A/N: I started writing this on Halloween and then never posted it, so here we are. Let's all pretend it's October 31st, and this is your yearly dose of spookiness.

Enjoy ;)

Ladybug was mad at him.

Chat watched from afar as she closely followed one of their new residents‒ Alya, was it? ‒with a bored expression. Alya shivered from the cold air emitting from the ghost behind her.

He casually meandered towards them with his hands clasped behind his back. Alya was in the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water from the package on the counter. Ladybug reached over and placed her hand on top of the bottle, preventing Alya from pulling it out of the package. Alya pulled a little harder, but the bottle didn't budge. She yanked, hard, and Ladybug let go, sending Alya stumbling backward. She stared at the bottle in confusion for a moment before slowly making her way out of the kitchen.

Ladybug followed her, and Chat Noir tagged along too.

"Hey, buga-boo." he greeted cheerily.

She didn't spare him a glance. She continued walking behind Ayla, who was shivering even more now that Chat was there to add to the cold.

His lighthearted smile dropped. "Look-"

She vanished into thin air, leaving him staring at the empty space next to him. He let out a small sigh.

Chat didn't know what he did wrong. She had been acting like this all day, and every time he tried to approach her, she ignored him or disappeared on him. He was growing increasingly frustrated, and the only thing he had to go off of was the appearance of their new guests.

Last night, Chat allowed a pair of teenagers into the house. Normally, mortals couldn't enter the grounds, but it was Halloween, and Chat hadn't had a good haunt in years, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to let a few guests in.

Apparently, he was wrong.

Ladybug hadn't spoken to him since.

So, here he was, silently stalking another one of the teenagers, Nino, as he mulled over any possible reason Ladybug would be upset by this. Nino passed by the back of the couch in the living room, where Alya sat editing a video for… a blog?

"Hey, Al."

Alya continued typing away on her phone.

Nino paused behind her. He opened his mouth to repeat himself, but then he reconsidered. He quietly leaned down and blew a puff of air on her neck. Alya jumped and twisted around before her face relaxed. She smacked him on the shoulder.

"Jesus, Nino. Don't do that!"

Nino laughed.

Chat observed the interaction as an idea formed in his head. If Ladybug wouldn't respond to his normal chatter, then maybe she'll respond if he annoys the hell out of her. At this point, all Chat wanted was for her to acknowledge him, whether it be an actual response or an eye roll, he'd take anything.

She hated when he acted all pompous and over the top, so he made sure to do just that. The next time he saw her, he bowed lowly as she passed.

"M'Lady."

She didn't spare him a glance.

A short while later, she was walking through the upstairs hallway, and he ran up to her. "How's it hanging, LB?"

She vanished.

He huffed and vanished too, finding her in the living room. He sidled over. "Hey, ghoul-friend." Again, she disappeared. They continued this dance, and he made sure to use every pun and nickname he had, anything to get at least one annoyed look from her.

Nada.

Eventually she vanished, and this time he couldn't find her again. She wasn't with Nino or Alya, and she wasn't in any of the main rooms or bathrooms.

He found her in the last bedroom he checked, staring out the window on the far side of the room. She looked… sad? Why? Usually, a ghostly red mist outlined her form—he was similar, but with black—but now the red was paling to a pink. Her face was forlorn as she stared longingly outside.

Chat approached her cautiously, not wanting to scare her off again. He came up next to her and cleared his throat softly in an attempt to show that he was trying to be courteous now.

She immediately vanished.

Chat let out a groan of frustration. Suddenly, he heard rapidly receding footsteps in the hall. Curious, he followed.

Chat materialized in the living room right as Nino entered. "Ayla! I just heard something upstairs."

Alya grinned excitedly and tapped a few buttons before raising her phone camera up. "Okay, go."

Nino stood awkwardly for a moment, feeling slightly pressured from being recorded. "Um… well, there was this kind of… moaning or something in one of the guest bedrooms. Sounded like a woman."

Chat's face twisted up in a snarl, immediately taking offense.

He heard a muffled snicker behind him and spun around to see Ladybug passing by. She lowered her hand from her face and schooled her expression, continuing to walk by as if nothing happened. Chat momentarily forgot his annoyance and tilted his head. Alright, so she responded to that. He'd take any kind of reaction from her, even if it was at his expense. Once Ladybug disappeared around the corner, he turned back towards Nino, who was listening to Alya as she rattled off theories about who the mysterious woman could be. Chat narrowed his eyes at him. There was no way in hell he'd let that slide.

His quest to figure out what was wrong with Ladybug would be put on hold for the time being. He'd found a new target.

Alya and Nino stood side by side in the kitchen, Alya chattering enthusiastically to the livestream on her phone while Nino nodded and chipped in occasionally.

"Again, guys, it's absolutely insane that we're here. Legend has it that no one has ever made it onto the lawn, let alone in the house! If you've been following the blog so far, then you know all about some of the things we've experienced: cold spots, lights flickering, Nino even heard a woman moaning upstairs-"

Chat Noir stood right next to them, glaring at the side of Nino's head. He reached forward and lightly tickled the underside of Nino's nose. Nino scrunched it up a little bit, but otherwise didn't react too much. Chat did it again, and again. Eventually, Nino let out a loud sneeze and grabbed at his nose, looking around.

Alya looked over at him. "What's wrong?"

Nino blinked a few times. "I'm not sure. My nose just felt weird."

Alya turned back to the livestream. "Another thing, guys. It's insanely dusty in here-" She continued to ramble while Nino glanced around once more, finally shrugging and turning back to the phone.

Chat crossed his arms, silently murmuring about all the things he could do to make Nino's stay as uncomfortable as possible. He didn't notice Ladybug walk in until she was standing next to Alya. She didn't acknowledge his presence at all, but he noticed her eyeing Nino as he rubbed his nose again.

Ladybug turned her gaze to Alya, who was still rambling, and proceeded to lift her hand and flick the side of her glasses. Alya gasped and jumped back against Nino, her glasses sitting crooked on her nose.

"What happened?" Nino asked.

She searched the air where Ladybug stood. "Something just hit my glasses!"

The comments on the livestream exploded.

"You guys saw that right?!" Alya asked the phone.

As Ladybug watched the girl with a slightly amused look, Chat shuffled over to try to get in her line of sight. Of course, the second he started moving, she turned away and disappeared into thin air.

Great.

Ladybug was competing with him. He knew it.

He didn't realize it at the time, but it started during the livestream when she messed with Alya right after he messed with Nino. He didn't think much of it, but then an hour or so later she did something similar. He was lying on his shoulder on the carpet, tying Nino's shoelaces together, when she walked by. He felt her eyeing him, so he looked up. She quickly turned away and headed for the kitchen.

Some thirty seconds later, Chat heard a shout and a thud.

"Alya?!" Nino jumped to his feet and moved to take a step, but his shoelaces pulled tight. He faceplanted on the dusty rug. Chat rolled onto his back, cracking up.

Apparently, Ladybug had pulled the chair out from under Alya as she was sitting down at the kitchen table. Chat thought it was hilarious, but then it happened again. He saw her watching him while he was setting up a cobweb trap for Nino, and then a moment later, Alya was covered in dust from the chandelier.

Every time he messed with Nino, she seemed to appear and do something better to Alya. She never looked at him afterwards, but she always had a small smirk on her face. It wasn't until Ladybug had hidden Alya's phone on the mantle that he managed to get a response out of her.

She stood off to the side of the living room as Alya panic searched the area, and Chat hesitantly approached her.

He cleared his throat softly, but she didn't disappear. Good. "If I'm being honest, M'Lady, I'd say you were trying to compete with me at haunting."

She was silent for a moment as she held a stoic expression in place, but then it cracked ever so slightly. "If I'm being honest," Chat whipped his head around to look at her, "I'd say you were losing."

She didn't face him, but he didn't care. Ladybug talked to him. Finally.

He crossed his arms and tilted his head as he looked down at her. "Really now? I guess we'll have to change that."

Back and forth they went, each prank getting slightly more intense as they continued to try and one-up each other. Chat managed to catch Ladybug's eye as she passed where he was leaning against the bathroom door, Nino pounding on the other side and yelling for Alya. She covered her mouth, holding back a laugh, and his heart warmed. She was starting to come back around.

Chat managed to find Ladybug alone again in the downstairs hallway. She didn't run when he approached her. He stood quietly for a moment as he contemplated asking what he really wanted to know. She spoke first.

"I didn't realize haunting could be so much fun."

He tried to act nonchalant, but the fear of her disappearing on him made him jittery. "Yeah? That's right, you haven't been around long enough to experience it yet. Well, you know what they say: ghouls just wanna have fun."

She rolled her eyes but stayed silent. He patted his thigh with his fingers as his mind raced for topics to keep the conversation going, but he found himself blurting out, "Are you still mad at me?"

Ladybug looked up at him, her expression unreadable. "I-"

At that moment, Nino walked through them. He audibly shivered as he turned around and looked over the spot they were standing in. Ladybug cleared her throat and broke eye contact, disappearing on the spot. Chat held in a shout of frustration and turned to send daggers at Nino, who had turned back around and was walking away.

Chat sped forward, and as he passed, he shoved Nino face first into the wall.

"Alright, Ladybloggers, things are getting pretty intense here, so we think it's time we whip out the Ouija Board." Alya had her phone propped up on the coffee table. Her and Nino sat on the floor across from each other with the board between them.

Nino looked pale. "I don't think I can do this."

"Yes you can."

"You don't understand, the ghost shoved me a few minutes ago."

"That's why we need to communicate with it. We need to find out why it's so vengeful." Alya placed her hands on the planchette and motioned for Nino to do the same. He pressed his lips into a terrified pout before slowly placing his fingers on the wood.

Chat Noir crouched down next to the board, and Ladybug did the same on the opposite side.

"Are there any spirits here with us?" Alya asked the room at large.

Chat reached over and slid the planchette over to Yes. Nino let out a small whimper. Alya glanced excitedly over at her phone before turning back to the board.

"Are you the spirit that has been haunting this house all these years?"

Yes.

Alya was practically vibrating with excitement. "Are you the woman Nino heard earlier? Was that you?"

Chat frowned and went to move the planchette to No as quickly as possible, but Ladybug stopped him. She held the planchette in place and stifled a laugh.

"Technically, that was you."

Chat stared at her, completely offended. "Last I checked, I'm not a woman, so I don't agree with her statement." He pushed on the planchette, but Ladybug pushed back. They both stared defiantly at each other as they struggled for control. The planchette eventually spun out of their grip and flew across the living room to where it landed by the wall.

Nino grabbed his cap and tried to pull it farther down his head. "Alya, I don't wanna do this anymore!"

Alya grabbed her phone and talked to her viewers directly. "Did you see that?! Oh my god!" She pointed the camera at Nino. "Nino, go grab it and look through the glass."

"What?! You're joking!"

"No, it's okay-"

"Alyaaaa." Nino had curled up into a small ball on the floor.

"Look this is the last thing, I promise. We can leave after this-"

"You're just trying to get a reaction out of me, aren't you?"

Alya pressed her lips together and shook her head adamantly. Nino didn't seem convinced. She sighed. "Look, I promise we can leave if you do it. I cross my heart." She went through the motions and gave him a pleading expression.

Ladybug and Chat eyed each other, identical mischievous smirks adorning their faces. "Grand finale?" Chat asked.

"Right on, Kitty."

Nino walked with shaky legs over to the planchette, cautiously touching it as if expecting it to be white hot. He picked it up and straightened before turning to face Alya again. She nodded encouragingly. Nino raised the planchette up with his eyes squeezed shut. Chat and Ladybug took positions on either side of him, silently agreeing to jump out and scare him.

Nino peeked an eye open and saw an empty living room.

"Well?" Alya asked excitedly.

"There's… nothing." Nino said in a small voice, although he was becoming more relieved by the second.

Ladybug raised a hand to count down from five, but then Nino spoke again.

"Miss ghost lady? Are you not here?"

Chat jutted his jaw out. "That's it," he muttered. He stormed out in front of the planchette, cat eyes wild with rage. "I am not a woman!" Nino screeched and flailed backwards, dropping the planchette and falling against the wall behind him. Ladybug rolled her eyes and chose another tactic; she ran over to the ornate mirror in the corner and slammed her fist against it, shattering it loudly. Alya screamed, while Nino's yells only increased in volume.

"Hey! That was my mirror!"

"Oh please, like you ever use it."

Alya and Nino scrambled to their feet and booked it toward the front entrance, but Chat got there first. He opened the tall oak doors and slammed them hard. The teens screeched to a halt and stumbled back, rerouting to the back door. As they scrambled down the hallway, Ladybug and Chat pounded on the walls, chasing them with the sound.

Alya and Nino broke out into the crisp night air and stumbled through the overgrown lawn. They heard a distant "Oh my god!" from Alya before they rounded the corner of the house, heading back to where their car was parked in the front.

Ladybug and Chat leaned on each other as they cackled, trying desperately to pause long enough for air but failing miserably. They wiped at the tears in the corners of their eyes as the laughs died down enough for them to speak.

"That", Chat started laughing again, "was amazing."

Chat grabbed Ladybug's elbows as she continued to laugh, unable to support herself or keep or balance.

Ladybug lost her balance as a fresh wave of giggles came through her. Chat reached out and grabbed her elbows to steady her. "I don't think- I've ever laughed this hard- in my entire life."

"Dead or alive?"

"Both." Ladybug took a steadying breath, but chuckled a little as she exhaled. Chat let go of her once he was sure she could stand up straight. She looked up at him. "Thanks, Kitty."

He quirked an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For cheering me up." She smiled softly.

He stared at her confusedly. "But wasn't it my fault you were upset?"

"Yeah," Chat was momentarily taken aback by her bluntness, "but I realized I needed to loosen up. Besides, everything turned out a lot better than I thought it would."

Chat blinked at her. "I don't understand."

Ladybug sighed. "Today is the anniversary of my death." Chat's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to say something, but she held a finger to his lips. "Shh, just let me talk." She lowered her hand and continued. "I expected to spend my day wallowing, but then you invited people over. I was mad at you because they were disturbing my depressing environment, but after doing all the pranks with you today, I found myself forgetting I was supposed to be sad." She grinned up at him. "You helped me smile on the worst day of the year, and I'm thankful for that."

Ladybug reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. Chat quickly returned it, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on her.

He had been alone in this mansion for years and years, and he haunted it as a form of comfort. When he was slamming doors and tripping residents, he felt less lonely. They couldn't see him, but he didn't care. All he wanted was some form of connection with another person again.

When Ladybug came along, his entire world brightened up, and he found himself spending every waking moment with her. He doubted she realized just how important she was to him.

So hearing her express her gratitude, having her hug him, meant everything. In that moment, he knew; he loved this girl. She might not know it yet, but it didn't matter. All he cared about was staying here by her side for as long as he could, possibly for eternity.

They pulled apart and she raised her fist up between them. He glanced down at it and smiled softly, lifting his hand and pressing his knuckles to hers.

"Pound it."