Chapter Seven: Phantom

Luka pinned her to the side of the building, and his mouth explored hers, his tongue delving into her hot confines as his hands pushed against her shoulders.

"L-Luka," she moaned softly, feeling him press against her core, and she shivered, but as his mouth moved to expand kisses over her neck, Mari swore she saw two green points glinting on the parallel building, which made her body tighten. "L-L-Luka," she said more urgently, pressing her palms against his chest, squeezing her eyes shut as he stopped his ministrations.

"What's wrong? You've been off since the haunted house," he said softly. "Did I do something wrong?"

The bluenette bit her lip, breaking the healing wound open again, and winced. "No, it isn't you," she whispered, dropping her eyes to the ground. "It's me. You've been really kind, and I'm messed up, seeing…" She shook her head a little, hugging herself.

"Adrien?"

Marinette's gaze shot up, eyes widening. "H-How did you know?"

He offered a tight smile. "Not hard to tell you have feelings for him," he muttered. "You got upset as soon as the other three showed up, and I thought it was embarrassment at first, but then I ran into Adrien before you came out and he got nervous when I mentioned you and said he should leave before you got back. Is he the one who rejected you?"

She covered her face with her palms, not wanting to let the sob loose, but it escaped anyway. "Sorry," she breathed shakily, sniffling.

"There isn't anything to be sorry for. I knew you had feelings for someone else, Marinette. Those don't go away overnight," he murmured reassuringly, pulling her gently into him, hugging her form against his body. "If you need more time to yourself, take it. I'll understand. If you want to wait for Adrien for eternity, I'll understand. Emotions are crazy, but I'm never going to force you to do something you don't want to do. If you don't want to be with me right now, don't make yourself."

"G-God," she cried harder as her heart contracted. "Why do I feel like I'm being pulled in more than one direction? What is wrong with me? I love him, but I like you a lot too…"

The musician chuckled this time, the vibration in his chest travelling through her body, making the bluenette shiver a little in his grasp. "Emotions are crazy," he repeated.

"Is that why some people keep their options open?" Her voice was weak when she asked, cringing under the secret weight of it. Not that Luka would understand because only she and Chat knew her sin, but still…

She half expected him to be upset, but his reply came easily. "I suppose it is," he grunted softly. The older man was quiet for several beats before he relinquished his grasp a little, and she dropped her hands to stare up at him with the tears drying on her cheeks. "Is that what you want to do?"

She felt the flush immediately dominate her cheeks, and the guilt scraped inside of her hollow chest as she dropped her eyes. "I d-don't know," she admitted. "I like you a lot…but I'm afraid if I move on," she whimpered, shrugging.

"I like you too," Luka said softly. "I know we're not committed," he offered carefully. "Yet, I can't say I'd be excited seeing you knowing you'd want to see other people."

She didn't blame him for feeling the way he did, but she didn't know why she felt the way she did either. She cared about him and Adrien. Then…Chat just messed with her head and body in ways she couldn't begin describing in any coherent form. She shouldn't care so deeply for a man she knew virtually nothing about. Except that he was…loyal, kind, brave, strong, and patient…most of the time. Plus, he made her laugh, a lot, even as Ladybug, but she'd never admit it. His ego didn't need the extra stroking.

"You wouldn't want to continue having fun if I wanted to keep my options open?"

He blew out a loud sigh. "What would happen if I fell in love with you? Would you stop seeing other people? There are dangers to just wanting to have fun, Mari. I could end up hurt, or you could, or we both could. I assume if you kept your options available, than I should too, and what if you fell for me and I wanted someone else?"

All perfectly valid points, and she covered her face again, crying softly. She'd made a mess of herself. "Y-You're right, s-sorry," she rasped, pulling away from him so quickly she heard him gasp in surprise, but she shoved through the bakery door before he could offer a reply or protest.

"Mari, honey—"

The bluenette ignored her mother's comforting voice, running up the stairs until she reached her trapdoor, diving into her room as her chest flooded with regret and agony. She clawed at her throat as it clutched, the pain swelling it closed as she struggled to breathe.

"Calm down, Marinette," Tikki pleaded, surging upwards from her purse. "Deep breath!"

She tossed her head back and forth rapidly, but still, her lungs refused to expand, warmth exploding up her diaphragm before she scrambled to her tiny bathroom, relieving her stomach into the toilet before the first haggard breath ushered into her seething chest.

"T-Tikki," she groaned. "C-Chat can only know my location if he's looking right at the GPS on his baton, right?" She rinsed her mouth out quickly with mouthwash.

The crimson being nodded slowly. "Yes. He'd have to have it pulled up, and looking at it to spot your yo-yo GPS, why?"

"Sp-spots on," she murmured dejectedly, blatantly ignoring her Kwami's question.

The flash of pink faded, and she flicked her weapon open, checking Chat's position. He wasn't nearby, but he was transformed. It looked like he was moving quickly, and quite possibly, on patrol. She needed to escape. Everyone…everything…herself.

She rubbed her weary eyes, climbing the steps to her loft, pushing the skylight open. She wrapped her string expertly around a nearby object, stepping off the ledge, swinging through the air in a wide arc.

Almost immediately, her heartache dulled, and as the wind caressed her face with forceful reverence, she grinned, retracting her weapon, letting herself tumble lazily backwards in a few wide somersaults before she zipped her line out again, pulling herself taut.

She pushed so close to the ground, her right heel skimmed the cement as she gathered speed, and Ladybug giggled as she slung her body into the air once more, closing her eyes as she reached her peak, releasing the yo-yo's entanglement.

The downward acceleration made her stomach lift up into her chest, and she released a whooping cry of excitement before the tears starting falling from her squeezed orbs, and she didn't even look as she toppled.

She whipped her string out expertly, opening her crystalline filled orbs in time to see she narrowly missed the ground this time, having to tuck her legs up close to her chest, and she released an exhilarated laugh before gaining enough altitude to release her grasp, running across the pavement towards the Eiffel Tower.

She grappled her yo-yo to the very top, climbing all the way up with ease and stared out over the city, taking a deep inhale of the busy spring evening. She stood on the topmost circular railing, well above the viewing cage, high on the tip of the tower, looking down the entire length.

Why did life have to be so complicated? She just wanted to let it go for…a minute…because she felt so good when she was…flying…

Ladybug turned around carefully, spreading her arms wide, and pushed off, hard, yo-yo firmly in her right hand, closing her eyes as the agony dissipated again, her stomach knotting in the free fall. No excruciation. No tears…just the wind whipping around her body as she plummeted towards the ground.

A laugh escaped her full lips, scared, happy, unabated, but Chat's emerald orbs flashed in her mind, squeezing her chest, and she gasped, faltering. Ladybug's bluebell eyes snapped open, and she moved to flick her yo-yo outwards for safety, but…

Dance with me in the beams of the moon, my knight. A woman echoed through her mind, and her fingers slipped the moment her weapon went taut, wrenching from her grasp….relieving her of her safety net.

***POV Change***

Chat raced desperately over Paris, willing his mind to stay blank. He needed to keep his brain off of Marinette. He needed to be free of her intoxicating aroma and the sinful want she kept erupting in his loins. He was finding it increasingly difficult to deny the bluenette, no matter how much he tried to think of Ladybug.

My Princess, I will always lay down my life for you.

His baton slipped as he vaulted, and Chat's boot barely scuffed the ledge as he gained his footing, pulling himself more securely onto the roof he'd been endeavoring to gain access to when the ghost interrupted his…mindlessness.

"That's it," he snarled, twitching. His tail vibrated, swishing violently from side to side as he pivoted back towards the mansion. He covered the ground as quickly as his empowered legs could carry him, slipping stealthily into his bedroom window. "Claws in," he growled, watching the Kwami swirl into existence again.

"Camembert," he groaned weakly.

"No," the model snapped brusquely. "What the hell is going on inside my head?" The ancient was fine, he hadn't even used Cataclysm.

"I don't know what's inside your head," the cat hissed in response, zooming towards the ceiling, well beyond his reach, and Adrien let a feral growl trickle from his lips.

"Plagg," he warned. "I'm not kidding, start talking."

"I've got amnesia from cheese deprivation!"

The blonde scuffed his locks, scratching his gash, reopening the wound behind his ear, and he howled in anger more than pain. "Fine, in the box then!" He gripped his Miraculous, and the Kwami surged into his face.

"Y-you wouldn't…" The ancient's eyes burned with emerald fire as they widened before narrowing to dangerous slits.

"Try-me," Adrien bit out dangerously.

"You love me too much!"

The ring slipped down to the middle of his finger, making Plagg grimace. "It's interfering with my ability to think, react, and do things as Chat. Then, I have Mari interfering with me on both sides of my mask, so, yeah, old man, test me," he dared in a tone so low it was barely audible to the normal ear.

"Fine," Plagg snarled, crossing his arms over his chest, turning his oversized head away. The only thing that gave away the level of his irritation for having to admit defeat was the constant flailing of his tail, and the fact his ears were lying flat against his skull. "You're hearing another version of yourself, of us."

"Another version?"

"Possibly a reincarnation," he admitted.

"I don't believe in reincarnation," Adrien snapped.

"Doesn't matter what you believe!" The Kwami swelled in metaphysical size now, dominating the large room with his power. "What you are channeling now, should be almost impossible! Sure, I have memories, but I don't actively think on them! You're…recounting things you shouldn't have access to! You're yanking them up from my subconscious when we're merged!"

The blonde recoiled, touching the steady stream of blood behind his ear, turning away, cringing. "O-Okay, if it's a previous...version of me…then why? Why now?"

He heard the ancient sigh, and the shaky breath seemed unsure. "You and Ladybug are not interacting as you're meant to."

Adrien whirled, frowning. "We fight when we're needed," he declared.

"Y-yes, that's true, but Ladybug and Chat are always meant to be bound, whether by hatred or love. More often than not, love wins, and they end up together. Four years, and you two are still dancing around each other, it's causing an imbalance we…haven't quite experienced yet."

His brows pulled together, and he used his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Why this particular set of memories? Why is it the same set of voices every time?"

Plagg sounded genuinely confused. "I'm really not sure, again, kid, we're in uncharted territories. You and Ladybug have been exceptionally adept at avoiding each other," he pointed out. "Whether it's a reincarnation, or just a memory of a previous Chat, it's still part of us, and…I'd take it as a warning that trouble is on the horizon."

"How do I make it stop," he growled, pinching his nose harder, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Rut Ladybug?"

The model made a disgusted sound, cutting his eyes to the Kwami. "Right, because one, she's going to suddenly change her mind after all these years about her feelings for me. Two, I don't have my Mari dilemma, and three, that's not completely rude, Plagg."

The being opened his mouth, coughed several times, and vibrant jade bubbles erupted from his lips, making him cringe and narrow his eyes. "I hate this crap."

"Something you need to say?" The blonde quirked a brow, retrieving his medical kit from his desk to bandage his seeping wound. It wasn't showing any signs of stemming.

"Haha," Plagg replied sarcastically. "Just trying to give you the name of the love of your life, but it never works," he sighed, putting tiny arms behind his head, releasing a frustrated keening noise. "I hate the magic sometimes."

"Do I know her?" Adrien tried quietly, pulling out some clean gauze. "Is that a way to get around it?"

The being startled midair, rubbing his jaw. "Maybe…and y-yes, you do."

That made the man stop, tilting his head towards the cat. "Well?"

Bubbles leaked freely from his Kwami, but he gestured a yes with his head, and Adrien frowned. "Something has been nag-g-g-ging at your mind," he coughed violently, more fluffy orbs bursting free, and his emerald eyes went wide before he plopped backwards, groaning.

The blonde rushed to the Kwami's side as he panted, automatically offering him a slice of camembert, but the being was out cold, his deep snores reassurance that he wasn't dead.

"Something nagging my mind? Aside from the phantom voices?" Had something else been bothering him lately? Something about a girl he knew? He tried to gather some semblance of recognition to go with the mysterious words, but each time he swiped for the connection, his brain felt foggy, and he sighed, trudging back to the gauze he'd laid out over his desk. He supposed waiting one more day to find the answers wouldn't kill anyone.

Author Notes:

Hm…feel like..I'm forgetting to do something important in this chapter…*taps mouth gently, shaking head, then shrugs* Oh, well. Guess it wasn't THAT important…

Italian guest, I'm VERY glad you enjoyed the panties, as I thought it was a lovely gem, despite being the second story where Adrien has stolen a pair from her ;) however, this was unbeknownst to the woman this time. You might have mentioned it already, but I appreciate hearing it again! I love his…cat abilities too ;) I want my own Chat. Of course Plagg wins ALL the awards…

Mayuralover, It sure is, but…teens…hormones…dumbasses. *shakes head* morons…Ahhh…teen years…

Guest, nope, he's a nice guy, but…teens make mistakes, and it's a story *shrugs* sorry? *cringes* apologies…

Maria Espinoza, thank…you? Welcome to the fic, hope you stick around!

Faefolk11, MARICHAT is where it's at! You know it!

Trying414, I want a harem…lol, no no…I mean…Luka and Chat would be great…but mostly just Chat ^_^'' Glad you enjoyed, and yeah, Mari enjoyed a bit of…double dipping!

Lala1224, My heart is mostly Marichat (adrienette in the end, obviously) but yeah, Luka is a great character, so thank you for the comments! Also, welcome to the fic, I hope you continue to read my writing and enjoy yourself! Yes, damn them for not coming to their realizations sooner because Luka is a great guy, but without conflict, how do we get a good story…but yeah…he doesn't deserve it -_-

NotOften, Lol, well…the thing of that IS…I am…kind of a reader with my own work. I have…the general idea of what I want…and some scenes I KNOW I want…but some chapters…I really don't know how they're going to work out until they're done. I let my brain do its thing as I go, lol. Sometimes, as with Thread of Fates…when Chat confessed his love…I went…HOLY SHIT WTF are you doing!? Because…I totally didn't…plan on that for the chapter ^_^'' so…I'm kind of reading with you guys too! I'm glad you like it though, we get to explore together! I may be the author but my thing I say is…my characters rule the world, they have a mind of their own…(aka…my fingers just…type what they want and I ALWAYS roll with it, good, bad, and make it work). Yes, I love love love his animal instinct. I want some of that…*blushes* Yeah, Luka is getting the shit end, but I'm sure…*fingers crossed* things will be okay for him *hopes* Yeah, she's having…some hormonal urges, but she…she's a growing woman :P lol!

I Made a Review, thank you for making a review, lol! Your…review…made me burst out laughing so loudly my husband offered me the strangest look when I read it! Yeah…yup…didn't work out at ALL did it? Dumbass cat, thinking it would help to see a woman he wanted with another guy *rolls eyes* Adrien? Hm…well…*looks at notes that are just doodles of Chat doing amazing poses before hiding them* it's in the works…? *smiles sheepishly* HOPE YOU ENJOY!