Broken. Beaten. Trapped. This was not how Marinette had imagined her Tuesday ending. Her heart was pounding as hard as her fists on the doors of the van they were in, and her wrists were starting to ache from the effort.
"Let is out! Hawk Moth!" she yelled. She didn't even know how he'd beaten them. Just that a few minutes ago she had run into the van to get Chat Noir, and then the doors were closed behind her. She'd used her lucky charm, dropped her yo-yo. Today was not her lucky day.
"I'm so sorry, Chat," she said, dropping down and hugging her knees. "This is my fault..."
"What? How could it be your fault?" His voice was strained, and Marinette was sure his ankle was sprained, if not broken. "I got tricked first. This is all my fault. I should have known I was running into a trap."
Marinette didn't say anything. She flinched as her earrings chimed, warning her that she was running out of time. She guessed she maybe had three minutes left.
"Hey..." Chat Noir's voice came softer, but still pained. "We're together, right? We'll figure this out."
The van rumbled to life and started moving, the doors clanging with every bump in the road. Marinette pressed her palm against it, watching the shadow of a chain and padlock rattle on the other side. She gnawed on her lip as she heard Chat's ring chime its own warning.
"I won't look," she whispered. She was finding it increasingly hard to draw in a deep breath. She swallowed and raised her voice. "I won't look when you change back."
"Afraid you'll find me too irresistible?" he laughed, but it was short, and cut off with a gasp through his teeth. Marinette risked a glance over her shoulder. He was cradling his ankle, prodding it tenderly.
They were silent, each wrapped in their own thoughts. Marinette mentally scolded herself again for falling for Hawk Moth's trap: It had seemed like they'd had him cornered on the bridge, and when Chat Noir used his Cataclysm, something went wrong and the bridge turned out to be rigged with explosives. They were both blown back: Marinette onto the side of the canal and Chat into the water. While Marinette had struggled to dodge oncoming traffic, Hawk Moth had already whisked Chat into the back of a moving van. She used her Lucky Charm to create a double of herself, thinking Hawk Moth would chase it and give her time to get to her partner... She had just knelt to check his hurt leg when the van doors slammed behind her.
Their Miraculouses chimed again and Marinette pressed her forehead into her knees. She was starting to shake almost uncontrollably. They had lost, and Hawk Moth was going to strip them of their charms, their kwamis, and their powers. And that was a best-case scenario! Her mind reeled as her imagination flipped through all the horrible things he might do to them. The enormity of it all burst from Marinette in a hysterical sob that she fought back as soon as it came out.
"My Lady?"
Marinette shook her head vehemently.
"...Bugaboo?"
He was closer. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she wanted, oh how she wanted to melt into his familiar arms and let him comfort her! But, their time was almost up. Soon she would no longer be Ladybug, and he'd be... whoever he was. Their secret identities were no longer going to be secret. She was terrified.
"How's your leg?" Better to try and focus on something else, something small.
"Well it's not a cat-astrophe," Chat Noir shrugged, though he also grimaced. Marinette sighed at his pun.
"Turn around if you can," she said. "It's best who we are stays secret from each other."
"I don't think Hawk Moth is gonna give us that choice," he said. But he grunted and shifted so he was sitting back to back with her.
It was just a little, but the warmth of another human helped. Marinette imagined that warmth slowly spreading through her body and relaxing her limbs. Chat Noir was right. Hawk Moth probably had no respect for their secrets. She bit her lip and squinted in thought.
"I am an aspiring designer," she said.
"What, really?" Chat almost turned around, but his ring chimed again, last time. Last minute. "I speak Chinese."
Marinette actually giggled. "My family is Chinese."
"Well, hey, what a coincidence," he sounded like he was smiling. "I...I've never felt as free as I have with you, Ladybug."
Marinette smiled, sadly. "I've never had a friend quite like you."
"I-" Chat Noir leaned away from her. "I'm out of time."
There was a little surge of light, and Marinette focused on her toes. No way was she going to see who he was. No way.
Just seconds later though, she transformed too, and she was looking at her plain trainers. Her arms drooped and her wrists hit the floor. Tikki looked up at her with big eyes and all she could do was hug Marinette's leg. Behind her, she could hear Chat Noir's kwami complaining about being hungry.
"Hey, stop that, it hurts-"
"How can we work together if you never have any Camembert?"
"You can beg for cheese and not hit my ankle, you know-"
"Just wrap it up with this, no sweat."
Marinette's curiosity got the better of her-if only a little-and she turned her head slightly so she could see Chat out of the corner of her eye. He was shrugging out of a white button down shirt and clumsily wrapping it around his ankle.
"You might need to take your shoe off," she said.
Chat's kwami instantly complained. "Naw, your feet smell terrible!"
"No worse than your cheese!"
The van must have hit a pothole, and everyone was jolted enough to clear a couple inches from the van floor. Marinette landed on her back, and Chat landed on his side. He yelled out and clutched his ankle, and Marinette couldn't help it, she looked at him to see if he was okay and-
"Adrien?"
Time seemed to freeze. Or at least, slow waaay down. Chat-Adrien?!-propped himself up on his elbow, probably ready with some clever retort, but then his mouth simply hung open. They stared at each other, the last few months positively flying through Marinette's mind; comparing moments with Adrien and Chat Noir, how she could have sworn Chat was protecting Adrien, and how-how... Chat Noir was a notorious flirt with Ladybug. Marinette's face burned.
"Hey, no fair," Adrien cracked a weak smile. "You looked at me."
Marinette had no response, though her jaw seemed to be working plenty. Adrien actually reached over with a slightly shaking hand and put a finger under her chin to close her mouth for her. Then he laid back, using one of his arms as a pillow, and watched her face.
"It makes sense," he said finally.
"What does?" Marinette croaked.
"Well, thinking about it," Adrien tapped his fingers on the floor. "You carry the same compassion when you're Ladybug as when you're Marinette. You can also have the same fiery temper, and the same warm kindness." He looked like he wanted to say more, but he just settled to watch her face.
"You..." Marinette wanted to show that she'd paid attention to both sides of him, too. To say nice things about him, but something else caught her eye. "You're bleeding."
"Hmm?" Adrien looked himself over, then at his wrapped ankle. The white shirt was starting to blossom dark red.
Without waiting for permission, Marinette slid over and picked at the poor wrap job. "You should have let me do this," she said. "I could have-"
They didn't get to find out what she could have done, because suddenly the van squealed to a stop. Doors banged shut, and boots crunched gravel. Their kwamis quickly hid. Adrien worked himself up and pulled Marinette around so he was between her and the door.
"Stay with me, bugaboo," he whispered. He held tight to her hand.
They flinched as the doors swung wide open.
oooh wonder what's gonna happen next?