The moon was almost gone, a few days from a new moon. He was sure that outside of the city, it would've been practically impossible to see, but in the city of light- the streets were almost as bright as they were during the day. He added his Switch into a Chat Noir themed backpack that had never been seen anywhere close to Adrien Agreste.
He put some controllers into a side pocket and made sure that he had a few multiplayer games to play with Ladybug when they got to the Eiffel Tower. The final thing that he added to the backpack was the clicker for the cat toy in her possession. He didn't like the feeling of leaving it at home, so he carried it with him almost everywhere he went.
He checked the clock on his nightstand and felt his heart pound in his chest. He felt bad for asking Ladybug to meet with him in the middle of the night, but he really did just want to be a beacon of support for her, if he could. So far, he noticed that distracting her was a successful means of stopping her from spiraling and he'd defaulted to video games.
He was careful with how he unlocked his window, cautious to not accidentally set off any alarms. He leaped across rooftops, trying to be as silent as possible to not wake up the people of their city. It only took a few minutes for him to get to their usual beams on the Eiffel Tower and he didn't see Ladybug anywhere.
It was pretty much the expected outcome. He usually arrived earlier than she did, and he figured that no matter how well-stocked she kept her snacks, they'd still take longer to pack than his handful of things. He placed the backpack onto the beam next to him and knelt down to dig through it.
From the main portion of the backpack, he pulled out a blanket that was red, spotted with black. He laid it out, then grabbed out a second blanket that he was pretty sure Ladybug would want to use as soon as she got there. It was July, so it wasn't particularly cold outside, but she got cold far more easily than he did.
He set up the Switch on one end of the blanket, assuming they'd probably sit next to each other a few feet away from it once she arrived. He knew that it probably wasn't a responsible purchase to get two Switches, one to use as Adrien and one to use as Chat, but he figured it was a better idea than accidentally revealing his identity.
While he waited for Ladybug, he decided to play Kirby and the Forgotten Land since he'd gotten it recently. He hadn't had time to start it, yet, but he decided that this would be as good of a time as any. His game was fun, but he kept glancing up to keep an eye out for Ladybug. He knew that she usually came from the direction of the collège he'd gone to, but not always.
It felt like he'd been sitting there for 10 minutes already when he started to become unsure. He debated calling her or pressing the button on his clicker, but before he could make the choice to do that, he heard the telltale zip of her yo-yo. The zip was followed by a gentle 'clank' of the yo-yo on the beams above him.
Ladybug landed on the blanket next to him, wearing a Chat Noir themed backpack of her own. It was the first time he'd seen her's, but it didn't look like the mass-produced version he had. Her bag looked more personal, instead of just being generally Chat Noir black and green, it had a few puns, a ring, and the word 'Catacalysm' stitched into the fabric.
He wanted to know where she got it so that he could order a personalized Ladybug backpack, but if she'd gotten it from an independent artist, it could lead to more information about her identity than she'd be willing to share. She slung off her backpack and put it down before taking her seat next to him.
From her own bag, she pulled some snacks. There were a few bags of crisps, including a bag of the ketchup monster munch that was his favorite. She handed him the first bag and he placed it on his other side before he placed the small console back in front of them where they could both see the screen.
He saved his game before exiting to the home screen. "Okay, Buginette, would you rather play something with me, or against me?" He hoped that offering her easy choices would help make things seem less overwhelming to her and, based on her shoulders looking like they relaxed, he thought it worked.
"With," she responded without a second thought. She didn't want to be against her partner, even though she knew that it would just be a game. "Let's play something together." Her heart rate slowed at her own suggestion and he smiled at her brightly.
"Stardew Valley?" he suggested, scrolling over to the game using the joycon. It was a game Marinette always planned to play, but she never had enough time to. She thought that it was single-player, but he seemed excited about it and she trusted him. She nodded and he loaded up a new multiplayer file in the game.
They went through the character creation menus together, making their characters as average as possible, to not give information away about their civilian identities. After a while, they moved from their position sitting next to each other to laying down on their stomachs, propped up on their elbows so they could see the screen.
The two of them were laid a few centimeters away from each other, close enough that Ladybug didn't even need the extra blanket. She was warmed by the heat radiating off of him, but it wasn't too warm. Chat walked her through the game, making sure she understood the goals and side-quests.
The screen was small, which caused the two of them to be practically laying on top of each other while they played. Neither of them minded the closeness. After being partners for so long, they were used to being in each others personal space. Ladybug had fun redecorating the little house and Chat went into the mines to collect treasures.
Her heart slowed to a steady rhythm and she didn't know if it was the fault of playing the game or just being in close proximity to the person who made her feel like she was ready and able to take on the world. They built the second house on their land, but the two of them ended up sharing the main house every night in the game.
"Thanks for this," Ladybug whispered. Her voice was so quiet, she was certain he wouldn't have heard her if it weren't for his powers.
"Of course, my lady," he replied with a smile. "I'm just here to be the best partner that I can be." She wrapped an arm around him, hugging him as though she could be any closer to him than she already was. She felt happy for the first time in a while. She felt safe with her partner, her favorite person in the city.
