Chapter three is now up! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This show and its characters belong to Thomas Astruc. I do not own anything.

Happy Belated 1-Year Anniversary, Miraculous!

A gasp of surprise escaped from Ladybug's lips, her irises shrinking in shock. Never did she think that she would see such a look in her partner's eyes before, much less directed at her. It honestly left her at a loss for words.

Chat Noir continued to stare at her in uncomfortable silence, his stance unusually tense and wary. It didn't help that his hand hovered over his baton, ready to grab at a moment's notice.

Ready to fight her.

The heroine noticed this and raised her hands placatingly, as if trying to soothe an agitated animal, but the action only made him flinch.

"Who… Who are you?" he demanded, voice strained.

She recoiled at his hostile tone, disbelieving of what she had just heard. Did she even hear him right?

What was going on?

"I'm Ladybug," she answered at last, as calm as she could manage with her hands still raised. In that moment, it was the only answer she had. "Your partner."

The girl felt her heart sink as Chat Noir's mask only creased in confusion, and he briskly shook his head. "I—I don't—"

Ladybug couldn't take it anymore and took a step toward him. "Chat—"

She froze when he instantly stepped back in alarm, his fingers brushing his staff.

"I… don't—" He visibly swallowed. "I don't… remember…"

She frowned, setting her hands on her hips. She was really beginning to dislike this. "Chat Noir, come on! This isn't funny. You can stop with your—"

The heroine abruptly cut herself off as she noticed that his lost expression never changed at all, holding no trace of his usual humor, his usual teasing.

It made her heart sink even further.

"Chat Noir, you can't be— We've been working together from the start!" Ladybug gestured between them and then to herself. "We're a team, remember?"

To her dismay, he shook his head again, looking even more befuddled than before. She meekly reached out to him with her hand, despite the wide distance between them.

"…I don't understand. How could you just forget all that, minou?"

Chat Noir's eyes widened upon hearing the nickname, and it was as if something clicked together in his mind, the cloudiness dissipating all at once and the confusion turning into clarity. Realization dawned on him as he looked at her in recognition, the familiar shine returning to his irises.

"L-Ladybug? My Lady, I—" He gingerly approached, slowly reaching out and grasping her outstretched hand in both of his, surprising her. "I-I'm so sorry! I…"

An overwhelming sense of relief washed through the heroine as she felt his fingers tighten around hers. She let out a sigh and looked up at him with a tired smile. "You had me going there, didn't you, kitty?"

He gaped, having one of the most guilty-looking cat eyes she had ever seen, his fake ears slightly drooping. Completely unlike the carefree, flirty hero she knew.

He then started blubbering. "I-I'm sorry— I don't know what— I just—"

"Don't worry about it, chaton," Ladybug cut in gently, reaching up with her free hand to finally give him a proper ear scratch. All that mattered at the moment was that he was back. She'll be the one to worry about the heavy issues later.

"But I was…" One of the hero's hands flew up to the back of his neck, rubbing it sheepishly as his expression morphed into one of hesitation. He hadn't been this nervous since he tried to confess on Valentine's Day. "I told you I wasn't going to… and I was going to ask you about…"

Through his broken sentences, she knew what he was talking about. However, with her hand still encased in one of his, she responded by taking a large step back, pulling him with her. Surprise overtook Chat Noir's face as their feet picked up speed, running straight for the edge of the roof.

"Why don't we do some patrolling first? Let our minds and emotions settle down a bit. Besides, we're now very behind schedule." Ladybug looked back at him with a knowing grin, picking up on his unease. Her free hand grasped at her yo-yo, ready to launch.

"Sound good, kitty?"

A few hours later, the Dynamic Duo sat on one of the highest beams of the Eiffel Tower, gazing out at their beloved city in companionable silence. Aside from a few minor false alarms, their patrol had been thankfully uneventful.

"Have you calmed down a bit?" Ladybug asked, slightly turning her head towards her partner.

"Yeah." Chat Noir stretched his arms upwards, relieving some of the tension. "Nothing like a good run for my paws."

"Good to hear."

"Hey, Ladybug?" A pause. "I really am sor—"

She sharply held up a palm towards him, effectively cutting him off.

"Like I said, minou, don't worry about it. No more apologies for the rest of the night, okay?"

The heroine looked over at him, only to find a sly grin crossing his face. Her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh, no…"

"You mean—"

"Chat Noir…"

"—a-paw-logies?"

A loud groan escaped the heroine's lips as she let her face fall into her palm, Chat Noir snickering uncontrollably beside her.

"Oh, chaton," she sighed. "I walked right into that one."

"Thank you for the opening, buginette," Chat Noir simply replied with his signature grin.

Ladybug looked up at him again, her face neutral but eyes shining with something akin to relief.

"Looks like you've got your humor back," she noted before giving a mock-disappointed shrug. "Ah, well. It was nice while it lasted."

"Aw, come on." He winked at her playfully. "I know you've missed my claw-some jokes."

"Quite the opposite, actually."

"One day, My Lady. I'll get you to laugh at one of my jokes. That's a purr-omise."

"Keep dreaming, kitty."

They exchanged defiant looks, neither of them backing down, before they both relaxed as they let out a mutual chuckle. A peaceful air settled over them as they gazed out at the lights of Paris once more.

Another moment or two passed before Chat Noir cleared his throat.

"Ladybug, would it be all right if I can ask about… that now?"

Knowing exactly what that was, the heroine only nodded, shakily exhaled, and held up a hand, palm facing upward. From there, she willed her aspect into existence, specks of red, black, and pink energy steadily dancing around her hand.

"Ask away, chaton."

And so he did. She tried to answer as honestly as possible — as honest as she could without giving herself away. He held nothing back, wanting to know everything about her secondary aspect. He was quite surprised when he learned that it had first revealed itself during the fight with Metallica.

"I was right there and I didn't see it? How did that happen?"

"Well, she was threatening me using you as a hostage, kitty. You were on the verge of passing out. Besides, I was kind of… glad you didn't see it. I was— it was scary."

Sensing her growing discomfort, the feline hero quickly moved on to the next question, catching the small change she made to her last statement. The budding tension quickly dissipated in his enthusiasm to know more. And the more questions she answered, the more enthralled he became. His fascination only grew as he learned new facts about his partner's new powers.

And yet, some part of him was growing increasingly worried as well.

"So, how strong are you, exactly?" he asked, half of his mask quirking up curiously.

Ladybug merely smiled in response before setting her aspect-active hand on the beam between them. Chat Noir jumped as he felt the metal beneath him start to groan and bend downwards.

"B-Buginette?" he gasped in surprise, his claws reflexively digging into the beam to keep himself upright as he dipped with it.

"I'm not even pressing on it that hard; I'm only applying a little pressure," Ladybug explained, her hand appearing as if it was merely resting on the beam.

"A little? My Lady, you're now taller than me!"

The heroine chuckled as she withdrew her hand, the beam gradually righting itself upon the loss of contact and bringing Chat Noir back to eye level. His grip on the metal loosened.

"My Kwami says it's powered by my emotions." Chat Noir watched in awe as Ladybug curled her fingers into a fist, the flecks transitioning into a spiral rhythm around her knuckles. "Mainly, my protectiveness."

"Huh?" Chat Noir cocked his head to the side at this, confused. "What does that mean?"

Ladybug was silent a moment before holding out her hand towards him, palm open and facing upward again. Her partner only stared at it in puzzlement before catching her glance at his own hand.

Eyes widening in realization, Chat Noir tentatively raised his hand and placed his palm flat on top of hers.

As her fingers wrapped around his, the specks of energy traveled across her hand until they were swirling around his as well, lighting up in a gentle glow that appeared reassuring.

Chat Noir felt warm.

He also felt the grip of her fingers tighten, the rate in which the specks revolved around their hands increasing in turn. The glow that emanated from them seemed to brighten in intensity until the hero had to squint slightly to see.

"Do you feel any pain, Chat?" Ladybug asked, looking at him intently.

The boy frowned, bewildered. Pain? Despite the naturally dull sensation of his partner's tight physical grip on his hand, he felt nothing else except warmth.

He shook his head to answer her.

The heroine smiled. "Good. That means it would never directly affect you, even if I'd want it to."

The feline hero's eyes widened at this answer. "Why?"

"Because you're my partner, chaton."

Because he was one of those she wanted to protect.

The sincerity Chat Noir heard in those words was enough to make his cheeks suddenly heat up. And as she relinquished his hand, he found himself mourning the loss of the gentle warmth that disappeared with it.

But he was still very curious. "And… what would have happened if your aspect did affect me?"

Ladybug merely glanced at him, the corner of her lips rising up in a small smirk.

"Then there should have been dents in the sides of your hand, kitty."

Face contorting in alarm, Chat Noir quickly raised his hand to examine it, only to be cut off by the genuine laughter coming from the spotted heroine.

She shrugged in good humor at his unamused glare. "I'm sorry. That look on your face was just priceless."

The pout immediately disappeared from Chat Noir's face upon seeing her smile so freely, and he felt his cheeks start to heat up again.

That is, until he remembered the one question that had been eating at him, making him feel queasy.

He somehow knew he wasn't going to like this.

"Hey, Ladybug…"

She looked at him once more, attentive.

"Will you be…" He swallowed. "Will you be in much more danger now? Because of this?"

He reached out towards her hand, almost as if to grasp it again, before pulling back at the last second.

Ladybug said nothing, her face neutral. Her composed silence unnerved him, and he watched as she looked at the specks dancing around her hand, eyes contemplative.

The silence stretched.

Just as Chat Noir was about to open his mouth to rescind the question, Ladybug finally shrugged, giving a tiny smile as if it couldn't be helped.

"Well, considering our battle with the Landscaper, I'm pretty sure Papillon has grasped that I've received an upgrade. So…" She turned to him then, that smile still present as she winked. "We'll just have to see, won't we?"

Chat Noir felt his heart clench. He knew he wouldn't have liked her answer as his worry spiked up a notch, his protectiveness of her bristling.

And yet, she sounded just as strong as always, accepting the situation for what it was and willing to face it head-on.

His train of thought was broken as she stood up, her aspect disappearing as she stretched her arms.

"It's getting late," she stated as he quickly stood up as well. "We both should be heading home. Was there anything else you wanted to know, chaton?"

A lot more. But he resolved to keep them to himself for now as he shook his head and swept an arm across his middle in a dramatic bow. "Thank you for indulging me, My Lady. This discussion has been enlightening, to say the least."

"Hey, Chat Noir…"

The boy looked up at her to see something flash in her blue eyes as she gazed at him with an expression he couldn't describe.

"You're… okay, right? Everything's… all right?" she asked, her voice unusually hesitant.

He blinked. She sounded… worried about him. The revelation made him smile, touched.

"Yeah. Everything's purr-fectly fine," he replied with his signature grin. At least, he thinks he's fine. "Just a little tired, is all."

Ladybug let out a quiet sigh before giving a small smile as she threw her yo-yo at an anchor point of a nearby building. "All right then. Later, minou."

Chat Noir held up a hand and waved in return as she swung away, watching her form shrink into the distance before disappearing behind a chimney.

And yet, despite his claims, he could feel something in the deep recesses of his mind slipping away.

"Marinette…?" Tikki prompted as her holder gave her a cookie to recharge upon de-transforming.

The girl didn't respond, falling back onto her bed as she stared through the hatch up at the night sky pensively.

"You didn't ask him?" the Kwami continued after swallowing a bite of the treat.

"I didn't need to," Marinette finally replied, her voice completely somber. "It seems… that my hunch was right anyway. And earlier, the minute he touched my hand, I felt… empty. Similar to when I rejected my aspect, but also… different."

Tikki hovered near her wordlessly, expression full of worried anticipation as Marinette shook her head once, as if begrudgingly accepting a sobering fact, before turning to look at her tiny friend, eyes grave.

"Something's definitely up with Chat Noir. And apparently, it's not good."

Ladynoir-centric :3

So they finally had "The Talk" regarding her aspect, but now, with her hunches confirmed, Marinette's worried about something else:

What's going on with Chat Noir?

A/N: Sorry I'm not posting as often now. School is becoming hectic so updates will be a lot slower. I'll update whenever I can. So thank you all for reading and sticking with me! :D