I'm supposed to be asleep right now, but I've had this chapter written for about a week and have been avoiding editing. I finally got the time to sit down and just push through, so here it is!

Enjoy ;)

"Hey, Nino."

"Yeah?"

"How did you meet Chat?"

Nino turned to look at Marinette, slightly surprised by the sudden question. It was after dawn, and he was walking her to the East Training Grounds. Their conversation began with him calming her nerves, but one lull in the conversation prompted Marinette to ask one of the many questions that had been circulating in her mind.

"Uh," Nino looked like he was struggling to answer, "I met Chat right after the prison break."

They were walking along the perimeter of the Central Compound, and they veered off onto a path leading into the forest. "Really? How soon after?"

"It was the same day."

It was her turn to look over at him in surprise. "Wait, so you met him right after?" She didn't know why she was so shocked. Marinette knew that Nino had been with Chat since the beginning of the revolution, maybe even a little before that, but she didn't realize he'd been there from the very start, as in Chat's invasion of the prison. "How did you come across each other?"

"My family met up with him and the prisoners," Nino said, eyes fixed on the path. Marinette waited to see if he would continue, maybe tell her how they met up with Chat, but he didn't.

Okay… Maybe Nino wasn't the type to tell stories, and she would have to prompt him for more details. "Did they come through your village or something?"

She didn't miss the way he shifted uncomfortably, still not looking at her. "Uh, something."

She eyed him. He was dodging her questions, which she found odd. She didn't understand why he was being vague, and his body language only added to the strangeness of it all. Was this a touchy subject for him? It didn't make sense to her why it would be, so she decided to ask him directly. "Do you not want me to ask you about this?"

Nino shifted again before giving a half-hearted shrug. "It's not that I don't want you to, it's just-" he sighed through his nose, his eyes flicking to hers briefly before returning to the ground, "the first time I met Chat wasn't very glamorous. I try not to think about it."

Marinette stared at him, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion and slight concern. What does that mean? She would rarely ever use the word glamorous to describe meeting someone for the first time, but Nino was saying the opposite of that, so his first encounter with Chat was, what, bad? Scary, maybe?

She had never given much thought to what happened to Chat and the prisoners directly after they escaped. Every royal soldier in the country had been hunting them, and they probably had nowhere to go except the forest.

She thought of the long, jagged scar on Chat's palm. Maybe Nino came across them during a run-in with the royal guard?

I try not to think about it.

Whatever it was, it wasn't good. It wasn't glamorous as he so elegantly put it, and she resisted the urge to press him for more details. Nino didn't want to talk about this, but he was too polite to openly say it. She opted to file this information away along with every other unanswered question she had about Chat, hoping that maybe one day she would finally get the full story, either from Nino or possibly Chat himself.

Ever since last night, Marinette couldn't stop replaying what Chat had told her. She couldn't stop seeing the helplessness and desperation in his eyes as he admitted to her how much he was struggling, and it pained her to think that he had been suppressing that, alone, for all this time. The weight of him as he leaned against her, the feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, was still fresh on her skin, and she wondered how long it had been since he had that kind of comfort.

She wanted Chat to feel comfortable confiding in her, and last night had been a breakthrough for them. Some part of her hoped that whatever Nino was talking about wasn't as bad as her mind wanted to imagine, but either way, she had faith that Chat would open up to her about it when he was ready.

In her peripheral vision, she could see light as the path ahead of them opened up into a large area, and she fixed her attention forward while pushing down lingering thoughts of Chat. Right now, they were about to enter the place she would spend the majority of her time for who knows how long. It was her new Training Grounds, and the second they set foot out in the open, her eyes widened as she surveyed the area before her in awe.

Alya was right. The South Training Grounds was the smallest of them all. She had a hard time believing that when she first heard it, but here was the proof.

The East Training Grounds wasn't a field. No, the path before them sunk down into an expansive valley that flattened out at the bottom. The region to her right was scattered with countless tents, more than double the amount she had seen in the South. There was a pond in the center of them all, and from her position high above, she could see soldiers splashing each other as they stood knee-deep in the water.

The region to her left was much larger than the area on which the tents were set up, and it extended nearly twice as far. More crop fields took up the leftmost third of the grounds, and lining the front edge was a long, rectangular building that was partially in construction. It divided the crops from what she assumed was the actual training grounds in the center. There was so much to observe in that space that she knew she wouldn't know the full extent until she walked through it.

She saw lines of targets as well as many wooden obstacle courses, not unlike the ones she had seen in the North. Some spaces were left wide open, possibly for sparring or weapons training. Many sheds lined the rim of the area, and her eyes traveled towards the far edge of the space.

Rather than a slope leading down into the valley, tall rock formations jutted abruptly into the air, forming a cliff that expanded the entire length of the East Training Grounds. Trees lined the top of the cliff, and countless more were scattered throughout the valley.

And the people. There were so many people, so many masked faces. It looked as though training wasn't in full swing yet, but large groups were making their way in droves out of the tents and towards the structures in the center of the valley.

Above it all, Marinette stood frozen, absolutely awestruck by the view. It was beautiful, and for a moment she thought about how gorgeous the sunrise would look as it rose from behind the trees and onto the scene before her. Chat would love that, and there was no way he hadn't stood in this very spot as he watched the colors shine down on the community below.

She tore her eyes away to look at Nino, who was watching her with amusement as he let her have her moment of shock. "So, do you think you've upgraded?" he asked, laughing when she gave an immediate nod.

"You should tell Chat he needs to spice up the North." She turned to survey the valley again. "It's nothing compared to this."

"He's well aware," Nino said, his eyes following hers. "Almost all of the Northern soldiers want to be troop leaders here."

A connection suddenly clicked in Marinette's mind, something she hadn't considered. "Are you saying that all troop leaders are Northern soldiers?"

"Yeah," Nino said as if it was obvious. "Wait," he suddenly fixed her with a slightly offended look, "did you not think I was a Northern soldier?!"

She pressed her lips together, giving him a sheepish look. "I never thought about it." Nino pouted, and she held her hands out in a placating manner as she rushed to add, "I'm not surprised that you are, let's put it that way."

He seemed somewhat satisfied with her answer, and they began their trek down the steep path into the valley, Marinette continuing to drink in their surroundings as they went.

"So if everyone wants to be troop leaders here, why are you in the South?" she asked. "I mean, you've been here the longest, haven't you?"

"I used to be here, but I wasn't happy with the performance of the soldiers we were getting, so I decided to transfer." The slope they walked down was becoming less steep as the path began to level out. "The foundational training is the most important, so I'm needed there more."

Marinette hummed before giving him a smile. "Well, I couldn't have asked for a better trainer to start me out."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about me or your other trainer?"

Marinette blew out a puff of air. "I'm trying to compliment you, here."

"Alright, alright, I'll take it." He returned the smile. "Thanks, Ma- uh- Ladybug." They were now in the vicinity of a group of Eastern soldiers making their way to the training grounds, so Nino had to catch himself.

"See? You do it too, Carapace," she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "But you guys do it on purpose."

"The other two do it on purpose."

"Whatever."

Nino led her into the winding paths between the tents, and Marinette began observing the surrounding soldiers. Apparently, they were also observing her, because nearly every head followed her as they passed, the soldiers nudging each other to point her out to their neighbors.

She could practically hear their thoughts in her own head. What? There's a girl in here?! She knew the drill, but rather than keeping her head down, she opted to stare right back with raised eyebrows, as if daring them to say something. No one did, at least not while she was in earshot.

They reached a cluster of tents not too far from the pond, where a group was mingling about a makeshift common area. It was similar to her old one in the South, except in addition to a firepit, there were two picnic tables on either side. There was no tree she could claim as her spot, so she would be forced to mingle. She knew it was for the best, but her stomach churned with nerves as she was now faced with her new troop.

A pang of annoyance stabbed through her as she realized a handful of the soldiers here were from her old troop, including a couple of Rhino's admirers. She rolled her eyes to herself, trying to let it roll off her back. Before she had a chance to survey the rest of them, a voice caught her attention.

"No freaking way!" The exclamation came from a tall man with brown face paint. His hair was also brown, and it was longer on the top and shorter on the sides. He approached Marinette and Nino. "You're Ladybug!"

Marinette eyed the stranger, trying to figure out if she was supposed to know who he was. "Uh," she said unsurely, "do we know each other?"

"No!" he said with a wide grin, and she couldn't help but note how loud his speaking voice was. "You know my buddy, Pegasus."

Marinette's eyes blew wide with recognition. Pegasus was the soldier who had fallen and sprained his ankle, way back in the first couple of weeks of her training. "How do you know Pegasus?" she asked, surprised. He wasn't around in the South for very long, and he always seemed shy to her, so she didn't understand how he was friends with this guy.

"His family moved in next to mine in the Compound. The dude's crazy smart!"

Marinette had sensed this in the short time she knew Pegasus, and she recalled that Chat had reassigned him to work in the Compound. "Is he an engineer now?"

"Yeah! And he's super happy with it."

A grin spread across Marinette's face. "That's so good to hear. I'm glad he's doing well." Truly, she was.

"Me too. But anyway, he never got the chance to thank you for helping him, so he asked me to keep an eye out for you so I could pass on the message."

Marinette was slightly taken aback, suddenly feeling humble. "There's no need to thank me."

The man put his hands up. "I'm just the delivery guy. That's what he wanted me to tell you."

Marinette nodded, allowing herself to accept the gratitude. She wondered where in the Compound Pegasus was. Maybe she could visit him in person. Then, a thought struck her, and she looked up at the man before her with a questioning look. "Wait, how did you know it was me?"

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

"Pegasus only knew my name, and at the time I was pretending to be, well, a guy. How did you recognize me?"

The man smirked. "Like I said, the dude is crazy smart. You weren't fooling him."

Marinette froze. What?! Was he saying that Pegasus knew she was a woman, right from the start?!

The man must have seen the shock on her face, because he let out a laugh. "Don't worry, I kept my big mouth shut. But it looks like you don't have to worry about that anymore." He nodded towards her now feminine appearance. Then, he offered his hand. "The name's King Monkey."

Marinette raised an eyebrow as she reached out to shake it. "Is the 'King' really necessary?"

A snicker came from behind King Monkey, and Marinette's eyes darted to two men standing nearby. One was extremely tall and burly, and he had black paint over his eyes, but the paint didn't meet in the middle over the bridge of his nose. The other man was short, practically Marinette's height, and had bright red hair with white paint over his eyes. The sound had come from the shorter man, and King Monkey shot him a look over his shoulder.

The red-haired man shrugged at Marinette. "We've been asking him that question for a while now."

King Monkey frowned. "It's my name! Of course it's necessary!"

"It's the name you gave yourself."

"Yeah, and? That's what you have to call me!"

"You can't tell me what to do."

Marinette watched in amusement as the soldiers bickered, and she glanced over at Nino who was watching the encounter with a similar expression. He turned towards her and gave her a smile. "I think you'll do just fine here."

She thought so too. Nino wished her well and took his leave, and Marinette was quickly introduced to the two other soldiers. The red-haired man's name was Caprikid, which Marinette didn't quite understand was supposed to be a reference to a goat until it was explained to her, and the tall, burly man was Minotaurox. She learned that the three of them had trained together in the South, and they had been in the East for a couple of weeks now.

In fact, half of her new troop was composed of soldiers who had already been in the East for some time, which made sense to her. Not all of her troop made it through their final test, and she doubted they had a steady stream of soldiers coming into the East and the West, or at least not enough to form an entire troop within a reasonable amount of time. Maybe they could wait until enough people came to form a group in the South, but Marinette knew that waiting too long between training in the South and the East or West would set back their progress.

She felt incredibly lucky, though. Right off the bat, she was already on speaking terms with a few soldiers, and they didn't seem to have any problems with her whatsoever. Plus, they were actually quite entertaining. The three of them had an interesting dynamic; King Monkey was the outgoing one and did most of the talking, Caprikid was soft-spoken but quite witty, and Minotaurox barely talked at all. He gave off a broody and intimidating aura, but she was quickly assured that he was a big softie.

"He looks like he would crush you with his bare hands, but I swear, sometimes I catch him playing with the butterflies by the pond," King Monkey said, and Minotaruox flushed and sent him a glare.

"I don't play with them," he said in a gruff voice, "I just like to look at their wings."

Marinette used to watch the butterflies in the orchard, so she knew the calming effect they could have. There were few, if any butterflies in the South, so she made a note to go visit the pond when she had a chance. "I like to look at them too," she said, giving Minotaurox a smile. "Do you have a favorite kind?"

Minotaurox glanced up at her shyly, but the ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "A lot are white, but I like the big orange ones with the black stripes."

Marinette thought for a moment. She hadn't seen many orange and black butterflies around the orchard, but she recalled seeing a drawing of one in an encyclopedia when she was young. Of course, that was before the King decided to ban the book for reasons she didn't know, but there was a name for that butterfly…

Her face lit up as she remembered. "That's the Monarch butterfly."

Caprikid made a face. "The Monarch butterfly? At the revolution? Sounds like a bad omen."

King Monkey hissed through his teeth. "Should we get rid of them?"

"No," Minotaurox said quickly. "Don't hurt them. They're pretty."

Caprikid crossed his arms. "Well, apparently so are King Adrien's eyes, but here we are." Marinette tried not to take the comment personally, reminding herself that the rest of the country still didn't know the truth about Adrien.

"I don't know if I believe that," King Monkey said, and Marinette looked over at him.

"What?"

King Monkey gave a shrug. "The famous Emerald eyes," he put the words in air quotes, "I feel like that's just a legend. Sure, maybe they had green eyes, but what's so special about them?"

Caprikid nodded in agreement, and Marinette's gaze flicked to him. "I get what you're saying. My mom has green eyes, and sure, they're pretty, but there's nothing distinct about them." He sighed heavily. "I think it's been blown out of proportion at this point."

Marinette alternated looking between the two of them, gaping in disbelief. She assumed that most of the people who decided to join the revolution no longer believed in the Emerald superstition, and while they seemed to have confirmed this, she didn't realize they didn't believe their monarchs had the famous emerald eyes at all.

It wasn't hard to understand where they were coming from, though. She grew up hearing about the eyes, and during the processions, there were crowds of people fighting to get a glimpse of their monarch. As a small kid, it was easy to get lost in the commotion and not get a good look at them. All she had was her imagination, but even that didn't do them justice until she was face to face with two Emeralds herself.

When she met Adrien, the first words that left her mouth were about his eyes. She had met people with green eyes before, but there was something about his that was incredibly unique. They were almost unnaturally green, the kind of abnormal that you couldn't help but stare at. Nothing she had seen in her life could compare to the startling and vibrant hue of those legendary emerald eyes.

Marinette swallowed before clearing her throat. "It sounds like you haven't seen them before."

Three sets of eyes turned to look at her. "Have you?" King Monkey asked, but there was doubt in his expression.

She paused, trying to decide how much to reveal. A few weeks ago, she had given Chat a half-truth about meeting Emilie, so she figured she would keep that story going. "I have. Emilie visited my parent's store when I was young."

Their expressions turned to shock. "Wait," King Monkey waved his hands in front of him, "like, you met her?!"

Marinette nodded, and Caprikid asked eagerly, "What was she like?"

Marinette fought to keep the flashing images of Emilie's last moments from her head. She hated how this happened whenever her name was mentioned, and she regretted bringing her up in the first place. She squashed the heavy feeling in her stomach even deeper as she forced the happy memories to the forefront of her mind, the memories of Emilie and Adrien laughing at the kitchen table as they had dinner with her and her parents, or the time when Emilie returned from one of her outings with a brand new, spacious basket for Marinette to use on her trips to the orchard.

She remembered Emilie giving her a hug at the end of each visit, and feeling so comforted by the woman, who had become like a mother figure to her. There was one day, near the end of her time on Earth, that Emilie knelt down in front of Marinette, grasping her hands tightly. Adrien was in the kitchen eagerly awaiting a large basketful of pastries Tom was packing him, so for once, it was just the two of them.

"I want to thank you, Marinette," she had said, a motherly smile gracing her lips.

"For what?" Marinette asked, a little confused.

Emilie squeezed her hands. "For being yourself." Marinette still wasn't following, and Emilie continued. "You're exactly what Adrien needs, and bringing him here was the best decision I've ever made." Emilie's gorgeous emerald eyes shined as she began to tear up. "You make him happy, and I'm so grateful that he has you."

Marinette felt a pleasant warmth spread through her, at both the compliments and the confirmation that Adrien enjoyed their visits just as much as she did. A shy smile grew on her face. "He makes me happy, too. He's my best friend."

Emilie beamed, and then she pulled Marinette into a tight hug. It was comfortable and safe, and Marinette heard Emilie say in her ear, "You're going to grow up to be a wonderful woman, Marinette, and I can't wait to see it."

Almost as if lightning struck through the memory, it flashed to a rainy street, where Emilie lay cold, bleeding out. The pleasant and warm feeling shifted to that of horror, dread, and pain. Marinette tried to return to the peaceful, happy images of Emilie, but every attempt was shattered by flashes of her last moments, so much more vivid than any other memory she had of her.

Marinette glanced up at Caprikid, and although it had probably only been a few seconds, she felt like she had been silent for way too long. "She was so, so kind." A sad smile crept onto her face. "I'd never met anyone like her."

Caprikid nodded. "That's what everyone says."

Someone was approaching the clearing, drawing the attention of everyone around them, and Marinette felt grateful to escape the conversation. She was the one who brought Emilie up in the first place, but the building lump in her throat was telling her that she couldn't continue talking about her. She needed the distraction from the onslaught of memories, so she fixed her gaze on the man now stopping to stand at the edge of the clearing.

He appeared older than most of the soldiers around her, possibly in his thirties or early forties. His hair was long and jet black, and it was tied into a tight bun at the nape of his neck. He had a neatly cropped beard, and dark orange face paint covered his eyes. This must be our troop leader.

At his arrival, all of the surrounding soldiers who had already been in the East stood ramrod straight, hands at their sides. Marinette panicked before mirroring them. Nino made them practice this along with their marching, but he never expected it from them simply by his presence.

The man's eyes scanned the group, a look of dissatisfaction crossing his face. He clicked his tongue. "Line up!" he ordered.

The soldiers took large, even strides and formed a line directly in front of their troop leader. Marinette hurried to follow suit, trying not to be clunky with her movements as she tried to figure out what was expected of them. Her troop members from the South seemed to be in the same boat, trying to take cues from those around them.

When they all stood shoulder to shoulder, still at attention, the man introduced himself as Cobra. From the way his face was set in a cold scowl, his straight posture exuding nothing but confidence and intimidation, Marinette briefly wondered if this man was one of the escaped prisoners.

Cobra walked to the end of the line, where one of Rhino's admirers stood with sweat shining on his forehead. Cobra moved until he was nose to nose with the soldier. "Name."

The soldier swallowed. "Bulldog, sir."

Cobra let out a dry chuckle. "Bulldog?" He scanned the soldier's appearance. "Seems fitting." Marinette bit the inside of her cheek, trying to keep a straight face.

Bulldog said nothing, and Cobra didn't waste any more time with him, continuing down the line and identifying every new face and having them introduce themselves. He wasn't very complimentary, and he pried for information out of each soldier until he found something to dig at. As he grew closer to her, the nerves in her stomach spiked, her breathing becoming shallow. She would be a meal to this guy, and she had never felt more out of place.

Marinette kept her eyes fixed forward, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him walk past King Monkey next to her before stopping in her line of sight. Although he was roughly Chat Noir's height, his intimidating presence made it seem like he was towering over her, and he dramatically bent way down so his face was directly in front of hers.

"You're Ladybug," he stated, and Marinette made an effort to keep her face even, but her heart was hammering in her chest.

"Yes, sir."

"I've heard about you." That was the last thing she wanted to hear. With how he picked apart each of the previous soldiers, she was afraid he would address the rumors about her. It didn't help that she couldn't read his expression, making it impossible for Marinette to predict where this was about to go.

She blinked, not sure if his statement warranted a response.

His eyes fell to her arms and legs. "Not much muscle mass," he commented, and she clenched her teeth together. She had been expecting that one. Cobra met her gaze again. "But rumor has it," Marinette braced herself, "you've got brains."

Marinette was sure her surprise leaked onto her face, but she quickly schooled her expression again.

"From what I've been told, you figured out the post in your first couple of weeks," he said as he sized her up. "And you decoded the riddle during your test." He leaned closer, and Marinette held her breath. "Maybe you're not strong," he said, "but my expectations are high. Don't disappoint me." He lingered for a second longer, his intense stare solidifying this information in her mind. Then, he pulled away and moved further down the line.

She let the air out of her lungs in a quiet, controlled manner. Whatever he was saying to the rest of the soldiers fell on deaf ears as she ruminated over what just happened.

That could have been a lot worse. A lot worse. But, why wasn't it? Somehow Cobra had been briefed on her, perhaps by Nino, but she had a feeling it was someone else.

She suppressed a smile. It was Chat. She knew it. He must have known what a hardass Cobra was, and he put in a good word for her. She wondered if Cobra was notified about her being in his troop so he could make sure there wasn't another Rhino incident, and maybe that was why he didn't zero in on the rumors about her. Even if that was the case, she knew he wasn't going to go easy on her. He had expectations for her now, and she was almost afraid to disappoint him.

Coming to the East was taking her training to the next level, she could see that now, and Cobra was the man to do just that.

In the South, Marinette was a recruit, learning the basics and trying to get a grip on the skills she needed to be a fighter. But here, this was where she would learn to be a true soldier, and her stomach clenched in both fear and anticipation of what was to come.

Cobra started them out with a run ‒no surprise there‒ before leading them towards a line of posts by the tall rock formations. Marinette kept Chat's words in mind, block everything out, as she scaled the post successfully along with the rest of her troop members. Panting heavily but still feeling proud, Marinette was prepared to take on what was in store next, but then Cobra ordered them to climb the posts again. And again.

They took safety measures for the next couple of attempts, with a third of the troop going at a time while two other soldiers stood below them in case of a fall. In a way, it was like a trust exercise, and while Marinette was initially anxious about having to catch another troop member, she was lucky to have Minotaurox in her group. He easily scaled the post three times, and when Caprikid started slipping from the post on his second consecutive attempt, Minotaurox caught him before Marinette had a chance to move.

When it was her turn, she scaled the post once more before failing. She wasn't discouraged by this, though. She was happy to have done it the first time, so successfully climbing twice in a row showcased the progress she had made.

Unfortunately, the run and the posts were only a small part of the "warmups" Cobra had planned for them, so by the time they got around to training, Marinette was fighting off the urge to collapse on the ground. They ran drills and practiced battle formations over and over again until lunchtime, and Marinette actually did collapse onto a picnic table along with King Monkey and Caprkid. Minotaurox seemed much less affected by the intense training.

The rest of the day consisted of more drills and an introductory lesson to archery. Marinette discovered that she was spectacularly bad at it, and although she had been paired with a soldier who had experience with a bow and arrow, his advice wasn't clicking with her.

"Try to level your arm with your shoulder. You're pointing a little too high," he said, and she tried to make the adjustments. "Now you're pointing too low."

She huffed out a breath of frustration, her arm straining from the force of pulling the string back. She raised her left arm ever so slightly before taking the shot, not realizing that she had loosened the pull on the string in the process. The arrow weakly shot outwards, arching up before falling to the ground a few feet in front of the wooden target.

Marinette dropped her arms and slumped her shoulders. Her archery partner, she hadn't caught his name yet, stared ahead at the arrow as he tried to think of how to correct her again. She had done this countless times already. If she had the right amount of strength to pull the string back, then her aim was off. If she aimed correctly, then her pull was off. It was as if she could only focus on one aspect at a time, and she struggled to perform all parts of the shot at once.

"It'll take some time to get used to it," he finally said. He gave her a couple demonstrations, hitting the bullseye on one of his shots and hitting just outside of it on the other.

She had her arms crossed over her chest as she observed. "Did you know how to do this before you joined?"

He shot another arrow, hitting the bullseye again. "Yeah, my dad and I used to hunt together."

Marinette stared at the target, impressed, before looking back at him. "You should specialize in this. You have a real talent."

He grinned, preening slightly from the compliment. "That's the plan. Hopefully I can become a Northern soldier too."

"Well, you've already got archery in the bag." She gave him an encouraging smile, the same one she had seen Chat give to his soldiers many times before. "I think you can do it."

"Thanks." He smiled down at her, staring for a moment before saying, "Your name is Ladybug, right?" She nodded, and he stuck out his hand. "I'm Panther."

As she shook his hand, she took note of his appearance, which she had glossed over initially. He had wild brown hair and black face paint over his blue eyes, and the rest of his outfit was completely black. Now that she knew his name was Panther, she was slightly put off by his resemblance to Chat Noir. Everything about him, from his shirt to his gloves to his face paint, was identical to how Chat looked when she first met him. The only difference was the lack of a veil, plus Chat had recently decided to go for a dark green tank top instead of the black t-shirt.

"I'm not going to lie," she said as she retracted her hand, "your disguise is very similar to Chat Noir."

He made a face, as if slightly offended by the comment. "I don't think so." He motioned around to the field, where there were various other troops training on obstacle courses or sparring with one another. "There's so many people here, so it's impossible for everyone to be unique. Just because I decided to wear black doesn't mean I look like him."

Marinette disagreed slightly. From what she had observed, a lot of people tended to avoid black, just because it was notoriously the color their revolutionary leader chose. If anyone used black, it was always as face paint or as clothing, but never both. Plus, his name was Panther, which was the closest you could get to Chat Noir.

As much as she wanted to retort, she bit her tongue. Make friends, Marinette. She nodded her head as she said, "That makes sense."

He considered her for a moment. "Can I ask you something?" he said suddenly.

"What?"

There was a note of hesitation to his voice. "Are those rumors about you and Chat Noir true?"

Now it was Marinette who turned defensive. She wanted to vehemently deny, deny, deny, even though a small part of her reminded her that there was a bit of truth behind the rumors now. She needed to know exactly what he was referring to before she accidentally overcompensated while explaining herself. "Which rumors?"

He looked away awkwardly. "You know," she continued to stare at him as he fumbled for the words, "that you and Chat Noir are…" he trailed off, raising his eyebrows at her as if to say, "I know you know what I mean."

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. She squashed down the slight flutter in her stomach that told her, yes, yes it's true. She had prepared herself for these kinds of questions, and she was ready to rip these rumors to shreds.

"No, we're not," she said sternly. Liar.

He nodded as if he expected that from her. "So, how come you two have been seen together so much?"

She spread her arms wide, gesturing to herself. "Because I'm a woman, and at the time Chat was one of the few who knew that." She gave a performed sigh, but deep down she hated how she felt like she was acting in order to defend herself and Chat in a way that made it sound like their relationship was strictly professional. "I fell behind everyone else in my troop, so he offered to train me on the side to keep my identity safe. That's all it ever was, and he doesn't train me anymore."

Panther considered this for a long moment, and Marinette waited, her face even, but secretly she was hoping that she had convinced him. "That makes sense," he finally said. "Well, since he doesn't train you anymore, I guess I'll be the one to help you out with your archery."

Marinette blinked. There was something about the way Panther was looking at her that struck her as odd, but she couldn't identify what it was.

Relax, Marinette. You're trying to make friends.

She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, maybe we'll get paired together again."

Throughout the rest of archery practice, Panther asked Marinette various questions about herself, which she dodged the best she could. Cobra came by a few times to give Marinette some pointers, but overall she could tell he was unimpressed by her lack of skill.

Their training was topped off with another round of drills, which siphoned the very last of Marinette's energy. At the end of the day, Panther offered to walk Marinette to her tent, which she politely declined. "I don't live in the East," she told him.

He gave her a shocked look. "What? Then where do you stay?"

She gave a noncommittal shrug. "Chat Noir gave me a tent somewhere else. It's for my safety," she thought for a moment before adding, "and my privacy."

He seemed to understand, although she missed the slight disappointment on his face. As she walked towards the path leading to the Central Compound, she gave a genuine wave to King Monkey, Caprikid, and Minotaurox as they made their way into the tents.

"See you tomorrow, Ladybug!" King Monkey called.

As Marinette trudged her way up the slope, the exhaustion from the day finally caught up with her. Her muscles ached with every step, and she tried her best to walk in a straight line as her jelly legs threatened to send her sprawling out on the dirt. She just needed to make it to the North, but the walk felt ten times longer, both from her slowed pace and her desperation to lay down somewhere.

As she reentered the forest on the path leading to the North, she vaguely registered her stomach growling, and she cursed herself for forgetting to stay in the East for dinner. She could turn around right now and find Marlena, or maybe she could push the extra distance to the apple tree. Her pace didn't change as she mulled this over, and her tent was now visible up ahead. The exhausted part of her mind won her over, and she headed straight for it, the thought of her comfortable bed more enticing than anything else in the world.

Except-

"Long day, M'Lady?"

She whipped her head towards the voice. Chat was leaning against a nearby tree, one foot crossed over the other and his arms folded on his chest. He had his head tilted at her, a knowing smile on his face as he observed her slight limp and slumped shoulders. A strand of hair fell perfectly in front of his eyes, and if he didn't have the veil over them, she was sure he would be swiping it away.

She hated how good he looked. She really did.

Her mouth morphed into a pout. "I need to sit down."

"Then go sit down."

"But I'm hungry."

"Then go eat."

"But I need to sit down."

Chat clicked his tongue. "Quite the dilemma." He pushed himself from the tree and sidled up to her, hands clasped behind his back. He stopped a couple paces away, waiting for something. At her questioning look, he leaned forward, raising a hand to cover the side of his mouth discreetly. "All you have to do is ask, you know."

She stared at him, her frazzled mind only comprehending the symmetry of his face, the soothing tone of his voice, the stupid smirk on his lips as she continued to gaze up at him.

He straightened up again, fixing her with a frown. He stepped closer and waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello? Anybody home?"

Marinette blinked, shaking the cloudiness from her mind. What did he say to her again? Something about asking… Oh, right!

At the sudden alertness in her eyes, his expression changed to mock surprise. "There she is!"

She wanted to roll her eyes, but more of the exhaustion was creeping into her body as she finally stood still for too long. To top it all off, her stomach gave a loud grumble, enough that Chat glanced down in genuine surprise this time. When he looked back up at her, she had put on her best puppy dog eyes, her hands together at her chest in a pleading manner. "Can you get me something to eat? Please?"

He pretended to consider the question for a long moment, meanwhile all Marinette could think of was laying down in her bed, plopping down on the ground, anything but standing for any longer.

He finally took pity on her, his face softening. "Of course I will."

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you-"

"On one condition."

Her smile dropped, and she resisted the strong urge to collapse right there. "Whatever it is, I don't care. I need to sit down somewhere."

He hummed. "I can make that work." Before she knew what he was doing, he bent down and hoisted her up over his shoulder. She let out a startled yelp as her hands went straight to grip at his back, trying to find anything to hold onto as he started carrying her off.

"Chat! What are you-"

"My condition was that you hang out with me at our spot." She could feel the rumble of his voice against her abdomen, and her heart fluttered as he referred to the clearing as their spot. That was always his place, something that he decided to share with her, but now he viewed it as theirs.

She chanced a look to the ground, feeling disoriented by the height and the slightly upside down position she was in. The only thing keeping her secure was his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. "That's fine, but," she continued to struggle finding a place to put her hands, "do you have to carry me?!"

"Would you have agreed to walk all this way?" Probably not. She let out a huff, and she felt more than heard him chuckle. "See?"

They were just reaching the Training Grounds when Marinette blurted out, "Can't you do this in a more comfortable way?" When he stopped walking, the implications of what she just said set in. He gently lowered her to the ground, and she gripped at his bare shoulder as she tried to find her balance again. She refused to acknowledge how firm his muscles were, and she most definitely was not squeezing his arm just to feel them.

She glared up at him, face flushed from the whole ordeal. He gave her his signature Chesire grin. "Piggyback or bridal style?" he said innocently.

She knew which one would be more comfortable for her, but she didn't want to say it out loud. She pressed her lips together and moved to turn away. "I think I can walk-"

"You'll just be slow." He bent down yet again and swept her legs from beneath her. She flailed her arms before they found their way around his neck. He looked down at her just as she looked up, and she was confronted with the intimate proximity she had to his face. "Bridal style it is."

She gulped, not knowing where to look as he began to walk again. Her eyes searched the area around them, but there were no soldiers in sight as Chat crept through the forest on the edge of the Training Grounds. He carried her with ease, no signs of being short of breath and only once hoisting her up as he adjusted his grip on her.

Her heart was pounding in her ribcage, and she just knew he could feel it from where his forearm was pressed against her back. She wrapped her arms more firmly around his neck, feeling his racing pulse on her wrist. Was he feeling the same way she was? No, he looked too calm. Besides, he was carrying her through the woods; of course his pulse was high!

For a brief moment she thought about her revelation with Alya, that Chat might actually have feelings for her. When she was alone, she could accept the fact that this was true, but now that she was with him, all she could focus on was his sharp jawline inches from her face, close enough that there was a hint of blonde stubble visible from this angle. She wondered how he shaved without a mirror in his tent. Was he the kind of guy that could grow a full beard? Or did he always have to-

"Like what you see?"

Her eyes widened. Damn it, she was staring. He glanced down at her briefly before watching his step again, but that smirk was back. Maybe he was just being cocky, or maybe he knew exactly what he was doing to her exhausted mind, but she wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction. She leaned in to stare at his jaw more closely. "No, you just missed a spot shaving."

He jerked his head back to look at her. "No I didn't!"

"Yeah you did!"

"You're lying!"

She poked a finger into his cheek. "It's right here!"

"I didn't miss that, it's just growing out again!"

Their familiar bickering distracted her from their intimate position until they reached the clearing. Chat didn't set her down on her feet, opting to lower her down so she was sprawled out on her back next to the tree. She spread her arms out, feeling enormous relief on her back. Chat hovered over her for a moment, watching her fondly. "I'll be back with your food."

He disappeared from above her, and she rolled her head to watch him as he walked away. That tank top really suits him. It showcased his well-toned arms, and from this angle, it really highlighted the wide expanse of his back and shoulders-

She rolled over and pressed her hands into her eyes. Goddamn it, why?! This was the first time they were spending time together since she realized her feelings for him, sans his confession to her last night. He was in need of comfort then, but now that they were back to their normal dynamic, she couldn't stop herself from ogling him every chance she got.

It was because she was tired. She must be so exhausted that her brain lost all sense of self-awareness.

She pushed Chat from her mind and tried to think about her day in the East, all of the new people she met and the beautiful landscape that housed them. She thought about her intimidating troop leader and how tomorrow would probably be much more difficult than today was. She thought about King Monkey, Caprikid, Minotaurox, and Panther, who for some reason dressed a lot like-

And she was back.

"Dinner is served, M'Lady."

And he was back.

She twisted to look over her shoulder. Chat was settling himself onto the grass behind her, legs crossed out in front of him and a plate in each hand. He caught her eye and raised his eyebrows at her, where she was still laying on her side half-curled in the fetal position. "Geez, what did Cobra do to you?"

Marinette sat up and mirrored his position, taking the plate from him. "So you knew I was getting Cobra as my troop leader."

"Mhm, I picked him for you," he said as he prodded his fork into his mashed potatoes.

She gaped at him. "He seems like he's the toughest trainer you've got!"

"He is." Chat was very nonchalant, and her now throbbing feet triggered the irritated look she sent him as he shoveled his food into his mouth, completely at ease.

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't think you understand my pain."

He pointed his fork at her, swallowing before speaking. "I do understand your pain." At her doubtful look, he had the audacity to laugh. Her expression turned nearly murderous. "Look," he said, his face relaxing into a knowing smile, "I swear, I do understand. When we first got here, Cobra was the one who trained me."

The daggers she was sending in his direction ceased, and her face morphed into shock. "Cobra trained you?" She was flabbergasted, and he appeared highly amused by her reaction.

"Yup, taught me everything I know."

A fleeting thought she had earlier came to the forefront of her mind again. "Wait, does that mean Cobra was one of the prisoners you freed?" Chat had just taken another mouthful of mashed potatoes, so he simply nodded in response.

That explained why Cobra seemed a lot more military-esque than some of the other troop leaders she had encountered. He had been on the royal guard, on Emilie's royal guard, and he was one of the soldiers who defied the new monarchy. Her already high respect for him grew even more.

Another thought popped into her mind. If Cobra was on the royal guard during the coup, then had he seen something? Did he know about it? Maybe he had seen… Adrien?

The words were leaving Marinette's mouth before she fully considered them. "Does he know about the coup?"

Chat froze, looking at her for a beat before glancing away and swallowing. "Um," he cleared his throat, "not that I know of."

"But could he?" she pressed. Even if he did, she had no clue how she would get a chance to ask him about it. Cobra wasn't the most personable man, and if there was a chance he didn't know, there was no way she could ask him about Adrien without openly revealing the truth to him.

"If he knew, he would probably tell me, just like you did." Chat gave her a weird look. "Why do you care if he does?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but she didn't have anything planned to say. For a moment, Adrien's name was on the tip of her tongue. She could tell Chat the truth, finally be open and honest with him, vulnerable like he was with her last night. He already knew that she was searching for Adrien, but she never brought it up again in fear of reopening any scars from their fight. The Emeralds were a touchy subject for Chat, and she didn't want that kind of tension between them again.

But if she explained herself to him, told him the real reason why she was so adamant on finding Adrien, she knew he would hear her out. At the same time though, would that kind of information have an effect on… them? Whatever they are now? She wouldn't want Chat to think the only reason she was here was to find her long lost childhood friend, even if that was still one of her top priorities.

It only took a moment's hesitation for her to lose the nerve to tell him. "Nothing, I just…" She poked around at her uneaten food, realizing that her stomach was growling away. "I know how that's a big secret for you. I was just making sure."

Chat didn't say anything. As they finished the rest of their food, Marinette decided she would wait to tell Chat about Adrien, at least until she could plan it out in her head. She needed to find the right moment, and she needed to know exactly how she was going to say it. Chat may have secrets of his own, but so did she.

One big secret. One that she held close to her heart, knowing that revealing it would be leaving herself bare.

One that, if she told Chat right now, would have immeasurable effects on the small world they had built together.

The next chapter is called "Anything"