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Ladybug couldn’t remember the last time that she and Chat had gotten to talk. Defeating an akuma almost always took both the lucky charm and cataclysm, leaving them both running to detransform somewhere safe. In this case though, there hadn’t even been an akuma at all. The sounds of sirens and flashing colored lights had sent them both sailing across the skyline of Paris in the dead of night. The telltale announcement to evacuate the surrounding streets due to akuma attack had rung out just as they met nearby where police cars lined up in droves. When they arrived, however, they were surprised to see them dragging someone out into one of the cars in handcuffs.
The Chief of Police told the pair that this person pretended to be akumatized in the hopes of seeing them. They both shook their heads in disgust as he relayed this information.
“That’s horrible.” Ladybug replied to him. “I’m so sorry that you all had to come out for something like that.”
“Don’t think anything of it, Ladybug. It’s not exactly your fault. People do crazy things and waste our time every day. If it hadn’t been over you two, then it would have been over something else. We’re just appreciative to have you to help us when there really is an akuma.”
They both looked away in embarrassment before thanking the chief for his support and that of his officers.
“No problem. Don’t worry about this now, go on ahead back to your families. We’ll take it from here.” Ladybug and Chat Noir both thanked him profusely before sneaking back into the shadows. They didn’t want to give the perpetrator the satisfaction of knowing he had summoned them.
“What a waste of a good night’s sleep.” Chat Noir said around a sigh, dangling his legs off the side of the building. It was shortly after 3 AM according to their weapons’ communicators. Ladybug slumped her shoulders as she read that, cursing the guy that had led them on a wild goose chase.
“Got any plans tomorrow, bugaboo?” Chat asked, looking back at her pacing on the roof.
Ladybug took a long breath in and out before answering, sitting next to him. “Oh yeah, of course. This couldn’t happen on a weekend when I could just sleep in tomorrow.” Chat didn’t answer, looking out at the buildings around them.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to complain. I’m sure you’ll have it hard tomorrow too.” The way he wasn’t joking around or making a pun made her hands itch to reach out to him. She looked away to find what he was looking at.
“I guess it’s hard to be a normal student and a superhero too, huh?” He said at last. The cat’s cheshire grin showed itself, but retreated too soon to be normal. Ladybug pushed her eyebrows into a frown as she looked deeper into Chat’s facial expression.
“Something on your mind, Chat?” She tried to speak softly to him, to sound casual about it. She didn’t want to nag him, she was just concerned. It was hard to share details about their lives without giving too much away, but she still wanted to be there for him. She was sure he felt the same way too, so they did what they could. The puzzle of talking about their problems in a covert way was frustrating, but the bond they shared was completely worth it.
“Hmm? Oh it’s nothing, it’s just..” His eyes looked down towards the street below. “No, forget it. It’s stupid.” He desperately searched for anything else that he could look at that wasn’t her gaze that looked right through him.
She stood up and cocked her hands on her hip. “Don’t be that way. I wanna be here for you, you know? If it matters to you, then it’s not nothing. So just let it out and then it won’t be bothering you anymore!”
Chat stood up to meet her, resting his chin on one of his clawed hands and frowning. “It just has to do with how I feel about...you. About us. You don’t feel the same way about me, so it’s just silly.” He turned away but felt her hand grip his wrist. She pulled him back to finally look at her, and his walls came tumbling down.
“Tell me what you’re feeling. It’s... flattering that you care about me that way, Chat. What about it has you acting so forlorn?”
Chat took a deep breath. “Okay, well it’s just that there’s this girl…”
“A girl? As in, a girl who isn’t me?” Her frown softened, but only in confusion.
“Yes, a girl who isn’t you. She’s been my friend for a while now, but...I’ve started to feel differently about her. She’s not just my friend in my mind anymore. I think about what it would be like to date her, to hold her close at night so she felt safe. I’ve thought about getting married to her, what our kids would look like. It’s just-”
He looked back at Ladybug, who had let a smile subconsciously crawl onto her face.
“It’s just that I think she feels the same way that I do. When I look into her eyes, I see that same love looking back at me. We’ve come close to kissing a few times when we were alone. It’s hard to ignore that kind of...tension.” Chat blushed at the thought. Ladybug was besides herself, trying not to swoon at how her partner had imagined this girl. He had probably thought the same things about her.
“I think I missed the part where this isn’t great , Chat!”
“Because I love you , Ladybug!” Chat’s eyes were filling with tears in a way that shook Ladybug right to her core. It always seemed to surprise her, no matter how many times she had to be reminded that he didn’t have some silly crush. She blushed in spite of herself at how frankly he said it, like it was obvious. When he wasn’t joking around with his silly pickup lines, he left her feeling more conflicted than she would care to admit. Maybe she did feel something for him, but someone else still had her heart under lock and key. She looked down the street at a billboard adorned with Adrien Agreste in a beautiful white outfit. She felt a bitter taste in her mouth as she turned back to Chat Noir.
“I know what it’s like to long for someone who may never be yours.” Her words made him sob louder, and the sound felt like a punch in the stomach.
“You should go after this girl if you think that there’s something between you two.” She set her hand on his shoulder, hoping he didn’t notice her shaking. “I know how you feel about me, but I just don’t feel the same. I don’t want you to be hung up on me if there’s someone else who does.”
“I don’t want to betray you, my lady.” Chat choked out, gripping her hand like a lifeline. He gasped to catch his breath and force his eyes to dry, but it only hurt her more to see him try to be strong.
“I told you it was stupid.” He said when his voice steadied again.
They stared out into the Paris night as the city slept. Chat rested his weary head on her shoulder while they stood there in silence, him having let out what he had been hiding from her. She felt like what she said next was important, so she thought it over while petting the blonde hair around his cat ears.
“You could never betray me, Chat. You’re my partner, my best friend. Someone to love you is all I would ever want you to have. I want more happiness for you than to chase after someone who…” she stopped herself short of “who doesn’t love you.” She should be more honest than that to him.
“Someone who can’t decide how she feels.” She finally looked back at Chat after having gotten that all out, finding his tear-stained face in a smile.
“I don’t deserve you, my lady.”
“You deserve me and more, kitty.” She replied, shaking her head. “Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything.”
“Never let her forget how much you love her. Treat her right.”
A silent nod was all the confirmation she needed.