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Ladybug jumped across rooftops, using her yo-yo to get to the meeting spot. She was supposed to meet Chat Noir there before going on a shared patrol, as they usually did.
A breeze blew by, chilling her and she tugged the scarf closer to her throat. The suits did a lot to protect them from the cold, but their faces and throats remained exposed. It was worst during winter. After ending patrols early several times and then sitting at home in the bathtub warming up for half an hour, ladybug had started using scarves and hats. Of course, she took the plainest and most commonly bought ones, so that no one would be able to figure out her identity from it.
Ladybug landed on the rooftop and turned to look at the figure that was pole vaulting a few buildings away, steadily moving towards her. As he came closer, the heroine saw that he was wearing a scarf. Tikki had explained to her that as ladybug, she would be more affected by the cold, which was why she started wearing extra clothing for warmth much earlier than her partner. Winter was just beginning and already she couldn’t wait for it to end.
“M’lady” he greeted, swooping in for a hug. If it wasn’t so cold, she would never have hugged him back for fear of leading him on. As it was, the hug gave her some much needed warmth. She sighed. They had just started and she just wanted to go back to her warm bed.
“Hello, Chat. I see you’ve started wearing scarves. Finally cold enough for you, eh?” a perk of having the cat miraculous — as she dubbed it — was that he was slightly warmer than a normal human and wasn’t as easily affected by the cold, a thing she envied a lot lately.
“Nah, I just didn’t want you to be the only one with extra accessories. And look, we match!” he gestured to his scarf, which was light blue and then to hers, which was a similar shade of blue. A flash of something caught her attention.
Ladybug reached over to him and grabbed the scarf, bringing it closer to her eyes to inspect it. There! At the edge, the scarf was a slightly different colour. Almost unnoticeable to the untrained and unsuspecting eye. Someone had run out of yarn when making the scarf, and then used a different one that was similar in colour.
Something about that seemed familiar. Had she seen it before? Ladybug frowned, inspecting the scarf once again and scouring her memory for something that might fit the situation.
“Do you like it? It was a birthday present” That’s it! A birthday present, of course. She had made a scarf just like it for Adrien. It even had the same length and the same coloured yarn as well as the same spot of slightly darker colour. Wait a minute, it’s the same scarf!
The heroine looked up at her partner, paling considerably. There was no use denying it. Honestly, it was a wonder she had made it so long without realizing it. The blond hair, green eyes and lonely homelife should have clued her in. As well as the numerous coincidences, like him constantly missing lessons at the same time as her or all the times he slipped away with a lame excuse whenever an akuma attacked. I have to take a shower, really? It’s a wonder she fell for it.
All of her interactions with either Chat Noir or Adrien rushed back at her. He was constantly flirting with her! She had kissed him! Marinette could already feel herself freaking out, while Tikki tried to calm her by sending reassurances from wherever she was when Marinette was transformed.
Chat Noir’s smile slipped off his face once he noticed how his partner was unresponsive and slowly paling. Suddenly, she blushed, but still looked quite pale. What could have made her react like that? He wondered.
“LB, you alright?” That snapped her out of her daze and she looked up at him — when had she even looked down?
I’m fine is what she wanted to say. Instead, what came out was “I made that scarf!”
Chat noir froze. They both stared at another.
“What”
“What”
Then they stared some more, the disbelief evident on the cat hero’s face. He frowned. He got that scarf for his birthday. His father made that scarf for him. Ladybug said she made that scarf for him. But that meant...he had a crush on his father!
Ladybug saw how he suddenly tensed and his gaze filled with horror and apprehension.
“Father?!”
That was the last thing she had expected him to say. Maybe ask for proof, figure out she was Marinette or say that she was mistaken, but not that. Never that. Not in a million years. She could see he was already freaking out, thinking about all the times he had been flirting with his “father”. Finding out her crime-fighting partner was her long time crush had already fried her brain, and she was given no time to process. Figuring out this big misunderstanding was beyond her mental capabilities at that point. So she did the only thing she could — she fled.
Chat Noir was left standing on that rooftop, still staring into space and rethinking all his life. He wanted to bury himself deep underground in a nice little hole and never come out again.
That night, the mortified/anguished cry of one of Paris’ beloved heroes filled the night air and woke up half the population. Any later questions as to why that was only resulted in the poor cat hero looking traumatized and Ladybug smirking. Nobody could figure out what that was about.
Another thing nobody could figure out was why the aforementioned hero leapt in joy and yelled out his happiness for the world to hear when Alya told him how her best friend made Adrien a scarf, and how she kept quiet because he thought it was from his father.
Some things are meant to remain mysteries.
Meanwhile, somewhere deep in his secret lair, Gabriel felt a moment of apprehension and disappointment in his son that coincided with the moment Chat Noir wore the scarf for the first time on a patrol.