"Why are you staring at me? Did I do something wrong? I'm so so sorry, can I make it up to you?" Adrien babbled, confused as to why Ladybug was observing him with wide eyes, a look of surprise on her face.
The fall had shaken them both; Ladybug had only just managed to push Adrien out of the path a rampaging akuma, the two rolling out of the way as it's fist landed where Adrien had been standing. She'd made it in time, but it had been tight; Ladybug had transformed seconds before, running back to the park – why was it always the park? – where she'd managed to lose Adrien, Alya and Nino earlier, only to see her crush distracting the gorilla-like akuma as others fled the scene.
It probably wasn't the most graceful thing she'd ever done, but Ladybug had successfully shoved Adrien out of the way and onto the ground. Recovering quickly, Ladybug pushed herself to her knees. She let out a gasp as she looked over at Adrien, who was lying flat on his back.
"Oh my god, Adrien!" she squeaked, running over to check that she hadn't accidentally knocked out the boy she was trying to rescue. Ladybug had let out a sigh of relief when Adrien sat up, rolling his shoulders as he shoved himself into an upright position. "Are you alright?"
Adrien looked up, taking the hand Ladybug extended out to him.
"Yeah," he said, his voice breathless, both from the fall and the sight of Ladybug looking down on him with the sunlight glowing behind her like a renaissance painting. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks."
Adrien brushed off specks of dirt from his jeans whilst Ladybug turned her head to survey the area. The akuma had been distracted by – of course it would be Alya. That girl was like an akuma magnet. Ladybug let out a soft sigh before smiling at Adrien.
"Well, duty calls!" Ladybug laughed, nodding her head towards Alya. She winked at Adrien and, taking in his slightly crumpled appearance, gestured to her fringe. "Uh, you may want to fix your hair a bit. It's kind of a mess," she grinned.
Adrien's hand immediately shot up to his blonde locks, his fingers fluffing the strands which had fallen out of place during the fall. For a brief moment, Adrien's hair was ruffled, his usual wave of a fringe splayed across his forehead in crescent clumps. Adrien gave Ladybug a wide grin as he thanked her, brushing his hair back in place. For a second, his fringe moved into the center of his forehead, and Ladybug realised with a moment of twisted clarity that the hair and the smile and the eyes looked familiar somehow, and-
Oh.
Oh.
Ladybug had let out a squeal, clapping her hands over her mouth whilst Adrien's face immediately dropped. He noted her wide eyes, and pulled his hands from his hair.
"Why are you staring at me?" he asked. "Did I do something wrong? I'm so so sorry, can I make it up to you?" Adrien looked at his hands as he spoke, wondering what had caused the superhero to react in such a way. There was a brief pause, the silence between the two of them only interrupted by the screams of Parisians whom Adrien was sure Ladybug should be prioritizing right now.
Ladybug tilted her head to one side as she scanned Adrien, her gaze resting on his blonde hair for a moment.
"What?" Ladybug asked, blinking herself out of her reverie. "Oh! Oh, uh, nothing. You did nothing wrong. How could you, I pushed you! It's nothing. Nothing."
Adrien nodded slowly, his gaze moving to meet Ladybug's still-intense stare.
"O-okay?"
"Cover your eyes," Ladybug said, her voice high as she gave Adrien the sudden command.
"Wait, what?" Adrien's gaze wandered behind Ladybug to see Alya running from the akuma. "Ladybug, is now really the tim-"
"Just do it!"
After months of obeying Ladybug's orders, it was almost an instinctual response to do as she said; Adrien covered his eyes immediately, darkening his surroundings without knowing why. He heard Ladybug gasp.
"Oh my god. Oh my god-" she said, the muffled words falling out of Ladybug like an overflowing sink. "Oh my god oh my god ohhhhh my god oh my god…"
Adrien opened his fingers slightly, looking through the tiny slits to see Ladybug hopping around in a circle, her hands clutched over her mouth as she stared at the ground.
"Is everything okay?" Adrien asked, moving his hands to his sides as he followed Ladybug's frantic movements. She spun to face him, one finger pointing at him.
"You!" she said shrilly. "It's you!"
Adrien blinked. "Yes? It's me?"
"Noooooo," Ladybug moaned, her hands now flailing as she rapidly shook her head, her shoulders hunched over as she began to pace backwards and forth on the dusty path. "No, it's you! How did I not see it before? It's you and oh my god-"
"Yo, Ladybug! A little help?"
The cry brought Ladybug back to the moment, and her head snapped around to see Alya in the clenched fist of the giant gorilla, her phone held above her head as she recorded her capture.
"Right. Focus, Ladybug. Fighting akuma. Saving Paris. Get on with it," the superheroine whispered to herself, rubbing her temples with her fingers as she herself up. Ladybug took a deep breath before pointing at Adrien with one hand and grabbing her yo-yo with the other.
"This isn't over," Ladybug said to Adrien, turning away from him. She spun her yo-yo and threw it, pulling herself up to chase after the akuma. It had started to bound out of the park and into the road, Alya still in its clutches, filming everything with a concerning smile on her face as Ladybug ran after her.
Adrien blinked as Ladybug leapt away, completely and utterly bemused. One hand moved to trail through his fringe again, and he blinked as he replayed the last few moments of his life.
Adrien could only come to one conclusion: he had no idea what had just happened.