If you're waiting for a new chapter on another story, you didn't see me post this. I will warn you though this is heavy on the angst.
oOo
Back and forth, back and forth. She wouldn't stop. She just kept going, like a broken toy doomed to repeat the same steps until her battery wound down, which it had yet to do. Back and forth across the top of Montparnasse Tower, hands in her unkempt hair, panic painting her features. It had been almost an hour, yet she wouldn't stop.
She was mumbling under her breath, sounding a lot like an unhinged lunatic. She was desperate for one final plan, one last ditch effort, one grand scheme to pull their city from the ashes. Something to save them. Anything to save them.
Chat wasn't watching her directly. He was sitting on the rooftop's edge, back turned to her frantic pacing, but it didn't matter. He could see her regardless. Her expression was etched into his mind, the sounds of her footsteps and manic whispers crowding against his ears like exploding fireworks. Louder and louder and louder.
His claws curled around the roof's lip beneath his knees, fists clenching around the cool metal tighter and tighter until it snapped and crumpled in his hands. It was hard to breathe. He couldn't tell if it was because of his mounting fear or the billowing smoke surrounding Paris in a looming cloud of black ink, forcing itself into his lungs.
Flames snaked their way around every building, every house, every street sign and fence post, every bush and tree, melting glass, destroying lives. It spread with an insatiable appetite, consuming everything in its path until Paris was not a city, but a wasteland. He could hear the screams, though they sounded muffled and distant compared to Ladybug's mumbling, which was loud.
Too loud.
She wouldn't stop.
He whipped around, teeth bared, eyes on fire, and snapped, "Would you knock it off?!"
Ladybug paused only a moment, sparing him a glance, but continued muttering, continued walking. Chat's teeth ground together in agitation. She had to stop. He couldn't take it anymore.
He pulled himself to his feet, marching over to her with heavy footfalls. She paid him no heed.
"Stop it!" he shouted, lashing out to grab her with a forcefulness he had never known. "Ladybug, stop it!"
She turned on him, anxiety switching to anger in a moment.
"Let me go!" she retorted, yanking against his grip. "We can fix this! I can fix this, I swear it! Just let me think of something!"
"No!" he snapped as he tightened his hold on her arms, fighting against her frenetic struggle. "You're gonna drive me out of my mind! Just stop!"
"There's gotta be a way out," she insisted, her blue eyes darting about, looking as if she'd been electrocuted. "There's- there's just gotta be! We can't give up, Chat. I promised I'd protect them, I promised them!"
Chat gave her a vicious shake. "Calm down! Ladybug, just think about this for a second! There's no way on earth we can stop this! We're just kids, it's too big now. We have to surrender."
Her whole body gave a repulsed jerk away from his, though she couldn't free herself.
"Surrender? Are you insane?!"
"Maybe I am," he snapped. "But I'd rather be insane than dead."
It was hot. Uncomfortably hot. He had the sudden urge to claw his way out of his suit, rip the mask away from his skin, rid himself of anything touching him.
Tears began to slide down her cheeks, uncontrollable, powerless against the flames surrounding them. Her fists slammed into his chest, knocking the air from his lungs.
"Let me go!" she screamed out in passion. "Let me go, let me go! Chat, let me fix this! Let me save them! Please, please!"
She thrashed about like a caged animal, beating against him, refusing to listen to reason.
"It's not too late!" she sobbed out, choking on her own words and the smoke creeping about them. "It can't be too late! This can't be the end, Chat, it just can't be! Please, please, don't let this be the end!"
Her voice cracked, breaking with every gasp for air, every strangled sob, and something inside Chat gave out. His anger and panic and agitation subsided, lifting a haze from his eyes and allowing him to see Ladybug clearly. She was terrified. Out of control. Twitching and gasping and screaming. So small, all of a sudden. So powerless. A shadow of her worst fears.
His expression pinched, screwing up as if in pain. His grip on her tightened again, and he pulled her squirming form flush against his chest.
"Ladybug," he said, gentler than before. "Ladybug, it's okay. It's okay."
She put up a struggle, but was weak from battle, and soon slowed down. Her legs gave out from beneath her, both sinking to the floor in a heap.
He placed a hand at the back of her head, allowing her to bury her face in the crook of his shoulder. Violent sobs shook her whole frame as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"Shh," he coaxed, cradling her head against him. "It's alright, Bug. It's okay. You're okay."
She melted against his chest, curling up at his side and clinging weakly to him. She tried desperately to force the air back into her lungs, fighting a losing battle.
"I'm scared," she rasped out. "Chat, I'm so scared. What... w-what do we do?"
He watched over her shoulder, watched as his beloved Paris was destroyed in the fire. The flames danced and flickered and winked, as if laughing at him, as if enjoying the turmoil and chaos immensely. He tugged Ladybug closer to him, shielding her eyes from the scene.
"I don't know," he whispered against her soft, dark hair, smelling of soot and linen. "I... I don't know."
She trembled, hiccuping through her tears.
"My home," she choked out. "The bakery. My mom. My... my dad. And Alya and Nino. And Adrien." At this name, her voice pinched. "I couldn't save them."
Chat listened to her murmurs, surprised, intent, sad. Something in his mind shifted, something a lot like two puzzle pieces aligning and snapping into place.
His eyes widened, first in realization, in shock, then in horror, in grief.
Marinette was in his arms, shaking, crying her heart out for the people she loved, for the city she'd failed to protect. Marinette. It had been Marinette this whole time.
He stroked her head, her shoulders, her back, mulling over this information, heart jumping into his throat. Dear, dear Marinette, so kind and sweet and genuine. Dear, dear Ladybug, so smart and brave and compassionate. Her whole world was falling apart, the world she would rather die for than live in the ashes of. She didn't deserve this. It wasn't fair.
He closed his eyes against his crumbling life, a burning sensation threatening tears.
"You don't have to worry about Adrien," he whispered.
She sucked in a sharp breath, desperate for oxygen. Chat felt his chest growing heavy.
"What do you mean?" she managed to get out.
He didn't know how to tell her, his voice having shriveled up and surrendered for the moment, so he simply held her close, and waited. He knew she'd figure it out if he just waited.
Soon, she pulled back just enough to see his face. Her eyes were red, bloodshot, and rounder than two moons. She stared at him for a long moment, searching his expression for something he couldn't quite place, then took in a quiet breath, gaze deepening into sad understanding.
"Adrien," she whispered.
He forced a watery smile, just for her.
"Marinette," he said in return.
The smoke was getting thicker by then, rising up the sides of the tower and inching closer to the two. There was so much of it. Too much to fend off, enough to lace the bottom of their lungs. Enough to torture them.
She threw herself against him, arms winding around his shoulders, tear-stained cheek pressing against his neck. He held her fast, close, tight, as if daring the universe to just go ahead and try taking her away from him.
"You're alive," she breathed, enraptured, exhausted, relieved. "I can't believe you're alive!"
He chuckled. It came out watered down and pathetic. She slid her face up, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Then another.
He couldn't hear any screams anymore. He wondered, absentmindedly, if there was anyone left to scream. But the flames wouldn't stop. He was sure they were eating away at the tower's foundation that very moment, chewing at the support beams that held it all together, hoping to gnaw it down to a skeleton, weak and easy to collapse.
Her lips were soft and fluttering against his face. His half-conceived smile fell as she pulled back and her gaze met his. There was something meaningful in her eyes just then, something deep and emotive and infinite. He didn't understand at first, but soon put two and two together. He knew that look, that protective hold, that reverent kiss, that flooding relief. He recognized it as what it was. Love.
Heat and fear and desire all mingled, raw and searing in his chest. She looked so unfiltered and desperate. So scared. But, at the same time, she looked distracted, as if a balm had soothed her panic temporarily. It occurred to him that perhaps he was that balm.
He wondered if this was the last time he'd see her. He wondered what would happen next. He wondered if the destruction had spread further than Paris, if all of France was on fire, all of Europe, the whole world. How far? That was the question. How far would Hawkmoth truly go?
In an instant too fast to measure, Chat's resolve snapped. Soon his eyes were closed and his mouth was on hers.
The kiss was anything but passive, anything but careful and tentative. Chat poured all he had into it, like if he kissed her hard enough, sweet enough, as long as her lips were covering his, everything would fade away and it would be just another summer day. Searing emotion grabbed him by the throat, pushing him to pull her against him by the waist, to press into her lips further and further until he memorized the exact taste and texture, until he forgot that the world was burning. Ladybug seemed to be doing the same if the fisted hands in his hair were any indication.
The tower shook. He felt it tremble on its foundation, reverberating through his whole form, and Ladybug shivered, but he kept her firmly in place. His Ladybug. His Marinette. He wouldn't let her go. He refused to. The world would have to rip her away from his cold, dead hands if it wanted them apart.
Were they all truly gone? Did anything in the world really matter anymore aside from her? The thought was terrifying. To be alone on a planet he should have saved, living with that guilt, that shame. All alone.
As they broke the kiss Chat tasted salt, and he knew Ladybug wondered the same things as he. He knew her tears spoke of remorse and fear and self-loathing. He wished he could take this burden from her, turn back time and tell her everything was going to be just fine and mean it.
Turn back time.
To turn back time...
"Wait a second," Ladybug said.
Chat looked up, realizing he'd spoken aloud, realizing Ladybug had an idea. Against his better judgement, hope sparked in his heart, in the dead embers lying there.
"Turn back time," she repeated after him, as if her mouth was catching up with her mind. Her eyes took on a familiar glint, telling Chat that gears were turning and hope was rising. "We can turn back time."
"How?" he asked, not exactly a denial but more of an open invitation.
As she mused and pondered and planned, her hands loosened their grip on his hair, sliding down to drape over his shoulders. He watched her intently, pointedly ignoring his city view in favor of reaching up to brush away the diamond tears painting her face. He'd never been so intimate with her, but in the face of life and death, it seemed the only right thing to do. Maybe that's why he'd kissed her. Maybe that's why she'd kissed him. Just in case it was the last time they could.
Ladybug finally released him, now wrapped up in her mind completely. She reached for her yo-yo, flipped it open, and pulled from the shining center a small watch. The miraculous of time.
"We know things," she half-explained, knowing Chat would fill in the gaps as she went. "Things we didn't know a week ago. If we used this to travel back a week ago, we could put a stop to it all."
She tried and failed to get to her feet alone, Chat having to quietly help her with a hand at her arm and a hand at her back. He didn't dare talk for fear of disturbing her musings.
"We could find ourselves," she continued, voice growing stronger by the second as her faith in her plan solidified. "We could warn ourselves about Hawkmoth and Mayura, where they're going to strike, exactly how to fight them. Actually, why stop there? Why not help our past selves?"
The building then jolted to the side, sending both heroes stumbling. Ladybug screamed, almost tipping over the edge, but Chat's hand shot out and grabbed hers before she could. Still, the building continued to shake, to tilt. It was coming down.
The smoke was growing thicker, the flames almost at the roof. The sound of straining metal reached their ears, like nails scraping against a chalkboard in reverb.
"But what if we don't succeed?" she thought aloud, barely noticing Chat tug her closer to the middle of the roof. "What if we mess with the space time continuum?"
After he did his best to steady them both, she looked at him, a certain heaviness to her eyes that snagged his full attention.
"What if we don't remember?" she breathed.
He faltered at this valid concern, gaze softening, but was only allowed a brief moment before the building jolted again. Both grappled for purchase on one another, feet stumbling a bit and skidding to a halt.
She purposefully caught his gaze again, waiting for an answer to her question. What if we don't remember?
He took in her whole face, the soot and tears staining her cheeks, the mask tainted by shadows, her wide blue eyes that looked brand new yet so familiar, ridden with anxiety. Ladybug. Marinette. He wanted to kiss her again, if only to soothe the pain etched into the lines of her expression, but thought better of it.
"It'll be okay," he said softly, even as the sky fell and their city burned, even as the world caved in. "Everything will be okay, M'lady. I promise."
It took a few heartbeats of self-struggle, of fighting against conflicting feelings, before Ladybug allowed herself to believe him. Her features tightened in determination and she gave him a nod.
Holding tight to him like a lifeline with one hand, she clicked open the watch with the other. A light flashed, whizzed about, then faded to reveal Fluff.
The kwami opened her mouth to speak, but then took one look around at their situation, at the stricken expressions of Ladybug and Chat Noir, and decided against it.
Ladybug gave Fluff a weary look before asking she and Tikki to unify. As a white light flooded the roof and transformation took place, Chat kept his hands firmly on Ladybug's shoulders, nails digging into her suit. Call it senseless intuition, but he had a horrible feeling that the building's foundation was about to give way.
His horrible feeling was proven right when the tower suddenly jerked again, this time tilting so far that the roof went diagonal. Both heroes tried to skid to a stop, but slid and slipped and shouted until they hit the roof's edge and toppled over it.
Ladybug quickly latched onto Chat's hand and hooked her yo-yo string over the roof's lip, pulling it tight. The two jolted, dangling over the edge.
Chat sucked in a breath, but immediately regretted it when he coughed and choked on the thick smoke clouding the air. Flames licked and nipped at his toes, hot and greedy, ready to drag him in with a strangled scream.
Ladybug, gasping for clean air, somehow managed to point her umbrella below them and opened up a stark, white portal just at Chat's heels.
Neither had to speak. They merely exchanged a look, a single glance that took the place of years of conversation, and came to an agreement.
Ladybug let her yo-yo string loosen and slip from the roof, sending both falling, falling, falling through a rabbit hole.
oOo
Is this gonna be a one-shot? I have no clue. I'm supposed to be working on my other stories but here we are. Inspiration really is a jerk, isn't it?
Hope you liked it!