Author's Note: Ic here. So I wrote another reveal. Will it be one of the happy ones? A sad one? Time for a game of reveal roulette.

Ep: Has anyone seen Icarus? There's a €1,500 charge on my credit card from some Asian restaurant in Paris. I'm a bit perplexed - he said he needed cash for research.

MR: Ep? Are you the one who ordered an extra helping of Marichat?

Ic: Ep, that was for… "Educational Purposes" , don't worry about it. MR, when does Ep not order extra MariChat. I think we have an addict on our hands.

Reveal: Marinette

As the evening wind rushed through the metal framing of the Eiffel Tower, I pressed my arm against Chat's, trying to absorb as much warmth as I could. After all, it was all the warmth I felt.

Chat and I were discussing his latest blunder with his girlfriend of several years, me. Or to be more precise, Marinette. Not that he knew we were the same girl, even after knowing each other for over 8 years.

"So, I panicked," Chat explained,"I completely froze after she said 'I love you' to me."

"So you just jumped off the balcony and left her all alone?" I asked, trying but failing to keep the frustration out of my voice.

"How did you know I left the terrace?" Chat said with a puzzled expression.

I forced myself to take a gulp of air. Marinette's hurt feelings were leaching into Ladybug's persona, and if I didn't rectify the situation soon, Chat could get suspicious.

I looked out at the evening sky, ever amazed by the continuous shine of 'The City of Lights'. A land that had adopted gas street lights almost 200 years ago, and hadn't seemed to darken since. It was peaceful, and the cool air helped me center myself, giving me a chance to listen as a black spotted hero, not as a crushed 22 year old girlfriend.

"Ladybug, you ok?"

"Huh, oh yeah. Sorry. I guess I zoned out, that was rude. So how are you going to make it up to Marinette?" I asked innocently.

"I'm not going to…" Chat responded.

My brain spun in circles as my old friend, anxiety, began to spin horror stories in my mind.

I pressed myself even closer to him as another gust of wind rippled across our bodies. At the same time I wondered if Kitty was really thinking of leaving me.

"Maybe Chat meant he was going to wait for me to apologize," I thought.

He seemed to notice my confusion and explained, "I think I'm going to break up with Marinette."

My skin crawled as I felt another wave of cold hit me. This time, however, I shivered alone, as Chat sat resolutely against the metal framework.

"No, this can't be happening. What did I do wrong?"

"Oh?" I mustered.

"Yeah, sometimes it's just not in the cards."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" I fumed, wondering how Chat could just throw away a 5 year relationship like it was nothing.

He looked at me in a dazed silence.

I had spent years of my adolescent life pining after the beautifully unattainable Adrien Agreste, 'The Sunshine of Paris', until I realized we would never be more. Shortly after that, I had come to realize that my friend, Chat Noir may have had some depth I hadn't quite recognized as Ladybug. Soon Chat and I -Marinette- were dating. And we had spent the last five years on some slow-and-steady relationship, until I finally got the courage to say those 3 little words to him.

And now I realized,"Chat never really cared about me."

It felt like a gut punch, and at the same time it pissed me off how he could sit here and chat with me about how he rejected me.

"So? Is she just not good enough for you?"

"I-it's not like that-" he began, but I cut him off.

"Maybe you just don't have a big enough heart," I hissed.

He paused, then wordlessly nodded, something that made me even angrier. How dare he agree with me.

"Yeah, I mean it makes sense that a weak willed loser and an equally unlovable b-"

This time I was the one cut off, as Chat jumped away from me, his fists clenched.

"Shut up. Marinette is better than most of the people I've ever met. Call me whatever you want, but don't you dare judge her like she's worthless," he said, his voice suddenly raw with emotion.

"But, you don't love her, you admit that?" I asked, unsure if my voice sounded irritated or desperate.

Chat nodded.

"You need to say it out loud," I demanded.

I waited for a moment, then braced myself for the brutal words. But they didn't come, instead I heard Chat slump down next to me again, his heat returning to my arm.

"You need to say it out loud," I repeated as I stared ahead at the steel support beam nearest to me.

Again I was met with silence. I waited a few moments before turning my head. In front of my eyes Chat was silently weeping.

"How does one comfort a person who is in the middle of breaking their heart?" I wondered.

"I can't."

The words seemed delayed, yet confident.

"I can't say I don't love Marinette. Not yet, at least."

If one sentence could leave me with more questions than answers, it would be that one.

"Chat, if you love Marinette, why are you breaking up with her?" I asked, hoping against hope that there was some way that he wouldn't leave me.

The surprising silence returned, making me wonder how long it had been since Chat had last made a pun.

Finally he spoke, shocking me with a question of his own, "Why can't we reveal our identities to each other?"

"Oh, so that's what this is about. He still loves me-Ladybug me."

"Chat, you know why," I responded, knowing I hadn't actually answered his question.

"Yes, I do. But humor me here for a moment."

"Because it would give Hawkmoth the advantage," I said almost mechanically.

His rebuttal struck me. "No. You and I know that it really isn't about Hawkmoth, not really anyways."

"Our families would be in danger."

My voice was nearly a whisper as I began to put the puzzle together.

"Exactly. And it hit me when Marinette said she loved me. After years of dating her, it finally hit me. What would happen if people ever found out Chat Noir loved her?" He inquired.

Without waiting for a response, he answered his own question.

"Mari instantly becomes my greatest weakness. Anyone who had a bone to pick with me can go to Marinette. It doesn't matter that they don't know my identity, or that she doesn't either. She's in danger. And unlike us, she doesn't have powers to protect herself with. So if I have to break both our hearts to keep her safe, I will."

I opened my mouth several times, but discovered in abject horror, that I had no idea what to say. Could I confess my feelings as Ladybug, or tell him that Marinette would be ok and that he should keep dating her? No, everything seemed wrong, but I couldn't speak.

"I don't want this. If I had things my way I would tell her my identity in 6 months, put a ring on her finger in a year, and make her mine forever shortly after. But… it's just not in the cards," he said his shaking voice catching on itself.

Chat stood up. "Well, there's no use. Best to rip off the band aid quickly...and maybe, one day I'll stop hurting. It's time to tell Mari that it's over."

Finally the pain was too much and I found the words I was looking for.

"TIKKI, SPOTS OFF," I screamed, causing Chat to whirl around.

I stumbled into him, wrapping my arms around him.

"DON'T LEAVE ME!"

The words hung in the air, unmoving for several seconds as I cried into Kitty's shoulder. After several minutes of stunned silence, I felt Chat put his hand on my back.

"Never Purrrincess, I'll never leave you."