Adrien's second session with Isabel had been wild.
He spoke like there was no tomorrow and he almost revealed the real connection he had with his girl.
Fortunately, Isabel was good at her job. She was able to calm him down and guide him through some of his theories of why she would have disappeared of his life.
At the end of the session, Adrien felt better but he did not have a perfect solution to his problem. That was not Isabel's fault, that laid on the difficulty of his situation, he couldn't tell her that he had a mind connection. If he could, if it didn't mean look like an insane person, he would have. After two sessions he was already fond of Isabel, he was sure she would help him out if she knew the whole, and real, story.
What she recommended was to talk to a friend about it, and when he heard it he laughed. If he couldn't talk to her, what difference would it make to talk to one of his friends?
He left and in the road, when he found himself inside of his car, feeling lonely again, the idea was not so crazy as it had sounded minutes ago.
When he stepped in school, the advice was utterly fantastic.
Marinette was back in school. She was smiling and greeting everyone, talking and laughing with the multitude of people who were trying to see how she was doing.
Marinette was back and radiating happiness as she always did and his darling was not back on his mind.
He greeted her too but did not stay with everyone. He could excuse himself saying that he had already seen her a few days ago, but actually, he just wanted to escape from there.
He was losing his rational state, and Isabel words echoed in his head a million times. Isabel could help him, but she wasn't his friend, she could only do what a therapist was supposed to do, he did need a friend to talk with.
Adrien ran to the music classroom. Nino had not been in the classroom, so most probably, he was in the music room playing with a few instruments or making out with Alya.
When he opened the door, he found the later, but he was so desperate to talk to his best friend that he left the embarrassment to pass him by, and ran to Nino's direction, took him by his arm and pulled him away from his girlfriend.
He heard Alya's angry scream, but he didn't look back, he kept running and pulling Nino until he found a good corner to talk where they wouldn't be interrupted.
He did not give Nino time to catch his breath, he started spilling information like there was no tomorrow.
Nino tried to slow him down, but it was pointless, once Adrien opened his mouth he was not able to stop.
Adrien kept talking and telling him about his girl. He made clear that he knew her since the beginning, that she was always there for him. Nino kept nodding and looking at him, he was fully concentrated on him. Adrien was talking fast, but he was making sure to not give up the big secret immediately, he was really building up the story so Nino could understand how much this girl meant to him.
But there was a moment when he couldn't say more without giving away the secret, so he just did.
He said so fast, faster than any of the other words, and he kept talking about it, including how sad he was feeling that she was gone. He half expected that Nino had not understood what he said, but his expression let him know that he had heard loud and clear.
"Wait, wait, wait," Nino put his hands up, telling him to stop, "Rewind a little bit. Did you just say telepathic connection? You just said she was i nside your mind ?"
Adrien scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous smile in return.
"Don't laugh," Adrien pleaded. "I'm telling you the truth,"
"I'm not laughing, Adrien," Nino squeezed his shoulder, "Did I hear well then?"
"Yes," Adrien nodded.
"Ah…" Nino threw his head back, he rubbed his cheeks with his hands and turned back to Adrien once again, "So, you have had this… girl… in your mind,"
"Yeah,"
"Since you're little,"
"I'm quite sure she's been there since I was born but I don't remember so let's say she is been there since I was four," Adrien explained.
"Cool, cool, cool," Nino nodded, "And this girl, has a name?"
"Quite sure she has one, but we haven't managed to tell our names, the bond doesn't let us,"
"That sucks,"
"It does," Adrien sighed, "I don't know if you caught it since I spoke so fast, but I know she lives in Paris. We tried to find each other once but we couldn't, we haven't tried again… and now she is gone,"
"Is this why you've been acting so weird?" Nino asked.
"Do you actually believe me?" Adrien said at the same time.
Nino shrugged "We are attacked by a person that has been possessed by a butterfly one or two times a week, the butterflies are sent by a crazy man that wants some magic jewelry, and we are saved on a daily basis by two superheroes that have the power of destruction and creation. Believe me, having a telepathic bond sounds more plausible than all that crazy rage that we have going on in the city,"
"Oh," Adrien giggled. A weight had been lifted up of his shoulders.
"Yeah man," Nino giggled too, "Now answer my question, is this the reason why you've been so odd these past weeks?"
"Sort of," Adrien said, "She is gone Nino, she has never left for so long, and I miss her,"
Nino's mouth set on a harsh line, "She really means to world to you, doesn't she?"
"Of all the things I have, she was the greatest," Adrien whispered, "I have it all, everything that money can buy it's mine, and if I wanted more my father would hire someone so they could create it and then buy it, because that's what he thinks love is. But, he can't give me this… I wish he could,"
Nino pulled Adrien and found him in a hug. He pressed his head against the crook of his neck and patted his back. The hug took Adrien by surprise, and it broke something inside of him. Tears started to fall, all of a sudden all his pain was starting to manifest.
"She's gone, Nino," He bit his lip so he wouldn't sob, "Am I not worthy of love? Is that what it is all about? Everyone leaves,"
"I have not left you, Adrien," Nino's voice was like a dagger, "You're worthy of love, don't say that. I love you , you're my best friend in the whole world and I will never leave you. And I bet this girl you tell me about has not left you either. There must be something that you are not seeing,"
"There's nothing left to see Nino, she is avoiding me," Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose, "I know how our bond works and as much as I've tried to come up with an explanation, this is the only one left and it makes sense,"
"When was the last time you… spoke? Yeah, the last time you spoke to her,"
"A week ago, but our connections have been different for a while, I thought something was malfunctioning, sometimes we had this sudden breaks and we couldn't talk to each other but she always came back,"
"And you have no clue of what could be different this time?"
"Not now," Adrien blew a raspberry, "I thought she was Marinette,"
"What?" Nino said in a pitched scream.
"She just… she fit her description and she was, she was her," Adrien sulked, "I was so sure she was Marinette, that's why I was avoiding her because I thought she was avoiding me,"
"That explains a lot. Why are you so sure she is not?"
"Because there's no reason for her to ignore me, right? When she fainted and we found out that she had these horrible headaches for the whole week, I thought that would explain everything. I was so happy Nino, I had found her and she was not avoiding my on propose, and then I just waited for her to wake up, I thought she would be back but you announced she was awake and she was not inside my mind. I was desperate so I organized my thoughts and examined all the elements, and came out with this hypothesis that the morphine they injected her with had blocked the connection, but Marinette had no morphine on her when we met her and my girl was not back. She is not Marinette,"
"Mmm," Nino touched his chin in an I'm-thinking manner. "I don't know Adrien, I wouldn't discard it either, I mean, you know more about your own bond that what I can theorize, since you only told me about this five minutes ago, but if you don't completely understand how it works and you don't have her name I wouldn't delete Marinette from your list,"
"Don't say that," Adrien whined, "I don't want her to be Marinette anymore. I hate Marinette,
"You do not," Nino narrowed his eyes and smirked.
"Yes, I do. I can see why Chloé dislikes her so much," Adrien crossed his arms in front of his chess, "I hate the way she speaks, I hate the way she smiles and how her laugh sounds like chimes, and I hate the way she moves, have you seen her? How can someone so clumsy move with such elegance, I can't take my eyes off her, her hips swing in this way that-
"Okay, okay I get it," Nino put his hands against his chest, "You think she is hot,"
"I hate that she is ," Adrien huffed, "That picture Alya posted of her on her birthday? Ugh, my fucking death sentence, I can't erase that image of my mind, that dress, and those curves, and- ah! I hate her,"
"You do not," Nino giggled.
"I do! She is so easy to like, so beautiful, so funny, so kind. I hate that I can't stop thinking about her. I hate that I might love her and for all the wrong reasons,"
"Adrien, you like her. You thought she was this girl you have in your mind, but I think that was only a plus for you. You like her because she is Marinette, and you wanted her to be the girl inside your head because she means a lot to you,"
"Nino, I need to organize my thoughts and rearrange my feelings. Okay, I don't hate Marinette, but I've been bothered about the way I feel about her. She means the world to me, you know? and I won't deny it, I'm attracted to her, like a lot , but what if the feelings I have are only there because I thought she was the girl I was looking for. If I ask her out and then realize I only liked her romantically because of that it will ruin things between us,"
"Woah, no one said you should ask her out," Nino interrupted, "I'm just telling you to not take her out of the list. If you thought it was her, there must be a reason, and I don't think this blackout you're passing through is the best moment for you to make decisions. You're affected by this, so you could be reckless,"
"Blackout? Do you imply that she could come back?"
"You love her and she is "the greatest thing you've ever had", I bet you're the same for her," Nino hugged him again, "I doubt she is doing this willingly, Adrien, so wait. I'll help you through this. We can do research, maybe someone else in the world has been in your same position,"
"You're taking this awfully well, Nino," Adrien rose a brow.
"Stranger things have happened, my friend," Nino passed one arm over Adrien's shoulders, "Also, we have been friends for three years, I can tell this is important to you, so who cares if it is weird? You need help, I'll be the shoulder you can lean on,"
"You're the best," Adrien smiled.
"Well, thank you, so are you," Nino rubbed his shoulders, "Now, let's get your mind out of this for a few moments, okay? Tell me, have you told your father you want to live on your own once you graduate?"
"Did you really have to bring that up? I haven't thought about that in months," Adrien rose a brow.
"C'mon, I know the idea is still running around your brain. I want to know if you have a plan you convince your old man, I would love to go play video games with you in your cool apartment near the Seine," Adrien laughed.
"Okay, actually there's not much to say because, as I already mentioned, I have not thought about it in a while, but since you brought it up you could help me out with that list of reasons I was making months ago," Adrien smiled and then looked around "But in some other place, we are looking suspicious,"
"Yeah, you're right, let's go back,"
xx
"You're acting strange," Alya poked Marinette's face, "I'm starting to worry, Nette. I don't think your attitude has anything to do with your headaches,"
Marinette looked up, finding Alya's narrowed eyes. She was examining her, she was a guinea pig on Alya's eyes now.
"It doesn't," Marinette sighed. "I mean not exactly… I don't feel wrong if that is what you're trying to say, I'm just thinking…"
"You've been doing that for hours, even days by now. You are in your own world,"
"I'm trying to figure this, thing , out but it's proving to be impossible,"
"You're stressing yourself for nothing, Mari. People get sick, and you are under a huge amount of stress-
"It was not for stress," Marinette glared at her, "Come here," She stood up and pulled Alya to a less crowded place than the classroom where they were spending the recess.
"What's wrong?" Alya said, stopping her for going any further, "Does it have to do with… well you know," Marinette nodded.
Alya sighed "Then let's enter that classroom, it should be empty now,"
Marinette nodded and followed Alya to the empty room.
"I think it's a magic issue," Marinette whispered, closing the door behind her "I don't know what kind of magic it could be, but I'm doing my best to figure something out,"
"Did Chat Noir said something about it?" Alya asked.
"No," Marinette extended the o, "I have not told Chat about it,"
"Why not? Why are you telling me and not him? That's strange,"
"Because you're my best friend," Marinette shrugged.
"He should know,"
"He can't know," Marinette said, this time more sincere.
"Why? Marinette this is strange, you never leave Chat out of the loop, you always make sure he knows what is going on,"
"Well he doesn't know me outside the suit, so I don't want to worry him,"
"If that's a problem, I bet we could fix that, at this very moment,"
"No," Marinette narrowed her eyes. Not this conversation again.
"Why are you so afraid to know who he is?"
"I'm not afraid," Marinette hissed, "We don't need to know each other's identities to work together. The only reason I know who you are is that I chose you, and you know who am I because you're too smart and figured it out on your own and I was unprepared and couldn't come up with an excuse on the right moment. We are not supposed to know, it's dangerous"
"I don't think it's dangerous. You've known him for three years, Mari, not knowing is more an obstacle than an advantage at this point in your relationship. I think you would work better if you knew who was behind that mask. Also, you're not just co-workers anymore, you're friends,"
"My answer is no, I won't change my mind," Marinette said between clenched teeth, "And we are not discussing that. I need to ask you a favor,"
Alya rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Shoot,"
"I need you to cover for me,"
"Are you skipping school?" Alya opened her mouth, showing how surprised she was. "You've missed too many classes, Marinette, I thought you-
"I know what I said but I got no choice, my mom is like a hawk these days," Marinette huffed, "So please, I need Rena Rogue. I'm going to visit the guardian and ask him about the headaches, I don't know how long it'll take but if it's related to magic as I believe, we'll take our time and I can't leave Chat alone,"
"Why are you asking me like I would have said no? I always help out, I love to help, you know that,"
"Yes I do, but it is because Chat is going to ask you what's going on with me and I don't want him to know yet. I need you to tell him that I'm fine, that I had a family or a school thing that I could not escape from, and left the miraculous with you in case anything happened,"
"I don't like lying to him," Alya pursed her lips, "You don't like it either. What is really going on? Why don't you tell him you had a horrible headache and that you're trying to figure it out? He'll get worried but he is smart and mature when he needs to,"
"I can't tell you, okay? Just do this for me,"
"I'm going to do it, that doesn't mean I won't ask for real answers," Alya extended her hand at Marinette, "Give me the box, boss,"
"Don't call me that," Marinette whined, but took the box out of the bag and gave it to Alya, looking around to assure no one was spying on them.
"Oh, c'mon it's a joke, because well, you're the boss, even if you don't like to be," Alya said. Her face was still stoic but her voice was full of laughter.
"There are no bosses in this team," Marinette reminded her, "But if anything happens today, take care of Chat for me, please . Something is going on with him, he hasn't said anything but his been lacking on the joke department so it is pretty obvious to me. Don't let him do anything dumb, he tends to be more reckless than usual when something is bothering him,"
"Will do,"
Marinette felt relieved. With Alya taking care of Chat Noir she would feel less guilty about visiting Master Fu without telling him.
She was not supposed to do that, she had promised him that she would involve him on any business that required Master Fu's help.
"And Alya," Marinette called before entering back into the classroom, "Tell him that I miss him and I'll see him tonight on the Pont de Bir-Hakeim,"
"You two really like to hang out there, is there a reason?"
"Not really, is less touristy than other points, but is close to the Eiffel Tower so it's a strategic point," Marinette shrugged, "Also, Chat watched Inception recently,"
That made Alya laugh. ", That explains it, I'll talk to him about it, take his mind out of you,"
"I never leave his mind," Marinette stuck out her tongue.
"Woah, that egocentrism, Mari,"
"What? It is true," Marinette giggled, "He, too, never leaves my mind. We've been through so much together, and he is one of my best friends, he is always in my mind, even if I don't notice,"
The bell rang interrupting their conversation. Marinette looked at the time on her watch and hugged Alya goodbye.
She crossed her fingers, hoping there would not be any akuma incidents today. Alya was stressed with the end of the academic year being just around the corner, she did not want to put more pressure on her. And if there was an akuma, hopefully, she would be able to leave soon, but that depended on how much Master Fu actually knew, and if he could help her figure it out how to bring her boy back. She was not leaving that house without getting any answers.
xx
Marinette would have liked to know exactly what expression she was making when Master Fu opened the door to make him react the way he had.
He really thought the world was crumbling or one of them had lost their miraculous, but Marinette was quick at giving explanations and assuring him -a few hundred times- that nothing of sorts had happened and that she was here because of a personal issue.
Tikki had to intervene too because Master Fu kept coming up with questions regarding the miraculous and Papillon.
He forgot about it when Marinette began with her story and described the headaches and her recent hospitalization.
"What makes you believe the headaches are a consequence of magic?" Master Fu asked. He took one of the teacups of the coffee table and poured green tea on it, giving it to Marinette.
Marinette accepted the teacup and bowed to him. Marinette only did the manner when her Chinese half of the family was around, but with Master Fu, it had become a habit now.
She took a sip before speaking again, "I take care of myself. I lose sleep and free time because of my Ladybug duties, and the end of the year is always chaotic, especially this year because it's my last, so I was responsible. I've been taking care of myself, and I know those headaches and the faint were not because of stress or lack of sleep. But… that's not all,"
Master Fu rose a brow. His piqué of interest was quite clear. "I'm listening,"
"What do you know about telepathic bonds?" Marinette voice went down an octave. She could not remember who was the last person she told about his connection because it had been a long time ago. Tikki did not count, she was not a person and she was pretty much a ball of magic, so she had not been nervous mentioning it.
"That depends on what kind of telepathic bond you want to know about,"
"There are different kinds?"
"Of course," Master Fu gave a tender smile, "Kwamis have one, they can feel each other and send short messages. Miraculous holders, especially the ones with complementary energies can achieve to build a bond that allows them to have something similar to the kwamis. Those kinds of connections take years and are extremely hard to dominate, so they are rare,"
"It's not with Chat Noir," Marinette shook her head, "I… I… sorry, I have not talked about this with another human since I was little, it's hard for me,"
"Don't worry about it, Marinette. Take your time,"
Marinette took another sip of tea, she left the cup on top of the table and shook her arms, releasing the anxiety.
"I have a mind connection with a guy, I've had it since I can remember," Marinette said, "Our connection is strange, we can't tell each other our names and sometimes the connection disappears and I can't hear him, actually, when I transform into Ladybug I'm not able to hear him, but he always comes back. We mostly talk, sometimes we can send each other images but it takes a lot of our energy and a few times... I was able to feel what he was touching," Marinette felt her cheeks turn hot.
"Interesting. You say he's always been there?"
"Yes," Marinette nodded.
"Mm," Master Fu rubbed his chin, "And what relation has this bond with the headaches you were talking me about?"
"Oh, yeah," Marinette giggled nervously.
She swallowed hard and opened her mouth. She was trembling, it was still hard to say it out loud. "He is gone,"
"The bond disappeared?"
"I'm not sure," The agony on her voice was unmistakable, "The past months it was harder to talk to him, I thought it was him putting more walls than usual because he is going through rough times and he didn't want me to see. The headaches started and I can't remember how the connection was working, the pain was unbearable and it was the only things I was focused on, but when I woke up at the hospital my brain was silent. I have this analogy, that my head is like a house, and when he is in there, it feels like he is on the second floor. I can hear his footsteps and if he screams I hear, and when we decide to talk is because he went downstairs and it is in the same room as I am. Sometimes we are on the same floor and we are separated by a door of glass or maybe a curtain, the way I feel him and hear him is different, we believe it has to do with our mood or how aware we are of each other at that moment. My mind doesn't feel like that anymore, there's no house, only a little room that echoes my every thought. He is nowhere to be found, this is not right,"
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Marinette. I can see how distressed you are and I wish I could help you fix it," Master Fu said. His choice of words made Marinette's stomach form a knot, he did not sound hopeful, "Unfortunately," There it was, "I don't think I know much about this kind of bond,"
Marinette sighed defeated.
"For what you tell me, it fits with the description of a soulmate bond, but I know so little about it that I wouldn't like to say it for sure,"
"But what do you know about it?"
"It is an old bond, for what I've read, soulmate bonds were common when magic was more prevalent on the human world but humans separated themselves from magic the more advances they had in other areas, and the magic died down, as some magic do. It doesn't mean people don't have soulmates anymore, it just means that it's not so obvious anymore. Also, soulmates are not always romantic, so anyone could have that kind of bond," Marinette nodded and opened her eyes wide, encouraging him to keep going, "That's all I know, I'm sorry, Marinette. The kwamis may be more useful than I am. What I can tell you is that after listening to you, I also believe that your headaches are magic related,"
Marinette did not want to tell Master Fu that she had already asked Tikki. She just looked at her kwami and waited for her to say something, but she kept quiet.
Marinette furrowed her brows. Tikkis' attitude was strange, she was always ready to give her opinion and help Marinette, why not now?
Marinette waited a little longer, but it was clear that Tikki was not going to talk.
"So I'm not crazy, it could be magic,"
"Absolutely,"
"Do you think it could be Papillon?" Marinette clenched her teeth, they chirped.
"Oh, no, there's no way," Master Fu waved his hands, brushing off the possibility "That would mean he knows who you are and if that was the case I don't think you would have Tikkir or your earrings. He would have used the chance to get them when you were at the hospital or he could have made you faint in one of the battles. Also, he doesn't have the power to do it, he only has Nooroo and the butterfly kwami has not such powers,"
"That's what I told her," Tikki nodded. Marinette frowned at her. "I did,"
"I know you did, but you also said that you were not aware of everything, miraculous owners kept a lot of things in secret from kwamis,"
"They do," Master Fu, Tikki and Wayzz, who had just woke up from his nap, said at the unison.
"We kwamis might be incredibly powerful and old, but we were not created to protect the miraculous stones, we were chained to them later on, so we don't know everything" Wayzz explained.
Marinette nodded, she had heard that from Tikki. That there was a time when she did not have an owner and that she did not lend her powers to humans so they could use them. Tikki never told the story with anger or resentment, but she never used the words "chained", now she was worried.
As if she could read her mind, Tikki turned to her, "Don't worry, Marinette is not like that," She smiled, "But Wayzz is right, we don't know everything. If I did, I would have already helped you find your boy,"
"I know," Marinette softened her expression and sent a flying kiss to her kwami.
"I can try to look for books and do research about the telepathic bond if you like, for know that's the only thing I can offer, I'm sorry it's not a solution,"
"It's fine," Marinette faked a smile because it wasn't fine. She was slowly crumbling, her heart ached and she couldn't handle her own weight. She had not only lost the voice of her boy, but she had also lost a part of her. She had no idea how much she depended on his presence, she felt so alone and weak without him there.
She had been hopeful, she really believed Master Fu was going to help her but she was still standing on square one.
He was gone and she wasn't going to get him back any time soon.
xx
Chat Noir was sitting in the concrete structure of the iron bridge, waiting for Ladybug to arrive. He heard the metro and feel the shake of the structure when the wagons passed for the fourth time since he arrived there.
He was early but he was already bored of waiting for Ladybug. He wanted to see her, it had been a strange week with little to none akuma attacks, but the times there had been one they were both too busy to hang out after it. Patrols had changed its dynamic too, they had been strictly business, no hanging around or picnics under the moonlight. Of course, he had not realized that because he was too caught up on his own problems to realize that he was neglecting Ladybug.
He could not do that, that was horrible and Ladybug deserved nothing but the best. She was one of his closest friends, he loved her so much that he couldn't imagine if he lost her. He had already lost his girl, he could not lose Ladybug.
His talk with Nino was still echoing on the back of his mind. Nino was always positive but today he had exceeded the limit. There was nothing to hold on to and Nino was still jumping into the edge, but as crazy as his position was, it had to give Adrien hope.
Sadly, that hope had only lasted a few hours. He knew his connection, not everything about it, but he had lived with the telepathic bond for years now, he could recognize when something was wrong.
This lonely feeling was familiar to him too, he was used to be alone in a big house, now the loneliness was not only physical but psychological. He was trying to reach for her, screaming and kicking doors but she wouldn't open. She had abandoned him.
Just like his mother, just like his father, just like everything he loved. He still couldn't believe that there were so many ways to leave someone behind, but he kept adding more to the list.
He still wanted to believe that she was going to come back, but he knew better than to wish for impossible things.
He threw himself back, touching the cold concrete with his back and looked up to the night sky. He wondered what she was doing on that beautiful night. She was probably working on her portfolio, finishing the last details of some design, probably at peace because he was not peering and annoying her.
The truth was that he always needed her more than she needed him, actually, she probably didn't need him, she just had to get used to him.
No, that wasn't it, as sad as he was he couldn't believe that.
She cared about him but now she was done with him. Was it because of his depression? Was he too much to handle that she decided to walk away? He wouldn't blame her if that was the case, he could be bringing her down and he only wanted happiness for her, so he would understand. He would have liked if she had warned him though, then he wouldn't be wondering. It would still hurt, but he would have been prepared.
"The metro will run over your tail, kitty," She said, announcing her arrival.
Adrien gave a lopsided smile before standing up and look at her.
Oh, he had missed her.
"Good night, my beautiful lady," He made a reverence and reached for her hand, leaving a kiss on top of it, "It's been so long I thought I was going to-" He stopped mid-sentence, when he looked up and saw his eyes, he couldn't continue, all his jokes were forgotten and he could only focus on her red eyes and under eye circles, "My lady, what's wrong?"
She opened her mouth, the expression on her face was familiar and he got ready to hear the lie she was going to come up with, but at the last second, she retreated. Tears gleamed in her eyes, she pouted and hid her face behind her hands. Her whole body began to tremble.
"Oh, no, bug,"
He caught her in his arms, she wrapped her arms around him and broke into a loud shower of tears.
He looked around, something really bad should have happened if she was out in the open crying, they were in an extremely public place, this wasn't like her. Ladybug was always open with him, they would talk on patrols and she would say as much as she could without revealing her identity. However, but he could count the times with the fingers of his left hand how many times he had seen her cry, and it had never been as uncontrollable as this time. He could feel her falling apart, if he didn't hold her in his arms, he was sure she was going to drop to the ground. He could feel her despair, he did not know what was wrong, but his heart ached for her.
He caught her from her legs, so he could carry her princess-style, he was going to take her to a more private place. She was vulnerable, he was not going to let other people see her like that.
Ladybug didn't flinch or pushed him away to stop him. She changed the position of her arms, wrapping them around his neck this time, and hiding her face against his chest.
"Don't worry, my lady, you'll be fine," He whispered before start running, "I'll make sure of it,"
Chat Noir ran as fast as his feet and his powers allowed him to, looking for one of the churches they used to hide when they had to discuss serious subjects.
He entered using one of the bell towers as an entrance, going down a few floors until reaching one flat where the stained glass mosaic was making beautiful shapes on the ground thanks to the moonlight.
He walked to the glass with Ladybug still on his arms, he sat down pressing his back to the window and adjusted his partner so she could comfortably sit on top of him.
Ladybug's crying had ceased but she was still shaking and sobbing, her head was still pressed against his chest and he was reluctant to let him go, hugging him more tightly than before they arrived at the church.
Adrien felt extremely useless just holding her. He couldn't come up with anything comforting so he could calm her down a little, and then she could be able to talk.
What could have happened to her to leave her in this state?
"Whatever it is, you're going to be fine, buginette ," He whispered in her ear, "That's a promise, because I'm here for you, and I won't leave you until you're fine,"
Between sobs, she finally spoke, "You're the best, you know that, kitty?"
Chat Noir smiled, "If you say so, my lady,"
"You're, I'm being serious," Ladybug looked at him. Her eyes were redder than before and a few tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but a little smile had been drawn in her lips.
Chat Noir cleaned the teardrops away with the back of her hand, making sure not to scratch her with his claws.
"Okay, okay, I'm the best," He grinned, "Only if you're the best too,"
"Of course," She giggled but a sob cut it short.
He brushed pieces of her away from her face and kissed her temple.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.
She shook her head, licked her lower lip and looked up, all a tactic he had seen before, she was trying to keep the tears from falling.
He nodded and tilted his head to press his forehead against hers.
"I had a fun patrol with Rena today," He started saying. If she did not feel like talking, he was going to be doing it, maybe he could take her mind out of her problems, "She's quite a character, never stops impressing me-you're still my favorite, my lady, want to make that clear," She giggled, "But she is really fun, even when she is making fun of me half of the time,"
"She is really great," Ladybug agreed. "But don't let her have too much fun, only I can make fun of you,"
"Jealous much?"
"No," She rubbed her cheek against his chest, "But you're my kitty,"
"Always," He smiled at her, finding her sight. "Are you feeling better?"
"A little bit," She nodded. She unlocked herself from him, she kept one hand on top of his shoulder and changed her position so she could sit right next to him, still leaning against him, but without crushing him with her weight. "Thank you,"
"Anytime, you know I'm always here for you, LB,"
"Yes, I know," She cupped his cheek and gave a tender smile, "And I'm always here for you,"
"I know too,"
"I'm going to be a hypocrite by requesting this, but can you tell me what's been bothering you these past weeks?"
Had she noticed? Of course, she had, she could read him as easily as he could read her.
"I'm already sad, don't make me feel angry," Ladybug spoke again, her thumb caressed his cheek, "So please tell me,"
He did not know why it felt different to confess why it was harder to confess why he was hurting to Ladybug than it had been with Nino. If he thought it with logic, it would make more sense for Ladybug to understand his situation because she had magic herself, the possibility of a telepathic bond wouldn't be so crazy.
Maybe it was because it had nothing to do with magic because if it was like that he would have already told him all about it years ago, he trusted her that much. Maybe it had to be with the fact that he still had feelings for her, not as strong as they had been before, but feelings indeed.
Or maybe it was because his darling had been a secret for so long, and it was such a dear secret, that he wanted to keep it all to himself.
He really did not know, and he was not about to find out that night, because when he decided to talk, he also chose to leave the important details hidden.
"Someone I loved walked out of my life," He said. That was explanation enough.
"Oh," Her answer was unusual, and her silence even more. She was always so fast at cheering him up, she always knew what to say. Tonight she really was out of it. "Did… did they leave?"
"I don't know," Chat Noir clicked his tongue, "Without a warning, they stopped talking to me,"
"They're horrible, they don't deserve you!" Ladybug shout, no impulse control went through that action.
"Oh, bug, I wish that was true, but she is one of the kindest, most lovely people I've ever met," He sighed, "I must have done something to get her angry,"
"Then she'll be back!" Ladybug cupped his cheeks and turned his head to face hers. "I assure you,"
Chat Noir sighed. Ladybug was really going through something, her words were drenched in emotions, and that was not her usual self. She was emotive but also extremely logical. He couldn't blame her, at least she was doing her very best to cheer him up.
"I don't want to be a pessimist, bug," Chat Noir sighed again, "But if there's one thing that it's a patron in my life is people leaving, and when people leave they never come back,"
Ladybug's expression changed, her tender eyes narrowed, her brows furrowed and her mouth sat in a hash line. He could hear her teeth chirping. She opened her mouth, he could only imagine what she was about to say next and then, her expression went back to a sweet smile and soft eyes.
"Chat Noir," She said, her voice like honey.
"Yes?"
"I will never leave you, that's a promise and I don't break my promises,"
Chat Noir smiled, he tilted his head and nuzzled against her hands.
"I know, my lady, but also there's no way you're getting rid of me," Chat grinned.
Ladybug chuckled, "Silly kitty," She bumped his nose, making him smile wider.
She leaned against his shoulder, he crossed one arm on top of her shoulders and held her close to his body.
"I love you, my lady,"
"I love you, minou,"