Chapter Fourteen : Together we're chaos… and it's perfect.

Marinette, well Ladybug, had taken refuge at the same place as after the graduation party. She didn't know why. Maybe because underneath her Ladybug costume, she was wearing the same dress? Maybe because the same pattern seemed to be helplessly happening over and over? Every day, every moment, reminded her a little more that she could never be happy in love. Not if it meant making a choice that would partially break her heart either way.

Knees folded against her chest, and her whole body slowly rocked back and forth. She was at the end of her rope (no pun intended), emotionally exhausted. It's a good thing Monarch was no longer part of the equation or she wasn't sure she would have lasted until today.

She fiddled with one of her earrings; she had thought of giving up more than once but had always held out for her partner. Chat Noir didn't deserve to be left alone because of her own selfishness.

Ladybug could already hear him protest if she would do so. "M'Lady, we need to talk this through right now!" He would say. It actually sounded like she could hear him at the very moment, and it was accurately along those lines. Her partner's voice echoed in her ears as if he was standing next to her, waiting for some clarifications.

"M'Lady. We need to talk."

Of course, he would want some clar—Wait. This wasn't playing in her mind, the pitch of Chat's voice was so close and palpable, it sent shivers deep down her spine.

She looked up with a surge of apprehension, only to be met by two stern and concerned cat-like eyes.

"We really need to talk," her partner repeated.

"Oh no. Not you too," Ladybug sighed as she hugged her knees closer. "I don't have the strength for another talk tonight, Chaton. Please, leave me alone."

"Then I'll be the one doing the talking. All you have to do is listen to me." He didn't leave her any choice. Sitting beside her, his gaze intently locked with hers. "I love you, Bug."

"Chat, please~ don't."

"I'm doing it. Whether you like it or not. It's not about what you want, M'Lady. Not even about what I want. It's about what we both want. It's about us. So you're going to let me get this out, will you?"

Gobsmacked, the heroine weakly nodded. Though she looked down at her lap, not ready yet to read the overflowing emotion that already seemed to invade her partner's gaze.

"The last time we met here, you lied to me."

She gulped; he was starting off strong, already scoring a point.

"You told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn't the one you were in love with, that it would only happen 'in my dreams'. Well… Either I'm dreaming right now and I don't want to wake up—ever. Either, you fooled me," he pointed out.

Ladybug sniffed, unaware of when she had started to let go. The tears were warm on her cheeks, a stinging contrast to the chill of autumn that was fully settling in.

"I'd lean more towards the second choice knowing that in my dreams, I wouldn't make you cry. Never."

Well, actually, he was going to make her cry even more with such meaningful words. Words that had her looking up at him with her very watery eyes.

"You lied to me," he stated. "And I was a fool to believe you with closed eyes. Blindfolded eyes actually," he chuckled. "I was blinded by the need to forget you, whereas since the first time our lips touched, you were always the only one, making me give up on all the lips I hadn't touched yet."

She couldn't help but wonder how he always managed to sweep her off her feet with just a few words like these. He did that with such ease; it was like his heart was outright in his mouth, at the tip of his tongue. By comparison, her heart was buried somewhere where she had dug a hole in the soil, buried as deep as possible so she could pretend it was just an artichoke.

The shame she felt deep in her guts had her looking down at her lap again, unable to hold the intensity, and the truth, lingering in her partner's gaze. She unquestionably couldn't reciprocate on this one. Not after what she had with Adrien.

"I wish I could say the same…" Ladybug muttered, her voice muffled between her knees.

"You could." Chat Noir's hand gently skimmed her chin, his fingers resting underneath and slowly lifting it for her to look at him.

When her eyes met the love glistening in his, she felt the urge to jump off the rooftop hoping the sidewalk would just open and swallow her into the depth. There was no way she broke his heart again. Not when he looked at her that way.

"Did you only half listen to what I said the other night? I might have lied… and was actually talking about you… but I also told you about him," she said, feeling uncomfortable having this conversation a second time. "There's someone else…" She closed her eyes and paused for a second, bringing her hands to the side of her head and rubbing in circles. This had been, and was, quite a mess if you asked her. "Well, there was someone else…" She opened her eyes, looking at him quite defeated as her hands balled into fists against her temples. "And as far as I know, sleeping with him involved more than just some 'lips touching' if you know what I mean."

Chat Noir snorted, a small giggle instantly dying in his throat as she glared at him.

"What's so funny?"

"You know you're talking to a guy who's wearing a mask, right? For all you know, there may not be someone else and you may have only kissed me." He shrugged. "You may have slept with me," he added with a twitch of his brows and a sultry tone.

She couldn't help but wipe the (almost) dried tears from her face and let out a small laugh.

"And underneath my mask, I'm the other woman you like," she huffed. "Would be the cherry on top," she snorted. Unlikely.

"I'm more fond of passionfruit."

Always something to say—not to smooth it out though… Ladybug thought.

Yet any way, it helped his case.

"See. There's no match with my cake— wait! What?" The heroine's eyes suddenly widened.

A cocky smile graced Chat Noir's lips as he folded his arms behind his head and laid back against the cold material of the rooftop. "Is the penny dropping now? Or should I say… the mask?"

"A-Adrien…?" She blinked down at him, her gaze roaming all over his silhouette. The broad shoulders and the protruding muscles of his arms contracting in that very position. She had seen him many times in this exact posture with the same smug expression—after they had sex when he basked in the afterglow. The penny dropped. Actually, the whole jackpot of the slot machine dropped. "Oh my god! I slept with Chat Noir!" she shrieked.

The playful wiggle of his eyebrows didn't do anything to soothe the mad beating of her heart. She stirred on the spot, growing edgy as she shrieked once more, and eventually ended up losing her balance, falling off the roof.

Her partner's frightened call instantaneously brought her back to earth, before she could actually touch it. In a swift impulse, she threw her yo-yo, hanging it around the chimney stack not far behind the feline hero. Her fall came to a halt, her body swaying in the void, hanging on to her weapon as she took a deep breath before sighing lankily.

"You okay down there, Lovebug?"

She couldn't suppress the glare she cast at him. Some things never changed…

"I need a minute, and I'm still mad at you, Mr. Rhythm'n'blues."

"Would you still be mad at me if I told you to please, forgive me, I can't stop loving you," Chat sang, taking on his softest voice.

"You'll have to try harder," she muttered through slightly gritted teeth.

Tenderly smiling down at her, he reached for the rope of her yo-yo with his gloved hands and started to pull her up back on the roof.

"It's in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts. We're not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again."

She tried her best to hide the shy and fond smile which treacherously threatened to pop on her lips, only for her partner to keep going harder with another song and ended up making her giggling.

"I can't stop singing, it's ringing in my head for you," he practically purred as he forcefully pulled one last time, bringing her back on her feet. His lips curved into a playful grin, his eyes glistening with mischief… and love. "Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you. You're my end and my beginning, even when I lose, I'm winning," he whispered while moving closer, one of his hands slowly reaching for her cheek, cradling it with a gentle rub of his thumb.

The heroine's heart swelled with relief as she leaned into his soft touch, the burden of her messed up love life instantly easing from her shoulders. She felt so light all of a sudden, it could almost allow her to fly off the ground.

"May I kiss you, M'Lady?"

"Oh, you're asking this time?" she sassed with a small smirk.

A small smirk which quickly faded away, covered by Chat's. The kiss was unquestionably sloppy; both were unable to stop smiling their happiness out of their heart.

"I'm still mad at you," Ladybug murmured, slowly breaking apart from the touch of his warm mouth. Though she sounded anything but convincing.

"I had no choice. You never would have opened up and mentioned your Chaton if I hadn't gone to great lengths. I'm sorry if I hurt you, and I'll make it up to you. But I have no regrets." Chat Noir said as he gently stroked her bottom lip with the tip of his thumb, the touch sending shivers deep down her toes. "None," he added, before his lips met hers again in a way that left them both ultimately out of breath and mind blown.

If they were to compare their current state to something pictured, puddles of goo seemed appropriate. Brains and knees completely melted away in the middle of their heartwarming revelations.

Final chapter will be published on Wednesday.

(Little game) Can you find the three songs Adrien is using here to woo is Lady??