She was thirteen when she found the little black box. Back then she was shy and clumsy - she couldn't even tell her left foot from her right - much less understand why they had chosen her to be the guardian of Paris. 'Chosen' as her new companion, Tikki, had said. She listened to the reassurance of the little god, and donned the pair of earrings in the box.
Along with them came a boy in a black leather suit, with eyes grey as steel and the power of destruction.
He watched her from the shadows at first.
He observed as she awkwardly stumbled and fell the first couple of times she went out in her suit, not being able to get the hang of the yo-yo, and even getting tangled up in the strings a couple of times. She had no coordination or control of her body whatsoever, and even worse, she looked to be at least three years younger than him. He argued heatedly with his kwami, plagg, at night, about her being chosen to be his partner.
He was more than capable of keeping Paris safe on his own. He didn't need anyone holding him back, nor did he have time to be babysitting a little girl who wasn't even capable of standing on her own two feet.
What was the point of giving him the power of destruction when his partner could do just as much without any miraculous, if not more?
After about a week of watching her wreak havoc during Paris' nightlife, he intercepted one night just as her foot had snagged on the border of a rooftop of a building - almost causing her to fall off - but instead being grabbed around the waist and held back by his arm.
"You need training." Were the first words to come out of the strangers lips as Marinette turned around to see who had caught her.
Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, and heat spread from the pit of her stomach to the areas on her cheeks.
He was tall, and fairly lanky except for the bit of muscle that was completely outlined by the leather black catsuit that covered him from head to toe. Shaggy blond hair covered most of his face, except his cold grey stare, and the frown marring his lips. His jaw was clenched as well as the fists that were now at his sides instead of her waist.
"Who are you?" She asked, ignoring his previous remark and feeling slightly overwhelmed under his scrutiny.
He stared at her in a silence that made her feel like he was almost... disappointed by her - which seemed pretty impossible since they had just met.
"Felix." His answer was short and his tone was clipped.
Felix, she repeated in her head, looking up in awe at the boy that towered over her. She ducked her head down shyly, embarrassed at being caught almost falling off a building.
"I'm Marinette." She stated with a slight blush still coating her cheeks.
He looked at her impassively, his grey eyes seeming to darken even more.
"Who gave you the miraculous?" He demanded, his features twitching to scowl at her.
"I - I don't know. It just appeared in my bag one day, and it had no name or return address, so I just opened it and this red thing came out of nowhere and - ,"
Felix's growl interrupted her mid-sentence, his hands fisting in his hair out of frustration.
"Well, great," He grumbled, "You're my problem now."
Marinette thought, hold up. She planted her hands on her hips and stood in a stance with her legs spread apart, chin up, and her best no-nonsense face.
"I am not your anything. Least of all your problem. If you aren't happy with this, you can just go back to wherever you came from."
Despite her being about a foot shorter than him, the glare she was giving him made him want to take a step back. She was quite a sight, with her tiny hands balled into fists at her sides, her two pigtails bouncing on either side of her head, and her lips twisted into what she probably thought was a scowl but rather looked like a grimace.
Felix was debating whether or not he should do just as she suggested and leave her out there on her own, when a shrill scream sounded from the other direction.
"What's that?" Marinette dropped the bravado. As soon as she heard the scream, goosebumps started spreading across her skin.
"You better be ready for this." Felix warned her, his tone cold as ice, as he grabbed the staff slung across his back.
"Try not get in the way." He said before jumping off the roof, heading towards the direction of the screams.
Marinette glared after him. What was his deal?
"I can do this on my own." She huffed out, grabbing the yo-yo around her waist and following after him.
No one could have warned Marinette about what she walked into when she put on the earrings. When Tikki said she would be "protecting Paris," she had no idea this was what she would be facing.
She had only gotten there a couple seconds after Felix had, but he was already mid-battle, evading fireballs being thrown at him by a man who was on fire. Literally.
Every part of his body was covered in flames, his face looked blood red, and his eyes black as night. He thrust his hand out as he threw another ball of fire at Felix, who seemed to have no idea what to do since he couldn't get close to the man without getting roasted.
You can do this Marinette, a voice she learned to recognize as Tikki's chimed in her head. She took a deep breath. Felix doubted her, he considered her a burden, and this would be her chance to prove herself.
Tikki had guided her through this. The man should have an object with him that stood out, and that contained the akuma that was controlling him.
She scrutinized the man. He couldn't have been very old, around twenty or so, and was wearing normal clothing except for what seemed to be a badge on his chest. The colors were red and blue, and the logo seemed familiar... like Paris' fire department.
That must be where the akuma was hidden. Tikki had told her that using her lucky charm would help her obtain the object. However, holding the skateboard her power had granted her, she didn't understand how she would use it to her benefit.
Felix was holding the front on his own. He was quick and agile, seeming to effortlessly evade the akuma's attacks while keeping a distance.
But he couldn't dance around the akuma forever.
She did a quick scan of the area surrounding them and a plan began to form in her mind.
Jumping into the battle zone, she landed right next to Felix in a defensive stance, with the skateboard in her hand.
"Can you find a way to destroy that fire hydrant?" Marinette shouted at Felix, pointing at a fire hydrant located about two meters away from them. Felix looked at her, bewildered.
"What are you doing?" He yelled at her, ducking from another fireball.
"Just trust me!" She pleaded, getting into position to throw the skateboard where she needed it go. Felix grunted at her before leaping up into the air, almost redirecting the akuma's attention if she hadn't shouted, "Hey Hot Stuff! Over here!"
She ran in the opposite direction, causing him to have to move towards her as well. She heard Felix yell "Cataclysm!" before seeing a burst of water sprouting from the ground, and the stunned akuma tripping over the skateboard before face planting into the water.
The flames died down around him, and they were able to retrieve the badge. It was the first butterfly she had cleansed, and when everything was restored in Paris, the thing that brought her the most joy was the duped expression on Felix's face.
"Looks like Paris is saved tonight thanks to this problem."
She pointed at herself when she emphasized problem, giving Felix a smug look. His lips almost twitched into a smile before he caught himself.
"You weren't bad." He offered. "Maybe you won't be such a problem after all, problem."
The smile on her face dropped. If that was going to be her new nickname, she was seriously going to consider throwing herself off a building.
"Didn't your mom ever teach you any manners?" She meant it as a joke, only wanting to tease him, but with the way his body stiffened and the cold look returned in his eyes, she could tell she had hit a spot.
He didn't spare her one last look before leaping on a nearby roof and disappearing into the night.
Months had passed since their last fight with FlameThrower, as the media called him. Marinette and Felix kept facing new people under the influence of akumas sent by their real opponent, Hawkmoth, as he called himself.
Marinette was really getting the hang of being a superhero. So much that she now had less problems in the suit than out of it.
Her dynamic with Felix hadn't changed much. He still treated her like she was a pest sometimes, despite her working just as hard as he was to save Paris.
Felix was cold and closed off, and he wouldn't let Marinette get close to him. Both physically and emotionally.
She didn't know anything about her partner besides his name and the fact that he didn't know how to smile. That wasn't for lack of trying, though. She had tried to befriend the black cat on more than one occasion, but he would just brush off the attempts as if they were lint on his pants.
Marinette was just feeling so tired, and so lonely. She had all these exciting adventures happening, but no one to share them with. She couldn't tell any of her friends about her superhero alter ego because it was meant to be kept secret, and she couldn't even share the excitement with her partner because he wouldn't let her in for one second.
Sitting on an abandoned rooftop overlooking the beauty of Paris during it's nighttime, Marinette hugged her knees to her chest and felt the weight of the past five months hang on her shoulders. She had all this freedom, and despite it, she felt like she didn't have room to breathe.
There was still doubt lingering in her chest. The akuma victims were starting to get stronger. The first victims had been feeling emotions in small proportions such as jealousy, envy, anger, or sadness that had caused them to become akumatized.
But the victim she had faced last week was a man that had been fueled by so much hatred that she was able to see it when she had looked into his eyes. He had been the strongest one yet, and she had almost passed out after that fight.
Hearing footsteps fall behind her on the roof, she felt as Felix neared the spot where she was sitting. She didn't turn her head to look at him, nor greet him cheerfully as she usually would. She let her thoughts swirl around in her head and chose to ignore him as he sat down beside her on the ledge of the roof.
"Is everything alright?" Felix asked after a couple minutes of silence, his tone missing the usual edge it had to it. Marinette spared him a glance, catching the soft look he was regarding her with.
She looked back down at the city, feeling her eyes start to swell up. She didn't dare speak, lest her voice cracked and he started calling her a cry baby too.
He didn't want to shorten the distance between them anymore, but he could tell something was definitely wrong with the way her shoulders were hunched in on themselves and how she avoided looking at him.
"You can tell me," he encouraged, his voice as soft as he would allow it. "Maybe I can help you solve your problem." He said teasingly.
By now, the nickname had lost any malice it once had to it. Even though he would never admit it out loud, he considered the nickname a term of endearment for the girl he was now actually a little fond of.
Hearing Felix say the joke out loud, caused a few tears to stream down her cheeks. He seemed alarmed at the sight of them. She felt the need to explain as she saw his concerned expression.
"It's just - sometimes I feel like they made the wrong choice by choosing me to be ladybug. I'm not a superhero. I'm clumsy, and awkward, and it's been months and we still haven't got anything on hawkmoth and I feel like I'm disappointing so many people - both as a superhero and as Marinette - I can barely keep up with the two, I cause so many issues to myself and to others, I mean you yourself call me a Problem-,"
She raised her hands to her face in frustration, feeling more tears come out of her eyes as she ranted.
Felix felt his insides churn as he watched her cry into her small hands. He softly placed a hand on her shoulder, not knowing exactly how to comfort her, but not wanting to see her in this state any longer.
"Marinette," he spoke softly - one of the rare times he said her name out loud - causing her to look up at him.
"I don't mean anything by it when I call you problem. I haven't since the first time we met. You're the opposite of a burden to me. I don't know how I could've gone through the last couple of months without you being there with me."
Marinette felt her arms go limp in her lap, and her breathing stopped completely. Felix now avoided her gaze, instead choosing to focus on the city below them.
"You are incredibly brave, and smart, and considerate. You're exactly what a superhero should be and more. And you're just starting off, you're going to get better as time passes, so you don't even have to worry about hawkmoth, because he's sure to get what's coming to him soon enough, and it'll be by your hands. Because you're more than capable of doing it on your own."
She felt the heat of his hand still on her shoulder, she heard the tone of his voice, all soft and almost full of pride, she looked at the way his features softened as he spoke, and it all warmed up her insides, making butterflies swarm around.
"I'm glad you're my partner."
The words hit her right in the chest. She felt like her face was lit on fire by one of FlameThrowers fireballs. She let out a soft squeak as Felix squeezed her shoulder before getting up.
She looked up at him in awe and felt her insides turn to mush as he made to grab the baton across his back and turned around to look at her.
"See you 'round, problem." he said affectionately, making her heart stop as his lips spread apart to reveal glowing white teeth.
Marinette stopped breathing then too, because Felix was smiling at her - Oh my god, Felix was smiling at her - and, god, it was such a beautiful smile - she was frozen in shock, jaw slack, mouth hung open, cheeks flaming, as Felix leaped off into the night and left Marinette sitting there with her heart now trying to beat out of her chest.
"I'm leaving Paris."
Marinette must have looked like she just got punched in the stomach, because that's what hearing those words felt like. Felix turned his head to look at her. His eyes were clouded over, looking like dark grey thunderclouds.
"Marinette-", He started again, reaching a hand out to her, but she pushed herself further away from him.
"What do you mean you're leaving Paris?"
This had been the hardest part to consider when Felix was making his decision. Leaving Marinette. If it were up to him, he would always keep her by his side, somewhere he could look after her and keep her safe.
"I have very important business to take care of out of the country. I don't exactly know how long I will be gone."
"You have important business?" Marinette's tone was incredulous. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Felix looked dead serious as he stared directly into her eyes.
"What could be so important that you would have to leave Paris?" She demanded, "It can't be Chat Noir business, otherwise you would have discussed it with me."
One of the first lessons Felix had taught Marinette was to separate her life as Marinette and her life as Ladybug. She could not allow the two to be mixed together, and she absolutely must prioritize ladybug's responsibilities above Marinette's. It was what Paris needed.
But now here he was, telling her that he was leaving her on her own for who knows how long because Felix had "important business" to take care of.
Felix hesitated, turning his head away from her to look at the city below.
"Like I said, I wouldn't even consider leaving if it weren't important."
His voice had a tone of finality that made desperation start clawing it's way down Marinette's throat.
"You're just going to abandon me?" She hated the way her voice cracked in the middle of the sentence and how her eyes started burning at the edges. "How am I going to do this alone? I need my partner, Felix."
"I'm not abandoning you, Marinette. I'm leaving my miraculous behind too," Felix said inching closer to rest a hand on her shoulder. His grey eyes were downcast and so dark tonight that they almost looked sad.
"I know who the next Chat Noir will be, and I wouldn't be leaving you if I didn't trust him." He said reassuringly, squeezing her shoulder.
"Fel, I don't want another partner. You're my partner, you're Chat Noir. Isn't there any way you can avoid having to leave?"
There were so many things she wanted to say. They were all crowding her head, begging to be let out. Mostly please don't leave, don't leave, don't leave me, were repeating over and over in her head. She wanted to beg him to stay, to yell at him for doing this to her. How could he leave after all these years of being partners together? How could he just throw it all away? Didn't he know how much she cared about him? How much she loved him?
"Marinette, I'm going to go find her."
Marinette froze at his words. He spoke them softly, a small smile starting to curve his lips. By the soft look on his face, there was only one person he could be talking about. His mother.
Throughout the last three years, she had only seen that look a handful of times, and it only appeared when he talked about her. With the few times the subject was breached in their conversation, she was able to deduce that his mother had left when he was just a child.
If Marinette had to guess, this was the incident that left Felix so traumatized that he could no longer express his feelings properly. From the few times Felix talked about his family, she also learned that he didn't get on with his father, his home life was unpleasant, and the only thing he cared about in the world was his little brother.
"Do you know where she is?"
Felix scowled at the question.
"I found a clue while I was in my dad's office the other day -"
"While you were snooping you mean -"
"That might lead to her location. I won't say where it is, but I'm starting to think the bastard knew where she was all along and kept it a secret from me."
The way in which Felix spoke about his father depicted exactly how he felt about him. He despised him. And Marinette felt no differently.
"How long do you think it will take?" She asked, hugging her arms around her chest.
"There's no way to know for sure.. but I'm guessing I won't be around for Christmas this year, bug."
Tears welled up in her eyes once again. Throughout these last couple of years, Felix had grown so much. He stopped being the teenage boy who only considered her a burden and put up a cold facade to shield himself from the world. He was a man now, one who had a mission to take on in order to look after his family.
"You and Adrien are the most important things in my life, Marinette. I will come back for both of you. You have my word."
Felix had his hand on her shoulder, and he had this adorable smile on his face which made his eyes crinkle at the corners, and oh my god was it possible for someone to be this adorable?
Marinette squeaked and focused on the other thing that jumped out at her from what he said.
"Adrien?" She asked, the name of what must be his little brother rolling off her lips.
Adrien. It was the first time she had heard his name. Felix smiled fondly at the mention of his brother.
"You have to promise to look out for him while I'm gone. He can be a little reckless."
Marinette could always tell how much Felix loved his little brother by the way he talked about him. In that moment, she made a silent promise to do right by Felix and take care of what remains of his family in Paris while he was gone.
"You guys will get along great. You're both even the same age," Felix said, now nudging her playfully with his elbow, "He actually likes you quite a bit, you know?"
Marinette eyed Felix curiously, seeing a smirk on his lips and a teasing glint in his eyes. What did he mean by that?
"Felix," Marinette said quietly, "is this goodbye, then?"
Her heartbeat slowed as her leather-clad partner hummed softly beside her. Her eyes fogged up as tears started to fill them, and she felt his hand softly take her own and thread their fingers together.
"I'll miss you, my little problem," he said quietly, squeezing the hand wrapped in his own and using the other to wipe the tears streaming down ladybug's cheeks.
She took a mental picture of her partner in that moment. Grey eyes soft and liquidy, shaggy long blond hair falling over his face, his cat ears alert on his head, posture hung over as he leaned down to look into her eyes, a blanket of stars behind him in the night sky, but none of them as breathtaking nor shining as bright as the smile on his face.
That night, he held his partner in his arms for the first and last time, as sobs wracked her body, and tears dampened the leather on his chest.