Because I love me a besotted Chat. Don't you? ;)

Disclaimer: If anything, I would like to own a boy who loves me like Chat loves his Lady.

Adrien couldn't stand being near Ladybug. Not in a bad way, of course, but in a she's-so-amazing-if-I-look-at-her-too-much-I-might-combust sort of way. He looked over at her now, she was embroidering something on what might have been a handkerchief but he couldn't be sure.

They'd fallen into this routine easily, comfortably and happily. Once patrol was over, neither wanted to go home that early so it had begun when Ladybug brought along a pair of socks she was knitting. She had mumbled that the fading light of the evening was perfect ambience to work and that if she went home, she'd have to do homework.

Adrien had lain belly down on the ledge above her and peered over her shoulder as she worked, loving that he was so close to his Lady and that he caught a glimpse of this side of her that he hadn't seen before.

He learnt that she hummed as she worked, sometimes old children's nursery rhymes (which he loved because it reminded him of his childhood), sometimes popular songs (like when she broke off from stitching to do an air guitar solo while furiously humming a Jagged Stone hit) and sometimes completely tunelessly (which he found infinitely adorable since that was when she was concentrating the hardest and her tongue poked out of her mouth slightly).

Marinette, too, had learnt more about her Chat than she thought she would. The next time they met for patrol, she had been worried about lugging an entire quilt to stash away before they started when she saw that he had brought textbooks and homework to do. A quick grin was flashed at each other, wordless communication, before the things were hidden in the corner of a quiet rooftop where they returned to later.

He actually liked doing homework, something she never understood. He would sit across her, long legs swinging up and down as he completed some math problem or a science question with a silly grin on his face. That was before he brought his Chinese work to do and she had gaped at him, blushingly admitted that she was part Chinese and knew nothing about the language, and been laughingly coerced into a quick lesson where he had tried to get her to say how handsome he was in Chinese.

There were days where they ended up getting distracted and talking instead of doing whatever they had brought, but that was fine with them. And then there were days where they didn't even bring anything to do but lay side by side, staring at the twilight sky and talking about things they'd never believed they could share with anyone else before.

They were best friends and knew it. Marinette was more comfortable with him than anyone and Adrien felt like he had hit the jackpot, that his best friend was also the girl of his dreams.

But lately, Adrien was having trouble concentrating because his Lady was just so overwhelmingly wonderful that he felt like his feelings for her might just explode out of his chest. It didn't help that she seemed so comfortable with him that she didn't even realise how close (proximity-wise) they were, which Adrien reckoned was bound to give him a heart attack at some point.

Like that time when they had an impromptu wrestling match over Adrien's sketch of her a few weeks back. He had looked up from his book and caught his breath. They were sitting opposite each other, legs outstretched and toes touching, but the setting sun had cast its dying rays on her, illuminating her and bathing her in a warm glow. But it was just her, really, the way she bit her lip as she added a few lines to her latest designs (which she never let him see just in case she, in her usual life, got commissioned to do them) and the tilt of her head as she cast her blue eyes upwards to think.

He realised he wanted to immortalise this, this scene, this happiness, this contentment. He'd spent hundreds of sunsets with her but he wanted to capture at least one. So hurriedly, he flipped over the notebook that he practised writing Chinese characters in and began sketching. She had only looked up and realised what was going on when he was nearly done and she let out a half shriek of 'CHAT!'. His cheeky grin had quickly vanished as she pounced, trying to reach the notebook that he held out of her grasp and cursing their height difference. Realising that she was more or less evenly matched, she had switched to tickling while jumping like a madwoman to get at the notebook.

Gasping with laughter and using her body weight, they had ended with her in his lap, almost straddling him but not quite and barely a hair's breadth between them. Adrien had basically failed to function once he comprehended the circumstances and turning red, he froze, the notebook dangling from his fingertips. Ladybug had snatched the notebook with a triumphant 'Aha!' and then gone quiet as she stared at the sketch.

"Chaton, this is lovely. But… I don't look like that," her brows had furrowed as she returned him the notebook.

"You do. To me," had been his quiet reply. She had looked hard at him then, absently tugging at one of her ponytails as she shifted to stare into the distance. Adrien still hadn't figured out what to do with his hands and decided to just lift her out of his lap while she thought. She had been too busy thinking to react much to that but for him, it was as though he could suddenly breathe again. All those times he'd dreamed of being close to his Lady but when it finally happened, his brain decided to short circuit.

And it just kept happening. She would sit next to him and her scent would fill his world and haunt him nightly. Or she would sling a friendly arm around his shoulder, which was slightly hilarious since she had to stretch up at an angle and walk on tiptoes to do it but she would do it anyway. Adrien would feel his entire body blush at the contact, the thought that she was so close to him made his heart beat so fast he was concerned that he might actually drop dead from sheer excitement.

Which was why one evening, Adrien had to concentrate all his energy on not twitching as Ladybug sighed and ruffled his hair. She was seated up on a box on their rooftop while he sat on the floor beside her, the breadth of his shoulders leaned against her thigh. They had settled into that position two hours ago, with her sketching and him reading, and both were too comfortable to move.

Only, Ladybug seemed too comfortable to Adrien. She didn't seem to notice the warmth that emanated from her thigh, diffusing into his upper back and warming his entire body. He was glad that he faced away from her because every time she shifted slightly, he felt her leg muscles tense and he blushed a deep red.

He knew that if he wasn't head over heels in love with his Lady, he wouldn't be overreacting to these innocent little things. But he was. He was in every way possible, in love with her. So the slightest brush was like fire on his skin and every sound from her lips like honey to his ears. It didn't make sense to him. He could flirt with her, plant kisses on the back of her hands, lean in for kisses although he knew she'd always push him away. But perhaps that was it, he never expected her to initiate contact or let down her guard with him so when she did, he was completely floored.

"What are you reading, Chat?" She bent down, her lips dangerously close to his ear and the intoxicating scent of her hair forcing his brain to shut down as it focused solely on memorising it so that he could find the exact same fragrance eventually. He could feel her face right next to his and let out a strangled noise that she didn't seem to notice. He couldn't think, couldn't focus, she wiped out all else.

"BOUNDARIES, MY LADY," He sprang up, clutching his book in front of him like a talisman, "You can't- I mean, it's fine really, but we…" and trailing off, felt like hitting himself on the head when he took in her bewildered look.

"I mean… Ah… The book! Is called Boundaries. Um, exactly. You should have some. I mean, it! Have the book. Here, take my copy, I have to go now, see you around!" And promptly jumped off to the next roof, face flaming and quietly cursing his stupid brain.

Marinette stared at the receding figure of her best friend, then squinted at the book he had shoved in her hand.

"Eh? But this is The Comprehensive Guide to Ultimate Mecha Strike III… Well, I'll definitely like it more than Boundaries, that's for sure."

HAHAHA Poor Chat. He's got it bad, doesn't he? I think it got a little too… sappy? But I do think that Chat can be flustered by Ladybug given his reaction to her as Adrien. Plus, given how flustered he got Marinette in my most recent oneshot, it's probably fair. ;)

Aaand I love the thought of them hanging out as LadyNoir. ^^

Let me know what you think! I would love to hear from you!

-Redrose