As soon as Adrien is out of sight, I detransform. "Come on, Tikki, I need a cup of tea." My Kwami giggles. "What not a cup of coffee?" "No, tea will help me sleep. I'm suddenly really tired." I yawn a huge yawn, and realize how much my body has been through the last 24 hours or so, not to mention my emotions.
My mind starts to feel muddled, and I can't make up my mind if I should go home to the bakery, or if I want some time alone. A fog, dark and thick seems to be swirling around my mind, finding the answers I seek difficult. If I go home, I will no undoubtedly be plagued with questions, but the comfort of family sounds good too.
"Marinette, what's going on?" Tikki asks, her voice now sounding concerned. "Nothing," I say, brushing off these feelings. Alone it is. At least to have a cup of tea and have that nap. When I get home though, I drop my set of keys twice and I notice my hand is shaking. Finally, I get inside and slide down the door, curling my knees to my chest. I'm scared and I don't know why, and my heart is pounding away at my chest.
"Marinette?" Tikki's voice is far away, and suddenly I feel sick, and I slump over on the floor, curling into a ball. Insults and accusations of Adrien's father bounce and echo loudly in my head. That guilty feeling of doing nothing for Adrien's mother makes the tears pool in my eyes. He'll find out your a selfish girl, hiding behind a mask and you'll always be wondering if your good enough without the mask. He'll walk away for certain. The voice in my head is malicious, and it yammers on and on. I start to shake letting out a small cry. "Please, Adrien, don't leave me….please…."
I accidentally hit my head on the wooden floor but I welcome the sudden darkness and the peaceful fog rolls in.
I wipe at my sweaty brow and move forward in the fog, but skid across a patch of ice. Ice? I look down at the glittery surface and I look up finding myself staring into the face of Cat Blanc. But this isn't the Cat Blanc I saved just a few days ago, this Cat is feral and wild, and I gulp and take a step back.
"Save my mother," he growls at me, and I wipe at my eyes. "What?" "Then we'll talk. Oh, wait," his voice is like the ice we stand upon, icy. "You could never save my mother, Marinette. A clumsy girl like you would never be up to the task." My lips tremble, but I hold firm. There's something about his eyes that I can't look away from. That shade of blue is crystal and clear, on a perfect snowy frosty morning. I must get closer.
A white dazzling beam of light makes me dive out of the way. "Careful, Marinette." "How do you know I'm Marinette?" "Because you thought you could trust me with all your secrets, which was very foolish of you." His lips are so close now, and I need his lips on mine. He's surprised but he doesn't resist, and I close my eyes.
The pain is so deliciously cold, but suddenly I'm numb and I watch in horror as I begin to turn to ice and I scream myself back into reality.
"Hey, easy, easy, love." Gentle warm hands chase the away the coldness and the darkness. Suddenly, I feel warm hands warming my body and I recognize my love, my partner, Adrien Agreste.
But I'm detransformed! Adrien will know my identity! Again, my heartbeat takes off, I just want this pain to be over. "Love, don't worry, I'm wearing a blindfold. But you need to calm down, I'm here and everything is going to be all right."
A new memory springs to life, but this one there's no ice, but only rain. I watch Adrien transform into Cat Noir and he springs, crushing the akuma to bits before pulling me into a hug. My eyes slowly open, but the room is foggy, but not full of fog. "Adrien?" I croak. "What happened?" "You had a panic attack, love. Good thing I got here just in time." "It was so difficult to make decisions. First, I couldn't decide if I wanted to go home, or be alone. Then I wanted tea, and this mind fog started rolling in…" I shudder. "Tea sounds good, but maybe you'd enjoy a hot bath first?" "Will you add bubbles? I like bubbles." "Of course. Come on, up we go, there's my girl."
Adrien lifts me into his arms like I weigh nothing and when he sets me down, I can't stop watching him. I must have dozed off for a minute, because when I wake, the water is full of pink bubbles. Adrien sheds his clothes, and he kneels down beside me. My, he is heavenly….
"I don't think we need this," he breathes in my ear, nibbling on it for a second. He pulls off my damp shirt and unhooks my bra, and I lay down on the floor, giving him access to my body.
The water is perfect, and I snuggle against his chest, a safe haven after the hellish dream I've been through. "I had a nightmare you know," I tell him as he massages my breasts. I tell him this while keeping my eyes closed, somehow its easier like this. "This voice started yammering in my head, full of lies but I believed them. A lot of them were about your mother and how I couldn't save her."
"Love, I would still love you even if nothing can be done. Don't believe the lies of my father. He's not my father anymore anyway, he's our enemy." A wave of hurt for him washes over me. "Why does the world have to be so evil?"
I feel clean and refreshed, but Adrien puts me to bed after and I don't argue. Before he took off the blindfold, I transformed, but I didn't like transforming that time. Maybe...maybe its time to take off the mask.
Its time, I think. After tea, I'll tell him. I'm not scared as I think it, after all, he did say I would find the perfect moment and that moment is finally here.
"Here's your tea. I made sure not to make to hot." "Thanks. Cuddle?" I feel better once his arms around me, my temporarily forgotten. "Adrien, I want…." arrgh, my heartbeat is like a hummingbird's wings. Sure, I'm not nervous! Yeah, right.
Adrien rolls on top of me, stroking my cheek. "Yes?" "I want to tell you who I am...under the mask." "If your certain." I clear my throat. "Spots Off."
A pink flash of soft light and silence, and I keep my eyes squeezed shut. Silence fills the room, and it is heavy. "Marinette?" I open one eye then shut it again. "Hi, Adrien. Um, I didn't move after all. Its good to see you." Adrien giggles and brushes his lips against my lips. "Love, I'm so glad its you! I have missed you so much."
What comes out of my mouth might be the wrong answer, but I know its me. "Missed me? I've been here the whole time!" "I should have put together with you loving coffee and all." I raise my eyebrow. "That's how you made the connection?"
There is a lightness in the air now, the heavy darkness chased away by the light. Adrien grins. "Would you like some coffee?" "Love some. Give me five to get dressed."
Finally, I don't have to hide behind a mask or suit, and I longer have to keep any secrets from my partner. We head out into the sunshine, and I feel light and free. But then Adrien stops as his phone doesn't stop dinging, and I wonder what's going on when the color drains away from his face.
"The pictures are out," he whispers. "Of you kissing Argos and us fighting. I had forgotten all about this." I groan. "That was so reckless of me. Hawkmoth will surely see these too, if he hasn't seen them already." "The good thing is Hawkmoth doesn't know your Ladybug. He only knows Cat Noir. So, if he sees me with a different girl, he'll think we broke up." "Breakups are hard, and he'll try to find my weakness, not knowing that we're stronger then ever."
We do a quick pound it. "Do you think we have time for a quick kiss?" I ask. He nods, pulling me into the shadows of a alley, and before I know it his mouth is on mine. "Adrien, slow down, please," I moan breathlessly. He lets go instantly at my command, and looks at me. "I need to touch you." "Here, give me your hand." I guide his hand under my shirt onto my tummy asking for him to rub in circles and I close my eyes, it feels so good. But then that craving for my partner takes over and I love as Adrien's hands move higher, finding my breasts. As much as I want it, I open my eyes. "Later, Kitty." "You sure?" I nod.
As we exit the alleyway, we hear loud footsteps running away, but there's nothing there. I look at Adrien to see if he's heard it too, and he gives me a nod. "Maybe it was the wind?" I guess, but we both know that's not true.
"Your Grace, the pictures have finally arrived, but I think you'll be interested in this new scandal." Boulder goes to remove the camera around his neck, and Hawkmoth snatches it. "Your son and an unknown girl were spotted in the alleyway, kissing, and I must say quite passionately. Maybe the rumors are true and Adrien broke up with Ladybug."
Hawkmoth stared at the image. So, his son was being reckless and careless for he wasn't even unaware he had been spotted. But there was something familiar about the girl, and Hawkmoth knew he would find out the answer to who she was.
