Sorry for the wait!
Ladybug
I could feel the tears glisten on my eyelashes.
I had gone too far. Too far with these deceptions, too far with these lies, too far with him.
I had gone too far with the deceptions of being Ladybug. I pretended to be this strong, powerful girl. But inside, I was just afraid, and scared just like the first time I had become this superheroine.
I had gone too far with lies. I had lied to myself, that I had never loved Chat Noir and that I never cared for him in that way. I had lied to myself again and again.
And I had gone too far with him. I went too far with Chat Noir, when Adrien had just come into my life in this way. I had gone too far in this life with Chat Noir without recognising the different aspects of his character.
I had gone too far, overstepped my boundaries as a team member and fallen in love with my team mate.
And it was wrong.
"My lady, please don't cry," Chat said, holding an arm comfortingly around my shoulders. "It's true that there's a part of me I don't show to you but-"
"That's the thing Chat," I said, my voice shaking, "that's a part of you that I haven't noticed. It was always there- I just didn't care to notice it."
"And," I continued, "there's a part of me that you haven't seen, either. And the thing is, that part of me is a clumsy, silly, cowardly girl who's too afraid of her own feelings let alone tell someone else."
I turned away from him, wiping my eyes with my gloved hand.
"Hey," he said gently. "Look at me, Ladybug."
I jolted. He hadn't called me Ladybug in ages. So I looked at him.
For once, I didn't see the mask. I saw the boy who was always there to protect me if I needed it, the boy who would support me and the boy who made me laugh and groan at his terrible jokes.
But most of all, I saw my friend. And I loved him. It didn't matter whether I loved him romantically or simply as a friend. It just mattered that he was here, and I loved him, for him.
He saw what I was thinking in my eyes.
"That's exactly it, Ladybug," he said, eyes dancing happily. "I don't see the mask, the outside. I see you. You are brave, even if you don't see it. You are clumsy yet graceful. You are silly, yet serious. You are all of those things, even if they don't come out all at once. You are you. And most of all, you're my best friend."
He hugged me and I let him. I let out a happy sob. I finally had accepted my feelings. This was the first step. Soon, I would be ready to trust him completely, even with my secret. But not today. I wasn't ready just yet.
I hugged him back, happy to be with my partner, my friend here at this moment.
Someone coughed.
"Are we intruding?"