35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Resisting another yawn, Marinette plopped on Alya's couch with a bowl of popcorn ready to watch a movie with her best friend. Adrien and Nino both had other things to do, surprisingly not with each other, which made it a girls' night. A much needed one, in her opinion. "How long has it been since we've hung out?"

"Too long."

"Boys."

The brunette nodded. "At least they're cute."

They laughed and propped they're feet on the coffee table.

Alya grabbed the remote, but didn't turn on the movie. Instead, she twisted to face Marinette more head on. "Speaking of boys—"

Marinette held up a hand. "We've only kissed."

"Girl, I wasn't gonna ask about that." She tossed some popcorn at her. "I was just wondering about Adrien. Don't you think it's a little weird he's not jealous of you and Chat Noir?"

Marinette shrugged. "Maybe it's like a celebrity crush."

"Except most people don't have their celebrity crush visit them in their bedroom."

"Maybe he's not the jealous type."

"From what I've heard, he was definitely jealous of Nathaniel."

Marinette ate a handful of popcorn to stall. It was a little weird, but there had to be a reason. "Maybe he trusts me."

"Maybe." Alya leaned back. "Everyone trusts you. It's that innocent face and easy blush." Marinette threw popcorn at her, and Alya caught one with her mouth. She chewed and said, "It's a good thing. Trust me."

"I can't. You don't have my face."

"Good one." Alya tapped her foot against Marinette's. "What if...now hear me out, okay? What if Adrien is Chat Noir?"

Marinette froze. "No possible way."

"Listen. He's not into Ladybug anymore, he thinks the Miraculouses shouldn't exist or be used or whatever, the dude can fight—you said so yourself—and he's not jealous of Chat Noir. At all."

"But Adrien is too sweet and he's too busy to go off gallivanting around as a superhero or villain."

"What if, though?"

Marinette's stomach twisted. He couldn't be. Could he? "What does Nino think?"

"He thinks I'm crazy."

She breathed out. "Because you are. Next, you'll be thinking I'm Ladybug." She laughed but Alya didn't join her. "Don't tell me you think I'm Ladybug?"

"Well…"

"Oh, come on. You know me."

"Do I, though?"

"Only for like five years."

Alya looked at her as if through a magnifying glass, and Marinette tried not to shrink under her gaze.

"If you were," her best friend said, "I'd be okay with it. I'd even be okay that you never told me. I'm an adult now. I'd understand why."

Part of her really wanted to fess up. She hated lying to her all the time. And it would make her life so much easier. Alya could be her cover in sticky situations. The girl had already helped her escape Chat multiple times. Ladybug could just give her a call if she needed a getaway car or a distraction. "Okay, fine. I'm Ladybug."

"Girl, quit playing with me."

"I'm not."

"You made your point. You're not Ladybug. I get it." She picked up the remote and started the movie.

Marinette's mouth fell open. If she'd denied it, her best friend would've kept thinking she was Ladybug. She rolled her eyes and leaned back in the cushions to face the tv. If she ever does find out the truth, she's going to slap herself for not believing Marinette.

Not long after they officially got into the plot, their phones buzzed with the Akuma alert.

Every. Single. Time she tried to take a moment for herself, Hawk Moth just had to ruin it. She was going to go out of her mind. And now how was she going to escape and be gone for a while without looking suspicious? Might as well just go with it.

"I should handle this." She waved her phone and stood. "I'll be back afterwards."

Alya paused the movie. "Really? You're going to stick with this joke?"

"Yup."

"You might as well just transform here and jump out the window."

Marinette winked at her and left the apartment.

oOoOo

Chat watched Ladybug land on the roof of Rush Hour's massive tank as the akumatized man plowed down the street, knocking every vehicle out of his path. A trail of wrecked cars, smashed trucks, glass and debris were left in his wake.

His road rage, now amplified, had Chat's jaw clenching. He couldn't allow himself to look at the innocent people climbing out of their cars, bloodied and confused. He couldn't hear their moans and cries. If he did, he'd go to them and

everything he'd done, everything he'd sacrificed will have been pointless.

His dad was already livid with him for not fighting Ladybug anymore. If it wasn't for the threat of him akumatizing a murderer, he'd call it quits. This whole experience felt like it was eating away his soul, changing him for the worse. And his mother wouldn't want that. She wouldn't want any of this.

Ladybug smashed out one of the small side windows of the tank with a swing of her yo-yo and slithered into the vehicle through the hole.

Limbs flung around as they fought. The tank swerved hard side to side. Then the door burst open and they rolled out. Chat winced as they hit the street and tumbled to a stop.

Ladybug landed on top and both were still.

Chat crept closer to see better, staying up high and out of sight.

Their chests heaved as they collected themselves. They blinked slowly as if not quite realizing where they were.

Chat willed her to snap out of it and take care of the akuma.

As if she'd heard his mental jab, she shook her head, grabbed her yo-yo and hogtied the man, then leapt back inside the now-crashed tank. In no time, his car had returned back to its normal four-door state.

She trudged back to the man and sat on the ground next to him, slowly undoing her yo-yo. It seemed she'd much rather be doing the job from her bed, with her eyes closed and snoring.

Hawk Moth's plan must be working.

As Ladybug de-evilized the akuma he wondered why they never thought to follow it before. Sure it meandered a bit before eventually going back to Hawk Moth's lair, but he could've gone after it. Watching it fly right to his home would've been quite the shock. He sighed. Things would've turned out so different, maybe even for the better.

Once her work was done and her magic restored all of the damaged vehicles, she looked around the street. "Chat!"

He stood from his crouched position.

Her gaze found him. "I talked to the Guardian. He's agreed to meet you and explain everything."

Chat's heart leapt and he jumped down to the road. "When and where?"

"Tomorrow. Four o'clock at the old mill by the Seine."

He nodded.

"Just you, though. No one else."

"Fine."

They stood there for a moment longer, neither moving. Maybe now that the Guardian wanted to meet, he wouldn't have to take her to Hawk Moth. His father never said he wouldn't hurt her, and Chat didn't want to risk her safety. It's not like he hated her.

"You're going to follow me again, aren't you?" she asked.

"It's what I do now."

Her shoulders sagged a little, either in disappointment or fatigue, he wasn't certain. But he was willing to bet on the latter.

"Alright then, let's get this over with." She turned and threw her yo-yo at a street light, propelling herself up to a rooftop.

And he followed her. At least his dad couldn't say he wasn't trying.

Despite being tired, she was still fast...and crafty.

She kept losing him, utilizing alleys, buses, crowds, anything that would impede his view or give her a boost in speed. She'd hopped onto the back of a sports car and rode it for a good mile, her pigtails flapping in the wind. He'd kept pace, but it had given her a break, let her catch her breath.

And every time he lost her, for even a couple seconds, his pulse would jump. A fresh wave of adrenaline would flood his veins like a triple espresso. He'd scramble to catch up, scattering people and traffic with just his mere presence, then he'd finally see a glimpse of a slender red and black polka dotted leg or hand.

She rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. He was close behind, so he didn't panic. He'd see her once again as soon as he was clear of the building, just like all the other instances.

Except, this time, she wasn't there.

He came to an abrupt stop and looked around, then darted to each opening from the street.

A dog barked at him before running away with its tail between its legs, crickets chirped, and a car honked in the distance, but there was no sign of Ladybug.

Walking back to where he had expected her to appear, he scanned the buildings around him. She had to be hiding in one. She was amazing and all, but she couldn't just vanish mid-air.

When his gaze landed on Nino's apartment, he berated himself for not noticing it earlier. Alya would definitely help her escape, and, because of the interview, Ladybug now knew where she lived.

He vaulted himself to her balcony and noticed Marinette walking to Alya sitting on the couch. They seemed to be joking about something. With the bowls of popcorn and the tv on, he realized they were having a movie night. While he was happy for her, he wished she would go to bed early. She'd almost fallen asleep during their lunch.

Not wanting to bother them, he scanned the apartment for Ladybug to no avail. Maybe she hadn't come here after all.

Marinette suddenly went still. He looked at her and found her eyes on him. Great. She was going to think he was stalking her. He tentatively waved.

She said something to Alya, grabbed her purse, then ran out of the apartment. Alya threw up her hands and fell back into the couch.

After checking the building's entrance, he found her on the rooftop. "I didn't mean to disturb your time with your friend."

"It's okay." She shifted on her feet and readjusted her purse strap.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?" He stepped closer to her, and she shifted back ever so slightly. With his normal eyes, he might not have even noticed the movement. His chest clenched. "Did I do something wrong?"

She shook her head.

"You can tell me, you know?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you have to turn on Ladybug? Why did you turn on everyone?"

He stepped back. "I had to. You know that."

"You didn't have to." Her hands tightened into fists. "People die and their loved ones mourn. That's the natural order."

"But I have a chance to change that. Most people would do the same."

"Not if it meant someone else dying."

"You don't know if Ladybug was telling the truth."

"She was and, deep down, you know it."

He shook his head, more frantically than was necessary.

"Stop lying to yourself!" She breathed out hard. "Stop pretending that Hawk

Moth has everyone's best interest at heart. Because you know he doesn't. You know it." She punctuated the last sentence with a finger jab.

His heart thudded hard in his chest as her words rang in his ears. "I have to."

"Why?" Anger twisted the simple question into a command.

"Because he'll akumatize a murderer if I don't."

Her face went blank. "What?"

"He's held back because of me. Because I promised to help him."

"Oh." Her gaze fell to the ground, voice no longer hard. "Why didn't you tell Ladybug this? You two could've planned something and taken him down together."

"Because I want my mom back too." He rubbed the back of his neck while forcing his eyes not to well up. "I miss her."

"Chat." She reached out a hand before letting it fall to her side. "You both can't have a wish. He's probably using your mom as false bait. He'll take the Miraculouses and use them for himself."

She didn't know their wish was the same and she couldn't know. It would give too much away. Not really caring, but needing to sound convincing he asked, "How do you know there's only one wish?"

"Something that big seems like it'd be a one-wish deal."

It probably was. He hated this. He hated lying to her. He hated how everything had gotten so screwed up.

Eliminating the space between them, she pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry."

He tensed, surprised by the sudden contact, then softened under her touch, letting his head rest on her shoulder. She was the only one who actually cared about him as Chat Noir. His chest tightened even more.

"I'm sorry about your mom and I'm sorry that you've been protecting this city while everyone thinks of you as a villain."

"I am."

"You're not."

Tears stung his eyes. "I am. I've let everyone down."

She shook her head against him.

"The city. Ladybug. You." He swallowed down the sadness filling him.

"So stop. Go to Ladybug and tell her everything."

"I can't."

"Why?"

Because Hawk Moth is my dad. "It's too complicated."

"Nothing's too complicated," she whispered, hugging him tighter. "You can tell me anything."

God, he wanted to. He suspected it wouldn't even change her feelings if she knew he was Adrien. She was just too good for him. That realization stabbed him though, making him wince.

"I shouldn't have told you all this." He separated himself from her, despite her trying to not let him go. "I'm putting your life in danger."

"You're not, Chat." She reached for him again. "You're not."

"Once Hawk Moth has the Miraculouses, all of this will stop. I swear it." He stepped to the ledge. "No Hawk Moth. No more akumas. No threat of a murderer or psychopath getting super powers."

"Chat."

"And everyone's life will go back to normal."

"Chat."

"Just think about it. I won't be a bother to you and everyone else anymore."

She sucked in a breath, tears lining her eyes. "You're not. Never were."

He couldn't visit her anymore. Not as Chat Noir. He might say too much and then Hawk Moth would definitely go after her to protect his plan and his identity.

Chat stepped to her and kissed her on the lips. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, breathing in her scent with his heightened sense of smell for the last time, then left her on the rooftop with his heart in a vice.

AN - I feel like I need to hide in a bunker after uploading two short chapters in a row. But I can't stretch it out if it doesn't want to go there. Have mercy on me. :|

Poor chat. He's said goodbye to Marinette and the only person he could connect with as Chat. Poor Marinette tried to tell Alya the truth. *s2 spoiler* If you're caught up on season 2, then you know she doesn't succumb. I just thought it would be funny if it went down like this.

Next chapter is the third quarter mark. I don't want this to end! But it has turned into a behemoth. Everyone deserves a medal of accomplishment when it's over. Lol. Thanks for sticking with me and showing the love. Same for my sister. She rocks.