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''Wow, look at the stars!''
They were sitting on top of a building, eating the sandwiches they had bought earlier, enjoying the view of the whole Paris underneath them. The city looked even much more incredible during the night time. Little tiny spots of light meeting up with the darkness of the night...
And tonight, somehow, it looked even more beautiful.
Maybe it was for the luck of his beautiful lady, maybe it was just a coincidence but the stars were so shiny, glowing much more than the night before.
A farewell to the sadness he was feeling before.
''It looks beatiful, m'lady,'' he smirked. ''but not as beautiful as you, for sure.''
It was true. Everything about her reminded him of the word beautiful. She was kind, nice, attractive, smart, hardworking, pretty... His Lady must have been the gift that God had sent to this world, to his world.
She cracked a smile at his compliment. ''You'll never give up, Kitty, will you?''
God, even her voice was so soothing, so gentle that he just wanted to crawl up into her arms and hug her tightly. He loved her so much. He loved the comfort he got from the times she was around. She was his soul, his life, his love...
''I would never. I wouldn't be able to.''
They didn't move, nor talk for the next few minutes, just watched the view in front of them. They both had finished their sandwiches and were happy with their now full stomach. His Lady stood up from where she had been sitting and turned towards him.
''Well, i think it's time to go home.'' she sighed heavily. ''No akumas in sight, no people to rescue...''
He stood up as well. ''Right!'' he bent down and held her hand, brought it close to his lips, then kissed it. ''See you soon, m'lady.''
She smiled again. ''See you soon, Kitty.''
And then, she left.
***
Marinette didn't come to school the next day. He heard from Nino that she had been feeling sick since yesterday and had decided to stay at home to rest. It was bad news for Adrien. The bluenette girl was one of his only friends and her existence always cheered him up.
She was like a ball of sunshine, always so bright and kind.
Adrien couldn't lie about the fact that he was kind of jealous of her. She had loving parents and supportive friends around her. She was so talented unlike him. She could design and sew and to top it all, she had good grades. What an amazing girl...
He wouldn't even be able to compare himself to her.
So, Adrien sat by himself in the front seat as Nino sat besides Alya, at Marinette's seat. He wondered about Marinette.
I hope she feels better tomorrow.
***
Marinette didn't come to school the other day as well. Alya had told him that she had called her to let them know that she still needed a little more rest before she could feel better.
That was fine. As long as she returned alright, he could endure her absence for a bit more.
Nino sat besides Alya once again.
Adrien just couldn't pretend not to notice that feeling in his guts.
***
They were suppossed to meet up on top of the Eiffel Tower. It was their special place to start the patrolling. The same routine would happen as always. His Lady would take the west, he'd take the east.
But where was she?
He waited for another fifteen minutes for her to come and when she didn't, he jumped from building to building to search for her.
Adrien was desperate to find her. Maybe he was exaggerating, he just had to shake that feeling from his guts but it seemed impossible. Ladybug was never late to their routine patrols! She was always on time, appearing whenever was the best time to! So, why wasn't she now? Maybe something came up-
The Rooftop! Of course!
The blonde boy turned towards the opposite direction of where he was heading to and ran faster than ever. His Lady probably finished the patrolling even before he came and decided to wait for him on the rooftop they ate their sandwiches at a few days before!
He immediately stopped as soon as his feet hit the concrete. There she was, standing close to the edge, looking at the view underneath her. With the newfound happiness, Adrien couldn't help himself but laugh.
''There you are, m'lady! I've been looking for you for ages! For a sec there, I thought you had abondoned me!'' She didn't respond, didn't even turn her head towards him.
And he could see that something was absolutely wrong.
Hey body was stiff. She looked so sure of what to do. Even if he couldn't see her face, Adrien could sense that she was upset about something. Her right foot was placed dangerously close to the edge, compared to the left one which was a little bit further away from the end of the concrete. Both of her hands were balled up into fists and her shoulder seemed to be firmly close to her neck. She looked like she was crying.
''Ladybug?''
After a few more seconds of silence, he caught a small movement of her head. She slightly leaned into her left shoulder and sighed. Adrien was happy to get a response out of her, but his happiness didn't last long.
''What's the point?''
He didn't understand, what was his Lady talking about?
''What are you talking about, m'lady?''
''What is the point of all of this, Kitty?''
Her eyes... She was now standing right across him face to face, but her feet still stayed in the same position. She was still so close to the edge that it scared him. Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks seemed to be swollen from crying too much. Her voice was worn out and stranded. The soothingness he so missed was gone.
''I wake up, get dressed, eat, go to school, get scolded for being late, for being up all night to save the city and the people in it, get bullied by a freaking liar that my so-called-friends like to believe in, then come here at night so that i can risk it all for nothing!'' she continued. ''What is the point of it? What is the point of me- my existence?! Why do i have to be the one who has to wear this suit? Why do i have to be the one everyone expects everything from? Why do i have to be the one that no one seems to understand?!''
It was the first time Adrien had seen her like this. She was out of breath, so was he. He couldn't even mutter a word to comfort her. All he could do was to look at her.
He was scared that she would accidentally slip -even more scared of her doing it on purpose-.
She sobbed for another minute, then took a deep breath to continue. ''I'm just... so tired,'' she looked tired. ''of being this, being me !''
He took a step towards her.
''I'm such a failure and i hate it!'' her voice cracked. ''I hate me for being me!''
Another step.
''I ditch school just to make my friends worry about me,'' she put her hands onto her face. ''I'm such an attention-seeker!''
A pause, small moment of realization that made him feel even more worried than ever now, then another step.
''I let my family down, i disappointed my teachers and i feel like, soon enough, i'll fail to protect the city! I'm such a coward!''
Just a foot away from her now.
''So, tell me Kitty! What is the point now?!''
He held her close, used her distraction as an advantage to grab her by the shoulder and hug her tightly. She kept sobbing in his arms while he was trying to overcome his shock due to the discovery he had made just a few seconds ago. They kept close to each other without talking for half of an hour.
Then, he finally realized that his Princess needed comfort and hugging her only wouldn't be enough. He lifted her head by the chin with a gentle touch. She just sniffed, feeling calmer than before now.
''I need you, m'lady.'' he looked into her eyes. ''This whole city needs you.''
Her eyes teared up once again. ''But- But, Chat! What if i won't be there for you when you need me? What if i fail?''
''I trust you to be there when i need you.'' he grinned. ''Because i love you, i will always love you no matter what. Even if you can't return my feelings for you, i won't hesitate to protect you, respect you and keep loving you.''
She frowned at his grin. ''Why do you even love me, Kitty? What is there to love about me?''
''For a fact,'' he began. ''you should know that you are amazing. You should know that as beautiful as you are, you are also very smart and hardworking. You are so talented and wonderful and whatever you do, it always ends up better than expected. You are honest and reliable. What more could you be?''
Her frown deepened. She looked up into his eyes and lowered hers down later. ''How would you know that? You don't even know me...''
He smirked as his fingers lifted her chin once more. ''And, Princess, that is where you are wrong....'' Her eyes opened up widely.
''Plagg, claws in.''