Ladybug woke with a start, her arm shooting out across the bed and into the empty space beside her. He was gone!

Clutching the sheet tightly around her chest, she sat up and looked around the light room. The blinds were open, both of them too invested in each other to bother closing them the night before, allowing the sunlight to create shadows along the ground.

The shadows began to move as the soft wind blew the trees outside, rocking them in a gentle to and fro, similar to a parent rocking their baby. "Kitty?" she called out, her eyes continuing her scan of the room. "Chat?" she called out again.

The eerie silence of the room morphed around her, wrapping her up in an anxiety she'd never felt before. Where was he? Everything ran through her mind from a cat-napping to it all being just a dream... The ache in her thighs told her (unless she'd run a marathon) it had most certainly been real.

Looking around on the floor, Ladybug searched for any type of clothing she could find, locating Chat Noir's shirt first and lifting it up, ready to place it on. She brought it to her nose, cupping it together and, like the freak she was, took a long, calming inhale. The familiar smell of her partner set her head spinning more than the intensity of the tequila shots. Who needed lime and salt when you had coconut and sea salt?

She hugged it close to her chest, taking in for a moment everything that had happened over the past couple of days. The shift in their relationship had been so natural, it felt like they had always been doing it...and now that she'd experienced him she never wanted to go back.

Scrambling around, she wrapped the shirt around her and stood from the bed, fastening a couple of buttons before searching for her underwear.

They'd come back in a ravenous tornado. Chat Noir seemed to have a lot of pent up emotions he wanted to release, and she was more than willing.

Ladybug made her way to the staircase, checking in the ensuite on the way to see if he was just in the toilet—nothing. She continued down the stairs and out to the pool area. The wind was sending tranquil ripples through the water, the underwater lights shimmering with the movement. It was so peaceful, so lowkey, she couldn't help but feel some of the tension easing out of her. It really had been a long couple of days.

Turning to head back into the villa, she stopped to look at Kagami and Adrien's. The blinds were closed and the area silent. However, that didn't stop her mind wondering what they were doing in there—together.

She cursed herself. She shouldn't be thinking about that now. She shouldn't be having the tight churning sensation in her gut as she thought about Adrien and Kagami all naked together, touching each other, kissing each other. Green was not a good colour on her, and she had no right.

Ladybug had made her decision. Marinette had made her decision. And that decision was Chat Noir, not Adrien Agreste. But it didn't seem to matter. The thought of him made her feel alive and vulnerable. It made her strive to be the best she could be so he would see her, and she thought it had worked. It hadn't, though. As soon as she had said no, he was off finding someone else. The pain was still raw and fresh, even with her new love so wonderful.

What the hell was wrong with her?

She made her way back inside. After all, the last thing she wanted was for Kagami or Adrien to see her staring at their bedroom. Closing the sliding door behind her, she entered the kitchen before walking up the staircase and heading straight for the balcony. The high, vined lattices kept privacy to their villa, and it would be the perfect place for her emotional breakdown...which she could feel bubbling inside her.

A rush up the staircase and out onto the terrace was all that was needed to start the emotional downpour she'd been holding back out of pride. No one was around to see her, no one could bear witness to the lost girl in the place she didn't belong. Her magical vacation was slowly spiralling into a black hole of nothingness, leaving her to fight for air and reprieve.

Seriously, what was wrong with her? She had everything. She was loved and adored by her family and her friends, her partner was as crazy about her as she was about him, yet a small piece of her heart was fragmented and sharp, all because of a stupid boy.

Collapsing down on a sun lounger, she allowed herself to finally feel everything that had been overwhelming her, the reason for why she was here. She needed a break from her life, however, the hardest parts of it had followed her. How was she ever going to figure herself out if she could never escape?

She threaded her fingers together and looked down at the floor, the cuffs of her partner's sleeves falling over her hands and covering them. Chat Noir had freakishly long arms.

"What do I do?" she whispered to herself. She'd tried so many times to break free from this blond model prison she had found herself in, but it seemed she had a life sentence because, even when she'd had a blissful couple of days with her partner, Adrien still strutted back in, regaining his place and killing the mood. It was stupid, really, but she just couldn't stop. A single thought of his name had sent her wild.

Her thumbs began to brush along the edges of the sleeve. The soft cotton grounding her and calming her nerves. This was okay. Everything was going to be okay. She had Chat Noir; she didn't need Adrien Agreste, and the sooner her heart understood that the better. Her fingers continued to play with the cuff of the sleeve, moving it around before rolling it up. The fabric wrapping around itself and showing her the label.

The small patch caught her eye. She'd seen the Gabriel logo numerous times over the years but this one was different. The coverage was smaller because a name was sewn in beside it, a name that made her heart stop and her stomach spiral.

Adrien Agreste.

Adrien Agreste.

It didn't matter which way she turned the fabric. It didn't matter which way she turned her head. If she went cross eyed. If she looked at it upside down, nothing changed. It still said 'Adrien Agreste' in the exact style Gabriel Agreste labelled his son's clothing.

The sound of males chatting over the balcony caught her attention. They were whispering so the words weren't clear, but the conversation was obviously one of two close friends.

Standing up, she walked over, keeping herself slightly back and in the shadows, not wanting Adrien or Chat Noir to see her, but giving herself a clear view of the new arrivals by the pool.

They stopped in front of the pool doors, continuing their conversation in a manner which was way too familiar for her liking. Had Chat Noir been lying to her? Was he really friends with Adrien and that was why he had Adrien's shirt? Something in the back of her mind was telling her to think harder, that she should know that's not the truth. They argued like cats and dogs.

The thought jolted her into another hemisphere.

Cats and dogs?

Something about it was all too real. Strike Back. Chat Noir's jealousy, or was it actually annoyance?

She continued to watch them, taking in the similarities between the two. Similarities that made them look related. Similarities that made them look like brothers. Her hand slammed over her mouth, suppressing the gasp that was desperate to leave.

No!

No! No! No! NO! Not again!

The lost feeling inside her began to fill, the continuous churn and movement making her feel sick. This couldn't be right. It just couldn't. How could this have happened again? Didn't she learn anything the first time?

Chat Noir knew everything about Marinette that a close friend would. But Chat Noir hadn't been a close friend; he'd been a colleague.

Adrien, though? Adrien was a close friend. Adrien had been there just like Chat Noir. He'd supported her, helped her, and encouraged her. Adrien knew about the charm bracelet. He knew about the constipation medicine. He knew everything, which meant Chat Noir knew too.

Adrien's favourite colour was blue, just like his scarf.

Chat Noir had loved her more when he found out she was Marinette.

Adrien loved Ladybug.

Chat Noir loved Marinette.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

The jigsaw began to piece together, piece after piece slotting into one another and creating the picture of her heart, of her love.

She loved him and he loved her...and Kagami wasn't with Adrien. Ladybug was with Adrien. She was with Adrien.

Kagami was with someone who looked like Adrien. Someone who could swap places easily with Adrien Agreste and not be noticed. Someone who had betrayed her and taken her Miraculous. Someone she was going to make pay.

Her mind went blank, and she didn't even realise her legs were moving, taking her downstairs and out to the boys on the patio.

It was only when her hands met body and Félix's plunge into the pool sent a splash of water all over her legs, did she realise what she had done.