This was an old WIP I worked on a few years back that was originally supposed to be one of the drabbles in Miraculous Drabbles, but it turned into a lot more than what was intended but never really made it's way into a story. I still wanted to share it though so here you go.
The arrow whizzed through the air and landed with a thump in the center of the target that Ladybug had carved herself with her dagger.
She snuck out of the inn they had set up camp in when she thought that he was asleep. Chat had awakened in the middle of the night to her absence. He went to go look for her. He had a feeling he already knew where she was.
During their first few months of running from the Empire, before the other Miraculous holders joined them, when they would have to find inns or caves(depending on how long they're staying) to stay the night in, Ladybug would sneak off in the middle of the night and carve targets in the different trees she would pass by. If it wasn't too late she'd practice her archery with the last target she carved 'till morning or 'till she passed out from exhaustion. But that was before Chat had figured out what she was doing would drag her back to whatever their sleeping quarters were at for the moment for those few more hours of sleep he knew she would need, since she can't function on little amounts of sleep as well as he could.
He understood though why she trained so hard. Back when they were working for the Empire they were always either training or fighting, whether it be training the other troops or sparring with their own instructors: Plagg and Tikki.
Ladybug was Tikki's charge as Chat was Plagg's. They were also their predecessors. Tikki and Plagg were the very first Ladybug and Chat Noir before they retired and decided to pass on their mantles. All four had become good friends, maybe even best friends, over the years they trained with each other. But Tikki and Plagg have been and still are loyal to the crown, meaning that they couldn't leave with them; even if they did disagree with the new Emperor's harsh ways.
When Chat and Ladybug left the Empire, they had to leave early in the morning before sunrise so that the guards wouldn't catch them. So Tikki and Plagg threw them a going-away party inside of Tikki's quarters before they left, since that was the last night they'd see each other for a while. It was a night full of laughing, fun, sarcastic comments from Plagg and whatever kind of alcoholic drinks(because Plagg refused to let them leave without getting them drunk) and food they sneaked inside the surrounding walls. The party ended with Ladybug passed out on Tikki's bed after having only about five drinks, Plagg having to nurse a grouchy Tikki through a nasty hangover, and a kind-of tispy Chat having to drag Ladybug back to her quarters before the guards performed their nightly bed checks.
Before he took Ladybug to her bedding chambers, Tikki braved through her massive headache to make him promise something:
"Protect Ladybug."
Which was another reason why he had to find her.
When she first carved the targets she had made it so that no one could find or follow her. But after an incident where she was in trouble and she had been badly injured before Chat found her, she felt that she should make some kind of hints as to where the other targets were that only he would know how to interpret.
Following her clues, he found her in an open clearing with a few trees practicing her archery. She looked to have been there for awhile, for from where he is standing he could see a pile of snapped arrow heads scattered at the base of the tree that had fallen from the targets and because of his heighten eyesight he could see the sweat dripping from her brow and her slight quivering when she pulled back her bowstring.
So he tried to think about how to get her to retire for the night instead of the way the moonlight shined down on her made a kind of ethereal glow that made her look like a red clad angel, or how he so much loved the confidence that flowed off of her in waves just from her stance.
Chat meandered out from behind the treeline. The padding underneath his boots let him stealthily sneak upon her, but when she was so deep in her training not even a thunder storm could distract her.
She jolted when Char trailed his hand down her side to rest on her hip and the other lightly ghosting her elbow with his chest pressed against her back. "Aim may be a big part of archery but so is your stance. You're too tense. Relax."
An awkward laugh bubbled over from her mouth when a shiver dropped down her spine for a now totally different reason than her fatigue, "Well how can I relax with you breathing down my neck?"
He chuckled, "Practice."
Ladybug let go of the arrow. It hit right in the center of the target. Bull-eyes.
Chat dropped his hands to his side when she lowered her bow and turned around. "Time to go, LB," he said.
She placed her hand on her hip, "I haven't been practicing that long."
Chat grabbed her hand from her hip and gently rubbed the pads of her fingers. She flinched.
The pads of her index finger and middle finger were blotched red from pulling back the rough material of the bowstring. He brought those two digits up to his lips and gently kissed then licked the irritated skin. She squirmed under his touch, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Chat. We're out in the open," she whispered.
He looked up at her from underneath his eyelashes, his emerald feline-like eyes seeming to glow in the dark. "Now are you coming back to bed or am I going to have to treat the other wounded parts of your body as well?"
He got another shiver out of her before she snatched her hand back. The tips of her fingers had returned to their original color. He stood up and took a step back, knowing her limits. "Isn't it a bit early for your flirty advances, Cat Noir?"
She looked away, before he could see the rosy blush starting to bloom on her cheeks. His smirk somewhat softening into a crooked smile as he carefully took the bow from her hands. "Apparently not too early since you still had to get up for your nightly target practice."
"At least my nightly target practices are productive."
"Oh?" His crooked smile oozed his mischievous intentions. He inched closer to her until he was a step away. "So you're telling me you don't find me the least bit attractive, Bugaboo?"
"Oh you're attractive alright." A small giggle was in her voice when she brushed him off. "Aren't we supposed to be going to bed?"
Chat took a few steps back out of her personal space and bowed dramatically. "After you, milady."
Ladybug rolled her eyes and began walking towards the forest with Chat close behind her.
A good thing about the forest at night, it was quiet. It's serenity gave her a peace of mind where she didn't have to deal with the Emperor's soldiers breathing down her neck or the bickering of her teammates. Though, being Chat's partner for so long she was used to his antics. But Chat was a gentleman true to his nature. He knew when to stop flirting and just leave her be and to just follow quietly beside her.
But this time she found she didn't want the quiet.
"Do you ever miss the empire?"
"Hmm?" The question seemed to shock him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean the Empire was our home. Where we grew up, where we trained, where we made friends; don't you miss it?" She looked at him then and found another reason why she liked the nighttime. Chat looked different in the moonlight. It's like he takes on a different persona. He looked more serious at night, more wild. Unlike her, the forest at night was his hunting grounds, a place he knows like the back of his hand, while she preferred shadowed alleyways and bustling streets.
"Of course I do, but I also miss when Master Fu was emperor. The Empire we grew up in isn't going to be the same with who's on the throne now."
Ladybug sighed and lowered her head, "But the question is: do we fight back or stay on the run?"
"Whatever you choose, I will be with you."
She smiled, "Thanks, Cat Noir."
Suddenly Cat Noir's eyes twitched. He grabbed onto Ladybug's arm to tell her to stop. He looked around. He heard leaves rustling. Ladybug was confused. She couldn't hear the men. "Chat what's wron-"
"Shh." He leaned a little closer towards the foliage of the forest, then his eyes widened. He tugged on Ladybug's arms before sprinting off into a run and dragging her behind him. "Three soldiers. They found out where the camp is."
Ladybug shook her hand from out of Cat's grasp and ran faster, "We can't let the others be found."
When they got back to camp, the others were just waking up and eating their breakfast. They were confused when Ladybug and Cat started packing up the sleeping bags and blew out the fire.
"We have to go. The soldiers are coming." With that the others grabbed what was left of their sacks and left back into the forest. Two minutes later the three guards found the campsite. But the Miraculous Holders were long gone.