A gift for That_One_Mimic that I promised to her a looooooooong time ago!
Yeah, actually on the 21st of September 2017 (whoops)
But it was fun to write :D

As Marinette detransformed she didn't know what to do.

The whole of Paris was watching. It was being broadcasted on live TV and the Ladyblog, she had seen the cameras and Alya's flaming red hair.

She didn't know how this could've happened. Normally, she was so careful with her transformation, always leaving at two spots if she could. To have enough time to recharge Tikki. But this time, it had just gone so fast.

She had stood in battle with Chat, calling up her Lucky Charm without thinking. The Akuma had been a hard one and she had needed to act fast. The Charm hadn't told her much, so she had kept the small flashlight in her clenched fist and had resumed fighting. Chat hadn't been able to contain the Akuma without her help so she had ignored the urging beeping from her Miraculous – to this point. She had used the flashlight to blend the Akuma, barely even capturing the butterfly and cleansing everything before her magic went out like a light.

Tikki flew out of her earrings and landed in her hands, her eyes wide in horror. Marinette could merely shrug back helplessly, the silence around her spreading. The spectators that always collected at their fights all, one by one, stopped talking. Chat turned to her and froze.

The whole of Paris was watching.

Marinette gulped, pulling up her shoulders while letting Tikki slip into her purse, then she turned to the crowd, seeing all cameras directed to her.

Probably rolling. Somewhere in the first lines she recognized Alya's darker skin tone and her radiant hair, her eyes wide.

"Uhm-…", she had been Ladybug for a year by now. She had been camera shy before, sure, and she had still been at the beginning when everything had been incredibly new and scary. But with the time and with the help of Chat Noir who was way more comfortable with all the attention she had grown into this role.

She had been able to have interviews and avoid personal questions, she had been able to train against her stage fright. She had been with the mask.

Well, she had also been forced to hold a lot of speeches out of nowhere. She could just talk.

Now though?

Gone. Everything gone. The whole year, all the memories, and her voice died in her throat with an awkward stutter.

Her heart began beating faster as she realized what that meant.

Hawkmoth was probably watching. He'd know about her secret identity, he'd find out who she was and he'd use her loved ones as an advantage against her. He'd destroy her civilian life.

Adrien was probably watching, too. He'd be heartbroken. She'd known he was a fan of Ladybug for a bit longer now, mostly through Alya. She would disappoint him, she wouldn't be the one he had expected. Just thinking about him being heartbroken that his hero was just the stuttering, clumsy, blushing disaster of a girl that sat in his class was causing her knees to shiver.

Alya was watching. She would know Marinette had lied to her for over a year. That she had listened to her gushing over her superhero self for hours without end. She'd assume Marinette hadn't trusted her enough with this, she'd think she had just laughed at her when she wasn't looking.

Her parents were probably watching this as well. They'd know in which danger their daughter was, day after day. They'd know she had kept another half of her life a secret from them, the whole time, their own daughter. They'd know how horribly she had fooled them, fooled them all.

Tikki, sweet Tikki, had warned her not to let anyone know she was Ladybug. She had warned her and Marinette had been careless.

What was she now? She had either been the clumsy girl in her civilian life or the strong hero in her other life but connecting these two? Everyone would laugh at her, lose their faith in her.

How was a clumsy, little girl, not even sixteen yet, supposed to save the city? Sure, she'd done that before, but now she wasn't the shining hope anymore. She had shattered that hope.

Everyone was still silent, watching, waiting. What were they waiting for?

That she'd say anything? Like 'Oh, no, I was just Ladybug for the day! I'm not the real one!'

Or maybe 'Yep, okay, secret's out, you got me, haha!'

That she'd resign? Leave the hero duties to Chat? What would her parents and Alya think and expect from her? What would they throw at her?

Irresponsible child who thought she could play hero? How long did she think was she gonna manage that? Keeping everything a secret, until she died? Surely not.

Her parents would ground her. Her classmates would hate her for shattering the illusion. Oh god, Chloé would never stop pestering her about this.

Alya would turn her back on her, Nino and Adrien probably, too. They'd be heartbroken, disappointed and angry. She'd-… She'd probably-…

A gasp went through the crowd as a hand was placed on her shoulder, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. A green flash momentarily blended her because it came without a warning and she could feel Chat Noir's firm chest on her other shoulder, his arm wrapped around her. As she risked a glance at his hand she could see his gloves and claws had been replaced with a normal hand and perfectly manicured fingernails. Huh, was he that much of a conceited guy in his civilian life?

"Citizens of Paris!", he exclaimed and she recoiled a little at his voice being so close but his hand held her steadily and firmly. She was a little glad he held her up like this, honestly.

"Now we see Ladybug's real face, true!", what-… What was he doing?

"Uhm, Chat, maybe-"

"But before you make a sensation out of this, before you tell everyone else and start following her in her civilian life, please consider this! She's a normal girl who's getting herself in danger over and over again to keep you guys safe. So please, give her the personal space she needs in order to continue succeeding in the fight against Hawkmoth!"

Finally, she was able to fully break her glance from the shocked and speechless crowd, looking up to him. Blonde hair was the first thing she noticed, a serious expression the next. Green eyes without any cat-like looks. No ears on top of his head and his hair was brushed instead of messy. His jaw was set as he overlooked the crowd.

Adrien…

Of course. He had experience with being overrun by fans. Of course, he'd try to spare her from that. Of course, that'd be the first thing coming to his mind, the selfless gentleman he was. She sighed without noticing, which caused him to look down to her. Despite his serious expression, his eyes were gentle and soft.

"Plagg, do you have enough energy to bring us out of here?", he asked, quietly enough so that the crowd of spectators couldn't hear him. A movement on her shoulder startled the speechless girl and as she looked down she saw a black Kwami nodding. It looked like a tiny cat.

"Plagg, claws out!"

Within seconds, they were airborne and she was safe in Adrien's, no, Chat's arms, the distance between the crowd and them getting bigger and bigger with every leap her partner took.

"You okay?", Adrien asked as he detransformed on her balcony, letting her down to her feet.

Her voice was still somehow out of order so she decided to merely nod, keeping her arms close to herself. Soon, the awkward silence between them got too much and Adrien hesitantly opened the hatch, gesturing for her to go down.

"Uhm-… Come on in. I mean-… I'm sure you don't wanna outside anymore, huh?"

Marinette nodded again, lowering herself down to her bed and climbing down into her room, hearing Adrien following her. He got to a halt next to her and tried keeping his distance but she finally turned to him, leaning her forehead against his shoulder.

She was ashamed she had failed so miserably, granted, but he had stood up for her. He had protected her as the first thing after she had revealed to the whole world, hadn't lost a word about detransforming as well and immediately stepped up to be by his partner's side.

"… Thank you, Adrien…", she choked out, tears welling up in her eyes.

He shook his head, spinning so he could wrap his arms around her. And for the moment, they were Ladybug and Chat Noir. Best friends.

"Don't worry, my lady. We'll figure this out."