A Masked Mistake

Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace [27: Alone]

Ladybug wasn't sure where to go, but one thing was for certain, she didn't want Chat Noir to find her. She'd been heading to the direction of their usual rooftop only to quickly divert herself backwards and towards the boulangerie. She needed her Maman.

Landing gracefully on the balcony, amazing considering the turmoil happening inside her, she flung open the skylight and fell down onto her old bed calling off her transformation prior to landing. She curled in on herself, hell bent on keeping everyone out, especially those who would make her turn around and go running back into his arms.

His strong, masculine, secure arms.

Dammit! This wasn't just a crush or a boyfriend, this was her husband who she loved and adored more than anyone else, who for some reason had had a personality transplant.

Her phone began ringing in her pocket and she could only imagine it would be either her parents, Alya or Luka. The news of Gabriel's release would be out now for all to see, but not only that, the uncontrolled display that Chat Noir exhibited outside the courthouse was sure to have made the news sites too. She could just imagine the headlines.

'Unhinged Superheroes roaming the street?

Was Monarch the real villain?'

Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she ignored the lingering looks Tikki was giving her. She didn't need anyone to feel sorry for her, or try to calm her down. She needed a break. She needed time alone.

Finally gazing over the missed calls she was correct. Alya, Luka and her parents.

She pulled up Luka's name quickly, typing a message explaining she'd contact him if she needed him. Then switched to Alya.

Marinette: At parents. I need to see you.

She closed her phone down and looked at Tikki, the kwami staring absentmindedly back.

"I know you have something to say," whispered Marinette.

Moving down her ladder and into the main area of her old bedroom. She looked around the room, the entirety pretty much exactly as she'd left it before she moved out for university (regardless of her parents teasing of turning it into a nursery); pictures of her friends (and Adrien) graced the walls, along with the random pictures of a fresh faced Ladybug and Chat Noir, riding high on their mission to take down Monarch.

God, they'd been through so much together. Many couples could say they had history but that was nothing compared to what she shared with her Kitty. The intensity of their lives from when they were 14, the power they possessed and had to control, the fights they both won and lost. There was just so much to lose if this didn't work; and she really wanted it to work.

She stepped forward taking a picture from her wall, a picture of the two of them the day they announced Monarch's defeat to Paris, once again on their rooftop; side-by-side, the power couple they always were. Standing strong - together.

Trailing a finger over the picture it was the first time she'd ever noticed the sadness in Chat's eyes, the supportive stance of his arm around her waist overpowering the hurt in those luminescent globes she adored. How could she have missed it? He displayed only half the usual pizzazz of his larger than life personality, slinking back to blend in with the crowds as she greeted and congratulated the other heroes on a job well done.

Turning back to her wall she began to pull some of the other pictures down, almost all post Monarch's defeat, each displaying the heartbroken eyes of the one she loved. How had she never noticed this before? She pulled another one down, one of Adrien the day he left to go to Stanford. They were all sporting red rimmed eyes from their emotional goodbye, but laying it next to the others there was something so familiar about his expression. One she should have understood.