Story Description:

From the very beginning, Chat Noir knew that he loved Ladybug.
But when she willingly reveals her identity to him, his heart instantly shatters into a million pieces. She tells him a devastating secret, which leaves him fighting for the love he never had.

***

It had been hours, and Chat Noir was starting to get impatient. Ladybug had told him to meet her at the top of the Eifel Tower, and to not be late.

He felt betrayed as he continued to watch the beautiful sunset in silence.

He missed her beautiful smile, and the way her bluebell eyes sparkled in the sunlight. He missed her sweet, angelic voice that would hum a beautiful tune whenever he felt blue. He really missed her, and wondered if she would even show up.

Where are you, M'lady..?

He decided to wait a little while longer. If she didn't show up after about ten minutes, he would get up and go back home.

Time was passing by, and still no sign of the spotted hero. That was the final straw. Chat had waited long enough and decided to leave.

As he stood to his feet, he looked forward and saw a red figure moving towards him.

He remained still when he realized that she didn't break her promise after all. He was disappointed that she was late, but at the same time he was relieved to know that she still cared.

As she safely landed on top of the tower, she looked at him with an unreadable expression written upon her face.

The look sent shivers down his spine. He just waited for her to say something, but the longing was causing an eruption of despair.

She looked more serious than ever, and that terrified him. He didn't know what to expect. Had he done something unforgivable? Or perhaps she was dealing with a personal crisis?

The possibilities were endless, and he felt so helpless without any clues. But whatever it was, it couldn't even compare to the heartache that was soon to become a living nightmare.

The silence that filled the atmosphere was deafening, and Chat hated it. He wanted to know what was wrong, and he wanted to be there for her.

"M'lady?" He timidly asked.

Her eyes were locked on the metal that lay beneath her concealed feet. She seemed to be deep in thought, and a sense of fear never seemed to leave her.

Chat could sense her panic as her hands began to tremble at his very touch.

There was something seriously wrong, and her behavior had instantly confirmed his previous assumptions.

His face softened as he waited for her to say something.

"Chat..." It was barely even a whisper. "I..."

She couldn't even get a word out.

"It's okay, you can tell me," he cooed.

"I... I have to tell you something."

Chat was still as he listened to his lady. There was a hint of guilt in her voice, and that broke him a little. What could she possibly have to say, that would cause her such distress?

His questions were answered at that very instant.

"I won't be your partner for much longer," her tone seemed cold, and emotionless.

Chat snapped right there.

"What do you mean!? We've been through so much together, and now you just want to leave?" He couldn't even look at her.

He felt nothing but anger and betrayal serge through his entire being. The only person who he really cared about, didn't even want him. How could she leave him?

"Why!?" He shouted.

Her eyes couldn't meet his devastated ones. She sighed as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Please listen..." She quietly begged.

Chat didn't want to hear her excuses. All he could think about was the fact that she was leaving him alone.

He remained silent as he impatiently waited for her to continue.

"Chaton... I have a very good reason as to why I won't be with you for that much longer."

The cat-like hero still felt angry, but he listened nonetheless.

"Please don't be mad at me, even though I know you are."

Chat could feel himself begin to relax. He could never stay mad at her for long. He would just have to listen to what she had to say, and accept whatever decision she made.

"I'm sorry, Bugaboo," he gave her a weak smile.

"Silly Kitty... If you haven't realized by now, I haven't quite been myself lately."

Now that he thought about it, she did seem a little different. Her movements were often jerky, and she had quite a few nosebleeds after every fight.

His eyes slightly trailed over her body. He hadn't paid that much attention to it before, but she did look a little thinner than usual.

He slowly nodded his head as he continued to look at her.

"Well there's a reason for all this-" She couldn't finish the sentence, and looked at her partner with sad eyes.

"Take your time."

It was now or never. She had to tell him before she backed out.

"I'm sick!"

Chat froze. Did he hear her correctly? With every possibility running through his head, he had never imagined that to be one.

"What?" He quietly asked; hoping to hear differently this time.

"I'm sick, Chaton." She whispered her reply.

Those three words were enough to shatter his heart into a million pieces. He was mad at his lady for not showing up on time, but he was ignorant. Did that mean she was going to die?

He didn't want to touch such a sensitive subject, but he needed to know.

"Is... Is it terminal?"

As her eyes found his, she broke down. Every bottled up emotion came crashing down at that exact moment.

The cat who was dressed in leather caught her in his manly arms. He began to slowly rub her head as he looked ahead. He could feel a lump start to form in his throat, but he tried his best to ignore it.

They stayed like that for what felt like forever. She eventually stopped crying, but continued to hold onto her kitty. She hated the thought of leaving him behind, but she knew that she wasn't in control of her own body.

Chat, on the other hand was fighting his own battle. The news brought nothing but pain and devastation.

"Chat?"

"Yes, M'lady?" He tried his best to sound fine, but the lump was growning by the second.

"Since I'm not going to be around for much longer, you might as well know who I am."

He couldn't believe those words. After all these years he would finally get to discover who she really is. If it wasn't under such difficult circumstances, he wouldn't even hesitate. But today was different. What if he knew her in real life? Would it be better to have never known?

To say that he was terrified would have been a huge understatement. He could feel his heart race in his chest, and he didn't know if he could take it.

She was right though. He needed to know, but he didn't know if he wanted to know.

"Just know that whoever you are under that mask, I will still love you." His voice was sweet, but the sadness was still evident.

She kindly smiled as she wiped her tears away. She was afraid of his potential reaction, but she knew that she didn't have a choice. He needed to know, and there was nothing that was going to stop her.

"I'm so sorry that this is happening. If there was anything I could do, to fix this, I would. But sadly I can't."

Her tears started a chain reaction. Chat felt the streams of sadness trail down his cheeks. He didn't care if she never revealed her true identity; all he wanted was to be with her.

He hated the thought of loosing her so soon, and wished for a miracle...

"Don't cry, Kitty," she cried as she wiped his tears away.

She looked into his beautiful green eyes and gave him a small smile, "You've always been the brave one."

Chat wanted to protest, but he was too weak to argue.

She let him go. With her back turned, she stood there in silence, as a cool breeze blew over her body.

With her back turned towards him, he felt the waves of anxiety drowning him in a sea of relentless curiosity.

This was the moment that he'd been waiting for since the very first day, but now he wasn't sure if he even wanted it anymore.

As the magic words were spoken, Ladybug was instantly covered in flashes of bright pink. A moment had passed, and the spotted hero remained but a memory, who was instantaneously replaced by an unknown civilian.

Any moment now, he would get to see her face for the very first time. He tried to fight his distress, and just concentrated on the girl who he did not know.

As her head began to slightly turn, he let out a deep breath. He closed his eyes, and let his head hang to the ground.

"You can open your eyes now."

He slowly obeyed.

As his eyes fell upon the same bluebell eyes as before, his heart skipped a beat. He didn't even have a second to register what he was feeling.

All this time, his lady and his princess were the same person... How had he not known? He felt a mix of very intense emotions as he continued to stare at her.

Now that he knew who she was, he knew that he loved her for who she really was. He had denied his feelings for Marinette for so long. All because his love for Ladybug was greater than anything else. But right there, he understood why.

She was Ladybug/Marinette, and that was all that mattered. However, now that he knew who she was, he felt absolutely heartbroken. Just when he had found her, he was going to loose her!

His eyes filled up with tears as he continued to study her every movement.

"M... Marinette..?"

"You're disappointed that it's me?" She sadly turned her face away from him.

"What!? No, quite the opposite actually! I'm so happy that it's you!"

He had almost forgotten the terrible news, as he was just so overwhelmed with joy.

"All this time... I wondered who was under the mask, but I was never sure. But now that I know... It all makes so much sense!"

"What does that mean?" She curiously asked.

"It means that I love you for you, Marinette. I've denied my feelings for your civilian self, because I was so in love with your other half. But now that I know both sides of you, I can freely say that, I love you!"

Marinette blushed at his words. He really did love her. She could feel butterflies in her stomach as she stared into his gorgeous green eyes.

She still didn't know his identity, but she was just happy to show him hers.

Realisation once again struck the boy. That meant that Marinette was the one who was sick, which meant that she was the one who was going to die...

Why didn't Marinette tell Adrien, or her other friends about this? Was Chat the only one who knew?

His face fell as he looked at the girl. Why did it have to be Marinette? She didn't deserve this!

"Marinette..?"

"Yeah?"

"How long..." He said as his lip began to quiver.

She was quiet, but eventually answered, "A few months."

A few months...

That's all? As a tear fell to the ground, Marinette began to cry once again. She wasn't crying because she was going to die. She was crying because she was going to leave everyone behind, but most importantly, she was going to leave her Kitty behind.

"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me?" She begged as she hugged him tight.

As more tears began to fall, he tightened his grip around her small frame and whispered in her ear, "It's not your fault."

He was trying to be strong for her, but it was nearly impossible. He tried to shut the pain away, as he closed his eyes.

For just a moment, he wished for the pain to disappear from his very existence. He was feeling so overwhelmed, that he began to tremble with immeasurable amounts of heartache.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

She didn't know why she was apologizing, but she just felt so incredibly guilty. She wanted this nightmare to end, but she knew that that was not realistic.

Their tears fell to the ground as they continued to enjoy the warmth that radiated from each other. Neither one wanted to let go.

After countless moments had passed, Chat lifted his head up, and looked into his Princess' beautiful blue eyes which sparkled as the moonlight gracefully kissed them.

"Marinette? Let me take you home?" He kindly asked.

She didn't say anything, but continued to hold onto her partner with everything that she had. She knew that her time was limited, and she needed to spend as much of it with the one person she cared about most of all.

He picked her up in his large, muscular arms and carried her away into the night.

***