Chapter Text
“Pound it!” Their knuckles connected firmly, matching smiles for the cameras after another job well done. It was a quick but brutal fight — the Akuma was even more agitated than usual, mindlessly destroying all objects in its path, but thankfully none too bright, and the source of its corruption was easy to spot — and they had cleaned up in no time, not even needing to call forth a Cataclysm or a Lucky charm. Miraculously, no-one had been seriously injured, and even the small cuts and bruises the fight had inevitably produced were seamlessly healed when Ladybug purified the Akuma.
But they were both exhausted.
Chat Noir noticed Ladybug’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she helped the former Akuma to his feet, and even as she waved for the cheering crowd he could tell her heart wasn’t quite in it. He himself was struggling to stand up straight, wanting nothing more than to collapse on the grass and sleep for a million years. It had been a long week. She glanced back over her shoulder at him and something unspoken passed between them, her subtle expression telling him clearly that she wanted to go home just as much as he did, and he took the cue.
“Well, unfortunately, we must be off!” he called out cheerfully to the onlookers surrounding them, neatly sliding up to Ladybug and wrapping a casual arm around her waist. “My Lady, if you don’t mind.” He smiled for the cameras as she instinctively mirrored the movement, her slim arms nearly matching him in strength as she gripped his side. “Farewell, sweet Paris!” he called out dramatically, and his baton extended, rocketing them upwards in a sudden jerk to the gasps and cheers of approval from the rapidly shrinking crowd below them.
They hung for a moment in mid-air, suspended by momentum as Chat’s baton retracted, until Ladybug’s yo-yo caught on a nearby chimney and they swung forwards, disappearing into the skyline.
They crossed a few more streets in this way, until the crowds were far enough away that the screams and constant chattering had melted into the constant hum of city life, mercifully touching down on a rooftop near the Seine. As soon as they landed on solid ground, Ladybug snickered. “Farewell, sweet Paris?” she said.
“Yeah, well,” he huffed as she disentangled herself from his arms. He briefly mourned the loss of her warmth. She smelled like honey and chocolate. “It felt right in the moment.”
She laughed. “You’re always so dramatic.”
“Eh, I’m tired.” He shrugged half-heartedly and grinned. “Besides, imagine how good it’ll look on the news later.”
“Ah yes, dramatic swooping. Always a good sell.” She stretched, which quickly turned into a yawn. “Ugh, I just wanna go to bed and not come out for like a week.”
“Only a week, my Lady? Surely Briar Rose sleeps for longer than that?” He caught her eye and she groaned loudly. “Yeah, that was probably the lamest one so far,” he admitted to her accusatory look. He flopped down on the sun-warmed rooftop and after a moment’s consideration she joined him, her prim cross-legged pose in stark contrast to his languid, outstretched form. They sat like this in silence for a while, looking out over the water. The Eiffel Tower glinted in the distance.
“You know,” said Ladybug suddenly, “I just realized, this is the first time in weeks where we haven’t had to immediately detransform after a battle.”
Chat opened his eyes lazily. “Oh, yeah.” He paused. “I guess it is.” Truthfully it hadn’t even crossed his mind until she mentioned it; Hawkmoth had been running them ragged the past month, with a new Akuma nearly every day. Adding that to school, modelling, and keeping up with his many extra-curricular activities, he’d barely had time to breathe, much less go on patrols — one of his admittedly more brilliant ideas from the very beginning of their partnership, a transparent attempt on his part to spend more time with Ladybug, which she had eagerly agreed to, clearly anxious to take her newfound role of “hero” seriously.
It quickly became apparent that patrolling the streets of Paris was hardly necessary. With security cameras on every street corner and a dedicated police force, petty crimes were for the most part beneath their concern, and Akumas tended to be loud and attacked mostly during the day. Thus their patrols devolved into simple horsing around; races and games of tag, superficial question games, a chance to simply spend time together. Lately though, there simply hadn’t been enough of the stuff. He regretted the Ladybug-shaped hole the last few weeks had left in his life, but more in the back of his mind. He’d just been too tired to care.
“We have time,” she breathed, a note of disbelief in her voice. “I’d forgotten what that feels like.”
“Busy lately, Bug?” he asked casually. She was usually so private about her life outside the one they shared that he almost felt guilty asking, but immediately squashed the idea. He wasn’t prying, and she never answered if she didn’t want to. Their relationship progressed in such odd spurts he kept having to remind himself that they were friends by now — it wasn’t as if he was demanding she unmask immediately. She’d probably kick his ass if he tried.
She sighed. “You wouldn’t believe,” she lamented. “The Akumas are keeping me busy enough as it is, but now that exams are coming up, I can hardly keep up at school. And my family owns a—” Here she paused, apparently considering her choice of words, “—a shop, and I’ve had to help out there when I’m not studying. And on top of all that, I can hardly sleep anyways because of Ad—” Her jaws snapped shut, eyes wide, a hand reflexively clamping over her mouth.
“Because what?” Chat perked up a little. This was interesting.
Ladybug looked pointedly anywhere but at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, but her voice was too loud. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Come on, you can tell me!” He scooted a little closer and nudged her shoulder. “I’m good at keeping secrets.”
“I—” Her face worked furiously, apparently fighting an inner battle over what, if anything, to tell him. “Well…” She sounded petrified.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he said alarmed, backing off a little. She looked like she was going to be sick. “I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s just a boy,” she blurted, and immediately buried her face in her hands.
“…Oh,” he said. He sat back. “Huh.”
There was a faint throbbing in the base of his skull, and his stomach felt like he’d swallowed lead. Chat had always known, deep down, that she’d never taken his pun-riddled declarations of love even remotely seriously. It had turned into somewhat of a running joke, one which he took in stride as best he could. He’d always assumed she had boys falling all over her in “real life” — how could there not be, when she was so incredible? That didn’t mean the confirmation didn’t hurt.
“Well, what’s he like?” He worked hard to keep his voice level and his face as neutral as he could.
“He’s… he’s perfect.” Her voice was muffled but the words bounced around in his skull with perfect clarity. “He’s so smart, and kind to everyone, and he’s so pretty I want to die.”
“Sounds pretty great,” he agreed hollowly. He must be some next-level masochist deep down. “So what’s the problem?”
“I just…” Her hands migrated from covering her face to clutching her hair. Her ears matched her suit but her eyes were glowing with — what was that? Love? Admiration? His chest tightened. “I can’t talk to him! I always get tongue-tied, or say something stupid, or trip over my own feet. It’s so embarrassing! I mean, I’ve gotten better since we first met, like, we’re actually kind of friends now, but it’s kind of a big leap to go from ‘I can sort of string more than two words together in front of you,’ to ‘Please date me, I love you,’ you know?” His breath hitched at the word “love,” but Ladybug didn’t seem to notice. “Plus, it’s not like we’re super-close or anything. I mean,” she tittered nervously, “we’ve known each other for years, but it’s not like talking to you.”
If words could have killed him he would have been in his grave. Chat was vaguely grateful she hadn’t looked over at him once during this ongoing declaration of love, because now he was the one who felt like he was going to be sick. He would have sat down if he wasn’t already; he didn’t trust his legs right now.
“And of course he doesn’t know,” she babbled on, obliviously driving a metaphorical steamroller over her partner’s heart. “I mean, obviously he doesn’t know I’m Ladybug, that would be ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous,” he echoed. “Yeah.”
“But he doesn’t know that I like him,” she clarified unnecessarily. “And I’ve wanted to tell him so many times! I almost have, too, but I always chicken out at the last second. Or I write a note and forget to sign it. My best friend has had it up to her ears with me. She thinks I should just go for it, but—”
“You should.”
Ladybug looked at him in surprise. “What?”
“You should go for it,” Chat repeated, and was shocked by how… normal his voice sounded.
“I - well… But what should I say?”
“That you like him, easy.” 'Oh God, why can't I stop talking?' “You obviously care about him a lot, and he sounds like a great guy. Don’t go overboard. Just say that you think he’s cool, and maybe ask him to go do something.”
“What, like on a date?” Her voice reached a very un-Ladybug-like octave, and he was struck by the difference in her demeanor. He rarely saw this side of her; he couldn’t remember if Chat ever had. Adrien had — a memorable encounter in his bathroom came to mind — but she was so different around Chat Noir. He wondered if there was something wrong with him.
“Well, you don’t have to phrase it like that if you don’t want to. Does he go to your school?” She nodded hesitantly. “Perfect, then ask him out to lunch or something. Hang out after school. Heck, even a study date would work, as long as you spend time together.” He leaned back and spread his lips in a wide grin he hoped she couldn’t tell was as fake as his tail. “There! Problem solved.”
Ladybug hesitated, curled in on herself and chewing her lip in contemplation, and she looked so much like, well, a normal teenager that his heart ached. “Do you really think so?” she asked nervously. He swallowed his urge to kiss her.
“Ladybug,” he said earnestly, “if he doesn’t immediately start planning your wedding, he’s absolutely insane.”
She laughed at that, her cheeks flushing. “One step at a time, Kitty,” she said, but the hopeful note in her voice killed him all over again.
She got up and brushed dust off her legs. “Well, I should probably get going,” she said, gazing one last time over the horizon. The sun was noticeably lower in the sky, and Chat was surprised at how long they had been sitting there. His foot had fallen asleep. “My parents are probably starting to worry, what with the Akuma and all.” She glanced down at him. “Are you going to stay for a little longer?”
“Yeah,” Chat agreed vaguely. He had homework and Nathalie would probably tear him a new one if she discovered him missing. Just because it happened to be Saturday didn’t mean he was free to roam Paris unsupervised.
Ladybug hesitated, and then knelt down and hugged him. “Thank you, Chat,” she said softly. “It’s… it’s really nice to know I can talk to you about this stuff.” The scent of honey washed over him again and he subconsciously squeezed her just a little bit tighter.
“Any time, my Lady,” he replied softly as she pulled away. “I just want you to be happy.” And it was true. He just wished in that moment she could have been happy with him.
She smiled warmly and zipped away, leaving him to his thoughts. As he watched her retreating figure, he sighed, ignoring the sinking weight in his chest. Then he shook his leg awake and pole-vaulted in the opposite direction, letting momentum take care of the rest.