Today's Story is by Epcot97

Author's Note: Chat gets just a teensy-weensy bit put out when an akuma throws his Valentine's Day plans for Ladybug into the air. Literally.

MR: These two have the worst luck! Maybe that's a sign. (He should have got tulips…)

Lyra: I think he would have wanted two-lips ;)

It was all because I'd decided not to use roses this time, I was sure of it.

Oh, they would have been beautiful, to be sure, but they'd not exactly sealed the deal for me the last time I'd tried to do something special for Ladybug. She'd ultimately seen them, of course, but by then the petals had long since dried out, and I was reasonably certain only my enhanced feline sense of smell had been capable of picking up the marvelously delicate scent of the heirloom rose I'd picked especially for her.

There was no small irony in the fact I could draw a straight line from that to my being trapped inside a massive party balloon.

As Valentine's Day had neared, I wanted to treat Milady to a special night where she could relax for once with purrhaps the only other person in Paris who understood what she was going through as a Miraculous holder. Not wanting to repeat my earlier mistake, though, and cognizant that she was actually in love with someone else, I'd gone to my friend Marinette as Chat for advice.

Over the course of a few late night visits, I'd first carefully explained what had happened the last time, and how I wanted to make sure LB didn't feel pressured to hang out with me during what I knew was her precious spare time. After thinking it over for a bit, she suggested the intimate dinner and a subtle charm campaign to sell her on the idea of a simple night out as friends - no strings, no pressure.

To my joyous surprise, a few days from the fourteenth, Ladybug agreed to a rooftop dinner, and I hurried to put my plans into practice. Finding a new rooftop was fairly easy for there were several that I knew provided a magnificent view Ladybug enjoyed on those rare occasions when we had a few moments after patrol or no immediate need to depart after an akuma. The one I ultimate chose had a unique angle on the Eiffel Tower and the Seine just below.

I'd settled on tastefully arranging festive arcs of pink and black floating orbs around an intimate rooftop space; in the center had been a table for two, with freshly prepared coq au vin courtesy of one of my favorite four-star restaurants. The smell had been divine, and it had taken everything I had in terms of willpower not to test the dishes before Ladybug arrived.

And arrive she did! Oh, how she had arrived.

My heart skipped a beat or two when her lithe red-cladded form gracefully swung out of the sky and lightly dropped down beside me. I was determined to keep the evening light and enjoyable, though, and tried hard to check my heart at the door. Still, it was difficult not to appreciate the magnificent beauty that was my partner, from those dazzling blue eyes to the tasteful way her hair was always pulled back into pigtails.

I had barely greeted her with my customary bow-and-knuckle-kiss when the damn akuma alert buzzed on both my baton and her yo-yo. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised, for of all days, Valentine's was likely to be replete with broken hearts, creating plenty of fodder for Hawkmoth. Tail flapping angrily as I snapped open the baton, both of us were startled to see the akuma was fairly close; too close, as it turns out, for a split second after, massive party balloons started to descend from the sky.

Well aware that meant trouble, I'd quickly spun up my baton and popped several as I tried to protect Ladybug, but there were too many, dropping too fast; one enveloped the two of us and in short order we found ourselves floating serenely over the Seine. I tried to ignore the parallels to Bubbler, when my best friend Nino had become akumatized, but that was proved quite difficult to do, given how Ladybug and I were entangled in each other.

The world was slowly moving below us with a slight green tinge from the material of the balloon as I tried not to purr at being embraced by Ladybug. Striving for professionalism, I gently shifted myself enough that we wound up facing each other, our legs at angles to one another.

"I don't think the akuma realizes it's caught us already," I said. "It seems to be happy coincidence we were as close as we were."

"I was thinking the same thing," she replied, before smiling. "Was that coq au vin back there?"

"Yes, Milady," I answered with a bemused expression. "I'm impressed you noticed before we altered our plans for the evening." I had my baton in a paw and gently started to poke it into the rubbery material surrounding us. It gave slightly, but didn't betray any sign of snapping the more I pressed.

"I love that dish," Ladybug said as she also started pressing on her end, to no greater avail. "Maman makes it on Sundays-" she said before cutting herself off.

I looked up at her, and could see the blush. "Ladybug?"

"Sorry," she replied quickly. "We're still over the Seine, Chat, and not that high yet," she said, changing topics. "Try a claw? If you can pop it, we have a better chance of landing safely."

It was my turn to flush slightly, for I'd forgotten my clever built in tools. If I hadn't known better, I'd think I was distracted by being this close to the love of my life. (I was.)

"In case this works," I started, "why don't you grab ahold of me? I should be able to helicopter enough to slow our descent."

Ladybug looked at me with, of all things, a sly smile. "Are you using this situation as an excuse to get a hug out of me?" she teased as she shifted around to embrace me.

My face warmed further. "Madame, my honor is beyond reproach," I said with deep seriousness.

Ladybug leaned in as she looped an arm around my chest. "Then why are you purring?"

"I-" I started before realizing she was right. Hastily I tried to shut down the rumbling that her nearness had triggered, but found it more difficult than I thought. "The, uh, air is getting thin in here," I reasoned. "I must be a bit light headed."

"Yeah," she replied as she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "That must be it."

Taking a deep breath while trying to ignore the exotic scent of my partner, I tensed the paw not holding my baton into full claw mode, and deliberately pressed the sharp tips into the rubber. I was rewarded with a massive pop! and then the amazing sensation of dropping downward, rapidly. Ladybug tightened her grip around my torso as I quickly spun up my baton, slowing our descent and adjusting our angle away from the center of the river and toward the stone pathway running parallel to the water.

"We're coming in hot," I called over my shoulder as the ground rushed upward toward us. "If you can leap on my mark…"

"Say the word, Chat," she replied into a feline ear.

I did the calculus on the fly, ignoring the burning of my biceps as I furiously tried to slow our fall. It was rough, but… "Now!" I cried out.

Ladybug pushed off of my back and leapt into the air, snagging a lamp overhanging the walkway with her yo-yo in a smooth move born of experience. My load lightened, I was able to shift the baton from helicopter to pogo mode, extending it quickly to ram into the stone below; I flew up into a double-barrel roll before tumbling into a crouch atop the wall above the walkway. I cocked my head sideways to watch Milady as she flipped around the lamp and gently landed next to me. "I give the landing a perfect ten," I smiled.

"Thank you," she laughed, "but I think the judge is biased."

"He is," I smiled wider. "And has been for a while."

Ladybug surprised me again by leaning down and kissing me again on the exposed part of my face. "I know," she whispered.

"Milady," I choked, "Uh-"

"Let's get rid of this akuma before the food gets cold," she said as she flung her yo-yo out and zipped away from me.

"As you wish, bugaboo," I said, my heart and head awash in conflicting emotions.

The akuma turned out to be a college student who worked part-time as a clown for birthday parties; her girlfriend had broken up with her quite inappropriately on Valentine's Day, and Hawkmoth had provided an outlet for the rage. While LB and I were unable to patch up the young woman's broken heart with the Miraculous Cure, Andre happened to be in the area; I never discounted the medicinal qualities of magical ice cream, and by the time we left, our akuma victim had at least stopped sobbing uncontrollably.

Still, it put a bit of a chill on the dinner, which itself had gone stone cold by the time we'd gotten back to the rooftop venue. I was sad that our evening had been ruined, and said as much to Ladybug as I sagged down against a brick wall.

"I'm not," she replied as she settled in next to me and put her head on my shoulder. "Akuma notwithstanding, this was a lovely idea, Chat. I feel bad about the food, but not about being able to spend some time with my favorite kitty."

I looked down at her, eyes narrowing. "Are you sure? I've been worried that you-"

"Stop," she said as she looked up. "I came because I wanted to, Chat. You are right, you know."

"I am? About what?"

"We should hang out a bit more. Get to know each other."

I pushed away from her and looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "Who are you and what did you do with Ladybug?"

Ladybug chuckled as she pulled me back toward her. "She's here, just a bit older and wiser, I suppose. And," she added with a sly smile, "a bit more cognizant of what goes on inside that fur brain of yours."

"That's a scary place to visit, Milady."

"For some." She sighed. "We are such total opposites, and yet completely the same, you know?"

"Kinda goes with the Miraculous we each hold," I pointed out.

"True, but that's not what I meant. Let me put it another way. You are probably the only person in Paris who gets the craziness of my life. And I, yours." She paused for a moment. "It's probably why I don't have a boyfriend," she said softly.

I started. "You… don't? I thought-"

"Oh, I'm not saying I'm not in love with someone. He just doesn't know."

I looked at her, masked eyes wide with shock. "Have you told him?"

"No," she said. "I can't. I freak out each time I try." Ladybug looked up at me. "How can you do it?" she asked. "You've put your heart out there for me to see nearly every night we've been together."

"It's the mask," I laughed. "I'm a lot more reserved without it."

"Something tells me you'd be perfectly able to walk up to the girl of your dreams and ask her out."

"You know I have," I winked. "But not in my civilian life."

"Why?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, for starters, I've not met anyone who measures up to you," I said carefully. "I mean, there is one girl, but I think she doesn't really see me." I smiled a bit. "The real me."

"The Chat you?" she asked as she nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "This-" I waved my paws over my costume, "is more me than my civilian self. You probably wouldn't recognize me if I ran into you."

"Maybe," she smiled before yawning.

"You should go," I encouraged. "I'll clean up here."

"I can help," she offered.

"No, go get some rest."

"Okay," she smiled.

"And Ladybug?"

She paused as she pulled out her yo-yo and looked back at me expectantly.

"Whoever it is, tell him. Whatever you might think, you are Ladybug even when you aren't transformed. You can do this."

She smiled. "Maybe."

"You can," I said. "And," I added with a classic Chat smile, "if it goes hideously wrong, I'm happy to be your backup."

I barely dodged the yo-yo as it sailed toward my feline mane.

It was late by the time I returned to the mansion, and I was figuratively dragging my tail as I went up the steps to Dupont for class the following morning. Pushing through the massive double doors, I'd only made it a few steps into the massive interior courtyard when I heard a familiar voice call to me.

"Adrien?"

I located Marinette just off to the side and I moved toward her. "Hey, Marinette," I smiled, mentally trying to stay in character as Adrien. She had no way to know the many hours I'd spent with her as Chat had led to her being the other girl I had referenced to Ladybug the prior evening; as Adrien, I was just a friend. But Chat, I thought, had become something more.

"I have a rather delicate question," she said quietly as she pulled me into the corner.

"Okay," I said slowly.

Looking from side to side to make sure we were not being watched she looked up at me and whispered: "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything, Marinette," I said.

She looked around again and pulled me closer. "I need you to ask Alya to do something for me."

My eyebrows went up. "Okay."

"I need her to get a message to Chat. She can put in on her blog for me - but not from me? If that makes sense?" she said.

"Uh, sure," I said, trying not to laugh at the comedy in progress.

Marinette reached into her purse and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Givethistoherthanks!" she said in one breath before she dashed away from me, her face aflame as she left.

"Sure," I said to her retreating form. Once I was certain she was far enough away, I unfolded the paper and quickly read the note. It was for me, after all.

The moon is bright tonight, purrfect for pastries and cocoa.

Crumpling the paper up and tossing it into the first trashcan I saw, I whispered to myself, "Message received, purrincess."

A bit after moonrise, I landed on the chimney above Marinette's rooftop patio. "Good evening," I purred to the pigtailed beauty standing below me. "I understand you wanted to see me."

"Hey Chat," she smiled. "You got my message."

"I did," I laughed as I vaulted down to perch on the railing beside her. "That's a rather novel way to get ahold of me. You could just text."

She flushed. "Sorry. You did give me your baton number didn't you?"

I nodded. "How quickly they furget," I laughed. "What can I do for you, Princess?"

"I need to tell you something," she said. "Seriously tell you something."

"Okay," I said, arching an eyebrow. "You're not dying, are you?"

"No," she said quickly. Taking a deep breath, she pulled me down from the railing and picked up a paw in each hand. "Please, don't freak out, okay?"

My eyes narrowed. "Now I'm getting worried."

She took a deep breath again. "Chat... I love you."

I felt my face was showing the shock I felt. "You… do?"

"Yes," she said, then smiled wider. "A good friend of mine told me to be bold. Like my alter-ego."

My ears stood straight up, mirroring how wide my masked eyes had gone. "Your… alter-ego?"

"Yes," she said. "You know her, I think."

"I… I do?" I said, my fur brain spinning.

"Yes," Marinette replied. She pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. "You never gave this to Alya."