Chat Noir waited nervously, the steel tip of his boot tapping against the beam he was standing on. He hoped that Ladybug would come. She had to. Chat mentally ran over the voice message he'd left for Ladybug. Has it sounded desperate? Sinister? Weird? Chat suddenly kicked himself. Oh god, he was an idiot. He hadn't said a time!

He hadn't said a place, either but that was okay. They always, always met at the Eiffel Tower. Neither of the duo had ever suggested changing it, for fear that it might give away some detail about where they lived. Well, Ladybug was scared, anyway. Chat wouldn't mind if Ladybug found out his identity.

On second thoughts…. If Ladybug did find out Chat's identity, he would be dead meat. Ladybug would probably never speak to him again. Maybe it was better that their identities remained a secret, for now at least.

He'd gotten off track, let his thoughts wander. Focus, Chat, he told himself. Worriedly, he pulled out his staff and checked the time, chewing on his bottom lip. Should he call her? Or would that seem too clingy? Maybe she was busy. Arghhhhh.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed him from behind. "Boo!"

Chat gave a high- pitched scream, and toppled off the Tower, yelling and flailing his arms wildly. Something looped around his waist and he went still, waiting as he was hauled back up to his original position.

Ladybug was howling with laughter as the pulled him up. Chat smiled at seeing her so happy. It had been a while since she'd truly laughed, and he missed the sound. However, he didn't want to come on too strong, so he settled his features in a cross expression.

"Haha, very funny," he said sarcastically to his red-suited partner, who was still giggling hysterically.

"Oh my goodness, Chat," she laughed, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, "I had no idea your scream was so high-pitched!"

Chat scowled at her.

"You should take on a job as the siren for a police car!"

Chat shook his head at her. "Ladybug, that wasn't funny. If I did that to you, I could come up with way better jokes than that."

"Sure, Chat. Whatever you say." Ladybug finally stopped laughing and looked (semi) serious. "Why'd you ask me to come here, anyway? We don't usually do patrol on weekends."

"No, we don't," agreed Chat. "But this isn't patrol." He hesitated, then decided to go with his instinct and placed his clawed hands on Ladybug's slender shoulders. She looked surprised, but didn't try to move away, filling Chat's heart with hope. "I asked you here because… well, I know you've been pretty down lately, and I thought you needed something to cheer you up. Besides, it might be an opportunity to talk, and actually have a proper conversation." He finished talking and watched Ladybug expectantly, hoping she would stay.

"That's….very sweet of you Chat, and I think my kwami would kill me if I didn't agree to stay with you. She's been telling me not to lie around being sad, to get out and do stuff. So thanks, kitty."

Chat Noir smiled at her but felt some disappointment all the same. Was she only staying because her kwami wanted her to?

"And of course, I want to spend some time with you," added Ladybug. Chat turned to her, a gleeful expression on his tanned face. "You're one of my best friends, Chat Noir, even with your horrible puns." She winked at him, and Chat wanted to keel over in delight.

"So, do want to sit down? I don't know about you, but I'm still aching from that last akuma."

Chat shook his head, smiling slightly. "We're not staying here, Bugaboo."

"Oh?"

He grinned at her. "Nope. Follow me." He drew his staff.

"Do you need me to help you get off the Tower? Or can you manage?" joked Ladybug.

Chat rolled his eyes at her. "Hilarious." He jumped off and heard a whirring noise as his lady followed him.

It took them maybe five minutes to get from the Tower to their destination. Ladybug probably could have beaten him there, but as she didn't know where they were going, she was forced to run behind him. As they jumped over the rooftops, they occasionally heard a citizen calling out something along the lines of, "Look! It's Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Whenever this happened, they would wave at the pointing, staring Parisians, and continue on their way.

Chat extended his staff one last time, propelling himself onto the flat top of their destination: the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Moments later, Ladybug joined him, gazing around.

"Wow, Chat. It's lovely," she said. The noise of the traffic below them muffled her voice slightly, but thankfully she was still audible.

He strode over to the picnic rug he'd laid out and motioned for his partner to join him. She padded over and sat down, gazing in awe at what lay on the rug.

"Chat, if this is all just for us, then there's no way we're going to finish it all."

Chat shrugged. "It's no problem. I'll just take it back home and have it tomorrow night if there are leftovers."

Ladybug smiled at. "Good idea. Now, come and sit." She patted the spot beside her, which Chat eagerly took.

He took her hand and kissed it. "Bon appetit, my lady."

"Bon appetit, kitty-cat."

Chat reached for one of the croissants he'd brought, and sank his teeth into it. It was one of those fancy ones, yet it was nowhere near as delicious as the ones from the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Ladybug had taken a salad sandwich and was eating it in delicate bites. Then again, almost everything Ladybug did was delicate and graceful.

"How is it?" asked Chat, reaching for another croissant. Maybe they weren't the best, but they were still croissants.

Ladybug politely finished chewing and swallowed before answering him. "It's incredible, Chat. Just what I need." She gazed out at the city.

"Ladybug?"

"Mmm?"

"Are y-"

"Chat, you said you wanted to talk, right? Have a proper conversation?" said Ladybug abruptly.

"Well, yeah," said Chat nervously. "I mean, we don't have to or anything."

"Oh, no," replied Ladybug quickly, "I want to talk. It's just that… well, we're going to have to set some limits. You know, like if I ask something and it's too personal, or it might give something away, or anything, you don't have to answer."

"I- yeah, sure." Chat looked at his lady, hair shining in the starlight, and felt a tiny burst of courage. "Ladybug, I've been thinking…"

"About?"

"About our identities. I mean, there are millions of people in Paris. What are the chances that we even know each other?"

Ladybug looked uncomfortable and started to play with one of her raven-colored locks. "Chat… those rules are there for a reason."

"Yeah, you're right," sighed Chat, defeated. If Ladybug had shut down the idea so quickly, then he wasn't going to continue. Nowadays, he was extremely wary of her nerves. The Arc de Triomphe was significantly higher than the last building he'd been pushed off.

He heard Ladybug give a sigh of relief. She was always so stubborn about not breaking the rules. Sure, she could be a rebel sometimes, but when it came to the matter of their identities, she wasn't taking any chances. It was disappointing, sure, but there really wasn't anything Chat Noir could do about it, except maybe snatch her earrings or follow her after she left to detransform, and he wasn't going to do that. Chat had been brought up to always act like a gentleman, and even if his superhero persona was a bit on the flirty side, he wouldn't force Ladybug to do something she didn't want to do.

"Okay, Chat. You up for a 'proper conversation'?" asked Ladybug, a hint of mischief in her tone.

Chat grinned at her. "Bring it, bug."

"What's your family situation? Like, siblings, parents, anything."

Chat stiffened. He didn't have to answer this and didn't really want to. But he'd been holding in his emotions for so long. Nino knew a bit about Adrien's past, but other than him, no one else did. And Ladybug was one of his best friends. She wouldn't tell anyone.

He inhaled deeply. "It's…. kind of complicated. I'm an only child. My dad isn't really a family kind of guy. He mostly leaves me to my own devices, and works in his office. My mom… well, she's not around anymore. She left two years ago, and I haven't seen her since. I have no idea if she's even alive." Chat felt tears began to form, and blinked furiously. Every time someone brought up his mother, he felt like crying.

Ladybug scooted closer to him and placed her arm around him. "Chat… I'm really sorry," she said gently, and Chat could tell from her voice that she was sincere.

He brushed at his eyes. "It's not your fault."

"I made you talk about it. You didn't have to."

He shrugged, feeling the warm weight of her arm move over his shoulders as he did so. "I didn't have to answer. I guess I just needed to talk about it. I don't tell many people, probably because of all the sympathy. I mean, sure, it's nice, but after a while it…. really sucks." He ran his hand through his hair.

Ladybug patted his back. "You can always talk to me. I'm good at keeping secrets."

Chat smiled at her. "Thanks, LB."

"No problem." She moved her arm away and grinned at him. "Now you get to ask me a question."

Chat put his clawed fingers on his chin and hummed thoughtfully. "What's your family like?"

Ladybug considered. "Well, I'm an only child too. My mom and my dad run a business, and we live above the shop. My grandmother travels a lot, but she visits sometimes. My mom's uncle is pretty well-known, and he's from China. He visited us once. That's pretty much it."

"Your mom's uncle is from China?" Chat asked. "Is your mom's side all from China, or just him?"

"Yeah. My mom's side is from China, so I'm half Chinese."

"Wow. So, do you speak Chinese?" Chat asked with interest. To his surprise, Ladybug laughed.

"Oh, god no. I have to use translator apps on my phone, and even that doesn't work out. My mom's fluent in French, so we speak that at home. I'd love to learn a different language, though. It would be amazing."

"What language would you learn?"

Ladybug frowned, thinking. "Well, I considered English, because it seems pretty similar," she began. Chat shuddered. His father had tried to get him to learn English once, and he'd hated it. It was so confusing and difficult, so eventually, Gabriel had let him switch to Chinese. "But then I thought about other European languages," continued Ladybug, "because I want to work in fashion someday. If I got an internship in Italy or Spain, it would be useful to speak the language."

"That's really cool, Ladybug," replied Chat. "It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to learn another language, but if I know you, you'll be able to do it."

Ladybug looked at him interestedly. "Do you speak another language?"

"Yeah, Chinese."

"Wow, Chat! I bet that's really useful. One of my friends speaks Chinese, so I can use him as a translator. He's fluent, but it took him years to master it. I didn't know you could be so dedicated to something."

Chat was about to make some joke about being dedicated to Ladybug, but then remembered her recent pain and stopped himself. It would be wiser to just bask in her admiring gaze for now.

"So, guess we both have ties to China," said Ladybug thoughtfully.

Chat grinned at her, his teeth luminous in the dark. "See? We have loads of stuff in common. You can't deny it now!" he laughed.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "What else do we have in common, Chat?"

"We both have no siblings, and we both play video games," Chat reminded her.

Ladybug shook her head at him. That's three things, Chat. That isn't much."

Little did they know exactly how much they had in common.

Hi guys! I know it's been a couple of days, and I apologize, but as it's holidays for me, I had a few social things, most of which went until late, and as I do my writing at night, I couldn't update. This chapter will probably have a lot of typos, as my laptop's about to go flat and I really want to get this up so thanks for reading, please review, and bye!