Marinette released a breathy huff as she collided with the Dupain-Cheng's balcony rooftop, sweat dripping from her forehead. Crumpling to her knees, the transformation dropped the second she fell. It had been another close call; if a few more seconds had passed before she returned home, a civilian would have surely seen her secret identity. "Ugh..." She groaned lightly, running a palm down her face. An equally tired grunt came from the kwami who had been spat back out of the miraculous.

"It just keeps getting harder and harder," she mumbled. Of course, the little magical mouse didn't want to make Marinette feel any worse, and normally she would never complain to her owner. However, the stress of the increasingly difficult fights brought on by Hawkmoth and Mayura were starting to get to her, too.

"Eat up, Mullo." Marinette dug into the small bag hanging over her shoulder, and pulled out a chocolate chip cookie for the little one. She held it out, which Mullo gratefully grabbed and immediately began nibbling on. "I just need to call Alya and let her know I'm safe… Then we're back out there."

"Shouldn't we ask her for help, too?" Mullo sheepishly suggested, in between bites of her cookie.

Marinette pulled herself up, stumbled over to the edge of the balcony and peered over with her palms pressed firmly against the railing. A short distance away at the park, civilians were panicking, rushing to find the nearest escape to get home safely. Even though the sun was setting, Mayura was relentless as ever. Taking a moment to assess the situation, Marinette narrowed her eyes and firmly shook her head a moment later.

"But… This sentimonster is so powerful..." Mullo whimpered, gulping down the last bite of the cookie.

Turning on her heels, Marinette didn't give in. "The last time I called on heroes to help..." Her words trailed off as she recalled a memory; one that even years later, she could never forgive herself for. "I can unify if needed."

"Mmh..." Mullo still couldn't break the hard shell that had formed over the once sweet, light-hearted and carefree Marinette. The little mouse knew when to stop trying, so she floated in silence by her owner's side.

The now young woman slid down the small door to her bedroom, Mullo hiding in her jacket. The vibrant pink walls plastered in posters and pictures of her favourite person was something she missed every single day, but in an attempt to move on quicker, she had torn them all down and redecorated. For the most part, she had moved on… Although sometimes, his voice echoed deep in her heart. Taking in a breath to steady herself and push aside those staggering thoughts, she pulled her phone from one of her back pockets. Right on cue, the phone lit up and a picture of her best friend filled the screen.

"You must've read my mind," she sighed into the phone, with a half-hearted laugh.

"Marinette, where have you been the past hour?! I've been going nuts trying to reach you!" Alya's lecturing voice immediately hit the Dupain-Cheng girl's ear, and while it used to be somewhat irritating, the superhero had grown used to it.

"That sentimonster had me trapped," Marinette spoke, and while it wasn't completely true… "Have you seen it? It's been blocking off parks, forests, fields… I'm one of the lucky ones who got away."

"Shit… That bad?" Alya was overcome with guilt. "Nora hasn't let any of us out the house, so I haven't had the pleasure of getting a video of it yet."

"Don't go putting yourself in danger, Alya," Marinette was the one to scold her best friend now. That was also why Marinette had been hesitant to give a miraculous to Alya; the situation was becoming fatal. "If I lost you..." Her voice cracked. She couldn't help letting those words slip out.

Silence hung between the two for a short while. "I… I'm sorry, you're right." It had been three years. Alya hadn't exactly forgotten, but it had been so long that everything felt almost normal again.

Tears stung the corners of Marinette's eyes, though she didn't allow it to become apparent in her voice. "It's alright. I only wanted to let you know that I'm safe. I have to go… My parents need me."

The conversation had turned sour. Alya wanted to apologise over and over for messing up, but instead, she simply hung up after saying goodbye, knowing it'd be better to give her best friend some much needed space.

"Marinette…?" Mullo phased out of her owner's jacket, twirling up and floating gently in front of her face.

Tears trickled down her cheeks. She momentarily shut her eyes, taking a single moment to grieve. One moment was all she needed. The world could wait just one second. Sniffling lightly, her eyelids fluttered open and those painful thoughts had passed. "Alright. It's time."

Holding her head up high, she headed over to the box where she once kept her diary. Unlocking it with the special key, she flipped it open to reveal the Miracle Box, in all its red-spotted glory. No matter how much she felt like she didn't deserve the title of a guardian any longer, the box was still her duty, and so she would carry it out for however long she needed.

"Which one will you be using…?" Mullo softly wondered, peering over the girl's shoulder as the box clicked open.

When it revealed its contents, it was as bare as ever. Only a small collection of the magical jewels remained. The pendant of the mouse, which was in Marinette's possession… The ring of the black cat, which was still in Chat Noir's possession… Along with just the watch of the rabbit, the bracelet of the snake, the necklace of the dragon, and the pendant of the fox. A light grimace pulled at Marinette's lips as she mulled over which one could help with an earth elemental sentimonster.

"I could pull it back in time with Fluff… Or maybe blow the thick vines to pieces with the air dragon…" Her forehead creased as she tried to come up with a plan. Was she losing the smarts needed to be a superhero? She found that she could never come up with plans half as good compared to her days as Ladybug; maybe the stress and pressure was becoming too much. Or perhaps the villains' plans just got more and more complex.

Mullo could sense the agitated aura radiating from her owner, and so she lifted herself up and rested her tiny forehead against Marinette's. "It's okay… Take your time."

Marinette lightly pressed her eyes shut, appreciating the warmth and love from her kwami. "Right..." She nodded. When Mullo pulled away, she found her head was a little clearer. "I think it's time I tried the dragon. I'm sure I can utilise air to its full potential." As she spoke, she clipped the necklace on, and the noble kwami Longg was summoned.

"Good day to you, Marinette-sama. I see you are in need of my assistance." Longg bowed deeply, showing great respect to the guardian.

Marinette felt as though she didn't deserve such respect, but nevertheless, she plastered on a smile. "That's right. We have a powerful sentimonster whose goal is to cover the entirety of Paris in strong, magical vines. If it succeeds, Chat Noir and I will be forced to hand over our miraculous to the bad guys." She despised how powerful Mayura had become in such a short time. She'd have to put an end to their reign of terror sooner or later.

"And there's no way we'll let that happen!" Mullo added, filled with determination.

Longg's courage did not waver in the slightest, despite the odds being against them. "You have chosen wisely. You know what to say."

"Mullo, transform me!" Marinette called out the magical words, and the necklace of the mouse begun to glow a brilliant pink. Her suit appeared in a flash – the costume was relatively similar to that of her first time as Multimouse, three years ago. As a conscious display of her maturity, however, her hair was styled into a simple single bun, her fringe still hanging down the sides of her face. "Ready?" She glanced at Longg, who gave a nod in response. "Alright… Mullo, Longg, unify!"

…

By the time the sentimonster had finally been floored, it was well into the middle of the night. Even then, the hard work was far from over. Without the use of Ladybug's magical quick fixes, there was a lot of damage left over, including a dump of dead vines all over the city, buildings that had been crushed, injuries from being physically subdued by said vines… The list went on. What should be a peaceful night had been ruined by Mayura, who didn't need to worry about the consequences at all. A crew of firefighters were taking care of stabilising out of place bricks on houses and shops, as well as rescuing and evacuating any families that were trapped inside. Along with that, a crew of paramedics were rounding up injured civilians and treating them on the side of the road, and taking in anyone who had severe injuries. Finally, a team of volunteers had gathered together to help clear up the vines and other mess in the streets.

Multimouse let out an exasperated sigh, eyelids growing heavy. A superhero's work was never done, apparently. She regretted taking the magical ladybugs for granted in the beginning. It was so much harder without them, and guilt gnawed away at her as she watched everyone around her fix her mess.

"Great work out there tonight." Holding a steaming cup of coffee in his paws, Chat Noir casually waltzed over to the mouse hero, seeming a lot more upbeat than her. He wanted to help her feel better, knowing just how much she had struggled all these years.

"Mmh… Mm-mm." She peered up at the kitty, before shaking her head. "You can have it. It's alright."

"As long as you're sure…?" Chat shrugged, plopping himself down beside her on the bench. He gently blew the steam from the plastic cup, cooling it before pressing his lips to it and taking a small sip. "Meee-ouch, that's hot…!"

'How can he still joke around like that…?' Multimouse thought to herself, narrowing her eyes and observing his silly, playful behaviour. She grumbled under her breath, lifting her knees up and hugging herself tightly. Pressing her forehead against her legs, she took a few moments to catch her breath. The cold night air was starting to get to her.

"Heh..." Chat softly chuckled at his own jokes, before setting the coffee down beside him. He tilted his head to the side slightly, much like a cat, and glanced at his partner. "Is everything okay, Multimouse?"

"Sure..." She lied, not wanting to expose her true feelings to the kitty. Her mind was a mess. Besides, he most definitely knew all the details already. There was no need for her to keep complaining and dropping her problems onto the mysterious masked boy. With a sigh, she kicked her legs back down and sat up straight.

"I know these fights are getting harder," he mumbled, averting his eyes for a moment. As much as Marinette had suffered, Chat Noir also had his fair – or rather unfair – share of pain, too. His entire life revolved around being a superhero for the past three years. Whenever he needed to feed his kwami, he hid some place where absolutely nobody could see him, and was back out into the streets as a stray cat. There was never a time he could be his true self any more. "But I'm sure we'll be able to find out where Hawkmoth and Mayura are soon." Despite that pain… Marinette needed his comfort, and so he would provide it… He just wouldn't be allowed to comfort her as Adrien Agreste. Chat Noir would have to be good enough.

Multimouse flicked her saddened gaze over at him. She saw the sincerity sparkling in those dark green orbs of his. His lips curled into a small grin, and for once, Marinette saw something different in him. However, that only hurt her even more.

"We kicked some serious butt tonight. We're getting stronger," Chat continued. As much as his heart yearned for his lady, he had to accept Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Multimouse, as his new permanent partner. Hawkmoth had never discovered Marinette's identity the one time she was a temporary hero up against Kwamibuster; that meant she was safe. Well, the extent of his knowledge and knowing only went so far… "We'll be strong enough to face them soon."

Multimouse gave a small shrug. "I don't want to think about it too much," she quietly admitted. The headache she felt was starting to throb a little harder at the thought of the future and the fights to come. She desperately wanted to throw in the towel, but there was no way she could ever do so.

"You don't look so good," Chat pouted, noticing the feverish, exhausted look on the girl's face. "I'll take you home, okay? It's late, you should rest. We'll sort everything else out here."

"No, no… I can't expect everyone to do the work while I sleep," Multimouse refused, holding a hand out and frantically shaking her head.

"Too late," Chat flashed a toothy grin. He hopped up from the bench and within a split second, he had moved toward the girl and scooped her up in his arms.

"H-Hey-!" Multimouse, perhaps with too much influence from Mullo, let out a shrill squeak in protest, finding herself in the arms of the devilish cat. "Put me down! We have work to do!"

"Nope. You gotta rest." Chat laughed wildly as he jumped up and crossed from roof to roof, holding the superhero close.

Soon, she finally stopped loudly protesting, but she still wasn't too pleased with his actions. She avoided eye contact with him most of the way back to her house. Within a few minutes, Chat landed onto the balcony, and gently placed her back down. "Hmph…"

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Chat Noir smiled brightly, perching himself on the railing.

"Mullo, detransformation." In a flash, her suit fell, and was replaced with her normal civilian self.

It had been a little while since Chat last saw Marinette as herself. Lately, he had become slightly enamoured with the sight of her true self; her short hair fell messily over her shoulders, and her bluebell eyes shined ever so softly in the moonlight. Mentally shaking his head, he scolded himself for having those inappropriate thoughts about her – especially since he devoted his heart to Ladybug.

"I can take care of myself, you know," Marinette started to tell him off, folding her arms over her chest. "Everyone's struggling to sort out the mess that I- that… that Mayura made…!" She tripped over her words, accidentally revealing her inner thoughts, and the rush of shock from being so careless left her speechless.

"Wait… Huh?" Chat caught that slip up, and wondered what she meant by the mess 'she' made.

"I..." Her eyes grew wide as the realisation kicked in. Chat couldn't know about the mistake she made three years ago. If he ever found out she was Ladybug, he would be furious, without a doubt, for lying to him all this time. "I'm just..."

"Hey, it's okay," Chat softly said, hopping down from the railing and taking a few steps toward her. His voice shook with hesitation, and while she had a palm clutching at her forehead, he contemplated resting his hand on her shoulder to reassure her… But he didn't cross that boundary, and instead opted to verbally comfort her once more. "A lot has happened, I get it. I… I don't want to tell you how to feel or assume how you're feeling, but… Just don't blame yourself for any of it, alright?"

Marinette tightened her grip on her forehead, shoulders drooping. She clenched her fist at her side, knuckles whitening as she resisted the urge to break down in tears right then and there. To respect the privacy between the two, Mullo shifted down into Marinette's bedroom. "It's… it's just… close to the day that Adrien..."

Chat chewed on his lower lip as he listened to her and watched her let her guard down. He hadn't seen Marinette's vulnerability like this before. Of course, he witnessed the progression of her downfall… How she shut herself in more often, how she lost that beautiful optimism of hers… He knew how much she valued Adrien Agreste as a close friend; how much his 'death' affected her. He barely escaped with his life on that day, and he knew for a fact she would never want to see him again if he revealed the truth. Being Chat Noir gave him a second chance at life, something many others would never have the privilege of.

"I understand," Chat spoke in a hushed whisper, taking in a breath of courage and placing his hand onto her shoulder.

When he made contact with her, Marinette slowly tilted her head up to gaze into his eyes, with slightly parted lips. Her heart pounded in a way that she hadn't felt for a long time.

"I know how special he was to you. But… I'm sure he wouldn't want you to blame yourself..." He tried to think of the right words to say. Oh, how impossible it was for Adrien to comfort someone who believed he was dead, when in fact he was right in front of her eyes. Besides all that, he had no idea why Marinette could possibly blame herself for his 'death'.

"Y-Yeah… Sure, it was Hawkmoth, but…" Again, she stopped herself from revealing any more information. If only she hadn't foolishly given Adrien the bracelet of the snake to permanently keep, after she gained the title of guardian… And if only Hawkmoth hadn't been tracking the two of them… She cursed herself for being unbelievably stupid and clumsy; for letting her guard down and thinking she had shaken the horrible butterfly off her trail.

"Exactly. It was Hawkmoth. We'll get our justice, I promise." Chat sort of knew it was an empty promise. He knew Hawkmoth wasn't the same man as three years ago; he made sure of that on the day he 'died'. But despite that, he wanted Marinette to know he would go to any length to help her achieve justice and take this new Hawkmoth down once and for all.

Marinette herself could tell it wouldn't be an easy thing to achieve. But for once, she'd just like to believe and have hope. Even so, defeating Hawkmoth and Mayura would not bring Adrien Agreste back. She lowered her eyes, thinking back to the first day she met Adrien. The night he stole her heart in the midst of a strangely beautiful thunderstorm. "I never got to tell him just how much I..."

Chat's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that. He almost jumped back and pulled his hand from her shoulder in that very moment, but stopped himself before acting irrationally. Marinette didn't even have to finish her sentence. In a split second, it became painfully obvious that she had been in love with Adrien. But that was just it. He wasn't Adrien any more. Still, had he always been this oblivious? He stared down at her, heart thudding in his chest, seeing the girl in a different light.

"Well, he'll never know now." Marinette let out a bitter laugh, slowly shaking her head. Shyly trailing her glance back up, she only just noticed the way Chat was gazing down at her with… adoration?

Chat's mind had gone blank. He didn't know what to think, or what to feel. He was sure Marinette had been in love with Luka the entire time. He'd seen the two together just recently, on what he assumed had been a date. The only thing he did feel… was a pang of guilt, deep in his chest. He couldn't possibly consider Marinette as more than a friend. He promised Ladybug he'd never give up on her.

"Chat Noir…?" Marinette quietly cleared her throat, hoping to catch his attention. Looked like he had his head in the clouds again, as usual. She figured he was thinking about his lady, with that lovestruck expression slapped over his face. But it was strange, as he was looking directly at her.

"Huh? Ah, sorry!" Chat snapped out of it a moment later, letting out a nervous chuckle and finally pulling his hand from her shoulder.

"It's alright..." She softly smiled. After all, he had lost Ladybug, just as she had lost Adrien.

"I-I should be going now anyway, huh?" Chat rubbed at the back of his head, taking a couple of steps back and flashing a panicked grin. The way his cheeks had flushed out of nowhere certainly wasn't normal, and to avoid thinking about those odd feelings swirling in his stomach, he decided backing away would be best.

"Ah… Yeah, I should go to sleep, I guess..." Sleepiness had taken over her after letting such heavy emotions drag her down, so she no longer had a problem with taking a night off while Chat helped clean up. "I'll be on cleaning duty next time, alright?" Hopefully there wouldn't be a next time, but she wanted to take responsibility either way.

"Right!" Chat nodded, turning on his feet and hopping back up onto the railing, preparing to head off.

"Thanks for being here, Chat," she called over to him, just before he set off. There was a certain strange warmth in her chest, one she couldn't explain, but she appreciated it anyway. "Goodnight..."

Chat peeked over his shoulder for a moment and caught a glimpse of that breathtaking, genuine smile that she gave him. It was the first time in a while he'd seen her spirits lifted in such a way. It melted his heart, and while guilt still tugged away at him, he allowed himself a single moment of peace. "Goodnight, princess." And with that, he extended his stick and dived away into the night.

"Wow..." Marinette didn't even notice how hot her cheeks had become, until a blast of the cold night air gave her a better sense of awareness. As much as she still loved Adrien with every ounce of her being, she wondered if it'd be unfair of her to let Chat Noir give her such comfort. She was inevitably left confused and torn, and so, she headed down into her bedroom and instead decided to deal with it all in the morning.

…