Once again, Chat Noir arrived first. He didn't lounge this time, instead sitting on the peak of the roof, elbows on knees and face in his hands. The air was brisk in the cupola's shadow in which he sat.
That familiar whirring noise alerted Chat to the fact that Ladybug had arrived, but he didn't move until she slipped into place beside him on the roof, mirroring his position. Ladybug said nothing, only stared out at the city alongside Chat. The summer sky was bright blue and dotted with clouds that lazily drifted across it.
Eventually, Ladybug spoke. "I saw videos of what happened yesterday," she said. "I don't remember anything past when she blasted you with that water, but…I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry, Ladybug?"
"Because it was awkward, and you didn't ask for it."
Not in that way, no. "It's alright," he said. Chat turned to face her and cocked an eyebrow. "Besides, you're a great kisser, y'know."
Ladybug snorted in a very un-ladylike way, but her expression was of the Ladybug that Chat knew. He smiled at her laughter.
"What happened after that, Chat Noir?"
"You really don't remember?"
"No, I don't," she said, frowning. "I don't know anything, and my kwami won't tell me what happened. She said you wanted to tell me in person."
Chat gave an inward sigh of relief. Ladybug didn't remember the things he said to her. That he had transformed back into Adrien. Her kwami had gotten his message.
"Well," he said, stretching his arms behind him, "after you fell completely in love with me, I had to run before my transformation wore off and everyone saw my true face. By the time I came back, you were gone.
"I looked for you for hours, Ladybug, but couldn't find you. Eventually, I had to go ask Alya from the LadyBlog if she had seen the akuma. I figured that if I couldn't find you, I might as well track the akuma until you found her too. I found her and then the Well Wisher offered you a way to find me, by calling my baton. You came out from your hiding place in a tree."
"A tree? I must have picked that up from you."
Chat grinned. "Of course. Trees are the best place to hide. Every cat knows that.
"You called me and the light from my baton lit up my hiding place, and you chased after me. I tried to fight the akuma, but…."
He drifted off, not sure how to explain what happened next.
Ladybug picked up on his hesitation. She placed a gentle hand on his arm and said, "If you don't want to tell me, Chat, that's okay. I can tell you're uncomfortable with this."
"No, no, my Lady, it's alright," he said. Chat took a deep breath. "You were too much in love with me and didn't want to do anything but kiss me." Ladybug frowned at that.
"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Well, sort of. "You threw your yo-yo at the Well Wisher and captured her, but ignored the chance to release the akuma in favor of me. You weren't listening when I told you we had to do our job. It was completely unlike you, Ladybug. I had to do something to break you out of it." He paused.
"What did you do, Chat Noir?" Ladybug's voice was soft and kind, full of sympathy for him and the clearly difficult decision he made, though she must not know exactly what.
"I thought that if…if you were so in love with me that you wouldn't listen to me, maybe you would listen to the other me."
Ladybug gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth. "Chat Noir, you detransformed!? But I- "
"I know, Ladybug, I know. You don't want to know who I am. I'm sorry. But it distracted you enough from your love for me that you summoned Lucky Charm to fight the Well Wisher." He grinned at her again. "You're taking after me, Ladybug. Your Lucky Charm created a staff almost exactly like mine. You used it to climb down from the roof we were on."
"Chat Noir, I'm so sorry you had to do that," Ladybug said. "I know how much you want me to know who you are. Oh…that's what my kwami meant. You didn't want her to tell me who you are." She smiled at him. "Thank you, Chat."
"Of course, my Lady," he said, feigning a smile for her sake. "Your wish is my command."
Ladybug laughed, and Chat smiled for real this time. I love that laugh.
She stood up and stretched her back. "We should probably get started with our patrol today, Chat. Thanks for telling me what happened."
The unspoken words were clear in her voice. I know you're not telling me everything, Chat Noir, she seemed to be thinking. But it's okay. I won't press it.
"Hold on a second, Ladybug," Chat said, sliding the screen up on his baton. "I have to send a message first."
Ladybug cocked her head at him, questioning. Chat typed a quick message to Alya on his phone. He still owed her an explanation. Let her be surprised at how the hero Chat Noir knew her number. "Alya made me promise I would tell her what happened," he said. "But I won't tell her everything," he added, noting Ladybug's face. "Just enough to make her happy."
Chat remembered something he meant to ask. "Ladybug, when I heard you talking to the Well Wisher, it seems like you didn't get any of my calls, though I called you several times. And you called me. What do you think happened?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe the akuma's magic blocks incoming calls." Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo and looked at its screen. "These things are magic. Who knows how they work?"
"Sounds reasonable." Chat holstered his baton and took Ladybug's proffered hand. "Ready to start the day, my Lady?"
Ladybug grinned, then threw her yo-yo at a building across the street. "Oh wait, Chat Noir, one more thing." She stood on her toes and reached up to give Chat a peck on the cheek. "Thank you for saving me." With that, she winked and jumped off the roof.
Chat Noir touched the spot on his cheek where she kissed him, the blush running across his face. He could almost hear Plagg's teasing that would inevitably come, but he didn't care. Ooh, your Lady kissed you! And you know she loves Adrien. Why didn't you tell her?
Because I love her. I love Ladybug. I want her to love me for me, not by magic, and not because I'm a celebrity. If she falls in love with me someday, it will be worth it. And if not, I just want her to be happy. To be her.
That's when she's her most Miraculous.