I blame this fic entirely on wonderfulwizardofthozz. I mentioned that a year ago today, I posted my first Miraculous Ladybug fic and said that it was a shame I didn't realise it earlier so I could write something to post to commemorate it. She then encouraged me to write something short - a little 200 word fic - but I suck at writing short stories and this happened instead.

I hope you enjoy!

Inferno

Chat Noir dodged the flaming boulder that was aimed at his head.

Yikes, that was close.

That was okay though, all he had to do was stall the akuma long enough for Ladybug to turn up and everything would be fine.

"Chat Noir!"

Or everything would not be fine because Marinette was standing right there and why wasn't she running away and why wasn't she far, far from the battle zone?!

Alya and Nino were with her as well. The former was eagerly filming everything for her blog, while Nino seemed desperate to be anywhere but there.

The akuma, who called himself Dee Fuser and used so many explosives it would make Michael Bay green with envy, zeroed in on Chat's three friends' and prepared to send a fireball their way.

"Nononononono!" Chat muttered to himself as he ran towards them.

Not Nino, his best friend, who was so caring and understanding about Chat's strict Father and even stricter schedule. Who took pity on the new kid at school and introduced himself, in turn introducing Adrien to a whole world of friendship and music and video games that he had never experienced before.

Not Alya, who was the new kid at school just like him, but wouldn't let him flounder like the socially awkward dork that he was. Who loved to gush about Ladybug just as much as he did and was always ready to analyse akuma battles and come out with superhero theories.

And not Marinette. Marinette. Beautiful, kind, talented Marinette. Who could barely string three words together around Adrien, but seemed confident and teasing around Chat Noir. Who didn't turn him away when the feline hero of Paris appeared on her balcony to talk. He'd been curious, that was all. Curious as to why she would act one way around Adrien and so completely different around Chat Noir.

And you know what they say about curiosity and cats.

He never stood a chance.

Chat kept visiting Marinette. Kept getting drawn in by her kindness, her smile, her eyes, her laugh, her humour, her soothing company. Soon enough, he fell harder for her than he ever did Ladybug and it turns out it was reciprocated. He cherished the memory of Marinette's lips on his, the feel of her hands in his hair, the pounding of his heart as his lips reached for hers again and again.

Marinette, whose kisses were like an inferno, burning him up from the inside but Chat was quite happy to be lost to the flames. Marinette, who made him happy simply by existing. Marinette, the one he was in love with and who was about to get blown up by a flaming boulder.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat darted in front of Marinette, Alya and Nino, his hand outstretched and ready to stop the gigantic, burning rock that was heading their way.

"CHAT, NO!" Marinette screamed from behind him.

He only had time for the brief thought of This is going to hurt, before the boulder hit his hand. Cataclysm took effect immediately, but it still hurt. He was still struck head on with a giant rock and a flaming one at that. Pain registered in what seemed like every part of his body, even as the rock began to disintegrate. He gave a shout and then was airborne, flying backwards, narrowly missing Marinette, Alya and Nino and slamming into a shop front.

"CHAT NOIR!" His three friends cried out in horror.

Pain. Pain was everywhere. Chat blacked out for a moment before coming back to with a groan. Alya, Nino and Marinette were scrambling to get near him. They were screaming his name; running towards him and simultaneously dodging Dee Fuser's attacks.

"No," he said weakly. "Run. Get out of here."

Beep! Beep! Beep! Chimed his miraculous.

Marinette was at his side and Chat looked blearily at her. It was so hard to keep his eyes open, but he had to. He had to. He had to protect her. He had to protect all of them.

Where was Ladybug? He could really use her help. He had to – he had to protect them.

"Chaton!" Marinette cried, tears in her eyes and looking panicked. "Are you alright?"

"M'nette," he slurred as Alya and Nino reached them. "You gotta go."

"We're not leaving you," Marinette shook her head.

Chat's head felt fuzzy. It was so hard to think. Was that blood dripping down the side of his face? He could hear sounds in the background: people and police officers grabbing Dee Fuser's attention while Chat regrouped, but it was so very hard to focus on them. It was hard enough to focus on Marinette and she was leaning over him, cradling his head in her lap.

"Princess, run."

"Not happening."

"What do we do?" Nino asked.

"We need to get him out of here," Marinette said.

"No!" Chat cried. "You run! You all run!"

"We're not leaving you!" Alya said, and Chat belatedly became aware that her phone was nowhere to be found. That was a plus. He doubted people following the Ladyblog wanted to see him like this.

"Princess," he tried again, disregarding the stares Alya and Nino were giving him and Marinette about the nickname. "You need to leave."

Marinette shut him up with a kiss. Chat felt pain all over, but that didn't stop him from kissing back. He was vaguely aware of Alya and Nino's cries of shock, but he ignored them. All that mattered to him in that moment was Marinette.

She pulled away from him and he gave her a weak smile, "Wow, you really blow me away, Mari."

She gaped at him.

"That just blew my mind," he went on.

"You're bruised and battered but you still find time for puns?" Marinette seemed incredulous.

He gave a weak laugh, "No need to blow a fuse, Princess."

"Chat Noir."

"I guess I'm just the bomb."

"Chaton! Stop wasting your energy on jokes! Just lie still!"

He raised a shaky hand to cup her face, "I love you, you know?"

Alya and Nino gasped; Marinette just raised a hand to cover the one on her face, tears finally spilling from her eyes.

"I love you too," she replied.

"I just had to say it. Love you, Marinette. Love you so much."

"You can't say that to me like it's a goodbye."

"M'sorry."

It was so very hard to keep his eyes open.

Beep! Beep! Beep! His miraculous chimed again.

"He's about to detransform," Marinette said. "Alya, Nino, move so you're blocking the view from the street. No one can see him like this."

The blogger and the DJ moved immediately, sitting side by side and creating a wall with their bodies. But it was a miracle that no one had come rushing over to see Chat in such a state already.

"Let it go, Chat," Marinette told him gently. "Let the transformation go, it's just us here. We can help you."

"Please … don't … be mad," he voice was getting weaker. "I … love you."

"I won't be mad," she promised. "It's okay."

His transformation fell away in a flash of green and the three of them saw the boy under the mask for the first time. He gave them a weak, nervous smile and then fell unconscious. A black, cat like creature that could only be his kwami flew out of his ring and slumped on his wielders stomach, clearly spent.

"Adrien," Marinette whispered, her eyes wide.

"Holy shit," Alya said, looking both awed and terrified that the hero of Paris was one of their best friends.

"Dude! Holy fuck – Adrien – what do we do?!" Nino looked hysterical.

Marinette bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Adrien's unresponsive lips. "I'm sorry, Chaton. No secret identity is worth this." She turned to her two friends. "You take care of him. Keep him comfortable. Keep him breathing."

"Girl, what are you planning?!" Alya's expression was stricken.

"I'm going to stop this and get them back for hurting my cat."

"What do you mean?!" Nino demanded, his eyes darting from Marinette to the prone form of his best friend.

"Tikki, transformez moi!"

She pressed one last kiss to Adrien's lips and, ignoring their dumbfounded looks, Ladybug charged off to battle.

Later, reporters would be astounded at the ferocity the spotted heroine fought with. Later, civilians and police officers would be praised for stalling the akuma after Chat Noir took such a hard hit. Later, Alya would be astounded that no one else had seen Marinette and Adrien transform. Later, the two superheroes of Paris wouldn't worry about any of that, because Ladybug and a fully-healed Chat Noir were too busy sitting on the Eiffel Tower, sharing kiss after mind blowing kiss in the beautiful Parisian night.

A/N:

Wonderfulwizardofthozz (who is my beautiful fanfiction wife and you should all check out her fics) asked for a Marichat reveal fic, but I'm a little impressed that I manage to get a kiss for every corner of the love square in this. I also need to thank my wifey for coming up with all the "You blow me away" type puns, otherwise this fic would be a lot angstier than what it is.

Please let me know what you thought in the reviews!

Much love,

Leisey.