#feels ahead

The male heroine gasped at her words. It had been a patrol like any other – no signs of akuma (there hadn’t been any since a few months, he noticed) and it ended with Ladybug and Chat Noir sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower enjoying the view of the calm city. Occasionally they shared a kiss or two, but then they fell back into comfortable silence. Ladybug had been the one to break their comfortable silence. Blond locks shook as Chat Noir turned to face her. “You know that means that– ” “ – I can’t be Ladybug anymore?” She finished his question. The wind smelled like rain and dark clouds could be seen in the far distance, indicating the storm that had yet to come. If she had the power to control the weather, she would have pushed them back. Just for a few more minutes, she wanted to enjoy the night sky from this side of the mask. “Yes, I’m aware of that,” she whispered as her head fell on his shoulder. His gloved hand found hers. Their fingers interlaced automatically and Chat’s gloved thumb ran over her pulse. Her heart was beating so fast. “Are you sure, Bugaboo?” His voice was shaking. Fear pumped through his veins. Chat couldn’t help but think that she did it for him; he didn’t want to force her into a revelation just because he pressured her during their teenage years. “You know once you’ve decided there’s no going back?” Ladybug took a deep breath and held it. He felt her nod against his shoulder before she blew out the air through her nostrils. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while now,” she explained not meeting his eyes. “Look, we’ve been working as partners for more than ten years now plus the two years of secret dating.  I’m approaching my 26th birthday and I–I don’t want to lie anymore.” Chat understood. Somewhere deep within his heart he felt the same. He loved being Chat Noir – free, wild and his own chef – but on the other hand, he loved her and longed to know who she was under the mask. He had asked Plagg shortly after his fifteenth birthday what would happen if he revealed himself to his lady. The kwami had told him that as soon as Ladybug saw his real identity, the kwami, and the ring would be gone, and that the same would happen if Ladybug revealed herself to him. As often as Chat joked to Ladybug about de-transforming in front of her in the past, he never would have dared to do so. “We’re adults, we have a career – I have the dream of settling down and have a family – maybe it’s time to give our duty to the next generation.” her fingertips reached in the direction of the stars, making a grabbing motion. “Speaking for myself, I can’t live a lie anymore. That’s not who I am. That’s not who I want to be.” “What about us?” His smell was intoxicating and she found herself feeling dizzy from it. She absently cast kisses along his neck. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you in the first place,” With a blink her eyes wandered to the lights of the city. “I always dreamed of a future with you and…,” Her gloved fingertips tipped against her chin as she leaned back and thought about how to explain what she wanted. “I know it sounds selfish but – ” A black claw landed on her lips, stopping her from continuing. He knew what she wanted to say anyways. Years of fighting taught them to communicate without words. “I understand.” A few minutes went by as he thought about it. She was right, they had jobs – he studied physics and occasionally modeled and as far as he knew, Ladybug was in the fashion industry. His life was even busier now that he broke contact with his father. Every minute with Ladybug was like time has been stopped – until their miraculous beeped. Patrol and occasional make-out sessions on Paris’ rooftops weren’t enough for him. He longed for her – and that stressed him even more than jumping around the city of love could calm him. “I’ll follow you, my lady. Always.” She blinked at him. That wasn’t the answer she had expected, knowing how much he loved being Chat Noir. “I, too, want a future together with you, you know?” A gentle smile circled his lips as he watched the night sky. In his imagination they were already married and had a bunch of kittens – no, children. But the image was blurry. Her face was unclear and so were the faces of their children. “ – besides, running around in a leather suit as a teenager was fun but now as a grown man it is way too kinky. I mean, have you read the fanfictions some people write on the ladyblog?” Ladybug couldn’t help but snort. Yes, she had been forced to read them. And after reading them she felt like she needed to bathe in holy water to get her innocence back. Her arms found their way around his shoulders and she nuzzled his neck. Despite saying that he wanted the revelation, she could feel him shiver in fear. “You know, you don’t need to do it,” Ladybug reminded him. “I can do it on my own later and I could give your kwami the permission to tell you when you’re ready.” He shook his head. That would mean he had to carry on as Chat Noir with a new Ladybug. That would mean, he had no chance of seeing her without giving up his persona. The black cat ears drooped. “I’m just scared,” Chat confessed. “What if you don’t like who I am underneath. Outside of the mask, I am expected to be a certain way which is the opposite of this.” “Oh, Chaton.” Ladybug cupped his cheeks in her palms and kissed him passionately. “Don’t you think I already know that? I notice the look you get and how you sometimes act totally different. I love you, no matter what.” She punctuated the last words with kisses on his nose. “And I’m the same. That comes with the job, kitty.” It felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Okay,” he said. “I think I’m ready.” Their foreheads touched. “But can I say goodbye to my kwami before that?” A chuckle. “I wanted to ask the same.”

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

They had switched locations as soon as the first drops of rain touched the metal beams they had been sitting on. Plus if they had done it on the Eiffel Tower it would’ve been hard to explain how they ended up in an area that wasn’t accessible for non-superheroes. They settled down in Parc de la Villette, searching shelter from the storm in one of the red pavilions. “So,” Lady Luck started. “Like we said. We turn our backs to each other and turn around when we’re both ready.” She could hear him taking a deep breath. “Okay.” They could feel the magic wearing off and they both took a few more steps to keep a distance between them. Their kwami popped out of the jewelry and flew up to their eye level.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Marinette’s blue eyes took in every movement of her kwami. Tikki had heard their whole conversation and Marinette was sure, so had Plagg. “Are you sure you want to do it?” Tikki looked sad, her usually smiling face frozen into a frown. The designer nodded, looking shyly to the ground. She heard her partner murmur with Plagg but couldn’t hear what they were saying. “I’m sorry, Tikki,” Her voice broke. Tikki took a breath and sighed. “I understand, Mari,” She whispered the name of her chosen to make sure Chat wouldn’t hear it. A sad smile decorating the kwami's face. “It’s not the first time that this happened to Ladybug and Chat Noir and it won’t be the last time. It’s just – I really like you.” “Me too, Tikki.” A small smile in the corner of her lips as she remembered all their adventures; during her teenage years where she pined after Adrien Agreste and her adult years where she managed to embarrass herself in front of his father more than once. She helped her deal with her crush and life. Marinette had promised herself not to cry but the tears came anyway. “I had a wonderful time being Ladybug and that’s something nobody can take away from me. And I hope that you’ll find another Ladybug that loves you as much as I did.” Marinette never knew a kwami could cry. She had never seen Tikki cry before, but now medium sized tears were falling to the floor. “Promise me that you won’t forget me, Mari.” She cupped the kwami in her hands, holding her tight and kissing her head. “I will never forget you.” Another soft kiss met the god. “I love you, Tikki.” “I love you too, Marinette.”

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Plagg plopped out of his ring and spun around in the air for a while. Neither Adrien nor Plagg dared to say a word. They just stared at each other. Green eyes meeting green slits. “So it ends?” Adrien nodded, blinking away a tear that stung in his eye. “I’m sorry, buddy,” his voice was hoarse. “You’ll have to find another camembert-dealer.” “Ah, what a shame,” the cat sighed. “I hate farewells. One would think I’m used to it but it’s always hard to say goodbye to my kittens.” Adrien raised his hand, scratching his kwami between the pointy ears. He chuckled when Plagg purred and started rolling around in his hand. A few minutes they just enjoyed the contact. But every good moment had to end sometime. Plagg flew up to his shoulder and peeked at the girl somewhere behind Adrien. A grin spread on his face. “Adrien,” he said in a demanding voice. “I want you to keep that girl and protect her. Make a lot of kittens with her!” Adrien flushed at the last part. He hissed Plagg’s name. Plagg flew back on eye-level. “Don’t worry. She’s worth it.” With a nod, Adrien promised him everything. They kept looking at each other, smiling sadly. “Argh, don’t give me that look, boy!” With his tiny paws, Plagg pinched Adrien’s nose. “We’ll meet again, someday. Maybe I won’t be visible to you but my chosen sure will be.” His tiny ears twitch as he heard that Tikki and her chosen had stopped speaking. “And now turn around, idiot.” Adrien took a deep breath, preparing himself to turn around. “Goodbye, Plagg.” “Goodbye, Adrien.”

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

“Are you ready?” Adrien’s voice was the first sound besides the rain that got to her ears. Marinette cast one last look to her kwami who nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. You?” “Me too.” They counted down from ten. It felt like they were caught inside some weird romance movie as they turned around. The first thing Marinette noticed were his green eyes. The familiar green that made her heart flutter. Then she slowly recognized his face. How couldn’t she? It was plastered all along Paris. Adrien recognized his old classmate almost instantly. He knew that she worked for his father and suddenly he felt stupid for not noticing the similarities between Marinette and her other persona. But besides feeling stupid he was relieved. His lady was also one of his best friends in high school. The girl he secretly had a crush on during their graduation year.   “Adrien…” Her brain tried to comprehend everything but it refused to work. Her heart acting for her brain. While Marinette gaped at him, her mouth forming an ‘o’, Adrien sprinted over to her, hugging her tightly. “I’m so glad it’s you, Marinette.” Eventually, she felt able to return the hug. Her fingers digging into his back as they shared a passionate kiss. Adrien could taste the tears on her lips. As they parted Marinette noticed how his ring vanished into small bubbles of green light. Adrien saw the same with her earrings. They spun around, looking for their kwamis for one last goodbye but noticed they were gone. For a moment, they stood there. Rain surrounding them, his hands on her waist and hers somewhere on his back. ‘They’re gone.’ The fact settled down in their chests, feeling like a big stone, dragging them down. Marinette started to cry, her small body shaking with the sobs and occasional hiccups. Adrien drew her into his arms, holding her while she cried into his chest. He couldn’t help but cry, too. Plagg had been his closest companion for more than half of his life. Now he was gone. Just like his mother when he was young. They spent three hours comforting each other in total silence before they were able to think about going home. When they finally did the rain soaked them.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ