Just a one-shot were our favorite hero dynamic waste time talking about unnecessary things, because we need that in our life.
"You have ten siblings. You know that, right?"
The sentence was so absurd, stemming from no prior conversation yet said as if it was the most reasonable statement in the world. "What?"
"Yeah, your identity has ten siblings, a hamster you refuse to name, and thirteen cats," the wielder of destruction winked.
Ladybug shook her head, but allowed a chuckle. "Really? I had no idea."
"Well, now you do. Talking about...how does my family look?" his eyes twinkled in amusement as he used his baton to propel himself to the next roof.
"Your family? Can't say I ever thought of what that'd be like. Probably chaos."
"Oh, come on! Just give it a shot. What kind of people do you see living with me?"
The heroine rolled her eyes, but her mind wandered to a life for her partner anyway. She wasn't lying when she'd said she never gave the topic much thought, her speculations on the matter didn't mean anything so investing time on it hadn't been reasonable. But now, people began unwillingly appearing before her eyes painting an elaborate portrait, the dripping paints refusing to slow until the work was completed.
A father, mother, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents.
He had a large family, all living together in a quaint little cottage, surrounded by a protective wall of trees. In the winter they'd all gather in a family room, far too small for the likes of the entire family, curled around a fireplace and buried in piles of blankets. They'd listen to stories from the elders in the group the entire day, sipping at their warm drinks and laughing; without a care in the world.
In the summer, days and nights would be wasted outdoors. The children would run aimlessly about, rummaging for items in the nearby woods, while the adults grilled some food or other over an open pit. They'd stay out late, gazing at the stars, maybe roast some marshmallows.
They'd spend every holiday, every birthday, every occasion with one another, yet never tire of those around them.
"You don't have siblings," she finally stated.
"Okay," he nodded, accepting his fate.
"But you don't really notice because you've got lots and lots of cousins, so many in fact that remembering half of them is a chore."
At this the cat chuckled, staring at her with his head cocked to the side. "Ahhh, you've caught me now, haven't you, Bugaboo? You practically know my entire identity."
"Yup," her mouth curved to the side.
"Well then, let's see what other info I've got on you." He stopped running long enough to scratch at his chin thoughtfully. "You're the seventh child, so you've got some youngsters under you. Only one of your siblings is tolerable, your youngest -and that's only because she's still a year old. Is this correct?"
Ladybug caught sight of the Eiffel Tower in the distance, calling the end of their patrol. "Sure...sure. That sounds just like my family. Do you know all my siblings' names?"
"Of course I do. What do you think I am? An amatuer?" her partner landed on the Tower with a roll before bouncing onto his feet and finishing with some of his most showy flips.
"Okay, so...what are the names?"
"There's Mason -he's the oldest-, then we have Morgan, Megan, Michelle, Mathew, Miles, you naturally come next, Max, Margret, Mackenzie, and Madelyn."
Ladybug did a double take. It was nothing more than a coincidence that all those names started with m's, but she felt her blood run cold nonetheless.
She shook it off, "Wow, that's quite the list."
"And you'd do well to remember it. They are your family."
Ladybug settled among the beams, wrapping her arms around herself to block out the cold. She was interested in hearing what else her partner had crafted about her life. What other family he saw her spending time with. How much he actually "knew" the real her. She could see them staying out for a couple more hours talking about nonexistent lives as if it was something completely reasonable.
But what if you slip up, make a mistake and accidentally reveal your identity. What if Chat's attempts to discover who lives behind your mask finally succeed? a voice nagged in the back of her head.
"You know my name?"
"Hmmm?"
"If you know all my siblings' names, do you know mine?"
"I wouldn't even give it a thought, M'Lady. No name is deserving of you unless it's the name you actually possess," Chat Noir flirted.
Ladybug's cheeks warmed slightly -in relief, of course, nothing else. "Ahhh, okay. I don't feel the same about your name though." She tried to divert his attention before he caught on to the blush. "I think you're definitely a…" she snapped her fingers, "Steven. You're a Steven."
"Wh-" Chat rolled onto his stomach in laughter, his body racking in unsuppressed amusement.
"Well, I guess that's not it. Maybe Alexander then? Henry? Luis? I feel like you need a name you'd get from some boring, old history book. Something the average person wouldn't have."
Chat recoiled. "Are you suggesting I'm 'boring' and 'old'? That's offensive, M'Lady. I mean, have you seen me? Boring is seriously insulting."
"No. You would give life to any of those boring names. Pop them right back up from the dead."
Ladybug let out a sigh, resting her head against the beam behind her. They'd been out for about an hour. Names being the consistent topic of conversation the entire time. She'd gone through practically every boy name she could think of and he'd denied every one of them. Which was probably for the best, but she'd begun taking the game a little too seriously, finding herself more and more earnest to guess the correct one. Her competitive side got all the more worked up when he simply laughed at her guesses, as if he thought she was joking.
"You've also got some really stellar parents, by the way. I hadn't mentioned them before, but they're really awesome."
"Oh yeah?
"Yup. They're cool. Hang around all the time, provide equal attention to you and each of your monstrous siblings. They are strict about being polite and always treating others with respect, but other than that they are pretty lax about rules."
"So they don't care if my room is a mess?"
"Nah, of course not. That's your room, you can do as we please with it. Trash it, use it for storage, paint it."
"Then these are some very nice people," Ladybug agreed.
"And they like to cook." After Ladybug's raised eyebrow he continued, "I've just always imagined your parents being very hands on. I feel like cooking would be something they'd enjoy doing. It's probably a good thing, seeing as you have so many people to feed."
Ladybug thought of how accurate that was, how much her parents enjoyed working together in the bakery. "Yeah, you're pretty on point with that one."
"I know," he whispered, dazed eyes darting to the sky for a moment, lost in thought.
A tender silence fell between them, hovering pleasantly in the air. Ladybug laid her head against her partner's shoulder. She knew they had to start getting back to their homes so they could catch some sleep before school the next day. The conversation seemed to be dying out anyway, but she couldn't bring herself to ruin the atmosphere. What was another couple minutes?
"What are my parents like?" Chat said, Ladybug felt his shoulders shrug.
Ladybug let out a breathless chuckle, she hadn't thought out people in detail the way he had. "We should probably get going, Kitty; it's getting late." She moved to get up, but Chat grabbed her wrist.
"Ladybug, what are my parents like?" He was more urgent this time like the question was eating at him.
The spotted heroine met her partner's eyes, noting the way they'd widened since she'd last looked at his face. How he'd flinch every couple seconds or screw up his eyes as if trying to hold back tears. How his frame was completely tense, his hand never wavering on her wrist. How desperate he looked.
"Um...I really don't know. They're nice I guess."
"Nice? Nice how?" Chat briefly licked his lips, swallowed, awaiting a sentence of some kind.
"Well… they like to take days off of work. Especially in the summertime. And they enjoy spending time outdoors?" She searched her mind, trying to think of anything else about these fictitious people. "I'm not as creative as you...I'll need to think on this more, I suppose."
Chat nodded, though he clearly wasn't satisfied with the answer, clearly wanted more. "They sound like good people."
"They definitely are. Can you let go of my arm now, Chat?"
"Oh, right. Sorry. Um…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "You're right, we should probably get going," a forced chuckle punctuated the sentence.
Ladybug worried her lower lip.
"It was nice talking to you, M'Lady. I had fun."
"Yeah, me too, Kitty."
Chat Noir smiled, losing some of his tenseness. He grabbed Ladybug's hand, making a show of bringing it to his lips, before turning away with a smirk, wave, and "see you next time".
Once again the bug themed heroine found herself envisioning Chat Noir's family. This time, however, they looked so different from what she'd first thought of, not exactly matching the partner she was accustomed to.
She imagined a long table. Imagined one or two occupants sitting around the object that was obviously designed for far more people, distanced by countless empty seats. Imagined blank faces, a lack of chatter, zero laughter. Imagined empty halls and emptier hearts. Imagined life contrasting Chat Noir in every sense.
He'd spend his days in his room or outside, doing homework and reading. Warm months would be spent at the park, cold ones in his bed. He would wander the halls of school long after the day had ended, talking to any stragglers who remained.
The image wasn't half as wonderful as the last one, but it was also far more insistent, flushing her mind with a hollowed out feeling of loss.
No longer was her partner enjoying a large, luxurious family…instead he lived perpetual silence, surrounded by nothing but space upon space.
Alone.
Okay...here's the thing, schools been keeping me on my feet, well more like on my toes...tip toes, like the very tip of my tip toes. That being said, I've been really struggling to get in writing time. Anyway...please let me know if you're waiting for a specific update on any story that I may have forgotten about (not that I forget about stories I've written, hahahaha...ha).
I had lots of fun writing Envisioned Lives; conversation between Ladybug and Chat Noir is always animated. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! Let me know what you think in reviews and PMs :)!