Till the End of the Line ~ A Miraculous Short Story

Marinette

I was doing homework when it buzzed. Chat and I (well, it was mostly me) had created a system so that we could contact each other when we weren't suited up. It was just a smart idea, seeing we weren't transformed all the time. I had reused the buzzer I had given Chat when I went to New York City, but adjusted it so I could buzz him too.

The tiny cat vibrated until I patted it on the head. It was time to transform.

"Tikki, spots on!"

The minute I was ready, I pulled out my yoyo and checked the message Chat had left.

"Hey Ladybug. So, I, uh, I know who Shadowmoth is. Meet me at our rooftop as soon as possible," He seemed... off. Not that I could see his face or anything, but I could tell that something was wrong. He didn't even flirt or call me Bugaboo. I swung out of the hatch to my balcony, off to the rooftop that we always met at to begin patrol.

I normally would have been ecstatic. We knew who Shadowmoth was. We could finally end this, But I was just concerned. What was going on?

Chat was already sitting, his legs dangling off the side of the roof when I got there. He looked up as me, and his face looked almost sick.

"Chat! You figured it out!"

"Yeah."

"Well?"

"Shadowmoth. He's... he's Gabriel Agreste." WHAT? This means that all this time we could have been done. We could have unmasked Shadowmoth months ago! But he had been akumatized. That had ruled him out.

"That can't be right Kitty," I said gently. "He got akumatized, remember?"

"Well yeah, but it was the day we started suspecting him. It's just... too convenient. Besides, he had that book and he never leaves his house. It's at least worth investigating." It looked like he was forcing the words out of his mouth, hating how they tasted on his tongue,

"Chat, what's wrong?"

"I-" He blinked back tears. "I can't really say. You know, the whole 'protecting our identities' thing." My heart broke for him in that moment. Chat and I had been through everything together, and we didn't even know each other's names. I couldn't even help him when he felt like this. I'd been fighting showing each other who we were enough that I'd almost accepted it myself, but it killed me not to truly know one of my best friends.

I sat next to him and wrapped my arms around him as his head came to rest on my shoulder. He had stopped trying to hold the tears back. It was silent, but I could feel him shaking as tears soaked my suit, "Oh, Kitty,"

All I could do was pull him closer, shielding him from the world.