She arrived at their usual meeting spot. She had just collected the miraculouses she had given out, back from the wearers. She had agreed to meet up with Catnoir but he was running late.

She couldn't believe it! To say she was happy was an understatement. She was overjoyed and extremely relieved. It was finally over. It was all over. Everything was over. Paris was finally safe. After all that time.

The battle had been unexpected and Shadow moth had concocted his worst plan yet but good was always stronger. It took a lot. A whole lot. But she was glad that they were victorious in the end.

Her only sadness was knowing who he was behind the mask. Gabriel Agreste. It wasn't so far fetched but she was sad for Adrien. He could've have had his mother back but life wasn't always that fair. Gabriel fought for a good cause but with the wrong way.

She understood his pain but she had to put her reasoning first or she would've surrendered her Miraculous at the cost of someone else's life.

Her only relief was that Adrien didn't know. No one else did. Aside the heroes who fought beside her till the end. No public eye was involved. She didn't have the heart to submit Gabriel to the authorities, it would ruin Adrien's life.

She couldn't do that. So she took the miraculous back after his defeat and left him.

It was his choice of he'd pick up the broken pieces and start over or continue to dig them into his wrist.

But still, even after all that, she was happy that it was all over. And finally, they could reveal their selves.

She would finally know the face of the person who she'd entrusted her life to several times and who entrusted her with his as well. It wouldn't make much of a difference, faces could be similar but the variety is in the heart and she knew his heart so well already.

It was purer than snow itself, selfless and loving.

She wouldn't deny that the cat had been creeping into her heart, occupying more space than she allowed but she didn't mind. They trusted each other to bits and pieces and trust is the most essential in every relationship, wasn't it?

She heard a thump behind her and smiled to herself. She didn't need to turn around to know it was him.

"What took you so long, kitty?"

She expected to hear some cheeky reply with his signature smirk, nickname calling or worse, a pun. Who was she kidding? Or even better, a pun.

"Some stuff." She was taken aback by his reply. She could literally hear the strain and sadness in his voice. She immediately snapped her head in his direction.

She was surprised to see how he looked. His head hung low. She hurried to his side. "Cat..?" What's wrong?" She softly cupped his cheeks and see raised his face so he could look at her property.

She gasped seeing his face clearly. His eyes were heavy with unshed tears and his face was pale and he looked so void.

What had happened to him? She wondered. He was fine during the battle or had she not noticed? "Kitty, what's wrong?"

Looking into her eyes worsened things for him. For the first time since he'd met her, he didn't feel anything but sadness looking into her endearing eyes. He saw nothing but betrayal and it hurt all over again having her close to him.

She was the first person he'd trusted blindly as much as he did. But she broke it in a way he couldn't believe.

He thought she was different, but she wasn't. She was like everyone else. Like his father. And here she was asking him what was wrong?

His whole life was wrong. Every step he'd taken in his life left footsteps of regret and he was left to pick the pieces alone.

For someone who just found out his only parent was a psychopathic villain trying to bring back his mother, he was doing quite fine. Maybe helping his father would've worked because the further he went in life, the more he realized his life was nothing without his mother. Maybe if she were back, things would be better.

But no, he sacrificed his chances of happiness for the person he'd trusted with everything he had left; his heart, his life even. His lady.

He had thought they shared an unbreakable bond even if it wasn't romantically, it was enough for him. But she had slowly proved him wrong and today he was finally delivered the final blow. Maybe he'd been expecting it, but he hoped it wasn't so. He knew she kept a lot of secrets from him, but now she'd broken his trust and he felt so empty.

After the battle, he was devastated. But he was relieved that they could reveal their identities and she could be there to console him in his grief. But however, he had made an unexpected discovery.

He unintentionally overheard her not so secret conversation with Rena rogue and he discovered something that left him heart wrenched.

"Catnoir, please talk to me. I'm here. Whatever's bothering you, you can tell me. Talk to me please." He wasn't responding and she was extremely worried. Seeing his condition dampened her mood.

"Do you trust me, Ladybug?" She flinched at the tone he called her by her name. No nickname.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?" She was taken away by his sudden question and needed to be sure she heard right. How could he ask her that? After all this time? She trusted him completely, no arguments about that.

"How can you ask me that? You know I trust you. With my life even." She didn't break eye contact with him and hoped that no matter what was bothering him, he could see that she was there for him.

"I know?" He chuckled dryly. His shaky voice echoing in the quiet night. "No, I don't Ladybug. I don't know if you trust me or not." He whispered and hung his head.

"How could you say that?" She stepped closer, closing the distance between them. She cupped his face with both her hands and made sure he was looking into her eyes. The night light reflected in his green pools.

"I trust you, kitty. I trust you at every battle; at every patrol; everytime I trusted you not to look at me when I de-transformed; At every point in my life since we met. I trust you with my life even. Right now, I want to trust you with my identity. And maybe... even with my heart." She murmured the last part lightly but he could hear it perfectly well.

He didn't want to feel the way he was feeling. He was supposed to be annoyed at her but her words were making him melt. He could feel her warm breath over his face as she spoke. How could she still make him feel this way? She had broken his trust. Like everyone else.

"I've always trusted you, I trust you now and I would always trust you." She stood on her toes and feathered a light peck on his cheek. "Forever." She let her forehead rest on his.

She felt like she was betraying her feelings for Adrien by feeling this way with him. But right here, standing on the moonlight with Catnoir trying her best to console him, she couldn't think of Adrien. Just her silly kitty.

"I've been waiting for this day, Catnoir." She trailed her fingers over his cheeks. She was going to feel his warmth without the gloves, without the suit. Without the mask. "We're finally going to know each other. After all this while."

She expected him to mirror her happiness but he wasn't. Wasn't he happy about it? Wasn't it what he wanted? Was she doing it wrong? Or was it something else? "Why aren't you happy about it?"

He didn't know what to say to her. That she had broken him beyond repair now? That all her lies, secrets had cut him deep? That the trust was dying? And right now all he wanted to do was walk away? Act like it was a closed chapter in his life to be forgotten?

"Isn't this what you wanted?"

He took in a breath, "No." His reply was short but it spun nuts in her head. "Not anymore." Her hands fell to her side and she gasped, retreating backwards slowly. "W..What do you mean?"

"I don't want us to reveal ourselves anymore." Like someone kicked the air out of her lungs. That was how it felt. She stepped further back in disbelief, nodding in negation. "But don't worry, my Kwami would bring the Miraculous back to you tonight."

"B..b..but.." she wanted to say something but her throat felt dry and her eyes watered. He didn't even look at her, not as much as a glance.

Her ribcage felt tight and she wasn't breathing. She could feel her heart break in her chest and it felt so real because she could feel an ache.

"It's better. For both of us."

"But..." A single tear slid down her cheek, "How would we know each other? Would we just walk away like none of this ever happened?" She choked out. "How would I met you again?"

"You wouldn't need to." He tried to sound cold but he was slowly giving away to the emotions he was feeling.

His words defeated her will to hold back her tears and she let them trickle down her cheeks. "We're friends, Catnoir. Not just partners. I can't forget you. How'd you expect me to? And you, you just want to throw me out of your life like I never existed?" She hugged her self feeling the night breeze turn chilly.

"Was everything we shared a lie?" She murmured.

He immediately snapped his head to her. Who was she to talk about lies?

"A lie?" He chuckled humorlessly, "I should probably ask you that." He snapped.

"What?" She was appalled by his accusation. "I valued every moment we've shared. I value your friendship more than anything. How could it be a lie?"

He took slow calculated steps towards her till he was right in front of her.

"Any relationship without trust is a lie. Did you ever trust me?" He repeated his infamous question.

"Completely. Blindly. With my every breath."

"Then why all the lies?" He curled a single finger under her chin, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. "Why all the lies?" His voice broke.

"You've kept me in the dark. Over and over again. All the time, you never trusted me to share anything." He was tired of holding up and let his emotions materialize into tears. "You never trusted me enough to tell me who you were. But... You trusted someone else."

She gasped as his hands fell to his side. How could he have found out? Did he know about Alya? She could literally hear his heart breaking in every word he spoke.

"You told someone else who you were. You promised I'd be the first to know. You made the rule of identities buy Alya and Nino know each other. You promised never to replace me, but you did. In each and every battle, you did. Sometimes I was nothing more than a burden."

"C..cat..?" She reached out to wipe his tears but he held her hand in midair.

"You never trusted me enough. I was never enough for you. I hoped that even with the secrets, you would keep to your promises." His words broke as he spoke. "But you didn't. I don't want to know, I want to forget you, I don't want to be reminded of how badly you hurt me. I don't want to feel all this pain." He released her hand and hung his head.

She felt her heart break, she could literally hear it breaking. She didn't mean to hurt him that much. She didn't mean to hurt him at all but she didn't know she'd been making him feel that way. How could she do this to him? She was terrible. She had broken him. "You've broken more than just my heart, bugaboo."

"I'm so sorry." She cried.

"Sorry can't cut it." He backed away from her but she held him back and pulled him closer to her.

"I know, kitty. I've been stupid. I promised you I would never replace you, I told you were irreplaceable but then I did, even without knowing. I let Rena and carapace know each other identities, it was stupid. I told Alya who I was. I was devastated, I thought I couldn't handle it on my own and I didn't want to bother you. I couldn't let you in. I didn't want to. I didn't think to how much it would hurt you." She swallowed thickly. She couldn't lose him. He meant too much to her.

"I'm not gonna give excuses." She looked up and locked their gazes. Two burning hearts, two broken hearts facing one another. "I know I make a lot of mistakes... but am not going to make another one. I'm not going to lose you." She hugged him, clinging to him with a desperation even she couldn't comprehend.

He didn't hug her back and she didn't blame him but she was going to do everything to keep him. To earn his forgiveness. She buried her face in his neck crying harder. "I won't lose you."

He felt her tears stain him and he was hurting all over again. When would it end? All the hurt, he was sick of it. "You already have, m'lady. I want to forget you." He admitted sadly. "But it's so hard. It's better we close this chapter of our lives and move on." She slowly withdrew from his embrace and stared him in the eye.

"Please, Cat. I'll do anything if it meant you'd stay. Anything." She cried harder.

"Why? It's better this way. You'll finally be free of me. Like you've always wanted. This is what you wanted. Why do want me to stay?"

"I can't lose you. I'm not going to let you forget us." She never let her gaze leave his. She had made way too many mistakes and she wouldn't make another. Not this time.

"Tikki, spots-" Her words caught in her throat and she felt his hand slide into the curve of her waist as he pressed his lips on hers. Her surprise dissipated when he moved his lips against hers and her eyes fluttered close.

She wrapped her hands around his neck and weaved her hand in his soft curls.

They both felt it all, the chills, the flutters and the fireworks.

It was everything she wanted and more. She held on tightly to him because she knew. She knew it was his way of telling her goodbye. She didn't want goodbye. She never wanted it. She could taste their salty tears mixed with the sweet taste of his mouth but she was treasuring the moment too much to pull away.

To her dismay, he pulled away. He'd always wanted to kiss her, but now things were different. He stepped back from her and she reached out to him

"No, please..."

"Don't go."

"Goodbye, m'lady. Goodbye forever."

And he launched himself into the sky before she could stop him.

Her knees felt too weak to hold her and she dropped to the ground. Catnoir didn't just leave her forever, but he also stole her heart and leapt into the night with it. And he was never coming back.

She broke down.

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