This contains character death — since us miraculers are such huge fans of angst, mwahaha. Enjoy!

It was raining.

The small, transparent drops slid down her window. She watched them silently, tracing the paths they left behind. Though many of them were individual, most of them connected to form one.

She had always thought her life would be like that, even when she had first gotten her Miraculous. She had thought that no matter how many quirks there were, everything would work out just fine, and would run smoothly from there.

Needless to say, it wasn't going that way.

"Coming through!" The door swung open and her dad walked in, carrying a large box in his arms. Moving forward to the middle of the room, he set it down on the floor with a grunt and then stood up again, straightening his back.

"I think that's the last one. You're sure you don't need help unpacking?"

She turned to him and smiled. "Yes, I'll be fine. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome." He put his strong arms around her and kissed the top of her forehead. "I'll go back home to help your mom with the bakery. Love you, ma chère."

"Love you too." Standing still, she watched him leave the room and then the apartment. The minute the door closed behind him, her smile dissipated like fog in the morning.

"Hey, milady."

Shaking her head to chase the voice away, Marinette knelt down beside the box labelled Fashion Things and began to remove the packaging tape. It made a loud noise that seemed unusual to her, but she knew it was probably because for the first time in a long while, she was alone, truly alone — no parents, no friends, not even her Miraculous.

The tape stuck to her fingers and she pulled it off, wadding it into a ball before setting it down. Opening the flaps of the box, she took hold of her sewing machine and placed it on her commode. The furniture had arrived yesterday and it was already placed in its rightful places, so that was one less thing to worry about.

The books about fashion went in one of her supply drawers, along with her many sketchbooks. As she arranged them, her pink one with the clasp slipped from where it was tucked in her arm. She sighed; still clumsy as ever. Reaching down to pick it up, her hand froze in midair when she saw that the book had opened to the page where she had designed the bowler hat.

Breathing in sharply, she closed it hastily and moved it to the very back of the drawer, where it would be hidden with all the other books in front of it.

Marinette had moved out of her parents' house a few days ago, into an apartment building a couple blocks away from the bakery. Her new room was similar to her old one, the walls being a light pink color. Most of her furniture was from her old room, so everything matched well enough.

After her fashion things were through, she turned to the box labelled Books, Photo Albums, Etc. Using her nail, she unpeeled one of the tape corners. A ripping sound echoed throughout the room as she took off the rest of the tape.

Marinette didn't know how she managed to put away the photo albums without looking inside. There weren't that many since the majority of the ones she had were saved on her phone, but most of the photos capturing important events were inside, like her graduation pictures. One of them had slipped out when she was putting it away, since she had forgotten to out the photo inside properly; her and Alya were standing by some trees doing the 'peace' sign, smiling brightly at the camera.

"Milady, have I ever told you you turn my world upsidedown?"

Go away, she thought back. But the truth was she wanted him now more than ever.

A rumble sounded from outside. A storm was on its way, she concluded, looking up at the heavy gray clouds drifting in the colorless sky. The rain was pouring steadily, leaving even more drops on the window.

Her phone vibrated against her leg. Taking it out of her pocket, she looked at the caller ID. Alya. A small spark of happiness lit up in her as she swiped the green answer button.

"Hey, Alya."

"Hey, girl! What's up?"

"Nothing much, just unpacking."

"Oh, need help?"

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks."

"No problem. I wanted to ask, want to do something tomorrow?"

"Sure, I don't have any plans. What do you want to do?"

"We could watch a flick, have some pizza and stuff. My place or yours?"

"I dunno, either one is fine."

"Alright, I'll come over to yours, I'm dying to see what the place looks like. Six o'clock sound good?"

"Perfect. I'll pick up some sweet treats from my parents' bakery."

"You know you better. So how's life?"

"Pretty normal. Other than...you know."

Another thunderclap sounded.

"Mmm, yeah. I guess only time will heal things."

"Then I'll be waiting a long time." Marinette sighed. "Anyways, how are things with Nino?"

"Oh, good. He got a directing internship, I'm so happy for him. We went for a hike in the woods this weekend, it was fun."

"Ooh, what kind of hike?"

Alya gasped. "Marinette! You dirty minded girl!"

"Okay, okay," Marinette laughed. "And how's your reporting doing? You only get all the scoops in Paris."

"It's going great. In fact, I think I'm getting a lead on a huge cheating scandal, but I need more deets first."

"Alya, you have no mercy."

"That's why I'm the best at my job," Alya replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "What about you? Fashion still good?"

"Mhmm. I'm trying to think of some new spring designs, possibly weather themed, but I'll have to see what works and what doesn't, per se."

"I know you can do it! There's no stopping you when it comes to fashion."

"Well, I hope that detail remains when I brainstorm some new ideas."

"I wish you luck!"

Marinette groaned. "Alya, you know there is no good luck whatsoever when it comes to me."

Her friend laughed. "Maybe things have changed."

"I seriously doubt it."

"Just wait and see. I've got to go, but I'll talk with you later, kay?"

"Of course. Bye, Alya."

"Bye, girl."

They hung up and Marinette put her phone back in her pocket again. Lightning lit up the room briefly, followed a moment later by thunder.

Her diary was inside the box as well, accompanied with a folded newspaper. Her chest tightened when she saw it, put she picked it up and smoothed it out as a reflex. Though she dreaded what it said on the inside, she couldn't stop herself from reading it all over again.

April 1, Marie Nouvelles

Today Paris' superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, made another appearance today to confront the newly akumatized villain, Poisson d'Avril, who had the ability to materialize objects using the pack of paper fish he wielded as the akumatized object.

This opponent proved to be one of the most challenging, for he not only inflicted considerable damage to the city, but also something far more drastic: the loss of two people's lives, Chat Noir and the well-known model Adrien Agreste.

This villain seemed quite interested in using pyrotechnics and exploded many structures before being defeated by our heroes. However, as shown in the video posted on the Ladyblog website, only Ladybug made it out of the rubble.

She couldn't read any more. Though she wanted to force herself to and get it over with, every word made her heart feel heavy, and tears stung at her eyes.

The rain was coming down in buckets and lightning was flashing across the sky, but she didn't care. Throwing down the newspaper, she stormed out of her room in quick steps, her hands curled into tight fists.

She grabbed her blue coat and her black umbrella – the same umbrella he had given to her years ago. Her throat closed with the menace of tears that threatened to fall, but she swallowed the feeling away and stepped out of her suite, closing the door behind her.

The weather wasn't very suitable for taking a walk outside, but at least when in the rain, no one would be able to see her crying.

🔹💠🔹

"He's over there," he whispered, green eyes narrowed as he gestured with his hand towards an apartment building. Ladybug nodded as she made out the shape of the akumatized citizen.

"Alright. We need to proceed with caution, and make the least amount of noise as possible."

"You go on the left, I go on the right?"

"Will do."

He nodded and prepared to take his leave, but stopped when she reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Chat..."

He looked at her questioningly. "Yes, milady?"

She took a sharp intake of breath. "This guy is really tough, and I don't want you getting hurt. He's already left so much damage, and if he hits you...be careful, okay?"

He smiled, taking her hand and giving it a kiss. "I will, don't worry."

Taking a step back, he extended his silver baton and leaped away. Ladybug swung out her yo-yo and followed suit, moving parallel to him.

As she approached the villain carefully, the air was shattered with the sound of another explosion, the sky lighting up with the flames. He must have used an inflammable bomb this time. The wails of the sirens contributed to the noise as firemen and paramedics rushed around the city seeking to attend to the damage Poisson d'Avril left as quickly as possible.

"YOU ARE ALL FOOLS! THAT MAKES YOU MORE THAN DESERVING OF MY TRICKS!" The villain's laugh rang out. "NEVER AGAIN WILL ANYONE PLAY PRANKS ON ME! I WILL BE THE ONE TO LAUGH!"

Not if I can help it, Ladybug thought determinedly. Narrowing her eyes, she lunged forward as she dropped down onto the apartment roof, standing to face him evenly.

🔹💠🔹

The droplets thudded against her umbrella as she strode down the sidewalk. She kept her gaze downwards, watching her feet as they took one step after another.

Once, these feet had flown through the air, carrying her to where she would protect the city of Paris once more. But those days were long gone, and the emptiness was painful.

The Guardian had said that once Hawkmoth was defeated, it wasn't wise to allow the Miraculous holders to hold possession of their special objects. Dangerous ambitions could leak into real responsibility, and it wasn't safe. Marinette remembered the day she had said goodbye to her faithful kwami and returned her Miraculous to Master Fu. Chat Noir had been with her and had done the same thing — a new Chat Noir, not her Chat Noir.

"I won't tell anyone who you are. Cat's honor."

"No one can know who we really are...not even us two."

Her grip on the umbrella handle tightened in reflex to her thoughts. No matter how hard she tried, she could not chase them away; it was like her own mind had imprisoned them there, forcing them to remain.

The streets were no longer decorated with advertisements of the model Adrien Agreste as they once had been. Those had been taken down as soon as the news had reached everyone. It didn't seem right to keep them, it even seemed disrespectful in a way.

A black streak ran past her right in front of her legs, and she flailed her arms wildly before regaining her balance. Turning her head, Marinette watched the black cat disappear into an alleyway, obviously unhappy about the rain and wanting to get out of it as soon as possible.

Ever since Tikki had left her, it seemed as if all her good luck had left as well. She was constantly seeing things that reminded her of him. She could hear his voice too, and it was bitter torture yet sweet music to her ears.

Marinette found herself walking into the zoo. The animals were all in their enclosures; those who were in the outdoors were either standing or lying down in the spots that were dry, trying to avoid the rain.

"I've never been to school before...never had friends."

Catching sight of a bench up ahead, she made her way towards it and sat down, keeping her umbrella above her head. It was coming down quite hard now, and in fact she could hear it spattering around her. She recalled this bench as the one she and Nino had sat at, back when he had a crush on her and Adrien was hidden somewhere else in the zoo coaching him on what to say.

Alya had done the same for her; whenever she had thought of the blond boy her mind and mouth seemed to lose their boundaries and just emit whatever came first, whether intentional or not.

He had seemed so perfect. Never had she imagined he was really the boy she had been fighting alongside all that time. If she had to admit it, she had often found herself wondering who Chat was under his mask. He was someone who took up a very important place in her heart – she just hadn't known it then.

The reveal had happened when it did, but not in any way she had expected. No, none of her wildest dreams had included holding Adrien's still and unconscious body as he bled to death.

🔹💠🔹

"Bomb on your left!"

Chat jumped out of the way just in time, and the explosives landed where he had been a second ago, bursting upon contact of the ground.

"You okay?" Ladybug called over the noise.

"Fired up, actually." He grinned as she shook her head and groaned in response to his pun.

Poisson d'Avril was proving to be quite trying. The superheroes had long deduced that the akuma was located in the pack of paper fish he wielded, but every time they attempted to get near in order to seize it, he materialized something in order to prevent them.

Ladybug couldn't quite understand why Poisson d'Avril was so interested in using explosive devices, but figured that judging by his name it had something to do with how he was akumatized. Maybe someone had played an unfriendly prank on him using a failed science experiment? It was a possibility.

Most of the explosives he used were the kind utilized in construction, so they didn't leave fires; yet when coming in contact with inflammable objects, some of his bombs resulted in hungry flames.

They had been fighting him for a while now, and though their kwami's power took away most of the exhaustion and other effects, their muscles were beginning to ache from constantly leaping out of the way of the dangerous chemicals.

"No one will ridicule me again, it is their turn now!" Poisson d'Avril selected a green paper fish from his collection and flicked it towards them. As soon as it left his fingers, it grew and morphed into the object he desired, which in this case was a grenade.

"Move!" Chat put an arm around Ladybug's torso and pulled them both out of the way, wincing at the sound of yet another explosion. The apartment roof was filled with holes, and it was obvious the building had been deserted because of safety reasons.

It was raining, which helped to momentarily suppress a little of the fires, but a slippery yo-yo and slippery roof weren't exactly contributing in a positive way, especially to Chat Noir, who absolutely detested the water.

"I need to do Lucky Charm," Ladybug murmured urgently.

Chat nodded. "I'll cover you."

Surging forward, he sauntered towards the villain. "Hey, fishface! Did you somehow fall out of the sardine can?"

Poisson d'Avril growled. "You should know better than to insult me!"

The black clad hero smirked. "Cataclysm!" His right hand burst into black flame as destructive force surrounded it, seeming to crackle with energy. Without wasting any time, he pressed his hand against the parapet. It crumpled, trapping the villain amidst the rubble. Poisson d'Avril let out an enraged yell and struggled to free himself.

"Now, LB!"

"Lucky Charm!" The girl stretched up on one foot, her arm raised towards the sky. From the yo-yo came a pink light, which dropped into her hand as the conjured object.

She stared at it in puzzlement. "A can of soda? What —"

"LADYBUG, LOOK OUT!"

She hardly had time to process what was happening when she was roughly pushed aside, Chat Noir colliding with her in order to get her out of the way. The heavy sound of the explosion filled her ears seconds later.

Winded, Ladybug got up with some effort. She looked up, squinting through the smoke, to see Poisson d'Avril, who had managed to find his way out of the crumbled parapet, leaping over the side of the apartment building and bounding away by crossing others. Even with how far away he was, she could still see the glowing purple outline of a butterfly around his face.

Instantly she brandished her yo-yo and the red and black can to swing after him, her blue eyes narrowed as she watched his figure grow smaller in the distance. "I'm going after him, okay?"

Upon receiving no response, she blinked and dropped her yo-yo at her side. "Chat?"

There was no sound of him; if there was, it was muted by the sirens. Frowning, she looked around the roof. A dark hole stood in the spot where she had been standing, and where Chat had pushed her out of the way. More smoke drifted from it, tingling her nose and causing her to cough.

An uneasy feeling crept up her spine as she stared at it, contemplating whether she should go down it or not. Finally, she made up her mind and jumped down into the darkness.

🔹💠🔹

The sky was darkening, causing the appearance of forked streaks of light across the horizon to look more menacing. Marinette blinked, realizing she had been staring into space while lost in her own thoughts.

A considerable amount of time had seemed to pass, so she gathered up her belongings and began to make her way out of the zoo; it would be closing soon.

The rain wasn't letting up, and she knew she should be heading home, but her feet guided her otherwise. In a daze, she passed through the gate and went down the sidewalk quickly, her mind seeming determined to get her to the place as soon as possible.

The trees in the park were in full bloom, the green leaves casting waving shadows on the ground as she went by them. The place was deserted because of the bad weather, yet Marinette knew this was the place she wanted to be.

She was headed for the center of the park, where the bronze statues of her and Chat Noir had been eradicated by the artist who had later turned into Copycat. Oftentimes she came here when she had thinking to do. There were four benches around the monument, and she seated herself on one of them.

Filled with a certain resolution, she moved the umbrella away from her head and shut it. She closed her eyes and allowed the rain to pour down relentlessly, soaking her hair and plastering it against her head.

"You okay, Princess?"

Marinette shook her head in response to the thought. Was that how much she missed him? She actually thought he would know if she replied? Another feeling of desolation overcame her and she felt more tears rise, though the feeling wasn't very recognizable when the rain was already in her eyes.

When she had turned to Tikki for help when Chat's ring and kwami were temporarily in her possession, the kwami had advised she return them to Master Fu, who would choose someone else to take her fallen partner's place. He had indeed, a kind-hearted boy her age with just as much enthusiasm as the previous one. But he wasn't the same. Marinette often found herself longing for the terrible puns she had once hated, but this Chat Noir didn't have that in his character.

Adrien would never be able to be completely replaced. Her friend Alya had said that time would heal the pain – and while that might be true, the scars would forever remain.

🔹💠🔹

She was met with darkness, save for a few flickering lamps and the little natural light that filtered in through the hole. Judging by the overturned and destroyed furniture, sprinkled glass, and miscellaneous objects strewn across the floor, this had probably been one of the apartment suites before Poisson d'Avril's destruction had hit it.

Most of the walls had crumbled and their debris surrounded the area. Ladybug swallowed as she saw the state of the place, not wanting to wonder what the rest of the apartment building looked like.

Picking her way through the rubble, she searched for any sign of her partner. The place was in ruins and she wasn't seeming to have much luck. Many things appeared to have been detonated by the force of the bombs; maybe Poisson d'Avril had thrown more than one explosive at once.

Just when she was considering leaving and searching elsewhere, she saw a faint green light among the wreckage; her heart quickened as she approached and saw it was Chat's baton. Racing towards it, she picked it up and looked around wildly. If his baton was here, he couldn't be too far away.

"Chat?" Her voice was laced with distress as she tried to peer through the faint light for the boy. A moment later she saw it: another green glow, only much smaller and more hidden among the rubble. Chat's ring.

Coughing from the dust rising in the air, she stumbled over the broken furniture and made her way towards him. He was lying face down on the floor, his golden hair concealing his face from her. Debris lay around him, some even on him, pinning him to the ground.

Her heart thudded in her chest, hard like the thunder that boomed outside. She knelt beside him, calling his name; upon receiving no answer she began to move the broken objects that were covering his body, hoping that he would stir. A dark stain was growing underneath him, and she tried not to let her fears overtake her.

Grunting with the effort, she managed to lift some of the crumbled wall from his upper half. In doing so, his face came into view, stained with blood, eyes closed. A sick feeling was growing in her stomach, but she continued to push off the wreckage until she could pull the rest of his body away.

Ladybug's gloved hands were stained with blood, blood she knew wasn't hers. Her chest tightened as her gaze flitted from him to the collapsed wall; through the weak light she could discern a large red stain in one section, and she concluded he must have collided with it there, catapulted back from the force of the explosion.

"Chat?" She held his beat-up body in her arms, just like she had when he had stumbled out of the freezer back when they had been fighting Lady Wifi. Though she had brought him away from the bloodstain near the pile of wreckage, another pool of blood was spreading underneath him.

"Chat, wake up!" Her voice was breaking, tears were blurring her vision. His body was limp and unresponsive to her words. She placed a hand on his chest and felt a momentary twinge of relief as she saw he was still breathing, though it was terribly faint.

"You stupid cat!" she choked out. "Why did you take that hit for me?"

This time, she was answered by a beep. In dismay, she held up his hand and saw only three lights were left. Three minutes. She hadn't realized how much time had passed since he had used his Cataclysm.

Swallowing hard, she shook him gently. "Wake up, please..."

The primary source of the blood seemed to be the large gash on the side of his head; that must have been what the stain on the destroyed wall was. He had hit his head...but with how much force, to have produced this much damage?

Beep.

More panic rose in her chest. The sound of sirens were growing around her; the firetrucks and ambulances were arriving. Chat needed help, but how would she be able to get him to the hospital without risking revealing his identity?

Beep.

Ladybug shook him again, rougher this time. "Wake up! Please, Chat, please..."

His head only lolled back, revealing more of his bloodstained face. It was dripping down his forehead from the gash on the side. He was so pale...

Beep beep beep!

Green light filled the decimated room as his transformation ended. She squeezed her eyes shut; time after time she had told him their secret identities could not be revealed, not even to each other. She wanted to keep her word even now, but she knew it wouldn't be possible. Chat needed help now, and he wouldn't last if she just stayed here.

"I'm so sorry..." Ladybug cracked one eye open, then the other, and looked down at her partner. Instantly she gasped, her eyes widened to a formidable extent. She could barely get any breath into her lungs to pronounce her next words, which she got out with difficulty.

"A-Adrien?"

The boy she had dreamed about day after day, the boy she sat behind in class, the boy who was so perfect in every way...

Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir.

Her trembling fingers traced his face, as if she were seeing him for the first time. Blood stained her fingers as she did, but she was in a daze. His hair stuck to his face because of the red liquid.

All this time, without knowing it, he had been so close to her. And now, he was lying in her arms, bleeding...

Now that he was out of his superhero attire, the damage looked a lot worse. The blood practically covered him, his face, his arms...everything. There was so much of it. Shaking, she hugged him against her chest, sobbing quietly into his stained hair.

A small groan arose from underneath him. Looking down, she caught sight of a tiny black cat with piercing green eyes that were closed half-mast.

His kwami.

She reached out and cradled it in her hand, bringing it close to her. In response to her touch, the kwami spoke.

"He needs help...don't let them take his Miraculous..."

Ladybug nodded as if in a trance. With careful movements, she tugged Adrien's silver ring off his finger. She had never realized how similar it was to Chat Noir's ring – at least not until now.

Gently, she slipped the weak kwami between her shoulder and her neck. Then she stood up, one arm under Adrien's legs and the other under his back. There were ambulances outside, and she would be able to pass the boy off as an injured civilian.

She managed to get to the last floor of the apartment, avoiding the routes where there was simply too much damage to pass, and ran out the front door of the lobby. Flashing lights greeted her, but she ignored them all save for the ambulance.

The paramedics turned to greet her but widened their eyes at the sight of the unconscious boy in her arms. Ladybug was painfully aware of the blood that was staining her clothes, Adrien's blood.

"Save him," she choked out. The paramedics didn't reply, simply taking him from her and placing him onto a stretcher. Like her, they were urgently aware of the huge gash on his head.

Ladybug stepped back, and the tears finally escaped, rolling down her cheeks relentlessly. Though the rain merged with them, she could still discern them from the other sources of water.

Adrien was bleeding so much, so limp, so ghostly pale...

She didn't want to admit it, but her mind was telling her what she didn't want to hear.

He was dead.

Chat...Adrien...they were both dead.

Unable to contain her anguish any longer, she took out her yo-yo and swung away.

🔹💠🔹

She was completely drenched.

Marinette didn't want to leave the park, but she knew that the storm was now too dangerous to stay out in any longer.

She didn't bother to open the umbrella; the water rushing down her face was rather refreshing. She wished it would wash the memories away as well, but that was one ability rain didn't have.

She went up to the statue of Chat Noir. Pressing her hand into a fist, she bumped it against his hand. "Pound it," she whispered. Then without another glance back, she went out of the park.

Rain had been there when she had first become friends with Adrien. Rain had been there the last time she had fought alongside her partner. Rain was here now.

No matter how much the sun shone, no matter what weather it was, it would always truly be raining.

***

This was an idea I hatched for a fanfic back in January, so this was already written, save for a few things I added. I might make it an actual book one day, but who knows?

This is the second longest chapter I've ever written, glad I'm improving. :)

Xoxo, RealMarinette