Noon on the dot.
Adrien flipped open his laptop. He had returned to his hotel room with the two rings in his possession. Ladybug had, of course, followed him the whole way. He had seen her once or twice, on a distant rooftop. But she still hadn't made her move, and that was fine with him. More time to think.
He felt around for the wedding band in his pocket, just to be sure it was there. When he confirmed that it was, he made the call to Alya.
The call rang on unanswered for about thirty seconds, and in that time, Adrien fiddled anxiously with the cat ring on his finger. His mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. What if she had somehow gotten a hold of Ladybug in the interim? What if Ladybug told her not to take his call? What if, somehow, this was a trap?
These paranoid thoughts were put to rest the moment the call was picked up, and Adrien saw Alya's beaming, albeit exhausted face. She looked good. Her face was a little less round than it used to be, but she was clearly taking care of herself. She didn't look older than twenty-five, unlike Adrien, whose age was exaggerated by the stress and trauma he had survived.
She was standing outside in a vaguely French-looking city, an open road behind her, and the ocean further on in the background. A beautiful day in Monaco. Adrien smiled and greeted her, and she was about to greet him back when a terrible rumbling came through the man's speakers, so loud he had to turn the volume down.
On the screen in front of him, Alya's hair blew in the wind as a dozen high end cars roared down the street behind her. She looked unimpressed. When the noise was gone, she turned back to the screen.
"Sorry. Monaco Grand Prix," she explained. He smiled and nodded. He had been to it before.
"The website has me out here doing a feature on one of the drivers. Can you believe that? Who cares?"
"I don't know, it could be interesting," Adrien replied, smiling. Alya shook her head.
"Ugh. Boys love their race cars. You should have seen Nino's face when I told him, he practically begged me to come along."
"He still on set, I guess?"
"Carapace 3: Revenge of Shell Shocker is still stuck in production hell," she explained. "Not that I know anything about it. As far as you know, there is no Carapace 3 in production. Shhh."
Adrien laughed and motioned zipping his mouth closed, he was no stranger to nondisclosure agreements. She smiled.
"It's good to hear from you, Adrien. It's been a long time. Sorry I haven't reached out."
"Don't worry about it!" Adrien said, waving his hand dismissively. "I haven't been reaching out either. You know me. I can be like that."
He didn't reach out to anyone as often as he should. Especially not from his past. It was hard, in a lot of ways, to deal with the questions he knew they'd ask. Part of the purpose of this trip was to correct that.
"So how are you?" Alya asked. Adrien shrugged.
"Fine, I guess. Taking a little vacation in Paris right now. You know, take a trip down memory lane."
Alya grimaced.
"What?" he asked.
"You okay?" She asked, genuine caring filled her voice. "I know for you, that lane could lead to some bad places."
Adrien shrugged and smiled sadly, "If that's where they lead, that's where they lead. I've walked out of those places before, you know? It's easier to appreciate where I am when I can see where I came from."
"Listen," Adrien began, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "I had something to ask you about."
"Go ahead, whatever you need," Alya assured.
"It's about Ladybug."
"Nope, not that though. Like, obviously no."
"Aw, Alya, come on," Adrien begged. She shook her head curtly.
"Hear me out," Adrien said, though Alya seemed resolute. "You were Rena Rouge."
"Psh, yeah I was. Man, I was such a good superhero too." Alya sighed dreamily. "I still think about that night my baby sisters got akumatized. First night I wore the pendant. Saved your butt."
"That you did, that you did, you were great!" Adrien laughed. "Anyway, Ladybug, how do I say this, she trusted you in a lot of ways that she didn't trust me."
Alya frowned.
"Adrien, I don't know her identity, if that's what this is about," Alya lied, the way she did whenever anyone asked about it. It had become quite natural over time.
"No, no, nothing like that," Adrien insisted. Alya crossed her arms.
"It's just…" he began, anxiously spinning the ring on his finger. "You know. I met up with her last night."
"Woah, finally, look at you two!" Alya said, wiggling her eyebrows. Adrien made a sour face and shook his head.
"Not like that. What? Definitely not like that." Adrien corrected her. "You know it's never been like that between us."
"Never? Like not even once?" She was skeptical. "So then what's up?"
"I don't know. Obviously it's been a long time since we've spoken," Adrien explained, recounting the events of the night before. "But she seemed so distant and sad. It seems like she's changed so much."
Alya nodded. "You're right about that."
"So, like, what happened?" Adrian asked. "And, I guess, is there some way I could help?"
Alya's face wrinkled up in distaste and she looked away. Adrien could see the gears in her head turning. Wherever her thoughts were, they were far away from here.
"Listen, Adrien," she began, after several moments. Adrien leaned in eagerly. "I am one of the very few people Ladybug keeps in regular contact with."
"Great! That's great!"
"She barely ever contacts me."
"Oh."
"I'd say like, once a month. Maybe. I haven't seen her in person in forever." Alya continued, disdainfully. "When she does contact me, she doesn't talk about herself a lot."
"Why, though? I mean, did something happen?"
"Yeah, Adrien, think!" She was growing impatient. Either Adrien was pretending not to know or he really was that oblivious. "When did that all start? You were there. You are what happened."
Adrien stared at the computer screen. Something about those words had frozen him. He couldn't think.
"I'm not going to go into detail, because that isn't my place," Alya continued, ruefully. "But she cared about you a lot."
"Like, me, or," he began, stammering. There was a nausea welling up inside and he couldn't explain why. "Like me, or Chat Noir?"
"Adrien, what? What difference does that make?" Alya scolded. "Stop asking questions, I've already said too much."
"When she saw you get hurt the way you did, she wanted to"—Alya paused, carefully choosing her next words—"help you, you know? She had so many things she wanted to say. But she was afraid she'd hurt you more. It wasn't the right time."
Adrien listened in awed silence. This didn't make any sense to him. Alya continued.
"So rather than keep waiting for the right time, she pushed you away. You know? Guess she thought you'd be safer that way."
"I don't get it," Adrien replied. Alya glowered at him impatiently. She couldn't make it much clearer for him. "What could she possibly do to hurt me?"
"Listen, you want the full story, you have to get it from her. Ask her why," Alya snapped. "Anyway, once she pushed you out, it became that much easier to push everyone out. At that point, I guess, she figured she may as well. So she did. Now she's alone, and I guess she feels it's better that way."
The man thought back to the conversation they had had last night. About what she said. How she had nothing but Ladybug. At the time, he didn't know what she meant, but now it was beginning to become clear.
He leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. She really had thrown everything she had into being the guardian. Being Ladybug. She had built her life around it. It was all she had anymore.
He scoffed. "She must have known she had a choice."
Alya's tinny voice rang up from the computer speaker.
"Maybe she felt she didn't. Or that she did, but the other option was somehow worse," she explained. "To you and me, it must look like she chose wrong. But I don't know, she has a bigger burden than anyone. I wouldn't want to be Ladybug, would you?"
"Tried it once. It wasn't easy," Adrien quipped. Alya nodded. She related more than he knew. She had tried it once too. Gave her anxiety.
"I…" Adrien began, still staring up at the ceiling. "I have to go talk to her."
"Yeah, that's what I've been saying," Alya scolded playfully. He smiled. "Tell her to call me too, I miss her!"
"I will, Alya. Hey, thanks so much for taking the time."
Alya nodded and the call ended. Nice as it was to hear from her, Adrien couldn't feel at ease. There were too many questions. He had now a clearer picture in his head of the person that Ladybug had become, but there was still a disconnect there.
He couldn't wrap his head around the "why" of it. He remembered those long days. Days of hurt. Days of longing. The way he'd wished for a shoulder to cry on. How could she have seen him like that and thought to abandon him?
It didn't make him angry, not the way it did before, but it was so confusing. He didn't want to retaliate. He just wanted to know why. Rising, he went to the bathroom, shaved, and splashed a little water on his face. Plagg watched him check his teeth in the mirror and mess with his hair a little. He did a few stretches. When he was done, he turned to the kwami, sitting across the bathroom.
"You ready to go see Ladybug?" He asked. Plagg had been uncharacteristically quiet today, but that wasn't necessarily an unwelcome change. Mostly the Kwami had been keeping his distance.
"Do I get a choice?" the black cat asked, eying his master unscrupulously.
"Neither of us do, Plagg," he chirped. Plagg narrowed his eyes. "Call it a date with destiny."
The kwami narrowed its eyes at him. "You know, you have some nerve! I knew you smelled different. You must think very little of me if you thought I wouldn't piece together your little plot. Here I was sure you'd have learned your lesson by now! Well, you don't know what you're messing with here. Once I tell Ladybug, you'll really be in for it!"
"That's enough, Plagg." The man said calmly, smiling gently at the little black cat in front of him, "No more talking unless I say so."
And Plagg was forced to obey.
Chat Noir leapt from the top of the hotel down to street level, landing among several startled pedestrians. With a grin, he straightened up and waved at confused passerbys.
"Good afternoon, everyone," he called in his familiar sing-song tone. He strolled casually along the street, greeting excited fans who were surprised to see him walking the streets of Paris once again, and adults who had last seen the black garbed hero when they were children. It only took a few moments for a commotion to form, exactly according to his plan.
"You're back?" someone from the crowd called. He made a finger gun at them and winked, leaning on his staff.
"Does this mean you and Ladybug are a team again?" another shouted. He shrugged playfully. He measured each gesture, careful to give only non-answers, just in case Ladybug decided not to let him keep the ring after all.
It was only moments before Ladybug landed beside him, forcing a fake smile and waving to the crowd.
"Okay, everyone, thank you for coming out," she said, wrapping an arm around Chat Noir's shoulder tight enough to signal her impatience to him, but not so tight that the crowd suspected anything. "Wow, such a warm reception, isn't that right, Chat?"
Chat Noir smiled smugly at her. "Better than I could have hoped for, Ladybug. It is so great to be back."
"So you are a team again!" someone in the crowd declared. Ladybug's manufactured enthusiasm faded for only an instant, but she barely showed it.
"We will not be answering questions at this time," Ladybug announced, somewhat impatiently. "Chat Noir and I have something important to discuss, so we have to go! Thanks, everyone!"
Before her partner could get a word in edgewise, Ladybug threw her yoyo and, still holding onto him, took off into the sky. They swung for sometime until she was sure they had lost the eyes of any onlookers. Satisfied, she tossed Chat roughly onto a nearby roof, where he landed and rolled for a moment before rising and dusting himself off. His former partner did a flip and landed gracefully next to him. He smiled at her, but she only crossed her arms impatiently.
"You can't help but create problems for me, can you?" she asked.
"Old habits," he answered. She scowled at him.
"I hope you're proud of that little stunt. I hope it was a lot of fun. Because now all of Paris is going to be confused when I take your ring back and you stop showing up again," Ladybug scolded him. Anxiously, he wrapped his hand around his ring finger and grimaced. Ladybug tried not to betray the sympathy she felt for him.
"Well, you got my attention," Ladybug began, tapping her foot. "Which was clearly your goal, or at least, I hope it was, because if it wasn't then you've truly lost the ability to think rational thoughts."
"No, no, this was all according to my plan. I just didn't want to go looking for you, but I knew you'd come to me if I made a big enough ass out of myself!" he cooed, smiling and leaning against a nearby chimney. The woman stared at him, unenthusiastic, for several bloated seconds before rolling her eyes and leaning against the chimney next to him. He smiled. She did not.
"Why should I let you keep the ring?" Ladybug asked. Chat Noir looked over at his partner, confused.
"What?"
"That's clearly what you want to talk about. So go ahead. Make your case."
Chat Noir looked past his partner and out over the Paris skyline. For all the time he had spent thinking about this conversation, he never actually planned out what he would say. He just figured it would come naturally. He looked down at the ring in his hand and thought about what his father said. If she wanted it back, she would have taken it back. But she didn't.
She didn't take it back. Did that necessarily mean she didn't want it back? He didn't know. Maybe it did. Maybe there was something in her that wanted him to have it. Wanted Chat Noir around. Maybe there was hope for them yet, even just a little.
"Actually," he began, turning to her. She turned back and caught his gaze and was momentarily taken by surprise by the clarity in them. She quickly averted her eyes. He leaned in. "I want to talk about you."
Ladybug coughed. She hadn't been expecting that.
"There's nothing to talk about, Adrien," Ladybug stammered. "I mean, Chat. There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine."
"You can call me Adrien if you want," the man said in a soft, comforting tone. "That's my name. I may not know yours, but I want you to know mine and feel comfortable using it if that's how you see me."
Ladybug thought about this. "I'll stick to Chat when you're in your costume."
"As you like. Ladybug," the man began, turning his body completely toward her. She remained facing outward. "Before, when you said you had given everything up to be Ladybug, what did you mean?"
Ladybug sighed and rolled her eyes. "How much clearer can I be, Chat? Being Ladybug is what I do. As in, instead of other things."
"Why? Why not both?"
"Because, being Ladybug is more important than other things. As Guardian, and as a hero, I have a moral obligation that takes precedence over things like…" she began, struggling to find the right words. "Things like…"
"Things like your own well being? Your happiness? Friends?" Chat finished for her. The tone he took was almost innocent, but she read it as accusatory.
"I am plenty happy being Ladybug, Chat," she corrected him. He shook his head.
"What about all your friends?" he asked. "When's the last time you saw one of them?"
"I don't see what this has to do with—" Ladybug began.
"It's important, Ladybug," he cut her off. She turned away. "It's important because you weren't like this before things happened with Gabriel. You were cheerful and sunny and, yes, sometimes you were too serious for your own good, but you always had hope in your eyes. You wanted to do things and be someone and you talked about when this was all over. Now you don't."
"Chat, please," she whispered, as if they were at risk of being overheard, "I don't want to get into this."
"All I'm saying is, after me, things were different," the man concluded, folding his arms. The sadness in his eyes mixed with resignation. "I mean, I just want to know what I did wrong that day. What I did to hurt you."
Ladybug leered at him. The guilt that had manifested from his words was so real, to both of them. He clearly blamed himself for whatever he thought he had caused. And she felt guilty for allowing him to believe that. It ate away at her. Nauseated her. She averted her eyes.
How sweet it would be to lay it all out there. How simple it would be for one moment not to care anymore. To knock down all of what she had built. To betray what she had been taught about her role as the guardian. To embrace an old friend and finally tell him that he was perfect, and to take all his doubts away.
And to finally, once again, let someone in. Close to her heart. To take that risk once more. If she did so, though, would she be exposing him to more pain in the future? People knew who he was under the mask. They could use that information. They could take from him so much more than they already had. Wasn't the responsible thing to do to eliminate that risk?
"You didn't do anything wrong, Adrien," she began, staring into his green eyes. She could start there. She could at least give him that peace of mind. She would see where they went after this. What felt right in the moment. "It was me. I didn't want to put you through anything else."
He tilted his head to one side and raised an eyebrow, begging her to elaborate with his eyes. She sighed loudly, clenched her fists, gritted her teeth reluctantly.
"I had…" she began, searching for the composure that was rapidly escaping from her. "I wanted to tell you something. Personal. Th-That I can't. Er. Couldn't. W-Well, I could. B-But you were so…"
She paused. The stammer was back? Now? This was so infuriating. She had worked so hard to kick that habit. It made her feel small, childish. It embarrassed her. She took a deep breath.
"When you found out that Papillon was your father," she began again, carefully, each word measured precisely, carried slowly. It was a precarious facade, but a practiced one. "You were in a bad place. You were hurting. And you were acting in a self-destructive way. When you told the world who you really were, when I found out who you were, my opinion of you changed, in a way."
These words came easier, because they were just facts. A recounting. She was not voicing an opinion, she was not nervous about how they would be received; these truths were undeniable. She could pretend she was reading a story.
"Your opinion of me?" Chat asked, a bit surprised, a bit offended. "I know I messed up, but—"
"Please, Chat, let me finish." Ladybug interrupted. The man swallowed and said no more. "I had an…"
She paused. Her head swam just slightly.
"An opinion. About Adrien Agreste, and I had an opinion about Chat Noir, and they weren't even close to each other. And that made things difficult for me to figure out."
"You're tiptoeing around something and I wish you would just be frank with me here, Ladybug." Chat huffed impatiently.
"Frankly, I was in love with Adrien Agreste."
There. It was said. He wanted it? There it was. All these years later, far too late for it to make a difference, it was finally off her chest. She had told her crush.
And she had done it without thought. Because if she had thought about it, she wouldn't have done it. She wouldn't have been able to. She had somehow convinced herself that, in doing this, she would feel liberated. Free.
Instead, she felt like she was going to vomit. Or pass out. Or both. She put a hand against the cold stone wall behind her to keep her from wobbling and stared directly at the ground, avoiding even looking at the man next to her. She wished she could disappear. She opened her mouth to say something, shut it, then opened it again. No words came.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Each word hit her like a hammer striking a nail. There was no malice in them, just weight. The weight of years. The weight of things left unsaid. She felt like she wanted to cry or scream.
"What was I supposed to do, Chat?" Ladybug hissed. She whipped around to face him, realized she didn't have the courage, and faced the wall instead. Leaning against it with her forehead, she started over, slowly. "We caught Papillon, and everything fell apart. What was I supposed to s-say? 'Hey Adrien, sorry that your d-dad ruined your life and that your world is collapsing in on itself, but it turns out the guy I was in love with for four years was actually you, so I hope there's no hard feelings about all the times I told you I didn't love you!'"
Adrien took a deep breath through his nose and out through his mouth. Something he had done many times, something he had learned in therapy. Just take a deep breath. Life coming at you fast? Deep breath. Dark thoughts rearing their head again? Deep breath. It helped him center himself. It helped him slow down.
It was possible for him to keep calm in this moment. He knew it was, because he was doing it now. But it was impossible for him to think, because it took everything he had to remain calm, and if he even tried to think, it would crumble away. It was like being dropped into an ocean and being asked to find land. Where to even begin? He just kept silent. Waited. Tried to focus on keeping his emotions in check. Was he angry? Happy? Sad? He didn't know. Maybe all of them.
"I was convinced it would have made things worse between us," Ladybug continued, now resting her head against the wall. She slumped down and slid along it until she landed in a seated position, head on her hands, staring down at her lap. "I told myself it wasn't what you needed. And I was being selfish for even thinking of it. So I did the opposite. I kept my distance. I took the ring, so no one would come after you for it. At least I'd know you were safe that way."
"Then I gave up. After a while, I gave up on the idea of ever telling you. Things were too different after that, I ruined my chance. Then I took Rena's miraculous back, and kept my distance from her. And after that, everyone else. Easier that way, you know? Why have a partner? Why be close to anyone, after that? I just wanted you all to be safe and happy, and that meant not near me. What if someone came after you, because they knew you were close to me? I could never live it down. You deserve to be safe, Adrien. You deserve someone who you can be safe with."
Chat stared down at the red and black lump that had dissolved against the rooftop in front of him. That person in front of him wasn't Ladybug. What he was seeing now, the person speaking to him, that was real. That was the person under the mask. Ladybug, her confidence, her cunning, her perfection, it was all a carefully constructed ruse. It was created to trick everyone into thinking that she had it all figured out. She might have even tricked herself.
How could he be angry at this? How could he be mad at this person, this small, anxious thing in front of him? Her actions may have offended him, but her reasons? She was just scared, that's all. She's always been scared. He couldn't blame her for that.
He sat down next to her. She didn't look up.
"Have…" he began, searching for the right way to say this. "Have you always been this scared?"
The woman nodded. She had been terrified since the day she became Ladybug. Scared that she would fail. Scared that she'd get hurt. Scared that the people around her would be hurt. And now she was scared that all the effort she had put into the last decade had been for nothing. That she had accidentally lost everything when she thought she was saving it.
"I never knew that about you," Chat said. He returned to his civilian form, so that he was once again just Adrien Agreste. Plagg seemed desperate to get a word in, but a single look from Adrien was enough to ensure he behaved.
"When you got those earrings, you must have had the weight of the world put on you. You must have suddenly felt responsible for all of it," Adrien mused, mostly to himself. Ladybug only sniffled weakly in response.
"When I was given this ring, it was the opposite," Adrien continued, turning the ring on his finger. "All the weight, the responsibility, was lifted. For once, no one could control me, or tell me what to do, or keep me locked in a house. Sure, the ring put me at risk, I know that. I know I wasn't safe as long as it was on my finger. But I'd take that risk a thousand times just to feel the wind through my hair again."
"And when I lost it. When you took it back? I was just me again. It was suffocating. Like any moment, I could be trapped again. Like my father could come back and I'd be at his mercy again and there would be nothing I could do about it."
"You can keep the ring," Ladybug muttered, resigned. Adrien smiled, but shook his head.
"Thanks, but that's not my point," the man continued. "My point is, I was only thinking of myself. I thought I had it bad, but you were suffering too. I just couldn't see it. I couldn't see how being Ladybug could possibly be a burden. That was selfish and shortsighted, and I apologize."
Ladybug smiled for the first time in what felt like ages and tilted her head just enough to look up at him. He was smiling back, that warm, beautiful, generous smile that was enough to make her swoon all those years ago. She took a deep breath.
"I didn't realize when I took the ring," she muttered, "th-that I was taking away more than just your powers. I never meant to trap you or to take away your freedom. I just couldn't bear the thought of anything more happening to you. You'd been through so much already. But it wasn't my call to make. Like you said, that's your ring. That's your freedom. I'm not allowed to take it from you."
"I accept your apology, Ladybug. I know how uncomfortable this whole thing must make you, after all these years." He said, "I want you to know, I appreciate it. I really do."
The two of them sat there, on the roof, in silence for a few minutes more. But it was not an awkward silence. It was not even particularly emotionally charged. It was just a silence. The same kind of silence that passed between them when they used to sit out on rooftops and patrol the streets of Paris in their youth. A comfortable silence. A familiar feeling.
A few minutes later, that silence was broken by a quiet laughter. Ladybug looked over to see Adrien laughing and shaking his head.
"That entire time." He chuckled. "I was in love with Ladybug, and Ladybug was in love with Adrien Agreste."
Ladybug shook her head and smiled. It was a little silly.
"That's like something out of a cartoon," Adrien concluded. "You know, I used to really resent the guy you liked? I was so sure he was an idiot for not realizing."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Ladybug urged, lightly punching him in the arm. "Not like I ever told you."
"Don't be so hard on myself?" he began, throwing his eyebrows up. "Are you kidding? That whole time, the guy I was competing with was myself? That's pretty steep competition, I'm pretty hot."
Ladybug scoffed. "Please. You always smelled like old cheese."
"Oh!" Adrien gasped, feigning indignation. He put a hand against his chest and gasped again dramatically. "You wound me! It's expensive cheese! It's a refined smell."
Ladybug laughed, and it felt like nothing had changed. It felt like a decade ago, before they had stopped working together, when there was a comfortable rapport between them. This was something Ladybug had missed, without even realizing it. Friendship. She leaned her head against his shoulder wistfully.
"Having you here doesn't even feel real," she whispered, mostly to herself, trying to rub the red out of her eyes. "I just didn't think it could be like this again, you know? I never thought I'd get to laugh at another one of your stupid jokes or see your smile. It's good to have my partner back."
He smiled. Partner. That was the old word. The word she used to use, back then. So not that much had changed after all. Or had it? By her own admission, she was single. And so was he. Maybe she still had feelings for him? He had to try. He knew the way he felt hadn't changed. Not for lack of trying, but how do you move on from someone like her? Even after all these years, she wasn't just some girl. She was his best friend and partner. She had been there, next to him, through all of it. That can't be erased, no matter how hard he tried.
"You still got that crush? On Adrien Agreste?" he asked, subtly. Maybe this was too forward, but maybe he didn't care. "Despite the cheese smell, I mean."
She swallowed and felt her cheeks flush. Heat spread to her ears. Even after all these years, she couldn't deny she still admired him. She would still say yes, if he asked. But it would be a 'Yes, but'. Yes, but things have changed. Yes, but we don't know each other the way we used to. Yes, but she wasn't ready now. She was still too nervous. It was too fast. Too soon. Yes, but she needed to think about it.
She looked up at him and winked.
"It's a s-secret."
He chuckled and scratched his cheek and whistled. "Fair enough. Maybe tell me later. Over drinks?"
"Maybe, if the drinks are good."
"The Agreste brand will foot the bill."
They laughed again.
"Hey, speaking of," he began, now in a more serious tone. "I want you to know, I'm not expecting it, okay? So no pressure."
"Uh-huh," Ladybug responded, feeling increasingly uncomfortable, increasingly quickly.
"Am I ever going to know who you are under that mask?"
"Oh, is that all?" Ladybug heaved a sigh and turned out to gaze over Paris. Why not? She thought. Why not tell him? What was there to lose now?
But of course, it was never that simple for her. There was just a natural hesitancy. After all these years training herself not to trust people, it was hard to break down the wall she had built. She had already taken a huge step today, did she have to do it all at once?
Then again, maybe Ladybug didn't have to tell him. Maybe Marinette could. Over drinks, maybe.
"Sure, I'll tell you."
"Really?" Adrien could barely believe it. After all this time, he would finally know. It was the one remaining piece of the puzzle.
"Yeah. Soon," she teased, smiling gently.
"Bit vague." He was slightly disappointed. "How soon is soon?"
Ladybug pretended to think about this. She put a finger on her chin, tilted her head to one side, closed her eyes.
"Sooner than you expect," she finally concluded. He shrugged.
"That works for me," he mused, wistfully. "Gives me something to look forward to."
The next few hours were spent idly, mostly catching up. Ladybug tried to reminisce about the old times once or twice, but Adrien didn't seem receptive. She figured it was a touchy subject, and kept the conversation focused mainly on the last few years, and mainly on him.
She would ask about things like his brand or an old friend of theirs, and he would ask her about things in her daily life, and it was nice. They couldn't tell each other everything, but they could waste a few hours just enjoying each other's company. Like old times.
She was surprised at how easily it all came back to her. How good it all felt. After all these years telling herself she didn't need this, she was rapidly learning just how much she needed it. Just to talk to someone and have it be normal. There was still some part of her, some angry part of her brain that was screaming at her not to get too close to him. Not to divulge. Not to be so reckless, but that screeching had never been so easy to ignore as it was today, on that cold, cloudless day in February, where, just for one afternoon, she had a friend.
They passed the time this way until at last, Adrien stood up, feeling a stretch in his stiff joints. He had prior obligations to get to, and wanted to freshen up before his visit with Marinette. Besides, he had wasted enough of her time. She had important things to get to, he was sure.
"Listen, I have to go," he explained apologetically. "Marinette called and wanted to catch up."
"You're a popular guy, Adrien," Ladybug said, standing, taking a playful tone. "I'm sure you and this, uh, Marinette person have a lot to catch up on."
"Is that jealousy I'm picking up on, Ladybug?"
"No, but if you'd like to read it that way, be my guest," she teased, lording over him the information she had that he didn't. Clearly, he was not picking up the hints she was dropping. But then, he never had.
"I'll get in touch about those drinks," he promised. She waved dreamily as he transformed and headed out. "And, hey, Uh. Thank you. This whole thing? It meant a lot to me."
With that he dashed off into the evening skyline and disappeared. She stood, watching him go, sighing contentedly. Then she shook herself out of her stupor. She wanted more of this, and she was eager to get it. She had a lot more to say to him that night, and for that, she would need to be ready.