The Tube of Toothpaste - JuliaFC (2024)

Chapter 1: Consoling Adrien

Chapter Text

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Part 1 - Consoling Adrien

"It's forty two euro fifty," said the lady at the check out, a cute brunette with her hair combed into a tight bun.

Sabine smiled and paid before making her way out of the little store with her bags. She shielded her eyes for a quick moment as she looked up. The warmth of the beaming sun didn't quite reach her, although the chill still lingering in the breeze didn't hold the typical sting of winter. This told her one thing—spring would soon be here.

She had walked the small alley that separated the grocery store from Place des Vosges and was making her way around the square to get back home, when her gaze crossed the form of a blond boy sitting on a bench, a little out of view. Sabine stopped in her tracks and looked at the boy with her eyes wide. She knew that boy; he was Adrien, Marinette's classmate and notorious crush. What was he doing, sitting on a bench nearly in front of the boulangerie? And…her heart skipped a beat when she realised the state the boy was in.

He was crying.

No mother with a minimum of self-respect would've gone by and left a child crying his eyes out in the middle of Place des Vosges. Definitely not Sabine, anyway. She scanned around and saw the sedan waiting in front of the entrance of the square, where the imposing figure of Adrien's bodyguard was keeping an eye on him. Her gaze narrowed and she started walking towards Adrien. Not even that big Gorilla would scare her away. Stepping closer, she put a hand on the crying boy's shoulder.

Adrien jumped out of his skin at the contact and lifted his head, and Sabine's heart skipped a beat at the sight. Adrien looked back at her and froze, his forearm reaching his face to cover his eyes, his frame still to try to hide the sobs and hiccups that had been shaking it just seconds earlier. Sabine was sure that the sight before her would haunt her for days to come.

Puffy, blood-shot eyes looked at her with the desperation of a kitten that can't find his mommy. Quivering lips, curved down in a pout and trembling. With dark marks under his eyes, the many streaks of tears wetting his cheeks, the shadow of snot coming out of his nose, the pink colour of his face and the dishevelled state of his usually perfectly styled hair…he looked so small, so broken, so vulnerable. But as soon as he saw her, his eyes widened in shock, as he realised who had reached out to him. He quickly tried to dry his eyes with his forearm, sniffling as he blinked the lingering tears from his eyes.

"Oh, Mme Cheng," he said in a very groggy voice.

Sabine smiled at the boy, but then felt the air next to her move. Turning her head, she looked at the Gorilla straight in the eye. "I'll give him back to you in a minute. Promise," she said calmly. The large man looked at her, his eyes narrowing, his brows furrowing, and yet, watching her with genuine curiosity. As if he was wishing that the small woman could perform a miracle and take his boy's pain away.

Then, his gaze moved to Adrien before going back to her. Sabine didn't feel intimidated at all. It was as if the man was unsure of what to do, but the depth of his care for the young boy before her was as clear as the sun beaming in the sky. Somehow, this soothed a little of Sabine's worry—someone did care about him at home. Thank God for that!

"It's okay, Gérard, she won't hurt me," Adrien reassured his bodyguard. The man nodded at his charge with a small grunt at Sabine before returning to his place, waiting for him in front of the sedan.

Sabine looked at Adrien warmly. "Do you mind if I sit down next to you?" she asked, her voice soft and soothing, her tone gentle like she would talk to a toddler who had just fallen in the park.

She saw Adrien shake his head, so she moved closer and sat next to him on the bench, her hand travelling from his shoulder to his back and starting to draw small circles on it. She saw Adrien's frame shake, and soon the boy was sobbing again, slowly doubling into himself trying to get smaller. He held his middle tightly for comfort, his hands tightened fists against his sides.

"Now, now…what's wrong dear? You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to, but if you need to, I'm a good listener."

Adrien sniffled, wiping the tears from his face despite new ones instantly taking their place. Soon, he stopped any pretence. "It's something silly, sorry to bother you with this, Mme Cheng. I-I'm feeling better now."

"Nonsense," whispered the kind-hearted woman. "If it were silly, my boy, you wouldn't be crying in the middle of Place des Vosges, where everyone can see you."

"I just…had to get out of the car and get a breath of fresh air. I'm okay," he tried to argue, but Sabine's knowing soft look made his lies die in his throat. He darted his gaze away, trying to avoid the eyes trained on him. His shoulders hunched, looking almost ashamed of having been caught in such a position of vulnerability. But Sabine knew what to look out for. She could see him biting his bottom lip nervously in an attempt to stop himself from sobbing, how strongly his fingers were digging into the skin of his forearm, so much so that the knuckles of his shaking hands were stark white.

She considered looking away for a moment to give him time to recover, but decided against it. Against his own conscious wish and desires, she could see that he was hesitating. Her mother hen instinct was telling her that he really needed to vent, and that he would never do it if he wasn't forced to.

"If you don't want to talk about it, as I said, I understand," she whispered, her smile never fading as she patted softly on his shoulder. "I'm not your mother, after all; I've met you just a couple of times. But my Marinette talks a lot about you. You're important to her, and as such, you're important to me." She saw how Adrien gasped, how his gaze darted to her face when she mentioned that he was important to Marinette.

Her smile renewed its warmth, her hand moving to his hair to run her fingers through it softly. She saw him leaning into her touch, as if touch-starved, and another piece of the puzzle fell into place in her head. This poor boy deserved so much more.

"I'm serious, Adrien. Marinette has always told me that you're a really good person and I hate the thought of a nice boy like you going through the amount of suffering I can see in your eyes. Do you want to come in and maybe talk to Marinette?"

Adrien's eyes widened and a light blush dusted his cheeks. "Uh, no, Mme Cheng, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Marinette about this. I…" he said to himself, his hand reaching to rub the back of his neck as his gaze darted away, his voice lowering with every word. "...I would hate it if she saw me like this." He must have gulped hard, because Sabine distinctively heard a clicking sound coming from his throat.

Her smile never faltered "Then you should avoid sitting down right underneath her balcony, dear. Today she's busy with something, but most of the time she would no doubt already be here to inquire about what was wrong."

"Oh," said Adrien, gasping at the sudden realisation of where he was sitting. He looked in front of himself and finally noticed that the Tom and Sabine Pȃtisserie was right in front of his seat and Marinette could have seen him from her window at any time. He paled, trying even harder to wipe his eyes dry, with little success.

"Has my Marinette done something to upset you?" asked Sabine, and Adrien shot her an indignated glance.

"No!" he snapped, and Sabine breathed in relief.

"I'm glad," she admitted, placing a hand on her chest just above her heart.

"It's just…" he muttered. Sabine noticed his hesitation. She noticed the frown furrowing his brows, and realised that he was weighing his words to say something in a way that it wouldn't be too revealing. She waited patiently for him to find the right way to explain himself until he finally continued.

"This person that I know… We work as a team to achieve an important task and, well, we should be a duo, help each other and rely on each other, if you see what I mean."

Sabine nodded and again placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing soothing circles on the fabric of his white shirt with her thumb.

"A-and well," he said with a sigh, "they keep pushing me away. They keep calling on other people to help them, while leaving me out and making me feel useless and unwanted. They even admitted recently that they were doing it on purpose, that they have been lying to me and keeping me at a distance and refusing my help." He sniffled again, staring at the ground with a gaze that was far from the stones under his feet.

"But that's not the reason I'm upset. There has been a recent development and suddenly we're just the two of us again, so they won't be able to discard me and call other people now. In a way, I should be happy, but I'm not. It came at a cost, it nearly broke them, and left them, well, us, in deep trouble. I…I'm scared. Terrified. I don't know what to do. I need to be strong, for h—them, try to ground them, help them keep their cool. B-but I'm so scared I won't be enough and everything will go wrong and…I went from feeling useless to feeling overwhelmed. I don't know what to do…"

Sabine watched him carefully and noticed how his shoulders slumped inward, as if burdened by an enormous weight. His words also came out in a slow drawl, as if he was considering carefully every word he was saying and assessing the risk of each and every of his assertions. He seemed to be living in fear that something terrible would happen if he let himself go even once. What child went through such a massive amount of stress even while having a breakdown?

She fought her need to hug him to oblivion as he continued, “I have also tried to give up my Mir-uh, mission before, but I just ended up going back. This person is so important to me, I want to help h-uh, them, be there for them, show them that they can trust me and count on me. I don't want to lose them, but I don't know whether they feel the same anymore. Even if they accepted my help at their lowest, I don't know if they will still accept my help when things will look good again."

He gave her a watery look with the blood-shot eyes of a whimpering puppy, his voice shaking as he admitted it, "And I—I'm confused. And so scared. And after Papillon, or Papillombre, or whatever he will decide to call himself from now on… after he appeared again the other day and threatened everyone in Paris… I feel even more scared."

Of course he would; Sabine was an adult and had felt scared and hopeless too when she'd heard what that despicable insect had said just a couple of days before. But then all the people of Paris had come out on the streets and she had, too, with Tom. And seeing how everyone still believed in the heroes, how they called Ladybug's name, how they all fearlessly poured into the streets to show the heroes that they weren't alone… that had given her hope. And she had seen that even the heroes had been moved by the message.

However, those were scary times, and Sabine could totally understand how a literal child could still feel afraid and overwhelmed. She couldn't resist any longer and moved her arms around his shoulders, wrapping him in a bone crushing hug. The boy didn't even stiffen, just hugged her back as though she was his only lifeline. She softly ran her hand through his blond hair and after a short moment, he was sobbing again.

"Shhhhhh," she hummed softly to him. She rocked him back and forth like a baby for some time, allowing him to cry as much as he needed to. Only when his sobs started to subside did she break the hug and look him in the eye.

"It sounds to me that you really need to talk to this person." She affectionately messed with his hair, moving it out of his face. Then, she took one of his hands in hers and continued, "Sure, wait for them to get out of panic mode and find their balance again. But after that, you must have a good conversation with them and explain your worries and doubts."

Adrien winced, not able to meet her gaze. "What's the point?" he muttered under his breath. "They'd never listen. Nothing would really change. I just need to suck it up and keep going, the way I always do. Show them a perfect smiling face, support them as much as I can and keep my problems inside. I can always vent to Pl-uh, to myself when I get home."

"That's the worst thing you can do." Sabine shook her head slowly, her lips stretched into a warm smile. She picked up the bag of groceries that she had bought and emerged from it seconds later with a box containing a tube of toothpaste. She removed it carefully from the box and showed it to him. "Do you know how many couples break up because of something so stupid?"

"Huh?" Adrien looked with a frown at the tube of toothpaste in Sabine's hand and then moved his confused gaze to meet hers.

Sabine sighed. "How do you squeeze the tube, Adrien? In the middle or from the bottom?"

Adrien raised an eyebrow but he proceeded to pick the tube up and attempt a small squeeze at the bottom of it. Sabine picked it from his hand and squeezed it gently in the middle of the tube instead. Then, she gave it back to him, noticing with amusem*nt how the boy's frown had deepened a little and with how much attention he was now looking at the tube.

"Go on. I know you want to do it," she said amusedly, and chuckled softly when Adrien picked the tube again and squeezed it once more at the bottom to smoothen up the rest of the tube. Then she smiled one more time when she saw him widening his eyes in the sudden realisation of what was going on.

"Oh. I see," he whispered to himself and made to give the tube back to her, but Sabine cupped her hand on his and put the tube back into his palm, closing his fingers on it and giving him a soft pat on the back of his hand.

"You keep it, to remember this conversation." She crossed his gaze and saw that his cheeks had tinged in pink. "If you really care about this girl—" She saw him gasping at the word and ruffled his hair some more. "Yes, girl. If you care so much about her, then you must talk to her. Resolve the biggest issue first, that's for sure. Trying to add wood to the fire when it's already burning is a bad strategy in every case. But as soon as the situation returns somehow manageable, you two must talk. Tell her that she shouldn't squeeze the tube in the centre because it really annoys you. Explain to her what is hurting you, even if you think it's something stupid, because a lot of stupid little things eventually become big things. Big things that have the potential to tear you two apart."

"Thank you, Mme Cheng," said Adrien as he finally managed to wipe his eyes dry, but still unable to stop sniffling.

She stood from the bench, giving him a pat on the shoulder before picking her bags up and walking back in the direction she'd come from.

"Mme Cheng? Your boulangerie is the other way," said Adrien, a little louder.

She turned around and smiled at him again. "I need to go back to the grocery store. To buy more toothpaste." She winked at him and walked away, wishing she could have done more for the poor boy.

The gratitude and relief that she could read into his eyes as she walked back to the store lived rent free in her memory for a very long time. She had to do something to help him further. Yes, she did promise him to not tell Marinette about his breakdown. But maybe she could talk to her daughter and gently push her to talk to him, without directly explaining what had happened?

Yes, she thought, she would find a way.

To be Continued…

Chapter 2: Sabine's story

Chapter Text

When she returned to the square, unsurprisingly, Adrien was gone. She smiled to herself and went back to the boulangerie, the happy face of her husband greeting her as soon as she stepped in.

"Oh, Sabine, you're back, my love; you were gone much longer than you said you'd be." There was no reproach in his voice, only a little concern.

"I'm sorry, dear, I had to go back to buy more toothpaste." She started putting the shopping away and her husband looked at her with an amused gleam in his green eyes.

"Oh, I'd never have thought the day would come that you'd forget to buy something the first time around," he joked, and she smiled.

"I didn't forget. Just…I had to give my first tube away." She saw him looking at her quizzically. "Don't ask," she urged. "I promised not to tell."

Tom nodded and carried on with his work. She knew he wouldn't insist anymore, as he was perfectly aware that she would never give details if she had promised to stay quiet.

"Is Marinette still upstairs in her bedroom?" she inquired a little bit later.

Tom nodded. "Yes. I think she managed to sleep last night, but she's still very reckless. Not that she'd tell me what's going on; she's even better than you at keeping secrets. But the dark marks under her eyes seem to have decreased, so I assume the worst is over."

"I'll go upstairs to put the soap and toothpaste away, and check on her." Sabine gave a kiss on the cheek to her husband and proceeded towards the stairs to the apartment.

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After Sabine had put the shopping away in the small bathroom of the upstairs apartment, she walked quietly towards the trapdoor that separated her from Marinette. Marinette who, for some reason, seemed to be deep in conversation with someone.

Who was answering back.

Sabine scratched her head. Maybe her daughter had again turned on the computer and was playing YouTube videos trying to rehearse ways to talk to Adrien? It couldn't be; the voice was definitely interacting with her. Was Marinette talking to Alya on the phone? Mh, no, the voice was too high pitched and shrill, it hardly sounded human at all. More like the chirp of a small bird.

"But what if he decides to give up his Miraculous again, Tikki?" Sabine heard Marinette say. Or rather, groan. Her voice sounded hoarse, as if she hadn't slept much last night. Didn't Tom mention the fact that the dark marks under her eyes had improved? So why did she sound so tired?

Wait. Did she say, 'Miraculous'? Weren't those the objects that Papillombre was trying to steal from Ladybug and Chat Noir? Why was Marinette talking about things like that?

"I don't think he'll ever do that again. But we'll cross that bridge when and if it happens, Marinette," said the little high pitched voice that Sabine couldn't recognise.

"I can't lose him. Especially not now," came Marinette's muffled voice from upstairs. "You know I have never been able to do it without him. And now…I can't. I physically cannot do it without him, without his support…" What followed broke Sabine's heart. Because her beautiful little girl, her strong and confident little girl, was sobbing.

Sabine couldn't wait any longer. Whoever Marinette was talking to, whatever Marinette was talking about, she couldn't stay there and do nothing while her daughter cried.

"Marinette?" she said, knocking gently at the trapdoor. "Are you alright?"

She heard Marinette whispering 'hide!', which Sabine didn't like too much, but she would inquire about it later. Eventually, she heard Marinette's voice say, "Come in!" and she opened the trapdoor, popping her head through.

A first glance at her daughter confirmed what Tom had said earlier: Marinette still looked dishevelled and stressed out, but not as much as she did a couple of days beforehand. The dark marks under her eyes had decreased considerably. Sabine sighed and went up the few stairs that separated her from her daughter's room, closing the trapdoor behind her. She approached Marinette's dresser, opened her drawer and grabbed her hairbrush. Then she proceeded to walk straight behind Marinette and started undoing her pigtails.

"What are you doing, Maman?" protested Marinette when a more stubborn knot forced Sabine to pull at her hair a little more strongly.

"How many days without brushing this hair, Marinette? I've said nothing for a while, but it's starting to upset me. You shouldn't let yourself go that much. It's bad for your health." She skilfully worked her way through her daughter's midnight black hair until again it became as soft as it usually was. Then she made her pigtails again and put away the brush. "Now, that's better." She smiled, admiring the result.

Marinette sighed. "Thank you, Maman. I'm sorry, I shouldn't let myself slip that much, but…I've had so many things on my plate recently and looking after myself has become almost unimportant."

"I'm sorry to hear this, Marinette. Nothing should be more important than looking after your basic needs. Maybe you should slow down on the orders you're taking from your website," commented Sabine. She sat down at the chaise longue and looked at her daughter with a frown of concern. Now that her hair was combed, she looked a little more similar to the Marinette she knew and loved, but she was still quite pale, and those bags under her eyes were so black.

"Oh, no, don't worry, Maman, it's not about the commissions…" said Marinette, putting her hands forward and waving them dismissively.

Sabine's frown deepened. "What is it then, dear? Is school too stressful for you?"

"No!" objected Marinette.

"Something about Adrien, then?" The way that Marinette gasped and blushed at the mere mention of the boy's name didn't go unnoticed by Sabine, who smiled softly—this was the Marinette she knew.

"No," said Marinette with a big sigh. "It's not about Adrien this time." She slouched her shoulders and hunched in her seat, a little pout curling down the corners of her lips.

"You know you can talk to me about anything," said Sabine, smiling warmly, her gaze trained on the face of her daughter.

She didn't need to tell her that she was there for her in case she needed her. She knew that Marinette was well aware of the fact. Yet, she could see the doubt in Marinette's frown and this caused a painful pang in her chest. Was her daughter keeping secrets from her? She had told the chirpy-voiced Tikki to hide after all. Her gaze left Marinette's face briefly as she thought that, to scan around the room and try to identify where this person Marinette was talking to had gone, but everything seemed to be in order. And Sabine hadn't heard the sound of any footsteps heading upstairs or things like that, so this Tikki person couldn't be hiding in the mezzanine or outside on the balcony.

As much as she would have liked to inquire about it, though, Sabine chose not to say anything. It was Marinette's life and her privacy; she wasn't going to invade that. Although it hurt her deeply that her daughter would keep secrets from her.

But while she was having this train of thought, Marinette sighed a couple of times, her hand ran to the nape of her neck as her gaze darted around. Then, she sighed once more and looked at Sabine, almost defeatedly.

"I know, Maman," she groaned, her hands reaching for the sides of her head. She was quiet for a moment that seemed to last forever.

"Why don't you come down and get something to eat?" asked Sabine, cupping a hand on the top of Marinette's left hand, which she had eventually dropped on her thigh. "Maybe eating something is going to make you feel better."

Marinette looked at her tiredly. Sabine cringed—when had her little girl gotten that exhausted, and why? But eventually, Marinette looked down and sighed.

"How did you know that Papa was 'the one', Maman?" she asked and Sabine was startled for a moment, flashing her eyebrows and blinking in surprise. Marinette had said it wasn't about Adrien. Adrien downstairs had said that Marinette had done nothing to him. So…why this question? Had she gotten a crush on a new boy?

She smiled softly at her. "You should know that: I loved spending time with him, there was always something to talk about; I was never tired of hearing the sound of his voice." She sighed, her gaze becoming distant as if she'd gotten lost in an old memory. "We worked so well together, people kept saying that we were in sync. Also, he made me laugh with his puns."

She was interrupted by the sound of Marinette's head banging against the chaise longue. Marinette banged her forehead against the chaise another couple of times, a low groan coming out of her throat. "You've always known that he was so perfect and that—"

But Sabine grabbed Marinette's hand and the girl fell silent as her gaze met with her mother's.

"Tom wasn't perfect, Marinette. He was goofy and messy and all over the place. He used to say that I was the brains and he was in charge of the humour department." Sabine raised an eyebrow when she heard Marinette gasp loudly. "He's always loved to pun, and although his jokes were a little cringe-worthy, I loved his sense of humour. He was always a gentleman, always very respectful, always there for me when I needed him. And he loved making bread. His job was his life and he put his whole heart into everything that he did. He wore that massive heart of his on his sleeve. I know he would have died for me, had there been a need for it."

Marinette groaned again and Sabine took a moment to give her a good look. "Why are you asking me about your Papa, sweetheart?"

"Nothing important, it's just," started Marinette, "just…I wish it was as easy as you and Papa had it, Maman. Why are things so complicated nowadays?" Sabine raised another eyebrow as she looked at her daughter sceptically.

"Things weren't easy even then." Sabine looked down. "Have I ever told you why I decided to leave my family?"

Marinette shook her head. "I've always wanted to ask you about it, especially after going to Shanghai for Uncle Wang's birthday. He showed me an old family picture and told me that you changed your name, too."

Sabine nodded. "Yes, my name at the time was Xia Bing. I left home after graduating to come live in Paris. That's where I met your father and I started working at Rolland's boulangerie." Sabine's voice sounded full of past memories, her tone soft and thoughtful.

"He was an excellent baker, but was also funny and goofy. He made me laugh. At the start, I was teaching Chinese painting and passed in front of Rolland's boulangerie every day on my way to work. Soon, it became twice a day, because I would come back on my way home just to talk to Tom. Eventually, Rolland asked me if I wanted a part time job as a teller, and I accepted because I wanted to spend more time with your father."

She sighed. "We became inseparable. He taught me so much about the trade and eventually I started working longer hours at the bakery and changed my hours for my art classes so that it wouldn't interfere with my bakery job. But, you see," she said, her hand reaching for Marinette's and cupping it in between both hers, "my mother and father called in one day, unexpectedly, and told me I had to go back to Shanghai with them."

Marinette frowned. "Why?"

"Well," said Sabine with a big sigh. She took another sigh and closed her eyes before continuing, "I had just turned 24 at the time, and my parents were worried I would become a Sheng Nu."

"A...what now?" Marinette frowned again.

"A Sheng Nu, a spinster." Sabine smiled sadly at her daughter's frown. "It's a common belief in China that a woman should get married before she turns 27. If a woman doesn't get married before that age, she's seen as a leftover and not looked at well. My mother and father were concerned that, had I stayed in Paris longer, I wouldn't have had enough time to create a strong bond with the right man."

"What? You were an adult, Maman, why did they have the right to decide upon your life?"

Sabine's smile was a bit sad on her lips as she looked at Marinette fondly. "They were paying for my apartment, and for part of my living expenses, honey. Renting a place in Paris was expensive even then, and what I earned as an art teacher AND as a part time teller wasn't enough to make me independent. I had to follow their directions."

"Oh," said Marinette as realisation hit—her mother's situation had really been complicated too. "Did they try to...arrange a marriage for you?" asked Marinette, the grimace on her lips expressing all her outrage at the awful perspective.

Sabine smiled. "No. That practice was already illegal at the time." Then she cupped her hand on her daughter's cheek and stroked it gently. "But they did try to set me up! Oh yes, they did. They forced me on the first plane back to Shanghai that day, oblivious to my pleas, to my attempts to reason with them and assure them that I was okay as I was."

Sabine felt Marinette's hold on her hand grow stronger and smiled at her before continuing, "At the time, I still considered Tom a friend and hadn't yet realised that I was in love with him. He was my funny and goofy coworker. But some good things happened when my parents forced me to return to Shanghai."

"What happened?" asked Marinette, sounding fascinated by her mother's tale.

"Well, first of all, I realised how much I missed Tom." She smiled and her whole face took a melancholic expression as she focused her gaze on a distant spot in front of her.

"From the day I'd met him, we had never really been separated, so I had grown to take him for granted. But it was when I hadn't even been able to say goodbye and was left without him that I realised how important he was for me. He wasn't just a coworker. He was irreplaceable, and the void he left in my soul when we were so far away and I thought I'd never see him again was too painful to bear. It felt as if a vice grip had wrapped around my heart and was clamping it tight. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think of anything else."

A tear wormed its way out of Sabine's eye and she wiped it absentmindedly, her voice cracking slightly at the last words. She fell silent and sniffled a couple of times, trying to regain composure.

"That's when you realised that you loved him?" asked Marinette and Sabine smiled again at the emotions in her daughter's voice.

"That's when I started to realise it, yes. But then, my parents organised a xiāngqīn for me with a young man they had carefully selected."

"A…what?" asked Marinette.

Sabine pursed her lips. "A xiāngqīn, a 'blind date'. It's very common in China. They introduced me to Jun Li."

Marinette frowned. "Jun Li? You never told me about him before!"

"Ah," said Sabine as a light blush dusted her cheeks, her hand reaching for her heart. "He was so lovely, so charming, so…perfect. He was tall, and handsome, with long jet black hair and hazel eyes that gleamed beautifully when he looked at me. Always so elegant in his red and black Tangzhuang and black trousers, a real pleasure for the eye. We met a few times and he fascinated me with his knowledge and culture. He recited ancient poetry to me, he composed his own poems in my honour, he played gorgeous music for me with his Guqin…" She was so taken in her memory that she seemed to have lost track of the time and fell silent for a very long moment, until Marinette coughed politely.

"Uh, so…if this Jun Li was so perfect and charming, why didn't you stay in China and get married to him? You still sound fascinated by him now, Maman," said Marinette eventually, breaking the silence.

Sabine seemed to be waking up from a dream when she looked at her daughter again. "Jun Li was perfect, but he wasn't…him." She smiled fondly at her memory. "I did like him and after meeting him, it did get a little difficult for me to focus. You can see it even now, can't you?"

Marinette nodded and Sabine stroked her daughter's furrowed eyebrows before continuing, "But as much as he was perfect in every possible way, I found myself missing Tom terribly. You see…Jun Li wasn't one who understood humour. Once, it came natural to me to use one of Tom's puns and…he didn't even flinch. When I saw that, my heart cringed. Jun Li was perfect…but not for me."

Sabine pouted and slouched her shoulders, her hands resting on top of her thighs.

"What happened then, Maman?" Marinette urged her to continue.

"I rang Tom," said Sabine. "We had a short conversation, because it was very expensive to ring France from Shanghai, but he understood from my tone of voice that I wasn't happy."

Sabine chuckled. "You know your Papa. He's such an impulsive sweetheart. Only a couple of days later, I heard the doorbell ringing downstairs and next thing I knew, he stormed into my parents' house. I don't even know how he found it, since he doesn't speak a word of Mandarin, but…I was too happy to see him to care. He showed me a ring, went on one knee and asked me to marry him. And I accepted, to the big surprise of my mother and father. Tom likes to joke about it; he says that he abducted me and brought me back where I belonged."

Now Sabine's cheeks were much redder than before, and her smile was even fonder of the memory as she chuckled again, more quietly. "That's why I changed my name to Sabine."

Marinette blinked. Then blinked again. Then it dawned on her and joined her mother in her chuckle. "Because you had been abducted from your home for love?"

"Exactly," confirmed Sabine, and they both laughed.

To be Continued…

Chapter 3: Mother's Instinct

Chapter Text

When they both regained some composure, Sabine put a hand on Marinette's forearm and stroked it gently. "Do you want to talk about it, dear?"

She saw Marinette sigh deeply, then look around like when she was a little girl and trying to make up a tall tale, so she added, "Have you met some other boy and developed a new crush I haven't been informed of?"

Marinette's face turned pink. "N-no, what makes you think something like this?" But Sabine kept looking at her, and eventually, Marinette lowered her gaze.

"It's…complicated, Maman." She started playing with the hair of one of her pigtails, now her turn to look in the distance as if lost in her thoughts. "There's this…uh, person I work with," she started. "Uh, not a real job, or I would have told you!" She put her hands in front of her protectively, her face all flushed as her gaze locked into her mother's, and then relaxed when Sabine smiled.

"Of course, dear," she said and saw Marinette take a sigh of relief. Again, secrets. Again, something that nagged at her.

"Well, I never realised it until recently, but I've misjudged them and hurt them with my behaviour; also, for reasons I can't tell them, I had to push them away. So I ended up relying on the help of other people recently, and to make a long story short, it made this person feel useless, even though they're not. A few days ago they went to the extent of giving up on their Mir—uh—mission abruptly and without saying goodbye and…for a while I thought I had lost them forever."

Sabine's heart broke when she saw the massive pout curling down the corners of her daughter's trembling lips, and the tears popping out of her eyes and falling down her cheeks. For some reason, though, she felt as if she was having a déjà vu. Why did Marinette's story sound so familiar? She was certain that this was the very first time Marinette had opened up with her about it. Sabine gently wiped the tears from her daughter's cheeks and smiled when she gave her a watery look.

"Did he come back?"

"They…uh, alright, he did, yes."

Sabine's thumb finished drying the tears that had wet Marinette's right cheek and then continued to stroke it tenderly. "Is that why you managed to sleep the last couple of nights?" She chuckled at Marinette's surprise. "Even your Papa has noticed those black marks under your eyes, Marinette. And it's not like you to let yourself go so much that you miss days of school and don't even comb your hair."

Marinette blushed deep red and diverted her gaze from her mother's. "It—it's not just that. That was the beginning of the issue, but…it's not only that, Maman. Recently…well, I found myself in a very awkward position. I…lost everything." She lowered her gaze and hugged her arms.

Sabine's heart broke seeing how vulnerable and defenceless her daughter looked. What had happened to her usually sunny and confident little girl?

"Everything?" Sabine asked, and Marinette nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yes, everything. I was so scared. Felt so alone." She blinked and more tears fell down her cheeks. Sabine wanted to hug her close to her heart, but Marinette curled herself into a ball, lifted her feet to the seat of the chaise longue and tried to dry her eyes with the back of her hand. "When he told me that I hadn't lost him, I wanted to tear my heart out of my chest. It hurt so much, Maman. I-I felt so guilty; he nearly gave up on his Mir-uh, mission, because of me, because of the way I treated him, keeping him at arm's length and hiding things from hi—"

"Couldn't you have called him and spoken to him, Marinette?" Sabine felt the grip of Marinette's hand on hers getting stronger.

"It's—complicated, Maman. I…how can I say it…I d-don't know—m-much—about him. Oh, Maman, I…was so scared! So scared that I would never see him again." Her voice cracked and new fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

She loves him, thought Sabine, but didn't say it aloud. Instead she hugged Marinette tight and whispered in her ear, "Is he this important to you?" and smiled against her hair when she felt Marinette's head move into a nod. Then she broke the hug and moved to look straight into her daughter's eyes. Marinette kept darting her gaze away, but Sabine squeezed her shoulders a couple of times until Marinette finally looked at her.

"But you said that he came back?" She smiled when Marinette nodded.

"He's all I've got left now," muttered Marinette's cracked voice.

Sabine's heart cringed. "So…what did you do to resolve the situation? Did you talk to him? Did you fix your issues?"

A crazy idea was worming its way into Sabine's mind as she saw her daughter shake her head sadly. All these secrets. Her not knowing 'much' about a person she seemed to care for so deeply. Her having other people to rely on, but not anymore. Sabine realised why Marinette's story had given her a feeling of déjà vu—Adrien. It was the same story that the boy had told her. But he'd said that it wasn't Marinette who was to blame.

"Why?" she pressed.

"I…haven't really had the chance," said Marinette with a pout.

"Are you going to talk to him about it?" inquired again Sabine. She saw Marinette open her mouth a number of times, but no sound came out. She darted her gaze around the room and her cheeks dusted slightly in pink. Sabine patted her gently on her hair. "If he's so important to you, Marinette, you should really talk to him and have a good heart-to-heart."

"But," argued Marinette, her face blanching at her mother's words, "there are things I can't tell him. As much as I would like to be honest with him, some things could even break him and I can't afford that. Not now. Not ever! And he apologised when he returned the other day, saying that he had been silly. And he really had been!"

Sabine smiled and looked around Marinette's room. A similar situation called for similar advice. She quickly identified the tube of toothpaste that Marinette had on the top of her little basin; she stood up graciously, picked it up and sat back down in front of Marinette, showing her the tube and looking her in the eye.

"Does my breath smell, Maman?" asked Marinette, her brow twitching.

Sabine laughed. "No, dear. Your breath doesn't smell. Although I do hope that you looked after yourself enough to at least brush your teeth the last few days." She shot her a stern look and Marinette gulped a couple of times and paled before nodding nervously. "Good. However, that wasn't the reason why I got this tube."

She looked at it in her hands and noticed immediately how it was messy and had been squeezed mostly in the centre and at the top, making it look lumpy, twisted and all over the place. She swiftly tidied it up and worked her way from the bottom of the tube, keeping the cap in place, and squeezed it gently around until all the paste had lifted to the top of the tube and the tube itself had gained back a recognisable shape. When she looked back at Marinette, she could see that her eyes had gone wide and her mouth had opened in a small o.

"Oh, I remember you showing me this when I was asking you about Papa and Grandpa. I was eight, right?"

A smile curled the corners of Sabine's mouth. "Well remembered, sweetheart. What did I tell you about it at the time?"

Marinette looked up and brought her right index finger to her lips. "Uh, you said that a lot of silly things can become—oh. Ooooh." When her daughter's gaze locked with hers, Sabine saw the horror lingering in her eyes. Marinette grabbed the tube of toothpaste from her mother's hand and looked at it with a massive frown. Sabine could almost hear the wheels of her brain start working and see the massive lightbulb light up in her head.

"No matter how stupid you think the reason for an argument is, if you don't face it, slowly it will become bigger and bigger, until it will break you apart. If you're saying that you can't function without this boy, if you really love this boy—"

"I don't love him," interrupted Marinette. "I love Adrien!" But when she met her mother's sceptical gaze, she blushed deep red and looked down. "I do care a lot about him, though."

Maybe one thing doesn't exclude the other, was the crazy thought that popped into Sabine's mind, following the rest of her crazy train of thought. As crazy as the idea sounded, it could only mean one thing, and her insides jolted as her blood froze in her veins at the mere thought of it. All the times that Marinette had said she was tired and hadn't slept much, and coincidentally there had been a long and complicated akuma attack the night before…all the times Marinette had been reported as late for school, or going back to school late after the break for lunch and…Sabine's heart skipped a beat.

Her heart still raced as her mind's eye saw again the face of that horrible person talking to the people of Paris from atop the Eiffel tower. She closed her eyes to bring the memory back to the forefront of her mind, and the same feeling of hopelessness and fear filled her stomach like a kaleidoscope of butterflies.

After the first moment of panic, she and Tom had followed the crowd to the Eiffel Tower, to cheer Ladybug's name with the rest of the city. She had seen Chat Noir picking up the broken pieces of Ladybug's heart then, she had seen the young superhero taking his hand, the cloud around her lifting as she heard the encouragement of the crowd. She had been proud of her then, but now, she was even more proud. Her heart was bursting in her chest with pride, but also with apprehension. Because her little girl, her sweet Marinette was…

Okay, there was no need to freak out. She would cross that bridge if she needed to, not now. But suddenly it didn't sound strange and out of place any longer, having heard Marinette talking to that chirpy-voiced creature about the jewels that Papillon, Papillombre, or whatever the slimy insect wanted to call himself now, was trying to steal. And if she was right about all this, not only Marinette did need the help of the boy, now more than ever. But she was also pushing him away and suffering further for no good reason.

"Your Papa would tell you that 'The Nile isn't just a river in Egypt', dear." She huffed softly at Marinette's groan. "Let me rephrase it. If you really care so much about this boy, you have to talk to him. Be honest with him. Explain to him that you love to squeeze the tube of toothpaste in the centre and on the top and leave it twisted and messed up. However, from now on you will respect even his wish, to see the tube tidy, and will try to remember to fix it from time to time." She noticed how furrowed Marinette's brows were and she continued, "What I mean is that you need to explain yourself and find a compromise. Tell him why you're doing what you're doing and what to expect next. Give him tangible proof that you're also sorry for having behaved silly."

"But—" started Marinette, but Sabine shushed her by putting a finger over her mouth.

"An argument over silly things is never one-sided, Marinette. And you said it yourself. You pushed him away, you kept him unnecessarily out of the loop, you hid things from him. You lied to him. You refused his help. I urge you to stop doing that if you don't want to lose him for real."

Marinette's chest stopped moving, her face taking a grey tinge as her expression became cringe. Sabine stroked her cheek gently.

"What was that quote from the Spiderman film that you and I liked so much when we first watched it? 'With great power comes great responsibility'. As a leader, that responsibility isn't only towards the people you protect, but it extends first and foremost to the members of your team. And as things stand now, he's the only 'team' you have left. You need him, now more than ever. And he needs you." She kept her gaze locked on Marinette's on purpose, a frown wrinkling her forehead and brows, until she saw Marinette's face becoming paler and her eyes widening in shock.

"Maman! I—" started Marinette, but Sabine shushed her again.

"You don't need to explain anything, Marinette. Just resolve this conflict that's burdening you, so you can become stronger. You need his help, sweetheart. You need to clarify things, because the more you hurt, the weaker you two are. And Paris can't afford you two to be weak. Not now. Not ever." She smiled softly at her. "I'm so proud of you."

Marinette nodded and hugged her mother tighter than she probably should have.

oOoOoOoOoOo

This was how Chat Noir found himself hopping through Paris night’s cityscape, his brows slightly furrowed as he thought back to the message he'd just listened to on his communicator. Ladybug had asked him to meet her atop the Eiffel tower. Like she had a few nights before, when he'd missed the fight against Moolak. She had said that she wanted to talk to him, but on previous occasions she had made it clear that she didn't want to reveal too much to him; so Chat Noir was left anxious of exactly what she wanted to talk to him about. Maybe she wanted to address the things she had admitted to him the other night, after Papillon's speech?

Still wondering about it, he landed on the metallic surface of the Iron Lady, immediately noticing the lone silhouette of Ladybug sitting down in front of him, showing him her back. She looked lost in her thoughts and oblivious of the fact that he had arrived. Quietly, he moved closer and sat next to her.

"Good evening, Buginette, what was the emergency meeting for?" He put up the shadow of a smile that didn't reach his eyes, but when he looked at her, he realised that she was still in a world of her own. He leaned in, invading her personal space and waved his hand in front of her eyes. "Buginette?" Still no answer. "LB?" Nope, nothing. "LADYBUG!!" he shouted eventually, causing her to jump.

"Oh Jesus, Chat Noir you scared me!" She put a hand on her chest, right over her heart.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you alright, My Lady? You aren't usually this distracted."

Her gaze clouded. "Y-yes, I'm alright, Chaton. I was just…thinking and didn't hear you arrive." She sighed and fell silent for a long moment looking at and playing absentmindedly with something in her hands that Chat Noir couldn't quite identify. She was quiet for such a long time that Chat Noir's anxiety reached levels that had never been touched before.

"Um, My Lady, I love watching the city lights with you at night time, but…I'm a little worried; what did you want to talk to me about? You said it was important in your message, but now you're not talk—" He heard her sigh and saw her shoulders droop down and added quickly, "But if you only want to watch the city lights, I'm totally alright with that!"

"No, you're right, Chat Noir. I called you because I wanted to talk to you and it's not fair to leave you on tenterhooks because I don't know where to start."

He saw the pout curling down the corners of her lips and gulped. "Have I done something wrong? Are you upset at me? If there's anything that I have done to upset you, I really am not aware of it and I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry!" she blurted out a little shakingly. Chat Noir's eyes widened when he heard it.

"Say that again?" he asked in a quiet whisper, his hand reaching for the nape of his neck.

"It's not your fault, Minou. I too am to blame and I've never apologised for my wrongdoing," she said, causing Chat Noir's heart to start somersaulting in his chest.

"Plagg spoke to me when you gave me back your ring." She chuckled."Well, he scolded me and told me off, more than talking to me. He…told me things I hadn't even noticed and I really should have. For those things, I'm really sorry."

What had Plagg done? "My Lady, you don't need to apologise, I ju—"

"I do! I was wrapped up in myself, worrying too much about my role as a Guardian and my own responsibilities and completely ignored the signals you were giving me!"

"I wasn—"

"You were, Minou. I thought back to the last few fights in my memory. Quite a few times I had noticed that something was off with you. I had also asked you if you were alright and you always dismissed my concern. So I assumed that you were good as you said, and I let it drop. But I shouldn't have, because you clearly weren't alright."

Chat Noir felt blood rushing to his face as his heart jumped into his throat. Was he that easy to read? Yes, his Lady had asked him on a number of occasions if he was alright, but he thought she was just doing it out of politeness more than real concern.

"It doesn't matter, LB. The situation has changed so much that these problems are not relevant anymore," he said, but Ladybug shook her head.

"No, Chaton. Now more than ever, it's important that we clear everything that can hold us back and that we're honest with each other. Even if these were worries from the past, they have affected you strongly. Please talk to me, tell me what's wrong. Why did you never voice your feelings to me?"

"I…just didn't want to bother you with silly problems," he muttered, darting his gaze away from hers. But as he said that, the conversation he'd had just a few hours before with Marinette's mother came back to his mind. So he breathed deeply, trying to calm down the mad beating of his heart and find the courage to say what he knew he had to say. "But as time went on, the silly problems became more and more and…eventually they became big problems."

Ladybug squeezed the thing she held in her hands tight at his words. "So big that you decided to give up on your Miraculous?"

He nodded. "But they were still silly. Things like…you were calling so many holders and my presence wasn't essential to the fight any longer."

She gasped and held her breath, "I—" but he cut her off.

"You said on TV that I was a partner like any other."

"Chat—" she started, but he cut her off again.

"I couldn't remember the last time that my presence was essential to win against an akuma; you were doing alright with the others."

"Chaton—"

"You were often late for patrol and sometimes not showing up at all."

"I'm—"

"Don't misunderstand me; I know that, now that you're the Guardian, we're not equal anymore. I also know that recently I hadn't been able to support you in some fights, for example the one against Moolak. I was very grateful that you had others to help you, but—" He sighed and hugged his own arms and shoulders. "I felt worthless."

Ladybug sucked her breath in at that. "I-I'm sorry, I—Plagg already argued this with me, but…I really thought I was giving you some space, some time off. I may not have needed you in every single battle, Chaton, but you were still indispensable and irreplaceable. I couldn't be Ladybug without you. I thought I had told you that, on many occasions."

Chat Noir balled his hands into fists. The temptation of shrugging it off and ending the conversation there was strong and he felt very weak. But as he let his breath out and started to say a dismissive sentence, he remembered Sabine's words. He bit his bottom lip, his fists clenching on the spandex material of his suit over his thighs.

"I-I don't need that, Ladybug. Getting time off doesn't cheer me up. It makes me feel that you don't need me and that you're going to…discard me."

"I would never!" she said, outrage so clear in her tone of voice that Chat Noir felt the tears prickling at the corner of his eyes and starting to pool in them, misting his view.

He wiped his eyes dry with his forearm, turning on the side in an attempt to hide the gesture, but a quick glance in Ladybug's direction showed to him that she hadn't failed to notice it: her lips were curled down in a pout and even her eyes looked watery.

He cleared his throat, trying to regain a normal tone of voice before muttering, "It's nice to be told that, from time to time."

To be Continued…

Chapter 4: More than Expected

Chapter Text

He fell silent for a long time and was painfully aware of Ladybug's gaze burning a hole in the side of his head. He noticed how the girl had attempted opening her mouth a couple of times, but had always refrained from continuing, the hold on whatever she held in her hand never growing weaker.

"I never wanted to make you feel worthless, Chat Noir. I'm so sorry! I tried to protect you the best I could, and instead I ended up hurting you. I just…couldn't afford you getting akumatised. I can't afford it even now, especially now. I don't know what to do. I'm a complete failure! I tried so hard to keep you at arm's length to avoid upsetting you and I ended up upsetting you even more."

Chat Noir's brows furrowed. "What do you mean, Ladybug? Why were you trying to not upset me?"

Ladybug wiped the tears that were wetting her cheeks with the back of her hand and took a big breath. "I suppose it doesn't matter anymore now. After all, even keeping you in the dark has upset you so…I may as well be completely honest with you. You remember when we were fighting against Strike Back, when you told me that you had never been akumatised?"

Chat Noir nodded. "Yes. And you told me that I don't know what I'm talking about?"

"Yeah. You see—the truth is," she stammered, her gaze dropping, her face looking paler than ever, "you have been akumatised."

"What?"

Ladybug's gaze shot up the second she heard his shocked gasp and her terrified eyes locked to his, her lower lip trembling as she bit it with her teeth. "Ch-chat Blanc."

He tilted his head on the right. "Who? When? How did it happen? Why don't I remember?"

Ladybug started to talk at a speed he had never heard her talking with. She spoke about Bunnyx and an apocalyptic world, of a lonely, white version of him with icy blue eyes full of madness who still populated her nightmares. Of how he had told her that it had been their love to destroy the world.

His mouth felt suddenly dry. "Oh my God."

"So now you know, Chaton," she concluded her story. "I don't know anything else, I don't know exactly how the situation happened, but I know that you had found out my identity and somehow we had gotten together and…this had happened. That's why I kept you at arm's length. I was terrified you would become upset and get akumatised. And instead, I ended up upsetting you even this way!" She balled her hands into fists and pressed them to the sides of her head, a deep growl shaking her frame. "I'm a complete failure!"

"It hasn't been only your fault, LB. You don't know the whole picture. You don't know why I got akumatised that time. I was an akuma…I could have lied to you, for all you know."

"But how? Papillon was dead, you weren't under his influence anymore. You were alone in a deserted world, for God knows how long. Why would you lie to me?"

He shuddered at the very thought. "I don't know, but somehow, I doubt that the fact we were together would make me upset; it must have been something else, My Lady. Having your love wouldn't possibly upset me. Maybe the loneliness had gotten to me and had made me lose my wits. You don't know this about me, I can't be any more precise, or it would give you very clear clues to my identity, which I'm well aware now you don't want to know. Let's just say that in my civilian life I've always had…problems…with people leaving me or—" He sighed. "Loving me conditionally." The tears in Ladybug's eyes multiplied at these words and the sound of her sniffles started filling the silence of the night. "So you see, it's impossible that you loving me would make me upset, because I know that you would never put conditions on our love. In fact, going back to the reason why I was so upset with you this time round, if I feel worthless to you, I feel that you will throw me in the trash." He chuckled. "Well, you did that already, as a matter of fact, but I deserved it then."

"N-no," said Ladybug's groggy voice next to him.

He looked at her sadly. "Don't worry, I'm not upset because of that. As I said, I probably deserved it." He paused some more and looked at his ring pointedly. "I just don't want to lose you. Being Chat Noir, meeting you, living with Plagg, have been the best things that ever happened to me." He pursed his lips, feeling his bottom lip quivering and trying to get enough composure to finish what he wanted to say without his throat clenching on him. She deserved to know the whole truth. She had been honest with him, she had told him her greatest fear. It was his turn now. "It made me feel…that I mattered."

As he said that, he dared shoot a glance towards Ladybug and he wished he hadn't because the girl was giving him such an intense, watery look that he felt his heart skipping a beat. He looked away, feeling his face getting very warm. What was he thinking, talking to her like this? Making her feel sorry for him wasn't going to change their situation for the better. Maybe it was going to make it even worse. His hand ran to the nape of his neck, his anxiety level shooting straight up the more Ladybug stayed quiet.

He coughed nervously. "Um. Forget about it, it's not important anymore now that it's only us two again. I…need to go." His heart in his ears, he made to get up from the metallic structure of the tower, his gaze darting around to decide on the direction to take, his throat clenching painfully as he gulped.

When Ladybug grabbed hold of his wrist, he gasped and gulped some more. He tried to get free from her hold, but she didn't allow him to.

"Sit down. Please." She looked him in the eye for a brief second, then looked down at her legs. "It's funny," she said straight after, not looking at all amused.

"What's funny?" He sat down again, legs crossed, on the metallic structure.

A couple of tears started rolling down Ladybug's cheeks. "What kind of an idiot am I?"

"Hm?" inquired Chat Noir, raising an eyebrow. He watched as Ladybug revealed the object she had been hanging on in her hands until then—a tube of toothpaste, all squeezed and twisted.

She smiled a sad smile. "Maman was right, as always."

Chat Noir's heart sped up and reached a speed it had never before as his gaze darted from the tube of toothpaste in his Lady's hands to her masked face, noticing the tears rolling down her cheeks under the moonlight. He gulped. "Your…Maman?"

Ladybug nodded. "Yes. She told me to tell you that I like squeezing the tube of toothpaste in the centre and at the top." She paused a little more to take a painful breath and exhale slowly, her voice cracking as she continued, "But that from now on, I would respect your wishes to see the tube tidy and fix it from time to time." She must have noticed the quizzical look he had decided to fake, and the fact that he had paled (because he could feel all the blood rushing away from his face, and that must've shown somehow).

She sighed and her lips curled down in a pout. "Sorry, you don't know what I'm talking about, right?" He knew all too well what she was talking about. But she didn't wait for him to answer and continued, "It's something my mother likes to use as an analogy. It means that a lot of silly things can become big things if the problem isn't addressed and…I can't believe I missed the issue so blatantly." She glared at the tube of toothpaste and started fixing it from the bottom up.

"I had completely misjudged you, you know, Minou? I had imagined such a fun life for you in my head. I thought you had people who loved you around you, maybe brothers and sisters, and had to compete for your parents' attention, and that's why you were so clingy." She shot him a watery look and her cheeks tinged in the most adorable shade of pink as she crouched over herself. "I thought that by giving you some time off, I'd take some pressure off your shoulders. Sorry I got it so wrong."

Chat Noir's heart had somersaulted into his throat. No, better said into his ears. Okay, into both his throat and his ears. How many hearts did he have, now? He'd only heard what she had said last with a small portion of his brain, because the biggest part of it was extremely busy freaking out. He felt his mouth opening wide, as he forgot how to breathe, and ended up holding his breath for a long moment, his gaze continuing to dart from the tube of toothpaste in her hands to Ladybug's face. He passed in review her bluebell eyes, her pigtails, her small frame.

"I'm Ma...err...Mar...uhh… Madly Clumsy. I'm so clumsy," she had said the first time they'd met.

Ma…err…Mar…

Oh. Dear. God. He'd been right all along!

An explosion of joy filled his chest with such warmth that he had to refrain himself from fanning his neck, as he finally remembered that he had to breathe in order to survive and shakingly filled his lungs with essential air.

He was so wrapped in his thoughts and in his memory that he didn't notice that Ladybug had continued talking to him. He realised it only when he felt her poking his shoulder and saw her gloved hand waving in front of his eyes covering his view. Absent-mindedly, he made to stand up without remembering that he was sitting on the metallic frame of the Eiffel tower, hundreds of metres high. He gasped at the sudden feeling of emptiness under his feet until he felt strong arms grabbing him by his armpits and helping him regain his balance.

"Woah, woah, Chaton…are you alright? You looked…dazed."

He reached for his baton behind him and hastily extended it, holding on to it for dear life and looking at the ground underneath him, 300 metres down. He gulped, feeling a drop of cold sweat dripping down his forehead as he returned to his previous sitting position.

"O—kay. Mar-ma-My Lady. Uh. Yeah. Peachy. I'm peachy. Yea." He shaped his hands into finger guns and pretended to adopt the pose of Mr Banana, giving her the cringiest smile he'd ever felt his lips stretching into.

He was NOT peachy.

He slowly inhaled air into his lungs while his gaze locked into that of Marinette. His Lady. His amazing friend. Nah, who was he still trying to fool, he had already established for a long time in his heart that she had never really been just a friend. His everyday Ladybug. His real Ladybug. Oh my God! She had fooled him to perfection the day they fought Kwamibuster! So clever! So wonderful! He loved her so mu—

Oh wait, yeah. The other boy. Scratch that.

And wait again. Chat Blanc. Oh my God. She was going to kill him stone dead! Scratch that even more!

But how could he scratch that? Especially now…now that he knew! He wanted to stomp his feet on the ground, ball his hands into fists and scream his frustration.

"—nou? Minou? What's wrong with you tonight?" She cupped a hand to his cheek and pinched him.

"Meowch!" he complained. "What was that for?" He rubbed his sore cheek with his hand while looking at her and pouting.

"You spaced out again. Are you sure you're good?" Now Ladybug's—Marinette's— look was one of sincere concern. He did feel guilty for worrying her. He did feel horrible for having found out about her identity and not having told her yet. But…he really needed some time to come to terms with it, and the implications of it! So he stamped his best model smile on his face and rubbed the nape of his neck.

"Yes, I'm good. Sorry, Mar-uh-My Lady, I might have just overdone it a little and…could we reschedule? Please?"

"Okay, Chat Noir, but I think I've said what I wanted to say. Is there anything else you wish to tell me?" she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

His face was renewed in his warmth. "As a matter of fact, yes, there is. But I really need to find the right way to say it."

Ladybug's—Marinette's—eyebrow raised some more. "Wow, if you have problems articulating it, it must be something serious."

He couldn't say anything, but just smiled sheepishly until Ladybug sighed. "Okay, Chat Noir. Would tomorrow be alright, or do you want to be the one to tell me when you're ready?"

He stood and grabbed the baton from the small of his back. "I won't need too long, don't worry. I'll tell you." Then he forced himself to look her in the eye and bowed theatrically. "Until then, I'll s-cat." That said, he extended his baton and let it take him away, leaving behind a Ladybug who looked still quite baffled by his reaction.

If only she knew.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"So, when are you going to tell her?" asked Plagg as soon as he twirled out of his ring, in the privacy of Adrien's room. "Because you are going to tell her. RIGHT?"

Adrien nodded and huffed grudgingly when he saw Plagg letting out a sigh of relief. "I can't lie to her so blatantly, Plagg. And besides, in the situation that we are in, we need to be honest with each other, now more than ever. If I keep something like this from her, I wouldn't deserve to keep my ring."

He started walking the length of his room back and forth. "But that said, she could take the ring away from me even if I tell her. What about her fears? This Chat Blanc akuma she had to face who had destroyed the world and killed her too? I can try arguing about the identity rule by mentioning Rena and Carapace. But now that Papillon has stolen all the other Miraculouses, I feel that she's going to become even more terrified at the thought that I could get akumatised."

As Adrien rambled and walked around his room nervously, Plagg zipped to his cheese cupboard and emerged with two pieces of Camembert, which he proceeded to put into his mouth and eat instantly. The black kwami was staring at his holder with his little paws crossed over his tiny chest, his electric green eyes small slits on his face.

"Do I have to tell her that I know, Plagg?" asked Adrien suddenly. He bit his bottom lip and shot a hopeful glance at the kwami, as if the answer that he knew already was the right one wasn't going to come out of the little creature's mouth.

"You know you have to, she's the Guardian, she needs to know." Plagg's serious gaze pierced Adrien's soul. "And besides, didn't what Pigtails' mother tell you open your eyes? Hiding a smelly cheese into a box won't stop it from smelling. Eventually, the box will be open and the cheese will smell even worse."

Adrien hunched his shoulders and sat deflated at the end of his bed. "I know, buddy. You're right."

"Of course I am. I'm always right, gamin."

Adrien patted the little God of Destruction on the head and smiled softly at him. "Alright, I'll tell her then. Tomorrow morning. I already know how to." He stood up from his bed, went into the ensuite bathroom and picked up the tube of toothpaste that Sabine had given him. He looked fondly at it and proceeded to put it inside his school bag. Then he proceeded to brush his teeth (with his own toothpaste), took a quick shower and got ready for bed.

Tomorrow. He was dreading tomorrow. But also looking forward to it. The day all the secrets would finally be over. Even if it meant that she could ask him to give back his Miraculous. He couldn't leave her in the dark, not now that she had been so honest with him and told him the entire truth. He had to tell her, she deserved to know.

To be Continued…

Chapter 5: No More Secrets!

Chapter Text

The following morning, sitting at his desk next to Nino, Adrien was looking pointedly at his watch and counting the seconds until 'storm Marinette' would run through the door.

"Ten, nine, eight…"

"What are you doing, mec?" asked Nino, as he leaned forward to look at his best friend's watch.

"Shh, just waiting for Marinette. Three, two, one…" When he said one, even more precise than the alarm on Nathalie's tablet, the second the bell that signalled the beginning of the lessons rang, Marinette bursted in the room. She tugged at the door handle, panting and huffing tiredly for the extreme exercise she had just undertaken.

"Wow, that's impressive." Nino shot him a funny look. "Since when’ve you been timing our Marinette?"

Adrien brought a hand to the nape of his neck and his cheeks dusted slightly in pink as he gave a furtive look at the little packet he had left on her desk and which had miraculously gone unnoticed, probably because Alya wasn't there today. Her little sisters were sick and she'd had to stay at home with them, Nino had said.

He expectantly watched Marinette closing the door behind her, muttering a 'sorry' and a 'good morning' to Mlle Bustier and hurrying to sit down at her desk.

To blink a couple of times in surprise and look at what was on her desk.

Trying his hardest not to be seen, Adrien kept peeking at Marinette from over his shoulder. He saw how she looked around in surprise, then picked up the little box, opened it, read the note attached to it, and gasped. He saw all the blood draining from her face, her eyes getting wide, her gaze darting around the room. That's when he turned towards her, a beaming smile stretching his lips.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" he cheekily asked. She locked gazes with him and a little bit of colour returned to her cheeks as she nodded. But Mlle Bustier cleared her throat and they had to return their attention to the lesson.

As if it was that easy! Marinette may as well have been a magnet, and him some sort of metal, because he couldn't keep his eyes away from her. He spent half of the lesson loosely doodling her name on the pages of his notebook and the other half stealing glances towards her. He couldn't help chuckling at the way she was still so flustered, as she kept on looking at the box and at the message inside it and darting her gaze around, her fingers fidgeting with the box, her teeth biting her bottom lip.

Eventually, he decided that he couldn't keep her in her misery. It wasn't fair on her and she would have every right to take away his Miraculous if he carried on with this. He sighed, put his school tablet down and, after a quick glance at Mlle Bustier to make sure she wasn't looking in his direction, he grabbed his phone and went to an app he'd downloaded for when he wanted to anonymously send messages to Nino (to avoid Nathalie's strict control).

He wrote a message to Marinette's number and hit send. When he heard the beep behind him, he gave a quick look over his shoulder. Marinette gasped seeing the anonymous number and frowned. Then, she started to type in a furious manner. He bit his bottom lip. Uh-oh… his Lady was angry…and he thanked his stars that he had put his phone on silent because as soon as Marinette hit send, her gaze narrowed and started darting around the room.

Adrien gulped. He eyed Mlle Bustier once more, but she was still writing on the blackboard and talking about the French Revolution. So Adrien dared shoot a quick glance at the messages on his phone, his heart somersaulting in his chest.

"Are you alright, mec? You look pale," whispered Nino into his ear.

Adrien nodded nervously and gave him as normal a smile as he could. "Peachy," he whispered back. Nino started paying again attention to the lesson. Adrien sighed in relief.

Anonymous: [Forgive me, My Lady! I didn't mean to find out!]

Marinette: [What's the meaning of this, Chaton? What happened? How did you find out? Where are you? Are you stalking me?]

Adrien paled further. No, no, no…he was making things worse!

Anonymous: [No, My Lady, I'm not…Sorry for the anonymous texts, I have to be careful with my personal phone, my activity is constantly monitored! I use this app to talk to my best friend. I'm not stalking you, I promise!]

Maybe I am hiding though, just a little…Adrien gulped. It wasn't right to keep this going any longer. As bad as it was going to be if he was honest, it was going to fall down on him tenfold if he kept her any more in the dark.

His heart went in his throat as he heard the low growl coming from behind him. Marinette was livid, he knew she was. Her gaze was as hard as it had been the time she had thrown him into the rubbish bin.

Marinette: [So where are you?]

He sighed, anxiety and dread filling his heart.

Anonymous: [What do you want me to do? Walk into your classroom transformed and sweep you off your feet?]

Another gasp from behind him, then more furious typing.

Marinette: [NO! But stop hiding!]

There you go. Death sentence coming.

Anonymous: [I'm not hiding. I'm sitting right in front of you.]

His fingers felt like ice as he hit send. He closed his eyes shut and gulped dryly.

Marinette gasped so loudly behind him that Mlle Bustier noticed.

"Are you alright, Marinette? You look pale," the teacher asked. "Marinette?"

Marinette gasped further. "Uh, oh, yes Mlle Bustier, I'm okay. Fine. Perfect."

The teacher frowned. "I still think you look pale. Why don't you go to the washroom? Let me see…you're the class president, Alya is off, so…Go with her, Lil—"

When Marinette heard the teacher say Lila's name, she stood up so quickly that she put her foot on the wrong side of the desk. Adrien could see, with the corner of his eye, the very moment she stumbled over her feet and lost her balance—and his instinct kicked in. He was there, his arms supporting her small frame. She was so light, she weighed nearly nothing, but the weight of what had just happened felt like an unbearably massive stone. It would be, until he got the chance to clear things up with her.

He heard her squeak. He saw her curling over herself trying to absorb the hit, her eyes closed shut in anticipation of getting hurt. But he was there already and when she realised he was, he felt her relaxing in his arms.

Maybe, only maybe…he still had a chance? Please…

When he saw her opening her eyes and quickly glancing in his direction, he flashed her a smile, and whispered in her ear, "Gotcha, My Lady!", hoping to make her relax further. "I'll always catch you before you fall."

But she squealed and balled over herself again, her face suddenly rivalling her Ladybug's suit in redness.

He blinked. And blinked again when she detangled from his arms and stood very abruptly.

"Marinette, what—" started Mlle Bustier, but Marinette let out a louder squeal and then stood stiffly, forcing a cringing smile to her lips and bringing a hand to the nape of her neck.

"Adrien! Yes, Mlle Bustier, Adrien can come with me. There's no problem. Right, Adrien?" she muttered at him, poking him in the ribs with a very well placed elbow as she shot a cringe smile at the teacher. He nodded almost automatically and smiled sheepishly.

"Adrien?" said Mlle Bustier, sounding even more baffled as she co*cked an eyebrow at them both. "With you? To the washroom?"

Adrien suddenly felt his face getting very hot. Shoot. He'd forgotten where Mlle Bustier had told Marinette to go. And based on the colour of Marinette's face that very second, so had she.

"Aaaaaah—n-no, I m-mean, I'm n-not feeling very well, I think I…uh…sprained my ankle. Yeah. When I was falling a moment ago. Adrien can take me to…the nurse! That's where I wanted to go…" She cupped her hands to cover her face and muttered something that sounded very much like, "Please kill me, now…"

Adrien let out a chuckle hearing her saying that, but almost immediately, he noticed that Marinette must have forgotten her excuse, because she had just taken two steps forward without pretending to limp. He eyed Mlle Bustier; the teacher had raised another eyebrow and was folding her arms over her chest. So he did the only thing he thought was suitable in the heat of the moment. He leaned down and swooped up Marinette by the back of her knees and by her back and pulled her to him, ending up holding her bridal style. Marinette's impression of a mouse's squeak was eerily accurate at his gesture.

"Wha—" she muttered, but he shushed her away.

"I think we'll be faster like this, Mlle Bustier. I'll look after her."

The class boomed in a massive cheer that shocked Adrien. Everyone except Lila and Chloé, obviously. Lila was seething in anger, Chloé looked disgusted and ready to faint. However, one voice raised over everyone else's. Well, at least it did for Adrien.

"Go, Buttercup! I didn't know you had that in you, Agreste!" shouted Alix from the back row.

Adrien felt his face getting even warmer, as he heard Marinette utter a dull gasp and bury her face deep into his chest. He chuckled nervously. "Uh, so, well, I'll see you all later," he said and started walking to the door, trying to pay attention to where he was putting his feet. The fact that his legs felt like jelly didn't help. Not one little bit. Soon he reached the door of the classroom, and when Mlle Bustier opened it for him to help him get out, he shot her a grateful look.

"Make sure she doesn't have anything broken," said Mlle Bustier with a wink and a smile that gave Adrien the impression that the woman knew perfectly well that there was nothing wrong with Marinette's ankle…

Thank you Twilightchildriku for this gorgeous art! Please check her Instagram for more beautiful samples of Danielle's work!

oOoOoOoOoOo

When they were far from prying eyes, Marinette's face emerged from his chest and Adrien gulped dryly—his Lady wasn't happy. She wasn't happy at all.

"Put me down," she muttered, a little curtly. He immediately obliged and she grabbed his hand (why was the room suddenly so warm?) and started walking towards the locker room. They walked in, she looked quickly left and right to make sure that the place was empty and then she turned towards him to whisper into his ear, "Let's transform and reach the rooftop. It's more private."

He nodded and looked left and right as well. Again nobody was in sight, so he muttered his transformation phrase and saw Marinette's eyes opening wide. "Makes it more real, huh?" He smiled softly as she nodded. She looked so tense! He grabbed her hand and saw her jump out of her skin. So he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles; he looked her in the eye and said with a little bow, "Your turn now, My Lady."

His flirting seemed to calm Marinette down. The girl rolled her eyes and followed his lead, changing into the polka dotted heroine in a dash of pink that left him breathless. "Wow," he muttered. As she smiled a sly smile, Chat Noir was nearly certain he'd seen a flirting gleam flashing through her eyes.

"Follow me," she said. He gulped, unsure of what to make of all this, and gladly did as he was told.

When they reached the rooftop and found a private corner, she released her transformation, waiting for him to do the same. Then, she turned towards him and shot him a killer glare, folding her arms over her chest.

"Uh," he muttered, his hand reaching immediately to the nape of his neck. "I'm so sorry, My Lady. I didn't expect to find out. It…just happened!"

But he felt himself getting more and more anxious, because Marinette just stood there glaring at him with her arms folded and tapping her foot on the floor. Silence wrapped around them making the atmosphere on the rooftop become so heavy that you could easily have cut it with a knife. Adrien looked down, eyeing Marinette's face from time to time while rubbing his neck nervously.

"How did you find out?" she asked eventually, her voice almost echoing in the silence.

The flush of heat that reached Adrien's face didn't leave him any doubt about the current colour of his cheeks. "Uh, your Maman."

"What about her?" she pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"She found me the other day in Place des Vosges. I was…" He looked up, his heart taking a painful somersault in his chest, his cheeks feeling even warmer. "...upset," he continued. "She tried to cheer me up and asked me what was wrong, so I told her in general terms."

He glanced at Marinette; she had lost her glare and was now looking at him with sorrowful eyes. He didn't know which was worse.

"That's how she figured me out, then. What did you tell her exactly?"

"She figured you out?" He blushed deep red when she pouted. "Uh, shoot…"

He lowered his gaze. "It was a couple of days after Papillon stole the Miraculouses and I was terrified. Upset. I…can't even find a word to describe how I was feeling, Marinette, I'm really sorry. I got out of the car and had to get some fresh air, I couldn't stand going back to the mansion in that state. Your mother found me and…I broke down. I didn't mention names; I just said that the person I work with keeps pushing me away and things like that."

Marinette now had a nervous smile plastered all over her face. "Did you?" she asked sheepishly. "That's what I said as well. No wonder she understood. I have a feeling she figured you out too."

"It wouldn't surprise me, your mother is clever." He sighed. "Anyway, she told me about the tube of toothpaste and, well, when last night you told me that your mother uses that analogy, I kind of made the connection. Sorry!"

"That's why you nearly fell off the tower?" She laughed when he nodded.

"But you should know it, My Lady. Buttercup fell for you a long time ago." He gave her a wink, but his smile died on his face when he noticed the terror in her eyes. He paled.

"It—it makes sense now," she said shakingly, her right hand clenching strongly to her left arm, her gaze dropped.

"What?" he asked, although he had a feeling that he knew what she meant.

Her watery gaze shot up, searching for his, her bottom lip quivering. "Chat Blanc. How you found out my identity." She let out a sigh. "I thought that Adrien had told my identity to Nino, who then had told someone else who then had told someone else until it had reached Chat Noir's e—" But she stopped at Adrien's gasp.

"You know I'd never—"

"I know now! But before, without context, I thought…" she interrupted him, her hands reaching for the sides of her head, her body starting to rock back and forth.

Adrien grabbed her hands in his, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin, her dilated pupils shrinking slightly as her gaze focused on him. "You see, Marinette? That's exactly what I was talking about last night. You don't know the context. I was an akuma! I could have lied to you! Papillon is a master at twisting people's feelings against you, we've seen it happening too many times to doubt it. I don't know what could have gotten me so upset to cause my akumatisation, but…I can tell you here and now. Loving you definitely would not. I love you so much, Marinette. The mere thought of losing you would butcher my heart worse than stabbing it with a knife."

She lowered her head and nervously moved a lock of jet-black hair behind her ear. "Even after all I've done to you? Even if it's…just clumsy me?"

"Even more so, now that I know how amazing you really are underneath that mask." He cupped a hand to her cheek and she noticeably gasped as he did so. He saw how she shot a quick glance to his face and how flustered she became the very second their gazes met. How hadn't he noticed that before? Now that he'd joined the dots it was so clear. He smiled softly at her, causing her face to take an even deeper shade of red.

"It was some time that—uh, in fact…" As he said so, his hand left her cheek and grabbed his own shirt. Marinette looked at him, confused.

"Plagg?" he said, the shadow of a grin curling the corners of his mouth. He waited for the black little furball to pop his head through his top. "Would you tell Marinette what happened when I came back home the last time we faced Glaciator?"

Plagg started floating between them and flicking his electric gaze from his face to Marinette's. "You mean when you restored the pictures of Ladybug you had deleted only hours before, and when I questioned you about it, you said that Marinette had opened your eyes?"

Adrien huffed and frowned. "No, later that night."

Plagg was a little sh*t. He knew perfectly well what Adrien was talking about, and Adrien could tell from the way the little God's eyes gleamed of mockery when he pretended to think carefully about it at his question that he was going to make it as awkward as he possibly could to say whatever he was going to say. He waited for Adrien to pout, and only then a little smirk popped on his lips, making the tiny fangs in his mouth shine through like two little pearls in an ocean of black.

"You mean when you weren't able to sleep and didn't stop turning and tossing in bed and kept me awake?"

Maybe asking Plagg really wasn't a good idea. "Uh…" he muttered, his whole face and neck feeling suddenly very hot, but Plagg's smirk widened.

The kwami turned towards Marinette, his little muzzle taking a contrite and almost annoyed expression. "The things I have to suffer, Pigtails." He dramatically raised a tiny paw to his forehead. "Cats need their beauty sleep. But no…he wouldn't let me. I wonder how you didn't hear his sighs from your house. A sigh here, a sigh there. And then, 'Plagg, I wonder who that Buttercup is'. Then even more, 'Plagg, just imagine if it was me.' And again, when I had nearly fallen asleep, 'Wouldn't that be great? Being loved by Marinette…'. And don't look at me like that, you asked me to tell her."

By now, the blush on Adrien's face was surely rivalling Ladybug's suit in colour, at least based on how hot his face currently felt. But Plagg didn't stop there!

"And then, excuse me, but I reminded him that you had declared your love to him once, and how that had ended up. I didn't even manage to eat the cheesy treats your father had baked. And all he managed to say was, 'What an idiot I've been,' and he fell asleep." The black kwami tsk-ed. "A desperate case, I'm telling you."

When he dared shoot a glance at Marinette's face, he saw how flustered she was. Probably as much as he. But…he also saw the little grin curling up her lips, and his heart sped up, filling with hope.

"You really wanted to be Buttercup?" she asked, staring at her shoes.

Adrien looked up and rubbed his nape nervously. "Yeah. I…don't know when it happened, but recently I couldn't see you anymore as a friend, Marinette. I…think I never did but…I realised only recently. Maybe after that day at the pool? The fact that you're Ladybug is just the cherry on the cake."

Plagg seemed satisfied and zipped back inside his shirt to pick up a slice of Camembert cheese, which he proceeded to eat in just one bite. Then, he gave both a meaningful look and disappeared again inside Adrien's clothes. Silence wrapped again around them. The place was so quiet that he could hear his own breathing, and Marinette's too.

"It's the same for me," said Marinette in a low whisper, but not low enough for him to not hear it in the silence.

"What did you say?" he asked, causing the girl's face to turn scarlet.

"Uh, well, you know…" She looked up and shot him a nervous smile. "I told you how I was having nightmares with Chat Blanc and was keeping you at arm's length and had asked you not to flirt with me anymore because I didn't reciprocate your feelings…"

"Aha?" This time it was his turn to fold his arms over his chest and raise an eyebrow at her.

"When you left your Miraculous, Plagg went to look for another holder. Apparently Master Fu had a second choice when he picked you or something."

He nodded absentmindedly again, exchanging a worried glance with Plagg.

"Well, I met him before you came back. He was—" Marinette sighed and rested a hand on her cheek. "Perfect…" She kept staring at the sky with a dreamy expression and stayed silent for a while. For such a long time that Adrien coughed politely.

"Oh, sorry!" she said, as if coming back from a dream. "Well, when I met him, Papillombre had created a cat sentimonster using a child's piggy bank and…I know it's stupid and I'm sorry I even thought that but…I saw the bell on the cat and I-I…thought it was you." She blushed deep red up to the base of her neck when she saw him blinking silently at her and eyeing Plagg. "I know, I know, how did I mistake my partner for a piggy bank?"

"Um, Marinette?" tried to say Adrien, but she wouldn't listen to him and just continued,

"No, don't say anything, I realise it was really silly now. But I was so scared you'd get akumatised over that; when I saw the bell…"

When Adrien saw the tears worming their way out of her eyes he just leaned in and hugged her again. "Marinette, I'm sorry, you shouldn't have gone through that, it was all my fault!"

"No!" she said breathlessly. "You had all the right to give up your Miraculous after how I had treated you. But…that's not what I meant. I—I tried to work with Cat Walker, that's the name the other boy had chosen. And I swear to God, Adrien, he was perfect. He did everything right, but…I could only think that he wasn't you. He was too perfect, too…clinical. Almost fake." She didn't notice how his face flushed red at her words, because she was looking at her hands. "That left me confused."

"What were you confused about?" asked Adrien, as his face returned the usual peachy colour.

"I can't deny that I, well, was a little distracted by Cat Walker. He was…too good to be true and…" She became the colour of Ladybug's suit. "He had an effect on me."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "You mean you…liked him?" His eyes opened wide when Marinette nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I don't even know how I'm finding the courage to tell you this but, well, we said to be honest and I want to be. I did like him, but…that made me realise that…he wasn't you and…I needed you. I was so confused." She hopelessly hugged her own arms. "Then I spoke to my Maman and she told me how she fell in love with my Papa and…oh Gosh, my Papa was exactly like you. Puns and all. I couldn't believe it."

"That's when she told you about the toothpaste?" he asked with a grin.

She nodded. "Yeah. And that's also when I started to realise that, maybe…I'd fallen in love with my Chaton too." She saw the first few tears pricking out of his eyes and wiped them dry with her fingers.

"What if Chat Blanc happens again?" she eventually asked, breaking the silence with her hoarse voice. "Especially now that we're at our lowest; it would be devastating!"

He grabbed her hands once more. "I can't promise you it won't happen. We both don't have context and I haven't even seen it. I—" He gulped dryly. "I can't believe you had to deal with something as terrible as that on your own. Why didn't Bunnyx call me too? I could've helped, and you wouldn't have needed to deal with it, and the aftermath of it, completely alone!"

Marinette threw herself into his arms and hugged him tight. "The less we know about our future, the better. And Chat Blanc…he had no filter. He was calling me by name; I don't think he would've kept his mouth shut even if you had been there too. Probably Bunnyx thought it was going to reveal too much to us, if you had been with me. Or maybe she thought he would have gotten angry and triggered the end of the world. He nearly did it, even with just me there. I don't know."

She moved a little to look him in the eye and dried a stray tear from his eyes. "But one thing is for sure: I won't hide anything from you ever again, Minou. I love you."

Adrien smiled brightly. "I love you too, my Marinette!" He hugged her as he said that, and they stayed wrapped into each other's arms, for comfort, for a long moment. But then, he broke the hug and grinned at her sheepishly. "Although, since we're being truthful, I too have a confession to make."

The way she co*cked her eyebrow and looked at him made his legs turn like jelly, and so did the way Plagg moved inside his shirt, as if he knew what Adrien was going to say and was trying to stop him. But he couldn't leave that secret hanging between them, not now that they had cleared up everything.

"I'm all ears," said Marinette with a frown.

He gulped dryly and loosened the collar of his top unnecessarily. "Well, you know how you thought Cat Walker was perfect and he knew everything about the fight and Plagg had been a great coach?"

Marinette's gaze turned hard. "I haven't told you all that…"

He pursed his lips and then smiled sheepishly as she opened her eyes wide in realisation and immediately after, slapped his arm with a growl.

"I can't believe you! It was you? You? How…?" She stomped her foot on the floor.

He had to signal to her to calm down with his hands, and shush her a couple of times, but although she eventually stopped shrieking, her glare was very fierce.

"Plagg was a great coach…we spent the whole afternoon working at it and eventually it happened. We basically made your dream Black Cat holder. We thought it was what you wanted, but…it wasn't."

She punched and slapped his arm again. "No wonder I got so confused. For God's sake, Adrien, did I fall in love with you three times?"

He held his arm where she punched it and glanced at her sheepishly, his hands joined in a prayer gesture. "Well, I did find Multimouse very cute when I saw her that one time, so… I think we're even!" He shot her such a guilty look that Marinette blinked at him, once and then twice, and eventually burst into laughter.

"I can't believe you…if this doesn't mean that we're meant to be, I don't know what does!"

They laughed until their belly ached and eventually, Adrien wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and gave her a wry smile. "So…will you mind my compulsive itching to keep my tube of toothpaste tidy and push it from the bottom?"

Marinette giggled. "As long as you don't mind me making it untidy. As you saw yesterday, mine is all twists and turns!"

"You know what I think?" he said as he cupped his hands on both of her cheeks and leaned in. She shook her head ever so slightly, her eyes opened wide, her gaze locked into his. "We can have one tube of toothpaste each!"

As he tried capturing her lips with his, he felt her chuckling, and he couldn't help but start to laugh. He leaned into her, pressing his forehead to hers as they both broke into a fit of giggles, until she met his amused gaze with hers, now also shining with mirth.

"I think it's a great idea," she said and her lips finally met his.

Fin