Reunited (A Miraculous Ladybug Romance)

The Letter

For anyone who has already read this chapter, it has been almost completely rewritten. I am taking this story in a slightly different direction then this chapter had previously lead. Enjoy. Thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated.

     Everything about this evening had been a dream come true. First of all, my beloved Adrien with his gorgeous green eyes and golden blonde hair was my escort. Then, Mr. Agreste introduced me to the best fashion designers in the world. I nearly fell over out of excitement when they had told me that they appreciated my work and actually listened to my ideas. When I had finished telling them about some of my upcoming designs, I looked over and caught eyes with my Knight. He looked so handsome standing there watching me; I couldn't help but give him a huge smile and to think about how amazing this evening had been going.
     As I excused myself from the throng of chattering designers, I waltzed back over to reunite with my date. My heart fluttered as he intertwined his fingers with mine.
     "Did you enjoy yourself my princess?" he whispered with a slight grin. "I couldn't help but notice that you seemed quite in your element." He then leaned in to whisper into my ear with his warm breath sending chills down my spine. "I was beginning to worry that you were being swept away." He then wrapped his free arm around my waist pulling me tight against his body. "I prefer keeping you right here," he gently breathed with his soft lips brushing against my ear leaving a tingling sensation that spread throughout my body.
     My mind was spinning. Adrien was openly flirting with me and was being quite mischievous. The only other person that had ever acted this way around me, or Ladybug, was Chat Noir. Could it be possible that my sweet, caring, tender hearted Adrien could also be my mischievous, flirtatious, pun loving cat? I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind as Adrien released his hold around my waist. He stepped back, keeping his fingers interlocked with mine, to flash me a cheesy Chat like grin before regaining his composure and softening his smile.
"I'm sorry," he nearly whispered, "that was pretty lame wasn't it?"
All I could do was blush in return.
"I'm not used to this whole date thing," he sheepishly admitted, "I think I'm doing it wrong. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."
Adrien was definitely not Chat Noir. Chat would have never apologized for his behavior. What had I been thinking? My missing Chat must have been playing with my emotions making me think Adrien was him.
"Uncomfortable?" I replied with a smirk. "I definitely did not expect that kind of behavior from you, Mr. Agreste, I'm not going to lie. However, that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it. I-I enjoy being close to you and it makes me happy to think that you missed me."

"So, give me all the deets girl!" Alya demanded the next day on the phone. Aside from that one moment where Adrien had become extremely flirtatious, the rest of the evening had been rather uneventful.
"Well, I met some famous designers and they seemed very interested in my designs."
"That is not what I mean and you know it!" Alya screeched.
"Well, uh.... Adrien held my hand most of the night, and he told me that he missed me when I was off with his father"
"That's amazing!" Alya added, "But Marinette, why don't you sound more excited?"
Truth be told, I was just not into this conversation. I had been thinking about Chat Noir all morning. Even though I had had an enjoyable evening with Adrien, my thoughts would not stop returning to my old partner. What was wrong with me? I tried to think about how Adrien had pulled me into that sudden and intimate embrace, but it only reminded me more and more of Chat. I should have been more flustered in that moment, but I wasn't. If Adrien had done something like that to me in high school, I literally would have died. Of course I had blushed and felt electricity flow through my body, but my words to him had been so bold. Why I had I responded so Ladybug like to his advances? I didn't turn him away, but I didn't treat home like I normally would either. Was it because of the puns that he had made earlier? Was I treating him like I would Chat Noir because he had briefly reminded me of him? I needed to get over this Chat obsession and fast; it was ruining my time with Adrien.
"I'm just... distracted Alya," I truthfully told her. "There's something that I need to do."

"Marinette, are you sure about this," Tikki asked as I folded up the letter that I had just finished writing.
"Yes," I sighed, "I have to try. I have to try to contact Chat. I can't get him out of my head, and it's not fair. It's not fair to Adrien if I am constantly thinking of Chat when I am with him. I need to know that Chat is okay."
Tikki just shrugged saying, "Whatever you need, Marinette. I'm ready whenever you are."
My heart pounded and my entire body was filled with butterflies. It had been so long since I had done this, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I closed my eyes prepared myself for the transformation.
"Tikki, spots on!"
A pink glow surrounded me as a familiar surge of energy flowed through my veins. A comforting heat coursed through my body making it stronger. A welcome breeze wrapped around me replacing my clothing with the long missed red and black spotted suit. Finally, my cheeks were kissed by the ever loved masked that had never failed to conceal my identity.
I found myself breathless at the completion of the transformation. My body was tingling with the presence of the long forsaken power. As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, a small gasp found its way through my lips. Before me stood Ladybug herself. However, this was not the Ladybug that I had remembered. This Ladybug had a more mature looking face with long loose hair hanging quite a bit past her shoulders. She looked confused and not at all heroic. In fact, she looked more like a star struck cosplaying fan than the heroine herself. It was obvious that it had been too long since this girl in the mask had seen a battle and it couldn't be certain that she would succeed if one were to present itself now.
"What a joke," I mumbled as I took a red ribbon and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. "No one would even believe I was the real Ladybug if they saw me."
It was a quarter past midnight, so I was certain that no one would see me. I pulled out my yoyo and braced myself before jumping off the balcony. The wind rushed past me as it toyed with my long flowing hair. The shimmering lights below danced at the return of their long absent Lady. The ever dazzling Eiffel Tower stood at attention upon the sight of its heroine as I flew towards the infamous location where Chat Noir and I had always started our nightly patrols.
This is where I would leave the letter. If Chat really had returned like Tikki had suggested, then maybe he would return here for old times sake. I had placed the letter in a small metal box. It was heavy enough that the wind shouldn't knock it down and durable enough to face the weather. I placed it on the beam where we had always sat which was several feet above the civilian viewing deck. I decided that I would return in one week to see if the letter had been retrieved.
Before leaving, I sat on the well known beam and gazed upon the brilliance of the moon. I thought back to the last time that I had sat here; when I had had to say goodbye to Chat Noir. He had promised that one day we would meet again. My cheek felt warm as I remembered the kiss that he given me just before he jumped away, out of my life.
Without Chat, being here felt so empty. If I were to stay any longer, I knew that the sorrow of his absence would overwhelm me. Reluctantly, I pulled out my yoyo and traversed the well known path leading me back to the balcony and to my ordinary life as Marinette.
As I laid in my bed, I tried to focus on the day that was to come. Tomorrow, I would be eating lunch again with my all time crush, Adrien. He had admitted that he enjoyed being close to me. He wanted to get to know me. He had openly flirted with me and pulled my embarrassingly close to his warm and intoxicatingly beautiful body. Adrien was perfect; my life was perfect.........but something was missing. Why couldn't I get rid of the feeling that something was missing? Was it my life as Ladybug? Was it my partner Chat Noir? Why couldn't I just be happy with Adrien? I had always wanted to be close to Adrien, and now even with that happening, it was not enough. What was wrong with me?