With horror, Marinette watched as a wave of magic begin traveling up Cat Noir's body, signifying his de-transformation. Without stopping to think, she leapt forward, her yoyo flying out to wrap around him as she went. She caught a brief glimpse of orange tennis shoes and jeans as she pulled him in, slinging him over her right shoulder as she wielded her yoyo in her left hand.
"What happened!" she shouted more as an exclamation than a question. She threw out her yoyo again, pulling them forward in the alleyway as she looked for a safe place to deposit him. She realized he must've lost his ring, it was the only explanation for why he turned back all of a sudden, but now she needed to get him away from the battle until she could retrieve it. Seeing the chains wrapped around his torso and legs, it wasn't hard to guess what happened.
"Sorry, m'lady," he apologized meekly, dangling behind her, "guess I wasn't careful enough."
She was painfully aware of the fact that he had now fully transformed back, his identity exposed. She wanted very much to see more of him than just a pair of jeans hanging over her shoulder, but she knew she shouldn't look.
Trying not to focus on him, she saw an open window nearby. Allowing her yoyo to smash through window so it could grip on the pane, she pulled them into it, quickly ducking behind the wall. She hated causing wanton destruction like that, even knowing that her magical ladybugs would fix it all in the end, but sometimes she had no choice.
"I'm going to leave you here," Ladybug said, looking away from him, "I'll come back once I've gotten your miraculous back." Keeping her head turned away, she lowered him down until his feet touched the ground.
"You're not going to break the chains on me first?" he asked hopefully.
"I…" Ladybug hesitated. It would be rather cruel to leave him chained like that, but… "I would have to look…"
"It's okay," Cat Noir answered in a soft voice, "I want you to see, Marinette."
Ladybug gasped. Despite knowing her identity, he had never once called her by name while she was transformed. Something about the way he said it, though… she could feel the love and trust laced into that one name. More than that, hearing his voice speak her name, it suddenly sounded very familiar, like another voice she knew so well.
Unable to resist her curiosity anymore, Ladybug turned slowly to face Cat Noir, and her eyes went wide.
Adrien was falling. His miraculous was gone. Without it, he felt a wave of energy sweep across his body as his powers faded, leaving him as a civilian once more. I'm sorry, Ladybug. I failed.
At that moment, he felt a thick cord wrap around him. It wasn't the first time he had felt that cord, or the sharp tug as he was pulled away. He felt his whole body lurching, turning as he flew to see Ladybug rushing toward him. The wind was knocked out of him as her shoulder rammed into the chains around his waist and he let out a gasp. With his suit on, that wouldn't have fazed him, but as a civilian, Ladybug's enhanced strength could hurt.
"What happened!" Ladybug shouted at him, more as an exclamation than a real question. She sounded horrified and, to be honest, he couldn't blame her.
"Sorry, m'lady," he apologized, feeling embarrassed, "guess I wasn't careful enough."
He heard a window smash as they turned sharply, flying through an open window and landing on glass-strewn ground. Ladybug quickly pressed them against the wall, out of sight of anyone outside.
"I'm going to leave you here," Ladybug said, looking decidedly in the opposite direction from him, "I'll come back once I've gotten your miraculous back." She gently lowered him until his feet touched the ground, still looking away.
"You're not going to break the chains on me first?" Adrien asked hopefully, standing awkwardly with his legs bound together.
"I…" Ladybug started. He could sense her hesitation. "I would have to look," she said weakly.
Adrien could sense her conflict. She wanted to look. The two had had opportunities before to see one another's identities, but she was always insistent on keeping them hidden. This time was different. This time, he already knew who she was, and she had started to develop her love for him. She wanted to know.
"It's okay," Adrien answered, his voice quiet and understanding, "I want you to see, Marinette." He then tried to brace himself for whatever came next.