Just a short drabble I came up with while I'm supposed to be studying Chemistry; no big deal.

And just like that, he had swooped his overly stubborn partner off her feet as if she weighed nothing and tossed her off the Eiffel Tower; knowing that she'd catch herself and survive as he turned to take the hit.

"Chat!" Ladybug cried out, blue eyes wide with terror as she fell from the one-thousand and sixty-three feet tall tower. Her mind and body were at complete different points in that moment, her limbs not moving or reacting at all as she fell, her hand not even twitching to grab her yo-yo like it usually would have. Her mind was set on her stupid, stupid partner, wondering just how he could even think of putting himself in danger like that. He had done it many times before in the past, but never to this extent.

Chat Noir had decided to sacrifice himself for her sake.

She didn't like it. It scared her.

Her tear-filled eyes caught him getting hit despite all of his efforts to fight back, the Akuma tossing him off the tower without even bothering to take his ring and that was when Ladybug's body remembered that it needed to be active again. She threw her yo-yo, the string hooking itself onto the Eiffel Tower standing proudly over Paris and she swung as fast as she could towards him. The bug-themed hero was - thankfully - quick enough to reach him and catch him as he fell out of the sky; swinging towards a random building that was standing nearby and landing on the rooftop, turning towards him with worried eyes. "Chat! Talk to me!" She demanded, crouching down beside him and lightly slapping his cheeks with her gloved hands. "Chat!"

His eyes weakly pried themselves open, green orbs staring up at her in clear pain while managing to keep that everlasting cat-like mischief in them at the same time. He shot her a pained, cheeky grin, moving to sit up only for her to push him back down and he hissed at the pain, ears twitching up. "Damn it, My Lady, you just killed the whole purpose of me trying to save you."

"You dumb cat!" She told him, nearly screeching as her hands hovered above his body, not quite knowing what to do. The Akuma was closing in on them and her time was running out, so she took a risk and turned, leaving him on the abandoned roof as she called for her Lucky Charm.

Ladybug landed in a dark alley not too long after that, her transformation wearing off almost instantly and she quickly checked to make sure that her little Kwami was okay before walking out of the secluded spot; a troubled expression on her face. Her mind went back to how her kitty had just thrown himself into the line of fire like that, her brain hurting at the thought of him dying. Because he had, been dying, that is. She could see that very clearly and both of them knew it, if she had been just a tad bit slower into tricking the Akuma and using her Miraculous Cure; then maybe he really would have.

Marinette shivered, and it certainly wasn't from the cold hitting her skin. The thought was just...it was just a little too disturbing for her poor mind, and she didn't want to think of it any longer. So why wouldn't it just leave her head? The thought stuck, repeating the scene over and over and the scenarios just getting worse the longer she thought of it. Soon, Marinette could feel something trickling down her cheek and she reached up in mild surprise, only to find out that the wetness now staining her fingers had been her own tears.

She was crying.

Crying because that damn cat had made her worry to the point of not being able to either breathe or move.

She'd have killed him for his reckless actions if he hadn't been that close to dying.

Tikki shifted in her holder's pink purse, wanting with all her heart to just fly out and give her girl a comforting hug, but it was way too risky to do that in the middle of the street. Peeking her head out from the clasp was a no go either, since she could sense a presence stalking closer and closer. The ladybug Kwami didn't feel uneasy, knowing that the person had nothing but good intentions in his heart.

"Princess?"

Marinette whipped around at the familiar voice, wide and tearful eyes locked on him and it didn't even take a second before her bottom lip started to quiver and she threw herself at him, strong arms holding herself close to the stunned cat as she buried her face into his chest. "I'm sorry!" She sobbed quietly, trying her best to keep her voice as low as possible so she wouldn't be making too big of a scene. "I am so, so sorry, kitty."

Chat frowned down at her in part confusion, surprise and hurt from seeing her despair-stricken face. He didn't even have the heart to tell her to mind his injuries, since it still ached quite a bit despite Ladybug getting rid of most of the damage. "Hey," he whispered softly, clawed hands on her shoulders as he gently pushed her back so he could properly scan her face with concerned green eyes. "Princess, calm down, what's wrong? What are you apologizing for?"

She stilled at his words, body completely freezing as if she was in shock at her own behavior. Slowly, she looked up at him, hastily wiping at her tears before stammering out a "Y-you're h-hurt." And lowered her head so her bangs could hide her pretty sky blue eyes from him.

The black cat Miraculous holder's frown only deepened at her vague explanation. "Yeah, but that wasn't your fault-"

It was.

"-There was no way you could have done anything-"

She could.

"-So there's absolutely no reason for you to feel sorry about that."

His tone and words were supposed to be gentle and comforting, despite the obvious confusion lacing them. Still, it did nothing to comfort her because she could have done something and it had been all her fault. She had every single right to feel guilty but the dense cat in front of her couldn't quite get that because of her own dumb rule of keeping their identities a secret.

She should've done something because she was Ladybug and he was her partner so she shouldn't have allowed anything like this to happen. She should've known he'd do something stupid like toss her off the Eiffel Tower to get her out of harm's way. She should've known and she should've stopped him, but she didn't. She didn't because back then she had been falling, falling from common sense and losing all courage in that single moment. She hadn't stopped him and it had nearly cost him his life.

But Marinette couldn't say anything like that, couldn't because again, she had put the restrictions on them herself.

So, since she was already way too far gone to begin with, she just stepped forward and hugged him again instead of answering, her tears silent this time. She could feel him tense up, could sense his confusion and she was grateful when he just decided to keep his mouth shut and return her embrace because she didn't know if she could take talking about it. She'd be choking and stumbling on her words like she always did with Adrien and it wouldn't be from embarrassment; but from pure fear and guilt.

She was a mess.

But, as he tightened his grip on her and pulled her even closer, she didn't think either of them cared all that much.