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Marinette was bad at many things in life. Time management, keeping her sticky fingers off other people’s phones, and being able to speak coherently to her crush was among the top few things. This was why, Marinette rationalized, she had such problems knowing that one day her identity as the miraculous superhero know as Ladybug was constantly eating away at her. Everyone she had ever encountered idealized Ladybug, making her out to be this perfect super-human of sorts, but in reality, the only true powers she had came from Tikki, the God of Creation, and she was an utter disaster.
Maybe what made it so hard was that while she didn’t want to let the general public to be let down when they found out the truth, she didn’t want to disappoint her partner. Chat Noir, while putting up a most believable front of being a lady’s man, was the only person who truly understood how hard it was to be a miraculous holder. He was there by her side from the beginning, when together they took down that first Akuma that Le Papillon had sent out. But he was constantly peppering her with affection, telling her that she is perfect, and she didn’t want him to find out and be disgusted or disappointed by what he found.
These thoughts permeated her brain while she lay awake in the middle of the night. It was a constant cycle. Wake up, go to school late, have day be interrupted by another Akuma, help out at her parent’s bakery, work on her latest design, go to bed only to stay up for hours, and repeat. Lately, she had been transforming into Ladybug, if for nothing else than to escape the suffocating atmosphere of her room and soar above the rooftops of Paris. This night was no different.
It was also beautiful to watch the skyline fly by as she hooked her yoyo onto another building and sent herself swinging along. As she went by, the colors of the city meld together as the warm spring air caressed her face. There was just something about this act of swinging that felt freeing, as if she were swinging away from her problems. She swung until she made it to the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was typically her normal meeting spot with Chat Noir. From there, she could stare out at the city for as long as she pleased with no one interrupting her.
There were moments like this where Marinette was grateful she lived where she did. The city had so much history, but it was also amazingly beautiful. Most people never got to see it the way she did though. So much of the city was for her viewing here and even if people were outside at this hour, they were just specks lost among the crowed buildings.
While she was admiring the city, she failed to notice someone walk up behind her. “Well isn’t this a sight,” the person began. “a little ladybug out after sunset. Don’t tell me, there’s an Akuma on the loose?” The person walked over to Ladybug and sat down beside where she had settled in while she looked out of the city.
Ladybug turned to look at him. “Chat Noir, what are you doing out so late?”
“I could ask the same thing to you, Bugaboo.” Chat Noir replied, his green, catlike eyes looked at her curiously. Ladybug looked back at the city.
Could she tell him what was on her mind? He was her best friend after all, the only person who knew this side of her. He wouldn’t judge her, Chat Noir was not that kind of person, but there was still part of her screaming that he would reject the whole version of herself—Marinette and Ladybug--because he wouldn’t be able to look past the ideal and let that be just that: the ideal version.
She spoke quietly. “Have you ever thought about what would happen once our identities are revealed?”
There was a pause before he replied. “All the time. My kwami keeps telling me that I’m the most over dramatic Chat Noir he’s ever had because of that. Then he tells me to eat some cheese because ‘it is the one true way to peace.’ I think he just wants more cheese.”
Marinette chuckled. “Me too, except my kwami doesn’t tell me to eat cheese.”
“Then apparently she hasn’t found peace.” Chat Noir grinned for a second. “You know, sometimes I think it would be great to be able to tell at least one person that hey, I’m Chat Noir. But, I don’t want to know what people would say once they found out about my civilian self.”
Marinette looked at him and put her hand on her heart and gasped. “What, are you telling me that you don’t hit on every girl you see and make terrible puns to try to attract her?”
Chat Noir put his hands in the air in a defeated manner, but he was smiling. “You’ve caught me. There’s only one girl I do that to, but I don’t think she’s getting the message.”
“Maybe it’s the lack of cat ears atop your head. Those must be your secret weapon.”
He glanced away from her face as he put his arms down. “Guess I’ll have to take them me-out next time. But really, are you okay?” The wind breezed past the pair and suddenly Marinette remembered how late it was.
“Could you promise me,” she began. “that whatever happens between us, and whoever we are beneath the masks, that we will still be friends at the end?” Marinette felt as of her heart stopped when he didn’t immediately reply.
Chat turned away from her and looked down at his boots. When he replied, he spoke timidly. “Have I given you the impression that I only care about Ladybug? I don’t care who you are behind the mask, because she also has to have all of the qualities that Ladybug does. Ladybug wouldn’t be the Ladybug I know without them. Sure, you probably have your flaws, but we all do. It’s what makes us human. But I want to meet that girl, so I can tell her that she is every bit as good as Ladybug, probably even better.”
Marinette stared at the blonde beside her, eyes wide. She knew Chat Noir cared, never waivered on that for a second, but to hear him outrightly defend her civilian-self touched her heart. She only wished that she could believe his words. Before she knew what she was doing, she wrapped her arms around him. He tensed for a moment, but quickly returned the hug. The sat there like that for a while, before Ladybug drew back, not before noticing how nice the black of his suit matched the bright red of hers.
They said their fair wells, and Ladybug swung away. Chat Noir stayed long after she disappeared into the city.