It's always easier to go towards the light.

Not in a metaphysical way, no. In a literal sense. The thought occurred to Marinette one night as she crept through her house. Getting to the kitchen had been easy; there was always at least one light on, even at night. But when she finished her task - collecting cookies for a tired Tikki - and turned around, she found that her shadow blocked the source and she had to stumble back to her room. She'd made it, but it had cost the little kwami two cookies.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She yelled, throwing a pen into the air. There was a flash, and the citizens of Paris returned to their peaceful lives. Ladybug surveyed the scene, making sure Chat Noir and the akuma victim were alright. When she saw that they were uninjured, she sighed in relief and helped her partner stand.

"That really is amazing," he said, watching as the little bubbles of clean energy dispersed. "Like an army of fix-it fireflies. Beautiful." He slid his eyes to her and took her hand. "But not as beautiful as My Lady. You are my light, you know?" A flirtatious smile stretched his mouth before he planted a peck to her knuckles. Ladybug rolled her eyes, pulling her fingers from his.

"Just don't look at me too long, then. You might go blind." She winked, threw her yo-yo, and hopped away.

It hurt.

The light shining in her eyes hurt. She couldn't look directly at it.

Which gave the akuma plenty of time to attack.

And left her with no time to defend.

Man, if just looking at the light hurt, how bad would it be if it touched her?

She never found out.

Instead, there was a new assault on her senses.

A desperate scream bearing some semblance of her name is what she heard.

A body pressing against hers, squeezing her to its chest is what she felt.

Coconut and leather and cheese is what she smelled.

Then it was all replaced by the horrifying sight of...

Chat Noir. His eyes squeezed shut in pain, body curled up on the ground, hands reaching for his back.

His scorched back.

His bloodied back.

His scarred back, because she knew that nothing, not even magic, could fix that completely.

If he makes it that far.

Of course he will!

"Chat Noir?" she asked, falling to her knees. She placed a hand gently, gently on his shoulder and turned him.

He smiled at her. His teeth were grinding against each other, and he had to keep one eye shut as he did it, but he smiled at her. "I don't think now's the time, Ladybug." He smirked, repeating the words he'd heard a thousand times before. Then he coughed, a horrible hacking sound that grated against her ears. He could barely breathe without a eliciting a fit of coughing.

"Chat-"

"No. Fight." He pushed her away, trying to stand. She pushed him back down as she stood in front of him.

"Lucky Charm!" There was rage in her as she called the item - a wrench. She looked around, a plan emerging.

Hydrant.

Billboards.

Wrench.

Fire.

She leapt to a nearby billboard, standing in front of it. When the akuma - Sunburst, Ladybug recalled - threw another fireball at her, she jumped away, stopping in front of a post supporting the billboard. Every time Sunburst attacked, she moved to the next one. Eventually, it wobbled, and with a slight tug of her yo-yo, fell into the street, landing half-buried in the ground. Amazingly, (though she knew it was mostly her luck) that was enough to support it, as it stood straight up.

Ladybug moved for another one.

It was a long process, taking up most of the time she had left, but it had to be done. When the final one was down, she went with it, landing in front of it.

She stood directly behind a hydrant in the cage she made.

Throwing her yo-yo at Sunburst to distract her, she used the wrench to remove the cap and turn on the pressure.

Sunburst tried to run, unable to escape the barricade. She screamed as the water hit her skin - inhuman screams, the warped, sizzling sound of steam being made too quickly, or of molten metal dropped into ice.

Ladybug ignored it, blocking all sound until Sunburst was just a burnt-out piece of charcoal. She ripped a bracelet from her wrist and crushed it, revealing the corrupt butterfly. She cleansed it, then, with a throw of the wrench, the world returned to normal.

Sound returned to her as she watched the sparkling light fix what was broken. No more inhuman screaming. No more rushing water. No more crackling fire.

No more horrible coughing.

Eyes wide, heart plummeting, Ladybug raced towards Chat Noir's frozen form, still curled on the ground. She lifted him up, checking his back, pleased to find that it was no longer a scorched mess.

But his breathing... He was gasping, if you could even call it that. His mouth widened and closed, trying to take in air.

But his chest barely moved.

"Chat Noir!" His eyes, closed until that point, fluttered a bit, and he smiled. His mouth slowly formed silent words.

Je t'aime.

His hand graced her cheek, then fell to the ground, body limp.

"No! No no no no no no! Don't you dare! Don't you dare..."

Her voice fell away, and she cried, hugging him to her.

She wondered briefly if there actually was a tunnel with paradise shining at the end.

Because it was always easier to go towards the light.

Sobs wracking her body, she leaned forward, placing her lips to his. She shut her eyes, trying to keep her tears at bay, and ignored the beeping in her ear. With a flash, she was Marinette again.

Marinette, sobbing over a broken boy, kissing his cold lips.

Marinette, kneeling over his body, holding his hand.

Marinette, jumping when the hand held hers back and another was on he face, deepening the kiss.

But Marinette didn't move. She did open her eyes, but that was all she could do.

His were still closed, but they opened as he separated from her.

"Marinette..." he breathed, voice rasping. "My Lady..." He smiled at her, a smile full of love and life.

"I... How?" She almost couldn't form any words. "You... You were dead!" She hunched over him, tears forming again. "You were dead, you stupid cat! You were dead! What... What happened?!"

"I don't think I was dead. I was lost in a dark place-" he coughed again, but found the strength to continue, despite her protests - "I was lonely. But then... There was a flash of light. It was beautiful; so warm and inviting. I was drawn to it."

"Why didn't you go to it?" she asked, hugging him close. He reached up to return the hug with full force.

"I told you before, My Princess. You are my light."

This is so confusing and jumbled and cliché and a bit of an ass-pull tbh
I don't know how it works all I know is that the light he saw was Marinette changing back lmao