Chapter Text
Alya was right, they hadn’t had a weekend without physics homework in months. It was good. That was more free time for Marinette, time she could spend sketching designs, or helping her parents down in the bakery, or swinging through the city fighting akuma and making sure the city was safe.
Or it would have been, if she stopped think about Adrien and his month-long trip. When she came home Friday night, she checked the Ladyblog, shut her browser, sighed when she saw Adrien on her home screen, and shut the computer off twenty minutes later, finally going to bed. On Saturday, she woke up from a dream where she’d gotten an invitation to Adrien’s upcoming wedding, but couldn’t make it because Paris was being attacked by a 300-foot akumatized hamster that hadn’t got adopted. She spent the afternoon helping her parents in the bakery, piping green and yellow icing onto cupcakes, and couldn’t help but think of Adrien’s luscious locks beautiful green eyes*. At night, she went to meet Chat for patrol, and was surprised when he didn’t show. It was unlike him to miss patrol, but by the time she got home, she was too (emotionally) tired to worry. She fell asleep and repeated her afternoon on Sunday.
That evening however, panic struck Paris as an Akuma terrorized the park. Soccer Mom, Hawkmoth’s latest victim, was a upset after her sons’ team lost a match, and was about ready to get them into her minivan when the black butterfly sunk into the keys in her right hand. With a quick “Spots On!” Ladybug arrived on the scene first, and was able to dodge all of the sonic screeches and balls that came flying from the air where Soccer Mom floated. She ducked into a close play area after making sure no kids were still in there, and stood on the tallest tower behind a tube slide. A thump on the roof of the tower marked the arrival of a certain cat.
“My Lady, if you’re here in the tower, does this make me the night in shining armor who gets a kiss for saving you?” Chat said, sliding down from the roof to crouch next to her, as balls bounced off the playset.
She rolled her eyes, “Ugh, Chat, it’s about time you got here.”
“Sorry bugaboo, I was a bit busy packing, what’s the situation here?”
'Packing?' She’d have to ask about that afterwards. “She calls herself Soccer Mom and she thinks her sons’ game was rigged. She tried going after the ref but I think he’s safe as long as we’ve got her attention.”
“Oh my- this was a little league game wasn’t it?”
“Aren’t they always?” she asked, as she peered over. “Chat, I think I can make this really simple, but i need you to get high and distract her in about...two seconds.”
“Two?” He half asked as she gave him a thumbs up and readied to throw herself into and down the tube slide. He shrugged, grabbed the top, and jumped up. Soccer mom saw him and another ball formed in her left hand, she threw it up and kicked it towards Chat Noir as a string wrapped itself around the ring of her keys and pulled. She looked down in awe as Ladybug came sliding beneath her, the keys inching further away. As she dove down for the keys, a ball flew past, barely missing her, and she looked to Chat Noir, who was now coming down in a baseball stance. Soccer mom reacted a second too late, and Ladybug had smashed the car keys before Chat Noir could land on his feet. She caught the black ladybug in her yoyo, and as she released it, Chat Noir caught the falling blonde.
“Bye bye petite papillon,” she said as the now white butterfly flew off. She turned to find Chat talking to the woman, who was now looking for her boys. She saw them still by the minivan and ran off. Ladybug waited for him to turn around and outstretched her fist. One “bein joué” and a shared fist bump later, Ladybug remembered the “packing” comment. But before she could speak
“Well My Lady, that was an excellent game plan,” Chat said with a stupid smile.
He first turned into an open hand, and went palm first into her forehead. “I can’t believe you sometimes,” she said, with a tone too playful to match her disgusted facial expression. Reporters started to invade the park, having missed the short battle and were racing to get an interview with the heroes. “Let’s go,” she said, swinging off and towards the Eiffel Tower.
Once at the top, the two stood for a second, shoulder to shoulder as they watched the sun set. Ladybug had her arm hanging off his shoulder and Chat had his arms crossed, looking at his lady from his peripherals.
“So,” the two said together. Chat blushed slightly, but Ladybug didn’t see because she turned her head and laughed. She stood silent for a second, seeing if he’d continue.
“What’s wrong kitty, un chat got your tongue?” She did notice his blush this time, and she stepped away a bit. When he again didn’t reply, she spoke, “So. Packing?” He sighed. Very heavily. 'Had he been holding his breath?' She saw as his ears droop and his body tense slightly. He reached for the back of his neck and for a second, Marinette thought of Adrien, and how she’ll miss him when he leaves.
“Right…” he said a bit anxiously. “So… I guess I, uh, have to take some vacation time.”
Ladybug’s shoulders drooped down next, “You too?” she asked, mostly to herself.
“What?”
“What. Nothing.” She spoke quickly.
“Oh.” He scratched the back of his head again. “I kind of have a personal thing to do and i’ll be gone for a little while…”
She faced him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry kitty, I can handle Paris for the week,” she said with a reassuring smile. She felt him tense more under her hand.
“It’s a little longer than a week…” he said, not wanting to get to the point. Maybe if he didn’t say anything, he wouldn’t have to go, maybe he wouldn’t have to leave his hero duties for a stupid fashion event, and maybe he wouldn’t have to be away from the love of his life.
“How long are you gonna be gone?” She asked, a small frown on her face.
Another sigh. “A month or so. Could be longer, but it could be less too,” he said, trying to stay hopeful. The look on Ladybug’s face killed him. She’d gone from slightly concerned to full on disappointment. He didn’t want to do this to his Lady, but he didn’t have a choice, but a small part of him took her response as a sign of love, like she’d miss him. 'If only she loved me the same,' he thought to himself.
Ladybug didn’t respond. She didn’t know how to, and she knew her partner could read her expressions. 'The love of my life and my best friend, gone for a month, just my not-ladybug luck.'** She shook off the thought, it sounding a little weird to her. She looked at the blond hairs shone slightly with the moon.
“Well Chat… I can still handle Paris, even if it is for a month.” 'No that sounds like you don’t need him.' “That’s not what I mean, it’s not like in the I don’t need your help, ‘cause we’re partners, but i don’t want you to worry about Paris while you're gone.” 'Why did i fumble.'
'It’s not Paris I'll be worried about,' he thought, and he hugged her. “I know you can handle it bugaboo.”
She was about to hug him back when he pulled away, fearing he may have overstepped her boundaries. “I have to get back home, I’m due to leave soon.” He said, standing near the edge of the tower, ready to take off into the night.
“Take care Chat!” Ladybug said as she waved. He jumped off and she sat down, deciding to stay for a bit longer. She stared at the moon as she thought about Adrien and Chat, but mostly Adrien.
'I hope Adrien comes to class tomorrow. Maybe Alya, Nino and I can say bye.'
In the morning, Marinette woke, as was common, to her mother calling up to her, warning her that if she didn’t get moving, she’d be late for school. 'Adrien' was all she could think as she ran up the stairs of her school and through the courtyard. She practically crashed through the door as the bell rang, only to find Nino alone at his table.