Tell Me Why You Love Me

Hush

Kitty Cat: Hey Bugaboo xx

Kitty Cat: I was thinking we could have a date night later tonight? 7pm?

Kitty Cat: What do you say?

Ladybug: That sounds great

Ladybug: I just need to talk to you about something

Kitty Cat: What is it, bug?

Ladybug: I don't wanna say it over text

Ladybug: We need to talk in person

Kitty Cat: Ummm okayyy?

Kitty Cat: ngl, you're kinda worrying me

Kitty Cat: Is everything alright?

Ladybug: I'd be lying if I said yes

Kitty Cat: Is it...about us?

Ladybug: No no no god no

Ladybug: Don't worry about it right now. I'll talk to you when I see you ok?

Kitty Cat: Alright. I trust ya

Kitty Cat: I love you <3

Ladybug: I love you too, Adrien

Marinette was sitting in her shared office this bright morning, her foot anxiously shaking under her desk as she attempted to focus on her sketchpad and monitors sitting in front of her. Luckily for her, her officemate was out for the day. It was expectedly hard to concentrate with everything running through her mind after last night. She desperately needed to talk to Adrien later tonight. Maybe even earlier if she could, it was tearing her apart, not being able to talk about her discovery. She hadn't even talked to Alya about this. She just couldn't; it was too dangerous for Alya to know something to this extent. She just needed time to deal with this with her partner before spreading information. That seemed like the more responsible thing to do in this situation. It was times like these where she wished there was some sort of manual that came with the kwami.

Her body was worn down and fatigued from last night. Dark strands of her hair feathered out in front of her eyes, not cooperating with her low bun. She couldn't find the regular pin she wore, but frankly, she didn't have much time this morning to search for it. Marinette spent so long coming up with some sort of comprehensible plan to move forward with Monarch's identity that her eyes started growing weights that felt like they were dropping down six feet under. Not to mention the unusual amount of concealer she put on before work to cover the dark circles under her eyes.

It seemed to be a waste of the night for her. There wasn't any good plan that she felt confident in enough to feel more at ease with the issue.

She wanted to curl up under her desk and fall asleep, only to never wake up.

"I don't know what to do, Tikki," she mumbled as she mindlessly scrolled through her emails on her monitor. "I mean, this is something we've been fighting for. You'd think I'd feel more motivated but I'm just...scared."

Tikki hovered over her keyboard, her face full of sympathy and compassion for her holder. "It's okay, Marinette. This is a perfectly normal reaction. Just think of it this way, now that we know who Monarch is, we're even closer to defeating him!"

"I know, I know. I'm just overthinking."

"About what?"

Marinette sighed. "Everything. Yes, I'm happy we have a huge lead to ending it all. But I want to do it right. I... I can't mess it all up again, Tikki. I just can't."