When Walls Crumble

Chapter 24: Revealed

"No!" Marinette screamed, defying all the evidence and refusing to believe what had just happened. There has to be a way she thought. "Spots on!" she cried, barely thinking, but trying every resource at her disposal.

"Marinette, no!" Luka gasped weakly. She ignored his protest.

"Lucky charm!" she shouted through the tears.

Her power yielded a bandage, but it did nothing to stop the bleeding. So she carefully switched it out for the jacket and tried her last card.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

It did nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

She did her best to ignore the steady flow of tears coursing down her face.

"Come on, Luka," she sobbed. "I'll get you to the hospital. Hold on." She adjusted him gently and tried to pick him up, but every movement made him cry out in pain.

"Marinette..." Luka breathed, reaching up and cupping her face in his hand. "I..."

"No!" she cried. "You aren't going to die and you aren't saying any special last words because you will not die!" She put so much force into those last words, anyone nearby would have believed she could convince Death to leave by mere will-power.

Luka laughed softly. "I love you, you know?"

"Then stay with me! Because I love you too and if you dare die on me I'll...I don't know what I would do without you."

"Marinette," he whispered, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He shifted himself up onto his elbow with a lot of pain, but it was worth it. He kissed her.  She leaned into his kiss and held him there for a minute until he pulled away.

"Stop it, Luka! Stop acting like you're about to die. You are not going to die. I won't let you!"

He smiled. "I love you. When I told you I would die for you...those weren't just words."

"No, no, no!" she sobbed. "Don't leave me!"

A single tear trickled from the corner of his eye. "I don't want to. That's...that's the hardest part. I don't want to leave you, but I would rather this than you leaving me. I love you. I always have and I always will."

"Luka..."

"Marinette," he whispered, as his hand fell away from her face and landed lifelessly by his side.

"Luka?" she sobbed.

No answer.

"LUKA!" she screamed, mindless of everything: the rain, her de-transformation, and the distant sirens. She cradled his head, calling his name, begging him to come back. She was so focused on him that when the black and purple butterfly landed on his jacket in her hand and the holographic mask appeared in front of her face, she didn't notice. The voice of the villain tried to promise her help in exchange for a couple of magic gems, but she didn't hear. All her focus was on Luka. She called him, trying to persuade his lifeless body to wake up and refusing to accept his passing.

An hour passed in this fashion before she collapsed in despair, sobbing over her husband's body.

"Marinette," Hawkmoth tried again. "You have suffered too much. No one deserves this, but it happens. Fate is cruel, but with my help, you can change fate. I only ask for a small compensation. What do you say, Chaos?"

Marinette looked up. "No. That's what I say. No. Luka sacrificed his life for mine. I'm not about to go on a murderous rampage for that. You're a fool. Some sadness is too pure for you to touch. Go to hell!" she screamed, throwing the Akuma away.

Her force of mind did the same thing to Lila that Lila had done to Gabriel. The new Hawkmoth was driven back from Marinette's sadness by her undying love. The Akuma was destroyed.

As the now normal jacket fell to the ground, two objects fell out of it. She noticed but barely registered. She sat by her husband until the ambulance came. She sat there numb with shock as the paramedics took him to the hospital with admittedly little hope.

As the rain fell, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, you don't want to catch a cold," Cat Noir said soothingly. "Do you want me to walk you home, m'lady?"

His reminder that she revealed her identity caused Marinette to hang her head. "I'm sorry, Chaton. I'm so, so sorry."

He gently rubbed her back. "What for? You did nothing wrong. In fact, you did everything right."

"I'm sorry you had to find out like that. I'm sorry for losing control in front of you like that. I'm sorry that I'm Ladybug. I never told you I was married for fear that you would be mad or..."

Cat Noir cut her off. "Hey," he said gently. "It's okay. I wasn't as surprised as I think I should have been. It made sense. The more I think about it, the more I think I was an idiot for not recognizing the similarities before. Same hair, same eyes, heck, even the same personality. And I'm definitely not mad. I was happy that you were happy. You are a pretty amazing girl, I mean, heck, who else has denied an Akuma?"

Marinette's eyes widened. "Hawkmoth..." she gasped. "It was Lila! She must have gotten his miraculous somehow, but she kept it to herself! I knew I should never have trusted her! I'm such a fool!" she sobbed.

Her partner lifted her face up to look at him. "You are not a fool, Marinette. You are one of the smartest girls I know. And we have an advantage. We know Lila. Also, maybe she was just trying it out once before giving it to us. Maybe she was just curious. And if she put it on she wouldn't have been able to help feeling your sadness. We don't know yet. Now, come on. We need to get out of the rain." 

He picked up Luka's jacket and noticed the two items underneath it. One was his cell phone and the other was a small jewelry box. Not wanting to add any further emotional burden to Marinette, he put them back into the jacket pocket and tucked it under his arm.

He offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. "Would you like a lift home, Bugaboo?"

She shook her head. "No, I can't go back there yet. Maybe Alya's?"

Cat Noir nodded.  

Soon she was at her best friend's front door. "Thank you, Cat Noir," she said, giving him a quick hug to hide the tears that surfaced way too easily. The night had made her so sensitive that the smallest act of kindness from her partner provoked a tidal wave of gratitude

He bowed. "Anything for My Lady and Purrincess."

"Thank you, Cat Noir. But just because you know my identity doesn't mean you should be flippant with it. It needs to stay a secret."

He smiled. "Of course, Marinette. I'm just trying to force my mind to connect the dots. It's something to get used to. I'll see you later. Goodnight."