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Dangerous Games	By : Cat_Eyes Category: +M through R > Miraculous LadyBug Views: 11603 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Thomas Astruc and released by Zag studios. No profit was made writing this story.

Chapter List
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Feeling stifled and stir crazy, Marinette decided she needed to get out and stretch her legs, since she hadn't left her apartment since coming back from her visit with Luka. She called Tikki and transformed, breathing deep as she swung off her balcony.
The night air was cool and buffeted her face as she sped along the rooftops. She whipped her yoyo out to leap across great distances between buildings, or to fling herself up to higher levels. As Ladybug, she felt free and unburdened, her troubles melting away the further she got from her home.
High on the rush her suit gave her, Ladybug sprinted around the city, much too fast to be called a patrol. She saw nothing but the next rooftop, heard nothing but the air rushing by her ears and her own blood pumping.
In her youth, she became Ladybug because it was her duty. It was a thrill she enjoyed, and presented a challenge she thrived upon, but she had never used it to feel freedom before. As Ladybug, she was free of her normal life, her troubles cast off and replaced by business and spots. She had always relished her time as Ladybug, now more than ever.
Ladybug was elusive without being aloof. She was an urban legend the people could see and put their faith in, rather than a faceless entity whispered about behind secretive hands or closed doors. It was an honour to be her peoples' heroine. She was someone who came and went like the will of the tide, ever present but unrestrained. No one could catch her, no one could threaten her. Even Papillon had yet to tie her down.
She was invincible, untouchable, and untraceable.
That's what was so freeing.
Close to midnight, Ladybug perched high up on the Eiffel tower to catch her breath. She sucked in great lungfuls of air while her heart beat a rapid tattoo. She lowered herself slowly until she sat on a beam, leaning against a pillar as she looked out over the city. Lights glinted as far as the eye could see, while sirens wailed from points all around her. Cars revved, dogs barked, and there was the ever-present susurrus of peoples' chatter.
She listened to her city breathe, taking in the calm and reassured by the constant motion.
Ladybug knew the instant Chat Noir landed below her. His boots thudded on a beam, the sound echoing and reverberating right up to where she sat. He joined her soon after, settling down quietly next to her.
'Nice night,' he observed.
Ladybug pulled her knees up to her chest to rest her chin on them. 'It really is.'
'Another week and still no sign of Papillon, or his creations.'
Ladybug hummed. 'Maybe he's retired.'
Chat Noir gave a bitter laugh. 'That'll be the day.'
'We can hope.'
He turned to her with a curious tilt to his lips. 'You're in a strange humour tonight. Something wrong, Bug?'
'Nothing much,' she sighed. 'Maybe feeling a little obsolete with Papillon so quiet.'
Chat Noir leaned back on his hands. 'I hear that. As long as the Butterfly Miraculous remains unaccounted for, I suppose there'll always be a need for the Cat and the Bug, though.'
'You're probably right. But, if Papillon has a Miraculous, shouldn't he use it?'
'Maybe if he were a hero, but he chose to go dark side. He has no moral obligation to use his powers.'
'You know I love you, right?' Ladybug said softly, as she twiddled her fingers.
Chat Noir turned to her in shock. 'What?'
'You're more than a brother, more than my partner, or my best friend. You mean more to me than I can explain.'
'You're beginning to scare me. Are you dying?'
Ladybug choked back a laugh. 'No, I'm not dying.'
Chat Noir leaned in to grip her shoulders, encouraging her to look at him. 'Are you thinking of relinquishing your Miraculous?'
She shook her head. 'No it's just, like you said, I'm in a weird mood tonight. Don't think too much on it, it's not that deep.'
He let her go, sinking back into his former position, though he watched her carefully. 'I love you, too.'
She smiled at him. 'You've never made a secret of that, Chaton.'
He scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed grimace. 'It was true. Still is, even though I think I've fallen in love with another girl. Crap, I didn't mean to say that out loud.'
She laughed at his sudden blush and awkward cringing. 'Who is she?' she asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Chat Noir pulled his legs up into a tailor's position, then fiddled with the tip of his tail. 'Her name's Marinette. I've known her since we were kids, but it was only recently I found that my feelings ran deeper. Does that make me a sleazy arsehole, loving two girls at once?'
Ladybug bit her tongue. Never had she wanted to tell him her identity as much as she did in that moment. She disliked seeing the torment in his eyes, and having to deceive him when the solution to his problem was simpler than he knew. 'No,' she said instead. 'It doesn't make you a bad person. At least, not to me.'
'Not that it makes any difference at this point,' he added, in a sorrowful tone. 'She said she didn't want to see me anymore.'
Ladybug bit down on her lip, hard. Guilt burned in her gut, leaving her feeling ill. 'I'm so sorry,' she whispered.
'I just wish I knew why,' he sighed. 'She's going through a pretty rough time at the moment, and I just want to be there for her. I can't help her if she pushes me away.'
'Maybe she doesn't want you getting caught in the crossfire,' Ladybug murmured.
Chat Noir gave her a dubious look from the corner of his eye. 'Come on, you and I both know it'll take more than that to hurt me. I've taken beatings in the past that would've broken a lesser man.'
Ladybug winced, her memory creating a montage of all the times Chat Noir had been thrown around, pummelled, slammed, or controlled by akumas. 'Maybe she doesn't want to see that anymore.'
Chat Noir paused, his mouth open as if he were about to argue. But he closed it again, and turned away instead. 'I suppose you have a point,' he conceded.
'How much longer do you think you'll keep at this superhero thing?' she asked, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
He shrugged, and looked away. 'I'm not sure. However long Fu will let me, I guess.'
'I like being Ladybug.'
He turned back to her, his brow creased in a frown.
'I'm going to keep being Ladybug.'
'I'm happy to hear it.'
Still looking out over the city, she stretched her hand out toward him. Chat Noir took it firmly, then let their hands settle on the beam between them.

Marinette detransformed once she was inside with the curtains drawn behind her. She released a weary sigh as Tikki flew forward into the tiny kitchen.
'Bikkies,' Tikki cried as she rammed into a packet of biscuits standing on the benchtop.
Marinette shook her head with a small smile. She opened the packet for Tikki, then left it beside her cushion in her cupboard. Once Tikki had settled in, Marinette closed the cupboard door.
She bit her lip as her gaze fell on the apartment door. She had been unkind to Chat Noir and Adrien this week, resulting in nothing more than her own misery and the sadness she inflicted on her friends. She thought she was trying to protect them, even though she knew better than anyone how hard it was injure Chat Noir. While Adrien may not have superpowers, his family was highly influential and wealthy. If something were to happen to him, Gabriel would go on the war path.
She owed them both an apology. Knowing Adrien would be asleep by now, Marinette couldn't help but inch open her door to stare mournfully across the hall. Her door bumped into something before it opened wide enough for her to peer out, though.
Looking down, Marinette saw a flat, wide box sitting outside her door. It was plain white, with no paper or twine to hold the lid down. Her stomach flipped uneasily as she stooped to pick it up. She held it gingerly, as if it contained a volatile substance which could explode if she jostled it about too much.
She turned slowly and kicked her door shut before she moved to the couch. Placing the box on the coffee table, Marinette sat down and eased the lid off in increments.
Inside, pinned to a bed of Styrofoam, was a collection of dead ladybugs and butterflies. Each beetle was positioned so that it faced a butterfly, as if they were about to engage in battle.
A hot surge of panic bubbled up Marinette's chest. She kicked the coffee table as she screamed, pushing the evidence away from her. Her arms curled up in front of her chest, while her legs pulled in tight, her foot throbbing from a gash on her toe.
Tikki phased through the cupboard, head swivelling about until she saw the contents of the box. Her eyes blew wide, before coming to rest on Marinette's shoulder and murmuring reassurances.
Adrien burst through her door, with a wild look in his eyes. 'Marinette, what's wrong?' he shouted.
Tikki ducked around Marinette to hide under a cushion as he came around the side of the lounge. He looked at her, then he turned to the coffee table.
'What?'
'He knows,' Marinette moaned from behind her hands.
'Who knows what?' Adrien asked.
She leapt to her feet, startling him back a step. 'The stalker. He knows I'm Ladybug,' she wailed. Adrien froze while Marinette paced. He looked from the box to her, shocked.
'He knows who I am,' Marinette went on. 'This could ruin me. He could ruin everything. This could get me killed, or worse, someone I love killed. He could do anything with this information.'
Marinette stopped pacing, and turned back to Adrien with wide, wet eyes. 'Now you know, too,' she whispered.
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