Ladybug wasn't sure why she fell for the pesky cat that she had known for so long as her partner. Maybe it was seeing Adrien so happy with Kagami, or at least that's what she always thought she saw. Maybe it was knowing that as sweet as Luka could be, he would always want the truth from her, and that was something she was unable to share. Chat Noir was flirtatious as always and she couldn't help a blush as her heart fluttered at his words.

She had set this all up for him, a replica of the rooftop scene that he had set up for her one night. He would get to see it, it could have been the exact romantic scene that he had once planned for her. Except, this time, he promised he would come, and she was already there. She had told him that she couldn't be there, that night he had set the scene up, but tonight he could make it. Ladybug looks at the time, well, maybe something came up? I'll wait just a bit longer, he is probably just finishing something up and then he'll be here.

She looks around, the skyline surrounding her is empty in all directions. Of course, he isn't here. Why would he be? She deserved this, it was karma for standing him up the first time. It's late, she goes home, planning to cry herself to sleep. She shouldn't have fooled herself to believe that he actually loved her.

Adrien glances at the clock on his nightstand, he quickly scatters out of his bed. He, well Chat Noir, was supposed to meet Ladybug two hours ago. No, no, no, he had set an alarm for half an hour before he had to meet her, why hadn't it gone off?

"Plagg, claws out," he quickly commands. He opens the window and goes to look for his Ladybug. The roof is empty, dark, and feels colder than the rest of Paris. All the candles have been extinguished, some that were set on the ground and been kicked over. He looks down at his feet and sees a rose that looks like it had been stepped on. There's a blanket and a picnic basket that is now empty. She had gone through all this trouble and he couldn't have been bothered to show up on time.

Chat Noir looks back down to his feet and picks up the rose, careful not to harm the more fragile petals. It's representative of the damage he has caused, but even her miraculous ladybugs can't fix a broken heart.

"I'm so sorry, m'lady," Chat Noir apologizes to the space around him. He didn't know how he was going to make this up to her, he didn't mean to stand her up like this, he only hoped she would understand.

He should've known better. If Ladybug was closed off before to his affections, she was cold and borderline cruel now. She was determined not to let her true feelings seep through her hard exterior. She tries to deter him away from her but none of her carefully executed reactions stop him.

When he makes a joke or a pun, she doesn't even let out a giggle. She rolls her eyes and scoffs instead as a sign of her disinterest. If he tries to give her gifts she'll toss them aside. In one of her cruelest acts, she pretended to really like the stain art of them he had gotten, she proceeded to drop it to the ground watching the glass shatter, before laughing a little bit at his pitiful expression. She rips flowers to pieces and crinkles love notes and poems in her hand. She tells him how she wishes she could use the cataclysm power to truly get rid of these awful things. It's a hard act for her to keep up but he'll stop trying one day, he has to.

They both collapse on the rooftop. Hawkmoth had sent our akuma after akuma, the superheroes were beyond tired and neither could manage to even move a muscle. It wasn't fair that Hawkmoth had all that power as an adult when the teenagers could hardly keep up with theirs. They had to assume Hawkmoth was tired, he had sent out an akuma every day for the past week and Ladybug and Chat Noir had just defeated their third villain today. If he wasn't tired, the weight of constant failure had to be setting in now more than ever. The heroes just wanted a small break. Their kwami's could keep going after a small snack but the heroes themselves could not. They close their eyes trying to calm down breathing, feeling like they just finished a marathon.

"Ladybug," Chat Noir finally breathes.

"What?" Ladybug tries to spit back but she's all too tired, it comes out in a soft breath.

"I'm sorry," he says, "I really am. I've been trying to make it up to you but nothing seems to work."

She shakes her head slightly, he can't see it but her action is just as important, especially when both are struggling to move, "I'm sorry. I held one day against you and we don't work together the way we used to. We wouldn't be so tired if I had just been willing to cooperate with you."

"I had overslept," Chat finally has the chance to explain, "I had met to come. I did come but it was too late."

"I appreciate you so much, kitty," Ladybug tells him and Chat Noir knows he was forgiven with the use of the nickname, "I just wanted to show how much I care but it didn't turn out too well."

Chat Noir pulls out the fragile, the delicate, the somehow not completely wilted, rose. He puts it in between and Ladybug finds the energy to move her head to look at it. It seems to represent the pair even more now. They are both tired, feeling like they might fall apart any second much like the rose may lose its structure if a slight breeze blows by.

"I can't believe you kept it, even after all I've done?"

"Of course, it was special because it was from you, m'lady," Chat's breath is light but the smirk is heard in his voice.

"I love you, Chat," her voice is still breathless and the sound is hardly over a whisper. The recipient of those words would be jumping up and down if he wasn't so tired.

"I love you too, Buginette," he replies instead.

Ladybug goes to protest the nickname but decides against it. The nickname that used to bother her feels sentimental because, after all of this, he still cares for her. She doesn't know how he could be so forgiving and loving when she had been anything but during the past week. Though it's another thing she loves about him.

They are both beyond stiff, hardly able to control their muscles, but they stretch their arms out towards each other, their fingertips brush, and it's enough for them, at least until they can stand again. There on the rooftop, they are exactly where they want to be. They wouldn't want to be there with anyone else, they are glad they have each other, the extensive trust they have in each other is unbreakable.

Author's Note:

I just wanted to clear some things up, I did not take offense to the comments and got questions asking about Ladybug's character across all sites I posted this fic on.

It had taken a lot of courage for Ladybug to do any of this (I'm not saying it didn't all the times Chat Noir tried to talk to Ladybug about his feelings) but so when he didn't show up, when he had promised to, she immediately assumed the worst in her own mind. It's like if you have two friends, one who is super reliable and responsible and one who just isn't. Ladybug expects Chat Noir to show up because he always has while Ladybug isn't expected to show up to most things and this is something Chat Noir has come to terms with in a way. Ladybug doesn't know how else to cope with this 'rejection' and so she is very cruel, I'm not saying her behavior was okay, nor that Chat Noir should've forgiven her, but in his mind he was blaming himself. I think Adrien would have a tendency to blame things on himself even if they weren't necessarily his fault and that would transfer to his Chat Noir side. I think for Ladybug, it wasn't even the fact that she didn't forgive Chat Noir, but more of the fact she didn't want to get hurt, and so instead, she hurt Chat Noir. Chat Noir basically feels like he deserves this treatment and while it hurts him to see her laugh in his face, it's clear she doesn't want to hear him out. This left the only time for them to really talk after they were both too exhausted to do anything else.

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4: In my mind this also took place maybe sometime during season 4, and Ladybug and Chat Noir both feel a drift in between each other and this how Ladybug ultimately ended up recognizing her feelings for him. She was so scared of losing him that she pushed him farther away.