"It's Gabriel Agreste." Ladybug said.

Chat Noir opened his mouth to protest, but she continued before he could say a word. "Felix exchanged the Peacock miraculous on my yoyo with him, to..." She swallowed. "To protect his heart that was created by the previous Peacock miraculous holder."

"Who was..." Chat swallowed too, but Marinette had a feeling that he already knew the answer for the question he was about to ask. "Who was its previous owner?"

"Emilie Agreste." Ladybug said, moving her heavy sad look towards the city. "Apparently she wanted to save her nephew who was about to die in a few days."

"Then he IS Hawk Moth..." So much pain sounded in her partner's voice, that the heroine immediately returned her eyes to him. Chat Noir's face expressed anger and hurt at the same time, which was obvious even despite his mask. "And Felix... He knew... That's why he suggested pretending to be... Adrien Agreste." Chat's fists clenched. "And I tried to understand and forgive him... What a liar he is!"

"He was scared for his life!" Ladybug exclaimed, without even noticing how her partner's words hurt her to the core. "He didn't want anyone to influence his heart!.. His life..."

"And you defend him, LB?!" Chat Noir looked at her angrily, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm not... I don't..." Ladybug looked back at him with stressed eyes. "I don't have any reason to defend him!" She yelled. "He betrayed me! He lied to me!" She didn't notice tears streaming down her cheeks. "He pretended to be someone he wasn't!" Her voice began to subside, gradually turning into a bitter sob. "He tricked me... He is the worst... I hate him..."

Chat Noir hugged her while her body trembled helplessly, and tears still flowed from her eyes.

"It's ok, milady, it's ok." Chat whispered. "We will get miraculous back, just like I promised you." He sighed. "Emilie Agreste..." He spoke in an unbelieving voice. "And Nathalie has the same symptoms as mo... as Emilie did. They were both using the broken miraculous. Mayura. Now I can see how perfectly it fits..."

Chat pulled Ladybug away from him slightly and looked into her face.

"But I don't understand why would he decide to tell everything?" He asked. "It doesn't look like him. There must be some trick here, some benefit for Felix. Could this be a trap?"

"No." Ladybug replied after taking a deep breath. "No trick." She said in a low but confident voice.

"How can you be so sure?!" Chat exclaimed. "He wouldn't just give you Hawk Moth's name if he didn't get something for this!" He insisted. "Did he find you himself? Did he ask for something in return?"

"No, he didn't." Ladybug looked away. "He didn't find me. He said it to me when he found out my identity."

"He did what?!" Chat's eyes widened. "How can you talk so calmly about this?! Maybe Hawk Moth already knows your name! Did you just let Felix go after that?!"

"Yes, I did." Ladybug sighed again. "Calm down, Chat. He won't tell Gabriel my name."

"You can't trust him!" Her partner said in an irritated voice. "He already tricked us not once! He always plays his own game!"

"Not this time." Ladybug said, still avoiding eye contact.

"Why are you so sure?!" Chat didn't give up. "He already gave your yoyo with all the miraculous to Hawk Moth! Why don't you think he won't tell him your name?!"

"Because he loves me! That's why!" She exclaimed, stamping her foot and finally looking into her partner's eyes.

Chat's eyes widened in shock.

"He... but.... and he knows your..." He was looking at her, his eyes darted across her face, as if part of his mind was rummaging through fragments of memories. Finally Chat's gaze stopped. "Marinette..." He whispered.

Ladybug took a step back and looked at him with wide eyes too.

"How..." She swallowed. "How could you guess my identity by the fact that Felix Graham de Vanily is in love with me, if he only confessed his feelings this morning?" She asked slowly.

Chat's face twisted into a bitter smile.

"Because I was the one to cover his lies this time." He said. "You already know it was him, right?"

Ladybug looked at him with an uncomprehending look.

"You seemed so happy, Marinette..." He said apologetically. "For the first time in a long period – God, now I understand the reason for your prolonged depression so well!.. But then..." Chat sighed. "You smiled so brightly and I still believed Felix actually had a good heart and..." He looked away. "I didn't tell you it was him. I thought this accident would help you both. I saw a chance for you to be happy again, and for him an opportunity to open his heart, to finally feel alive after his father's death." Chat Noir looked in Ladybug's eyes. "I'm sorry that I lied to you, Marinette."

The heroine felt her legs go limp and her head spin slightly.

"A-adrien..." She exhaled, feeling her eyes blur with tears. "This can't be happening... How could we confuse each other so badly, Adrien?.. Oh my God..." She exclaimed as the pieces of information formed a bigger picture in her head. "Your father!.. And your mother... and Felix..."

Ladybug's body weakened again and her partner picked her up readily.

"I hate him, Adrien!" She whispered, trembling helplessly with her whole body. "I hate him so much!.." She repeated, feeling the hot tears flowing from her eyes with new force, cooling on her cheeks in the evening Parisian wind. "And I love him anyway..."

*

"Alya, your ship is sailing!" Alix announced, entering the class the next morning.

"Which one of them?" The journalist raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"How can you call yourself the biggest LadyNoir shipper if you still don't know?!" Alix teased.

Marinette froze and stared at Adrien, who turned to look at her with slightly widened eyes.

"Alix, you have now so intrigued me, girl, I am burning with curiosity!" Alya exclaimed, throwing an accusing why-am-I-not-the-first-to-know-about-this look at Marinette.

"Half the city saw their loving embrace on the Eiffel Tower yesterday." Alix reported.

Damn it!

Yesterday Marinette was so dumbfounded by everything that was happening that she didn't even think about the fact that she and Chat Noir were on public display when she cried to him about her love-hate relationship with his cousin.

They decided to take a night break to digest the new information and calm down before attacking Gabriel. And the last thing Marinette expected was to hear about her non-existent relationship with her partner in class today...

**

Next ch. - tomorrow