"Ladybug!" he called after her.

The footsteps stopped. He imagined her to be happy, at least a little bit, when he found her, or maybe a little sad. Maybe ashamed. Maybe hurt. Akumatized or not that snake struck a serious nerve in her. He could feel it cutting through even the grating wind and daggers of water that threatened to slice him up. More worrisome was that it said Hawkmoth wanted her. That thing had Ladybug right in its grasp. It never took the ladybug miraculous.

It only meant Hawkmoth wanted her for an entirely different reason. Perhaps that was why she disappeared like she did. Was it possible that Ladybug already knew whatever Hawkmoth had planned? That somehow she would have to play a role in it? Was she hiding…because she was scared…?

"Ladybug," he said when he caught up to her.

He noticed she was walking towards the park. A lot of trees there had been blown over. Some smaller ones uprooted. Whole branches had been tossed to the ground like they were little sticks. But the statue remained completely in tact. Covered in leaves, mud, and other debris, but still in tact.

"Ladybug, hold on, please. Don't run off yet. I just have some ques—"

"Was the snake lying?" she interrupted.

He felt a blush creep over his face.

"Let's talk," she said.

He quietly followed her to a park bench where she wiped off several twigs and leaves to sit down. He chose to sit right next to her. Close enough to at least hang a casual arm around her. Feel her one more time. But he didn't.

"It's been a long time, Chaton," she started. "You were so close to finally thinking I died. I bet one more year would've done it."

"Why did you want the world to think you were dead?" he asked. "Are you hiding from something?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. I never planned to make people think I died. One day they all decided that for themselves and from then on, Ladybug was dead. I figured it was for the best. I thought it would be better for you too. I thought that maybe fighting without me wouldn't be so hard if you knew I didn't abandon you."

"You could've called me…let me know you were okay this whole time…"

"I wanted to. But…you were getting better. You were moving on. You got really good at fighting alone and your powers grew. You could still stop akumas. You didn't need me anymore."

"That's not true—"

"If you needed me you wouldn't have lasted eleven years without me."

"That's different, I had to adapt," he argued. "I had no choice."

"You were always like that though. When push comes to shove you'll accomplish anything, no matter what it takes. And that's exactly what you did here."

If only he could remember the last time he'd received praise from this woman…

He opened his mouth to speak but paused when she frowned and looked at her lap, hands neatly folded in the middle.

"Was the snake right about you? With the ring, I mean… Were you…actually…" Her timid voice trailed off as though she was wondering if she even wanted to finish that question.

Chat gulped, recalling the snake's whole spiel about his personal life.

He would've asked her. From partners to friends to dating to sealing the deal, by that point, he hadn't seen any reason why they couldn't share a life together. They would've had to reveal their identities to one another, and it was something Ladybug had never been very keen on doing, but wouldn't marriage be a big exception? In his mind she would've said yes, they would've gotten married, settled down, started a family, and grown old with grandkids. As excited as he was, carrying around that stupid ring waiting for a perfect opportunity, it was nerve-wracking. So when she got sick he immediately had every reason to put his plans on hold. But then she left and he was stuck with little more than a rock on a circle. He should've gotten rid of it a long time ago but for reasons unknown, he still kept it stashed in a desk drawer.

"I was planning to, yeah…" he admitted.

She dropped her head into her hands with a groan.

"I'm so sorry, Chat."

He sighed. "It's not your fault, you did what had to be done."

"I didn't know."

He smiled and winked at her.

"That was the point, my lady."

She kept her eyes down and held herself as she had earlier. He wasn't sure if she was seeking warmth or comfort at this point. She wasn't shivering but at the same time she didn't seem disturbed by anything. Even the rain was fading to sprinkles.

And the sun was coming back out…

She was so beautiful…

"It…that wouldn't have worked anyway…" she mumbled. "Chat, if we had gotten married, we would've had to reveal our civilian identities and you know we can't do that."

He held his tongue but he could've easily argued that point. The only thing they had been missing was the ceremony. Secret identities hadn't been necessary at the time, not between the two of them.

"I'm not going to ask you to marry me, Ladybug," he assured her. "I just want to talk. It's…been so many years since I last heard your voice and you'll disappear again the second this conversation ends."

"I have to."

"And this time I won't ever see you again."

"Probably not."

"Why did you come back after all this time? What happened to force you out of hiding?"

She took a deep breath.

"It's a long story but when the snake attacked, it almost hurt someone very important to me. You weren't there yet so Ladybug came to the rescue."

"You didn't fight much…"

"I guess you could say I'm a little rusty."

"You didn't run when I gave you the chance…"

It only took a few seconds for him to realize that she had no excuse for that. He deduced from her silence that said "important person" was in fact the person she had moved on to…which meant the snake hadn't been lying about any of it. An honest snake…who'd have thought it. So then, what did the snake mean when it suggested Ladybug was the real snake? Normally that meant a liar, or thief, or cheater…someone like that. Someone bad. And the snake had seen all her secrets. It mentioned she had "so many demons." What was Ladybug hiding? What were her bad deeds? Was her capture part of a bigger plan? There was an akuma attack, of course Chat Noir would eventually show up for that…so…was she meant to lure him and keep him?

Or was he totally overthinking this? He was probably overthinking it… Either way he was willing to gamble on her innocence if it meant he could be with her one last time.

"And you didn't forget me when I gave you the chance..." she replied.

"After everything we've been through together, you expect me to forget you?" He chuckled.

But there were times when he had tried to forget her, he couldn't deny that much.

"I've missed this," she said. "The two of us, together, just talking about whatever. It used to be on the Eiffel Tower though." She giggled at her own reminiscing. "It was the only place we could ever get any privacy. Remember how reporters would pop out of nowhere?"

"We would sit on beams under the viewing platforms just to hide from them."

Those half-starved vultures always tried to keep track of the love life of the miraculous duo, which was only revealed—or rather, confirmed—a few years after Ladybug's disappearance, when he was finally able to talk about it. But they never actually got solid proof beyond a hug. He and Ladybug would stifle laughter until the swarm left and then cuddle on said beams watching the city lights glow. The view was amazing but the way her eyes reflected them was even more so. And he'd told her that but she dismissed it in her usual Ladybug fashion—she was a pro at rejection, even of compliments. More specifically his compliments. He never knew for sure why but he assumed it was because she loved teasing him and did so whenever she got the chance. Apparently she would get a lot of chances. He allowed it because that was what Chat Noir seemed to do best—suck it up, take it like a man, let her have her sass fix.

He would've given anything, and still would, to have that back. To have her back.

"I know there's someone else now, and I'm happy you moved on, really, but is there any chance we'll cross paths again? One day? Even if we're not Chat Noir and Ladybug? Or do you think maybe one day, Ladybug will come back? And there's a chance we'll fight together again—"

"I'm running out of chances, kitty," she said softly.

He felt his stomach drop to depths he never knew he had. His body had already been cold from the storm but now it was like her words were pressing him against a glacier. He could feel every last ounce of pigment drain from his skin.

Flashbacks of how exhausted she looked last time he saw her played in his head, slowing down to a near stop for mental analysis. Every movement had been slower and slower. She slouched more and more. Her reflexes were slightly shot. She could hardly maintain focus. Yet, somehow, she managed to downplay it all to fool him. It was the one thing he wished she'd never succeeded at. Trusting her then was the one thing he'd regretted most. He always thought that, if he'd just gotten her help, she would've been fine.

"I…I-I can get you the best care," he said. "I can afford it—"

"Chat…"

"—I have plenty of money—"

"Chat."

"—and whoever's after you, I can protect you myself!"

"Chat."

"Let me help you!" he cried. "I swear I'll do anything!"

"Even leave?"

"What…" he breathed.

"Leave," she repeated.

"I-I can take care of you."

"Go home, Chaton."

If he thought he couldn't be more crushed than he already was, he was dead wrong. He felt his insides begin to gnarl at her request. For once he found himself completely unable to look at her, beautiful as she was…

"I…can't, my lady," he choked.

She stood and took a deep breath, extending her hand to him. He refused to take it and stood up on his own. He watched her feet shuffle to his front and waited for the repetitive command he wouldn't be able to obey.

"Chat Noir," she said, much more firmly than he would've ever expected. "I told you to leave. Go home. Don't look for me. Pretend I never existed. You said you'd do anything for me."

"I didn't know I was lying," he replied.

A/N

There was supposed to be more but I'm tired and I don't think I can properly cram all that into a single chapter, so next chapter will be the second part, I knowwww it's a terrible ending stopping point. Please understand that half of this was written purely fueled by coffee and sleep deprivation at 1:30 am.

I'm very eager to hear your thoughts on this chapter (and kinda nervous)!

Brace yourself. Things are about to get a little intense.