Wherever You Go

Later that day, Marinette lay on her bed, a contemplative expression on her face.

Tikki flew to her side, cocking her head. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," said Marinette, her eyebrows scrunching. Her eyes tightened.

"Marinette," Tikki prodded.

Her chosen sighed. "It's just...I never expected Chat Noir of all people to be akumatized." She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Seeing him like that-it felt unnatural. And Paris! All because he found out who I was?"

"The rule is there for a reason," Tikki said, regretfully. "Maybe other holders can get away with breaking it, but your and Chat Noir's miraculouses are the most powerful of them all. The slightest misstep can lead to devastating consequences. That's why it's so important your identities stay secret, at least until Hawk Moth is defeated."

"I know." Marinette burrowed her chin into the space behind her knees. Her next words came out muffled: "He knew my identity...did I know his?"

"Marinette-"

She looked up, eyes wide with distress. "What happens when a timeline is erased? Is it, like, a total wipe, or is it like when you press a pencil onto a piece of paper too hard so that when you try to erase whatever you wrote you can still remember some of what used to be there?"

Tikki hovered in closer, concern wafting from her every movement. "Why are you asking me this?"

Marinette didn't reply. Her breath started to stutter, her face crumpled, and she buried her face into her lap.

"T-Tikki..." Marinette lifted her head to reveal a cascade of tears traipsing down her cheeks. "I-I don't-"

"Marinette!" Tikki placed a paw on Marinette's face. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I-I feel...I feel like I've lost something," she said, her voice cracking. "Something-something important."

She shook her head, scrunching her eyes closed as if that would push down the inexplicable grief that had taken root deep in her heart. Whatever else she tried to say was lost in an eruption of harsh and heartbroken sobs.

I'm sorry.

Reviews are, of course, welcome, as is criticism! I only ask it be delivered in a way it doesn't shatter my writer's heart into pieces.