Author's Note: This is the final chapter (possibly an epilogue to come later).

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Her
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Ladybug found him sitting on the edge of the roof.

The tail of his suit drooped still beside him, cat ears laid flat into his blonde hair and the hunch in his back gave the illusion that he was leaning over the edge, boots planted on the wall below, ready to propel him. But it was the claw marks that unnerved her most, scratches dug into brick where his hands held on.

He didn't sing and she wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

She kept expecting him to turn white.

"Chat Noir?"

He seemed to hunch further. "I am so sorry, Ladybug. I—I'm putting you in danger and I—"

She could hear the tears clenching his throat and it broke her, knowing her partner and who he was and the vague messages that brought her panicked to the rooftop.

Their exchange in school had left her jittery the rest of the day. Adrien absolutely knew she was Ladybug and she knew he knew that she knew he knew. The whole thing made her head spin.

Marinette had texted him back between classes, asking how he was feeling and promising to call after school. She never heard back. And by the time she called, pacing in her bedroom, the phone rang and rang and then she squirmed and worried until Tikki told her Ladybug had a message.

She couldn't transform fast enough.

"I keep hoping I'm wrong," Chat Noir choked out, "but it's the only thing that makes sense. If you heard what he said. The way he—" He folded in half, bringing up his knees and his claws thread into his hair, tugging at it so hard she could see his human ears. His breath came in and out in gasps.

Everything in her wanted to pull him from the ledge, but she remembered Paris under water and it sent her hand to her yo-yo.

"Chat, we can talk, but you need to detransform. Now."

His green eyes shot to her, wide and watery and filled with pain.

"Now, Chat Noir!" she ordered, gaze ripping from him to scan the sky. Her yo-yo spun between them and she knew he didn't understand, that he couldn't understand, but he slinked from the edge of the roof and sunk down behind it, out of sight.

"Claws out," he muttered and Plagg swirled into sight while Adrien buried his face into his hands.

"Kid," the kwami cooed, not even bothering to hide his concern.

Ladybug felt her heart sink, but she didn't dare look at him, knowing how much it would still unnerve her. "You have to calm down."

His head shook in his palms and his back heaved up and down. "I can't, I—if he—how am I supposed to—"

"Please," she begged, forcing herself to turn to him. "I can't fight you again."

He lifted his face, but she could only see bits and pieces of it, outlined by the shadows of street lamps, torn and exhausted.

"What?"

"I'll explain later, just…try to distract yourself, okay? Think of something else."

He stared at her a long time, breaths shaking in and out, and then, with almost a hint of a smile, he said, "You—" He gave a choked snort. "Your lip is swollen."

Ladybug went red and returned her eyes to the sky, searching for butterflies.

"Ice," she squeaked.

He laughed, a strange sweet panicked sound that faded almost as quickly as it came. "You must think I'm such an idiot."

She thought back to their conversation in the cottage, when they were lost and warm with wine. "My idiot."

He laughed again, still on the edge of something more severe, and whispered, "Marinette…"

Her eyes stung, but she didn't dare to stop her search. "Quiet, Kitty."

Adrien obeyed. She could hear his breaths slow over time, fading beneath the cold winter wind.

An eternity passed and the akuma didn't come.

She turned to him. Plagg was resting in his shaking palms and Adrien's finger stroked him like a kitten, which she was sure the kwami wouldn't allow under different circumstances.

"I was so happy this morning," Adrien said softly. His eyes focused on the dark sky. The clouds were low, reflecting street lamps and covering everything in a sad hazy gray.

Icy wind swept through his shirt and she knew he must be freezing, wearing nothing more than the scarf she'd made him and a button-up. Everything was wrinkled from sleep. His hair tousled with the breeze, messier than it had been this morning and she suddenly couldn't unsee her partner.

"I was scared too," he continued. "Not because of you, I just…I didn't want to stop being Chat Noir. Plagg said, but now…if..."

Ears back, Plagg floated from his palms to his knee as Adrien twisted the ring around his finger.

Ladybug sunk behind the wall beside him, ignoring the way her heart pounded fiercely in her ears. She grabbed his hand, wrapped her fingers around his miraculous, and held tight.

"Spots off."

The magic released around her and Tikki spun into vision. She immediately settled on Marinette's knees, sharing a look with Plagg, both of them subdued.

The chill of the winter wind bit through Marinette's clothes, but she could barely feel it. Adrien stared at her in such awe that her whole face went red. An involuntary squeak rose from her throat. Instinctively she tried to cover her face, but she was still holding his hand and the back of his knuckles grazed her cheek.

She froze and his face flushed, but there were still tears trapped in his lashes and the reality of everything was just too heavy. She put their clasped hands down, but he held on so tight that she didn't dare try to let go.

"You two can't stay here," said Tikki. "If Hawkmoth—"

Adrien went pale. "I can't go home, I—"

"We'll go to my house," said Marinette. "It's freezing out here and you're sick—"

"Probably caught a cold from that cat call in the rain last night," muttered Plagg and Marinette went red again.

Adrien gave a sharp cough. "I'm just tired," he mumbled.

"Come on." Marinette helped him to his feet and the kwamis phased into their respective hiding places.

Adrien still seemed in a sort of odd daze and she wasn't sure if it was from the fever, her transformation or his father.

After climbing down the emergency stairs into an alleyway, the two walked toward the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Adrien had let go of her hand and shoved his into the pockets of his jeans.

Everything that she wanted to say, she couldn't. Not out in the open, with the public and Hawkmoth…

Marinette suddenly felt as if a million eyes were watching them even though the streets were mostly empty. Chat Blanc's words still rung clearly in her ears.

Everything was purr-fect until Hawkmoth found out about everything.

"You are so recognizable," she huffed. Summoning an image of Chat Noir so she wouldn't lose it, she reached around Adrien's neck and tugged up his scarf. He stared at her in silence as she wrapped it over his hair and tucked it around his chin.

"This is going to draw less attention?" A hint of a smirk began to crawl over his lips and she nearly choked him when she pulled it tight.

Averting her eyes from his mouth, she grumbled, "If you had picked somewhere closer, we wouldn't be having this problem."

"I wanted to make sure I was far away from him," Adrien said so low that she couldn't tell if he was angry or sad. "How do I look?"

Her eyes flashed up and even though his were haggard and stricken with grief, they were so soft. The smirk flickered back, half-hearted over his lips.

"Quite the cat-ch, right?"

Marinette went completely red and about-faced, shouldering him in the arm. "You look like an old lady," she mumbled, continuing their quick pace.

A super hot, sad old lady.

"I cannot believe Plagg," she muttered before summoning her best impersonation of the kwami, "Not a fashionable bone in his body."

"Told you I was a ten," chuckled Adrien.

"By Vogue!" squeaked Marinette. "But the better question is: how have I never realized you're a massive dork?"

"I keep that part of me buried deep, deep inside," he said tragically. "Then let the bug deal with the full brunt of it."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see him wink, maskless and buried in the blue scarf she'd knitted Adrien, but she was sure he was 100% Chat Noir at that moment.

"Lucky her," she muttered.

"Lucky me."

Her cheeks burned, feeling his gaze on her. "Do not start flirting with me."

Because she could not function, she probably couldn't walk, and she most certainly was not allowed to enjoy it.

"I'm not. I'm serious." And his voice was so sincere that she believed him. "I'm so glad it's you."

Heat flooded from her chest, burning its way into every limb and surface so fiercely that Marinette was sure she was a walking tomato. Her mouth slipped into a straight line, because whatever came out of it was bound to be the dumbest thing she'd ever said to date.

She could see Adrien visibly sink with her lack of response and she wanted so badly to tell him she was happy too, that he was the boy he'd envied all along, that she loved both sides of him, but she couldn't.

They walked home in relative silence after that, Adrien downcast and Marinette watching the sky for butterflies.

When she went to open the door to the bakery, she found her fingers were blocks of ice and, for the life of her, she could not make them function.

"Here." Adrien pulled open the door and held it while she went, blushing, inside.

They found Sabine removing the day's unsold pastries from the shelves. She looked up from her task at the sound of the bell and her eyes went wide with surprise. "Marinette! I thought you were in your room."

"Sorry, Mom," Marinette said, rubbing her frozen fingers together. "You were busy, I didn't want to bother you. Adrien needed me." A split second passed before she stuttered: "Help. My help! He needed my help. With stuff. For school!"

Adrien loosened the scarf from his ears. "Hi, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette's ever-intuitive mother immediately went into nurture mode, obviously not buying the school clause of her explanation.

"Oh Adrien, honey. It's freezing outside! Where's your coat? Is everything okay?"

He stopped trying to fix his hair, which was proving to be a losing battle and gave her a short nod. Then without any warning, tears started to pool in his eyes and his lips went so stretched that Marinette could tell he was trying not to cry.

"Is it okay if we go to my room?" she asked. "Without interruptions?"

"I'll bring up some hot cocoa and that will be the last you see of me," said Sabine. "You call down if you need anything."

"Thank you," choked Adrien.

"You're the best, Mom."

"Just try to be quiet, you know how your father is."

Adrien seemed to straighten at that and Marinette went flush with the memory of Weredad in all its new context.

"As a mouse," she squeaked, grabbing Adrien's wrist to pull him along. They made it upstairs without running into Tom and climbed the ladder into Marinette's room.

"I'm sorry I'm such a baby," Adrien said shakily, wiping his eyes. "It's just...your family is so nice."

Marinette's chest ached as she shut the trapdoor behind them. Tikki zipped out of her purse, silent and gestured at Adrien in such a way that Marinette wasn't sure if it was an encouragement or a warning.

"Here, uh," she stuttered, "Why don't you go? stay!—sit down!" She shot finger guns at her chaise and immediately flipped her back to him to screech at herself.

"I'm pretty sure she thinks you're a dog," Plagg snickered at her back.

When she turned around she found Adrien had obeyed, shoulder blades hunched and tight as he buried his eyes in the heels of his palms.

Plagg immediately zoomed toward Marinette. "You forgot to ask for cheese."

"I'll make sure to put in your order," she grumbled and without thinking added, "No wonder your gym bag stinks."

Adrien emerged from his hands. "You've smelled my gym bag?"

"No! Ha! What kind of a weirdo would do that?" gushed Marinette. "Right? Haha... I meant, gym bags are usually stinky, so I assumed if you stuff it with camembert it would be extra stinky, ha. It's not like I snuck into your locker to sniff it or anything."

Her arms crossed over her chest, proud of diverting that disaster, and then her own words sunk in and all the color drained from her face.

"No need to be embarrassed, bugaboo. I've had fans do worse." Through his red-rimmed eyes, Adrien smiled that gorgeous model smile and Chat Noir's shit-eating grin all wrapped in one.

Marinette was never telling him about the phone message she'd deleted. Nope.

"It is really really weird hearing you—I mean, Adrien you, not Chat Noir you, obviously—call me bugaboo," she said, nerves running up and down her arms. She collapsed into her office chair and it rolled backward across the floor.

"Sorry. I sort of pictured this all happening a lot differently," Adrien admitted. "There were a lot more roses involved."

Marinette instantly felt like a boiling kettle, a wave of heat rose from her neck all the way to the top of her head and out in a cluster of awkward giggles that sounded suspiciously like a hissing teapot.

"I know this isn't going to be an easy conversation," said Tikki (it already wasn't!), "but we really need to find out what you know about Hawkmoth."

What little smile Adrien had managed to allow on his face instantly disappeared.

"I think he let you win because he's my father."

Marinette chewed her bottom lip and immediately stopped, feeling her swollen one begin to throb. She had to shake away the image of Adrien hanging in Evergreen's arms, pale and lifeless.

"When I used my lucky charm… it was the one I gave you during the gaming tournament," she said softly. "I knew it meant that you were the key to winning. Not as Chat, but as Adrien, but I had no idea how."

She took a deep breath, twisting herself side to side on the office chair. "At first, I didn't know why the akuma took you unless she knew you had the cat miraculous, but even that didn't really make sense. And then it just sort of clicked, that I could defeat her because Hawkmoth cared about what happened to Adrien…

"Is there anyone else close to you that might fit the profile?" she said, voice coming out strained and hoarse. "A friend, a fan, an uncle or something?"

Adrien shook his head. "No uncles. My father was an only child and I...only had one uncle on my mother's side and he passed away a little over a year ago."

And then he went into a long sort of daze, staring somewhere past her.

"Nathalie," he said suddenly. Hand clasping his forehead, he collapsed into the chaise and stared up at her paper umbrella. "She's Mayura."

"Why do you sound so sure?" asked Tikki.

"I'm not," cried Adrien. "I'm not sure about anything anymore."

"Well, there was that peacock brooch…"

They both shot to attention at the sound of Plagg's hesitant voice. Adrien sat up, flinging his legs back over the side of the chaise.

"What?"

"I didn't really pay much attention to it then," the kwami said, tail twitching as he floated between them. "But there was a peacock jewel in your father's safe with the book."

"And you just now mention this?" snapped Adrien.

"Hey, it's been nearly a hundred years since I saw the miraculous. Do you know how many pieces of peacock jewelry you humans have made? I will never understand why those preening birds get so much attention."

"So you're not sure?" said Marinette.

"I was looking for juicy secrets, not jewelry," said Plagg.

"We hadn't seen anyone use the peafowl miraculous at that point," said Tikki. "Not since long before your time."

"Well said, Sugarcube."

"I think I remember it too," said Adrien. "Or something like it at least. I was too focused on the book. I thought maybe it had something about my mother in it."

Marinette stood to her feet and began to pace. "Master Fu said they all went missing at the same time. He guessed that whoever had that book might also have the butterfly and peacock miraculous. And Mr. Agreste said he found the book overseas with his wife."

"How did you know that?" asked Adrien.

Marinette instantly froze, picturing herself stalking Adrien and Lila in the park. "Um…"

"I saw it in the trash," said Tikki.

"Then how did you know it belonged to my father? Are you the one who returned it to him?"

Marinette steeled herself. She could tell him the same story she had told his father… that she just grabbed it when Adrien laid it down (because he was so cute! Omigosh, she could not tell him that), but it didn't match Tikki's partial truth and it felt wrong to lie to him now. Apparently, the secrets were just going to start flowing now that the cat was out of the bag.

Her pointer fingers tapped together while she avoided his gaze. "Um… I sort of saw Lila swipe it from you in the library. And then you guys met up in the park and she tossed it in the trash."

Adrien blinked at her. "No wonder you showed up so angry."

"Oh...yeah." She sucked on her swollen lip and winced. "Tikki said we had to take the book to Master Fu and then he said whoever had the book was probably Hawkmoth and I knew that couldn't be you, there was no way you were a supervillain, haha...so...your father was our next best guess." Her fingers twisted together. "That's why I was pretty sure something was fishy when Volpina randomly showed up after that."

"Sorry I didn't trust your instincts."

"Sorry I didn't believe you about Adrien."

There was a brief moment of silence and when she looked up she saw Adrien chewing his bottom lip, the sides of his mouth curled in the corners. It was hilarious looking back at that moment, when Volpina dangled the illusion of Adrien, knowing now he had been by her side and Chat Noir the whole time and Ladybug had almost given up her miraculous to save him.

A short laugh broke out of her nose and he did the same, letting airy laughter escape through his mouth, even if it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You must have thought I was such a moron when I came to help you with Evillustrator," he said.

"I thought you were a big pompous flirt."

He smiled his soft smile, uninsulted. "Just with you."

Marinette turned away from him and clasped her hands over her cheeks.

"I don't know where I would be right now without you, Marinette," he murmured. "I don't have anyone else left."

She slowly turned back to him and found him lying back on her chaise, eyes closed.

"You really think your father is Hawkmoth?"

Adrien rubbed his palms over his face. "I think I wanted so hard to believe he wasn't that I ignored the evidence. I thought when he turned into the Collector that was it, case closed."

Marinette remembered the destruction Gabriel had caused before the akuma, like a child having a temper tantrum and how his personality didn't match up. She also remembered how odd Chat Noir had acted before that fight, with the weight of her suspicion about his father resting on his shoulders, how he had been both sad and relieved to see the akuma, all at once.

How had she never realized?

"He must have akumatized himself, I would have never thought about that, but… why not?" said Adrien. "It obviously threw us off track. It's not like I've ever seen him with Hawkmoth. And even that doesn't mean anything. You hid your identity from me with Multimouse and the fox miraculous." Adrien's hands fell to his sides and he stared up at her oil paper umbrella. "That was brilliant. You really are amazing."

"You figured me out anyway," she said.

"I wanted it to be you," he admitted and his cheeks flared as he continued to keep eye contact with the underside of the umbrella, which Marinette was grateful for since she was once again a bottle of ketchup.

"Ever since Ms. Mendeleiev showed that drawing of our kwamis and I saw you sneak away," he said. "I tried not to think about it after that, because I was scared I'd lose Plagg." (Plagg puffed up a bit at that.) "But after I screwed up with Treehugger, my subconscious sort of took over, I guess."

He let out a long sigh. "My father has mentioned my ring before and today he... he sounded suspicious about my amnesia cover. He knew I'd been hurt." He turned to Marinette then. "You don't think Alya told anyone but you, right?"

"No," she said. "Nino?"

"He knows how my father is."

A silence fell between them and it was only interrupted when there was a knock on Marinette's door.

The kwamis immediately phased into hiding.

"I brought you two some snacks," said Sabine, lifting a tray of cocoa and leftover pastries from the day onto her floor.

Adrien went to help at the same time she did. "This looks amazing," he said, grabbing a mug when Marinette handed it to him. "Thank you, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."

"Does your father know where you are, Adrien?" she asked.

He froze, fingers rigid around the steaming mug and his green eyes sunk to the floor.

"Mom, can you not right now?" Marinette asked.

"I don't know what's going on at home," said Sabine, "and you'll always have a safe place here. But if home isn't safe, you need to let us know, otherwise you'll need to let your father know where you are so he doesn't worry."

"I…" Adrien's throat seemed to close on him and he let out a weird croaking sound.

"Mom, please." Marinette stared at her, trying to communicate without words. How could she explain what they didn't even know? "Can you just give us an hour or two?"

Sabine kept eye contact for nearly a minute before she answered. "Of course. Just call down if you need anything else," she said.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng," croaked Adrien.

"Oh sweetheart, it's no trouble. You're always welcome here."

When her mother disappeared down the steps and the door closed behind her, Marinette set the tray of goodies down on the chaise. Adrien seemed to be frozen to his spot, staring at the mug in his hands. She remembered Chat Noir and the way his claws had scratched through the paint on the ceramic.

Their time alone in the woods felt like an eternity ago.

He was pale and blotchy and for a moment, she was worried his fever had gotten worse. She moved beside him and put a hand to his forehead.

His brows raised under her palm and she snapped it back.

"I'm not sick," he said.

"She forgot the camembert!" cried Plagg, who had, at some point, phased out of Adrien's pocket to survey the tray of pastries on the chaise.

"Plagg, we have more important things to worry about than your stomach," scolded Tikki even though she was already sampling a leftover macaron.

"Easy for you to say, Sweet Tooth. There's nothing here but sugar!" Plagg flew in front of Marinette's face. "Where's the savory? The delectable?"

"Don't be rude, Plagg," said Adrien.

"There's probably some leftover cheese bread in the bakery," said Marinette. "If you don't get caught."

Plagg's eyes went wide with joy. "You are absolutely the best Guardian there ever was!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Cheesebread is not in any way related to my guardian capabilities."

"But it does make you my favorite," said Plagg, phasing through the trapdoor.

Tikki gave a sigh. "I'll keep an eye on him," she said and disappeared behind him.

There was a moment of silence and Adrien took a long dreg of his hot chocolate and let out a soft hum of approval.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Marinette asked him, willing herself not to blush.

"Much better now that I have cocoa." He smiled at her and the blush won.

"I'm worried about you," she said anyway. "With all this"—her hands gestured between them and out the window—"and after Evergreen..."

"You mean the akuma?" he asked. She nodded and he looked genuinely disappointed. "I was sure she was a Treehugger."

"I'm being serious." Marinette pouted and realized how strange it was to feel the general annoyance she would at Chat Noir directed at Adrien as the boys melded together into one. "When that tree hit you…"

A flash of the memory seemed to knock her breath back and it took her a second to recover. "You were really hurt. I'd never seen you like that—you didn't even respond—and I had to watch her just…" Her throat began to tighten. "And you—if I didn't beat her—"

"Hey, I'm okay," Adrien said quietly. "I promise. Don't cry."

She gave a loud sniff. "I'm not crying."

Adrien stood there holding his cocoa, looking a bit awkward while she tried to gather her composure.

"You don't deserve any of this," she continued and the tears really started to emerge then, stinging at her eyelids and blurring her vision. "You're the best person I know and it's—you deserve so much better."

She kept envisioning her partner in white and Hawkmoth frozen beneath the sea.

"How, how could he—?" She stopped to cover her mouth as a strangled sound crawled from her throat.

Adrien put his hot cocoa on the tray on the chaise and returned to her, hands hanging oddly at his sides. "You really think I'm the best person you know?" He gave her an odd, awkward smile.

"Stop trying to cheer me up," Marinette scolded him through her fingers. "You're the one who's supposed to be upset."

"I am," he assured her. "I'm actually teetering on this really odd edge between the best and the worst day of my life."

"Okay, maybe you should try to cheer me up," Marinette said, "because that is so sad."

"It's udderly tragic."

Marinette laughed out a sob into her palms.

Adrien put a hand to his chest, all drama. "But I'm moo-ved by how much you care."

"Oh my God," she muttered into her hands. "You really are my kitty, aren't you?"

His green eyes captured hers, the same ones that met hers under the umbrella, that peered out of a makeshift mask.

"All yours, M'Lady."

Her heart stuttered to a stop and the tears kept coming.

"Marinette," he murmured. "Am I the boy?"

And there he was, Adrien, Chat Noir, asking her to give him her heart when it could end the world.

Her hands slid over her face as she let out another weird sounding sob.

"I'm sorry," he immediately choked out. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

She dug her fingers into her brows, trying to claw some semblance of self-control back into her face. Rubbing her hands firmly into her eyes, she scrubbed the tears away and took a deep, long breath.

"I, I'm not ready to talk about that yet."

"Okay."

And he sounded so sad, she forced herself to look at him. His eyes had gone downcast again and she was sure she'd just turned the best part of his worst day into the worst.

"Don't you sad-cat," she scolded, throat still threatening to tighten into a sob. And then she was crossing the little floor that remained between them to pull him in tight. Her arms wrapped around his middle and her face buried into his chest. He smelled like his cologne: Radiant, Carefree, Dreamy.

Adream.

She laughed tears into the fabric of his shirt and shut her eyes tight. "I can't tell you I love you, I can't."

"It's okay," he muttered, but his hands strung around her shoulders anyway. "You don't have to tell me anything."

"I do." Her fingers tightened around the back of his shirt and her swollen lip throbbed against the fabric when she spoke. "I have to tell you why I made you transform back."

"What does that have to do—"

"Hawkmoth akumatized you." She clung to him more tightly and everything started to spill out in pathetic gasps, all the memories flashing behind her closed lids. "Chat Noir. You were Chat Blanc and the entire world…everyone was gone. Even Hawkmoth. And if he's your father, it's just so much worse, it's so, so much worse."

"What are you…? I don't..." Slipping his arms down, Adrien pried his hands under her grip and pushed her back, but she kept her eyes clenched tight. "What are you saying?"

"You found out who I was," she said. "And I don't know, I don't know how it happened, Bunnix took me to the future and I had to change it—I had to fight you."

"Marinette, look at me."

"You, you said our love did it. The whole world was under water. The moon was in pieces. It destroyed everything. You were so powerful. And you, you were so sad and all alone. And I can't let that happen again, I can't."

"Ladybug, please."

Her eyelids felt warm and sticky and it took a great deal of energy to force herself to pry them open again. For a moment she expected to find her kitty in black, with his cat ears pressed flat into his golden hair, ready to fight the world for her, and it was a shock to remember that they were just Adrien and Marinette.

"He found out about us," she gasped. "And I don't even know what us that was. I made you that beret. I didn't know you were Chat Noir, I was so stupid."

Adrien's eyes were somehow shocked and soft all at once. "You made me the beret?"

She chewed her swollen lip again and gave an aggravated cry when it hurt. "And now you know again and if he finds out… everything is so messed up."

At some point during her confession, Adrien had guided her back to the chaise and now he was lowering her to sit, hands supporting her elbows.

"I am so sorry," he said even though it wasn't his fault. He squatted very cat-like, coming level to her when she collapsed. "I… how long ago?"

"I don't know," she sniffed. "It was in the future."

"I mean how long ago did Bunnix tell you… when did you have to fight me?"

Marinette knew exactly when. "Your fifth name's day."

He looked so sad, but in a different way than before. "That was months ago. Why didn't you—"

"I signed my name on the card. My real name. You must have seen me as Ladybug and figured it out. That was the part I had to change in the past. I didn't know how Chat Noir found out I was Ladybug from that. I thought you just told someone and then everyone knew, but it's super obvious now that I know you're him...

"Then Bunnix showed up and I was suddenly in the future and you were white. I mean, your suit was white, you're white all the time obviously, but you were definitely extra white…" She buried her face back in her hands with a loud groan. "How am I still doing this?"

"Stuttering over my handsome face?" he asked. She peeked through her fingers and Adrien gave her an oddly self-deprecating smile. "And here I used to think you were just star-struck."

Marinette flushed burgundy, most likely some sort of purple at this point. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No! No. It's just you told me that you didn't like me like that so many times, I never would've thought you were nervous because you…I thought you were just a friend." He rubbed the back of his neck and chewed on his lip and Marinette almost died. "I'm kind of going out on a limb here, but that whole 'our love' part of the story sort of stuck with me. And the beret. I didn't even put that together until now."

"You're the boy," she burst out. "I've been trying to tell you for so long, but everytime I chickened out or my lips didn't work or something crazy happened!" Her hands had been flying manically while she spoke and then they ran down her face, dragging her eyelids as she let out a low groan. "Sometimes I can't even talk around you because I was scared that you'd reject me and all this time, I've been the one rejecting you."

Adrien was the one who went pink this time, but something ridiculously cattish broke out on his face. "You definitely should have just asked meowt."

Marinette's hands fell. "You did not just...You told me there was a girl you were in love with!"

"You!"

"I thought you were talking about Kagami!"

"I couldn't, I tried, and she's great but she—" He rubbed the back of his neck again, green eyes darting away bashfully. "She's not you."

Marinette covered her flushed, tear-stained cheeks with her palms, squishing her face. "No, this is not good. This is bad."

She felt his hand on hers, the cool ring on his finger pressing on her skin.

"Marinette—"

"Why would anyone bother baking bread without cheese?" Plagg phased through the floor with Tikki close behind him.

With a sigh, Adrien's hand fell from her face.

"How are humans not ruined for every other bread after they discovered you could bake cheese in it? Now if only it was sandwiching a nice ripe piece of camembert…"

"How is it that you've been around for thousands of years and your favorite topic is cheese?" Adrien asked grumpily, moving from his spot in front of Marinette to a seat on the chaise beside her. The tray of goodies sat between them, cups of cocoa now lukewarm.

"It's a coping mechanism," said Tikki.

"I resent that," Plagg said, floating over the sweets and tossing half a scone into his mouth.

"Because it's true." Tikki picked up a chunk of cookie and landed on Marinette's lap. "Are you okay?"

Marinette was unglued, falling apart at the seams and still half a puddle from the way Adrien's hand had molded warm over hers. She shook her head, lips pressed together into a tight line.

"She told me about Chat Blanc," Adrien said, grabbing a croissant and turning it over in his hands.

"Who?" asked Plagg.

"Oh," cooed Tikki and she floated up to nuzzle Marinette's cheek. "I know that wasn't easy, but I'm glad you don't have to bear that burden alone anymore."

"Did I really destroy the whole world?" asked Adrien. His fingers were working at the croissant, bending it back and forth to reveal the chocolate inside, but his eyes were fixed on the miraculous on his finger. "Even you?"

"It wasn't your fault," croaked Marinette. "Hawkmoth…"

"He must have not known who I was, right?" Adrien turned from his croissant to look at her and his eyes searched hers so earnestly that she wished she had more answers.

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Once we'd defeated the akuama, we couldn't let you tell us anything," said Tikki. "Time is a fragile thing. If Marinette knew too much, it could affect this timeline too, with equally disastrous results.."

"He couldn't have known I'm Chat Noir…he wouldn't do that," Adrien said, but his voice wavered, like he was waiting for her to affirm it.

"Maybe you refused to help him," said Plagg, still chewing. "He's a jerk when he doesn't get his way. It's true! And I'm not sorry either."

Adrien crumpled bits of croissant between his fingers. "She must be dead," he said darkly.

Marinette felt her heart sink. She knew exactly who he meant and it felt awful to know her kitty had been fighting akumas and bearing all of Adrien's burdens at the same time. No wonder Chat Noir never mentioned his family.

"Why would she want to leave us?" He spoke to the pastry, which continued to undergo deconstruction in his hands. "She was really sick. And then she was just… gone." His eyelashes fluttered. "I used to imagine that she'd been in some kind of accident and she had amnesia or something. That one day she'd hit her head again and remember us, like they do in the movies. It was a lot better than thinking about what probably happened: that she got one of her dizzy spells and she just... fell into the Seine or something."

"I am so sorry," said Marinette.

"It's okay," he muttered. "I've accepted it now. That she isn't coming back. I even told my father that I'd be happy if he wanted to move on with Nathalie. He was so angry when I said that… I don't think he knows how to let go."

He gave a pathetic laugh and rubbed his eye, smearing his cheek with chocolate from the croissant.

"That's why he's doing this," he muttered. "And the sad thing is… I don't think he'd even care what he'd have to sacrifice to get her back. Even if she didn't want him to do it, he would."

"Even akumatize her son?" asked Tikki.

Adrien let out another strange bit of choked laughter. "Maybe. I don't know. When I think about what it must be like for him, losing his wife... sometimes I think of what it would be like if it was you." His gaze didn't move from the croissant, but Marinette knew he meant her, Ladybug. "If something happened, if I couldn't save you...I know it's wrong, but he…he's desperate."

"Desperate people are dangerous," said Plagg from among the pastries. "Especially ones with power."

"Plagg's right," said Tikki, fluttering to Adrien. Her little hand wiped the chocolate from his cheek, flaking crumbs to the ground. "And you have power too, Adrien. The question is what will you do with it?"

"I don't want to hurt anyone."

And suddenly all she could see was Chat Blanc and the tear trailing down his cheek, the other Ladybug turning to dust beneath her fingers, Chat Noir with the fish wriggling in his hands telling her, I don't like killing things.

"You have a choice to make right now," Tikki continued. "Remember, any miraculous wielder can become akumatized. It's up to you to stay strong and keep hope to repel them. Master Fu trusted you with the power of destruction for a reason."

Adrien's eyes flickered to his ring. He stared at it for a long time before his gaze slipped sideways, finding Marinette.

"I choose Ladybug." He put the croissant on his lap and twisted the ring off his finger to hold it out in his open palm. "I'll do whatever you think is best, Marinette."

Plagg floated to Adrien's knee, ears back. "Even if that means giving up being Chat Noir?"

He gave a nod, eyes hard and serious as he stretched the ring out to her. "You're the guardian now. I trust you."

Marinette's heart pounded as she stared at the dormant miraculous, the one she'd seen on Adrien's hand a thousand times and never realized. "I don't…"

Her mind spun, remembering Chat Blanc, picturing Gabriel ripping the ring from Adrien's hand, using Chat Noir as bait against her. And then she thought of doing this without him, of taking away the one thing that gave him freedom.

She grabbed his hand and curled his fingers until his fist closed around the ring.

"I can't," she said. "I can't do this without you."

"What if he—"

"We're a step ahead this time," Marinette said, eyes flickering up to meet his. She felt Ladybug take over, all plans and action. "We have to get the butterfly and the peacock miraculous back. I don't know what that will mean if we're right…are you okay with that?"

Adrien attacked his eyes with the heel of his palm again. Nodding, he gave a short laugh and she hated that he ever had to make the choice, but when he met her gaze again, he had all the confidence of Chat Noir.

"You and me against the world?"

She smiled. "Always, Kitty."

Something changed after that. The atmosphere lightened and the two stuffed their faces full of sweets and lukewarm cocoa, reminiscing about all the times they'd been scrambling to hide their identities during akuma battles. At some point the tray had been moved to the floor, complete with snoozing Plagg and Tikki, and they had laid back on the chaise, side by side, staring at the underside of Marinette's paper umbrella.

"I had to rush back so fast after that, I probably did need a shower," Adrien said, laughing a little, voice thick with sleep.

"The model in you," Marinette snorted and let out a big yawn, not daring to look at the time. "I still can't believe you faked being a zombie. You should definitely consider acting in your future."

From the corner of her eye she could see a smile pull at his cheek.

"It was pretty easy to pretend I wanted to kiss you."

She bit her swollen lip, glad the pain brought her back down to reality, and buried her face in the side of his arm so she wouldn't have to look at his ridiculous grin. After a quiet moment had passed, she felt him touch her hair, light at first. When a shiver ran down her spine, his hand finally settled, twisting a piece of her ponytail around his finger.

"You were really sweet to help me with Kagami," he said, voice lazy and soft. "If Ladybug had asked Chat Noir for dating advice, he would've been really petty and jealous. To be fair to him, I was jealous of Luka too."

Butterflies fluttered deep in Marinette's gut. She gave a small laugh and her voice came out light and airy. "I'm not going to even admit all the petty and jealous things I've done, because you probably wouldn't like me anymore."

"I think I already have an idea. I've seen you bug out a few times, and I don't just mean after an akuma."

His chest shook with the low rumble of a laugh that didn't quite emerge and it sounded so sweet that Marinette had to resist putting her ear against it to take it in. She pouted instead and felt the skin of his arm, hot against her lips.

His fingers froze in her hair and his voice turned so soft, she could barely hear it.

"If it makes you feel any better, I still haven't gotten over you."

Flushing, Marinette wiggled until she was on her side, facing him. She kept her nose buried in his arm and let her hand drape over his middle. His breath hitched beneath her fingertips and she curled the fabric of his shirt into her fist. She could feel his heart pounding through it, matching the pulse in her wrist.

Adrien slipped his arm out from between them and rested it on her back so she could shift closer. With the haze of near-sleep, everything seemed to happen out of pure instinct: the way her body moved to press tight against his side, how, without his arm in the way, she could rest her head on the soft part between his shoulder and his chest.

She could hear his heartbeat there, could feel it thumping steady on her cheek, and was sure she was in a dream that she'd still be trying to hold onto in the morning.

The fingers in her hair grazed her earring. Adrien's thumb curved around her ear to the start of her jaw and back up again, joining his fingers as they outlined her cheek bone and slid to her brow. She kept her eyes closed as he traced the invisible mask on her face and when he spoke again, it was easy to picture Chat Noir.

"I'm sorry I lost the one you made me," he said quietly, as if he knew she knew what he was doing.

"S'in my drawer," Marinette murmured. "Ladybugs."

"They're the best," he chuckled. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Stop trying to get me to kiss you," she mumbled.

Because she wanted to. Because if they did she wasn't sure she would know how to stop. Because Hawkmoth could use it against them.

Adrien didn't respond, but his fingers continued to trace her eyebrows. They trailed down the tufts of hair by her ears and to her jaw again and paused for a long moment before he dared to touch a finger to her swollen lip, so light it tickled. She knew he could feel the way her breath broke when they parted, but it suddenly felt like she couldn't get enough air.

"I'm sorry I called you fat," Adrien said in such a sweet, earnest voice that she couldn't even laugh.

Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was Chat Noir's grin on his mouth. But when she saw Adrien's eyes, the way they went soft at her, with his finger still lingering over her lip, she came undone. All she wanted to do was kiss him, the partner who loved each side of her with all her ridiculous faults, the boy who was so kind and earnest despite the worst circumstances, and she told herself, just once, just this once.

Maybe it was already too late. Maybe they were living in another reality Bunnix would be forced to change. She could kiss him just once and let the world stop.

"Marinette?"

The sound of her mother's voice made Adrien immediately withdraw his fingers and they both sat up just as the hatch opened.

Marinette felt disoriented, like she'd been woken from a long, deep sleep. Panicked, she looked to the tray with the kwamis and saw they had both already phased into hiding.

"It's ten o'clock," said Sabine, poking her head in.

"I'm sorry. We lost track of time," said Adrien, standing to his feet. "I'll go home now."

Dread immediately sunk into Marinette's chest, taking away all the sleepy softness. His father was Hawkmoth (she was sure of it now) and he was Chat Noir!

"Tom and I can drive you," Sabine was saying.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary. I'd rather walk."

Sabine gave him a long, concerned look and Marinette tried to use her eyes to communicate. Her mother caught on and shook her head, meaning this was out of her hands unless they came clean, which, of course, they couldn't. She met her halfway.

"Well, you'll at least need to borrow one of Tom's coats. You can't walk home in this cold without one."

Adrien gave her a polite smile. "That would be great, thank you."

"And you'll call us once you're home?"

He nodded and Marinette watched him somehow steel his face and smile at the same time. "I really appreciate you letting me stay so long on a school night. I know Marinette needs her rest."

He turned to her and gave her a playful wink which immediately turned her into a strawberry. Or more accurately a strawberry slushie, a melted slushy. Except hot. A hot, melted strawberry slushie? Was that a thing? A strawberry latte?

In the middle of her internal stuttering, her mom had disappeared back down the hatch to retrieve a coat and they had another second alone.

"You can't go," she burst out and the irrational panic set in. "We could tell the police what we know."

"You know we can't do that. What evidence do we have?"

She shook her head, trying to find another solution.

"I'll be okay," said Adrien. "I'm good at playing the obedient son. It'll give me a chance to get to the bottom of this."

She frowned at him.

"Don't worry. I'll be as cool as a cat. He won't suspect a thing."

"Do not pun at me right now."

"It's a coping mechanism," echoed Plagg. The kwami emerged from his hiding spot above the bed followed by Tikki, who fluttered to Marinette's shoulder. "Don't worry, Buganette, I'll keep an eye on him."

Her eyes hadn't left Adrien. "You're really going to go back?"

He gave a light shrug of his shoulders. "Where else am I supposed to go?"

"Here," Marinette breathed. "You can stay with me."

"While that sounds purr-fectly delightful, ("See?") I'm pretty sure my father would figure me out a lot faster if I go missing again. The more I think about it, the more I know what I have to do. It's the only way we're going to end this thing."

"What if he already knows?"

Adrien went solemn at that. "Then I better find a way to snatch his miraculous before he gets mine."

"Don't you," Marinette's words caught in her throat, "Don't you dare try to do this on your own, Chat."

He smiled something that was such a cross between the two sides of himself that she could no longer untangle them.

"Wouldn't dare, Beetle."

"Stop acting like you're angry."

"Just trust me, okay?"

"I do! You know I do," Marinette said, feeling her eyes sting, "but this is—you're too close and he—and I can't lose you!"

The whole horrible flashback of Evergreen came back in full force: Adrien's body lying limp and pale in the rain-sodden earth, the line of blood trickling from his mouth.

His eyes went so soft and sad and for a second he seemed to move closer, to start to say something...

"How come no one told me Adrien was here?" Tom's boisterous voice rose from the floor below and the kwamis quickly made themselves scarce again.

"Because you're a big snoop," said Sabine playfully before Tom's head popped through the hatch. Adrien immediately put on his polite smile while Marinette tried very hard to look like everything was a-okay.

"Good to see you, son! I heard you are in need of a coat!" He held it out for Adrien to take. "Now, I'll warn you, it's a tad big, but you'll grow into it."

"Thank you, sir," said Adrien. "I'll return it to Marinette at school tomorrow."

"No need, that old thing has already seen it's hayday. Feel free to donate it if it's not your style."

"He's a model, Tom," came Sabine's amused voice from somewhere behind him. "That old thing is definitely not his style."

Adrien slung his arms into the old pleather, faux-fur lined coat that would have made Marinette groan if her dad went out in public with it. It hung nearly to his ankles.

"It's awesome," he said and his smile was so genuine that Marinette would have probably married him right there if he asked. Run away at fifteen and get a hamster and forget Hawkmoth ever existed.

"I'll walk you out," she squeaked and shoved past her parents to climb down the stairs. They couldn't even make it to the main level before Sabine had filled Adrien's arms with another bag of leftovers.

"You call us if you need anything at all, dear," she said.

"Thank you for everything," Adrien said. "I'll call Marinette when I get home to let her know I made it okay."

"Please be safe," said Sabine.

Marinette chewed her lip, feeling her heart ache when he stepped outside alone.

"Talk to you soon," Adrien said, voice soft. He gave her a wave and all she could bear to do was wave back before Tom let the door close between them.

"I think that one's a keeper, Marinette," said Tom. "So when's he coming over for a family dinner?"

She groaned while her mom gave him a playful shove.

"Tom, you'll be lucky if Marinette ever invites a boy over again while you're around."

"I'll behave, I promise!"

Their continued banter droned into the background while Marinette peered out the window to watch Adrien leave. He was definitely going to attract attention with her dad's ridiculous coat, but even when she squinted, she couldn't find him.

Her heart jumped in her chest.

"I'm going to go to bed now," she said, dodging her parents' questions. "Still totally bushed!"

She raced up to her bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Tikki came out of hiding to meet her, but Marinette sped past and climbed the ladder to her bed and unlocked her window.

It flew open, letting in the cold, winter air and almost hit Chat Noir in the face.

"Marinette," he gasped and that dumb cat (with his dumb cat ears laid flat and his dumb cat tail nervously twitching) held out her father's coat to her as if that was the only reason he had come bounding to her balcony the moment he'd left.

And before he could explain (probably something about how it might give him away or endanger her or something equally terrible) Marinette grabbed his dumb cat bell and pulled him through her window.

He landed like his namesake, all fours on either side of her legs. With her back pressed against the rail of her bed, it felt very like he had pinned her there instead of her pulling him in. His eyes wandered over her face, a million questions in his eyes, and one asking permission.

"Just once," she mumbled, raking her hands behind his cat ears to pull him close. Their noses touched and she didn't remember deciding to kiss him until she was already doing it.

His claws thread through her hair and her lip throbbed under his mouth, aching like the rest of her.

He pulled away so slow she could feel each bit of his lips part from hers. His luminescent eyes sparked green in the darkness, drinking her in. Then, all tenderness, he brushed his lips to her swollen one and only pulled away enough to speak.

"I love you, Marinette."

Every bit of her went warm and for a second she was sure she had caught his fever.

"I've loved you since Stoneheart," he told her, "Since you gave me the lucky charm you made. I should have known it was you then."

She kissed him again, felt the magic of his suit against her fingertips and his breath, tainted with cocoa, on her mouth.

"Since you gave me that umbrella in the rain," she said. "Since you took me to the rooftop with the candles."

"Just once," he echoed and she knew exactly what he meant.

But she didn't know where the moment would lead, if they would ever have another, or if the world would end tomorrow…

"I love you, Chat Noir."

He pulled her in until their hearts beat against each other, and his arms held tight around her back and his face buried in her neck.

"I love you, M'Lady."

"I love you, Adrien," she whispered into his hair.

"That was twice," he murmured into her ear.

"Don't push it, Kitty."

"Don't stop," he begged.

And even if it meant they were ignoring the inevitable and the uncertainty of tomorrow, even if meant the world would end, she didn't.