It was a normal day just like any other. Ladybug and Cat Noir had defeated another Akumatized victim, and set everything back to the way it was supposed to be.

Ladybug glanced at the ring on Cat Noir's finger, then listened for the beep of her earrings. Both had about two minutes left. "Hate to cut this party short, but we'd better go." She pulled out her yo-yo, ready to fly across the rooftops of Paris.

Cat reached out and grabbed her free hand, pulling her back. "Wait, please." He looked into her eyes, and his own were pleading, lacking their usual playful gleam. "Can't we share now who we are under the masks?"

Ladybug sighed. This was far from the first time he had asked. And her answer was always the same. "No. You should know this by now. Our identities are secret, and that's that. Final word, no argument."

"But we've been partners for almost a year!" Cat objected, "Surely we can trust each other!"

"It's not that. What if one of us was captured, and forced to tell who the other is? We can't tell what we don't know."

Cat's eyes widened in disbelief. "You really think I would give you away?!" He yelled, his grip on Ladybug's hand involuntarily tightening slightly. "I would never! Even if my Miraculous was on the line, you're worth more to me! I….I would give up being Cat Noir to keep you safe! I love you!" Even though he had outright stated his feelings for Ladybug, the leather-clad superhero was too distraught to enjoy it. "If you think that little of my abilities, if you really believe that I would give you away, then you can protect Paris on your own." At that moment, his ring beeped the one-minute warning, and he loosened his grip on Ladybug's hand. "Don't count on me to show up tonight for patrol." He whispered, leaving the scene with a tear in his eye.

Back at home, Marinette laid on her bed, clutching her pillow to her chest. "Tikki, I feel awful! I didn't mean to hurt his feelings! I was mainly talking about myself!"

Tikki sat next to Marinette, holding a cookie and frowning. "I know. And it's not your fault. I was the one who told you to keep your identity a secret, for the very reason you said. I'm sure that he was told the same thing. So don't worry. I'm sure he'll come around soon. Just give him a while to cool off." Tikki offered Marinette a bite of her cookie, holding it up to the blue-haired girl's lips.

"But I really hurt him! He left thinking I have such little faith in him! How can I make this right?" Marinette accepted the bite of cookie, but didn't smile like she usually would.

"Just wait until tonight, and see if he shows up for patrol. If he does, then you can apologize and explain. If he doesn't, send him a message. He won't ignore you forever, I promise."

At Adrien's house, the young model was practically fuming, despite Plagg's best attempts to calm his Miraculous bearer.

"I thought she trusted me! All those days and nights we've spent together protecting Paris, and this is how she treats me? I'd never betray her like that! How could she possibly think such a thing?"

Plagg frowned and nibbled on a piece of Camembert, then said, "Listen kid, it's not like she was talking just about you. It goes both ways. Maybe she can't trust herself, especially if lives are on the line."

"But if we knew who each other really was, we could protect each other better! Remember what happened with Lila? She almost gave up her Miraculous for me! If I hadn't have broken Lila's illusion, she would have done that for nothing! But if she'd have known that it was me behind the mask, then the illusion would have been meaningless to her!"

"You do have a point there…." Plagg considered for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of each possibility. "But what if that hadn't been an illusion, and your life was really on the line? I doubt Ladybug would care whether or not you're a superhero, a life is a life, and she's gonna try to save everyone she can. Even if it means giving up her Miraculous. But like I was saying earlier, maybe the secret of your identity is one she just can't trust herself to keep."

Adrien sighed and fell onto his bed, a few tears still streaked across his face. "I guess. But it still hurts that she thinks so little of our bond."

Later that night, Ladybug made her way back to the rooftops of Paris, patrolling the city for any signs of unrest. She waited to see the tell-tale signs of her partner, but in vain.

"I guess he's really not coming." She sighed, and pulled out her communicator. "Cat?" She spoke into the speaker, as it went to voicemail, "I'm sorry. I talked things over with Tikki, my Kwami, and we agreed that I should apologize to you. I never meant to hurt your feelings, and I certainly don't think little of you. It's not you that I don't trust, it's me. So please come back. Saving Paris just won't be the same without you."

It wasn't until several hours later, just as Ladybug was about to go home, that she received a call back. She quickly answered, her heart pounding in her chest. "Cat? Did you get my message?"

"Yeah….I did. And listen, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to storm off like that. I talked things over with my Kwami too, and he told me the same thing. I was just being selfish. Our mission comes first, and I should know that. Maybe someday we'll know, but not now."

Ladybug smiled softly, and nodded, despite the fact that her partner couldn't see her. "Right. Now, you've got a whole evening's patrol to make up for, mister kitty. How do you plan to do that?"

"Uh…..week's worth of food for your Kwami?"

Ladybug laughed, and answered, "Deal!"

So this is my first attempt at a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic, and I for some reason tend to make things either entirely fluffy, or totally dramatic and sad, so this time I tried to sprinkle in a little bit of comedy there at the end. I hope y'all liked it, even though it moved admittedly pretty fast. I'm not very good at making long one-shots. Let me know what y'all think!