'This is not a good place to be standing right now my lady'

'You think?' said Ladybug sarcastically, grabbing Chat Noir's hand and sprinting towards the only door not blocked by the rubble falling from the ceiling.

They were on a mission, simple enough, it was going fine, the butterfly was white again and the helpless girl was freed from her negative feelings over the pain of falling in love with a fuckboy that had kept her captive. Lady had used the magic charm, this time in the form of shoe, and managed to slow down the grey skinned girl enough for the duo to grab her walking stick and shatter it on a metal support beam. Lady sent the girl and all her victims home to their normal lives and the cat and the bug were just about to bid their adieu when with a crack, the support beam had split in two, sending the building to start collapsing around them.

000000

It took all of my skills not to be crushed by debrief, and also some of Chat's skill too as he constantly had to nudge me out of the way of metal poles or heavy cement. I may be the smart one that saved the day in the end (if I do say so myself), but there was no denying that Chat was the one with the gymnastic skills.

'We need to move faster!' I yelled, jumping over a chunk of roofing the size of a car.

'You don't say my lady' Chat replied dancing threw a minefield of falling support beams.

I opened her mouth to reply but Chat seized that moment to field tackle me to the ground. Rolling over each other we slid into one of the only remaining walls, hard. The breath got knocked out of me painfully as I slid with the force of both of us into a metal pole jutting out of the wall, and all the dust in the air did not help me reclaim it.

'Are you alright?' Chat asked me, shielding me against falling dust with his broad shoulders. I saw the worry in his green eyes but was too annoyed as to why he tackled me in the first place to really care.

'What was- 'I stated angrily as I got my breath back, before noticing over his shoulder, threw the clearing dust, Chat had just saved me from being crushed to death. But unfortunately, he had not saved our escape exit.

'Shit' I said, thinking of nothing else to say.

'You were coughing like death and that is what you say!' Chat said amazed, smiling down at me despite everything around us.

'Do you not see what we have gotten ourselves into!' I exclaimed, motioning with my red gloved hand the utter mess that surrounded us.

'There are worse ways to go, my lady' he purred into my ear, his arms tightening around me and his thick golden hair brushing the side of my face.

'Now is not the time Chat' I said, ignoring his flirting as usual and pulling both of us to our feet. There was a dull pain in my back where I had hit the wall, but I ignored it.

'We need another exit!'

'Use your lucky charm!' Chat implored, twirling me out of the way of falling debris as if we were waltzing at a dance then evading death.

'I already used it remember, and I don't have that much time left as Ladybug either'

'Then think my darling, that's what your good at!'

'Can you turn down the flirting just a tad today. We are trapped on the top floor of a collapsing building about to- OF COURSE!'

I gripped his hand harder and pulled him towards the opposite side of the room.

'The exits on the other side of the room, my lady' he said, faintly alarmed.

'Yes, but remember, we made that girl crash through the roof moments ago'

'And you fixed it!'

'But we know it's a weak point! Smash it Chat Noir, now!'

'As you say, my lady!' he purred, pulling his staff from his pocket and flicking a switch on it that made it extend superfast into the ceiling and creating a hole in it, and, just as I had predicted, the roof in a small perimeter collapsed into an excitable hole.

Chat whooped with excitement at the sight of the blue sky above, grinning at me. I was about to grin back, when a giant pile of thin metal beams collapsed onto my partner.

'CHAT' I screamed, rushing forward and pulling them one by one off his still blond form.

'Lady, wait' he moaned softly. 'stop!'

'What?' I cried out, panic painting my voice.

'You're going to make it collapses on me' he groaned. I stopped what I was doing, he was right! I was panicking too much to notice that with every beam I pulled from the pile more fell directly onto him. His outfit, with its tough material stopped them from impaling him, but he was being crushed alive before my very eyes.

'oh god' I sobbed. 'what do I do?' I always sucked at Janga, I was going to kill him before I did any good!

Chat moaned softly as he turned slightly to see the metal death trap on top of him.

'That blue pole near the top, pull it out and the left side will collapse off me'

I hesitated.

'Y-you sure?'

'Positive My Lady, Janga champion 4 years running'

I reached out for a beam near the top.

'T-this one?'

'That green'

I pointed at another.

'This one?'

'No'

'This- '

'No'

'This one- '

'Lady what are you doing? The blue one!'

'umm- '

'Lady what is it?'

'well, you see' I said, stressing each word as the building shifted around us causing the poles to crush him ever so much more.

'Lady- '

'I'm colour blind!' I cried out.

'WHAT!' Chat yelled, his voice rising from pain and shock. 'WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!'

'Why should it matter? I never thought I would have to do this and- '

'Save it for latter Lady, for this really fucking hurts' Chat moaned as another section fell onto him, he couldn't even turn his head anymore!

'What do I do! God, what -oh, uh god. shit'

I looked down at Chat, his hands and teeth clenched together to hide the scream of pain that wanted to be released.

He was worth what I was going to do, with all its risks and worry's, I was about to do something that I have never wanted to do from the start. Because he was worth it.

'SPOTS OFF!' I shouted, releasing my kwami, Tikki from my ear rings for her to float down into my hands.

'LADY!' Chat cried out in alarm. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DON'T!'

'Mari, what's happening?' Tikki asked alarmed.

'Quick, Tikki, which beam is the blue one! I don't know! Tell me Tikki and hurry!'

Tikki gasped and looked around her, taking in the situation of the collapsing building particularly fast. With a determined nod, she took off from my hands and flew over to the pile and started sorting through the beams, ever so once in a while nudging a beam out of the pile onto the floor.

'Lady!' Chat gasped, trying desperately to look up at me but unable too.

'Chat, please don't' I said softly, kneeling down in front of him and brushing his fringe softly into his eyes. He grabbed my hand and held it tightly, breathing hard.

'Lady, your so close yet you won't let me see! Why?'

'I-I'm not ready yet Chat. I'm scared, so incredible scared to revealing myself'

'Even to me! Your partner?'

'Yes, Chat Noir, even to you!' I said softly, gripping his hand tightly.

'Mira' said Tikki, hovering above my head. 'This will be heavy for a minute or two, but it is the only way'

I nodded. She nodded back and floated away.

'W-what did she say?' Chat asked.

'It's going to be hard to breath for a bit 'kay, but after that you can get out and have some … some tuna or something'

He laughed weakly, gripping my hand even tighter in his gloved grip. His claws pinched into my hand but I said nothing.

'Perfect' he muttered softly. 'Just Purrrfect'

I smiled weakly at his terrible pun, but my smile faded immediately as the beams shifted, and started to crush my friend.

He moaned out harshly threw his teeth, griping my hand so hard it hurt, but I just gripped it as hard as I could in return. With my free hand I wiped away my tears.

'Endure it for a second more' Tikki called, before, like leaves falling from a tree just hit by a car in fall, it all collapsed.

'Chat!' I called, pushed the metal poles aside to get to my blond friend. 'Chat, Chat Noir!'

'Ladybug!' Cried out Tikki, flinging herself onto my hand. 'Transform!'

'But- '

'Become yourself first and you can clear them faster!'

I let out a puff of breath. I did not sign us for this!

'Transformation: Ladybug' I yelled, 'Yeah'

Back in red I brushed all the debris off Chat Noir with one swipe of my hand, and pulled his slight limp body over my shoulder in a fireman's hold.

'Quick Marinette!' Tikki whispered to me as I wiped out my yo-yo and threw it out the hole in the roof attaching itself to the smallholding of a nearby building. We were pulled from the ruined building just as it imploded on itself.

I swung with Chat Noir over my shoulder across the black and white sunset city of Paris, leaping from roof to roof with ease despite my cargo. Eventually I came to a stop atop of my own house, and let him down gently onto my deck chair, just as I transformed back into my civilian self. I sat down with an exhausted sigh, rubbing my sore hand that was starting to bruise.

'Marinette' Tikki said to me, floating (exhausted as well) down onto my shoulder.

'I had no choice' I told her, looking at Chat's still form. He had a cut on his chin that had smudged blood across his face.

'I was running out of time, and I just wanted to go home'

'But what are we going to do when he sees you?'

'I can just say the Ladybug had to go home, but she didn't want to abandon Chat in this state so she put him in the safekeeping of the only mutual friend she knows they have. Good old faithful Marinette!'

Tikki pondered over this for a bit.

'that' she said, 'is actually a good idea'

I smiled down at her. She looked over the verge of collapse.

'Tikki, go get something to eat from the stash. I will be fine out here'

'Oh no, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong! You have been out of it since we got home!'

'What, all 2 minutes of being here!'

'Yes, now, what's up?'

I sighed and looked down at my hands. One was still damp from my tears and the other red and slightly swollen, purple in places and covered in small cuts, I think I dislocated a finger or something, and was too piped up on adrenalin to notice, but now it was starting to throb. I ignored it.

'Marinette! Tell me- '

'Just look at him Tikki' I interrupted, still not looking up. 'He looks like death, and I almost watched him DIE!'

'He will be fine Marine- '

'But I won 't! Look at me Tikki! I am not used to this, like sure, we do dangerous stuff, but never has it been this real before. He almost died from a stupid accident and my- my disability was the cause of that, if only I had been able to see that stupid beam!'

'Marinette, we survived, I can guarantee he will be fine by morning!'

'BUT HE WOULDN'T BE LIKE THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE IF YOU HAD OF PICKED A BETTER LADYBUG!' I yelled, my voice rising as more tears threatened to burst out.

'If YOU had picked a better ladybug we wouldn't be here in the FIRST PLACE! You KNEW I was colour blind when you picked me, you said it would be fine, but it wasn't'

I sat down on the edge of the seat that Chat was insensible on.

'This isn't alright Tikki' I whispered, wiping away tears from my eyes as they started to fall, but I couldn't stop them from coming, no matter how hard I tried. 'This is all my fault' rebounded in my head over and over, making me feel worse and worse.

'Marinette' Tikki said quietly into my ear. 'He's trying to say something'

I gasped and turned towards Chat Noir. The sunset was resting over him in gentle waves, turning his white hair blinding in this light. I had never seen hair this fair before in my life, besides my darling Adrian of course, but even his was never this captivating. I guess this was why I likes blonds so much, in this world of greys and blacks in all 50 shades of shit, I can always rely on Chat's hair to stand out like a torch, always guiding me to the fight.

0000000

'Lady' I moaned, trying against my exhaustion to open my eyes. I was so tired, and so sore. So very sore. My whole body hurt from being crushed under those beams, from my toes to my fake cat ears. I remember Lady panicking, saying she couldn't see which pole to take out of the mix because she was colour blind! Seriously! I have known her for almost a year now and I'm still learning new things about her.

But I was so close to seeing her fully today, without the mask and the superpowers! The real girl behind this getup that I love. But she was crying, telling me she was so scared of the world knowing who she is, even if it started with me. I wanted so bad to see the girl attached to the hands that brushed my hair into my eyes and dirt off my face, but hearing her sound so crushed, I couldn't. It almost hurt more than being crushed by metal work. But of course, that hurt too. The only thing that stopped me from screaming like a child was Lady's hand in mine, gripping me like she never wanted to let go. And then the crushing weight was gone. I was gasping for breath, fighting off the black dots that loomed over everything, too tired to even look up, I tried to call out to her, but I couldn't find the breath.

I heard her, distantly, as if she was at the other end of a tunnel shouting my name, then I felt hands holding me, tenderly, like they wanted to do nothing but help me. It has been a long time since I had been held like that! I used the rest of my energy to squint up at Ladybug, my partner, she was back in red, dust covering every inch of her but her blue eyes shining as bright as the stars. And that was when I exhaustion over took me. I remember the feeling of being picked up, of some hard object pushed into my stomach as someone held my legs. Then I was weightless. I was too tired to question what was happening, too tired to do anything but endure in darkness as someone carried me away from harm. Next thing I knew I was lying on a soft bed type object, my heavy head propped up on a pillow. I heard distant voices getting louder. It was my lady!

'none of this - if you had of picked - better ladybug!'

What was she saying? I had to do something, she sounded so desperate.

I fought to open my eyes and was greeted with a bright light. Sunset.

I saw the silhouette of Ladybug, talking to a small floating object. Her kwami.

'I shouldn't be seeing this' I thought as I closed my eyes again, but I couldn't stop myself from listening.

'If YOU had picked a better ladybug we wouldn't be here in the FIRST PLACE! You KNEW I was colour blind when you picked me, you said it would be fine, but it wasn't'

She can't be thinking this? It wasn't her fault that this happened! I have to say SOMETHIING!

'Lady' I moaned, as quiet as a whisper. I could hear her crying now, that helped my voice grow with volume as my heart shattered with sadness.

'Lady' I said again, I heard her gasp and suddenly she was next to me, cupping her hand to my face and brushing the crud and dust off my check, her hands were damp from her tears.

'Chat' she whispered. 'Chat Noir, are you ok?'

'I will be fine My Lady' I said as loud as I could. My head protested with each syllable, I felt her lean in to hear me better. I tried to look at her but the light was too bright.

'Chat' she said, sniffing. 'I'm so sorry, I should have told you that I couldn't see, I am so- '

'My lady' I said, reaching up with my 5-ton hand to brush her damp cheek. 'Do not blame yourself from an accident sent from the universe. It was an un-purrdictable event!'

She laughed softly, taking my hand from her face to hold it tightly.

'I always hated your puns' she said softly.

'Comme il faut' I said, letting my hand fall slack in her grip for the weight of it was just too big.

'Sleep now' Ladybug said, brushing my face. 'I have to leave now, but I am leaving you in the care of a friend!'

'Don't leave me' I whispered. She sighed.

'I will see you tomorrow my Cat, may your dreams be pleasant ones that heal the soul and the mind'

I tried to hold onto her hand, to make her stay, but it was too late, I was already asleep.

000000

'Marinette!' my mother called. 'Where are you?'

'Here Mama' I called, letting go of Chat Noir's hand at last and rushing down the stairs onto my loft bed suspended over my room.

I was colour bind, there is no deigning that, I have seen the world in greys and white since I remember, I feel no sorrow for myself for this is how I have always been, so that was why, when I got to be Ladybug, when for the first time in my life I was able to see the colour red in its many shades, I was so happy. Being able to see one third of the colour chart was more than I ever expected in life, to see the red sun, to see pink cotton candy, to even see red traffic lights for peats sake, I was never happier. Only my teachers, parents and Alya know about my eyes, and I was always too embarrassed to tell everyone else, for who would want a colour blind fashion designer? My best friend Alya always helped me out in small ways, like telling me when I am using my bright yellow highlighter for school work instead of my black pen, or telling me when the two colours I am using in art or sowing look terrible together. I never felt bad about my disability, I never even thought twice about it, but now, after what happened, despite what Tikki and Chat Noir say, I can't get what I did, or what I lack of did out of my head.

'Marinette!' my mother said, standing in my doorway. 'What are you doing up there?'

'just watching the sunset Mama' I said smiling. 'I was thinking about going star watching up there tonight since the weather was clear'

My mother laughed. 'Come have dinner first dear'

'Can't I eat it up there?' I pleaded. I didn't want to leave Chat up there alone, he could just get up drowsily and fall off the building ending up as road kill. My mother looked at me for a moment without blinking, before splitting into a massive grin.

'I think that would be a wonderful idea. Bad thing my knee won't let me up there and your father can't even fit through the window!'

I laughed, brushing my hair out of my eyes with one hand and flinching as I nudged my hurt finger.

'What is it?' my mother asked, noticing my flinch.

'Nothing' I lied, hiding my hand being my back.

She shrugged and told me to follow her to the kitchens, and about half an hour later was back up on the balcony with a full pick nick basket full of food and pillows and blankets. My parents always went over board when I want to do something abnormal, and being a baker did not help.

'Do you want my meringue?' I asked Tikki as I sat down the food basket next to the window.

'I don't like those' she said, hovering over my head.

'so what do you want out of the pick of sandwiches, toffee apples and hundreds of other sweets?' I asked her, throwing a blanket over Chat's still form. His hair grew darker with the fading of the light, and I was sad to see it lose its glow.

With a sigh I sat down beside his feet and took out my fabric tape, it was better then duck tape I suppose.

'What are you doing Marinette?' Tikki asked, settling down on my shoulder to see my tape one of my fingers to the other slowly, flinching a lot as I went.

'I hurt my hand before, I'm just taping it up so I stop hurting it'

'We should go to the hospital with that' Tikki said concerned.

I smiled.

'It's fine, remember when I jammed my finger into my door last year, we went to the hospital and they did just this, I will be fine'

'Are you sure?' asked Tikki, 'did you get hurt anywhere else?'

'my back is aching' I admitted.

'Show me then?' she demanded. With a sigh I took of my black cardigan. I heard her gasp.

'What, what is it Tikki?' I asked.

'your bleeding!'

'What!'

I got up and jumped down into my room, looking over my shoulder at my torn up back in my mirror. It looked worse than it felt, with four long shallow marks down my left shoulder disappearing under my white shirt, which was stained with dried red blood.

'How did I not notice!' I complained.

'Notice what Princess'

I gave out a gasping type of scream and turned to see Chat Noir leaning down into my room threw my window.

'Your awake' I said shocked. I cleared my throat and brushed away my shock. 'About time too, it's been about 3 hours since you fell asleep'

'Three hours!' Chat said loudly, looking panicked.

I laughed. 'Not really, you've been asleep for about 40 minutes now'

He visible relaxed and then glared at me.

'Why cat, do you gave a curfew?' I joked. He glared harder.

I laughed again and climbed out onto my balcony again.

'So Chat Noir' I said, smiling at him. 'Feeling better?'

'Of course Princess'

'My name is Marinette' I said rolling my eyes. Really, he flirted with anyone with two legs.

'Oh I know, so Marinette, what happened to your back?' he asked, his flirtatious personality falling away. I even saw hints of worry in his eyes.

'I spilt red paint down my back before, I didn't even notice!' I said shaking my head in fake embarrassment, before leaning down to retrieve my black cardigan.

'And your hand?'

'jammed it in my door, broke a finger I think, I don't know really, it only happened a few hours ago'

'Then doesn't it hurt?'

I shrugged, biting my lip to stop myself from flinching from moving my tender back.

'Thank you by the way' Chat said casually as I shrugged my shirt on, trying to avoid my hand.

'For what?' I asked nonchalantly.

'For looking out for me when Ladybug couldn't'

'It's ok, I owe you from- 'I stopped talking when I saw his expression. He looked almost bitter that his lady wasn't here, it tugged at my heart strings, I didn't want my friend to be sad over something I couldn't control, if only he knew.

'Don't be sad' I said sitting down on the seat he was originally on and picking up an apple from the basket. It was the only bright thing in sight.

'Ladybug didn't want to leave but she was hurt too, she needed to go home before- '

'She was hurt!' Chat said loudly, he grabbed my shoulder tightly. 'Where is Lady now? I have to go see if she's ok and- '

'She's fine Chat Noir' I said soothingly, 'her time just ran out, and soon yours will too'

He looked down at his Miraculous to see only one green paw remained. He gave out a frustrated sigh and jumped onto the balcony railing, crouching down on all fours. He looked at me helplessly. I smiled in return.

'Go home Chat Noir, you will see Ladybug tomorrow and talk about all that Jazz then. Don't worry, if you can't find her come to me, she tells me when she's leaving and stuff'

'How do you know her?'

'Chat – '

'Like seriously, I am her partner, how come she told you who she was and not me? It's so unfair!'

I sighed. He didn't have much time left!

'She didn't do it on purpose Chat Noir' I said sadly, 'And when she did, it nearly killed her!'