Author's note: (On the day M.V.P. Knight watched the season 2 finale) "I'm so excited to finally see the identity reveal. I've been waiting patiently for this, even though it should have happened at the end of season 1." And then it didn't happen.

(Fast forward to the day M.V.P. Knight watched the season 3 finale) "Okay, this is it! This is the day I witness the reveal! Granted, I thought it would happen last finale, but they can't possibly drag this out any further, could they?" And then it didn't happen.

M.V.P. Knight reached into the safe and pulled out the fanfiction gauntlet. "Fine. I'll do it myself."

Miraculous Contempt Chapter 1

It was a regular day in Paris; which, for the past few years, has meant that there was a super villain rampaging through the streets, screaming about something that usually wasn't worth rampaging through the streets. Ladybug landed on a nearby rooftop and thought, "I didn't think Nora was THAT upset about it. I'll have to work things out with her and Alya once this is over." Ladybug looked over the villain, trying to figure out where the akuma was. This villain's costume was mostly grey with many randomly placed white streaks. Over her eyes were grey and white goggles which Ladybug recognized. "Those are probably the goggles she was wearing when she asked Alya to go to a paint ball game with her. That must be where the akuma is hiding." Hoping she could end this early, she jumped from the rooftop and flung her yoyo at the goggles. The villain heard the zipping sound and quickly swung her fist to the side, casting a gust of wind that blew the yoyo off course. Ladybug landed on the sidewalk and said, "I remember you. You were Anansi last time, right?"

The villain replied, "Call me Air Cannon. Now let's get this over with. There are a bunch of kids I need to pulverize. But first, the annoying voice in my head still wants your earrings for some reason, so hand them over."

Ladybug said mockingly, "Or what? You'll huff and you'll puff and you'll blow my house down?"

Air Cannon replied, "Don't give me ideas." Ladybug thought Air Cannon was too far away to do any real damage. She was wrong. Air Cannon punch the air in her direction and a blast of wind exploded, sending Ladybug crashing into a wall. Ladybug landed on her feet, but she wasn't prepared for battle. The pain in her back and head was manageable, but her eyes stung and she couldn't keep them open. Air Cannon charged as the wind pushed her forward. Ladybug could barely see, but she could hear stumping and feel the earth trembling. Using those senses, she chose the proper moment to leap high above Air Cannon's head as she passed under her. Unfortunately, after Air Cannon smashed her way into the building, the wind that traveled with her was enough to pull Ladybug through the hole in the wall. Air Cannon continued smashing through walls and Ladybug kept tumbling along behind her like a can on a string until they made it outside on the other side of the building. Ladybug rubbed her eyelids, trying fix the stinging. She looked forward and saw the blurry image of Air Cannon holding a car above her head. Ladybug tried to wrap her yoyo string on something she could use to pull herself to safety, but her vision was too blurry her that kind of aiming. Air Cannon threw the car which was carried quickly by the wind. Upon impact, Ladybug's body was spread across the roof of the car. Ladybug and the car flew together until they came to the hole in the wall where the car's hood and trunk crashed into the edges and Ladybug landed back inside the building. Ladybug thought, "I am definitely going to need back up . . . and a pair of goggles."

Air Cannon pushed the car out of the way and searched for Ladybug, but she was nowhere in sight. She punched rapidly in different directions, sending blasts of wind to destroying anything that would have made an obvious hiding place. Air Cannon grunted and said, "That poser must have run off. Doesn't matter though; I can always find her later. In the meantime, Adrien needs to get what's coming to him."

As soon as Air Cannon was gone, Ladybug dropped down from the ceiling, glad that Air Cannon didn't think to look up, but afraid for Adrien's life. Ladybug ran outside, rubbed her eyes a little, and tried to reach her partner on her communicator. As it dialed, she whispered, "Come on, Cat Noir. Pick up." The dialing stopped without any luck. There wasn't time to leave a message, so, after a groan of frustration, she hung up and swung off in the direction of Adrien's mansion. On the way there, she thought, "I wish we had a way to communicate when we aren't transformed." She sighed when she realized there was a way for them to contact each other in civilian form, but she wasn't about to use it.

Thankfully, Ladybug arrived at the Agreste mansion before Air Cannon. Adrien was on his way to the gate when Ladybug landed in front of him. "Ladybug?"

"Adrien, there is an akuma victim after you!"

"Again? I seem to be pretty popular with them."

Ladybug wondered how he could be so calm about it, but she was in too much of a rush to ask him why. Ladybug explained, "I need to get you to safety and I need to buy some goggles in a short amount of time, so I'm going to have to bring you with me to the store."

Ladybug was confused by Adrien not being afraid of the super villain, but suddenly panicking at the idea of going to the store with her. Adrien told her nervously, "Oh, I have friends who can give me a place to hide until this blows over. You go to the store while I . . ."

"Your friends are targets too! I sorry, Adrien, but we have to get going."

Adrien tried to think of another excuse, but he knew there was no getting out of this. He turned back to the car that had just dropped him off and said, "Gorilla!"

The car window rolled down and the driver looked at him. Adrien continued, "There is a super villain coming. I need you to make sure Father and Nathalie are out of the house." Gorilla nodded without a word.

Ladybug put her arm around his waist and he put his arms around her neck. It felt . . . strange. If it happened a month ago, it would have been the highlight of their day. But they had each made the horrible mistake of dating other people and they were each in the arms of their """""FORMER""""" crush while trying to stay loyal. In this awkward position, Ladybug swung away, hoping she wouldn't drop him or crash or enjoy this too much.

They arrived at a hardware store where Ladybug was sure she would find some kind of protective eye covering. When they walked in, Ladybug caught more than a few eyes. Some people wrote her off as a cosplayer, but most of them started wondering if Ladybug did all her shopping in her costume. As they searched for the goggles, Adrien pulled out his phone and made a call while explaining, "I have to make sure everyone is alright." The phone dialed for a while before Adrien took the phone away from his face and said, confused, "Voicemail? Usually, Nathalie is easier to get a hold of than Father." Next, Adrien sent a text to Gorilla which read, "Are Father and Nathalie out of the house?" What Adrien got back was a picture of a thumbs up from Gorilla. Adrien said, "That would be how he responds."

Adrien then asked Ladybug, "So, what does this super villain want with me and my friends?"

"Her real name is Nora. She's mad because now that Alya does so much triple dating with Nino, you, Kagami, Marinette, and Luka, she doesn't get to hang out with her sister anymore."

Adrien said, "You seem to know all the specific names and details. How do you know so much about this?"

Ladybug started stuttering while trying to think of an explanation. Eventually, she said nervously, "Oh, you know super villains; they never shut up about their tragic backstory."

Adrien accepted her explanation, despite all the red flags in her delivery. Ladybug finally found the goggles and exclaimed, "Yes!" as she grabbed one.

Adrien also grabbed a pair and said, "Since I'm a target, I should probably have one of these just in case. They both started walking towards the checkout counter, but Ladybug stopped and turned back, saying, "I should probably get one for Cat Noir too."

Once Ladybug had the extra pair, Adrien said, "Um. Maybe Cat Noir will come with his own pair."

"I doubt it. Cat Noir never really thinks things through. And he hasn't been very reliable today."

Those words hit Adrien hard. Adrien thought, "'Not very reliable'? It's HER fault that Cat Noir can't give her any back up." He stood speechless as Ladybug tried calling Cat Noir one more time. In the past, he would hear her saying things like that and rationalize it or maybe even agree with her. He felt like he had to because she was the woman of his dreams. He didn't want to admit that she could be cruel before. But he was dating Kagami, so he didn't have to rationalize anything anymore. And thus began a mental chain reaction.

As they checked out the goggles, Ladybug was sure that Adrien had gotten quite all of a sudden, but she was not sure if he was upset about something. His face was hard to read. He stopped making eye contact and his expressions would only slightly convey an emotion before he snapped back to an empty demeanor. Once the purchases were complete, Adrien said, "Alright, we can split up now because there's no way this super villain is going to think to look . . ."

The automated doors parted and a familiar voice said, "Look who I found."

Adrien looked at Air Cannon with annoyance. Not fear, just annoyance. Ladybug asked, "Air Cannon? How did you find us?"

"The voice in my head figured you would come here for goggles."

Ladybug quickly put on her goggles and said, "Really?! He's usually not that good at anticipating my plans."

Adrien also put on his goggles, turned around, and tried to run to a hiding place, but Air Cannon pulled back her fist, causing wind to pull Adrien in her direction. Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around a part of the checkout counter so she could stay anchored were she stood. She reached out and tried to grab Adrien's hand as he flew by, but it was no use. Air Cannon grabbed Adrien. Ladybug's heart raced. With no time to plan, she immediately leaped at Air Cannon, not fully knowing what she would do when she reached her. Air Cannon hit her with the back of her hand and the wind sent her flying to the other side of the store. Once she was back on her feet, she saw a flurry of power tools and nails coming toward her. She dived into the nearest isle, worrying that she wouldn't be able to reach Adrien in time.

Air Cannon dragged Adrien to a nearby pillar and tied him up with a garden hose she didn't even have the decency to purchase first. Air Cannon explained tiredly, "Look, I don't know why, but the voice insists that I save you for last."

Adrien wondered why Hawk Moth would do that. Ladybug, on the other hand, didn't hear a word of that and assumed that she had little time to rescue Adrien. Ladybug knew it was early, especially since Cat Noir wasn't ready to help, but her panic pushed her to summon a, "LUCKY CHARM!" What landed in her hands was arguably the most ironic lucky charm she ever received. "A metal butterfly? Of all things, why would it be a butterfly?!"

What followed was miserable. Trying to figure out how to use the lucky charm was a case of water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. There were so many tools and gadgets down each isle, but what was she supposed to combine with a metal butterfly? That question racked her brain as she struggled to dodge everything that Air Cannon blasted her way. At least one of them wasn't at a loss for how to use the surrounding resources. Every so often, Air Cannon hit Ladybug with something sharp, casting a little blood here and little blood there. In time, Ladybug's blood could be found most every isle. This went on for three minutes. Ladybug thought, "This is hopeless! I'm going to transform back in two minutes, Adrien is in serious danger, I have no back up, and no idea how to use this stupid lucky charm! I have to get out of here!"

Ladybug grabbed a buzz saw blade and threw into the garden hose, cutting Adrien free. She quickly swung to him, picked him up, and carried him out the door. When Air Cannon ran out the door, she, thankfully, still wouldn't look up. As Ladybug and Adrien hung above her, they heard Air Cannon say, "This again?! Fine. As long as we're saving Adrien for last, I guess we can get to Marinette next."

As soon as Air Cannon ran off, Ladybug put Adrien down and said in a hurry, "She probably won't think to come back here, so you should be safe! I have to go now!" and then she swung away.

Adrien didn't waste any more time. He ran into the nearest alley. He threw his pair of goggled straight up, said, "Plagg, claws out," and after he transformed into Cat Noir, he caught the goggles as they fell back down. He called Ladybug and she answered almost immediately.

"Cat Noir, where have you been?!"

He wanted to tell her, "I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED BY YOOOUUUUU!" But he decided to instead say, "There is no time! Adrien Agreste told me that Air Cannon is after Marinette. I'm going to her house right now."

"NO! WAIT! I've . . . I've already made sure she was safe after leaving Adrien."

Cat Noir was furious. He thought, "You dirt, dirty liar. You left twenty seconds ago. There's no way you could have done that." He told Ladybug out loud with anger that surprised her, "I'm going to her house! You can join me there if you feel like helping!" and then he immediately hung up.

Ladybug knew he saw through her lie. She just didn't know how. There was no point in trying to convince him that she was telling the truth. She wanted a way to meet up with Cat Noir and she was about to transform back anyway, so going to her house didn't seem like such a bad idea.

Ladybug landed on the roof just in time. She transformed back into Marinette and caught Tikki, who almost fell to the floor. Marinette said, "This day is a disaster! Cat Noir and I are barely on speaking terms, Air Cannon is too strong, and I have no idea what to do with this . . ." Her voice trailed off as she stared at the lucky charm in her hand.

Tikki asked, "What's wrong?"

"I still have it. . . . I always figured it would disappear if transformed back, but here it is." The revelation combined with the fact that it was a metal butterfly reminded her of something that was under a brand new light. "Tikki, do you remember the day when we suspected that Gabriel Agreste might be Hawk Moth?"

"Yes."

"The reason we wrote him off was because Gabriel was akumatized. I just assumed that he couldn't have detransformed and akumatized himself. But if a lucky charm could last after I detransform, maybe an akuma could have lasted after he detransformed! If that's possible, than Gabriel Agreste could still be Hawk Moth!" A realization fell over Marinette. She struck her forehead with her palm and said, "Ah, of course that's how it works! Master Fu made a sentimonster, detransformed, and then it lasted for a century! Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

"But . . . if a metal butterfly was all you needed to figure it out, why didn't that happen sooner?"

Marinette thought for a moment before answering, "Maybe it was a matter of timing. Maybe it's almost time to defeat Hawk Moth."

Marinette saw Cat Noir coming. She quickly gave Tikki a cookie and motioned for her to hide in her purse. Cat Noir landed on the roof and said, "Marinette, there is a super villain coming. I need to get you to safety."

"Wait! Why don't I stay here as bait, and then when the super villain gets here, I can run off while you attack?"

"Hm. That might work. But what about your parents?"

"They're out of town for the day."

"Oh, good. I guess we have a plan."

Cat Noir looked out over the balcony, vigilantly waiting for Air Cannon. Much to Marinette's surprise, Cat Noir let out a snort like laugh.

She asked, "What's so funny?"

"It's just . . . I wish that Ladybug and I could communicate like this."

Marinette put her hands on her hips and said, "What do you mean?"

Cat Noir answered as if he had it rehearsed, "Ladybug never lets me in on the plan or tells me critical information that she is, of course, allowed to know. Do you know how we defeated Backwarder? She threw me at the villain so she could hit me, without telling me what was going on. It really wouldn't have been so hard for her to say, 'Hey, we're going to use her power on you so you'll do all that stuff you did backwards and release the akuma.' But of course not."

At first, Marinette thought, "Well, it worked, didn't it?" But then she reconsidered and admitted, "I guess it would have been nice for you to have a heads up."

"You know, I've gotten myself a girlfriend recently."

For once, Marinette's spirits lifted. "Really? That's great!"

"Yeah. And it's given me new clarity. Today, I've been thinking about how Ladybug treats me. You've seen for yourself how little Ladybug trusts me."

"That's not true," Marinette insisted, "Of course Ladybug trusts you."

"The day she gave you the Mouse Miraculous. Sure, it was fine for her to know your secret identity, but as soon as I saw who you were, you could never be Multimouse again."

"Uuuumm." Marinette didn't want to admit it, but he had a good point. That whole stunt she pulled as Multimouse was done to keep Cat Noir from knowing she was Ladybug, not because she didn't trust him with the temporary miraculous holders' identities. She didn't really think through the implications that Cat Noir would take from it.

Cat Noir said, "I could go on and on about examples, but what hurts the most is that she still hasn't told me who she is under that mask."

"She can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Because . . . uh . . ." She had never to explain it before. "Well . . . what if someone tortures you into telling them who she is?"

Cat Noir said, "You know that I'd die before giving out that information."

Marinette sighed. She did know that. "What if . . . oh, what if a super villain gets control of you again and makes you tell them?"

"Nice try, but if Hawk Moth was smart enough to ask about secret identities, then he would have had a super villain ask me who I was any one of the many times that's happened."

Marinette had never thought of that before, but that checked out. No super villain who ever had Cat Noir under their control ever asked him who he was. Marinette tried again. "What if . . ."

Cat Noir said, "What if I'm in my civilian identity and Ladybug can't call me because she doesn't know my number?"

"Um."

Cat Noir continued, "What if we can't talk through how to defeat Hawk Moth because my 'partner' doesn't want to talk to me outside of super villain attacks?"

"Uh."

"What if I lay awake at night, wondering what I did that was so wrong?"

"You didn't. This isn't about what you've done."

Cat Noir continued, "What if I blame myself for not being good enough when I should be blaming her for not seeing that I am? It makes me sick to remember the way I always thought about her. So many times, I've supported her emotionally, but all she ever does is talk to me like I'm stupid. I accepted the fact that she doesn't love me. But I can't take the fact that she doesn't trust me, respect me, or care about me. So many times, I've taken a hit for her, but she would never do the same for me. To her, I'm just some dumb lackey; that's how she sees me; not as a 'partner' or even as a friend."

The sound of Marinette gasping made Cat Noir turn quickly in her direction. She wiped a tear from her face and said in a weak voice, "I . . . I never knew Ladybug made you feel that way."

Cat Noir gently put his hands on the sides of her shoulders and said, "Hey, don't be sad, Marinette."

After a bit of sniffling, Marinette said, "Cat Noir, you're wrong about how Ladybug sees you. You mean so much to her."

Cat Noir didn't think she was right, but he told her warmly, "Thank you for saying that."

"Are you . . . going to leave Ladybug?"

He hesitated. "I need to think. I don't want to do anything big too quickly."

The fact that he didn't immediately shoot down the idea was heart breaking. Marinette thought, "I need to talk to him as Ladybug. I just don't know what I'm going to say."

Cat Noir looked out to the streets just in time to see Air Cannon on her way to them. Cat Noir said, "She's coming. Time to get you out of here." Cat Noir picked up Marinette and jumped to the street below.

As Cat Noir put her down, Marinette said, "Be careful. She's pret . . . she looks pretty tough."

"Don't worry. This is just another regular day in Paris."

Author's note: I hope you enjoy the first chapter of my first fanfiction. I'll try to uploud a chapter every Saturday until it's finished. Thanks for reading and I hope you come back for more of my work.