Hi! It's been a while since I posted a story, and I hope this one is up to snuff!
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.
"Au revoir ma petit Cheri." Cat Noir all but purred, gently taking one of Ladybug's hands and giving it a kiss on the back as he smirked and added "Et bonne nuit."
With that he jumped back, landing on the edge of the balcony, before flipping backwards onto one of the roofs below and dashing away to God knows where. Ladybug could only watch his fleeing form, before it finally blended into the shadows and she could no longer follow him before she glanced down to the object she was currently gripping.
The heroine huffed lightly, glaring at the rose and having half a mind to toss it. She battled back and forth whether or not she should before sighing and reluctantly accepting the rose. She couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips as she brought her other hand up to lightly caress the petals only slightly darker than her suit.
"Didn't you reject him last time he offered you a rose?" Ladybug jumped slightly, hand jerking away from the petals as she turned her head to look at the tiny floating spirit. She relaxed again when she saw who it was, before sheepishly shrugging.
"Yeah, but he seemed a bit more sincere this time around. Besides it's a kind of thanks for getting him out of trouble right? It'd be rude to reject that." Marionette knew that wasn't true, but it was a good excuse for why she kept it. However she couldn't come up with an excuse for the overly fond expression that had formed on her features as her gaze dropped back to the flower. He'd even taken care to get one with no thorns.
Tikki giggled lightly, floating closer to her partner and smiling widely "You've fallen for him, haven't you?"
Marionette's face turned almost the same shade as her mask, and she quickly tried to find a way to convince Tikki that was simply not true. "What!? N-no! Of course I haven't! I'm simply glad he decided to do more than shamelessly flirt is all!" but nothing she said, well stuttered was more like it, could wipe away the look on the little ladybug's face that told how much she was buying it.
Ladybug could only sigh in defeat before smiling softly at the rose, starting to gently caress the petals once more and softly said "If there's a prize for lack of judgment, I think I've just won that." Her face morphed into one of discontent as she moved to lean against the balcony railing, spinning the flower before she stated "No man is worth all this confusion. It's such an old story; I need to just move on." She laid the rose down on the stone rail before standing up straight and moving away.
"Now who do you think you're kidding?" Tikki asked as she lifted the rose up "Your heart is on fire from love."
"Don't try to hide it." She admonished gently "There's passion alight in your eyes. Why deny it?"
This only got an eye roll from the teen, but Tikki pressed on and moved to hold the flower closer to her partner's face "He's bewitched you; he put a spell on you."
"No, no, never, I will never say it no, no." Ladybug waved her hands, as if trying to wave off the notion and turned her head away from both the spirit and the rose.
The smaller ladybug pouted and attempted to reason further with the stubborn girl "Your heart sighs, why lie?"
"It's too cliché." Marionette retorted, giving a pointed look before turning her back to the spirit and looking over the city. This only caused Tikki to sigh and wonder what else she could say or do to make the girl realize her feelings.
Cat Noir couldn't believe his luck, for once good, he had given Ladybug a gift and a kiss, even if it was just on the hand, and she didn't reject him or anything! It was definitely a good night in his books now.
A probably louder than it should've been laugh escaped him as he landed in the lawn of some civilian's house. He quickly noticed a thriving rose bush and swiftly moved and cut one out with his claws not bothered at all by the thorny stem and dropped down to one knee, presenting the flower to a figure there only in imagination "Une magnifique rose rouge, pour la belle dame en rouge." A wide smirk came across the blonde's face as he relived the moment and jumped up, pumping his fists into the air and exclaiming "She took it! She actually took it!"
"I'm just as surprised as you." Not even the voice of Plague could dampen his mood as he turned to look at the tiny black cat.
"I'm more surprised you decide to come out and play." Cat Noir smirked and lifted the rose up to get a better look at it. It was a deeper red than the store one he'd given the object of his affection, not to mention it was still covered in thorns from his hasty grab of it.
The little spirit rolled his green eyes, looking around bored before a devious smirk formed on his face. He floated closer to his partner's head, eyeing the flower with a quirked brow "Well, you know she actually didn't take the rose. You just leapt away before she could refuse!" He didn't notice the way Adrien's shoulder's tensed at that, and shook his head sighing "I don't know why you're getting your hopes up."
"But…she normally rejects me right away." Adrien countered, trying to quell the knot forming in his stomach. His grip tightened on the flower, thorns lightly puncturing the material of his gloves before he sighed and dropped the fragile thing "Maybe you're right."
He moved to lean against the brick wall of the home whose lawn he was invading, crossing his arms tightly on his chest and muttered "I've already learned this lesson. My heart knows this dance."
The teen ran a hand roughly through wild blond locks, speaking mostly to himself "But this is so uncertain. Hang on." Black ears drooped and he frowned, admonishing himself for believing that maybe this could work out "You have a heart that's fragile, need to avoid ideals."
Plague blinked, glancing down at the rose then back to Adrien before realizing he'd made a mistake. He didn't want this reaction, and as much as he liked teasing his partner he doesn't want to outright hurt the boy.
He quickly grabbed the rose and floated to hover in the teen's line of site "Don't deny it. It's crazy to; your feelings will torment you." He pushed the flower directly in Cat Noir's face and added "Pick up your compliment. When you lie it's too passionately."
Adrien said nothing, opting instead to wave his partner off and instead turning away so he wouldn't have to look at the spirit. Ears and tail drooping further, he tensed waiting to see what Plague's next move would be.
A grin grew on Tikki's face as the words suddenly came to her and she brightened up, moving to float above Marionette's shoulder "You love him, and that's normal."
Marionette's face flushed immediately, and she gaped for a moment as she attempted to come up with some form of witty comeback. She found she couldn't and instead she huffed, pouting as she turned her head away from her friend but her eyes lingered perhaps a moment too long on the rose that was being offered to her.
Plague could practically growl in frustration at Adrien's action. The paw not holding the rose came up to drag down his face, as he tried to come up with something to say or do to console the boy.
Sighing he moved to be more in Adrien's peripheral, making a note to move the flower more where it could be seen and calmly stating "Love makes you get carried away."
If he could tense up any more, Adrien was sure he would. He knew right away what Plague meant, his flirting and getting his hopes up for a chance with Ladybug, and all he could do was glare at the spirit, but he couldn't deny that it softened a fraction when he noticed the flower.
"And that makes you very very very very hurt." Plague was exaggerating a bit, but he was hoping it'd coax a smile from his partner, or at least make him loosen up some and maybe think this through with a slightly cheerier disposition.
It seemed to work for a moment, Adrien's tail moved slightly and his ears perked up a bit but it was lost in an instant as he shook his head "No, no I will never admit it no, no."
Tikki rolled her eyes, albeit fondly as she noticed a small smile began to form on the teen's face "Even if you deny it, you smile because you love him."
Marionette's face could only redden further, making her mask almost blend in with her face as she shook her head. She pushed herself back off the railing and briskly walked over to the other side, the side Cat Noir had left from conveniently enough; as she said "Let it go. I'm not in love."
Tikki sighed in frustration, crossing her arms in before pointing out in the hopes that it would get through the stubborn head of her partner "Read my lips: You're feverish because you love him." She carefully placed the flower on the railing beside Marionette's hand.
Marionette shook her head rapidly, trying to dispel the flush on her face as she stated with no real convection "Never, never will I tell you."
Adrien felt tears prick at his eyes and he only shook his head again, declaring almost to himself in desperation "Never, never I don't dare." He straightened up; tension not leaving his body but his tail was whipping back and forth in agitation.
Plague's own ears flattened and he glanced down to the flower, the stem was slightly bent from Adrien's grip earlier, before floating to be in front of the night time hero and saying seriously "It's not worth hesitating, because you love her." He practically forced the rose back into the boy's hand, but he hoped it would help him realize the truth.
Almost at the same time, Ladybug's hand landed on her own rose and her features softened immediately. She sighed and moved to lean against the wall of the balcony, holding the gift up higher to catch light better.
Her counterpart however only looked down at his thorny and darker version of the rose, tension leaving his body but a sort of melancholy resignation took its place as his hands only lowered and he slumped forward slightly.
Almost as one, both teen heroes whispered to themselves "Oserai-je un jour t'avouer comme je t'aime?"
(Will I one day dare to admit to you how I love you?)
AN: Please do read and review! And please tell me of any issues you may have found ^u^
