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English
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Published:
2022-04-13
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I hate that it was him, but at least you're you

Summary:

Chat Noir sighed, "I was so angry, at everything, when I was 13. And you know what? I was right."

....................

in which hawkmoth has already been defeated, but our heroes don't yet know who is on the other side of the mask.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

When Ladybug arrived at their designated meeting spot, her partner was already there, sitting on the rooftop. He looked exactly how she felt, tired, overwhelmed, stressed. The battle was won, but it didn't seem over.

Chat Noir sighed, "I was so angry, at everything, when I was 13. And you know what? I was right."

Ladybug sat down next to him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Maybe?" He shrugged, "I don't know. I'm still processing- everything."

"Ladybug, I've had a fucking weird week. We both have, I mean, with the final battle and the moon thing and we still don't know what happened to the Peacock, but to top it all off, my house is currently a crime scene."

"Do you need a place to stay?" She frowned, "I mean, we have a guest room, and i'm sure my parents woudln't mind."

"I don't want to be a burden. Besides, I've got a room at the Bourgeois Hotel. 

"I wouldn't wish Chloe on anyone."

"She's been- supportive." Chat blinked, "I mean, not that she knows that I'm me, of course."

"I can't imagine Chloe being supportive to anyone other than herself."

"Well, people change." He frowned, "Agreste certainly did." 

"Yeah." She nodded, "I get it. I mean, he was my idol- well before I found out how horrible of a father he was. I admired his fashion- but if he created all of the akumas then-" She shuddered, "That's his true crime. We should've called the fashion police." 

Chat snorted, "I thought I was the funny one."

"Well, someone has to be." Ladybug gave him a little smile, "You can be the pretty one, for once."

"Ladybug, I'm always the pretty one."

"That's highly debateable."

"I have a number of fans who would say otherwise." He smirked.

"Fine, we can both be the pretty ones," She rolled her eyes, "Sorry. I'm deflecting. I'm worried."

"Worried?" He raised an eyebrow, "We took down Hawkmoth. There's nothing to worry about."

"I'm worried about Adrien." She confessed. "I saw the look on his face, and it was heartbreaking. I couldn't imagine finding out that my family was-"

"Ladybug, trust me. You don't need to worry about Adrien. He's not going to turn out like his father." Chat took a deep breath, "I promise."

"I never once, for a second was worried that he would turn out like his father."

"But how can you be sure?" Chat blinked, "Maybe its genetic. His mother lost it to the power of the miraculous. His father fell deeper. Maybe he's next."

"Even so, I won't allow that to happen. I care too much about Adrien. I'm just worried about him being alone right now."

"You're worried about him being alone, not about him stealing miraculous?"

"Yeah." Ladybug shook her head, "I know Adrien. I wish I could give him a hug right now and promise that everything was going to be okay, but I can't. And if he ever found out that I was Ladybug- I don't know if I can ever face him. I got his father arrested. What kind of good friend am i? A really bad one."

Chat blinked, not listening to the words she was saying, "Did you say that you know Adrien?"

"I mean, yeah, why?"

"Like, you know of him? Or you know him?" Chat waved his hands, "There's a difference."

"No, I know him." Ladybug stared, "He's genuinely one of my best friends, and-"

Chat blinked, "Nino?"

She snorted, "Way to ruin the moment. Nino doesn't even have blue eyes."

"I need to show you something." He exhaled, "We should detransform."

"What?"

"Just trust me. Close your eyes, and detransform. We can even hold hands and do it at the same time if you want-"

She nodded.

"Okay, on three." Chat's gloves met hers, "One, two, three-"

Ladybug shut her eyes. "Spots off." Her first thought was that his hands were soft. Smooth. They didn't have the years of scarring and calluses from sewing, they felt mosturized and smooth and soft. They were warm. in a way, they reminded her of Adrien's hands, not that she had spent much time holding Adrien's hands.

"Claws in." He gasped, immediately.

Ladybug had been so focused on the texture of his hands that she had forgotten what was happening.

She opened her eyes, expecting to see her partner staring back at her. But the face she met was full of emotion. Sadness and confusion, and maybe a little bit of hope.

"Marinette." he breathed, "It was you."

"Adrien." She threw her arms around him. "Oh. Oh. Adrien, I-"

"I'm so glad it was you." He started crying, "I mean, there was no one else it could possibly be, and now that I see it, it's obvious, but I can't believe-"

"i love you." She ran a hand through his hair, "And I will be here for you. If you need a place to stay, the offer still stands."

"I love you too."

They sat together, in silence, arms around eachother.

After a moment, Marinette choked, wiping back tears, "You win."

Adrien sniffled, "What?"

"You are the pretty one."

Adrien snorted, "I told you so."

Notes:

hey! Mad here.
it's been a significant amount of time, this is weird. I went from writing 1000 words every day, to not writing for like 2 months and only posting old drafts.

I wanted to write something, and this just happened. It doesn't have a solid title, or plot, and its short and i barely edited it, but its the first new thing ive written in over a month and that feels like a small accomplishment, at least.

I know i have a lot of wips, and eventually I will get around to finishing them, its just been a rough couple of months. Life is stressful and I don't have the same kind of time to dedicate to writing that I did in 2019-2020 and even last year.

but i'm not gone, I'm just kinda going through a slump. burnout is rough and i've been feeling very uncreative and boring recently. I haven't really had ideas, which is a shame because I'm my main audience, like seriously, writing used to give me so much seratonin and now its like i dont know how to write anymore.

maybe i'll go back through the drafts again for yall. highlights include a rough ratatouille au prequel outline and a sad one inspired by "nothing new" by taylor swift. Neither of those have been edited since february but they should not be posted in the current state

comments and kudos are appreciated.