautiful, pleading, lying, blue eyes.
"Always here for me, huh?" She crossed her arms, glaring at him, "where were you at 2 o'clock when I was stuck crying myself to sleep?"
"I was probably-" he paused, he didn't have an answer.
"Where were you when I needed my best friend?"
"I was trying." He interjected.
"Trying, huh? Where were you when you were the person I needed to talk to?"
"I-"
Her voice got louder, more desperate. "Where were you when I was throwing myself into this job to try and forget the pain?"
Both of them had tears in their eyes. He took a breath, "I wasn't-"
She placed a finger on his lips. "Shut up. Where were you? Oh yeah. Thats right." She glared at him with an anger he'd never seen on her face before. "You weren't there."
"I'm sorry that I can't always be there."
"Maybe you don't have to." She growled.
"I guess I won't be there then... so this is goodbye?"
"Bye!" She rolled her eyes and flew off into the skyline.
"Bye." His voice was much softer, but equally broken.
...
Then next night when they met up for patrol, things were, awkward... to say the least. Ladybug could barely look at Chat without bursting into tears, and she kept catching him glaring at her. Her partner who would joke and laugh, could do nothing but frown.
When they reached the Eiffel tower, on the end if their patrol, she felt like she had to say something."You have no idea," she said, then paused, trying to pull herself together. "You have no idea how hard it is to see the face of someone you loved every single day."She paused again, as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry-"
"But do you know what's even harder?" She waits a moment, wanting this to hurt him as much as it hurts her, "Seeing a stranger where you once had a home."
"Im sorry." He walked away, unsure of what to say. He didn't want her to see the tears in his eyes.
...
Despite meeting up for patrols, they didn't really talk. Chat started finding comfort in Marinette who always seemed to be awake at the time.
"I think I messed up." He had told her, after sitting in silence for a while.
"What do you mean?" She sat up, looking confused.
"Ladybug." He sighed. "I loved her, but I broke her heart."
"She cried over you. She cried for days." Marinette glared at him
"I know." Chat looked down.
"Then why didn't you reach out to her? Why didn't you give her the closure she needs?" Alya raised her voice, glaring at Adrien.
"Because I'm hurting too!" He shouted. "Because I'm afraid that if I see her crying in front of me ill apologize and beg for her back. But I can't do that!"
"Why not?" She growled.
His gaze dropped. "I can't hurt her anymore than I already have."
She wrapped an arm around him, like she understood, and for once he let her. It took a while before he realized she was using him for support too.
"Are you okay Mari?"
She let out a sob. "At late nights, he used to tell me how he thought I was beautiful."
"What?" Chat said, absentmindedly petting her hair, trying to comfort her.
"We shared our secrets and what we thought about other people. We had endless conversations and flirted a little. He told me to sleep earlier and take care of my health."
"I don't understand," Chat mumbled, "it sounds like he was good for you."
"He even told me he loved me and I believed it for once." Marinette wiped tears from her eyes, "I believed there was someone's actually cared and who I could trust." She took a shaky breath, leaning into Chat's arms, "but one day, he left without much of an explanation. Everything he said sincerely seemed like nothing."
...
He looked at Ladybug. His eyes locked into hers and he realized he no longer felt anything.
Their hearts had belonged to each other for as long as he could remember. Years and years of dedication. And then another girl, Marinette, came along. Marinette made him doubt everything about their relationship. All the love and all the time was about to be erased.
And as he looked into her bright blue eyes, the ones he had fallen in love with, he said, "I'm sorry," and walked away.
They couldn't be together. No matter how much he loved or cared for her.
It wasn't safe for her and it wasn't fair to Ladybug. His supposed soul mate.
Who he couldn't stop thinking about.
...
"I wish I could fall in love again. Then maybe I could forget her."
"I can't forget him." She shook her head. "I never want to fall in love."
"How could you not want to fall in love?" He asked Marinette.
"Easy, I don't want my happiness to depend on whether a person gives me their attention or not. I don't want to stay up late wondering whether he is thinking about me. I don't want to state at my phone screen, waiting, hoping, for a text that never comes. I don't want the uncertainty of not knowing. Whether he actually cares, or if he's just with me because, why not?" She took a shaky breath.
"But I'd always respond. I'm always thinking about you. I love you so much!" He interjected, "who wouldn't?"
"He didn't." Marinette frowned, unsure if she should continue. "Most importantly, I don't want to give anyone the power to destroy me. Not again."
Together they say in contemplative silence, pondering heartbreak and love.
...
The Akuma had been rough. Chat and Ladybug had struggled to win. Sure , the miraculous fire healed them, but the memories of the pain left them struggling to breath, lying together on the tower.
"Do you remember?" He asked her. A sad smile came upon Ladybug's lips as she closed her eyes, breathing out the words as if they would be her last. Images of them made her wince. As if it was painful to remember.
"How could I forget?" Her voice broke, but a light smile played on her lips as she thought of them back when they were genuinely happy. Before they confessed their undying love for each other.
Before they destroyed one another.
...
Finally Chat spoke up. "Marinette, I love you!"
She frowned, "I can't."
"What do you mean."
"I'm sorry."
"I don't understand."
Marinette shook her head. "Tikki , spots on!"
Chat could only stare. "I'm an idiot," he took a breath, "plagg, Claws in."
"Leave." Marinettes voice was shaky. "Leave. I can't talk to you right now. I can't be hurt again."
He obeyed his Lady's wishes and leapt away.
...
"Do you regret it?" This was the first time they had spoken in days.. maybe weeks. Patrols had been awkward or with Rena. He looked in shock, unsure if she had actually spoken.
"What?"
"I don't know," her voice shook, "everything."
He was quiet for a long moment. Heat flooded her cheeks. She opened her mouth to tell him to forget it, but finally he said, "just because we didn't work out doesn't mean you weren't the best thing that ever happened to me. Because you were."
"Yeah," she smiled with glistening eyes, giving him their signature fist bump, "you too."