To say that Chat appreciated the opportunity to spend time with ladybug was an understatement. He adored when she came along on patrol with him. Just him and his lady, way above the most romantic city on earth, working side by side to keep it safe. Together. Of course, he adored it. Especially when she pulled that face. Like she knew something he didn't. Like she was about to be mischievously. Because that meant she was going to challenge him, and he lived for those challenges. Whenever he lost (almost always because she was better than him, which he accepted, but would never admit) she would give him THAT look. Her eyes shone with triumph, and she grinned victoriously, but she would only taunt him if he started it. Because something in her believed he deliberately lost every time to make her feel powerful. It was a sweet idea. He wished it was true.

"Beat again!" He complained.

The twinkle in his eye and the grin he just couldn't hold back showed he wasn't annoyed. If anything, he was proud that she had beaten him every single time so far.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, it's not easy to catch a bug," she winked.

His grin widened, which you wouldn't have thought was possible if you had seen him. She held out a hand to help him to his feet. He took it.

As he dusted himself down he declared, "I'm starving."

Ladybug felt her stomach grumble. "Me too. Wanna go to Burger Palace?"

Chat Noir, and more to the point, Adrien, looked suspicious and mildly horrified. "Where now?"

"Burger Palace," ladybug repeated.

Chat Noir's expression only changed to intensify. Ladybug blinked in shock. "You've never been to Burger Palace?!"

"I am glad to say I have not," he said.

Ladybug's refreshed grin made her eyes twinkle in a whole new way.

"You're in for a treat! They're greasy and horrible and there's too much onion and not enough salt, and yet they are amazing!"

They did not sound amazing. They didn't even sound tolerable. They sounded hideous. But they had sounded just as bad to Marinette the first time Alya had dragged her there. She had fallen in love with the first bite.

"Let's go!"

Ladybug grabbed him around his waist to pull him against her and carry him through the air down to the Burger Palace. Her fingers curled around his waist firmly but not enough to hurt. Her entire body was up against his. It took his breath and his words and his thoughts away and replaced them with this.
Her hand.
His waist.

He was still staring at her, wide eyed and completely smitten as she ordered their mood. Even in this burger dive she moved like she was in a palace. She turned her head and flashed him a smile that made her eyes shine. She honestly amazed him.

"Do you want cheese?"

He didn't hear the question. He was too busy trying not to let himself scoop her up into his arms and kiss her hard. He was transfixed on her lips.

"Chat?" Her lips curved in amusement, "you like things cheesy, don't you?"

"He smells like camembert. I'll put some on the side for him," the guy behind the counter said.

Ladybug thanked him. As he turned away to start frying the burgers, Ladybug grinned at Chat and nudged him playfully.

"What's up with you?" She teased.

Chat knew he had to say something, but she stole all the words he had and left him speechless.

"Can we go back to the rooftop? It's beautiful there," he asked suddenly as they wandered out of the shop with their burgers (on the house, even though Ladybug insisted on paying).

Ladybug shrugged. "Sure. It's not like either of us have anywhere to be."

She linked her arm around his waist again, and made him hold the burgers. He didn't mind. Holding burgers was worth it to have her this close. ladybug sat with him on the rooftop, with their feet laid low across the angle of the roof, side by side. Ladybug watched him move his feet. His claws curled as he moved his toes, which made her smile.

"what are you thinking?" he asked, curiously.

She hummed. "I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone around."

She turned her head to grin at him, and she spotted the ketchup on his chin. Marinette burst into laughter.

"What?" He frowned.

Ladybug leaned over him with a napkin, and brushed the sauce off onto it. Chat looked surprised, and smiled.

"I'm trying to be more like you. I've got the black, I'm just trying to add the red," Chat joked.

Ladybug laughed. She glanced down at his burger. Her own was nearly gone. His was barely touched.

"So? what do you think?"

Chat raised it up to examine it. "It's greasy and soggy and the bread is disintegrating in my hand but its kept together by the melted cheese."

"It tastes good though, doesn't it?" She grinned.

Chat wrinkled his nose. "No."

Ladybug frowned. "No?!"

Chat Noir looked puzzled at how offended she sounded. "It's just not that great. Maybe your taste buds are dull, my feline senses are something special!"

"Hey!" Ladybug kicked him playfully, "I have taste!"

"You're eating dogfood!" Chat teased.

He was grinning and teasing, but Ladybug's face fell. "You really don't like it?"

He shook his head. "It's too greasy."

"What's wrong with grease?!"

"Everything!"

She pulled away from him. He frowned.

"What?"

"I love Burger Palace burgers. I can't believe you don't."

"They're horrible! Why do you like them?"

Ladybug shrugged and brought her knees up to her chin, slightly. "I don't know," she mumbled, "they just remind me of happy times."

Chat Noir's ear flicked. He sat up slightly, sensing a story. He couldn't press too hard or she'd run, but he was eager to know more.

"Happy times?"

Ladybug sighed. She pulled her knees up higher under her chin. She sighed heavily and laid her forehead on her knees.

"My mum and dad have always been happily married but sometimes things got rough. Money ran out and whatever, the bake- um, the family business took up time and money that we didn't always have."

Adrien frowned. He had no idea what that was like. He didn't know, he would never know, how it felt. He had always had money. Enough for everything he'd ever need and more. Ladybug clearly hadn't.

"My father is a great cook. But when you don't have time and you've been cooking all day it's difficult to force yourself to cook for your toddler daughter when she's just come home from her nursery. I was tired and hungry and dad didn't want to be in the kitchen anymore, so he would take me and mum to the Burger Palace. It was cheap and easily available, and I would eat it all up with mum and dad. They would be tired, but they'd stay with me and eat and laugh and pretend they weren't tired."

Chat Noir examined the burger again. The melted camembert must have been driving Plagg wild.

"Do you think... maybe you only like the food because you remember being happy with your family?"

Ladybug laughed. "Obviously. The food is greasy and it dribbles down your arm! It's not great but when I went with my friends, they enjoyed it. Course we were too cheap to afford anything better. Maybe I only like it cause I'm poor..."

Chat Noir didn't know what to say. He couldn't comment. He was rich. Ladybug turned her head to look at him. He met her gaze. She smiled. That was something he hadn't been expecting her to do. Nino never smiled when talking about money. Then again, he knew who he was talking to.

"It's funny, some of my earliest memories was helping rebuild and learn how to ruin the bake -um, business. I had no idea that my parents were struggling because I was so happy that we spent so much time together, y'know?"

Adrien frowned. He didn't know. He and his father did not have a connection over unhealthy food. His earliest memories were with his mother and nannies, or his bodyguards. They would make him happy if he hadn't lost his mother. He couldn't think of her without feeling an aching hole in his stomach.

"Yeah..." Chat lied, "there are plenty of things I like because they remind me of someone I love. I do not eat bread but wheat fields make me think of someone I loved."

"Someone who tamed the fierce and wild kitty?"

"Hey, this kitty has claws!"

He raised a hand to show off his claws, and gave a fake growl to make her laugh. Ladybug didn't fail him. She laughed so beautifully that Chat heard that instead of Notre Dame's bells. Ladybug sighed a deep, contented sigh, and laid her head on Chat's shoulder. Her hair curled under his nose. It smelt like shampoo and gingerbread. His chest glowed with affection. She was so strong and powerful all the time. Everyone saw that side of her. It was only him that got to see this side.

"Do you think we'll ever find Hawkmoth?" She asked, softly.

Chat Noir had no idea. He wasn't entirely sure what she had asked. But he put his arm around her, and laid his head against hers.

"Of course we will. You and me are undefeatable."

Marinette glanced up at his face, ignoring the full moon that hung above the river. His messy hair and pale face was more beautiful than the moon could wish to be. Her chest glowed with love for him. She closed her eyes, and smiled softly. It felt good to know that no matter how dangerous it was to defend Paris, she always had Chat to defend her.

Tikki wasn't entirely awake. She had been shaken awake by Marinette who was wide awake and more than a little bit manic. The only light was a lamp in the corner, and Marinette was pacing back and forth, ranting.

"I'm just a little bit caught in the middle. Life is a maze and love is a riddle. I don't know where to go, and I can't do it alone!"

"Slow down, it's too much to take in. What's wrong?" Tikki asked.

"I can't pretend to be something I'm not, and I'm not in love with Nathanael. Or Adrien!"

"What?!"

"I'm a fool. Maybe that akuma was right... maybe I'm just a little girl lost in a moment."

It had been so long ago that someone had said that that Marinette couldn't even remember who it was anymore. Back then being Ladybug felt so strong that it was as if nothing could touch her. Now it felt like she was being torn apart.

"Mari no. You're so much braver than that!" Tikki insisted.

Marinette was close to tears. "I'm so scared!"

Tikki frowned. "You don't look it."

"I'm always scared Tikki. I feel like I'm going to mess up at any moment and everything is going to unravel around me... I can't stand it anymore!"

Marinette collapsed onto the sofa and covered her face with her hands. Tikki flew over and laid her hand on Marinette's head.

"I don't understand Marinette. You love Adrien. You always have. Nathanael is sweet and kind and you can grow to love him more. Don't you believe that?"

"I do... but it's different," Marinette muttered.

"What is?" Tikki asked.

Marinette didn't have an answer so continued on her own topic. "I don't think I ever loved Nathanael. I just liked the attention he gave me. The attention I gave to Adrien..."

"So you don't like Adrien because he doesn't give you attention and you don't like Nathanael because he gives too much?"

"Because I give Adrien too much and can't see when he's bad for me, and I can't give Nathanael the amount he needs because I'll be too busy risking my neck as Ladybug. It's not fair to him. And it's not fair to me to keep following Adrien!"

Tikki frowned as she tried to keep up with the conversation, but it took her a moment since she was exhausted.

"Marinette are you telling me you're going to listen to Alya for a change?"

"I always listen to Alya!" Marinette argued, "I just ignore what she says sometimes."

"Have you got any idea what you're going to do?" Tikki asked.

Marinette frowned furiously as she tried to think up a plan. After a couple of minutes, she gave a nod.

"First, I'm going to cry. Then, I'm going to tell Nathanael I can't date him anymore. Then I'm going to cry again. Then I'm going to call Alya, so she can come with me, and I can tell Adrien I can't be with him either."

"And more crying?"

"No. Then cookies with Alya. Then crying."

Tikki giggled affectionately. "Sounds like a plan."

As soon as she spotted Alya at school in the morning Marinette ran up to her. Greetings were a waste of time. She had things to say that needed urgent attention.

"I have a problem."

"You only just realised?"

"I'm not in love with Adrien."

"WHAT?!"

"And I'm not in love with Nathanael."

"GIRL!"

"I'm in love with the cat!"

"The what?!"

"Chat Noir!"

"girl."