"I know something's going on with you," Viperion started, catching Chat Noir off guard.

"Wh-what?"

"Something's going on between you and Ladybug, you're not acting like yourself."

"Oh… that," Chat's shoulders slumped. "That obvious, huh?"

Viperion put his hand on Chat Noir's shoulder. "Normally, I'd say you don't have to tell me what's going on, but I don't think things are going to end up well if whatever's wrong doesn't get fixed soon."

He groaned in response and sank down to the floor with arms crossed. "She doesn't need me anymore."

Okay, that was not what Luka expected to hear.

"'Doesn't need you'? Chat Noir, she needs you more than anyone else."

Chat scoffed. "She doesn't. She needs you more these days than me. Ladybug's brought so many new heroes to the team, I'm barely needed for anything. She's always leaving to bring someone back and then when the akuma's fought, she and whoever the hero-of-the-day is, runs off. And I'm left behind."

"So you're feeling like a neglected kitty?" He asked with a straight face.

Chat Noir tried to maintain his emotionless expression, but couldn't help but snort. "I guess I am."

"I can understand why and how you feel that way, but have you thought of it from her perspective?" Viperion asked.

Chat's eyes darted to him.

"She needs to build the team because Shadow Moth is so much stronger now, and the two of you and your powers alone aren't enough anymore for most fights. If you'd ask her, I'm sure she'd tell you she'd prefer it being back to just the two of you saving Paris."

His eyes dropped to the ground. "I don't know about that…and it's not even just that. I don't know how so many problems have come between us now."

"What else?"

"It's...identity revealing."

Viperion paused for a moment, considering his next move carefully. "Well that's okay, because I know your identity already, Adrien."

Chat Noir's eyes bugged out of his head, or at least, that's how they felt. "H-How?!"

"Wishmaker," he said simply. "And then again today. I don't think there was a chance I wouldn't find out at this point."

Chat took a moment to recover himself slightly, then smiled. "So you know that I know who you are, since I was the one to suggest you use that Miraculous."

"I do, yes," Viperion laughed.

"I'm glad it's you who knows, Luka, or else Ladybug would never let me hear the end of it! She knows you know, right?"

"Yeah about that… She doesn't, I lied to her."

"You lied to Ladybug?!" Chat's jaw dropped.

Viperion kicked his foot on the ground anxiously. "I really don't like that I did, but knowing her, she's just going to blame herself and worry I'd expose you two somehow, she'd question her judgement. She can't be distracted and worried over this."

"'Expose you two'...you-you know who she is?" he stammered.

Viperion nodded. "I found out the same way I found out about you, fighting Wishmaker. Then again today with Façade Lifter. But I can't bring myself to tell her yet, it's not the right time."

The bracelet made a noise, indicating it was just about to detransform him.
"I should recharge and get this back to Ladybug."

"And I need to get back to Lila's birthday party before people start suspecting me," he rolled his eyes. "My father forced me to go, but every time I see her, I think about what she did to Marinette and it makes me angry," his fists clenched.

"What did she do?" Viperion asked, feeling anger begin to bubble up within him.

"Don't worry, the crisis has been temporarily averted. I'll tell you what happened later, right now I've really gotta head back. My cousin's at the party as well so there's no getting out of it. I'll text you so we can meet up," he grabbed his baton and extended it, heading towards the edge of the building.

"Not a problem, enjoy what you can of the party!"

"Hey Luka?" Chat Noir stopped and turned around. "Thanks, for having my back and wanting to help. It's...been a lot to deal with."

He smiled. "Of course, Adrien. You're my friend, I'll always have your back."

Viperion followed Chat Noir on his way back to the hotel, keeping his distance so as not to draw more attention to the cat hero. Ladybug was there, talking with some of the kids in her class, working on calming them down. Lila was back to her usual self, behaving as sweet and innocent and disgusting as she could manage. "It was the akuma's power that made me say those things! I would never be so mean, you know that!"

"Ready Ladybug?" Viperion asked as he walked up behind her.

Ladybug sighed. "I don't think there's much more I can do here, she's on her own."

Viperon led her out of the hotel. He brought her to one of the rooftops within view of the Liberty before he stopped.

"Is everything okay, Viperion?" she asked. She clearly had worked very hard to train herself not to sound too familiar, if he didn't know any better, he'd probably deny it if someone told him she was Marinette, she did such a good job.

"You've noticed something's been bothering Chat Noir lately, haven't you?" he got straight to the point.

Ladybug's gentle smile faded. "Oh… yeah. You've noticed too?"

He nodded, analyzing her expression. She was sad, her shoulders hunched slightly, appearing almost defeated.

"I asked him if everything was okay, but he said he was fine and left. I didn't want to press him about it," she rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "I know I can't ask him if it's something in his personal life, but it's hard knowing something's wrong and I can't help him fix it."

"Is there a reason you don't want to know his identity? You're the guardian now, and you know everybody else's, so realistically, it'd be good to know who he is too, wouldn't it?"

She backed up a couple of steps to lean herself against the wall. She let out a heavy sigh, crossing her arms. "I'm afraid of what will happen if we know about each other. I- There was an akuma once. But not here, in another timeline. It's-it's complicated," she struggled to figure out how to say it to both make sense and get to the point. "But I was brought there because Chat Noir was akumatized. He...he destroyed the world," her eyes began to tear. She sniffed and rubbed them away as quickly as they fell. "Because he knew about me, because we ended up together. Hawk Moth found out and used that against us to hurt him. Just because he knew. Just because we were together. So we can't know about each other."

Viperion's eyes grew wide and strained. He reached out to give her a hug, not even thinking that hugging Ladybug is not something he's ever done and might seem out of place. She didn't notice though, not even hesitating to lean on his shoulder and tried steadying her breath before speaking again.

"I have nightmares," she admitted, rushing out like water blocked off by a dam that was cracking. "About Chat Blanc. But the one thing that haunts me the most was him saying, 'Our love did this to the world, m'lady.'"
Ladybug stopped to focus, trying to focus on everything that happened that day. "I looked around and Paris was completely underwater. The moon was absolutely destroyed. The only life alive was Chat Blanc, all alone and suffering. When I fought him, some of himself came through at times. He begged me to save him. I don't know what all happened to get to that point, but I can't let that ever be Chat Noir's reality. I don't want to even tell him that this kind of thing could happen to him."

So Chat Noir being kept in the dark wasn't because she didn't feel the need to tell him. It wasn't just a matter of safety. It was because she saw another reality where the secrets they kept and the love they shared were used against them like a weapon to bring about the apocalypse, where Adrien was the lone survivor and the cause.

Luka was not the one to tell him about this, this was something Ladybug or Marinette had to do herself. This was personal and emotional, he someday needed to hear this from her to help tear down that wall between them.

"Chat Noir's been feeling unneeded, Ladybug," he gently nudged her away from his shoulder so she'd look at him. "And left out. I'm not fully sure what happened to lead to that, but he's been struggling with it. I think Chat Blanc is something you're going to have to tell him about. I know you want to protect him, but I think knowing the truth is better for the both of you than keeping it away from him."

Ladybug's eyes drifted away. They closed as she took in his words.
Her Kitty needed her. What if by keeping these secrets to herself, it causes her to lose him? What if avoiding telling him somehow causes a similar outcome to Chat Blanc?

"But also, just because Chat Blanc happened in that timeline, that was due to the circumstances of that moment in time. That was a while ago now, wasn't it? Things have changed since then, it could even have changed enough that it couldn't possibly happen at all now. Chat Blanc doesn't mean you can't ever tell him about it, or him about you. It also doesn't mean that you can't be with him...if that's what you'd want."

Ladybug turned to him, her eyes wide, still shining from her tears.

"It was my fault, too, that it happened. I'm also responsible," she whispered.

"Your fault?" he sounded stunned. "Ladybug-"

"No, really," she cut him off. "I don't know what happened, but when I went to help, to try to understand him and what was going on, he screamed that I didn't love him anymore. I know I did or said something to make him believe that to get him akumatized and caused all that pain. Just like now, where he feels like he's unneeded and unwanted. I've caused it...and it could happen again regardless," she suddenly realized. "You're right, Viperion, I do need to talk to him."

He grinned at the conviction in her voice. "I'm happy to hear it. Don't hesitate to come to me if you need any help. Be it as Viperion or as Luka," he hopped down off the roof and detransformed in the alleyway.

"Thank you for listening and helping me with this. I've been feeling lost and alone for so long about Chat Noir and Chat Blanc. But you've helped me feel more clear headed and hopeful that things will work out okay."

"You're not alone anymore, Ladybug. Never forget that."

Ladybug rushed up and wrapped her arms around Luka's neck. "Thank you," she whispered.
When she let go, she took his Miraculous. With a cheerful wave, she flung her yo-yo out in front of her and disappeared into the Parisian sky.

Luka's glance fell back to the alleyway wall. "Oh Marinette, who knew that besides Adrien and myself, you've had another guy in your heart that you've fought so hard not to love?"