A/N: This chapter talks a bit about self-harm but does NOT show anything graphic or do much more than mention that it happens. If that or talk of suicide causes harm to your mental health and/or well-being, please do not read it. (More at the end)


Ladybug swung onto the scene, fire in her eyes. "What seems to be the problem here? Bothering people for no good reason, Hawkmoth? Well, maybe people have their own issues to deal with, jackass!"

Chat Noir appeared beside her, shocked at the outburst. "Woah, what's wrong?"

Ladybug turned, muttering to where nobody else could hear. "Fucking support group didn't work out. I'll tell you about it later."

Chat blinked, clearly surprised by her casual swearing. "O-okay. Yeah, later."

Ladybug swore again and pulled Chat down in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding The Shredder's sharp claws.

"I do not need to be dealing with a Wolverine knock-off today," she murmured to herself.

Chat pulled Ladybug close and vaulted them both away, pausing when they were a safe distance from the fight. "Are you alright to do this today?" He cupped her face in his hands, worry etched between his brows.

She shrugged a shoulder "Maybe not, but someone's gotta do it—hey!" She pointed behind him at someone fighting The Shredder. "Is that...Lila?"

"Nope. Look, the hair's different. Seems like Master Fu listened to my request after all."

"What request?"

"Later. Let's go help her." Chat vaulted away again, Ladybug a step behind with her yoyo.

"Looks like we don't have a shred of dignity around here," Chat called.

The Shredder only screeched in response, lunging to Chat instead.

Ladybug knocked them off balance with her yoyo, sending razors everywhere. "Hey, new girl, what's the item?"

"Necklace. Gimme a sec." The heroine played her flute, creating an illusion that calmed The Shredder. She walked over and plucked it from their neck and threw it to Ladybug. "I'm done here. Peace out, bean sprouts." She flashed the peace symbol and bounded away, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"What in the hell…?" Ladybug shook her head and purified the necklace. She called for Lucky Charm to fix what little damage The Shredder had done, breathing a sigh of relief when it was over. When she looked over at the girl where The Shredder had been, she saw Chat already kneeling next to her and asking her questions in a low voice.

"A couple of my classmates found out that I cut myself sometimes and started teasing me about it." She shrugged a shoulder, not making eye contact. "I guess I got overwhelmed by it."

Ladybug was frozen into silence.

Chat sat down. "I know Bug's gotta go before long, but I can stay a while if you want to talk about it."

The girl shrugged a shoulder, unknowingly mirroring Ladybug's earlier gesture.

Ladybug jumped when her earring beeped. She looked between the two of them, opening her mouth without finding words. She stood like that for a moment, snapping her mouth closed and turning on her heel to leave them be.

Couldn't even stay and talk to her. Coward.


Chat dropped in on her balcony a few hours later. "Hey."

She looked over from where she was bundled in a light blanket, Tikki napping in her room. "Hey."

"You shouldn't feel bad that you had to leave. It sounded like Bethany understood why."

"Is that her name?"

"It is. She's pretty sweet. Doesn't get along with her parents, but that's normal sometimes." He sat next to her and pulled her into his lap with a kiss on the head. "How are you holding up?"

She settled against him, resting her forehead against his neck. "I don't know. I wasn't expecting that."

"I don't think any of us were. Frankly, I'd like to give Hawkmoth a swift punch to the dick for this one. Total abuse of power when someone's hurting that much."

"I've thought about doing that, you know."

Chat chuckled. "Punching Hawkmoth in the dick? That's something I'd pay good money to see."

Marinette stiffened. "No, um...self-harm."

Chat sobered almost immediately. "Oh. What stopped you?"

"It seemed too easy. I knew it was a cop-out. Besides, nobody would question it further if I blamed it on sewing. Everybody knows I'm clumsy."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

They sat in silence for a while, Chat not daring to move or ruin the stillness. Marinette played with his fingers, yawning softly. "It's been a long day."

"I'd agree with that. What happened with the support group?"

"It's for people whose loved ones have died as a result of suicide. It had a very poor description. I'm not thrilled about it." Marinette dropped his fingers, staring out at nothing.

"Believe it or not, I had actually figured that out."

"Yeah, sorry about that. The attack happened literally as Alya and I were leaving, so I was still distressed. And, hey, what's with the new team member?"

Chat perked up a little. "I talked to Master Fu, and he agreed to release the fox. She's supposed to help us out when it looks like it's starting to be too much for us. I don't know who it is, but I have my suspicions."

"Why do I get the feeling you're lying to me?"

He hesitated, but only for a moment. "Because I am, a little bit. I know who I suggested for the job, obviously, but I don't know who he eventually decided upon. Technically just a lie of omission. Sorry."

"You didn't think to ask me?"

"I know who you would've said, and I would pick the same person."

"Oh, Alya?"

"Yep."

"Do you think Master Fu listened?"

"I don't know. It's possible, but it's not our business yet." Chat pressed another kiss to her head. "I'm sorry the support group didn't work out."

"It's...you know, it's not okay, but I'll figure something out. Maybe."

"Please do. I hate that you're hurting like this."

Marinette frowned. "Huh?"

"It's terrible to me that you're hurting. I just want you to be happy."

"Oh. Thank you. I'm trying."

"I know you are. That's all I ask." He squeezed her gently, keeping her close. "Are you okay?"

Marinette shrugged, wondering how many more conversations like this they were bound to have.


A/N: Hey, so...this chapter happened. More are on the way, of course.

How am I? Haha, that's an excellent question. I'm currently coming down from being kinda buzzed and emotionally dealing with all the weird things in my life, some of which I need to bring up with my therapist during my next appointment. I'm currently on vacation until tomorrow; spent a good three hours in the hotel feeling icky earlier today (so I drank this evening; I'm a freaking genius). I am honestly just tired of everything, but I'm attempting to hang in there and stuff. I told someone earlier that I need whiskey to deal with some of this, but there's no whiskey to be had around here, so I'll probably just get to bed instead.

If you wanna let me know what you think of this chapter, that's cool. If not, that's cool, too.

xoxo -wwot