The prequel to this story, In the Heat of the Moment, was moved to my AO3 account Dida_Mac.

Ladybug felt her stomach clenching as she nervously laid next to her blonde partner. She knew that she had wanted their interaction, but she couldn't help feeling guilty about it. Despite everything, the twenty-two year old woman still loved her high school crush. Meanwhile, she didn't even know the identity of the man laying next to her. She felt nervous and sick to her stomach. Slowly, she tried to ease herself out of the compromising position. Chat had his arms around her and one of his legs was still entwined with hers.

As Ladybug moved, Chat was disturbed. His eyes fluttered open and he stared at her for a moment before flashing her a brilliant, bright smile. "M'lady? Why are you up at this time?" he asked. Ladybug bit her lip.

"We need to go before our transformations wear off." She said hesitantly. She could see the smile slowly drop from Chat's face. They hadn't fought an akuma that night so she knew that they had plenty of time before their transformations would wear off and so did he.

"But…" he started.

"No, Chat. We can't know each other's identities." She said firmly.

"I thought that since…" he trailed off as she got up and grabbed her suit. He watched as she pulled the suit back on with some effort.

"Chat, we can't." Ladybug stated quickly to keep him from enquiring further.

"Ladybug, you need to know that I won't tell anyone. I would never tell anyone who you are. I lo…" Ladybug cut him off.

"Just stop." She said, closing her eyes and holding her hand up to keep him from finishing that statement. She wouldn't look at him. She couldn't. She knew that part of her heart would belong to him forever, but she still couldn't help the fact that she didn't love him. She couldn't love him. Not completely anyway. Her heart was split between him and a blond model.

"No, I won't stop. Ladybug, please don't go." He said, sitting up and grabbing his suit, prepared to go after her.

"Chat, I shouldn't have…I just need to go." She said, not wanting to hurt him.

"M'lady. I…please stop. Please wait." He said as he pulled his own suit on. He stood as he zipped up the front of his suit. Ladybug turned away from him and faced the wall. She felt his arms snake around her waist and she put her arms up in a silent request for him to not touch her. Chat didn't take her hint.

"I can't do this, Chat." She said.

"But we…I thought you felt the same…" he said, his arms growing slack around her. Ladybug felt a tear slip out of her eye as she stayed in his embrace briefly. She didn't know why she did, but she knew that she should move.

"You thought wrong." Ladybug stated, her voice cracking. "I don't feel the same way." She said. Chat's arms only tightened around her again.

"You're lying. You wouldn't have…we wouldn't have made love if you didn't feel the same way. You wouldn't have done that." He said. "You can't expect me to believe that you don't care." He added. He let out a small cry which shattered Ladybug's already broken heart.

"Chat, just leave me alone. I need to go." She said. He refused to let her go, though. "Please." She stated.

"No. You can't just leave me. Not again!" he said. "Every time we get close, you pull away. I just want you to stay. You can't ignore me anymore." He said.

"Just go away you stupid cat. I never want to see you again." She said, tears leaking out of her eyes as she shoved his arms off of her and ran to jump out of the window, tossing her yoyo as she fell from the abandoned building. She quickly made her way to her apartment and entered through her balcony. Her transformation dropped as soon as she was inside the apartment.

"You shouldn't be so rough on Chat Noir." Tikki stated as she came out of the miraculous. "You're just as responsible for what happened as he is." She added.

"Please don't, Tikki." Marinette said as she made her way to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and got in. After a moment under the lukewarm water, she sank down to the floor, crying. Ever since their first kiss, their first real kiss, Marinette had felt guilty. She would stop, she told herself. She wouldn't let it get out of hand. She would tell him the next time she saw him that it was done. She would stay away.

And yet, every time she told him it was done she would kiss him again. She just couldn't help it. She was attracted to her kitty. She didn't want to be. She was in love with Adrien. She couldn't love Chat, too. At least not to the extent that he deserved. She couldn't give him all of her heart. And yet, she'd given him all of her body. She'd given him her first kiss and now she'd given him her virginity.

She cried in the shower long after the water ran cold. She didn't know how she was going to go to work tomorrow. How she was going to face her boss's son. She had gotten a position as a designer under Gabriel Agreste and she saw Adrien almost every day as he was groomed to take over the label. Eventually, she turned the water off and sat on the cold shower floor, continuing to cry.

"It's okay, Marinette. Chat loves you. He wouldn't do anything to hurt you." Tikki said quietly as she flew to her chosen. "He would do anything for you."

"I wouldn't do anything for him." Marinette replied, her head buried in her arms as they rested on her legs.

"Yes, you would. Ladybug would do anything for her Chat Noir." Tikki replied, laying against the back of Marinette's head.

"No, I wouldn't. I would never stop loving Adrien for him. I can't do anything for my Chat Noir." She said without looking at Tikki.

"Marinette…" Tikki trailed off.

"Just leave me alone, Tikki." Marinette sobbed.

"No, Marinette. I won't leave you alone." Tikki responded. "Don't push me away, Marinette. Don't push Chat Noir away." She added.

"I have to. I can't let us keep going the way that we are. We need to stop. But I can't." she said. "I just can't stop. I want to stop, but I can't. I tell him that we aren't going to do anymore and then I sleep with him." She cried.

"Just give it some time, Marinette. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning." Tikki stated. Marinette shook her head, but eventually she stood and covered herself in her robe. She didn't even have to towel herself dry as she had cried for so long that she was dry except for her dripping pigtails. She crawled into bed and started to cry again. She cried until she fell asleep with her kwami stroking her cheek comfortingly.

The next morning, she nervously went to work. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she made her way into the building. She went to her office and sat down at her desk immediately and started working on her current project. She was oblivious to those around her until she heard Adrien's name.

"Hey, have you seen Adrien? He's late." The woman said in the hallway.

"No, haven't seen or heard from him." A man replied.

"Someone should tell Gabriel." The woman said.

"I'm not telling him." The man stated.

Marinette's eyes widened. She couldn't imagine why Adrien would be late to work. She quickly checked the news on her phone. There was no update of any akuma attack. She started to worry, though. What had happened to him? She quickly pulled up his phone number on her phone and her finger hovered over the call button. She debated quickly as to whether she should call him. Eventually, she pushed the button. She held the phone up to her ear as she waited impatiently for him to answer. The call went to voicemail. "Hey, A-Adrien. It's Marinette. Just wanting to make sure that you're all right since you were supposed to be here. If you need…anything just send me a text." She said before sending the message. She found out quickly that she didn't have to send the message. Adrien came in only a few minutes later.

"Sorry, I had to…do something." He said pausing to think for a moment. "Did I miss anything?" he asked.

Marinette froze. His voice sounded different. He sounded upset. She wondered what could have happened to make him upset. She almost wanted to go and check on him, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to. She didn't know if she would ever be able to face him after what happened last night.

Chat brushed his hand against her cheek as they were about to say goodbye after the uneventful patrol.

She shook her head as if doing so would shake the memories of last night out of her head. She focused on the drawing that she was creating.

Chat leaned down and kissed her gently, one hand snaking around to the back of her head.

Marinette felt tears welling up in her eyes again as she remembered her deepening the kiss by licking his lower lip to show her want. How could she have wanted that? What had possessed her? Marinette bit her lip as she focused on the design in front of her.

Chat extended his baton as he slipped his arm around Ladybug. He swung across the street to a building that they knew was abandoned. Sometimes they would sleep here, separately. They had agreed to bring blankets to this building in case of late patrols. Eventually, Chat had even brought in a mattress. When they swung into the building Chat couldn't help himself. He reached up and pulled at the collar to Ladybug's outfit.

Ladybug didn't stop kissing him as he peeled off the suit. She pulled on the bell near his collar to unzip his. They didn't break contact as her yoyo and his baton fell to the floor with loud thuds. They backed up to the mattress where they finally broke the kiss. Ladybug laid down first and kicked off her suit. She didn't know what she was thinking. She couldn't help herself. She was just stuck in the moment as Chat removed his suit as well. They resumed their assault on each other's lips until Chat pulled back.

"You want this, right?" he asked, his green eyes filled with worry. Ladybug just nodded and kissed him again.

"Hi Marinette." The voice rang out from behind her. Adrien sounded slightly happier than he had been in the hallway, but he still wasn't his normal self.

"Adrien. Hi." She said.

"How are the designs coming?" he asked as he stepped up to her desk beside her to look at the sketches. Marinette didn't say a word as he looked at the book. She just focused on keeping her eyes away from him. She couldn't look at him, not after last night. She felt like she had betrayed him even though they weren't together. And now, here with him, she felt like she was betraying Chat because of the way her heart skipped as Adrien leaned closer to get a better look at her designs over her shoulder. "These are wonderful, Marinette." He said, his voice sounding dull compared to its normal cheery tone.

"Thank you." Marinette said. Adrien turned to leave and Marinette couldn't help herself. "Adrien?" she asked.

"Yes, Marinette?" he responded at the door to her little office.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He paused. "Yeah, I'm okay now." He said, but it didn't sound convincing.

"Do you…do you want to talk about it?" she asked. She couldn't stand the thought of him being in pain.

"Just personal stuff. Nothing to worry about." He said. "I've handled it." He added almost as an afterthought.

"Okay. If you need anything at all, just ask." She said, realizing just how off her tone was today as well.

"I'll keep that in mind." He replied. Marinette continued her work. She was coming up with a portfolio for the autumn showcase. She knew that she should focus on her work, but two blond boys kept running through her mind. She closed her eyes, knowing that she needed to apologize to Chat. She just didn't know how she would face him.

That night she went on patrol as normal. It wasn't a shared patrol tonight, but she figured that Chat would come out anyway. She was disappointed when she didn't see her partner running across the rooftops. She found herself across the street from that building and swung inside on the off chance that he was there. What she found terrified her. He had destroyed everything. He had shredded the mattress and blankets with his claws. He had used his Cataclysm on a large portion of the floor. There were holes along many different areas of the walls where she assumed that he punched.

"Oh, Kitty. I'm so sorry. I never should have let this go this far." Ladybug said as she looked at the wreckage that was in front of her. "I should have stayed and talked." She mused. Slowly, she turned and made her way to her apartment.

The next day was uneventful, but she had been looking forward to the night. She was supposed to have the night off, but she knew she needed to see Chat. She needed to apologize. They needed to figure out where to go from that night. She made her way over the rooftops and found herself roaming around the entire city.

She paused on one of the taller rooftops, looking out around her. "L-Ladybug?" she heard a familiar voice call out below her and she felt a pit form in her stomach. She looked down to see the blond. "What are you doing?" Adrien asked.

Ladybug looked at him sadly before looking back at the rooftops. "I…hurt someone and was hoping to find him." She said. She didn't notice the tears that were running down Adrien's cheeks because she couldn't look at him again. "I'm sorry…for disturbing you." She said before throwing her yoyo.

"Wait, Ladybug." He called, but she was sailing through the air. Of all the rooftops she had to land on, of course it was Adrien's. She never could get used to where he had moved to. She didn't even know why he moved out of the Agreste Manor other than that he stated he needed his own space. If he had still lived there, she never would have made the mistake of getting so close to him.

She roamed the city until the horizon started to grow brighter. She then made her way back to her apartment and got ready for the day. "You don't look so good, Marinette. Why don't you take the day off?" Tikki asked.

"I can't, Tikki. I have to finish that portfolio." She stated as she took a quick shower and made coffee. She had another uneventful day at work. Another day of trying her best to avoid Adrien, not that he seemed too chatty.

That night, she went out again. It was her turn to patrol again. The next night they were set to patrol together. She completed her patrol without seeing her leather-clad partner. "Where are you, Chat?" she asked no one in particular. She found herself wanting an akuma to attack. At least that would probably draw her partner out of hiding long enough for her to say that she was sorry.

The next day, she got her wish. Mme. Disaster struck in the morning on Marinette's way to work. She was coming up from the train station when she heard the screaming. She quickly transformed in an alcove and made her way to the street. "I will not be the clumsiest person anymore." The purple haired woman with a white and red face shouted at people passing by. She aimed a crutch at a group of people and shot purple dust at them. They were soon engulfed as they ran. None of them were able to stay upright after they were hit. They all tripped and when they got up, they started running and tripped again.

"Stop right there." Ladybug shouted, holding her yoyo at the ready. She glanced around for Chat, but didn't see him anywhere. Her eyes did land on something that scared her more than it probably should considering that this akuma didn't seem to be doing too much damage. She saw Adrien with wide eyes across the street. He was clutching at the inner pocket to his button-down shirt. She wanted to shout at him to run, but she didn't want to bring attention to him. Instead, she focused on the victim. "Whatever happened, this doesn't have to go like this. You can stop this at any time." She said.

"I don't want to stop it. I don't want to be laughed at anymore. It's my turn to laugh." The akuma said as she pointed her crutch at Ladybug. Ladybug froze. She knew she should get out of the way, but she just couldn't. And just as the akuma shot dust at her, she found herself being knocked off her feet and tumbling over the ground.

"Chat, I was ho…" she started as they came to a stop with her savior on top of her. When she looked up, though, she saw Adrien's face. "Y-you need to go. This is no place for civilians." She said.

"You needed help and Chat Noir wasn't going to show up to help you." He said quickly.

"He will show up. Now go. Get out of here before you get hurt." She said as he moved off of her and she got up. "I need you to go." She added. She turned to see the akuma aiming at them again. She grabbed Adrien and used her yoyo to move out of the way of the dust. "Get to cover." She said as they landed. She then swung again to get away from the area.

"What do we have here?" a voice called from behind her when she landed. She didn't recognize the voice and turned to see Chat Noir. But it wasn't Chat Noir. He may have been wearing the suit, but his skin was dark and his hair was black. His eyes were an amber color and he wasn't wearing Chat's signature grin.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Chat Noir." He responded.

"No you're not." She replied.

"Let's take care of the akuma." He said before using his baton to spring forward as he aimed to attack the akuma from above. Ladybug's jaw just dropped. She had never seen anything that was able to replicate Chat's staff. She suddenly worried. Was her kitty akumatized? Was that why he hadn't been around? Could they even get akumatized? "What are you doing? Get the akuma!" he shouted at her. Ladybug shook her head as she saw the black butterfly flying away. She quickly caught it with her yoyo and released the purified butterfly.

She had missed the entire fight. "Who are you?" she suddenly asked when the strange man who helped her came back into view.

"I told you, I'm Chat Noir. Well, I'm the new Chat Noir." He said.

"N-new Chat Noir?" she asked.

"Yeah." He responded.

"Where's my Chat Noir?" she asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I don't know, I just found this box in my living room and this thing popped out claiming to be a…kwami? He told me that the old Chat Noir had returned him to the Grand Master." He said.

"M-my Chat Noir wouldn't abandon me. He just wouldn't." she said.

"He did. He's not coming back. I'm Chat Noir now." He said.

"No." Ladybug replied.

"You can either deal with this or you can give up your Miraculous." The new Chat said. There were no puns or jokes coming from this Chat Noir. Ladybug was about to respond when she heard beeping coming from his ring. "Gotta go. Catch ya later, Ladybug." He said before he used his baton to leave her alone in the street.

"Ladybug?" a timid voice called to her. Ladybug looked up to see the last person on the planet that she wanted to see aside from the new Chat Noir. Adrien was standing on the street corner. "Let's get you out of the street." He said as he made his way closer to her cautiously.

"I…" she trailed off as tears flowed from her eyes. "I have to go." She said, but she didn't move. She felt Adrien's hand grasp hers and he gently led her to the sidewalk. "I really need to go." She said.

"Y-you really miss Chat Noir, don't you?" Adrien asked, his vibrant green eyes filled with sadness. Ladybug couldn't bring herself to speak. Instead she just cried as Adrien put his arms around her. "It's okay." He said softly.

"No, i-it's n-n-not." She said through sobs. "I didn't g-get the chance to t-tell him tha-t I-'m s-s-sorry and that I l-love him." She cried into Adrien's shoulder.

"I'm sure he knows." Adrien replied.

"I'll n-never get to s-s-see him again." She cried. Ladybug didn't even notice all of the people that started to crowd around or all of the flashes from people taking photos of her vulnerable moment. She wouldn't realize until later. In this moment, nothing mattered to her because Chat Noir, her Chat Noir, was gone forever.