Marinette was a light sleeper.

She supposed it was because she was a mother, and therefore, was always on high alert in case her daughter happened to get up in the middle of the night or call for her from her bedroom. An instance that would be a good example were potty accidents that didn't happen often, but every now and then. Her point being: it was an instinct Marinette knew she hadn't had before giving birth to Emma, that was for sure. And although the skill was rather beneficial, it was also incredibly annoying. Because that meant any noise was bound to wake her up.

So when she heard a bedroom door slowly creak open, Marinette's eyes snapped open in a matter of seconds.

At first, she thought it was Emma trying to subtly crawl into her bed without trying to wake her up. Since her bedroom door was slightly ajar in case her daughter wanted to do so, it was easy to see any movement in the hallway before it passed her bedroom.

She didn't think much of it when she saw Nino pass by instead of her daughter.

She only started to get suspicious when she heard really loud whispering.

Marinette tried to ignore it... she really had. She knew it was probably Nino and Adrien just catching up with each other and not meaning any harm by it. But despite the many times she tossed and turned hoping she could fall asleep, it seemed she never would unless whoever was trying to whisper quietly would shut their mouth. Grudgingly, Marinette slowly got out of bed and quietly continued a leisure pace down the hall.

She was about to round the corner and tell them to please be quiet, until something Adrien said had her stopping in her tracks seconds before revealing herself.

"How can I not take it personal? She gave me grief!"

Something about that phrase didn't sit right with her, and something told her not to let it be known that she was there. Instead, Marinette leaned back against the wall just as Nino loudly shushed Adrien for being too loud. For a second, she was worried Nino would get up to check and see if anyone had heard them and end up discovering she was there.

But much to her relief, he didn't. They were both silent for a while as they listened to see if anyone had woke. She held her breath as she listened to Nino let out a relieved, but heavy sigh, his next words to Adrien only confusing her further. "Look man. Your fears are valid, but your hesitance isn't. You can't let fear control your life. If you do that, you'll never live. You'll just exist." There was another beat of silence before he then added, "You owe it to both Ladybug and Marinette to see them again and make things right."

Marinette's eyebrows shot up in confusion the moment those words reached her ears. Without any context, that made absolutely no sense. And even if it were to have context, that still didn't make any sense. Why would Adrien Agreste need to owe her (in both of her identities) anything? Sure, Adrien had been her friend when they were kids, and her silly high-school crush when they were teenagers before he had kindly rejected her and she had fallen in love with Chat Noir, but he didn't owe her anything. And what about Ladybug? What could Adrien possibly owe her? She didn't know him well enough with the mask on.

"Okay." She heard Adrien say, sounding defeated himself. "You're right. I'll... see Ladybug first. Tomorrow in fact."

Her eyebrows rose only further up her forehead. This didn't make any sense.

"Great. I'm glad to hear it." Nino said.

Neither of them were making any sense.

"But... I'm not going to tell Marinette that I'm Chat Noir just yet."

That... now that REALLY didn't make any sense.

If Marinette was shocked before, there were no words to describe how she felt about that confession. Adrien had been the one to say that, so clear and out in the open in front of Nino that it would've been impossible to have misheard him. And if she'd heard correctly... Adrien had just told Nino that he was Chat Noir.

And if that were true, that meant the entire time the boy who had rejected her back in high-school was the same one who had gotten her pregnant. The same person she had fallen in love with. The same blonde-headed idiot who had told her that he didn't like her, and then proceeded to have a relationship with her behind the mask.

Marinette wanted to throw up.

Now it all made sense. Chat Noir had told her plenty of times about just how strict his father was, the same as Gabriel was usually to Adrien. How had she not connected the dots? Both Chat Noir and Adrien had left around the same time, both having different but still very similar reasons for leaving: their father.

And that was because they had the same father!

What didn't make sense to her, however, was why Adrien had rejected her, only to later become romantically involved with her. When she had finally worked up the courage to confess to him back in high-school, Adrien had rejected her as kindly as possible, simply insisting that he just... didn't feel the same way. And although it had been a little awkward at first, they remained friends, because Marinette still wanted him to be a part of her life.

But if Adrien really was Chat Noir, that meant somewhere along the lines, he'd developed feelings for her. And instead of saying anything, he decided to play a ridiculous game that overall ruined their relationship.

Marinette felt so sick to her stomach.

Maybe his feelings for her had never been genuine. Maybe... maybe their whole relationship had just been a way for him to get inside of her pants.

And if that was the case... Marinette felt even worse.

If... if that were truly the case, and sex had been his only desire, it also meant Adrien nor Chat would be very thrilled to find out they had a daughter as a result of it. And Marinette had a pretty good feeling that Adrien already knew he was a father. The dots wouldn't be hard to connect. It was obvious that Emilie took after him the most. The similarities were there. And since Emilie's father wasn't in the picture, it would be so easy for Adrien to assume that he was the father.

So that meant... Chat Noir already knew that he was a father. That Emilie was his daughter.

"Just don't drag this out longer than it needs to be." Once again, Nino's whispered voice snapped her out of her reverie. She'd missed part of their conversation, she realized. But Marinette was too overwhelmed to really dwell over that detail. "You should tell Marinette as soon as possible before she finds out on her own. Because if she finds out on her own, there's no telling how angry she'll be."

Marinette couldn't help the few stray tears that slipped down her cheeks. She wasn't really angry, if she was being honest with herself. She was heartbroken. Completely and utterly heartbroken. She was too overwhelmed with sadness in that moment to feel angry.

"Don't worry." Adrien chuckled. "She can only find out from me... unless you or Alya decide to tell her, which I know neither of you will. So there's nothing to worry about."

Marinette folded her arms over her chest, but in truth, it was done as an attempt to comfort herself. She didn't stick around to listen to anything else they had to say as she slowly lumbered back towards her bedroom. When her head hit her pillow again that night, she found that sleep once again took over her senses... even despite the fact that she had silently cried herself to sleep that night.

And the following morning wasn't any better for Marinette either.

When she woke up that morning and ambled into the kitchen barely awake, it wasn't even a surprise to find Adrien already in her kitchen, whipping something up on the stove. Of course, that was just her luck, having to interact with him after all the things she had heard last night. Having to pretend that what she'd heard him say hadn't phased her at all—because she had to pretend that she hadn't accidentally eavesdropped on them last night. But that was hard to do when Adrien turned around the moment he heard her footsteps, smiling brightly at her with that charming smile he always wore. The same smile she now saw the similarities in when she compared it to Chat Noir's smile.

"Hey Marinette." He greeted her softly. "Did you sleep well?"

She simply stared at him, her eyes dull of any life really. No, no she hadn't. In fact, she felt dead both inside and out. She wasn't sure how well-rested her face looked, but she had a pretty good idea that the sight of her wrinkled, dark eye bags would be enough of an answer for him.

Thankfully she didn't have to answer him. Shortly after Marinette had wandered into the kitchen, Emilie followed. She was wearing a fuzzy Chat Noir themed pajama set, something Alya had gifted the little girl last Christmas. The thought had been nice, considering Marinette always pictured spending the holidays with Chat Noir. Emma had been ecstatic about the pajamas and even chose to wear them during the summer sometimes. Marinette smiled down at her daughter, gently rubbing Emma's head when the little girl leaned against her.

With her attention now fully on her daughter, it was a good distraction for not having to answer Adrien's question. Adrien didn't seem bothered at all by the fact that she hadn't answered him... which was good, because it meant he hadn't noticed her sudden coldness towards him, and his oblivious self probably never would. But... that didn't stop him from watching the interaction with her daughter very carefully. She chose to pretend she didn't notice.

Instead, she addressed her daughter with a soft smile. "I'm going out today to run some errands and to stop by the office, Emma. So uncle Nino is going to watch you today."

Emma beamed up at her mother, a toothy grin spreading across her lips. "Yay! I love playing with uncle Nino!"

Her daughter's excitement brought genuine happiness to her own soul, which temporarily erased her feeling of absolute misery now that she knew Adrien and Chat Noir were the same person, and had been all this time. A part of her didn't even know how she was supposed to feel other than hurt. But she did know that she needed to do something about it.

What to do though... that she hadn't figured out yet.

Thankfully, Adrien remained quiet throughout her entire interaction with Emma. He only addressed her quietly with a question, asking if she would like some of the pancakes he'd made, and of course, Marinette had accepted—because she was hungry. He remained strangely silent as he ate his own breakfast, glancing up every now and then from underneath his bangs at her or Emma. She did her best to ignore him, focusing all of her attention on her daughter.

But a part of her did wonder what he was thinking now that he knew.

When Alya and Nino entered the living space, Marinette took that as her cue to leave. She headed back towards her bedroom to change and get ready for the day. When she came back out, she was happy to find that Nino and Emma were already settled in the living room, surrounded with a ton of Emma's toys. Alya was nowhere to seen, which left Marinette to believe that her best friend had already left for work.

But what confused her the most was when she realized Adrien was missing too.

She didn't dare ask Nino about it, even though he was already looking at her when her eyes happened to wander over towards his. She was sure he probably noticed her confused expression... as if he were hoping she would feel something other than indifference towards Adrien... or as if he was waiting for her to ask him about the blonde idiot.

She wouldn't dare give Nino that satisfaction.

She left her apartment feeling a bit lighter. Not knowing where Adrien was didn't phase her... because she had a pretty good feeling of what he was doing right about now. She quickly hid herself in a nearby alleyway as soon as she deemed the coast clear and summoned Tikki, who looked rather eager herself to jump into action. Marinette transformed into Ladybug, and with all thoughts of the office abandoned, she threw her yo-yo and headed for the Eiffel Tower.

She landed with grace in what had once been her patrol meet-up spot with Chat Noir. He wasn't there when she arrived, but she had a pretty good feeling that he would be.

She was already sitting on the edge with her feet dangling over when she heard Chat Noir land.

She didn't bother to turn and acknowledge his presence... mostly because she had no idea what she was supposed to say. She had always pictured that her reunion with Chat would have been a happy moment. But the emotions that were currently swirling in her mind and soul were far from overjoyed.

"Ladybug?" Chat Noir—Adrien—sounded surprised, as if he hadn't expected her to be there. Which he hadn't. She heard his footsteps, and soon after watched out of the corner of her eye as he took a seat beside her. He retracted his baton a moment later. "I..I wasn't expecting you to be here. I was just about to send you a message."

She turned to look at him slowly, carefully gauging his face. What she saw was the same man she'd fallen in love with; the same man who had left her behind. Except now she could also see Adrien as she looked at him. And that pained her the most. Because all this time, no matter how many times she had pleaded with him to reveal himself to her, he never wanted to.

So that only left her with one conclusion: he never trusted her.

Adrien never trusted her.

"So... you're back." She simply said, no emotion in her tone. "How was your trip?"

She watched as his face twisted into one of clear regret. "Ladybug—"

"Why are you back?" She asked him instead, not giving him the chance to try and explain himself, or better yet, apologize with a line of excuses that were bound to follow.

Chat Noir sighed heavily, sounding defeated. "I missed Paris. I missed home."

"I hope you weren't expecting all of Paris to miss you back."

The look that crossed his face was definitely pained. She didn't feel an ounce of guilt for being the cause of it. "Are you mad at me?"

"Not really." She told him. And that was the honest truth. "Just hurt... mainly. And tired. Very, very tired. Emotionally drained, actually."

Chat Noir looked even more guilty. "Ladybug, I'm sorry—"

"Why did you leave me alone?" She found that even despite wanting to remain impassive in front of him, tears were already collecting on her bottom lids. "You could've left and maybe left your miraculous behind, but instead, you left me all alone to deal with Hawkmoth all by myself. How could you do that to me?"

"I'm sorry!" He exclaimed desperately, but his apology meant nothing to her. She still felt incredibly empty, and his words did nothing to make her feel any better. "I'm sorry... really, I am. It was never my intension to leave you to do all of this by yourself. I didn't really think much about it. I mean... Plagg has always been with me... it didn't occur to me to leave him here. But couldn't've Master fu just given you another miraculous to give to someone else—"

"Master Fu is dead, Chat Noir."

He had passed away three years ago, simply too old to go on any further. His passing had been incredibly painful, not only for his kwami, but for Marinette as well, considering Master Fu had been the last person whom she could express her troubles of her double life with. But with him gone, she was officially alone when it came to being a superhero. However, before he'd passed, he proclaimed her to be the new guardian of the miraculous and passed down the miracle box to her. Since Ladybug was the guardian, she could have easily done whatever she wanted with the miraculous. Except... she wasn't sure who she could deem a worthy replacement for Chat Noir. And besides... what miraculous was better suited to be wielded alongside hers than the power of destruction?

"Oh..." Pain flashed across his face. She was sure he was sad to hear the news; Master Fu had been an incredible mentor to them both once upon a time ago. "I...I didn't realize... but then... who is the new guardian?"

Her gaze turned back towards the view as she said, "You're looking at her."

His eyes widened. "Wait, really? You are? For how long?"

"For about three years."

"And... you didn't recruit yourself a new partner?"

She turned to glare at him. "No one else can be my partner if I don't have a miraculous to give. There is only one miraculous that goes hand-in-hand with my own."

"Oh."

Ladybug didn't quite give him the satisfaction of letting silence fall once again between them. "I get missing home. What I don't understand is where I fall into that equation."

His expression remained pained as he watched her with sad eyes. "What do you mean? You were one of my best friends, Ladybug. I obviously missed you."

She wasn't convinced. After all, he kept Plagg, and not once did he ever reach out through his cat phone. "Did you?"

"Of course I did!" He sounded offended. "I missed you a lot. Everyday I thought about hoping to reunite with you someday. Just because I left doesn't mean I didn't care."

"You basically abandoned me."

He frowned, "I told you I was leaving."

"Is that supposed to justify the fact that you still abandoned me by taking your miraculous with you?"

"I'm sorry, okay! I didn't know me taking it would be such a problem."

"Sorry doesn't cut it anymore, Chat Noir." Ladybug said, her voice sounding empty. She breathed out heavily through her nose as she stood to her feet, turning her gaze away from him for the last time that day. "It's been fives years. Fives years of me struggling to protect the city on my own. Fives years of having no one to talk to about this life. Do you know how lonely that is?"

He didn't answer, which was only an open gateway for her to continue.

"You have no idea what I've been through. You can't even fathom the kind of pain I've had to endure and carry as a burden alone. I was never against you fulfilling your dreams, but shit, I never thought you would leave everyone who cared about you so much behind in the process."

And then she extended her yo-yo, giving him no chance to respond, as she lept off the Eiffel Tower. She left him behind her, and she didn't dare look over her shoulder to gauge his reaction to her words.

After all, she would have plenty of time to see just how much her words affected him when he returned to her apartment.

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Annnnnd that's chapter 6. Tune in for chapter 7 (hopefully soon) where we'll be back in Adrien's POV... following his troubled thoughts. Because after Adrien's tense experience with Ladybug, who better than Marinette to subtly rant to about his troubles, am I right?

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