“Can I be him?”
—James Arthur, Can I Be Him

Chapter Six

After fighting another one of Hawkmoth's akumas and saving Paris once more, the two superheroes sat quietly on top of the Eiffel Tower, the tension between them becoming heavier and heavier by the minute.

"Chat?" Ladybug called, her voice soft and small, afraid that one raise of her voice could break him. She wanted to tell him how she didn't deserve his love; that behind the mask, she was just an incompetent, clumsy, insecure girl that never even deserved this hero's attention.

"What?" he groaned, the throbbing pain all over his body distracting him and making him feel dizzy. He badly wanted to go to his princess and rest by the balcony beside her, but he also wanted to spend some time with Ladybug, even though she's broken his heart.

"Are . . ." The superheroine hesitated. She turned to look at him and noticed that he looked exhausted. His lips were pale and chapped, and his back was slouched in a way that looked like he was an old man. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. He couldn't take it anymore. It was a bad decision to stay with her. And so, without a word, he stood up and left Ladybug sitting there with a broken heart.

—∞—

Marinette stood by the balcony, the wind gently blowing against her face as she felt like the world around her turned dull.

"Princess," a familiar voice called, and she immediately turned to her right to see Chat Noir with an expression she couldn't read.

"Chat Noir," she tried to smile, but it suddenly felt harder to smile when he was around. She felt as though she was slowly tearing him apart.

They stared at each other for a while, and, slowly, the black cat knelt down and began to cry. Marinette felt her heart sink.

Here was the greatest superhero of Paris; the one that people look up to, the one that people can depend on whenever there was someone trying to destroy their town. He carried all the responsibilities to keep Paris safe and sound on his shoulders. And yet here he was. Vulnerable and weak in front of her, the girl who broke his heart.

"It hurts," he cried out, not even thinking about wiping his tears.

Marinette knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, "I'm here."

"It hurts so much," he sobbed as he hugged her back, feeling a little comfortable in the arms of his princess. He didn't know what hurt more; Ladybug or the deathly pain he was having right now.

"What if," Marinette paused, taking a deep breath to stop her tears from falling. She had to be strong for him. "What if she thought she didn't deserve you?"

"W—What?"

"What if she," Marinette couldn't stop her tears from falling. "What if she rejected you because she knows that, behind that mask, she's just an ordinary girl. What if she rejected you because she knows she wouldn't be the girl you expected her to be?"

"I don't—"

"What if," she choked on her tears, her heart throbbing against her chest as she tightened her hug around him. "What if behind that mask, she's that clumsy, insecure, untalented, ugly idiot that nobody wants to be with? What if behind that mask, she's no one but a piece of garbage that could be used and thrown away in an instant?"

Chat Noir didn't understand why she was saying those things at first, but then he knew that she was just saying all of those to make him better.

He pulled away from the ravenette and cupped her cheeks, wiping away her tears from his thumb.

"Don't cry," he breathed, "I'm sorry."

"No!" Marinette sobbed, giving light punches on the cat's chest. "Don't you dare say you're sorry! You're hurting for goodness sake, and you're still so concerned about me? How are you so selfless? How are you so kind? How are you so caring? How a—"

Marinette couldn't continue her sentence. Of course she didn't deserve this boy's love. He was just too perfect, and she knew that there would be a different girl out there that was as selfless and as caring and as loving as him. He deserves someone better.

The cat cupped both of her cheeks, and felt as if he wanted to protect this girl at all costs. He was so broken inside and was physically hurting outside, but he couldn't help worrying about his dear princess. He couldn't get those sapphire blue eyes out of his mind. He couldn't get her smile out of his mind. Even the very sight of her just waking up and having drools on her face mesmerized him and makes his heart flutter.

That was when he knew, that he was deeply infatuated with this girl in front of him. There was still Ladybug, but he just couldn't help breaking down his walls for Marinette.

Maybe, he thought.

"Marinette," he spoke, "Close your eyes."

The girl aggressively wiped her tears and put her hands on her hips, "Why? What are you going to do? If this is another one of your tricks to make things look better, you better not do it. I want to talk this out with you. I want you to be ha—"

"I won't do anything foolish," he promised, raising his right hand. "Cat's honor."

Just maybe, Marinette thought.

Marinette, trusting the black cat, closed her eyes.

Chat Noir slowly placed his hand over hers and interwined their fingers.

"Plagg," he whispered, "Detransform."

Slowly, his black cat suit disappeared, along with his cat-like eyes, revealing an ordinary boy in his casual clothes.

Marinette's heart throbbed harder against her chest, realizing that Chat Noir just detransformed beside her, and she was holding his actual hand. As much as she wanted to open her eyes, she didn't.

"Chat," Marinette smiled, squeezing his hand, "Your hand is warm."

Adrien smiled as he tightened his hold on the girl's hand, his heart wanting to explode any moment now.

"Don't let go, please," she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder, still with her eyes closed.

"I won't," he whispered back, capturing every second of this moment in his mind. "I will never."

And so, the both of them just sat there on Marinette's balcony, admiring each other's presence, loving each other's warmth, cherishing the moment as if it were the most precious memory they will ever have.

Maybe, they both thought, not wanting to let go of each other's hand.

Just maybe.

—∞—

"Goodmorning, Mari!" her best friend, Alya, greeted the tired-looking ravenette when she finally arrived at school.

"Morning," Marinette greeted back with a tired smile and a lazy wave.

As they walked together to their rooms, Adrien walked right up to Marinette and ruffled her hair with a smile on his face. And, if Alya wasn't mistaken, she saw a tiny hint of pink on both of his cheeks.

"Good morning, Marinette!" he greeted her.

"G-g-g-g-good after—morning, Arden! I mean, A-A-Adrien!" her whole face flushed as she felt butterflies in her stomach.

OMG, HE TOUCHED MY HAIR. IMNEVERGONNAWASHMYHAIREVERAGAINSOMEONEPLEASETHROWMEOFFACLIFFICANTDOTHISANYMOREAMIDREAMINGSOMEONEPINCHMEICANTOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

Alya folded her arms as the two of them continued to walk to their classroom without even noticing that she wasn't there with them.

"I shall join the third wheel of all third wheels," a deep voice said behind her.

"Thank goodness you're here, Nino," she sighed out of relief as a smile formed on her face.

"I'll always be here, Cesaire," he smirked, extending his elbow towards her, "My dude forgot that I existed too. May we, mademoiselle?"

Alya laughed and played along as she playfully placed her arm around his, "We may, monsieur!"

—∞—

The man chuckled as he went inside his lair in which the only source of light was from his massive tinted violet window shaped like a moth. He checked his back, in case someone was following him. And when he was sure that there was no one, he took out a small box and opened it, revealing a purple moth-shaped pendant resting on top of a small velvet cushion.

With an evil smile, he wears the pendant on his collar as a small creature appears from the object.

"Good afternoon, master," the small purple creature greets the man as it slowly bows in respect.

"Oh, yes, it is a very good afternoon, Nooroo," the man replies, his voice deep and booming. The creature nervously bites its lip as it knew why its master was in a good mood. "Dark Wings, rise!"

Nooroo gets sucked into the pendant as white glowing butterflies surround the man, slowly changing his attire.

The butterflies dispersed from the body, revealing Hawk Moth, Ladybug and Chat Noir's worst enemy.

"Nooroo, reveal the Dark Butterfly," Hawk Moth grins as he raises both of his hands up, excitement rushing through his veins. This was unlike any other.

And soon, a massive butterfly appears out of nowhere, flapping its wings as it glows brightly. The other small butterflies hide in the corner out of fear, since even they know that this was way more powerful than all of them combined.

"It's ready," Hawk Moth whispers to himself, his eyes glimmering at the sight of his creation.

"I'm finally going to have their miraculous."

This butterfly was created from the extreme emotions of Paris' superhero.

Chat Noir.

a/n

im sorry this is so rushed.

im kinda busy with school so yEAH IM SO SORRY

anyways we're near the end! woohoo!

the question is, though,

will it be a happy ending?