~.*~*~*.~
Her
~.*~*~*.~

Each raindrop was a bullet.

Ladybug felt each one as they ricocheted off her mask, deadly beats of time that passed with every second she wasn't there to protect him.

The lucky charm felt slick in her hand and she was sure without the strength of her suit, the beads would have left bruises in her palm from how hard she clenched her fist, afraid to lose it.

"Be okay," she chanted, trying not to let herself think. "Be okay, be okay. Be okay."

Did he really still carry it around?

Adrien had told her he took it everywhere. She imagined Chat Noir, carrying a charm from Marinette into each battle they'd fought since. Had he had it with him this whole time? In the pocket of those slim-fit jeans under the rim of the sweatshirt she'd made him?

By the time she made it back to the street with the manhole, it had vanished.

The asphalt had caved in. Water rushed through the cracks, little waterfalls to the drain below. Tree roots reached through broken pavement and downed brush littered the walkway underground.

His name caught in her throat. She wasn't even sure which one she should call for. She couldn't give him away, if Hawkmoth found out…

Ladybug felt sick. She flung her yo-yo into a tree (there were so, so many) and slowly lowered herself below the earth. She had to climb over debris, leaping as silently as possible, the sounds of pebbles under her feet blended in with rushing water.

The locker room was blocked, littered in debris. With all her strength she heaved a hunk of concrete out of the way with her yo-yo string until she was able to reach the door.

When she pulled it open, she found no one.

Panicked, she flung open each locker. The clang of empty metal seemed to reverberate with each of her heartbeats.

She had to swallow back a cry. She had to find him, she had to.

"Plagg?" she called, desperate, hoping, voice choked and harsh. "PLAGG!"

Only the sound of rushing water and rainfall answered.

"Okay, okay, okay," she chanted, opening her palm to stare at the lucky charm. "Where is he?"

She flipped open her yo-yo, searching her map of the city for a signal, but there was none. He hadn't transformed back. Which meant he was still Adrien, which meant… her mind spun. Nothing lit up, no brilliant plan to tie to the charm resting in her palm.

"Ladybug!"

Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sound of Plagg's voice. He floated at her from among the rubble, his bright eyes wide with panic.

"I stayed with him as long as I could. I couldn't get the miraculous without her noticing," he said, breathless. "Dumb kitten. He just had to try and find you. If he stayed put this wouldn't be happening."

Ladybug's stomach dropped, fears confirmed. "Which way?"

"Follow me!"

He took off, phasing through an enormous block of concrete and asphalt.

"Plagg!" she yelled through clenched teeth. "I cannot go through objects!"

He popped back through. "Oh, right. Above ground then. It's a mess down there."

Ladybug followed Plagg back to street level. Branches and brush reached through what was left of the asphalt. Everything was covered in puddles and mud. Cars were half sunk into the rubble or crushed beneath newly formed tree limbs. The few buildings that still stood were wrecked from the growing forest, swimming in vines. It seemed like something from a post-apocalyptic film, civilization taken back by nature.

Plagg was just a little zip of black, flittering with all his speed through the downpour. The camembert had definitely done its job recharging him. Without Tikki's help, Ladybug was sure she wouldn't have been able to keep up.

"Is he okay?" she managed to choke out.

Plagg stayed silent, just a stream of black in the rain.

"Plagg!"

He stopped suddenly and Ladybug had to drag her heels on the ground in order not to run into him. He turned, his green eyes narrowing at her face.

"Hawkmoth cannot get the cat miraculous."

"Why did she take him?" Ladybug asked. "Does she know? Are you sure she didn't see you?"

"I have no clue. Since when do akumas make any sense?"

He went silent after that and Ladybug went weak.

"Plagg, please tell me."

"It's bad." There was a little croak in the kwami's voice. "You have to fix him."

"I will." Her hand tightened around the lucky charm.

"Ladybug!"

Her heart jumped as Plagg phased through a tree, quick to disappear. She knew that voice. She felt like she hadn't heard it in a thousand years. Ladybug put a hand over her brow to block out the rain and saw figures running from what looked like a massive tent, erected as a temporary shelter.

Alya appeared through the downpour with an umbrella, phone already recording.

Nino was at her heels, clenching the hat on his head with his fists. Rain dripped from his nose.

"The akuma's got my bro Adrien!" he cried. "I think he's hurt!"

Alya pocketed her phone. "Can we help? Where's Chat Noir?"

"He's trying to cut her off," Ladybug lied, feeling her heart sink.

What would they do if they knew who he really was? For a split second she remembered Adrien, slipping out of class, showing up late so many times (right behind her!) with his (super believable!) excuses. How was he so good at lying? How had she been so blind?

"Hawkmoth knows who you are," she said, careful to control her voice into something brave. "It's too dangerous, I'm sorry. Can you tell me which way they went?"

"I don't know, dude," said Nino, looking near tears, "everything is so turned around. The guy's been missing for days. We've been freaking out. I don't get it, where—"

"They went that way," said Alya.

Ladybug took off without waiting for another word, Plagg's black streak already darting ahead.

"Hey," Alya called behind her, "have you seen my friend Marinette?"

"No, I'm sorry," Ladybug hollered back, trying hard not to wince when her earrings gave off their first chime. "Please take cover and stay safe."

"You've got this Ladybug!"

She couldn't get away from them fast enough. Their encouragement felt like weights around her neck.

"Plagg?" she shouted when they were out of earshot of any listeners. This part of Paris felt like a true forest, lush and green. There weren't any buildings left, just winding streets and abandoned vehicles in the middle of a wilderness.

"There!" yelled the kwami. He shot back to Ladybug and scurried to keep himself hidden behind a vine-ridden bus.

Through the far reaching branches, Ladybug could make out the dark tangled vines and branches that made up Evergreen's hair. She had come to a standstill, looking for something, and just beyond her back, Ladybug could see Adrien's hand dangling lifelessly, his miraculous still wound around his finger.

~.*~*~*.~
Him
~.*~*~*.~

He was so, so tired.

The forest was suffocating, green reaching in from all angles. It hurt to breathe.

Firelight flickered behind his eyelids and even though he couldn't look, he knew it was her. It was Marinette shivering in his lap, pressing her sharp elbows into his lungs so hard they ached, and he took the pain because it was her.

It was Marinette who giggled over cow puns and bounded out of helicopters without a second thought. It was Marinette holding him tight and telling him, always. Always.

Maybe it was okay to fall asleep like this with her curled into his arms, with her weight in his chest, pressing, pressing. He could hardly breathe around her anyway.

And then he was floating, up, up, and he heard her screaming, her sweet voice hoarse and raw.

His eyes flickered open.

Rain pelted his lashes, blurring everything: the forest, the thick outline of red. Ladybug. He wanted to go, to tell her something, everything, but it hurt so much more to watch her, to try to stay awake.

His eyes slipped shut and that was when he saw his mother.

His mother, reaching to him with her warm hand and warm smile, if he could just find the strength he could reach back. To where she waited, bright and happy, to a time before she had trouble taking a step, before her chest had seized and gasped while she told him, I'm alright, Adrien, sweetheart, don't worry.

He wanted to yell at her for lying, to fall into her arms and tell her how much he missed her. To feel that warmth and light waiting just beyond his reach.

But he knew, he knew Ladybug needed him and, even though his mother was there, an ache swelled deep in his chest and then it bloomed into a hot bubbling fire until he felt nothing at all.

~.*~*~*.~
Her
~.*~*~*.~

Without thinking, Ladybug shot out her yo-yo. It snapped in a spiral around Evergreen's middle. With a shout of fury, she yanked, hard and the akuma's feet went out from under her.

Adrien spilled from her arms and tumbled to the ground.

He was so pale and lifeless, hair limp and mussed, white tee soaked through and stained with mud and from the side of his lips she saw red.

No. No. No.

While Ladybug was distracted, Evergreen had wrapped her mossy fingers under the yo-yo string and sent vines growing between it and her body. They slithered and snaked and forced the string to expand, letting her slide free.

She immediately heaved Adrien back into her grasp.

"No!" screamed Ladybug, hoarse and raw, "Don't you touch him!"

She retracted her yo-yo and a tree bloomed in her path, shooting nearly five stories tall in an instant.

Ladybug shot out the yo-yo again, using another smaller tree on her right to swing past the one separating them. Her feet touched down on the newly growing tree and she ran horizontally across its bark. She erupted on the other side just in time to see Evergreen turn to face her, Adrien draped over her shoulder.

Vines shot from her fingertips.

Ladybug had to backtrack and dodge, bounding up and down tree limbs and behind abandoned vehicles to avoid them.

Her earrings beeped again.

"Why aren't you asking for my miraculous!?" she screamed.

Did Hawkmoth know? Did he know he had half of what he wanted, waiting on Adrien's lifeless finger? Why was the akuma bothering with him if he didn't?

Evergreen attempted to retreat without answering the question. Pavement turned wild beneath her bare mossy soles as she ran, melting it to dirt and grass.

"Let him go!" Ladybug shouted. She shot out her yo-yo again and let it wrap around a tree. She planted her feet, yanked with all her might and it uprooted, falling in the akuma's path.

Evergreen stopped and turned to Ladybug, lifting the bullhorn to her mouth.

"Hawkmoth ordered me to help him," said the voice of crackling firewood. "Do not interfere."

Ladybug froze. Adrien was right there, dangling loosely over the akuma's arm, his skin much too pale. It took her a minute to pull herself together enough to speak.

"I don't believe you! Since when does Hawkmoth care about other people?"

He knew. He had to.

But why take him? The trouble of dragging his body would only be useful if he was bait for her. Shouldn't the akuma be threatening his life if she didn't turn in her earrings? Why didn't Hawkmoth out Adrien as Chat Noir for all the world to see?

Unless he didn't know...

Her hand tightened around the beads in her fist. Adrien seemed to light up, polka dots filling her vision, but that was it.

And then it clicked.

She took a step forward, closing the distance between them.

"How can you save him?" she shouted. "You've turned the city into a forest! The hospital is gone!" She pointed her finger back in the direction where she was sure it should have been. She wasn't even sure she was right, but if she was…

"If Hawkmoth doesn't want that boy to die, he'll let me defeat you."

Evergreen froze.

"I can cure him," she said, clenching the lucky charm tight.

Please. Please. Please.

Hawkmoth's aura surrounded the akuma. She whispered something in a quiet voice. Without the bullhorn she sounded human.

All Ladybug could think about was the boy in her arms, lifeless. Why would Hawkmoth even consider it? He was so close to having what he wanted. Why would he care about Adrien when he had ordered Chat Noir battered and broken and changed more times than she could count?

Because he was Adrien… Adrien, who carried her lucky charm wherever he went...

Evergreen slowly lowered him to the earth, setting him down much too gently. His head rolled to the side, cushioned by dirt and grass, rain slick on his pale cheeks.

Then Evergreen held out her bullhorn.

Ladybug didn't even let herself think about it. She snapped her yo-yo around the akumatized object and flung it back into her grasp. It snapped over her knee and the black butterfly flew free.

She purified it in a daze. She didn't notice what happened to Evergreen, if she had changed, if she was wondering what happened. It didn't matter. Ladybug ran to Adrien, searching for breath in his chest. If it was there, she couldn't see it through the rain. She threw the lucky charm into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The ladybugs took over, fluttering over the city in sparkles, little masses of red battling raindrops. The city re-emerged and the green died back and Adrien's middle swarmed with them.

When they disappeared, so had the blood on his lips. Ladybug dropped to her knees by his side.

"Adrien?"

He snapped up like a zombie from the grave, so fast and violent that their foreheads cracked together.

Ladybug winced when he let out a loud cry and she went fairly unaffected, still protected by the suit.

"I'm so sorry," he gasped, rubbing at the forming welt. "I'm such an idiot, I—"

And then he seemed to cut himself off, staring at her in awe, his green eyes wide and so pretty and cat-like and—

"He, he let me win," Ladybug sputtered, rainwater flying off her lips.

"What?"

It seemed to take him a minute to register her words. He slicked back that gorgeous wet blonde hair so he looked more like a model and less like Chat Noir.

Ladybug had to remind herself to breathe.

Adrien looked nearly as dumbstruck as she felt and shook his head, confused. "I don't—"

Her earrings rang, cutting him off. "I go to have, ha! I need you—" His cheeks, which had been so, so pale just minutes ago, went pink. "TO! I need to go! Gah! I don't need you. I mean I do, of course I do," she corrected when his expression went flat. "Just not in that way. In platonic ways."

Lies lies! She let out a groan and wiped her stupid mouth.

"I have to go," she said pathetically. And she knew, if he had been in costume, that his cat ears would have laid flat at that moment, tail sagging pathetically behind him. But the only thing that gave him away as Adrien was the way his eyes went dull.


I'm more me when I'm around you.


Rain surrounded them, a heavy shroud between them and the rest of the world, and before she could think it through, she was grabbing him, pulling him close because he was Chat Noir, the boy she loved, and she had almost, he had almost...

The back of his shirt crinkled in her fists and tears built in her eyes when he returned her embrace, his hands somehow burning through her back even though she knew he was freezing.

"Ladybug, I—"

"I'm glad you're okay," she murmured, quickly letting him go before she melted into a puddle of goo.

She sprung to her feet, not daring to look him in the eyes, and flung out her yo-yo.

"Wait." He took hold of her wrist and for a minute all Ladybug could hear was her own heartbeat. "I need to—can we talk somewhere?"

"Later, Kitty," she whispered so she was sure only he could hear. "Go get some rest, okay?"

He gave a nod, cheeks flushing again when she pulled her wrist from his grip.

If she didn't feel so exhausted, she would have burst into a blubbering, stuttering mess. Instead, she shot out her yo-yo, hooking it into a restored street lamp, and took off.

She didn't have time to make it home before her miraculous let out. She barely had time to make it to the next roof over. At the last second, she dodged behind an air conditioning unit and groaned, knowing she'd have to sneak down the fire escape later.

Pressing herself flat against the wall, she peeked over the roof's ledge to the scene below. The rain was so heavy now that she almost didn't catch the sight of Plagg zipping into Adrien's shirt while he tended to Treehugger (Evergreen, whatever that stupid akuma's name was) trying to help her find shelter.

Why was he so wonderful?

"Tikki," she wailed the moment her kwami fluttered into being.

"Oh, Marinette."

"Chat Noir, Adrien, he's..." Her hand pressed into her mouth, squashing a cry, pushing it down. Her clothes were soaked in seconds and she gave a pathetic hiccup. The heels of her palms pushed into her eyes, shoving back tears.

"I can't love him," she sobbed, remembering Bunnix, remembering Chat Noir saying her name so tenderly because he knew her, he knew her, and Paris had drowned at their feet.

"I can't love either of them."

By the time she showed up at the bakery, restored on its proper street corner, it was dark.

Her parents had bawled in joy at her return, thrown her into a warm bath, and showered her with hot chocolate and heating pads while she feebly explained she'd been turned into a bush and didn't even know how long it'd been.

They didn't ask for any more explanation even though the television in her room said nothing about people becoming part of the landscape. The news seemed to be playing on repeat, recapping the breaking story of the longest lasting akuma attack thus far.

Marinette laid on her stomach on the floor, covered in heaps of blankets, eating chocolate dipped in hot chocolate, trying hard not to look at the last poster of Adrien she had left on her wall.

Tikki was respectfully quiet while she moped, cuddled into the blankets by her side.

It felt weird to be home, like nothing more had passed than an ordinary akuma attack. She couldn't get it out of her head. The lucky charm, the way Hawkmoth had so easily given up when he was so close, Chat Noir (Adrien!) struggling to breathe.

Her phone buzzed just as she felt her eyes droop, udderly (utterly!) exhausted from the lack of sleep.

She almost ignored it, sure it was the millionth text from Alya: you scared me, girl! what's it like being a bush? did you know the akuma tried to kidnap Adrien? Nino has been wrecked without his boy. I was wrecked about you too, don't worry. So... spill it, were you two secretly hiding out together?

Half asleep, Marinette brought the screen to her nose and swiped it awake, ready to tell Alya just how bushed she was and to please stop texting her, they could talk at school tomorrow. Then her eyes came into focus.

~Adream~ ️

Her phone fell on the floor and her little squeak drew Tikki's attention over her shoulder.

The funny thing was, she had only renamed Adrien in her contacts after Chat Noir (ADRIEN!) had caught Ladybug staring at one of his billboard ads.

Ohhhh, he had teased, you're one of those Adream fangirls.

It had been so funny and accurate, that she had giggled, half out of amusement and half in a dreamy (accurate!) stupor, as she edited his contact in her phone that same evening. She could just imagine the smug look on Chat Noir's face if he ever saw it.

She was going to change it now.

She retrieved her phone from the floor, not quite looking at it.

"It's Adream—ah, Adrien! What do I do?"

"You could start by reading it," said Tikki.

With trembling hands, Marinette turned her phone screen up and swiped it awake.️


~Adream~

Hey Marinette!
Alya told me you were turned into a bush for the entire akuma attack. Are you ok?


No. No. She was not okay.

She could pretend she was sleeping, just wait to see him at school… her heart stuttered. School.

Correction: she could pretend to be asleep for the next hundred years.

"It's ten o'clock, I'm asleep. That's reasonable," she said, sliding her phone away.

"Marinette...we should talk about what happened," said Tikki.

Her head immediately shook, hair still damp from her bath and flinging in her face. She was not ready to face the consequences. Not ready for the rules Tikki was going to lay down. Not ready to be the Guardian.

"I'm sleeping," she mumbled, throwing the blanket over her head.

"I mean about Hawkmoth."

Marinette slowly peeked out from under the blanket. The news continued it's coverage. The last of the battle had escaped the view of any cameras. Between the rain and lack of civilization, it had remained a mystery exactly how Ladybug and Chat Noir had saved the day, but the Parisians were content to have their city back.

It hadn't mentioned Adrien either and Marinette wondered if Alya had been the only one to catch him on camera. She'd already told her she wasn't going to put it on the Ladyblog.

He looked dead, Marinette. If his dad saw that he wouldn't let him out of the house for a year!

Unless he already knew.

Marinette chewed on her lip. Talking about it made it real and the thought was too terrible. Worse than the first time by far.

"There's a good chance your instincts were right the first time," murmured Tikki.

"Maybe he's a fan!" Marinette said, panic trilling in her voice. "He just couldn't bear to let such an icon die at his hands!" She flopped forward again, burying her face into the floor. "Ugh, it's the only thing that makes sense! The butterflies, the book! Do you really think Hawkmoth akumatized himself to throw us off?"

"You basically did the same thing to throw off Chat Noir."

After a moment of rubbing her eyes, Marinette lifted herself up and felt like she weighed a million pounds.

"Tikki," she said, feeling her whole chest sink with dread. "If Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste, he's Chat Noir's father. How, what do I—"

"That's up to you now, Marinette."

"Help me!" she cried, throwing out her hands.

"You're the guardian. I can't make the decisions for you," said Tikki in a soothing voice, fluttering into her open palms. "I can just be here, no matter what."

Marinette felt her stomach churn. "This is why Chat Blanc happened, isn't it?"

"It would make the most sense," Tikki said, softly.

She collapsed into her blanket pile again, throwing an arm over her eyes while Tikki floated above her.

"He said, he said Hawkmoth found out about us, our love did it…do you think…he loved me as Marinette too?"

Tikki remained silent and it told more than words could.

Tears leaked out of the corners of Marinette's eyes, silent and heavy. "Why doesn't Bunnix just come now and fix this? Or is she going to wait until the world ends again?" She pictured that other version of herself, crumpling to dust beneath her fingers.

"Time is a fragile thing," said Tikki. "One act in the wrong moment has entirely different consequences than the same act in the right one."

"So this is the right one?"

"I wish I could tell you, Marinette. I don't have the power of the rabbit."

"Ugh!" She flipped onto her stomach, burying her head in her arms as tears continued to spill. "I hate this!"

Her phone chirped again. She wiped her eyes with a shaky hand and swiped her phone screen awake.


~Adream~

Hope I didn't cat ch you at a bad time. See you in school tomorrow?


Marinette's heart skipped a beat. She squinted at the line again.

"Omigod Tikki. He punned at me."

Tikki read over her shoulder. "He did?"

"There!" Marinette jabbed a finger into the screen. "He left a space!"

"Maybe it was a typo?"

"And it just happened to spell CAT?" She scrambled to her knees. "Tikki, what if he thinks—what if he knows? What do I do?"

"Talk to him."

"But then he will know!"

"As Ladybug," said Tikki. "You need to tell him about Hawkmoth as soon as you can. If he really is his father..."

"I know!" Marinette folded over her knees into a big pathetic human ball. Her heart felt like it was literally breaking. "I… I can't Tikki. His father is all he has left."

"He has you."

All the life seemed to fizzle out of her. "Can I at least sleep on this?"

"Of course," said Tikki. "Everything looks brighter after a good night's rest."

But a good night's rest didn't come. In fact, Marinette couldn't even find the energy to make it to bed. There was a gentle rap on her door and when she didn't answer, Tom poked his head through the hatch. She didn't want to alarm him with her blotchy face and croaky voice, so she pretended to be asleep under the mounds of blankets on her floor.

She heard the hatch to her room close. She closed her eyes again, reliving every moment of the battle, of their time alone in the woods, of Gabriel Agreste ripping Chat Noir's ring from his finger, and Adrien, limp in the rain.

She wasn't sure how long it had been when there was another knock. She felt hot bundled in all the blankets and stiff from the days' events. She was about to ask her dad if he could bring her something for her pounding head when he knocked again.

"Dad?" she asked, pulling the covers off her head.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound wasn't coming from her door, but rather the window above her bed. Even with the dark and the rain, she could see the unmistakable shine of a cat's eyes through the glass.

"Tikki!" she hissed, bolting to her feet. In her quick movement, her foot tangled in the blankets and she slammed back into the floor, landing on one knee. She let out a sharp hiss of pain.

"Marinette?" her mom, voice groggy from sleep.

"Tripped," she managed to squeak.

"Okay, be careful. It's the middle of the night, try to get some sleep."

"Okay, Mom! Going to sleep in my bed now, don't need anything else goodnight!"

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Marinette froze for a long moment. Tikki had made herself scarce, which only could mean... She looked back up and saw a reflection on green.

She scrambled up her ladder, babying the knee she'd slammed, until she made it to her bed. Chat Noir was still staring down at her and the glow of the television below was enough to light up the sheepish smile spread across his lips.

She opened the window and immediately felt the chill of rain and wind blow through her pajamas.

"Hello, purrincess."

Without any hesitation, she grabbed that stupid cat's bell and tugged him in. He landed on all fours on her bedspread and she slammed the window shut behind him.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Sorry, Marinette!" he gasped, cheeks bright red and looking suddenly so sheepish that she couldn't help but see Adrien in him. "I didn't mean to...I just, um, wanted to check to see if you were okay," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, tail twitching anxiously behind him. "Uh, I heard you got turned into a bush?"

She suddenly could not form any coherent words and a weird popping sound came out of her lips while they floundered. She was drowning in air, like a fish. She looked like a weird wordless fish with fish lips.

"Anyway, you're obviously, um, not a bush now," he said, looking more embarrassed with each word. His cat ears went flat. "This is probably pretty weird, huh? I'll uh, cat-ch you later, then?" He scrambled back up as quick as he had fallen down, claws working at the latch.

In his frenzied hurry, it kept slipping out of his grip.

It took nearly a minute of watching him struggle before Marinette came to. She reached around his side and slipped the lock out and up, letting the window crack back open.

For another minute, second? hour?! he didn't move, just watched her with those wide, cat eyes. Her heart was in her ears. He was so close. Which had never bothered her before, but now he was Adrien and...her chest was touching his arm.

They both went backwards at the same time.

"Sorry!" he squeaked and then he squeezed through the window, going flat in the middle just like his namesake, his tail following tense behind him.

And that was it. He didn't say anything else and for a second all Marinette could do was sit there, letting the rain soak her bedspread.

Without thinking she bolted to her feet, throwing the window wide. She hung half out, hair flattening with rain and shouted, "Chat Noir!" as loudly as she dared (which meant it was a strangled, half whisper).

But he had already slipped into the dark. She watched for a long time, waiting to see if he'd come back, if he would explain…

"Marinette?" Tikki floated into her vision.

"He knows," Marinette mumbled, "doesn't he?"

"He was definitely acting unusual," Tikki said non-committedly. "What do you think?"

Marinette lowered herself back into her bed, finally feeling the damp chill of winter rain on her skin. "I think…"

She let out a choking sound, a pathetic hiccup of a laugh.

"I think there's a strong possibilitree."