Once upstairs, Marinette sat down in her chair and watched as her red-and-black kwami munched on a chocolate-chip cookie.
"Tikki," Marinette took deep breaths. "Listen. I've been really, really stressed lately. I've been tired, my grades are dropping, I'm completely overwhelmed. And... I'm kind of useless when it comes to fighting crime lately."
Tikki swallowed her bite of cookie. "Marinette, don't say that! You're wonderful. You're great at what you do. I know it, Chat Noir knows it, and the whole city of Paris knows it!"
Marinette picked at a frayed thread on the hem of her shirt. "Not really. I've been really... I don't know. I just haven't been doing well lately, and I know for sure that I'm not the only one who's noticed it. Tikki..." Tears began to fall from Mari's beautiful blue eyes. "I don't think I can handle being Ladybug anymore."
Ignoring the cries of protest from Tikki, Marinette gently removed the black earrings from her ears.
"I'm sorry, Tikki. I'm sorry, Chat," she whispered into the empty room as she placed the Miraculous into the ancient Chinese box. She stashed it cautiously into her drawer and knelt on the ground, crying.
That night as she drifted off to sleep, Marinette recalled the message she'd sent out to Chat prior to removing her earrings.
"Dear Chat," she'd started it. "I don't know how to say this right, so bear with me. You may have noticed that I haven't been at my full potential lately, you could say. I've been too stressed to handle daily life and life as a superhero. I can't be Ladybug right now. I just can't. I may come back. I haven't decided quite yet. So for now, let's just say that I just need a break. I hope you understand. Be safe.
Your Partner,
Ladybug."
She hoped that it had reached Chat already. She did feel guilty just leaving him like that, but it was a choice she had to make for herself.
If all went well, the akuma attacks would be very few while she was gone. Would Hawkmoth bother akumatizing people when Ladybug wasn't around with an available Miraculous? Hopefully he'd take it easy, and as long as people were happy, the risk was even lower.
For the first time in weeks, Marinette went to sleep at a reasonable hour.
YOU ARE READING
Broken (a Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction)
Fanfiction(Completed) Being a superhero is hard. It's stressful, dangerous, and scary. And after awhile, Marinette just can't take it anymore. She's broken and her life is falling apart. So, she gives up her Miraculous. Can Paris and Chat Noir still cope with...
