Under The Mask 🎭 (a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

-19- Blue Eyed Nightmares

"It was our love did this to the world, Milady."

"I'm not Cat Noir anymore... I'm Cat Blanc."

"Do you know where the akuma went?"

"Here! But it's already broken!"

"Cat Blanc has gotten into some... mischief."

Marinette's back in that timeline—Paris destroyed and everyone dead—and finds a sad kitty waiting, heartbroken. "Little kitty on roof, all alone without his lady..."

"Cat Noir?" She questions, and wished she hadn't when a pair of haunted blue eyes turn to stare. Cat Blanc. She backs up as he walks towards her. "No... I-I already lived this. This isn't real! You're not real!"

"I'm not, Milady?" He asks, extending a hand. "Are you sure it's not you who isn't real?"

"What?" As she looks down at herself, her body slowly turns to stone, trapping her. She can't move her legs anymore. "No, no, no. I don't want to be here anymore."

Cat Blanc steps forward and cups her cheek. "I missed you, Milady. I thought you forgotten all about me."

"I will never forget you, Cat Blanc."

His smile is sad when he whispers, "So I will always be here, Marinette."

A figure steps out of the shadows. She recognizes the black leather immediately. "Cat Noir? Is that you?"

His green eyes meet hers. As he raises his hand, she notices the cataclysm activated. "Milady?"

Ladybug's eyes widen. "No... ah!" She gasps out in pain as her chest hardens, her breathing quickly fading. "I-It hurts."

"Don't worry. It won't last long." Cat Noir stands beside Cat Blanc. "This is what will happen if you trust me, Marinette. This is what will always happen."

"It can't... It can't end like this."

The two cats morph together. "Shh... it'll be alright now. Just take a little cat nap."

Her breathing stops as she turns to stone.

"AHH!" Marinette gasps, springing up in bed, forehead covered in sweat. She looks around the room and recognizes where she is and calms down. Her cheeks are flushed and wet with fresh tears. "Tikki?"

The red kwami flies over and hugs her. "You're okay, Marinette. It's just a nightmare."

Her body shakes. "It seemed so real."

"I'm so sorry. I wanted to help, but I wasn't sure if that was really Plagg or not. That, and I didn't want to risk exposing your identity."

Marinette pats her head. "It's okay, Tikki. You did the right thing."

"You must control your emotions," Tikki tells her holder as she grabs a tissue and wipes her cheeks dry. "Or Hawk Moth will try and akumatize you."

She nods. "You're right, Tikki."

"Why don't you get some fresh air on the balcony? Peace and quiet and I'll make you tea."

Marinette giggles. "Do you even know how to make tea, Tikki?"

The red bug shrugs. "There's a first time for everything."

Marinette takes in a deep breath as she climbs up to the balcony. She sits back in her lawn chair, pulling her legs to her chest. She thinks about the sentimonster and Cat Noir and their faces blur together. She didn't know what was real anymore, if she'd be able to get over this and trust Cat Noir again. She's always trusted him, but after what happened earlier, she couldn't help but second guess herself and everything. Crying again, she ducks her head between her knees.

"Mari?"

She looks up to see Cat Noir standing in front of her. Her eyes widen for a second and she jumps back. "Don't come closer, please," She begs, terrified.

"I heard what happened," He whispers and places a hand on his chest. "It's really me. I promise."

"How can I know that for sure?" She questions, a million thoughts running in her mind now.

Cat Noir frowns and instead of pushing it, he sits away at a safe distance and crosses his legs. "I'm so sorry."

Marinette watches him closely, trying to decide if she can trust this one. What if it's another sentimonster Mayura created again now that she's emotional and vulnerable? "I... I don't know. I don't know what to believe."

"Ask me anything, something only the real Cat Noir would know. Even a sentimonster can't have all the right memories."

Alright, I can do that. She crosses her arms and thinks of a few questions. "When you and I teamed up for the first time, who was the akumatized villain?"

With no hesitation, "Evillustrator. He trapped us in the glass box and you were the one who got us free."

Marinette forces back a smile, still unsure. "That night you came to talk to me on my balcony, what did we talk about?"

"My lady problems with Ladybug. I was hurt about her standing me up on our date—well, I wouldn't call it a date—more just like a hang out. I brought you over to where I had everything set up and then Glaciator attacked us."

"Two for two," She points out.

Cat Noir smiles. "Ask me a million questions. I want you to be sure of yourself, Marinette."

She bites her lip. "The nickname I don't like?"

"That would be princess, Princess," He answers with a playful grin.

Marinette smiles and cries again as she jumps out of the chair to hug him. She trips over his tail and falls forward on him and he knocks back into the railing. Laughing, she gasps out, "Sorry!" She pauses for a second before her lip shakes and sobs escape her.

Cat Noir wraps a protective arm around her and pulls her close. He rubs the back of her head as she cries into his suit. He wanted to start crying, too. He's never seen her like this and it made him absolutely heartbroken. "I stopped by the party and Adrien explained what happened."

Marinette completely forgot about Adrien. She didn't even want to think about the punishment his father would give him. "Oh, Adrien... I hope he doesn't know anything stupid to try and see me."

Confused, he asks, "You don't want Adrien here?"

She shakes her head. "It's not that. It's just—I don't want to be the reason Adrien can't go to school or hang out with his friends anymore. I couldn't do that to him. What kind of girlfriend would that make me?"

"The kind of girlfriend worth risking everything for?" As Cat Noir pushes her bangs aside, he finally notices the dried blood on the side of her head. His face changes and Marinette notices.

"What?" She asks, reaching her hand up to touches the wound. "Oh. That must have been when the sentimonster slammed me into the wall."

Cat Noir shakes his head and hugs her again, crying now. "I'll never not be sorry, Mari. Never."

"It wasn't your fault, Cat Noir. I know it wasn't you." Marinette leans back and cups Cat Noir's face. "It wasn't you."

Marinette couldn't help but notice how calm she feels around him and smiles.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about..." Marinette trails off in thought. Cat Noir has always been there for her. For Ladybug and Marinette. No matter what, no matter the situation, he's always there to protect her. All these long nights passed with shared secrets and longing gazes. She's told him almost everything about herself, more than what she's told Adrien—except the part about her being Ladybug, of course. Cat Noir would have a field day if he learned that Marinette was Ladybug. "Cat..." She leans in and doesn't stop when he does as well.

Their foreheads bump together as they kiss.