just want to say thanks for the support on this story, breaking canon is tough and i kind of expected to be harrassed for it but u guys are all so wonderful.
xo moonbaby
...
"Tonight!" Marinette twirled in her room as Tikki looked on, munching a cookie.
"Oohh, I wonder what it will be! A surprise date with Nathanael!" Tikki was very excited.
Marinette was a bundle of energy, unable to sit still and uninterested in any activity her room could offer. There was a half-draped dress on her mannequin but she couldn't focus on it.
"I need to blow off some steam, Tikki, Spots on!"
Ladybug sprang from the balcony and took off on a familiar loop of the neighborhood, enjoying the rush of flying and the burn in her muscles. She swooped low here and there, twirling and twisting from lampposts, excited and happy and nervous for the night ahead. She slowed and found a rooftop to rest, her stomach full of butterflies she didn't necessarily want rid of.
A chime from her yoyo phone blared out and she answered it cheerily.
"Hello, Chat Noir, ça va?"
"Good evening, My Lady! You sound happy."
Chat Noir was desperate to talk to her, to escape the boredom of his life. He was perched on the roof of the resort hotel, looking out on a spectacular sunset he couldn't care less about.
"I am happy, minou, how are you?"
"Pining for my Ladybug, as usual," he said, forcing a chuckle.
"Oh Chat, are you even trying to have a good time?" She felt for him, but her mind was elsewhere.
"No one apurreciates my puns here, bugaboo!" he quipped, trying to sound chipper.
"That is tragic, chaton. Purrhaps the puns are the problem, did you think of that?"
"You wound me, LB. Off on another hot date tonight?" He teased, but immediately wished he hadn't. She was quiet on the other end.
"I do have a date, actually," she said lightly.
Chat Noir's stomach clenched with misery. "Oh, well, of course you do!" he said in a loud, falsely cheery voice.
"Chat—" she said, "Don't—"
"No no, it's great!" he blundered on heartily, "Have fun! I won't keep you! I'm really happy for you! Ha ha look at that I have to go, bye Ladybug!"
Ladybug stared at the yoyo phone in surprise, but with a sad feeling in her heart. She'd always figured Chat Noir had a bit of a crush on her, but it was always so clear that preserving their identities was of utmost importance. She couldn't stand the thought of him in danger—he was too dear to her—but she could never date someone who didn't know who she was inside.
She sighed. If anyone could understand unrequited love, it was her.
Not anymore, said a proud little voice inside her. You've got a date tonight, with someone who likes you for you.
She forced thoughts of Chat Noir aside and swooped home to her balcony to get ready, a few stray butterflies back in her stomach.
….
Chat Noir scrambled clumsily back down to his hotel room, fighting back tears. He detransformed and Adrien tumbled onto his bed, sick with jealousy, his heart swollen painfully in his chest.
His laptop was open to the Ladyblog—he slammed it shut and tossed it onto the chair across the room.
"Fucking Nathanael gets to see Ladybug, but not me?!" he growled, tears hot in his eyes. "I'm her partner! I'm her fucking other half! But she's dating someone else-!" He swept a lamp off the desk and it crashed to the floor, light bouncing crazily across the room.
For once, Plagg was speechless. He watched Adrien storm around, knowing there was nothing he could do.
Adrien's gaze landed on the mini fridge.
"Fuck it," he growled. He'd watched his figure and obeyed his dad and practically lost his mind with boredom this summer, and now the woman he loved was seeing some lucky unknown bastard.
Adrien tore open the fridge and peered inside, grabbing a handful of tiny bottles.
"Cheers, Plagg."
...
r u ready for the date!? gahh im so excited