Author's note – chapter five let's go! Enjoy some more 2016 fluff, this time some classic ladynoir xx
That night, Marinette was over the moon. She had had the most wonderful evening with Adrian, playing video games for hours, not even realizing it was ten thirty until they had received a warning from Natalie over the intercom, signaling that she'd turned a blind eye for long enough and that it was time for Marinette to go. As she had packed up her things, the two of them had looked down at their incomplete essays with distaste. Adrian has stood quietly, watching as she had collected her half of the papers and put them into her bag. He had then led her down to his front foyer. Marinette had been leaving through the door when Adrian had grabbed her arm, causing her to turn around, shocked by the contact and the gesture. They stood there like that, for a couple of brief seconds, that had felt like an eternity to Marinette. Adrian had broken the silence finally, and said:
"There isn't any chance that you would want to get together tomorrow again, to finish those stupid essays? I promise I'll stay more on task. We could even meet at the library or something. No distractions." He had looked at Marinette with such a sheepish grin, a touch of nervousness behind it. There was no possible way that Marinette could have said no to it, even if she had wanted to.
"Okay, meet at the library at 10? That way if you do manage to get distracted, we still have plenty of time to finish."
Adrian had looked back at Marinette, chuckled, and replied, "Wow, you can read me well, can't you?"
Marinette had looked straight into his eyes, smiled, and said, "Like an open book."
Marinette thought back to this moment again and hid her face into her pillow, smiling ridiculously into it, as she tried to shake her giddiness so that she could get to sleep and be well rested to make it to the library the next morning. Yet, despite how hard she tried, Marinette couldn't get to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about how she had managed an entire evening with Adrian without stuttering once, and how amazing it had felt. Her sleep schedule must have been warped from her odd week of fighting Akumas, because she knew there was no way she was going to get to sleep anytime soon. So, Marinette decided to go for a late night swing around the city to try and burn off some of her energy.
She placed some pillows under her sheets and transformed into Ladybug, setting off into the night, doing a sort of patrol, but mostly just tiring herself out. She swung around the streets of Paris, looking at the streets below her, and taking in the moonlit buildings around her. She had always thought that Paris was a beautiful city, especially from above. Eventually, absolutely exhausted, Ladybug sat down on the rooftop of a nearby building, and stared out into the city. In that moment, she remembered her patrol the night previous with Chat Noir, and felt a bit lonely being here without him; it just didn't feel the same. She didn't know if it was the moonlight getting to her head, or the fondness of having spent the day with Adrian, but Ladybug was in such a good mood and wanted to share this moment with someone. Of course, it couldn't be Alya this late in the evening, so she decided to try and get Chat Noir's attention.
"If he answers, okay, but if not, no big deal, right?" she thought to herself, pulling out her yo-yo to give Chat a call, "at least I can say that I tried." After just a couple of rings, Chat picked up. The screen was dark, but Ladybug could see flashes of Chat's face in the moonlight, and the wind whipping past his camera; he was obviously running somewhere.
"Uh, bad time?" Ladybug said, watching her feline companion almost trip over a crack in the road.
"Not at all! I just saw you calling and immediately set a course. I'm always at your service my lady."
Ladybug rolled her eyes, and she saw what she thought was a faint outline of a huge smile spread across his face. "Set a course for where, may I ask?"
With that, Chat immediately froze in his tracks, and Ladybug burst into laughter.
"Uh, right. Guess I hadn't really figured that part out yet. Well, where may I ask, am I headed?"
Ladybug sent her coordinates to Chat, shaking her head, still chuckling at the boy.
"Purrfect. Be there in a jiffy!" and with that, Chat hung up, so that he could use his baton to make the journey faster, Ladybug assumed. She was actually really looking forward to seeing Chat's face he really was one of her best friends, and she wanted to share her excitement with him. She was staring over the skyline when she saw a black shadow soaring over the rooftops, getting closer and closer, until the black cat had landed on her building and sat down beside her, his legs hanging over the rafters, dangling limply. He put his arms behind him, leaning back, catching his breath, as he turned toward his friend with a huge smile.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" he asked, obviously tickled pink at the fact that they were meeting socially for two nights in a row.
"Can't you just smile, be grateful and enjoy the company?" replied Ladybug, shoving Chat with her shoulder playfully.
"My my, someone's feisty. I was just curious!"
"Yea, well curiosity killed the cat."
"Woah, was that a threat?" Chat gasped, feigning shock.
"I don't know, you tell me." Wow, she certainly was a bit feisty. The confidence from her time with Adrian was really starting to soak in.
"I'm going to say no, but only because I know that you know that you would miss be terribly if I were gone," Chat said, wiggling his eyebrows at Ladybug, causing her to dissolve into a fit of giggles. She really couldn't take anything he did seriously.
"You're right, I don't think I'd survive a hot minute without you around. Who would tell me terrible puns day in and day out?" Ladybug replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice, but a genuine sincerity to the comment. She really wouldn't be able to survive without having Chat Noir in her life. What would happen if he found out about her crush on Adrian? Would he actually be hurt, or be happy for her? She could never tell where his feelings for her actually lied.
"Ha!" Chat exclaimed, "I knew you liked my puns!"
"Who said I didn't?" Ladybug replied, mimicking Chat's feigned shock from earlier.
"Just someone I was talking to earlier today. Implied that you only put up with them."
"You were talking with someone about me today?" This all sounded familiar but Ladybug couldn't place her finger on why.
"Oh you know. I always find an excuse to ask what people think about my lady."
"What else did this person say?" Ladybug asked, genuinely interested. Not every day she could find out what people thought about her.
"Well, she had said that she's glad Paris has you around, and she's not alone on that front. I'm also glad of that fact. Everyday." Chat looked into Ladybug's eyes with a genuine sincerity, trying to let her know just how much he actually cared about her without having to say it out loud. However, this went completely over Ladybug's head. Her mind was frozen in shock.
"Glad Paris has her around. That was me. I was the one who said I was glad Paris has me around. I also said that Ladybug only put up with Chat's puns. It was all me. How would chat know any of that? Was he eavesdropping?" Ladybug's mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to understand what she was hearing. Chat couldn't possibly be Adrian. There was just no way. "I mean, anyone could have also said those things to anyone, they're not uncommon things to say. And Adrian and Chat are nothing alike." Ladybug sighed, trying to calm herself down. But now that she had seen it, it was hard to un-see. "Okay, calm down Marinette. You're jumping to conclusions. Test your theory. See what happens."
"Chat, what else did she say?" Ladybug pressed. Chat looked back, a bit confused.
"What does it matter? She thought the world of you, that's all that matters."
"No, specifically, did she say anything else?" Ladybug sat there, the anticipation tying a knot in her stomach.
"Um, yea. Yea she did, now that you mention it. Um, I didn't wanna tell you this part because I thought it might be awkward..." said Chat Noir, seizing an opportunity, "But she said that she thinks that Ladybug has a thing for Chat Noir. Isn't that something?" He laughed, and awaited her reply anxiously.
Ladybug let out the biggest sigh of relief. She hadn't said any of that. "Of course Adrian isn't Chat Noir." she thought, "What was I thinking? WHY was I even thinking that?" With that, she thought back to what Chat just said. Wait. A thing? For Chat? Could that be why she had been looking for the similarities between him and Adrian?
Of course not. That would be ridiculous.
She looked up at Chat, who just sat there, patiently awaiting a response. Ladybug tried to read his face, and saw the usual smug, charming smile, but what was that underneath it? Nerves? Did Chat like her? Everything was so confusing.
"She really said that?" Ladybug replied, "What would even make her think that?" She wondered if this girl had seen something between them that she hadn't picked up on yet herself, but should have. As soon as she had said it, she watched Chat visibly dishearten, right before her eyes.
"Yea, so stupid, right? Why would anyone think that?" Chat was brokenhearted, and he couldn't even hide it. He looked down into the street below them, wondering how far of a drop it would be if he leapt off now, avoiding the end of this conversation.
"Chat?" Ladybug said, trying to get her friend's attention. She could tell he was hurt. "Chat, please, look at me," she said, turning her friend's face towards her with her left hand, and keeping it there, pressed against his face. Chat looked up, and into Ladybug's eyes. She was playing mind games with this boy like no other. They sat there, staring at each other, the air between them so full of electricity that it could've supplied the entire city of Paris with light for a year. Ladybug blushed and looked down, taking her hand down from Chat's face. Chat took this chance to grab her hand and hold it between his, causing Ladybug to look back up into his eyes. She finally broke the silence, and said:
"Um, well, I guess I could see how some people might see it. We do spend an awful lot of time together, don't we?"
"Yea, we certainly do," Chat replied. He took his right hand, the one farthest from Ladybug, and intertwined his fingers with the hand he was holding. With that, Ladybug slid herself so that they were siting right next to each other and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I like our time together," she said, squeezing his hand affectionately. Chat took his other arm out from between them and put it around Ladybug's shoulders, pulling her in closer and putting his head on hers, closing his eyes to take it all in.
"I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world," he replied. Ladybug nuzzled into Chat Noir, taking in his heat.
She felt so comfortable there in that moment; it felt so natural. Yet, despite her happiness, she couldn't help but feel more confused than ever. Wasn't her reason for coming out here tonight to calm herself down after an amazing night of progress with Adrian? Now she was here on a rooftop in Paris, snuggling Chat? Is that what this was? Or was this just friendly? Her and Chat were super close, and this wouldn't have been odd in anyway for their relationship if Ladybug wasn't already conflicted about her emotions. Could it be that she had a crush on two guys? At the same time? They were so different, and yet, both so similar in many ways, that she could see why she could fall for both of them, but she didn't know. Didn't know if this was real or just in the heat of the moment. She needed to sort out her emotions, and fast.
"Chat?" she asked, without moving,
"Mhm?" he replied with a contented hum.
"Could we just stay like this forever? Not have to worry about anything else but right here, right now. Just you and me. Could we do that?"
"Ladybug," Chat said with the most satisfied of sighs, "you have no idea how much I would love that." He then scrunched his face and took his head off of hers, looking down at her, realizing something was off. "Is something bothering you?"
Ladybug also scrunched up her face at that comment, trying to come up with a response to that extremely loaded question. She decided it was easiest not to deal with it. Right now, she was in a great place with two amazing boys. Why mess it up?
"No, I just don't ever want to leave this moment," Ladybug said towards the night instead of towards her Chat. She couldn't look him in the eyes and say it, because she knew he wouldn't believe her. Before he could say anything, she nuzzled closer into him and sighed. She was genuinely happy in this moment. Confused, but happy. So, she wasn't really lying. She really didn't ever want to leave and have to deal with the confusion.
Chat looked down at his lady, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. "Why is it that I always try to figure out the confusing ones?" he thought to himself, looking down at the predicament he was in. What on earth was she thinking? Was this entirely platonic or something more? However much he wanted the answers to all of these questions, the last thing he was going to do was ruin this moment. So, instead of asking the questions he really wanted to ask, he instead asked:
"You know that I'll always be here, right my lady? I'll always be here for you, no matter what."
Ladybug grabbed her free arm and wrapped it around Chat, tracing designs on his side with her finger, his remark soothing her a little. No matter what, he would be there for her. She truly believed it too. So with that, she replied: "I know Chat. And I you."
"I know too," he replied, resting his head back onto hers, "and I love you," he thought to himself as he sat there, all of his dreams coming true. "I love you so much Ladybug. One day, I'll tell you, but for tonight, being here is enough." He smiled off into the beautiful Parisian skyline, the happiest cat in the world.
Author's note – Ladynoir fluff still gets me to this day. Hope you enjoyed!