Tikki floated up to her face, her big blue eyes full of concern. Marinette slunk down onto the step, her eyes blurry as the book fell onto her lap. She couldn't begin to rationalise her encounter with Bunnyx, but what she did know was she could almost feel the love Chat Noir had for the girl he had lost - and somehow it hurt her in a way she couldn't explain.
"What's wrong?"
Marinette started at Chat's voice.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled, quickly wiping her face with her skirt. "I didn't mean to pry but I saw your book sitting there and I was curious because you are always reading it and, well I guess you're not always, always reading it because you aren't right now because you're standing here and I was reading it and…"
Marinette stopped her rambling when Chat knelt down onto one knee beside her, taking the book from her lap and placing it back on the throne before gently running the back of his finger across her cheek.
"Why are you crying?" He asked, his voice gentle. She wiped her other cheek with her hand.
"I… it's just that…" Marinette couldn't find the right words as to why she was crying. Knowing now that this was his fate filled her with an unimaginable sadness that struck her deep in her heart. "How long have you been trapped here?" She asked, meeting his eyes.
Chat turned his eyes away from her and shook his head. "I don't know." He replied before meeting her eyes again. "A long time I guess. I'm not exactly immortal like people think I am. It's more like being suspended in time, not aging and never dying just… existing."
"Is that why you don't remember anything?"
"The Supreme has control of my Miraculous and removed most of my memories. I remember feelings more than specific moments." Chat tried to explain.
He can't remember when the rose vine first appeared on the balcony but ever since the Supreme bound him to this tower the rose bud had never bloomed. It was an enigma he couldn't solve - or perhaps it was nothing more than a metaphor for his fragmented dreams and a reminder of the past that he could not remember.
Still, at night he hears her voice calling him.
"Kitty… Kitty…"
Her voice and the red roses, calling out from the past, from another time, another universe.
Chat felt himself drawn into Marinette's gaze that felt so familiar. Her bluebell eyes he found himself slowly falling into. Was it his Lady's eyes that haunted his dreams, or was it Marinette's?
"Who was she?" Marinette asked, although she wasn't sure she really wanted to know the answer. "The girl you kept giving the roses to in your memories."
"She was my Ladybug. The true holder of the Essence of Creation. My fate and hers are forever entwined, destined to be two halves of one whole. In every lifetime, in every universe we always find each other, but… not this time."
The sadness in his voice was heartbreaking to Marinette's ears. "Why?" She asked.
Chat pointed to the scepter where it stood as a silent sentinel watching over them. "Because the Supreme has trapped the Essence of Creation in that scepter, and tied my own fate to its safekeeping. The only connection I have to her now is the rosebud… at least I think so."
Marinette felt she had begun to understand why the rosebud was so important to Chat. If his Ladybug doesn't have the essence of creation, he fears she won't ever find him in this timeline. Somehow he must be hoping that if the rose blooms it will help him to find her, even if it's taken a hundred years.
"The memories are just there beyond my grasp." Chat continued. "and yet there are things I know how to do, although I have no memory of where I learned them. I can play the piano for example, and I know how to handle a sword. I even know how to dance."
Chat suddenly held his hand out to her invitingly. "May I?"
Marinette looked from his hand to his face. "You… you want me to dance with you? Now?"
"Why not?" He smiled. "I don't remember the last time that I danced with someone, but I guess there is no harm in creating a new memory… with you."
Marinette hesitated momentarily before she placed her hand in his and let Chat pull her close to him, entering their fingers. Chat then called out to Tikki to turn on the music box. Tikki floated over to a gold gilded box sitting on a low table near one of the windows and opened the lid. A beautiful melody began to play, one Marinette recognised. She looked up at him and he smiled softly at her.
"I've often heard you humming it when you are tending to the rosebud." He said, tucking a stray hair back behind her ear. "Where did you hear it?"
"I… I don't know." She replied, feeling a little confused. "I've just always known it. Maybe my mother sang it to me as an infant or something."
"You don't remember your parents?"
Marinette shook her head. "Master Fu found me as a child and took me in. He's all I have in the world."
She felt Chat's hand wrap around her back, holding her close to him. Snow began to fall gently down onto them inside the Great Hall. Marinette held out her hand, but the delicate flurries evaporated as soon as they made contact. She saw Chat trying to hide his grimace under shallow breaths. She knew doing such a trick, using the power of creation, would have caused him pain. She could feel the cold begin to envelop his hand on her back, but she wasn't afraid this time.
Her heart began to pound in her chest as Chat moved her slowly across the floor, their bodies moving in sync to the music like they had danced just like this a thousand times. Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck and slowed her own breathing, letting him feel the gentle rise and fall of her chest against his. Chat started slowing down his own breaths and the ice that had begun to form on his hand evaporated away. They hadn't spoken a word, yet had read each other like an open book.
Marinette's plan had always been to get closer to Chat and discover the secret to releasing the essence of creation, but getting this close to him, being held like this by him… it made her choices so much harder because despite everything, she had begun to slowly feel herself falling for him in a way she never thought could have been possible.
Creation and destruction were bound together. That much she had learnt from the books in the library over the last few days. If Chat was bound to the essence of creation then what would happen to him if she broke that bond? She didn't want to hurt him, but to break that bond a price would have to be paid.
"Adrien…" She murmured next chest. She felt his breath catch at the use of the name. "Have you ever thought about leaving the Tower?"
Chat stopped moving. Marinette looked up at him, but his expression was unreadable to her. His lips parted as though he wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words… all he could do was look into her eyes… eyes that he could so easily loose himself in.
"If the rose blooms, would you leave here to find her? To find Ladybug?" She asked, her voice cracking a little. She hadn't meant to sound so vulnerable.
"Marinette…" he murmured, cupping her cheek and looking deep into her eyes. "I won't leave the dark mountains until I know you are safe. That is my promise to you."
Chat ran his hand into Marinette's hair and slowly pulled out the ribbon, letting her long dark tresses fall over her shoulders. He brought his hand back to caress her cheek, his clawed fingers brushing past her earlobe and the dark stud earring that she wore.
"Where have you been the last few days, Chaton? You weren't here and you weren't in the Library." She asked, her voice striking his heart like a long lost melody.
Chat started their dance again, resting his chin on her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to look like I was ignoring you. It's just… Tomorrow I have been summoned to see the Supreme."
"Don't go." Marinette whispered near his ear. "I don't trust him."
"I have to go. I have questions that he refuses to answer."
Marinette could hear the strain in his voice. His anger and contempt for the Supreme were almost palpable. "Why do you still serve him?"
Marinette felt Chat's hand on her back pull her closer to his chest. "My service to the Supreme is my punishment… for failing her."
"For failing her?" Marinette repeated, a realisation washing over her. "You blame yourself for the Supreme taking the essence of creation, don't you."
She felt his head nod against hers. "It is the duty of a Chat Noir to protect their Ladybug. If the Supreme got the essence of creation, there could be no one else to blame but me."
"But how do you know that's…"
"Because I know, in here." He said, tapping his chest over his heart. "I might not remember what happened, but I still know."
Marinette rested her hand on his chest and felt the steady beat of his heart under her fingertips. A very human heart that seemed to have picked up in pace. "What do you remember… about her?"
Why was she asking him this? There was a beat of silence, the only sound filling the room was the sound of the music box. "I remember the softness of her skin." Chat murmured, burying his face into the crook of her neck, his warm breath sending a shiver down her spine. "And the smell of her hair. I remember the warmth of her body next to mine." His hand drifted down her back before resting on her hip. "I remember… the way I loved her. The way I have always loved her."
Marinette felt a pain deep in her chest at the way he spoke about Ladybug. Her heart yearned to here those words from his lips, to hear him murmuring her name in the dark. Marinette looked up, losing herself in his emerald eyes. Chat placed his hand over the one she had on his chest and laced his fingers with hers. A moment ago he was talking about Ladybug, the love of his life, so why was he looking at her like this?
Chat pressed his gloved palm to her face, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. "Even if the rose doesn't bloom, I will still set you free, Marinette." He whispered softly. "I just have to make sure you are safe first. I can't risk anything happening to you. Do you understand?"
Marinette swallowed thickly, nodding as she licked her parched lips, her breaths becoming shallow. His lips were just achingly millimeters from hers, parted and oh so inviting, but before she could get the nerve to surge forward and claim them for her own Chat slowly moved back from her, the space between them feeling like a vast ocean. "I will only be gone a few days. It is dangerous for you outside of the Tower. You'll wait for me here, won't you?" He asked, still holding her hand.
"I will wait." Marinette affirmed, tenderly. Chat brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a feather light kiss to her palm and saying goodnight, leaving her weak at the knees as he walked away.
~~~~~
One day, two days, three days passed and Chat had not returned. At first Marinette was not concerned. Chat said he would return and she believed him. He would never abandon her to the tower, that much she was certain.
Standing on top of the tower, Marinette looked out over the Dark Mountain, the wind becoming more fridget. Storm clouds had been building for days, but there was something decidingly unnatural about the snowstorm that was brewing.
"Something's wrong." She said, noting that Tikki beside her was watching the mountains with grave concern in her eyes. "He should have been back by now. I'm going to go and look for him. Stay here and watch the rosebud."
Tikki furiously shook her head, gently touching Marinette's cheek with worried eyes to tell her she was coming too. "Alright." Marinette relented. "Two heads are better than one I guess. Do you have any idea where he might be?"
The little Kwami flew up onto the top of the wall and closed her eyes with her arms outstretched. Plagg might have been buried deep inside the Miraculous, but she could still faintly sense him. She turned back to Marinette and nodded her head. Marinette quickly packed a bag with what essentials she could find and raced out of the front doors. She had to find him.
Marinette plowed on through the snow covered ground. Tikki could not push against the wind, so Marinette tucked her up into her hood and followed her directions. The minutes felt like hours and still they had found no trace of Chat Noir.
Tikki then tapped Marinette's cheek and pointed. Looking to where the little Kwami indicated, Marinette had to squint her eyes to make out the shape of a small cave opening that was almost entirely buried in the wall of the mountain behind a veil of ice.
"Is he in there?" Marinette asked. She wasn't about to question how Tikki knew, her only thought was to get him out before he froze to death in a tomb of snow and ice.
"Chat?" She called out into the dark. There was a groan of pain in reply.
"Chat?" She repeated anxiously, unable to see him. Lighting a lantern she had brought with her she held it up to peer into the empty space. Deep in the cave she found him on his knees on the ground, partly frozen in ice.
Seeing the approach of the light, Chat turned up his eyes to find hers.
"You shouldn't have come." He said from the shadows. "The storm…"
"I had to find you." Marinette explained, stepping closer. "Chat… the ice…"
"Stay away from me." Chat warned her hoarsely. "I… I can't control it… you'll get hurt…"
It was clear Chat was visibly in pain and it pierced Marinette right in her heart. "Did the Supreme do this to you?"
"He… I lost control." Chat said disparagingly. "My powers have become corrupted. I didn't want you getting hurt." He tightly closed his eyes so she couldn't see the pain in them. "The last thing I would want is for you to get hurt."
"Please, let me help you." Marinette begged. "I can't bear to see you like this."
"You can't help me. Leave while you still can."
She pressed her warm palm to his cheek, absorbing some of the ice and frost from his face into her hand. The cold hurt, but she held in her own pain. "Did you really think I didn't notice when the ice left your hand when we were dancing together? You need me."
Chat looked at her in a way that made her stomach flip over. He reached up, holding her hand from his cheek in his. "You know, you were all I could think about these last few days. Whether you were safe or if you had taken the chance to run from the Tower or… or if you would miss me if we never saw each other again."
"Chat I… I have to tell you something." Marinette hesitated. Telling the truth was scary, but she had decided from the moment she had left the Tower to find him that she wouldn't let her fate dictate what she did from now on, but her heart.
"I didn't come to the Tower to simply learn of my fate. I came for the Essence of Creation."
She expected Chat Noir to be angry at her, but instead his eyes softened. He lifted her hand and gently kissed her frozen palm.
"I know." He said softly, keeping her hand in his. "The Supreme told me." He reached out and carefully tucked a stray hair back behind her ear. "That wasn't what made me angry though, it was his refusal to remove the akuma curse from you."
Marinette's mouth dropped open a little. "You… you went and asked him? For me?"
Chat nodded his head, but before he could say anything Marinette wrapped her arms around him, pressing the warmth of her body into his frozen one. Chat held her to him, burying his face into her hair, the faint smell of roses filling him with warmth.
"I love you Marinette." He murmured into her ear as the ice melted away from him. "I think… I have always loved you."
Marinette pulled back slightly so she could look at him, gently touching the edge of his mask. "Always?"
Chat nodded his head, his hand finding its way into her hair. "And I do need you, like I need the air to breathe. You gave me life again, Marinette. You helped me to remember there is a world outside of the Tower. That the Supreme can't control everything." He placed her hand over his racing heart. "Because I know that this couldn't be love if I could control it."
Lost in each other's gaze, the two slowly came together until their lips finally connected in a soft, lingering kiss. Opening their eyes for a moment Marinette took the initiative this time to crash her lips back into his again. This time their kiss had more purpose, more intensity. Warm in her embrace, the last of the ice melted away and the storm outside began to subside.
"I've made a choice." Marinette said breathlessly against his lips. "I'm no longer after the essence of creation. However long this heart of mine holds out for, I'm going to spend it with… agh!"
Suddenly Marinette grabbed at her chest, her body wracked with pain.
"Marinette!" Chat cried out desperately gathering her body up in his arms. "What's wrong? What's hap…"
It was then that Chat saw the dark trails of the curse course its way along her neck and branch out over her cheek. Unknowingly using her dormant power that laid buried in her own body to free him had further weakened her already fragile heart.
"No!" He gasped, placing his hand over her heart. The beat was now dangerously slow. "No, no, no, no! I can't lose you again, not like this."
Scooping her up and holding her close to him, Chat raced with lightning speed through the mountain towards the Tower, Tikki following swiftly behind him. Bursting into the tower, he went first to the Great Hall and grabbed the scepter before taking Marinette to the top of the Tower. Falling to his knees he brushed Marinette's hair out of her face and laid her head in his lap.
"Chat…" She groaned weakly.
"I'm here." Chat assured her. "I'm going to fix this."
Tikki then flew right up into Chat's face, waving her arms all around.
"What is it?" He asked, confused. Tikki frantically pointed and Chat saw the rosebud was no longer a bud struggling for survival, but a glorious rich red Rose in full bloom.
Chat could feel tears pricking his eyes. "I knew it." He breathed out in a mixture of fear and elation.
"Knew… what…?" Marinette whispered, her eyes still closed.
Chat bent his head down to kiss Marinette's forehead. "I knew you were Ladybug."
Marinette looked up, her eyes glassy. "Me?"
"Look."
Marinette opened her eyes and turned her head to see the rose.
"Only the true Ladybug could make the impossible rosebud bloom." He smiled, brushing the falling snow from her cheek. "And only a true Ladybug would defy the power of a god to come and find me the way you did. You are Ladybug, Marinette, I have no doubt left in my mind and it's time that the essence of creation returned to its true holder - cataclysm."
Marinette had no chance to try and stop him. A black electric charge which Marinette had never seen Chat use before coursed through his hand. Touching the orb, the crystalline prision shattered in a bright light leaving behind the essence of creation flicking vunerably on his hand. In the distance lightening lit up the sky and the sound of thunder shook the tower to its very foundations.
"Chat no." Marinette murmured. "I made peace with my fate."
"And I said I won't lose you again."
Before Marinette could try to argue with him, Chat pressed the flame of the essence of creation to Marinette's chest. A red glow emitted from her heart and through all the akuma marks that covered her body. Marinette cried out as the heat radiated through her and a red and black spotted suit covered her body.
The thunder shook the earth again and a bolt of lightening from the blackened sky pierce the wall of the Tower sending sparks flying. The foundations began to crumble around them.
"What's happening?" Marinette asked desperately as Chat grabbed her hand and pulled her up. He energy was restored but there was no time to fully absorb what had just happened.
"We need to get off this Tower." He called back at her as the stones of the walls gave way. "Jump!"
Without question Marinette blindly took a leap of faith off the tower, her hand still firmly in Chat Noir's grip. Landing roughly, Chat scooped her into his arms as the Tower began to crash down all around them in blinding light and smoke.
Marinette wasn't sure how long she had been out for, or how much time had passed. When the dust cleared Marinette blinked her eyes open to find herself lying in a field of green grass and surrounded by wild rose bushes in full bloom. The previously dark sky had given way to blue and sunshine and there were even birds chirping a happy song in the trees. Maybe she had died and this was heaven.
Sitting up Marinette looked down at her hands. The red and black suit was gone, but so were the marks the akuma had left on her skin.
"You are cured." A small voice said. Turning, Marinette found Tikki floating near by with a wide grin on her face.
"You can talk." Marinette said joyfully. Tikki flew into her hands and Marinette hugged her to her cheek.
"You helped Chat Noir to break the curse." Tikki said happily.
"Chat…" Marinette repeated. She looked all around her but her and Tikki were alone in the field. "Where is he?"
In the distance a light appeared. It became brighter as it came closer before it stopped and an image emerged from it. Marinette squinted, trying to make out who was approaching her. As he came closer Marinette soon discovered a young man with blond hair dressed in fine clothes of cream and gold. Could it be…?
"Chaton?" She asked as the light faded. Adrien was about to answer when a black blur wizzed out of his coat and crashed into Tikki.
"Plagg!" Tikki squealed as the two kwami's rolled across the ground.
"I missed you SugarCube."
Tikki chuckled. "You mean you miss the cheese I used to find for you."
"That too." Plagg grinned cheekily.
Marinette turned back to Adrien and silently wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his heartbeat. "We did it Kitty." She murmured into his chest. "I'm cured and you are free."
Adrien didn't say anything but only held her tighter. Marinette's joy soon became concern. "Adrien? What's wrong?"
"I… I have to go." He said. It broke his heart when he felt Marinette shaking her head against his chest.
"Go? Where? Why?"
Adrien gently stroked her hair as he continued to her her to him. "I don't belong in this timeline." He explained as gently as he could. "Now that the Supreme has lost his power over me and the Miraculous, I have to return to my time to set the timeline right."
Marinette pulled back from him a little to look up into his eyes. "You mean… back to your Ladybug?"
Adrien slowly shook his head. "No. What has been done can not be undone. She is gone, but you are here and you're alive. That's all that matters." He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingers resting against her now red earrings. "The Essence of Creation has a new Miraculous and a new Ladybug, just as it should be."
Marinette shook her head. "But, how can I be Ladybug without you."
"The same why I will have to be Chat Noir without you… one day at a time until we meet again in the next lifetime."
Behind them the light from before returned. Adrien let out a pained sigh. "That's my cue to go." He said. "Bunnyx is waiting for me."
Although they both knew that their time was up, neither made a move to separate their hold on each other.
"Will we really meet again?" Marinette asked. Adrien gently cupped her face in his hand, his eyes wanting to drown themselves in her.
"We always do little Bug. I believe that we will know one another when we find each other again." Adrien then rested his cheek on her head, closing his eyes to feel her warmth. "Remember Marinette, in every dimension, in every universe, I will still be in love with you… Always."
Cradling her face in both of his hands, Adrien tasted the sweetness of her lips for the last time. In that kiss was a promise that this would not be the end, but only another begining.
Bunnyx stepped out of the light and called out to Adrien. "Get you tail moving whiskers." She called out. "These portals aren't going to stay open forever."
Adrien nodded and waved an acknowledgment to her.
"I don't want to let you go, but you will always be right here." Adrien whispered, placing Marinette's hand over his heart. "Never forget that."
Lifting her hand, he kissed her palm before reluctantly letting her go. "Come on Plagg." He called out to his kwami. "I'll get you the best Camembert you've ever had."
"You had me at Camembert!" Plagg whooped, flipping over in the air. Tikki just shook her head with a small chuckle.
"Bye you old Sticky Sock." She grinned.
Marinette was trying hard not to cry. She knew that breaking the curse might have a price to pay, but it still hurt knowing Adrien could never be part of her life in this timeline, even if they were destined to meet again.
All too soon, Adrien vanished into the light. Marinette fell onto her knees, left in the field alone with Tikki by her side. Time stood still as her eyes remained on the place where she last saw him standing. In the distance the sun shone down on the snow capped mountains - all trace of the Tower was completely done.
Marinette was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps on the grass behind her. "Marinette?" A familiar old voice called out.
"Master Fu!" She responded, getting up to hug her mentor. He looked different to how she had last seen him. Wiser, with a sense of purpose.
"Come my child." The Master said kindly. "For as a Ladybug you have much to learn."
Marinette blinked at him. "You knew?" She asked, but somehow it also made a lot of sense.
"Yes, I knew. The Supreme was a corrupted Guardian of the Miraculous who abused his power. Now that the Supreme has been humbled, the other Guardians of the Miraculous can now come out of hiding and set things right. The universe will be in balance again."
Marinette lowered her eyes sadly. "Is that why Adrien had to leave? To keep the universe in balance."
Fu placed his hand comfortingly on her arm. "You and Chat Noir have to pay this price, but you do not have to walk this path alone. I will be here with you." Marinette gave him a sad smile and he nodded his head in understanding. "Come now. Let us go home and begin your training."
Tikki settled on Marinette's shoulder and the three of them walked into a new future that was still a little uncertain, but one where the world was anew.
A/N - Epilogue to follow
