Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or it's characters.
Chapter 32,
Ladybug and Margaret were sitting on the floor of their cell, though it felt more like a padded room in an insane asylum- just without the padding. Ladybug was trying to come up with a plan, but she just couldn't think of anything.
"You know, sometimes talking helps." Margaret said and Ladybug paused to look at her.
"I know. It's just normally I'm creative enough without it." Ladybug said and Margaret smiled.
"You know, they say that geniuses have a few traits in common. Some seem rather obvious, like they are constantly thinking and have a curious nature and love for learning. But there are some traits that almost seem counterintuitive." Margaret said and Ladybug blinked.
"For one thing, they are more willing to admit when they don't know something. They are more open-minded and willing to listen to someone else's point of view. They are sensitive to someone else's thoughts and feelings. They tend to have a great sense of humor.
"But then they tend to procrastinate on things, especially more trivial tasks more often then not, because they are working on something else of more relevance to them. Because they are constantly thinking, it's hard to shut off their brains at night, so they become night owls, simply because they can't fall sleep. And then, their personal spaces tend to be messy. For some reason a more messy environment can cause a person to be more creative, and in turn, you will be more preoccupied with your thoughts and projects to really clean up your space again." Margaret said and Ladybug shifted. Well, if the messiness thing is true, then I guess that explains why I'm having a hard time coming up with something in here." Ladybug gestures and Margaret smiled.
"My point exactly. If you're a creative person then it might be hard to think of something in a room like this." Margaret said and Ladybug sighed.
"I would probably be able to think of something if Cat Noir we're here with me." Ladybug said and Margaret smirked at her.
"Cat Noir is rather special to you; isn't he?" She asked and Ladybug nodded.
"Can I be honest with you?" Ladybug asked.
"I'm a nurse. I've sworn to patient confidentiality as well. And I did operate on your leg after all." Margaret said and Ladybug smiled.
"I always trusted Cat Noir and I always appreciated his friendship. It's just..." she hesitated, unsure how to describe herself.
"You're starting to see Cat Noir as something more?" Margaret asked and Ladybug rubbed the back of her neck bashfully.
"I kinda feel conflicted. Because I was kind of in love with someone else. And somehow I feel like I'm now in love with both of them. It's odd for me because I know Cat Noir is in love with me. Well, I know that he's in love with Ladybug, but I'm not sure if he loves Ma... me. Maybe he only loves my alter-ego because he knows I'm Ladybug. And as for Adrien, you know I didn't even like him at first. I thought he was a jerk, and then... when it was just the two of us... he gave me his umbrella in a heavy downpour. Being a model, I expected him to care exclusively about his clothes and hair... and instead... he let himself get soaked to the bone just so I could stay dry." Ladybug smiled at the memory of Adrien's sweet laughter.
"So you like Adrien and Cat Noir?" Margaret asked and Ladybug nodded.
"Adrien and I might be on rocky grounds right now, but I do still love him. He is friends with Chloe and he's just as rich and famous as she is; actually probably more so. You don't expect him to be so selfless and caring and accepting of others; but he is." Ladybug pulled her legs to her chest.
"My feelings for Cat Noir are a bit more recent. He's always acting silly and making jokes at the wrong time, but... he's probably seen me at my worst. I've yelled at him, argued with him, fought against him, and every once in a while I will use him in order to save the day. And yet he still trusts me, beyond a shadow of a doubt... and he still loves and believes in me." Ladybug said and Margaret nodded.
"I can see the appeal." She admitted.
"They both have such amazing hearts. I think that's what really made me fall for the both of them." Ladybug said and Margaret smiled.
"You know, it's a little different, but it makes me think of Pierce." Margaret said.
"How so?" Ladybug asked and Margaret shrugged.
"In my mind, there are two separate personalities. One is Hawkeye, who is loud and boisterous and funny; but the other is Dr. Pierce, who is extremely dedicated and caring towards his patients. Hawkeye is the type of guy to walk from his tent to the mess tent, naked, just to prove that no one will notice. Then you have Dr. Pierce who will sleep beside a patient he's worried about- just in case they need him." Margaret said and Ladybug smiled.
"It's almost difficult to imagine, but he does seem to act like Adrien and Cat Noir." Ladybug said and Margaret nodded.
"You know I've dated several men since I've been here, even got married once, but it ended badly. But, for the most part, Hawkeye and I were only friends. We've gone to the front together, operated together, survived shellings and psychological issues. And in my own way... I kinda love him. It's just, I always rationalized this as my adoration for Dr. Pierce because Hawkeye, himself, had a tendency to drive me crazy. Besides, I tend to become attracted to men of higher rank and Pierce is only a Captain, whereas I am a Major." Margaret said and Ladybug furrowed her eyebrow.
"Well, rank isn't everything." Ladybug said and Margaret nodded.
"I know that. But sometimes I can't help my attraction. And that's another reason why I often dismiss my own feelings for Pierce. I wasn't attracted to him at first. At times, I got so angry at myself for finding his stupid jokes humorous, or his determination in OR appealing, or loving the fireworks I felt when he kisses me." Margaret said and Ladybug stared at her.
"Sounds like you might be in love with Hawkeye." Ladybug said and Margaret smiled.
"I don't know. In the past, I was so sure I was in love and I just got hurt. If I was wrong about Pierce then I would not only lose a love interest, but I would also lose a very dear friendship." Margaret said and Ladybug bit her lip.
"Well. Considering that you'll both... leave... once all this is over. It seems to me that it's better to go and risk it, then to leave wondering... if you could have had it all." Ladybug said and Margaret sighed heavily.
"We'll see, but we were talking about you after all." Margaret said.
"Hey, you started talking about Hawkeye." Ladybug said and Margaret smiled.
"Only because my relationship with him is similar to your relationship with them." Margaret said and Ladybug chuckled.
"I still don't know which one I should pick, though. You have no idea how close I came to kissing Cat Noir as myself. What if I kiss him and I end up choosing Adrien? Then again, what if I pick Adrien, but all I can think of is being with Cat Noir?" Ladybug asked and Margaret paused.
"Maybe you shouldn't think of it as 'picking' one over the other. Many times in one's life, you'll find a partner and they will know exactly what to say or do to win your heart. But then those same people feel like, because they won your heart, they have won you forever. As humans, we all need to work on this type of thinking 'oh, they know I love them, so I don't need to do anything'. The thing that perhaps more of us need to learn, is that keeping someone is so much harder then simply trying to win them. It's not easy to continuously love someone that's hurt you, or disagrees with you, or has stop trying to impress you. And when you feel like that, it's easy to get angry at the little things and walk away from the relationship entirely; oftentimes without communicating accurately our feelings of disappointment." Margaret said.
"I suppose that's true." Ladybug said.
"Listen, kid. You have plenty of time in your life to worry about... what it means to be in a loving relationship, and being a good partner. As for Adrien and Cat Noir, I would say that you should take your time. Spend time with them both, talk to them both, listen to them both, and... maybe you'll end up surprising yourself." Margaret said and Ladybug smiled softly.
"Perhaps." Ladybug said and they sighed.
For a moment they were silent and Ladybug remembered the way Margaret sang with Pierce before. It was almost out of place for Margaret to do that, but perhaps she was more willing to do so, because it was Pierce who asked her to do so.
Then Ladybug wondered if it was odd for her to get relationship advice from someone who wasn't real. But then, she also seemed to understand her situation more then others.
"What do you think you're gonna do, if the soldier lets Pierce talk to the Major General?" Margaret asked and Ladybug groaned.
"I wish I knew. I wish I could just talk to Cat Noir, but I can't fly through walls." Ladybug said and Margaret blinked.
"What about your little red friend?" Margaret asked and Ladybug bit her lip.
"Tikki can go through walls, but I would need to transform in order to do that, and even though Kwami's can't be filmed or photographed, it would reveal my secret identity, which I can't do." Ladybug said and Margaret looked at the camera.
"If I put you on my shoulders, I think we can cover it up with my jacket." Margaret said.
"But won't they just come here the second we cover it up?" Ladybug said.
"Maybe, but with enough time you can transform back." Margaret said.
"I don't want to risk that." Ladybug said Margaret stared at her and her eyes widened.
"You're kinda small when you hold your legs together, like that." She commented and she removes her jacket and holds it up to Ladybug.
"I bet you can hide under this and no one will see you transform. If anything, they will think you're trying to sleep." Margaret said and Ladybug smiled.
"I think you're right." Ladybug said and together they covered her up with the jacket.
"Any part of me showing?" Ladybug asked and Margaret looked her over.
"Your toes are barely showing, but the rest of you is concealed." Margaret said and Ladybug took a deep breath.
"That's good enough. Spots off."