Chapter Text
Ladybug stared out at the rooftops of Paris, not looking at him, seeing pensive. He wanted to ask, or say something cheeky, but he just wasn't up for it. It seemed neither of them was really up for talking. They just sat there, side by side, Ladybug's lips pursed as she sat, stared, and thought, Chat Noir leaning back on his elbows as he sat beside her.
When she spoke, she did so quietly, startling him a bit. "Chat, I really need to tell you something."
Despite the quiet of her voice, he heard an urgency in it. "What's up? Are you ok?" He leaned closer to her, sitting up and crossing her legs.
She looked at him, a small fond smile at her lips, confusing him further. "I love you."
He blinked at her. Then blinked again. A giggled erupted from her at his comical reaction. "I'm glad you find this amusing, but I'm over here wondering if I'm hard of hearing or hallucinating."
She leaned closer to him, nose mere inches from his, "Neither."
She giggled again and sat back, finding humor in his flushed cheeks. He huffed, crossing his arms and pouting, but he couldn't do so for very long. Seeing her giggle like that made him soft. She made him soft.
"You really mean it?" he asked after a pause. He heard the desperate plea in his voice, it was like he didn't even make an effort to hide it. How pathetic.
She locked eyes with him, the blue eye looking through his green ones intently. He suddenly understood why they said the eyes were windows to the soul. He felt so vulernable like that, but he didn't mind too much. He wanted to be able to be vulernable around her.
"Of course, I mean it. Why wouldn't I?" She clicked her tongue, as if what she said was obvious.
"You sure are good at hiding your feelings, then."
She sighed, "Kitty," he loved it when she called him that, "I know I don't really show it, but I do love you." So she didn't mean it the way he though, great. Seeing him deflate, she continued, "I thought I only loved you platonically, since you're my best friend and my partner, but..." She trailed off, looking away to stare pensively at the city lights again, "I slowly came to terms with the fact that, I do love you. Not just platonically, and I needed to stop lying to myself. That's why I needed to tell you tonight," she turned to face him again, "because I really do love you."
All he could was blink as he stared at her, paralyzed by her words. As her bubbly giggle escaped her throat again, he didn't really think. He just acted. On impulse.
He cupped her cheeks, bumping noses with her as his lips meet hers lightly. Then, realizing what he'd done, he quickly withdrew, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done that, I don't know what came over me, your words, and then my brain just, I don't--"
She put a finger to his lips, stopping his rambling. "It's ok, Chat."
Before she could say anything more, everything around them went dark. Chat Noir drowned in the darkness, his night vision doing absolutely nothing. He was alone, in the dark, unable to see, or hear, or feel anything.
Where was Ladybug? Was she ok? What was happening?
He wished he knew the answers to those questions, desperately, but didn't know.
He woke up with a start. Next to him, Plagg was still snoring. He glanced at the time, it was four in the morning. He'd barely slept. He plopped down on his bed again, sighing loudly. It wasn't like Plagg was gonna wake up anyway, it didn't matter how loud he was.
Ladybug...
Of course he dreamt of her, when did he not? He hated that fact. And of course it was a confession dream. How original, he thought. He mentally cursed his brain. Why did it always have to be her? Why couldn't he ever dream about something else? Like cookies.
Dreaming about cookies would be nice. Dreaming about eating cookies with friends would be nicer. Dreaming about eating cookies with friends at the bakery would be even nicer. Or maybe he just really wanted cookies.
He sighed, turning on to his side. Marinette always had cookies, he guessed living above a bakery that cookies would be a staple, a necessity. Marinette also had two loving parents, a career she was passionate about ahead of her, a wonderfully creative brain, good relations with everyone (except Lila and Chloe), and she was just awesome. Marinette was just a very lucky person, he couldn't ever imagine why she would ever need the lucky charm he had given him, or the one similar to it he had given her.
The lucky charm...
Tossing the comforter off of him, Adrien scrambled to his desk, opening a drawer, then taking out the familiar bracelet. Walked back over to his bed, sitting beside his nightstand, his thumb tracing over the familiar textures of the beads.
He didn't know why he kept it in his desk, he should've just kept it in his nightstand. It would be so much easier to get to it, after all, he sought it for comfort more often than not. And comfort was something he seemed to constantly need.
He smiled at the memory of Marinette, handing over the bead she had crafted with her mother years prior to help her have better luck. He imagined a smaller, younger Marinette, humming as she picked up the beads that she wanted, lacing them through the string. He imagined she still wore pigtails then, and was probably missing a tooth or two when she created the charm.
When she had handed over her charm, she looked so confident that it would help him. If only she knew how much it really did. That had been why he felt the need to return that favor, even if he didn't think she would need the comfort or the luck. But he needed a way to thank her, besides a simple "thank you". Crafting his own lucky charm to give her had felt like the right choice. He hoped it had been.
Lying back down on his bed, pulling the comforter over him again, he sighed contently. He let rubbing his thumb over the beads, letting himself drift off to sleep.
For the rest of the night, he dreamt of eating cookies at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, with a giggling Marinette at his side.