"Ha! I win!" Chat did a little victory dance around the roof, in spite of being winded.
"Only by a whisker, Chat," Labybug panted, her hands braced on her knees.
"Wait a minute," Chat froze and glanced gleefully at his partner. "I won! That means I get a kiss!"
Ladybug's eyes widened and he could see a faint blush spreading from beneath her mask as she straightened. "Oh! Damnit, I thought I had you. Curse those long legs of yours! When are you going to be done growing?"
Chat laughed delightedly. "I think it was less about my stride and more about the motivation." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, sauntering over to stand close and nudge her shoulder. "Then again, maybe that's why you cheated. You knew you couldn't take me in a fair contest."
"Excuse me?" She glared at him, and stepped closer to jab her finger into his chest. "I beat you nine times out of ten, alley cat, and you know it!"
He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, but his smile didn't waver. "Of course I do. But today wasn't one of those nine times, was it?"
"Oooooh!" She flushed again, and this time he knew it was frustration coloring her cheeks.
"A bet's a bet, my lady." Her eyes flashed, and he leaned back with a frown. "But you know, I won't make you kiss me, if you don't actually want to. That would be—mpf!"
She'd grabbed his face and yanked him down to hers, silencing his words with her mouth. It threw him off balance and he stumbled against her a bit, his arms going to her hips in a reflexive effort to steady himself. But then the anger seemed to leave her, and her lips began to move tentatively over his. Rather than releasing her, his hands tightened almost of their own accord. He angled his head to increase the pressure, just as her tongue slipped out to slide along the seam of his lips. He opened his mouth with a groan and met the hesitant exploration of her tongue with his own.
The sensations were new to him, as he thought they must be new to her. It was—it was amazing, and he wanted to just go on kissing her like this forever. He tugged on her hips, pulling her body flush against him. He'd held her close many times before, but never like this. Never in this context. And when they touched, their world shifted a bit, making them stumble.
Ladybug tore herself away from him, with alarm writ over her features.
"Wow." He touched his lips wonderingly.
"Yeah," she said, looking over the city distractedly. "That felt like an explosion."
He cocked his head thoughtfully, his eyes shining. "I wouldn't have described it like that, but I love that you found it explosive."
She blinked. "No, Chat, that wasn't—I mean, the kiss was great, but that was a real explosion." She pointed to a rising plume of smoke with her yoyo already in hand.
"Oh, uh, right. Well, this is awkward."
"Be awkward later, Chaton. Come on, we have to go!"
Ladybug took off, and Chat followed close on her heels. "Stupid Hawkmoth," he mumbled. "Stupid akuma."
The villain and his champion had just cemented their spots at the very tippy-top of Chat Noir's shit list.