New one shot!

Based on the stress I still sometimes feel thinking about how many people shipped me with my partner when we originally dated like 5 years ago.

Still not over the SnapChat I got from someone I barely knew with a picture of the two of us holding hands with a caption that was basically 'I expect a wedding invite.

Things are better now, but I still needed to get this out because I feel like Ladybug might experience the same stress as I did. Hope y'all enjoy.


Ladybug loved her partner. Chat Noir was her favorite person and there was no one she would rather have by her side. He was smart, handsome, and made her laugh like no one else. He spoiled her as much as she would allow while still keeping their identities safe and that was a lot to her.

She was used to simple relationships, the kind that would usually involve renting a movie and watching it at someone's place. When she was in charge of their dates, that was the type of thing she would plan, but Chat Noir was… extra. He would take her out to nice restaurants and it felt like he always did too much.

Paris didn't agree. Paris thought his displays were 'sweet' and 'cute.' They were Paris's OTP at the age of 18 and that made Marinette feel sick. She was barely an adult, just starting her first year of university, and wasn't ready to be what people looked up to as a 'perfect relationship.' She thought it would be easier to start dating him than just having people shipping them.

If they were dating, they should be able to control the narrative about their relationship, right? Apparently, Paris didn't agree with that either. Apparently, the two of them were 'perfect' together and she found herself growing resentful of that word. She loved dating her boyfriend, but she was starting to hate LadyNoir.

She had been debating things for the last few weeks of their relationship and she wondered if it was possible for the two of them to keep their relationship out of the public eye without revealing their identities. One evening, in the restaurant at the Eiffel Tower, Ladybug was holding Chat's hand and felt her heart grow heavy as dozens of people came over to take pictures of them.

Some people asked for permission, but most people didn't and she was exhausted. Chat was taking it all in stride and Ladybug didn't know how he was so comfortable with the fact that everyone in the city acted like they were entitled to information about their relationship. Ladybug knew she needed to talk to Chat about it, as soon as possible.

He could tell that his girlfriend was starting to get fidgety and he knew that it would be better if they left sooner rather than later. He politely called over their waiter to request boxes for their food and paid their bill. The waiter brought back a bag with their entrees and Chat held the bag in one hand while he reached his other out to his girlfriend.

She took his hand. From the corner of her eye, she saw dozens more people pulling out their phones to take pictures of the two of them. She knew, just like every single date, that the pictures would be online in the next few hours and people would be gushing over just how 'perfect' they were.

After they were out of the restaurant, there were even more people taking out their phones to take pictures of the two of them. Ladybug could hear her heart pounding in her ears and didn't even consciously register the fact that Chat Noir had picked her up and carried her up to higher beams, near Gustave Eiffel's apartment at the top of the tower.

"My lady?" His voice cut through her thoughts like it was made of glass. He put their food down and placed a hand on each of her biceps. "What's wrong?" As soon as the question was past his lips, Ladybug started crying. He didn't remember the last time he'd seen her cry, if ever, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"I c-can't do this," she said through her sobs. She was sniffling and partially collapsed into him. "I can't do this a-a-anymore, Chaton." He slowly lowered the two of them to a position where he could more comfortably hold his girlfriend. He was willing to just hold her for as long as she needed him to, it was clear that she was struggling, but he didn't know why.

"It's okay, my lady," he whispered assuringly to her, but it wasn't. She was practically certain that it wasn't okay despite his statement. "I love you and whatever's going on, we'll figure it out. It's you and me against the world."

She wanted it to be them against the world, but ever since the public heard them say that for the first time, everyone started saying that. She'd heard Nino and Alya exchange their lines multiple times, not to mention her own parents. Apparently, according to a recent magazine article, it was part of 40% of Parisians' wedding vows.

That knowledge made her feel sick all over again. She felt Chat's claws undo her pigtails and he put the ribbons into one of his pockets. He shook out her hair and ran his hands through it to try to provide a grounding softness to hopefully help her calm down.

She became cried-out after that and he placed a soft kiss on her temple. "Tell me what's going on in your head," he whispered. "You said you can't do something and I just don't believe that. My lady can do anything she sets her mind to." He was right, she could do what she had to, but she didn't know if she wanted to.

"I can't do this," she whispered, voice cracking as she spoke. "I love you, Chat." She placed a hand on his cheek, trying to look into his eyes as she tried to get out the words she knew she needed to. "I can't be in a relationship where I'm the least happy person about it. You make me so happy, but people have been waiting for this for years." She sniffled.

"It feels like compared to everyone else, I'm not happy enough to be with you. It's so stressful and I know that I love you, but there are times when it genuinely feels like I'm dating you because that's what Paris wants." She felt her heart break in her chest as she spoke and she watched the defeated look come over his face as the words poured from her mouth.

"It's too much pressure," she told him. "I can't be in a relationship like this. One where people feel like they're entitled to knowing what's going on with us, and one where people are taking pictures of us and posting things online about us without our permission. I thought dating you would put an end to the pressure to date you."

"I can't believe how wrong I was," she added, "Now, people are just applying more pressure, but now it's pressure to tell everyone about the two of us. I want to be with you, but I can't be with you in the public eye like this." She was certain that with her last comment, Chat was going to ask for an identity reveal.

Chat listened to her and he couldn't say he felt the same, but he was already constantly in the public eye, so the relationship didn't feel different than normal to him. If Ladybug didn't want to be in the public eye, though, there was nothing that he could do. Even if he asked to share identities and dated her as civilians, they'd still be in the public eye.

He felt himself tearing up when he realized there was no real solution to the issue that they were dealing with. Well, there was one and he was desperately hoping that it wasn't the same solution she'd come up with. "I can't date Chat Noir anymore," she finished. Both of their hearts shattered in unison.

That was the same conclusion he'd come to, but he was desperately hoping she'd say anything else. She had decided that if he asked about the reveal, she would genuinely start letting more information about herself slip, but he didn't and she felt her heart break further because it felt like he didn't want to date the girl behind the mask, just Ladybug.

"I understand," he practically squeaked. He barely understood, but he understood enough. She was already under enough pressure without being in a public relationship, especially since they hadn't been dating for that long. He was practically numb, not wanting to allow himself to cry in front of her.

"We can talk to Alya about it another time," Ladybug told him. "We should both get home for tonight, though." She stood to walk away from him, but he caught her hand. She wasn't ready to look at him again, but it didn't seem like it was a choice.

"You haven't eaten," he told her. He was holding his to-go container in his hand and held out the bag that the waiter had given them, containing her own box. "Please make sure you're taking care of yourself."

"You, too," she whispered, accepting the bag from him. "I love you. I'll see you soon." She made her way home, ready to collapse onto her bed and either cry or just sleep off all of the crying she'd already done.

Chat went in through his window and placed the box onto his desk. He transformed back into Adrien but didn't eat more of his dinner. He put on a pair of pajamas he'd gotten from Marinette. Usually, he'd wear his Ladybug print pajamas, but that felt wrong for tonight. The pair he wore that night were based on Carapace and he wanted to call Nino, but he knew he couldn't explain.

He collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to plug his phone in. He got under the covers and curled up, surprised by the fact that Plagg hadn't bothered him for cheese, yet. He didn't see the little God anywhere, but he figured that was actually probably for the best, he didn't think he was in the mood to deal with his little friend.

He started crying, trying to come up with a solution for their relationship problem. He spent hours thinking, considering, wondering if he could take on a new civilian identity so that he could start dating Ladybug as a civilian, but dating Adrien Agreste would barely draw less attention than the heroes, if hanging out with Marinette was any indication.

The next day, the two of them met up, and within a few days, they scheduled an interview with Alya, not telling her what they planned to talk about beforehand. "Why would you two break up!" she practically screeched in reaction.

"I don't think that needs to be stated," Chat responded diplomatically, wanting to be helpful after what Ladybug had said about people acting 'entitled' to their relationship details. He never noticed before, but now that she mentioned it, he saw it everywhere he looked. People were constantly talking about them and their relationship. It was different when they were being talked about for their hero abilities, but Ladybug was right, this felt… wrong.

Alya nodded respectfully, which was probably why she was Ladybug's favorite reporter. She took a deep breath. "With all due respect," she began. The words made both heroes' hair stand on end. "I'm worried Paris won't react well to the break-up. Would it be possible to not mention the break-up and just have you two spend less time together out in public?"

Ladybug could feel a headache developing behind her eyes and Chat had to hold himself back from offering her support. It was clear to see that she hadn't even considered the akumatization rates of the city when she suggested that they end their relationship. She took a deep breath and winced.

"Sure," she muttered. "Just… do your best to keep anything about LadyNoir off your blog." Alya nodded in agreement before she watched Chat Noir open the door to the balcony. Both heroes walked out the door and she was stunned by the fact that she now held one of the biggest secrets about the two of them.

The two went to the same spot on the Eiffel Tower as they did when they broke up, where they were certain no one in Paris would be able to hear them. "When this is all over, will you give me another chance? Just you and me? No hero stuff?" The questions surprised Ladybug as they slipped from Chat's lips.

"Yes," she admitted. "Once we get the Miraculouses back and people stop talking about 'LadyNoir,' I'd love to give us another chance, whoever 'us' ends up being." He smiled and pulled something out of his pocket. It was one of her ribbons from the night they broke up. She was surprised he had it, expecting it to have disappeared with her transformation.

"When that day comes, I'll meet you downstairs," he told her with a flutter in his chest. "No Ladybug, no Chat Noir, no one to care who we are, just you and me." He knew he was making big promises because of who he was, but he would do anything he could to get another chance with the woman he had been in love with for years.

She put the ribbon into her yo-yo. "Let's find him quickly, chaton," she practically whispered to him. "Until then, though, we should probably stick with separate patrols to avoid prying eyes. I can bring Rena with me when I go, if you want to take Carapace out." He nodded in agreement and that was the new schedule.

Ladybug would patrol with Rena on Mondays and Thursdays, Chat would patrol with Carapace on Tuesdays and Fridays. There were still pictures of LadyNoir posted online during battles, but they were a lot more candid and clearly not meant to be framed in a particularly romantic light. No one suspected the break-up, but people generally didn't think it was even possible for their relationship to end.

A few months later, Adrien 'told Chat Noir' his 'suspicions' about the villain's identity as Gabriel Agreste and Chat let Ladybug know, after 'getting Adrien to safety.' Ladybug called on the rest of the team and they did it. Using a total of 18 second chances, the heroes were able to stop Gabriel and Nathalie.

At the end of the battle, there were hundreds of pictures taken, including fistbumps that were meant to be platonic. Ladybug shared a hug with each of her teammates, but the only one that was captured by a majority of Parisians was the one between her and Chat Noir. She couldn't help but feel her heart rate stresfully spike at the photos that were taken.

She took the ribbon out of her yo-yo that evening before she turned back into a civilian. Now that they had defeated Gabriel, she didn't expect to become Ladybug very often and she would rather have it on her than have to transform back next time she wanted to grab it.

It took another few months for people to stop talking as much about LadyNoir and in the meantime, Adrien had distanced himself from the brand. He grew out his hair and started wearing glasses to hopefully avoid getting recognized as much as he used to. Around the same time that people stopped speculating about LadyNoir, tabloids stopped paying attention to him.

He couldn't feel luckier about that. If she were willing to give him a second chance, he could give her more of the anonymity that she wanted. Information about LadyNoir was only showing up once every few weeks and that was enough for Marinette. She used the ribbon to wrap up her pencils, grabbed her sketchbook and went to the base of the Eiffel Tower.

No one approached her the first day she went out, but she held out hope that he would come and find her, just like they had talked about. He would come to the ground level of the Eiffel Tower and she could meet the face behind the man who had been exclusively occupying her thoughts.

She went home when the sun started to set. She glanced through her sketchbook on the metro ride home and couldn't help but look at the leather jacket design she'd been unconsciously working on while she waited for the partner who didn't show up. This became her routine, going out every morning to wait for her partner with the ribbon wrapped pencils in full view.

"Nice ribbon, princess," someone said to her one day. She felt her heart stop and didn't know if she could turn around to see the face of the man she was already certain was her partner. She took a deep breath and turned to look up at him. When she did, she found herself face-to-face with one of her best friends from when they were in collège.

She hadn't seen him since they graduated lycée, well over a year ago. He wasn't even in magazines anymore after he'd been practically isolating himself after his father's arrest. She wondered, momentarily, if people would go back to photographing him now that he was out in public, but he barely looked like himself.

She was practically certain that he'd barely be recognized as Adrien Agreste by anyone who hadn't been one of his close friends. "I have to say," he added with a smirk, "Adrinette sounds a lot better to me than LadyNoir, if you'd be willing to give it a try with me." He extended an Aladdin 'do you trust me?' hand to her and she unconsciously moved to give him her hand.

"I would love to, Buttercup." His breath caught momentarily, struck by the nickname he hadn't heard since she practiced her love confession when they were in collège. She absently noted that his ribbon was tied onto his belt loop, as though she needed the extra confirmation that this man, standing in front of her, was her minou.

He helped her to a standing position and smiled at the girl he finally had back. "I love you, Marinette," he told her, heart filling with joy at the fact that he could tell her that without fearing for their identities or for anyone who was watching the two of them.

"I love you, Adrien," she whispered in response. She placed a soft hand on his cheek and used it to guide the two of them into their first kiss as a couple. Their first kiss in the no-pressure relationship, Adrinette.


Things are much healthier this time around than they were last time. Now the people who support our relationship are the people who actually know us, instead of strangers from our uni campus.

If you're wondering how this type of thing can happen to real people, my partner and I met on YikYak 6 years ago and it seemed like the entirety of our uni campus shipped our handles. Some friends of friends found out who we were and started taking pictures and videos of us and it was so awful and stressful, at least to me.