Disclaimer: I wish I was the genius behind Miraculous Ladybug.

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Was Chat mad at her?

He didn't flirt with her at all. He was all business today. When he caught her in an akuma fight earlier, his arms didn't linger around her. He quickly let go of her as soon as she was safe.

But he couldn't be mad. She has seen him mad at her before. He had been aloof and made passive aggressive comments back then. Today, he still joked around; he just didn't flirt with her. He was still warm but seemed to keep her at arm's length. He did smile at her; but it was never that smile. Sure, he still made remarks about how great he was but they were just jokes, not comments meant to get a reaction from her. Something was wrong.

When she asked if they can take a break from their patrol and just sit down, Chat simply agreed. No pun. No joke. Nothing.

They took a seat. Ladybug couldn't help but notice that although he was close, Chat Noir sat a little further away than normal.

"Are you mad at me?" Ladybug began.

"What?" Chat said.

"Well, you've been...different. I don't know...kind of distant? Is everything OK?" she continued.

"Oh..." Chat scratched the back of his neck. "Well...I'm just trying to respect your wishes. I know your heart belongs to someone else. So I'm giving you some space. You don't feel the same way as I do. I finally get it."

"So you're just not going to be my friend anymore?"

"What?! Of course I'm still your friend, My Lady..er...Ladybug. I value our friendship and don't want to ruin it. That's why I'm trying to keep my distance." Well this is new. She had always thought of him as stubborn. She never thought she'd see the day where he would simply...stop.

"Well, that's...mature of you. But why now, though? I remember there were times when you seemed...upset that I didn't feel the same way." Yet there was that one time, after defeating Glaciator...when he was so tender and had left with understanding...and a part of her that she refused to acknowledge.

"Uhh..."Chat seemed nervous. Ladybug had to refrain from saying something dumb like "cat got your tongue". He was rubbing off on her. "I guess I just finally realized you didn't feel the same way. I mean you always brushed off my ... attempts to woo you. I guess I'm terrible at reading signals. Sometimes I thought you were flirting back or that those weren't actually serious refusals- not that I'm blaming you! I just- I don't know. Before becoming Chat Noir, I didn't really get to interact with people much. I didn't know how to read things. I guess what I'm saying is...at times, I thought these feelings weren't one sided -but I know better now! I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize."

"Oh." She didn't know what to say. "I...um..." What can she say? "So, you're ok then?"

"Yes. I will be. It is a bit hard. I still love you. I will always love you. But I can live with just being friends. I just want you to be happy." Then he simply smiled at her, and she felt...warm. "I won't ... bug you anymore." There it is. His pun. "This is new for me, so let me know if I step over a line. I'll take a step back. Promise." She knew how hard it was to be just friends with someone you love. It was touch constantly having Adrien there and not being able to be anything more. But Ladybug and Chat Noir were also a team...How would this change their dynamic? Would things be awkward now?

"Anyway, it is getting late..Bugab- Ladybug." Chat said, breaking Ladybug out of her thoughts.

She looked up at him. The setting sun gave him a warm glow. He still smiled at her - no bitterness in sight. This time, she wouldn't be able to hide her blush under the night sky. So, she quickly looked away.

"Don't feel bad, My Lady. I will be just fine." But Ladybug wasn't so sure if she was fine. If there was one constant thing in her unpredictable life, it was Chat Noir's feelings for her and his annoying persistence. He wasn't going anywhere. So why did she feel like she was losing him? All this time, she thought she would have been relieved if Chat Noir ever got over her. Yet she didn't realize it meant she would no longer be able to hold him a few seconds too long. Or that she wouldn't be able to call herself his Lady anymore. O that she wouldn't be able to banter with him anymore. Who was she kidding? She wouldn't be able to flirt with him anymore. Things would be different. And she would miss him. She really didn't know what to say at that point. So she bid him good night and went home.

Once she was in her room, Marinette de-transformed. She went to her desk and pulled out the rose Chat had given her that night. She had convinced herself that she was keeping a gift that a good friend gave her. Now she wasn't so sure.

"Marinette?" A high-pitched voice called her.

"Oh Tikki, what have I done?" she responded.

A/N: Well, that's not how I imagined this would end...Anyway I just want to say, having seen it happen in so many movies, I really do not like the idea of a guy persistently pursuing a girl despite being rejected many times. I hate it even more when the guy intentionally backs off later as a part of his plan to make her love him. I hate it even more when the girl then suddenly falls for him because she "misses" him. It doesn't seem very realistic. So why write something like this? In the show, there have been a handful interacts between the two superheroes that sometimes suggests Ladybug may have feelings for Chat Noir, though she may not realize it...or maybe that's how I interpreted it. So I just wanted to do something with that. As always, a review is appreciated - especially if it is meant to help with my writing :)