Work Text:
Even with the bit of distance between them, Ladybug could practically feel Chat vibrating next to her. She glanced over to where he sat on their shared beam of the Eiffel Tower and observed him curiously.
Chat’s legs bounced up and down quickly, almost imperceptibly. He wrung his hands, twisting them in a captivating pattern before migrating to his ring. Ladybug watched as he twisted it once, twice, before letting his hands drop with a sigh.
“What’s bothering you, Chaton?” Ladybug asked, setting her hand gently atop his own.
“I’m proposing to my girlfriend tonight.”
Ladybug choked. “G-girlfriend?”
Chat nodded. “Yeah. She’s… she’s everything to me. I’m sorry I haven’t mentioned her before.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Chat,” Ladybug smiled softly, swallowing the feeling of surprise. She was happy for him, knowing he’d found happiness. “Especially not to me. I never told you about my boyfriend, either.”
“You’re seeing someone?” Chat smiled affectionately, peering up at her from beneath his blond hair. Blushing, Ladybug nodded. She’d been seeing Adrien for almost two years now, but that wasn’t the point.
“I am, but tonight’s not about me. I mean, wow, you’re proposing! Tell me about her. Without revealing your identity, of course.”
“Oh, be careful what you ask for. This is dangerous. We could be here for hours,” Chat laughed, but Ladybug could see the joy and love behind his humour. Her heart melted at the words. It was amazing he’d found someone he could love so much.
“Well, you’ll have to stop eventually if you actually want to get around to proposing to her. So, go on!” Ladybug smiled. Chat wiggled excitedly in his seat.
Chat giggled almost breathlessly. “I’m not really sure where to begin. She’s so wonderful! I fall in love with her again everytime I see her. It’s- and I know this is so cheesy, but don’t laugh -it’s like the sun is always shining when I’m with her. I’m never unhappy.”
“Never unhappy?” Ladybug’s brows furrowed beneath her mask, surprised. “You don’t… argue?”
Chat shook his head no. “We argue sometimes, that’s inevitable in any relationship, but getting upset with each other is exhausting. Neither of us like it. Instead, we just… talk. She’s really good at talking,” he paused here to smile, “it’s one of the things I love about her. She’ll stop whatever she’s doing and have us bake cookies and talk out the issue. It slows you down, takes you out of the heat of the moment. And it’s hard to stay mad at someone when you’re baking cookies. Problems get resolved so much easier.”
“That’s funny,” Ladybug smirked, “my boyfriend and I do that too.”
“Really?” Chat grinned at her. “That’s so cool! I mean, it works, right?”
Ladybug nodded, thinking of all of the times she’d globbed Adrien with cookie dough and laughed all of the tension away. “It definitely works. What else?”
“She’s got the most gorgeous smile,” Chat hummed contentedly. “Besides yours, My Lady, but you already know I think you’re beautiful. You are.”’
“Thank you, Chaton.”
“She’s kind too, and patient. I never feel like a bother to her. She takes the time to teach me the most… mundane things, like using the oven or the printer. I never learned how to use them growing up, but that doesn’t matter to her.”
That sounded like her relationship with Adrien too, Ladybug realized with a frown. She shooed the thought away. It was just a coincidence.
“I guess, besides that, she just makes me so… happy. I’ve told you before that I didn’t have a great home life growing up. She sees that and makes it better. When we wake up every morning, she makes sure we cuddle and drink our coffee together before work. We eat dinner together every night. She makes sure all of our decisions are made together. She shares her life with me… not just some dumb schedule.”
...That was familiar too. Eerily familiar. Could it be that…? No, she’d seen Adrien and Chat together before. It was only the one time, when they’d fought Gorizilla, but it was enough to rule him out. Chat wasn’t Adrien.
“She sounds really lovely, Chat. I’m so glad you have her in your life,” Ladybug leant over and laced her fingers with his, giving them a tight, reassuring squeeze. He smiled back at her.
“I’m really lucky to have met her. It took me awhile to see it, but I got there in the end despite my obliviousness.”
Ladybug laughed. “What, did you have spots in your eyes?”
“Ha!” Chat crowed. “Good one, My Lady. Got it in one.”
“I’m glad your vision cleared, then. Do… do you want to tell her who you are?”
Chat’s shoulders tensed beside her. She could hear him swallow the thickness in his throat.
“I want to,” he answered finally. “She should know who she’s marrying. Still, I’d like to have your permission first. You’re the Guardian, you get the final call.”
“You have it. My permission, that is,” Ladybug cleared her throat. “You can tell her.”
The corners of Chat’s mouth turned up softly as he leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek. Ladybug leaned into the gesture, sighing contentedly.
After pulling away, Chat checked the time on his baton and cringed. “Geez, it’s getting late. I should get going.”
“You should,” Ladybug chuckled softly. “Good luck!”
“Thanks, Buginette,” Chat grinned, before climbing to his feet and vaulting away. Ladybug watched him disappear over the skyline, silently hoping things would work out for him with the girl. She sounded like the perfect match for him.
It was a little odd how similar his relationship sounded to her own. For a moment Ladybug allowed herself to wonder what it would be like if Chat really were Adrien. How funny it would be that she let herself get so close to a person not once, but twice.
It was a nice dream, at least, but not one she had time to ponder. She needed to get home to make dinner with Adrien. He had mentioned having something important he wanted to discuss, too.
Little did she know what awaited her.