The next day, interactions between Marinette and Alya were a bit strained.
How could Alya think that Liam would ever hurt her again? It was ridiculous.
Still... it was a bit unfair of him to use their relationship as a bargaining tool. And Alya had brought up a few good points.
But Alya didn't really know Liam. Not like Marinette did. When he hurt her, it was only because she had hurt him first.
And it would never, ever happen again.
***
Following her little escapade on her first night back in Paris after so long, Marinette kept seeing people talking about Ladybug online. People were freaking out and thinking that their heroine had finally returned.
She felt guilty for getting their hopes up when she knew she couldn't be Ladybug anymore. She knew she had to do something.
So, despite the tension between them, she approached Alya.
***
"Je ne reviens pas," Ladybug explained to the camera. "Je voulais être Ladybug une dernière fois. Je veux fonder une famille, et je ne peux pas faire ça si je suis Ladybug. Alors..." she took a deep breath. "Je ne serai plus Ladybug. J'aimais être Ladybug pour toutes ces années, mais je ne peux plus. Merci pour tout ce que vous faisiez pour moi. Je vous aime, et j'aime Paris, mais... c'est la fois pour moi dire au revoir." She felt a single tear slide down her cheek. "Je ne vous oublierai jamais. Au revoir."
["I'm not coming back," Ladybug explained to the camera. "I wanted to be Ladybug one last time. I want to start a family, and I can't do that if I'm Ladybug. So..." she took a deep breath. "I'm not going to be Ladybug anymore. I've loved being Ladybug for all these years, but I can't anymore. Thank you for all that you have done for me. I love you all, and I love Paris, but... it's time for me to say goodbye." She felt a single tear slide down her cheek. "I will never forget you. Goodbye."]
Alya clicked off the camera and stared at her in silence for a moment. "Are you okay, Mari?"
Marinette wiped the tear from her face and detransformed. "Yes. I'm fine."
"Are you sure you want me to upload this?"
Marinette hesitated for a long moment. "Yes. I'm sure."
Alya took a deep breath and clicked the post button.
Instantly, the Ladyblog was flooded with comments.
It was official.
Marinette was no longer Ladybug.
***
Marinette felt almost relieved on the plane ride back home. She had been so excited to go back to Paris, and spending Christmas with her family had been wonderful, but now she just needed to get out of that city.
It was the city where she had become Ladybug, and it was the city where she had officially- and publicly- given up Ladybug.
She just wanted to go home; and now they were on their way.
"Le Tournoi de Papillon is in less than a month, you know," Marinette said to Liam as she leaned over toward him during the flight. "So, my apologies in advance if I'm a bit frazzled over the next three weeks."
Liam smiled at her. "I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to see the show."
Marinette smiled. "Thank you."
***
She knew it was ridiculous, but she couldn't help it: Alya's words were haunting her.
Nearly every time she interacted with Liam over the next week, she couldn't help but remember what she had said.
Did he love every part of her? Or just what was on the surface?
Once again, she was distracted from her work.
"Are you okay, Marinette?" Ms. Givens asked her at one point. "You've been so distracted lately. I had hoped that going on vacation for Christmas would help, but evidently not. Is there something going on with you?"
Marinette shook her head. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, though."
But she wasn't fine. She was tearing herself apart with worry.
She needed to talk to someone.
And that someone turned out to be Adrien.
She had been hesitant to confide in him again after what he had suggested the last time, but she didn't know who else would listen like he would.
"Wait, so let me get this straight," Adrien said after she explained what she could of her predicament. "You agreed to give up whatever thing it was Liam wanted you to give up, and your relationship was great, but Alya now thinks that he doesn't trust you and that you might get hurt in the future, and now you're worried she might be right?"
"Exactly."
Adrien thought about his response for a moment. "I think you should follow your heart, Mari," he said finally. "If you love and trust Liam and really believe that he won't hurt you, then... be with him. If that's what you want."
"But what if I do end up getting hurt?"
"Then at least you'll know that he's not the one for you."
Marinette sniffed. "I don't know what to do, Adrien. I don't want to leave him, but... he's asking so much of me, and I..." she felt a hot tear escape from her eye and trace a path down her cheek. "I thought I could do it, but then I actually did it, and now..." a tiny sob escaped her throat.
"Hey," Adrien said, gently wiping the tear from her face with his thumb. "Come here." He opened his arms.
She gladly accepted the hug and was soon encased in the tight embrace of Adrien Agreste. He softly stroked her hair, his chin resting on the top of her head.
"You should never settle," he told her softly. "You are... incredible. You deserve so much more than someone who doesn't love all of you. And if that's not Liam, then maybe you deserve better than him."
Better than Liam?
"I think you should sit down and have a serious conversation with him," Adrien advised her. "Tell him what his request is doing to you. Tell him your concerns. Tell him you need someone who loves every part of you, not just some of you. Have that conversation, and then go from there."
Marinette nodded into his chest, then pulled away from the hug. "Thank you, Adrien. I don't know what I would do without you."
Adrien gave her a small smile, and she could detect something that seemed like sadness in his eyes. Sympathy.
"Anything for you, Marinette."
***
That evening, Marinette instigated yet another serious conversation with Liam. It seemed to her like ever since he found out about her alter ego, the only conversations they had were serious- and stressful.
Marinette told him her concerns. She told him how she felt. She told him about how she had been tearing herself up inside with no way to release that tension. They argued. They yelled. Tears were shed. But once again, they finally came to an agreement.
It was wrong of Liam to ask Marinette to give up such a big part of who she was entirely.
Eventually, they came up with a compromise that worked for both of them: she could be Ladybug on weekends and if someone needed her.
It was less than what she wanted, but it was better than nothing.
She could be Ladybug again.
YOU ARE READING
Welcome to New York
Fanfiction"It's impossible to love someone and control them at the same time." -Terry Crews *** Life had never been better for Marinette. She was thirty years old and one of the best designers at a big fashion label in New York City. She was living her dream...
