Chapter Text
Kagami was extremely calm and measured when she saw the little hexagonal box in her locker. Perhaps she was surprised for a moment — but only for a moment, before she made her expression as impassive as it could be. She put the box and its contents into her bag, walked slowly and deliberately towards the washrooms, and checked to make sure she was alone. When she was satisfied in her search, she went into a stall to open the box, and lifted away the two pieces of paper that lay on top of her necklace — Longg’s necklace.
Longg materialised into a hug. “Kagami-san! I am back!” he said, a little too loudly for her liking.
“This is a public space,” she whispered, and patted him with a hand.
“Ah, naturally. I apologise.” He cleared his throat as he pulled back, and the next thing he said was in a sort of stage whisper. “Oh! This is one of those famous water enclosure stalls. Tikki has told me many fascinating stories about them.”
“It is good to see you again, Longg-sama.” She bowed. “Am I being called out for a mission?”
Longg shook his head. “Ladybug has seen fit to give you my Miraculous in perpetuity! In her wisdom, she decided that the most advantageous path forward for the safeguarding of the Miraculous was to make all holders permanent. Now you can jump into action with alacrity and vigour whenever you are needed, at only a moment’s notice, and dazzle foes with your martial prowess and enhanced elemental powers!”
So… they were all being deputised to try and find the butterfly. Which implied a level of responsibility — they would be expected to help at a moment’s notice, as long as Marinette needed them. That was good for Marinette. And for Kagami, because now she would have someone to talk to whenever she was stuck at home and Félix couldn’t come visit. Or with Félix there, they could transform together and jump along the rooftops, feeling the wind on their faces and the air underneath their feet and the vast atmosphere above them.
“I will do my best, Longg-sama,” she said, bowing only her neck this time.
“I know you will,” said Longg. “Ladybug also graciously wishes for you to meet with her, as well as all the other holders, on the roof of the Trocadéro at ten minutes past five this afternoon.”
“Oh. I see.”
“She furthermore desires to implore you not to wear the necklace in the presence of your mother, to maintain as much secrecy as possible.” Kagami nodded. That made — sense. Somewhat. “Finally… she wishes for you to relay the time and place for this rendezvous to Félix.”
Longg, usually so enthusiastic, suddenly sounded a bit dour at that final message: his little smile turned into something more resembling a straight line. “Longg-sama,” said Kagami, “are you all right? Is something the matter?”
“There is nothing to be concerned about, Kagami-san,” he said and went back into a smile, though he clearly required a bit of a run-up to get his lips curling again.
“Is there something the matter about Félix?” Did Marinette already know he hated her for what she did? Or was this about the Red Moon incident?
“Any problems will be resolved between him and the Guardian,” he replied. “I should not be talking about this further. However, she still wishes for him to attend the meeting, and I trust her instincts.”
But Marinette hadn’t seemed specifically bothered by Félix at the pool two days ago. Marinette just seemed bothered in general, whenever she thought nobody was looking at her. The look in her eyes when she looked at Félix hadn’t been angry or judgemental, it had just been sorrowful.
Three sets of feelings, all interlocked. And Kagami was having a hard time of it figuring out what was actually going on.
Kagami really needed to talk to Marinette about the Félix situation. Perhaps she would have a chance after the all-hands meeting. Then she could present Félix’s side of the situation, get a reassurance from Marinette, bring the results to Félix, and then she would be a good girlfriend to Félix and a good friend to Marinette for undoing the knot between them.
“I will tell him,” she said.
“Ladybug also wanted me to tell you,” said Longg — how many things had she told him to say? — “to read carefully the small slips of paper she enclosed within the box.”
“Oh,” said Kagami, and flipped the two notes over. The writing on them was neat and small, and also familiar in more than one sense. “These are the same things you just told me.”
“Indeed,” said Longg with a beleaguered sigh. “The honoured Guardian loves to be thorough.”
Kagami didn’t roll her eyes, and didn’t really want to, but she imagined she felt the same way as people who did roll their eyes did whenever they rolled them.
Although, in one sense Marinette hadn’t been thorough enough. Gabriel had known that Kagami was Ryuuko, and therefore Nathalie must know the same. If secrecy was a concern, then her being Ryuuko was perhaps inadvisable. Even more so because Mother would also know. And Mother… Kagami didn’t know where Mother’s true allegiance lay anymore, but she barely had much hope left for the woman.
Perhaps Kagami could switch with someone. Perhaps Marinette could arrange for somebody else to take Longg, and Kagami could become a different hero. Though that felt cruel to Longg…
“I look forward to transforming with you again soon,” said Kagami, because it was true, even if it might be the last time.
“And I with you.”
Perhaps Marinette had a plan. Because she always did.
◀◁ ▧▨▧ ▨▧▨ ▷▶
The first arrival was Miss Hound. She was fifteen minutes ahead of time, and she was also why Marinette had decided to come twenty minutes early. Not long after, Viperion and then Polymouse appeared, and next Rooster Bold and Pigella.
Conversation started between the early arrivals, even though it was awkward. The heroes had met up during akuma fights before, and Marinette — as Ladybug — had given them pep talks, but this was the first time they’d been called together outside of immediate danger. Some of them were seeing each other properly for the first time, too.
Vesperia popped up alongside Minotaurox, then Caprikid and Purple Tigress. Pegasus jumped onto the roof exactly five minutes before, and then there was a lull as everyone tried to greet each other again. But the greater number of people also seemed to make talking easier; more of them had worked together now, and the ones who had already gotten introduced could introduce each other to the rest.
But Marinette held back. She stood on the far side of the roof, trying to project an image of leadership and authority. She didn’t know if she needed to — but since she was friends with everyone out of costume, she had to make sure she didn’t give that away while in costume. Being austere and separated helped.
It also helped her prepare for the conversation she hoped to have with Cat Noir afterwards.
Bunnyx and King Monkey showed up about two minutes before ten past, not together and not even from the same direction. But Rena Rouge and Carapace did show up together and from the same direction, and the look Alya gave Marinette as they touched down said clearly, ‘I wanted to come earlier, but he dawdled too much.’ And Marinette tried to give her one that said in return, ‘That’s fine. I’m glad you’re here.’ Whether that look worked or not… Marinette had no idea.
Almost exactly at ten minutes past five, Cat Noir landed right next to Marinette. “Nice to see you again, my lady,” he said.
“... Hey,” said Marinette. Her breath caught in her throat. “It’s good to see you too.”
“So what’s this meeting about?”
“Just… briefing everyone. Everyone’s getting to keep their Miraculous now — I mean, I already told you that in the message — but I just want to let them know what we’ll be doing.”
He put the staff into the ground and placed his hands flat on top, resting his chin atop them. “I’d also like to know what we’ll be doing,” he said, halfway between sighing and sassing.
“We still have a job to do. Until the Butterfly —”
“Yeah, I know,” he said with a grin. “You said that too. I’m not worried, though. You’re still the hero who will save us all. And I’ll be by your side the whole time, as your loyal knight.”
“All right, Casanova, you know we’re both taken,” she said.
“I’m taken by you,” he said, winking.
Her heart wasn’t fully in the banter, though. And it didn’t feel like his was, either; he sounded more like he was just indulging for old times’ sake, to remind her of what they used to be like before Félix stole all the Miraculous.
It was like he was there in spirit and substance, just with a new frame around it. And that was… nice.
“Hey, Cat Noir… after the meeting, I need to talk to you. Alone. Could you stay behind a bit? It’s very important.”
His eyes went wide for a moment, but then he nodded. “Sure thing. I’ve got time.”
“Good. Thanks, kitty.”
Marinette looked out at the gathered heroes, saw that they’d split up into three smaller circles: there was active conversation going on in all of them, though not everyone was talking. King Monkey was laughing loudly at something, while Rena Rouge off in another group was practising melodies on her flute as the others around her watched. That was also nice. The heroes were already working together, even those who didn’t know too much about each other yet.
But Ryuuko and Argos were still not there. Marinette checked the time on her yo-yo: it was five minutes past starting time. And Kagami was good at being punctual… had she not found Longg in her locker? Maybe she was ill? Had there been some trouble with Félix?
“Where are they?” she mumbled, flicking into the contacts list to see if she could maybe reach one of them via call.
“If you mean Argos and Ryuuko, I think that’s them over there,” said Cat Noir. Before Marinette had the chance to look where he was pointing, he added, “Yup. That’s them.”
True enough: Ryuuko and Argos were approaching from the southwest, bouncing from rooftop to rooftop; they touched down on the Trocadéro’s roof barely a second after Marinette saw them, though, and dashed the rest of the way while holding hands.
She had to admit it: she didn’t like that. Félix hadn’t earned his place on the team yet. Kagami was a good friend, and it was Kagami’s judgement that had made Marinette decide to hold back her anger. Kagami clearly loved him, and she deserved to be with someone she chose for herself. And Marinette loved Kagami, as a friend, and wanted to fully trust Kagami’s judgement because Kagami also deserved that trust. But with everything Félix had done to help Gabriel, despite clearly hating the man; with the way he’d treated her, and the way he’d treated Adrien…
And yet, Marinette really didn’t have any right to complain. She had also helped Gabriel, in a way — was still helping him even now. She had also treated Adrien poorly, and for that matter she’d treated Kagami poorly too. In a way, she didn’t even have a right to complain about him holding a Miraculous, because Kim was also on the team. He was not alone in having a Miraculous she didn’t give him, and he was not alone in having hurt her.
Even Adrien seemed to support Félix. He always seemed a little bit distant whenever Félix came up, but ultimately he would always speak positively about his cousin. And that was… also a good thing. Adrien was good. Adrien was trustworthy. Adrien was amazing.
So she swallowed her bile and instead stepped forward to address everyone. “Hello,” she said, and not everyone caught it — but Viperion, Vesperia, Ryuuko, and Rena Rouge immediately turned to look at her. “Hello!”
The sound of talking quickly faded as people hissed at each other that the meeting was about to start, and soon the whole team was looking her way. The only sound left between them were a few straggling whispers.
“Thanks for coming,” said Marinette. “I’m glad everyone could make it.” She didn’t mention that she’d specifically looked into everyone’s schedules, except Cat Noir’s, to make sure that everyone would have the time.
“Woo!” said Vesperia.
“As you might have heard, from today onwards, you will all be permanent holders of your Miraculous. You’ll be expected to take care of your kwamis and feed them, and to hide them and the Miraculous from everyone else in your lives. You’ll be responsible for keeping your identities secret… and also, to be a superhero when and where it’s needed. This could mean helping a kitten out of a tree, or it could mean fighting a supervillain.”
“Ladybug,” said Pegasus, raising his hand.
Marinette nodded. “Yes?”
“Will we all be expected to join in every time something happens?” Pegasus adjusted his glasses so Max-like that Marinette almost wanted to chastise him, but the glamour would probably be enough to hide him from anyone who didn’t know the connection. “I calculate that there would be some logistical issues if every hero starts to fight a villain without a collective plan.”
“I’ll get to that later. Don’t worry. Now… you may be wondering why I bring up” — here, Rooster Bold’s hand shot up — “supervillains, even though — yes?”
Rooster Bold’s hand shot down as quickly as it had gone up. “Er, sorry. I just realised that’s what you were about to say. Carry on.”
“... Okay. Um, I hope so?” Marinette breathed in. This wasn’t the most important meeting in the world, but she still had to appear in charge. Everything was going to change now, and while she would be less of a leader, she would still be the one everyone looked to — her and Cat Noir. “I have given you all your Miraculous because… despite Monarch’s defeat, the butterfly Miraculous he wielded has not yet been recovered.”
There were a few gasps from the collected heroes. Several of them looked uncertainly at each other. “We don’t know what happened to it,” Marinette said, pushing on. “So… it could just be lost. We just don’t know yet. But just in case, I want all of you to be ready in case a new butterfly holder emerges. And in the meantime… I would like to ask all of you to help me recover the lost Miraculous. It looks like a butterfly-winged brooch, and might have been dropped into the sewers, as the last battle happened above a large basin that was connected to them.”
“I can help look,” said Bunnyx, not even bothering to raise her hand. “I can look back in time.”
Marinette swallowed. “Could we talk about that later? There might be some… things we need to get in order first.” She glanced sideways at Cat Noir, who gave her a lopsided smile.
“Sure. I’ll pester you later.”
“Now, about your question, Pegasus. I don’t want everyone to transform for every little thing. If there’s a fire, or a boat capsizes, don’t be afraid to jump in to help. But if there’s an akuma, or another supervillain suddenly appears… it’s fine if you use your powers to save people. But… the first thing you should do is to message me that you’re available, and I’ll give you a rendezvous point so we can lay a plan. If you want to do something on your own, you should ask me or Cat Noir. Don’t try to actually fight a villain without contacting us.”
Her eyes drifted across the group. Several of the heroes were nodding, although Purple Tigress and Polymouse and Caprikid seemed more than a little nervous. But then she caught sight of Argos, and saw that he was glaring at her like he was hoping to sear a hole through her head. His frown was so sharp and intense that she almost took an instinctive step back —
— but then she remembered Flairmidable, and bit her teeth together. If he had a problem with her, he was damn well going to have to tell her to her face, not just boil himself red about it. “... I have complete trust in your abilities,” she said after looking away from him. “I just want everyone to be on the same page about what we’re doing. Many of your powers are dangerous and could easily cause trouble for other heroes if you don’t coordinate them. That’s why I want everything to go through me.”
“What if you’re not available?” said Pigella.
“Then you go to Cat Noir. And if he’s not available, Rena Rouge.”
Rena Rouge raised her hand slowly as Marinette spoke, but started talking even before being called on. “I tested in my room yesterday, and found out I still have a timer. All of us probably still have five minutes between using our powers and detransforming. That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
“No, and that’s another reason why you shouldn’t use your powers without asking me,” said Marinette. “Most of you have limited time, while Cat Noir and me do not. If we coordinate, then you probably won’t have to leave to feed your kwamis in the middle of a dangerous situation. But…”
She sighed, a little more weary than she’d expected to be. They still knew so little. But it was better to be ready than to wait any longer. “I hope it turns out that the butterfly is just lost. Or maybe, it’ll turn up somewhere else. Like I said, I don’t know that anyone has found it yet. I gave you the Miraculous as a safety measure, but even after the butterfly is recovered, I want all of you to keep your Miraculous. Like I said, you are permanent holders. I’ve put a lot of trust in you with this, but… I think you deserve it.”
“I won’t use my power.”
Everyone looked towards Argos. He hadn’t spoken particularly loudly, but everyone else had been silent, and something about his tone made it impossible not to pay him notice. It was at once distant and severe, like a hurricane out at sea. “... What?” said Miss Hound, though Marinette guessed she was less specifically confused about his refusal and more just generally confused.
“I will never create another senti-being,” Argos stated. He was staring forcefully at Marinette, arms folded, a sneer on his lips. His fan was folded up in his hand, straight as a baton or a knife. “Do you have a problem with that, Ladybug?”
“I —”
“Senti-beings are not weapons. I won’t let you use u— use them to help in your ridiculous plans.”
“Hey,” said Cat Noir. “Her ‘ridiculous plans’ have saved the city dozens of times.”
“She couldn’t save the butterfly Miraculous,” said Argos.
“She did her best, all on her own —” said Rena Rouge.
“Everyone. Please,” said Marinette, stepping forward with her hands raised. “I… didn’t find Nooroo. That’s fair for him to say. Argos,” she turned towards him and forced herself not to glare, “feel free to talk to me afterwards if you have an issue with me. But I don’t want to fight with everyone else here to watch.”
Argos’s mouth twisted into a nasty grin. “The last time we fought, I beat you easily,” he said — and at that point, Ryuuko squeezed his hand harshly and he whimpered in surprise. “... Fine. We’ll talk later.”
“Yes,” said Ryuuko. “We will.”
Marinette looked between the two of them for a moment — wondering if Kagami meant that all three of them would talk, or that she would come to Marinette afterwards to talk, or that she’d talk to Félix. Whichever one it was, Marinette couldn’t be distracted now. She had to get the meeting back on track.
“All right,” she said, taking a few steps back so she’d be in front of everyone again. “You’ve all talked to your kwamis now. You know what they’re like, and you know what kind of food they want. I’m sure you’ve also thought about how to hide them. I’m trusting all of you —” here she did shoot a glare at Félix — “to keep the secret and to treat your kwamis well. But if you ever feel like you need help, or you can’t help out as a hero for a while, or you have any other problems, I want you to get in touch with me. I’m the guardian of the Miraculous, and that means I’m here to support and guide you as you become full time heroes. Okay?”
“Okay!” said Rena Rouge, raising her fist; Pigella and Rooster Bold soon did the same, and then most of the others followed suit. Félix’s interruption hadn’t killed people’s spirits.
Marinette could only hope that her own failures didn’t kill their spirits instead.
“Any questions? Yes, Minotaurox?”
Minotaurox looked sheepish as he lowered his hand. “Um… Stomp likes grass.”
“Yes?”
“They don’t have grass at the store.”
“She can eat carrots and cabbage and most fruits too. But if you get a small flowerbox and plant some grass seeds in it, she can snack on those at home and you can bring brussel sprouts or fruit cubes when you’re outside. Yes, Polymouse?”
“We eat vegan at home, but Mullo likes cheese. She said she’s fine with non-dairy cheese, but will that hurt her?” said Polymouse, rattling off the words like she was reading off a note she’d memorised.
“No, she’ll be perfectly fine with any type of dairy replacement cheese. Carapace?”
Carapace grinned. “Thanks for getting back my bud, Ladybug,” he said. “I missed him a lot.”
“... Sure. I’m glad to hear that,” said Marinette. It was a small consolation when she was the one who’d lost Wayzz in the first place, but at least Nino was happy.
The questions stopped after that. Marinette announced that the meeting was over, and a few heroes like Vesperia and King Monkey immediately excused themselves to go home, but most of them stayed and fell into conversations. A team was building. The team would keep going, even without her.
She turned around towards Cat Noir, and started to walk — but then someone grabbed her wrist. She swivelled her head back and saw Ryuuko, with a mouth that was as straight as a pencil but eyes that were strangely animated.
“Ladybug,” said Ryuuko. “I would like to talk to you.”
Marinette glanced past her, at Argos who was still glaring; however, the moment she caught his eye he looked down, then jumped away. “A-alone?” she stammered.
“Yes.”
“I’m supposed to talk to Cat Noir.”
Ryuuko didn’t seem deterred. “That is fine. I can wait.”
For a little while, Marinette scrambled for an explanation as to why. But… slowly, it dawned on her that Kagami already knew all the secrets that would be divulged. The only thing Kagami didn’t know was what happened during the final battle, but she knew everything that needed to be said. And that meant…
“... Actually, Ryuuko. Could you come with me to talk to him?”
Ryuuko paused for a moment. “What are you talking to him about?”
“I… need to tell him the truth,” Marinette mumbled, only barely enough to be heard between them. She glanced over at Cat Noir, who stood expectantly behind her, with a faint smile on his lips. “About Monarch.”
“You haven’t told him yet?” Even though Ryuuko didn’t raise her voice, the surprise inside it was obvious. And it was warranted, too: it had been almost two months, and she hadn’t met him regularly but she did talk to him before and after a couple of interviews, and she ought to have told him, and she could have just messaged him about it, and being afraid was not an excuse, and she was about to open her mouth to confirm it but then Ryuuko just nodded and said, “I will come with you to talk to him.”
The kindness in that statement was almost lost on Marinette. She knew she should have done this a long time ago, she should have contacted him and gotten it over with, she should have had the bravery to talk to Adrien a long time ago, and Kagami’s surprise at hearing that she hadn’t said anything was another nail driven into her coffin. But the kindness was still there, and while Marinette felt that it was misplaced, it still dug into her just enough to conjure up a smile.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Of course. That’s a friend thing to do, right?”
“For you? Y-yeah.” For herself? No.
They walked over to Cat Noir, who twirled his staff up on his shoulder and grinned. “I get two lovely ladies all to myself?” he said, again with that undercurrent that he was playing around.
“We already have boyfriends,” replied Ryuuko.
“I know. I just think you both deserve compliments.” He smiled gently. “What’s up, Ryuuko?”
“Actually… it’s about the meeting we were supposed to have,” said Marinette. “Do you mind if Ryuuko comes with us?” In her head, the words please please please kept running on repeat, a cry to the heavens. It wasn’t that she needed Kagami to be there. She might well be able to do it herself. But with Kagami present, there would be no way around it. There would be no backing out.
Cat Noir raised his eyebrows. “Wasn’t this supposed to be private?”
“Yes, but —” Marinette glanced sideways at Ryuuko. “She already knows what I’m going to say, and —”
“She did not tell me,” Ryuuko shot in.
“Yeah! She already knew for other reasons. And she needs to talk to me afterwards, so it’d save us some time…”
“... Yeah, sure,” said Cat Noir. If he was surprised about Ryuuko knowing something, he didn’t show it, though his eyes did betray a small bit of uncertainty. “Where to, then, ladies?”
Ryuuko cleared her throat, fist to her lips, and said, “The Eiffel tower.” Then she glanced between Cat Noir and Marinette. “Is that okay?”
“Er… okay,” said Marinette, and Cat Noir nodded. “Let’s go to the Eiffel tower.”
And Ryuuko smiled, and so did Cat Noir, and Ryuuko’s smile helped a little even though Cat Noir’s only filled her with dread. Because… what if she was about to ruin his day? What if he lost faith in her for the way she lost to Gabriel? What if he hated that she’d lied to him, and wouldn’t help her talk to Adrien?
They set off, leaving the other heroes on the rooftop. Getting to the Eiffel tower was basically a half minute of jumping, until they landed on the very top — and then came the part where Marinette would have to put in effort.
She turned to face Ryuuko and Cat Noir, and found herself faltering as she looked at the latter. Why was she so nervous to talk to him? He was her trusted partner. They had fought together against almost every single akuma. Was she really that afraid of the truth coming out?
Or was it that the way he looked at her, the green eyes and the messy blonde hair and the lopsided smile, somehow reminded her of Adrien?
But then she turned to Ryuuko. And Ryuuko didn’t dispel her worries, but the worries faded somewhat. This was something she had to do. Getting the truth out mattered.
“... Okay. We need to,” she breathed in and turned her gaze to Cat Noir again. “I mean, I need to tell you about the final battle with Monarch. The things I said to the press… they were wrong. But I promise, I lied for a good reason.”
Cat Noir was silent for a little bit, as she searched for the words to say. But after a little while, he shifted his feet. “That’s okay. You didn’t really say much to start with, so you can’t have lied too much.”
“No, I — I did.” The things she’d told him directly — that the butterfly was lost, that she fought Monarch below ground — were true. But the omissions overshadowed both of those, and the big lie behind them overshadowed everything. “It’s about who Monarch was.”
“You never said who he was,” said Cat Noir, momentarily clenching his fist around his staff. “Was he famous? Do I know who he is?”
“Yes,” said Ryuuko.
“You’ve definitely heard about him. He was… Gabriel Agreste.”
Cat Noir blinked a couple of times. “You mean… Gabriel Agreste helped you defeat him, right?”
She’d already dipped her toes. She was up well past her knees now. And the only way to get the cold bath over with was to dive all the way in. “No. I mean that Gabriel Agreste was Monarch. He never helped me behind the scenes… he was Hawk Moth, and Shadow Moth, and Monarch, and I lied because —”
“Because what?” said Cat Noir. His voice was sharp ice creeping across the water, and when she looked into his eyes she saw something in them she had never seen before: an intense and sudden rage. “What possible reason could you have?”
“Because — because I wanted to protect his family. His son, Adrien Agreste, is an orphan now — and, and Nathalie Sancoeur, his assistant, used to be Mayura. But she regrets what she did, and —”
“Why?” he snapped, and his voice cracked. “Why would he be Monarch?”
“He w-wanted to use the wish to, to bring his wife back.”
“You’re lying,” said Cat Noir. “This is fake. There’s a statue to him. Everyone loves him. He can’t — he can’t —”
The ragged cold he was emanating had locked her below the ice. She needed to find a way up and through. “It’s true,” she whimpered. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“Then why did you lie to me? Why did you lie to everyone?”
“To protect his family —”
“Yeah, well, you messed that up,” said Cat Noir, jamming his baton into the floor. And he extended it so suddenly that she didn’t have time to react until he was already over the edge, and she glanced at Ryuuko who seemed just as confused as her, if it were even possible to be as confused as her.
“Cat Noir! Wait!”
They jumped off after him, and saw that he landed on the lowest platform and walked underneath the canopy with slow, faltering steps. And she kept calling out for him as they sailed down to land behind him and saw him and ran towards him, or at least she ran and maybe Ryuuko did the same, and she ran until he suddenly turned around and looked at her — and she was once again stuck in the ice.
“Ladybug… tell me why you lied. Why you really lied,” he said, and there was a wobbling to his voice now, and he was almost cowering where he stood.
“I… I wanted to protect his family!”
“That’s not why you lied, is it? Why would you care about them? Did you even ask them if they wanted to be protected? Did you think about what they’d like?”
She bit her lower lip. “I didn’t ask, but I —”
But he retracted his baton with a zip and dropped it onto the metal. “You put up statues to Monarch in the parks. You talked about how good he was on television. And now — you didn’t think about what would happen when the truth came out, did you?” He sounded on the verge of tears, and she had no idea why, and she wanted to run up to him and hug him and ask him what was wrong but even in her frazzled state she could tell that would be a horrible idea.
“Cat Noir… I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I didn’t want to hurt you. I — I messed up. I’m sorry.”
His icy eyes crackled and broke apart. “You don’t get it, do you?” he said.
“Get what?” she almost whispered.
He only held up the back of his hand to her, and placed his thumb and middle finger around the ring on it. “I can’t be Cat Noir anymore,” he said, and he sounded right on the verge of tears. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t —”
But he pulled off the ring. And the light consumed him only for a brief flash, and then he stood there and every inch of water froze and she was frozen with it, because those green eyes and that messy blonde hair were still there but there was no lopsided smile, only a terrible frown that threatened to sink her to the bottom of the ocean. Cat Noir was Adrien. Adrien… was Cat Noir.
“I’m sorry. I can’t trust you anymore. Not when you wouldn’t even give me the dignity of telling me my own father was a supervillain,” he said, holding the black cat ring in his open palm — before tipping it onto the floor, where it clattered with a bright metallic noise that was far too light, far too flimsy, for the situation. “I need some time to myself, with someone I can actually trust. I’m sorry.”
She glanced aside at Ryuuko, just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things, to get a confirmation that Ryuuko was also shocked. And Ryuuko glanced uncertainly between her and him, and it was all the confirmation she needed to tell that she’d just ruined everything.
Except — maybe she hadn’t. He said he loved her and if only he knew, then he would, then he could, then he might —
“Adrien! Please don’t go,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s too late for that,” he said, turning away.
“No! It’s not! I — I love you, Adrien.”
She barely caught Ryuuko’s hissed-out “Ladybug!”, because Adrien turned his head and looked at her over his shoulder.
“You don’t,” he said.
“Yes, I do! I always have! Tikki —” Ryuuko protested again, but she was a thousand miles away by now — “spots off!”
His eyes grew wide. Then they wavered. “Y-you knew,” he said, after a million billion centuries had passed.
She lifted her hand towards him, took a step forward. “I did. Adrien, please believe me. I never wanted to lie to you, I was just trying to —”
“It’s over.”
His voice was quiet and broken, but also louder than a church bell. And she stopped completely — stopped talking, stopped thinking, stopped moving, stopped breathing.
“Marinette… it’s over. I’m sorry.” He sounded on the verge of tears. “I can’t see you anymore. Good luck finding a new C-C-Cat N—”
And then he was choked by a sob and she couldn’t see his face and he started running towards the elevators and she couldn’t see his face but she could hear him crying and she both wanted to and didn’t want to see his face and she fell, limply, to her knees.
Her foot jolted with pain. Not the knees. She didn’t notice her knees at all. She barely even noticed her foot, only registered that there was pain, but she could do nothing about it. Adrien’s quavering figure stepped around a corner and into an elevator going down, and he was gone.
◁◀ ▧▨▨ ▧▧▨ ▶▷
A hand landed on Marinette’s shoulder. It was gentle. She didn’t remember whose it was at first, not until she heard the voice: “I’m sorry.”
“... Kagami…”
“Do you want me to pick up the ring?”
“... Please,” she mumbled.
It wasn’t really a ‘please pick up the ring.’ It was more of a ‘please help,’ a ‘please fix what I broke,’ a ‘please talk to me’, a ‘please hug me.’ But Kagami only walked forward and bent down, then returned with the ring in hand.
“Marinette,” said Kagami, hunching down in front of Marinette with the ring nested in her palm. “You… shouldn’t be sad.”
Marinette sniffled. “Why n-not?” And her own brain replied with: because this is all your fault, because you didn’t consider how Adrien would feel, because you ruin everything you touch and Félix was right to steal all the Miraculous from you —
“Because the butterfly is still out there,” said Kagami. She placed the ring into Marinette’s hand. “As long as you are Ladybug, you can never let yourself be taken by an akuma.”
Those words rattled back and forth inside Marinette’s dank and cavernous mind for a while, echoing between the walls. And every time they clanged off a side, they rang out with a hideous noise — but they didn’t shock her, and they didn’t calm her. They only made her annoyed.
“... What, so I’m just… I’m just supposed to never be sad?” she said through gritted teeth.
“Ideally, no, but that was not what I —”
“I just screwed everything up! I lost my boyfriend and superhero partner, because I’m stupid and a coward and I lied to people!” Marinette pushed herself to her feet, wincing for a moment as she put pressure on her left heel again, but she bit it down. “And I’m not supposed to be sad?”
“Marinette,” said Kagami, and she grabbed Marinette by the shoulders, and it was only now that Marinette fully registered that Kagami had also detransformed. “I’m sorry. I misspoke. But I don’t want you to be sad, or angry. I want you to be happy.”
“Well, it’s… too late for that,” said Marinette, echoing Adrien from a million billion centuries ago, and all the irritation poured out of her like air from a balloon as she met Kagami’s eyes. She only had empty defiance left now. “I never wanted to lie.”
“Why did you lie, then?”
“Because — because…”
But before she could even begin to put her thoughts in order, she caught on to the noise of distant screaming. Kagami seemed to hear it at the same time. And both of them seemed to realise the implication at the same time. “I’ll have a look,” said Kagami, already running towards the edge of the platform — and Marinette tried to follow, but she hobbled too much to keep up.
And the words that came out of Kagami’s mouth were perhaps the worst ones that anyone had ever said in the history of humanity: “It’s Adrien.”
Marinette threw herself against the railing. Down below, someone was being eaten by dark magic, and people were fleeing away from him — and she trusted Kagami that it was Adrien, but all Marinette could see was that he transformed into some kind of grey and scratchy spider-like shape, with a murky human-like torso where the spider’s head would be, and a large antenna on his back.
And the sight of another akuma, the knowledge of what just happened, suddenly made Marinette’s thoughts flow clearer and faster than they had in a long time.
“Plagg!” she said, holding out the ring — and he popped up with a worried expression. “Take the ring to Kitty Noire. Now. We need a cat.”
“R-right!” he said, and he too moved clear and fast.
Then she looked at Kagami, and pulled out her own earrings. “Kagami. You must be Ladybug. Right now.”
“Marinette —”
“Don’t protest. He knows who I am. We can’t let him get a hold of the earrings. Transform, get away, don’t let him know it’s you.” Kagami’s eyes were wide open. “Don’t fight him yet. Let him do whatever he wants to me. Try to look like you’re coming from somewhere else.”
Kagami was silent for a moment, mouth half open like she’d been frozen in the middle of an objection. But then she steeled her eyes and took the earrings out of Marinette’s palm. “I understand,” she said, before putting them into her own ears. And then she stepped closer and crushed Marinette into a hug. “I will not protect you. But I really want to. Don’t forget that.”
And then Kagami transformed into a costume Marinette barely had time to register, and she flew off into the distance.
And Marinette pushed herself away from the railing, and she walked out into the middle of the floor, and she stood there and waited for her just desserts.