"I can't marry you," Ladybug laughs, swatting Adrien gently on the shoulder as he presses his lips against her neck.

The roof of his mansion probably isn't the best place for a secret rendezvous, but dusk is beginning to scatter across Paris, making it that bit safer for the couple to meet; the sky's pale blue melts into the rose pink of the sunset, and the colours which seep into each other above the city are too pretty for anyone to look at anything else as they walk the streets.

"I didn't mean right now," Adrien breathes, a grin on his face as he pulls himself back, one arm wrapped firmly around Ladybug's waist. "I'm just saying, we'd make one hell of a power couple someday."

"Oh, yeah," Ladybug replies as she rolls her eyes. "Ladybug Agreste. What a beautiful bride I'll be, wearing a white dress over the polka dot suit. Maybe the dress should be red - to match the mask, you know?"

There's an unexpected sarcasm lacing her words, combined with a bitterness which causes Adrien to unwind his arms from her hips and step back.

Ladybug regrets saying it almost instantly, the laughter of a moment before disappearing into the evening air; but for some reason, Adrien's whispered words have left a bitter taste which burns in her throat, a gentle anger which has sadness coursing through it. She meant to laugh, to joke; yet the sweet sentiment of forever, said so easily in Adrien's gentle voice, rubs Ladybug in the wrong way.

She can't help it; it still hurts that Adrien thinks of forever with Ladybug, but not Marinette. It's a dull ache which she ignores every time they meet, something she suppresses with all her might - Adrien wanting her in one way is still him wanting her, after all. It's enough.

Isn't it?

Ladybug certainly thought it was enough. But the ripple of doubt in her throat seems to be spreading throughout her body, twisting her gut as Adrien's words fall into perspective.

"Marry me."

Ladybug knows Adrien. Through Marinette's conversations and Ladybug's interactions with him over the past year, she's learned a fair amount about him - enough to know that he wasn't entirely joking when the words slipped through his lips.

He's always loved Ladybug, so much so that he probably means the proposal, even if he doesn't realise it himself.

But why is Marinette not good enough? Ladybug thinks, sadness blossoming in her before she clamps down on that thought, one she constantly fights to keep at bay. But right now, a proposal from the boy she loves ringing in her mind, Ladybug realises that this is why she's suddenly freaking out.

He's chosen Ladybug over Marinette. And damn, it hurts.

Adrien is thinking seriously of a future with a girl he doesn't really know. Or at least, a girl he doesn't know that he actually does know.

It's complicated, to say the least.

Ladybug looks up at Adrien, realising she's gone silent, and sees that he's clearly confused at her reaction

"Sorry," she says quietly, giving him a shy smile. "It's been a long week."

Adrien nods in response, his eyes wide with concern. He takes a step towards her, one hand slowly moving upwards to cup her cheek. Ladybug presses a kiss into his palm before grasping Adrien's wrist, pulling his hand away.

A frown immediately forms on Adrien's brow, his concern increasing exceptionally.

"Ladybug, it... it was just a dumb joke. I shouldn't have said it, I know, I just got a bit carried away-"

"It's okay," Ladybug says, twining her fingers through Adrien's in a gesture of reassurance for them both. "Really. Just... I'm not great with random marriage proposals, as I very recently discovered." She gives his hand a squeeze, and a tiny smile creeps onto Adrien's face.

"Okay. I'll remember that," he says, winking at her. "No marriage proposals."

Neither moves to close the small distance between them, their entwined fingers held aloft as they simply look at each other. Adrien gazes at Ladybug like she's the moon, entranced and adoring, his thumb rubbing little circles on hers as he carefully takes a step towards her. Ladybug returns his grin, but drops his hand before he can close the gap; Adrien's face falls, and it's like a knife is twisting through Ladybug's heart.

In an instant, Ladybug has wrapped her arms over Adrien's shoulders, and buries her head in the crook of his neck. She's trying so, so hard to ignore the reminders that she can never take off her mask with him, that Adrien his made his choice about her now; holding Adrien soothes the uncertainties his proposal has brought up, if just for a moment.

Adrien returns her embrace, one hand rubbing her back softly, soothingly, before Ladybug tugs herself away. Pressing a kiss on Adrien's cheek, Ladybug steps back and pulls out her yo-yo.

"It's getting late. I - I need to go."

Usually Ladybug would try and sneak in a few more kisses before she made her exit, which Adrien would happily comply with; but tonight she feels a little shaky, her thoughts growling in her mind, and has a desperate urge to get out of there. Without giving Adrien a chance to speak, Ladybug hurls the yo-yo off the roof and jumps, swinging away from the tiny balcony at the top of the Agreste Mansion.

The humid air feels thick against Ladybug as she runs and leaps across Paris, heading home as quickly as possible. Summer is arriving, but darkness has blanketed the city quickly, helping Ladybug avoid curious eyes as she speeds away from Adrien.

It's not the first time Ladybug has had such thoughts, uncertainties which she can't always hold off; but they've never been quite this strong, have never made her question her relationship with Adrien so much.

Ladybug drops her transformation as she lands on her balcony, catching Tikki in her palms and holding the kwami to her chest as she softly pushes open the door to her room.

Tomorrow, Marinette will figure out her thoughts; right now, she just wants to sleep.