Another Akuma. Another fight.
For Ladybug, this had become a sad routine by now. But luckily, fighting these supervillains usually wasn't too difficult anymore. She and Chat Noir had become such an excellent team, always knowing what the other was thinking. Always able to trust in and rely upon the other.
Even in fights like today, where they had to call in the help of an additional hero, that statement was still true. Fighting an akumatised magician had been tricky, and Viperion's Second Chance proved to be invaluable in figuring out the right way to free him. And Ladybug was relieved to see that, even with Viperion in the fight as well, she could still rely on Chat Noir as her partner.
Although… on the battleground, they barely ever acted as if there was more between them. They were protective and supportive, but it wasn't much different from when they called in Rena Rough or Carapace. They were a team and always had each other's backs.
It was really only after the fights, when they were unobserved, that she spotted the signs. Like how close they stood, almost always touching in one way or the other. The looks they shared, always making sure the other one was all right. Or the quick kiss Viperion had dropped on Chat Noir's brow when she was busy releasing her Miraculous Ladybugs and thought she wouldn't notice. She had noticed.
"Hey, will I see you tonight?"
Viperion's question came in a low voice, barely even a whisper, but she heard it anyway. He clearly wasn't used to their enhanced hearing yet.
"Sure. I'll drop by once everything calmed down tonight." Chat didn't even bother with lowering his voice.
When Ladybug turned, she caught them gazing at each other, loving smiles on their faces. The sight made her smile as well, even though it also made her wistful.
"All right. That's it for today," she called their attention without letting on how much she'd noticed. "Thanks again for your help, Viperion. I don't think we could have won this one without you."
Viperion threw her a crooked half-smile, one corner of his mouth higher than the other. It looked adorable, and she understood what Chat Noir saw in him. "You're more than welcome, Ladybug. I gladly help out whenever you need me."
They all looked down at Viperion's wrist when his arm-ring started beeping.
"I guess that's my clue," Chat Noir said cheerfully. "Let's get you home, snake boy. And you, Milady, don't run away. I'll be back here with you in no time at all." He made an elegant bow and even took her hand to blow a kiss onto her knuckles, then threw her a cheeky grin and a wink.
"Oh, stop that nonsense!" she chided him as she pulled her hand away, inwardly cursing the heat rising to her cheeks.
She threw a quick glance at Viperion, wondering how he would react to Chat Noir still flirting with her and right in front of him, no less. But he didn't seem to mind, was chuckling and shaking his head with a fond smile. How weird.
"Until the next time," Viperion called to her, then he and Chat Noir jumped down along the Seine and out of sight.
Confused, Ladybug sat down on a beam running below a bridge. The splashing water beneath was like a melody, soothing to her confused mind.
"Tikki, spots off."
With a sigh, Tikki landed in her left hand, and gratefully accepted the macaron Marinette gave her.
"Do you know what was up with Chat Noir?"
"What do you mean?" Tikki asked between two careful bites.
Marinette shrugged. "He and Viperion clearly are a couple. They're subtle about it, but it's still obvious, isn't it?"
Cocking her head, Tikki hummed. "They probably don't want Hawk Moth to know about them. Personal relationships are always a risk."
"Yeah, I get that. And it also explains why they're less restrained around me. I don't pose a threat." She chuckled weakly. "But that's not the point. If Chat Noir has a boyfriend now, then why is he still hitting on me? Right in front of said boyfriend, no less. It makes no sense." She refused to think about that stupid wave of wistfulness from earlier. That had been nothing, just a fluke.
"I can't help you there, I'm sorry, Marinette," Tikki sighed. "You'll have to ask him."
She more felt than heard Chat Noir returning, as usual, her head perking up. "Tikki, spots on," she murmured, then put a relaxed smile on her face right before he came into view.
"Ah, so here you're hiding," he commented with a grin. "I almost thought you'd already left."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "And leave the snake Miraculous in your care? No offence, Chat, it's not that I don't trust you, or Viperion for that matter. But I need to bring it back where it belongs."
"Fair enough." He tossed her the jewellery box, which she caught without a problem. "I'm not sure I'd want Viperion to keep it anyway. He'd just keep using it to gain an unfair advantage," Chat Noir said with an embarrassed chuckle. His hand rose to rub at a spot on his neck, and as she focused, she noticed a fresh lovebite beneath his fingers that hadn't been there before.
Heat blossomed in her cheeks, and she glanced away. Imagining how that mark had made it onto Chat's throat did interesting things to her stomach, and thinking about what that meant was more than she could handle right now.
"Ah, don't be like that," Chat said, grinning. He scooted closer and nudged her shoulder with his own. "If you feel left out, I'm always here to bite you, too. I een promise to be gentle."
"What?" Ladybug's head whipped up and around. "Why… why would you say that? Don't you have a boyfriend now?"
To her surprise, Chat Noir did not react as defensive as she'd expected. Instead, he leaned back, a serene smile on his lips. "I do," he said, gazing unseeingly into the distance. "But as I said, that doesn't change how I feel about you, Milady."
Ladybug tried to process his words but came up empty-handed. "I don't understand," she mumbled. "Do you love him or do you not?"
"I—" Chat Noir trailed off, then gave a short and low laugh. "Yes, I love him," he said in a softer voice than she'd ever heard from him before. "But I love you, too, Ladybug. I've only realised this myself a short while ago, but emotions like love or affection aren't limited to one person only. My feelings for him don't change how I feel about you, or vice versa. Yes, Viperion and I are in a relationship. But he knows about my feelings for you, just like I know about his feelings for a girl he knows from his normal life. And we're both okay with that. Maybe that's even why we connected so well," he added jokingly. "Because we can sympathise on the unrequited love."
"Chat, I…"
"It's all right," he interrupted her gently. "If you don't feel the same for me as I do for you, then that's okay. I can't force you to feel anything you don't, nor would I want to. Just know that I'll be here for you whenever you need me."
Something about his words struck a chord somewhere deep within her. She didn't have the time or mind to examine it right now, though, so she filed it away for later. "But what about Viperion then?" she asked instead. She was happy for Chat Noir, happy to see him so obviously happy in love. But she also wanted to understand. "If I were to change my mind—or that girl he has feelings for, for that matter—what would that mean for your relationship?"
Chat Noir nodded in understanding. "Ah, that. Well, we'd talk about it when the situation comes up. With everyone involved. And then see where we go from there." He shrugged. "There's no one right way. Just honesty, communication, and respect, and finding your own way"
Biting her lip, Ladybug averted her eyes. There was a question burning on the back of her tongue, but she didn't dare asking it. Because if Chat Noir had been entirely honest with Viperion and had told him his true identity, then she would have to tell Master Fu, who'd then take away Chat's Miraculous and give it to someone else. And she didn't want to lose him, not as her partner, and not at her friend, either.
For several minutes, they sat in companionable silence, just listening to the river and watching the water rushing by. Despite her confused mind, Ladybug enjoyed the time she spent with Chat Noir, especially when he held back with his jokes for her sake. There truly was something to be said about communication and respect…
"I better head home now," Chat Noir eventually said, jumping back onto his feet with one elegant movement. "I have a very hungry Kwami, and he gets pretty grumpy when I don't feed him enough. See you soon, Bugaboo." He blew her a kiss, then disappeared down the Seine from where he'd come earlier.
Ladybug gazed after him, her mind reeling a little. Chat's explanation of how love wasn't always limited to one person… It made more sense to her than she was ready to admit. There already had been wayward thoughts in the back of her mind in the past; about how, if her heart didn't belong to Adrien, she might have given in to Chat's flirting long ago. It wasn't as if she didn't like him, after all.
But even more pressing was the current state of her heart, that confusing mess she was in. How it tried to tear her into two different directions, and how—
"Ugh, I don't have time for that now!" she groaned, hiding her face in her hands. Resisting losing herself in her emotions, she shook her head as if to shake off her thoughts as well, then got up and jumped home. Running away from her feelings never worked anyway.
"Tikki, spots off," she sighed as she landed on her bed, slumping in on herself with her head resting against the wall.
"See, that wasn't so difficult," Tikki said in a cheerful tone, accepting the smaller cookie Marinette gave her with a happy flip in the air. "Directly asking people is always better than trying to figure out what's in their heads on your own."
"Yeah, you're right, Tikki. At least I now understand Chat a little better."
"But isn't that a good thing?" Tikki asked, clearly puzzled about how Marinette was still so gloomy.
"It is," she admitted. "What he said made sense, and since Viperion didn't seem to mind, this kind of relationship really seems to work for them. I'm just…"
She trailed off, and her eyes wandered toward the pin board next to her bed, to the pictures of all her friends there. To the one of Adrien and Luka.
Yes, what Chat said made sense to her, more than he would know.
Marinette raised her hand and caressed over the images of Luka and Adrien. She'd been in love with Adrien for so long now, but she couldn't deny that she liked Luka, too. Until today, that had felt wrong, like a betrayal. As if she was going behind Adrien's back by thinking of Luka, too. And even though she knew how illogical that was, she hadn't been able to help it. Emotions rarely made sense.
Now, however? Her eyes lingered on their faces, drowning in Adrien's green eyes and in Luka's blue ones, and her heart seemed to swell inside her. Yes, Chat had been right. It was definitely possible to love more than one person. She was the living proof.
But even though she felt lighter for having admitted her feelings to herself, she also felt the weight of this realisation. Of the choice she had to make.
"I just don't know what to do," she admitted in a small voice. "I'm pretty sure Luka likes me, too. Should I give in, then? Ask him out? But what if I can't forget about Adrien? Wouldn't that be unfair toward Luka? it's all so complicated." She turned away from the photos on the wall and buried her face in her cushion. Why couldn't her life be simple for once?
Tikki's weight as she cuddled against her shoulder was barely tangible but still comforting. "I'm so sorry, Marinette," she said in a subdued voice, sounding even more sorrowful than Marinette had expected from her little friend. "I really am! I… I so wish I could help you!"
Bonus:
Chat Noir felt lighter than ever before as he jumped away from Ladybug and down the Seine to where the Liberty was moored. And he couldn't keep himself from chuckling all the way.
Weeks of him and Luka dating, three times of Viperion fighting alongside him and Ladybug, and countless secret meetings of bonding and exploring their feelings, but it had taken Ladybug of all people and her question to finally say it out loud. The irony was not lost on him.
But in the end, that didn't matter. All that mattered was what came next.
There was a certain risk of him repeatedly sneaking on board the Liberty in broad daylight. Getting Luka once to help them against the Akuma was one thing. This was more risky and really not that necessary.
But right now, that didn't matter, either.
Luka was not in his cabin when Chat Noir knocked against his window, so he climbed on deck and used his enhanced hearing to judge where everyone was. Luka seemed to be in the kitchen, Juleka was in her cabin, listening to some music, and Anarka appeared to not be home at all.
Purrfect!
Without making a sound, he sneaked down the steep staircase, and he couldn't keep his heart from beating faster when he spotted Luka standing by the fridge at the other end of the small room. One pounce, and Chat Noir was behind him. Luka grunted in surprise when Chat Noir grabbed him by the shoulder, but he didn't get the chance to make any other noise or utter even one word before Chat pulled him around a corner and sealed his mouth with a fervent kiss.
Luka's hands flew up to grab at his shoulders, his lips twitching into a smile before he returned the kiss with the same passion. They stumbled down the narrow corridor and into Luka's cabin without letting go of each other even once, their breaths mingling.
Once the door closed behind them though, their kiss grew calmer. Deeper. In a reverse of their earlier farewell, Chat pressed Luka against the closed door, his mouth moving down to the side of his neck, and he sucked a mark into Luka's skin, right below his ear. In his grasp, Luka writhed, groaning as he leaned into the sensation.
"Okay, I guess I deserved that," he muttered once he'd caught his breath. He leaned his head to the side, lightly resting on Chat Noir's in a moment of lovely intimacy.
"Yep, you absolutely did," Chat murmured back. He would have to cover the love bite on his neck beneath some make-up for days as those didn't seem to count as injuries and weren't covered by his enhanced healing; they'd already tested that extensively.
Luka hummed, chuckling. "And what brings you back so soon? It's not already another Akuma, is it?"
Joining in on Luka's amusement, Chat Noir shook his head. "No, not another Akuma. I bet Hawk Moth has enough of us for another day or three," he said, grinning. "I came to…to tell you…"
He pulled back and looked up at Luka, into those dreamy blue eyes, wide and honest.
"I love you."
. o O o .
I wanted to write this last bit as well, but it didn't fit anywhere else and it wasn't enough to warrant an individual chapter, either. I hope, this works, too.
Also, on Saturday, I'm going on a family vacation for a week. Depending on how restful these days will be for me, there might be more or less writing during those days. We'll see.
Also, I'd love to get some feedback! :) Any bits you liked in particular? ^^
