Tell Me Why You Love Me

It's You

There was no other word to describe what Ladybug was feeling other than completely exhausted. All she wanted to do at this moment was to detach her limbs from her aching body and slump into a puddle on the ground. The magical suit could only protect her so much. The new akuma attacks have been getting stronger and stronger with every evilization Monarch releases. She was growing a distaste for the beads of sweat that constantly rolled down her temples and the feeling of shaken legs as she kicked and jumped throughout the entire battle without many breaks.

Her ribs felt bruised and on the cusp of a fracture. She also sensed a stinging and sharp pain in her upper arm by her shoulder, but she continued to ignore it and decided to worry about it later when she was home.

Metamorpher's akuma had been purified and he was nothing more than a man who had barely any memory of wreaking havoc on the city. He had explained to Ladybug that he was angry at himself, not at anyone. It was the first time Ladybug had experienced a self-hatred type of akuma. He elucidated how he purposefully had himself akumatized to find power himself, but he seemed to seriously regret it. Ladybug could tell he didn't want to hurt people. Nonetheless, she reconciled him and handed him one of her protective charms.

She turned to look at Chat, who was leaning against a one-way sign. He seemed out of it. His hands were resting on his knees as he stared down at the ground, clearly still in the process of catching his breath.

Chat took this battle worse than her. He had been tied up in Metamorpher's strings tightly for several minutes before she was able to make it towards him. She would have been there faster if the akuma hadn't spotted her first. She fought with him relentlessly until she was slammed into a building. When she got up, Metamorpher had disappeared once again. It seemed to be some sort of pattern. When she had finally reached Chat, he was losing circulation throughout his body. The strings looked like they burned . If it weren't for the suit, he probably would have been sliced up. It truly scared her. She acted impulsively when she saw him, but it worked out in the long run.

It was absolutely unbelievable how deadly the attacks have exponentially grown throughout the years. Monarch lost any morale he could have convinced them of having when he continuously watched as teenagers almost died at his hands. Now that they were adults, all Ladybug had left for Monarch was anger and disappointment.

Ladybug approached Chat slowly, making sure he was in an alright head space. "Hey... how are you doing?"'

As soon as Chat peered up at her, a smile grew on his lips. "I'm okay, LB. You look beat, though. Are you doing alright?" he asked as he stood up straight and took a few steps toward her.

She sighed. "I think I'm alright." Ladybug looked down at the lucky charm she had created during the battle.

It was a piece of chain that had been conjured up, which was harder to think about its use than she initially assumed. It was long, falling limp to the ground once started to hang off the palm of her hand.

Ladybug fidgeted with the chain. "What if it doesn't work again?" she asked quietly.

She looked up at Chat who gave her a reassuring smile. It melted her away. "We won't know until we try it," he said as he brushed his fingertips against the side of her cheek. She could feel the warmth of his body. "You have a small cut here. I'll let you know if it heals."

With a small smile, she nodded as she leaned against his touch. The chain in her hands felt lighter as she gripped it and started to pull it off the ground. Ladybug slowly took a step back and lifted the lucky charm into the air. The two glanced up to see her creation dissolve into pink speckles of light that shimmered within the glazes of the blue sky. It spiraled back down to the ground, covering any inch of destruction that had been caused by the akuma and the two superheroes during the battle. The scratched and crumbled buildings were now restored. Poles and trees were once again standing upright, and the street was as smooth as it was before.