i.
The city lights cast a warm, golden glow over the Parisian skyline. The air was warm and humid, soft music drifting and spiraling up from the numerous restaurants packed with lovers and friends alike sharing dinner.
It was in the middle of spring, all the flowers in bloom, their sweet and cloying scents perfuming the air. The full, spring moon, a full golden orb, lay on the backdrop of black velvet and stars like diamonds.
Nights in Paris weren't usually this warm during the spring, which made it especially uncomfortable fighting Akumas while sweating in a very tight suit.
Chat Noir figured if he was going to be a superhero, he might as well take advantage of some of the perks- which included ice cream.
Of which, included having a possible (dare he call it?) date at the top of the Eiffel Tower with Ladybug. No one really questioned when one of the esteemed heroes of Paris hastily asked for a two ice cream cones, vanilla yes please, the waffle cones are fine, please hurry, besides the awestruck stares. He didn't pay them any mind. After all, he did have his Lady waiting for him.
"-and that one's Cygnus! The swan constellation." Ladybug pointed to towards the sparkling night sky.
They were both sitting on the railing at the top platform of the Eiffel Tower, legs dangling over the side. She had long finished her cone, while he was still attacking his with a vigor.
He followed her finger, eyes tracing the sky. "Hey."
Ladybug tilted her head in his direction. The breeze played with her thick black locks that hung across her forehead. Smaller strands of hair framed her face. Her clear, cerulean-blue eyes gazed at him, starkly contrasted by her polka-dotted mask.
Chat Noir hastily swallowed, ignoring the warmth trickling down his spine mixed with an apprehensive shiver.
"Do you know the legend about Cygnus?" he asked, "I mean, the Chinese version. Not the Greek one."
Ladybug smiled wryly. "No, but I feel like I should… I'm, uh, part-Chinese."
Chat Noir blinked in surprise. She normally wasn't as lax about telling him about herself- what with the insistence they keep their civilian identities secret. Maybe she was finally reciprocating his feelings?
"As the story goes, a fairy fell in love with a mortal man. But because she was a fairy, she wasn't allowed to be with him. So the goddess in charge or something, when she found out they had secretly married, separated them. But once a year, a bridge of magpies- that's supposed to be Cygnus- helps them get back together," he explained.
"Hmm," she hummed pensively.
They fell into a sort of companionable silence.
Chat Noir hesitated- if he asked her more about herself, would she deflect his questions? Mustering his courage, figuring it was worth a shot, he asked, "So, Bugaboo." He flashed her a smile in his usual cocky way. "What will you be doing this fall?"
She flicked a wayward strand of hair out of her face, legs dangling over the side of the railing. She looked carefree and happy, like a little kid. "I'll be going back to school, chaton. Its right around here, in Paris."
Okay, so vague enough, but that was still something. His grip tightened on the railing, claws digging into the metal railing. Was he always so desperate? Why was he so desperate?
It was always a game of cat and mouse, with him chasing and she leading him on with laughs and smiles.
"What's the name of the school?" He tried to keep his voice level. Flashing back to when Alya had posted on the Ladyblog that Ladybug had dropped the same history textbook he himself had, he wondered if she went to the same school as him. She certainly seemed old enough to be.
Ladybug quirked a smile at him, tracing shapes onto the railing below her. She hopped off, and Chat Noir tensed to follow her. Her feet softly thudded on the platform, the twinkling lights of the tower casting a warm glow on her hair.
She tilted her head back, engulfed in the light. Chat Noir paused for a minute, drinking in the image of her like some sort of angel silhouetted by the sun.
It was a moment frozen in time, his breath catching in his throat. Her blue eyes- they were so beautiful, so blue, so deep with emotion- traced the glowing starlight caught in the curve of his cheek, sparkling with mirth. God, he loved her. If he could, he would frame this moment forever.
Just them. The two of them, always. Through all trials and time, it was meant to be- two part of a whole, two sides of light and dark. Preordained since the beginning and continuing to the end.
A small smile curved its way across her lips. His eyes flicked to mouth, watching.
"If we ever defeat Le Papillon, I'll let you know. It'll be safe then."
And she was gone.