Flashback Cutscene: Rendezvous

9 years and 6 months ago...

"How often do you feel like this?" Adrien asked, walking to stand opposite her as she mindlessly spun one of the handles on the foosball table.

"Honestly?... Too often," she sighed. Her fingers absentmindedly stroked over one of the small wooden players, the wood surprisingly cool to feel through the layer of her super suit.

She didn't know why she came. If she'd had any sense she wouldn't have, but sense was seriously lacking at the moment as her mind was consumed with this whole charade. Even when she thought the best thing to do was to break up with Adrien, there was only one person she wanted to get the view from... and that was Adrien.

This whole rendezvous was unneeded, unplanned and a pain to her heart.

Adrien moved to the other side of the table, grabbing the ball on the way and positioning himself ready to play. Many conversations had taken place over foosball — both as Marinette and Ladybug.

He placed the ball on the edge of the table, dropping it down and moving his second hand to spin a row of his players – sending the ball spinning down the table towards her goal. They played in silence for a few moments, both spinning their men in well trained ways. Mindlessly and effortlessly.

"Thinking about changing my teams again?" Adrien asked, slight humour in his voice.

She huffed out a laugh, shaking her head. How could he always be so perceptive of her? There were only two people in her life which could read her with such depth — Adrien and Chat Noir. She hated the fact the rows were all men, wanting to create her own, making the last line of defence strong, confident women.

"Something like that," she said. She slammed her hand down hard on one of the handles, spinning the line out of control; one of her players kicked the ball hard and sent it rebounding off Adrien's goal and straight back into hers.

Pushing the bar back in from where she'd pulled it out, Ladybug turned away and walked from the table over to his couch. Her heart was hurting, but her head was the champion. The headache constantly pounding like a Jackhammer to the skull had been persistent for the past couple of days. She couldn't handle this anymore. She just couldn't.

"Hey, it's okay." Adrien quickly came round to sit beside her, taking one of her hands in his which she automatically pulled back.

"No it's not! What I've got to do is not only going to hurt me, but it's going to hurt him too. I've never wanted to hurt him, I love him so much!" The final words sounded barely more than a whisper.

"Then why break up with him?"

"Because I'm lying to him, Adrien! And I hate myself for it! Do you know what it's like to see someone every single day knowing that if you could just tell them everything at least you could live with yourself."

Adrien shook his head. "Talk to him. If he loves you as much as you say he does, he'll understand. He'll listen!"

"I can't!" she cried. "I'm in such a mess. I don't want to lose him, but I know if I don't tell him I'm being the most despicable of people." She could feel her breath catching in her lungs, causing it to grow unsteady and erratic.

Adrien sat quietly and she wanted to beg him to take her hand again, to make her feel safe the way he always did. She knew she loved him from the day he gave her his umbrella; and, since their time together, as a couple, she realised exactly what he meant to her. Everything. What had she done?

"Can I tell you something?"

"If it's one of your dad jokes, I'm outta here."

Adrien chuckled. "Not this time. I'm in serious Adrien mode."

She nodded for him to go on, Adrien turning on the sofa and tucking one leg underneath him, getting a better look at her.

"Say you were Marinette, and you were holding a big secret from me... a life changing one." She froze, trying her hardest not to react. Now would be the worst possible moment to out herself to her boyfriend. "Then I'd want to talk it through, know the reasons. I wouldn't just give up. Not when it could be something important, or if she had a valid reason. I love her too much to just give in, I would try everything to keep us together."

As much as she would have loved to believe that, her hope dispelled with the tears that fell silently from her eyes. Her secret was unforgivable, and for that reason she needed to end this now before it got too late.

*****

Level 11: Masking the Truth

Present Day...

What should have felt like only two days had actually felt like a year. She couldn't remember ever feeling this physically drained.

The previous night had been hell. Between feeling like absolute crap and being unwelcomingly uncomfortable, she spent most of her sleep twisting and turning manically as she fluttered in and out of nightmares. When she woke to uncomfortable, damp clothing at 5am she decided to call it quits; instead she made her way to her studio and started to work. Tikki stayed beside her to keep her company.

The morning passed in a blur of trips between the studio, the kitchen and the bathroom. How could she feel so hungry yet keep being so sick? It was a vicious circle whose cause would most certainly be cleared up by the tiny item sitting in her bag.

She'd messaged Alya as soon as the time seemed suitable, checking in on both her best friend's. Nino was stable, but still in a coma. Checks were happening frequently to make sure he kept in that condition. Every second, minute, hour, felt like a lifetime! But for now, their friend was still with them and fighting for another day, a fight she was determined he would win.

After a quick check of the time, she sent a message to Adrien asking if he wanted to head to the hospital later and see Alya, before realising it was past lunchtime and she was due to meet with Chat Noir.

Stretching from her specialist chair, Marinette made her way out into the kitchen and to the fridge. The smell made her gag as she opened the door in search of the bottle of water — maybe one more trip to the toilet was in her outlook for the day?

Moving towards the front door, in preparation for fresh air and her super partner, Marinette was stopped by the ringing of her phone. A wave of despair washed over her, as she considered what this call might entail, only to breathe out a sigh of relief when she saw the name.

Nathaniel.

One hand reached for her head as she opened up the message and began to read. The last thing she wanted was to help design the next person to be murdered in the game. She had a hand in this; even though she hadn't been the one to kill Aurore, or attack Nino — the murder being based on her designs was definitely looking as though she was loading the weapon.

She read over the message before pressing the call button and holding the phone to her ear, the thumbnail of her other hand settled between her teeth as she gnawed on it.

'Marinette, thank god! I'm at Max's. You need to hear this'

She remained silent. Chew. Chew. Chew.

'Marinette? Are you there?'

Taking her thumb from her mouth, she headed towards the bifold doors and headed out onto the balcony. The fresh air hitting her with a welcomed relief.

"Yeah, sorry. What did Max say?"

Keeping her cards close to her chest, she remembered that Marinette didn't know anything about this, that it was only Ladybug and Chat Noir that did, not her.

'Hang on, let me put you on speaker. Go ahead, Max.'

A loud clatter was heard before Max's voice sounded out the speaker.

'Obviously you know about Nino, but it's more... Marinette, they're using the game!'

She attempted to dislodge the thickness in her throat, pushing it down as hard as she could.

"Who's using the game?"

'The murderer! Nino wasn't just magically injured! It was planned... so was Aurore!' Nathaniel stated, sounding unnaturally excited.

"By who?"

Silence echoed in her ear as loud as a bass drum. Her blood pounding and filling in the gaps.

'We don't know,' Max said simply.

Marinette bit down on her lip to stop her from swearing.

'Marinette, Ladybug and Chat Noir came to see me. They told me that the outfit you sent me that morning was what Nino was wearing.'

Ice made its way through her veins. She knew this... god, she was the one who lay beside him after falling over. She had been the one who had found him, yet the words, the thoughts, still shocked her — shaking her to the core. There were only five people who'd seen Nino's and design – herself, Nathaniel, Luka, Max and Félix.

"Had you sent the level out to the betas?"

'I'd sent a low quality version to the betas, but I hadn't rolled it out completely.'

Great! That increased the suspect list by about 100 more people.

Out in the distance, a black bolt stretched across the sky as Chat Noir launched himself across the rooftops and began to run. She stood still for a moment, taking it all in. He was impressive to study; full of power and determination. As he landed he transferred onto all fours, each paw touching the ground at separate times during the stride: that is, lifted, swung forward, and set back on the ground. His legs moved diagonally, starting with one of the front legs and the opposite hind leg moving in unison. It was astounding, a sight she hadn't cherished as much as she should have.

"Max, I really have to go. Can you talk later?"

'Sure,' Max agreed. 'The game's auto updates are on and I've added you to the beta list, Adrien too.'

"You're still releasing the game?"

'Detective Raincomprix never said not to.'

This didn't feel like a good idea, not when it seemed clear both of the murders were plagiarising the game. Sending out the next levels could only open the door for the murderer to strike again.

"I still really want your feedback on it. You should see the updates in the next day or two."

"Okay."

'Okay, thank you. If you can get Adrien out of his blissful wedding state, and out of bed, can you ask him to check it out with you. I'd really appreciate having both your eyes on it.'

Marinette smiled warmly. "I'll talk with him and see what he says."

'Thanks Marinette, I really appreciate it.'

Saying their final goodbyes, Marinette headed back to the doorway and exited the apartment, making her way down the staircase and into the street. Walking a couple of blocks, she found a small opening between two buildings and headed inside, releasing Tikki as she did.

"Are you okay?" the small kwami asked.

"Yeah," Marinette sighed. "Let's just get this done, so I can get back home and take a nap."

"You know what to do then."

Tikki flew to Marinette, rubbing her cheek against her holders and allowing Marinette to cup her close.

"Thank you for always being here. Tikki, spots on."

As Marinette was coated in red, she felt the tiredness and sickness increase, taking some of the strength from her legs and causing her to stumble into the wall. As her shoulder collided with the brick she hissed out in pain, the other hand coming up to rub it.

The suits were meant to be protective and she knew they were, she'd been thrown into buildings enough to know – so why was this suddenly so painful?

"Come on, Ladybug, it's not that bad," she huffed to herself. Taking the yo-yo from its position on her hip, she launched it straight into the sky propelling herself up onto the rooftops and off to meet her partner, the sting in her shoulder not subsiding as she moved.

After what felt like forever, she landed behind Chat Noir on the rooftop, placing the yo-yo back on her hip and once again rubbing the bruised skin of her shoulder.

"Hey," she whispered, moving forward towards where he sat.

"Evening." He hadn't turned around. He hadn't even moved from his position. She cautiously walked to the edge of the roof and sat beside him.

"Have you had a nice day?"

He turned his head to look at her, the look in his eyes obviously considering whether to push her from the roof or not — or so she thought.

"What's with the pleasantries?"

His voice was flat as he spoke, her throat attempting to push down the lump which had formed.

"I just thought — maybe we could —"

"What? Have a chat? I thought you wanted to look at this crime more."

"I do," she said, turning a little too quickly to face him and losing her balance. Her head felt like it was in a washing machine, the world around her began to spin, sending her toppling towards the edge of the rooftop.

Her eyes clouded, darkness taking over as she plummeted towards the ground at a scarily fast speed. Ladybug attempted to grab the yo-yo from her hip and send it up to the rooftop, however, it was futile. She was un-coordinated and slow, the yo-yo couldn't reach high enough; instead it sailed off into the wrong direction.

She quickly closed her eyes and braced for impact, but the freefall she had felt suddenly reversed into a hard acceleration, her body being lifted instead of slamming hard into the ground. As soon as her feet hit the rooftop she felt her saviour move away from her, leaving her to wobble and sway on the spot.

"What the hell was that?"

Opening her eyes, she was staring straight into Chat Noir's. The glassy green's not at all helping her regain her balance as they were coated with care and fear. A sight she hadn't seen in years and once she found oddly settling.

"I – um – I'm just not too well at the moment."

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, head slightly tilted to the side as he studied her again. Never in her life had she felt so on display, each and every time his eyes scanned her body she felt more and more exposed to him.

"Perhaps we should leave it for tonight then. Go home, LB. Get some rest."

Though home sounded like the most amazing idea, she didn't want to. She wanted to at least try and make this right. To let him know exactly how much she missed him. To let him know she had a reason for what happened – that it wasn't about him.

"No, no! I'm okay. Let's just sit and talk... catch up with each other."

"You're not well, go home!"

Turning, she watched him grab his baton from his back and extend it. He was going to leave. He was actually going to leave. She needed him to stay and talk to her. She needed him to listen.

"Stop and talk to me, please!"

Silence stood between them more than a brick wall ever could.

"Please!" she begged again, unable to contain the hurt stabbing deeply in her chest. "I can't stop thinking about you. I think about you all the time. I see your smile in the brightest sunflower. I hear your laughter and joy in the sound of the birds chirping. I hear your jokes in the way my husband tries to cheer me up on a lousy day. I just —"

That seemed to gain his attention, as he stopped and turned back to face her.

"Husband?"

She sighed and walked over to the edge of the rooftop, reseating herself and swinging her legs over the side. Running her hands through her hair she considered what she should say next. They were meant to keep everything private and since what happened with Gabriel Agreste, she was determined to keep her private civilian life away from her public superhero one. When had she changed her mind?

"I shouldn't have said that. We shouldn't share private details, just ignore me."

"No, no I don't think I can. Why didn't you mention something before?"

"You never gave me a chance to speak." She wasn't sure whether they were both talking about now and their spouses, or what had happened years before. She patted the space beside her and indicated for him to come and join. An olive branch stretching out and one he would hopefully accept.

A brief moment passed before the echo of his boots sounded behind her and he set himself down — a slight space between them, but hope lifted in her chest from his acceptance.

"I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment." She sighed and ran her hands over her face. "But I know I want to talk to you, to try and clear the air. I know what I did was unforgivable, but I had my reasons. Please just hear me out then you can leave if you want to."

"Fine." The statement was curt, but he was going to listen. For the first time she could let him into her side of the story.

Closing her eyes, Ladybug went back in time to that night 10 years ago. The night everything changed. Her heart wanted to tell him everything, but her head said 'not yet'.