Chapter Text
“Ugh, I can’t wait to go home.” Ladybug rolled her neck, taking an extra minute to stretch.
Chat’s ear twitches. “What’s wrong, My Lady?”
“With these late night patrols, I haven’t gotten much sleep lately and it’s giving me a headache.”
“Is it that bad?”
Ladybug spared a glance at her partner, noting the concern that clouded his gaze. It wasn’t that bad, not enough to worry him like this. “Don’t fret, Kitty. It’ll go away when I wake up.” She smiled.
When his shoulders relaxed, she knew that it relieved him. But she wasn’t sure if that was for the best because not a moment later, the soft quirk of his lips grew into a mischievous grin. One that she is far more accustomed to than she wished.
“Hey Bugaboo, are you a migraine?”
“Oh no…”
“Because I try to get over you, but you’re always on my mind.”
Ladybug pinched the bridge of her nose. “Maybe we should call it a night.”
“Aww come on, I thought that one was good!”
“In your dreams.”
“Well you’re certainly my dream girl.”
She groaned. Each comment was going to be worse than the last, that much was clear. Ladybug was not feeling well enough to be dealing with this. “Why do you even like using cheesy lines like that? I doubt any girl would fall for it.”
Chat gaped at her comment, a hand over his chest in mock offense. “Ladybug!” He said, scandalized. “I’m hurt--I’ll have you know that my cheesy lines are extremely romantic. I’m not kitten around.”
“Mhm…I doubt that.”
“What, are you jealous that someone has eyes on your partner? You know that I’ll always be loyal to you.”
“Okay, okay, I think it’s definitely time to go home.”
Chat cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t hear an objection,” he sang.
Ladybug tried not to roll her eyes, but she could see the way his face brightened with a glimmer of hope. “I don’t have to object, I have feelings for someone else.”
“What? Since when?”
The superhero pulled out her yo-yo, readying herself to swing away. “Longer than I’ve had my miraculous.”
“That long? What? Who is it? Who stole My Lady’s heart?”
The girl could only offer a cheeky smile as she swung the yo-yo into the distance. “See you tomorrow. I’ll tell you our next meeting spot later”
Before he had another chance, Ladybug was already flying through the air. She did feel a little bad leaving him without an answer, but she figured it was already late. Not to mention Chat would be eager to learn any and all details about her civilian life and that was no good.
Quickly dropping her transformation, Marinette slipped into her room. There was a cookie waiting on her desk and she slipped it to Tikki without another thought.
“I’m exhausted,” the girl collapsed on her bed. “And I still have to finish my presentation for class tomorrow.”
“What are you going to do?” Tikki frowned.
“It’s already midnight, but if I can finish this quickly, I might get enough sleep to not be a zombie tomorrow.”
As it is, Marinette is a clutz, but if you combine that with sleep deprivation, it always turns into a big disaster. And she didn’t want to be any more uncoordinated than she strictly was already. Not to mention the fact that she’s going to have to present this assignment with Adrien and how embarrassing would it be if she made a fool of herself right then!
Curse Hawkmoth and his stupid evil plan. Would it kill him to take a break? Does he realize that one of the two heroes trying to stop him is a highschool student? He might be a villain, but surely he knows what counts as being a decent human.
Well then again, Hawkmoth has proved that he was hardly a decent human plenty enough.
Stupid evil guy. Stupid evil plans.
Marinette just wanted to sleep.
As she finished the last of the powerpoint slides, Marinette dully thought about Chat Noir. She wondered if he ever experienced problems like these?
Surely he’s never objected to their late night escapades, so she’s always assumed he’s a night owl--er--cat. But who’s to say he’s not as busy as she is?
“I’m sure he’s got a lot of work on his plate as well, Marinette.” Tikki yawned, taking residence on a small cushion that sat right next to her computer. “It might help if you schedule your day, though.”
Oops. She must’ve said that last one out loud.
Her typing slowed. “I know, I know, but it’s really hard to plan when there are random attacks during the day.”
“I understand, but it couldn’t hurt to try to finish all your assignments right afterschool.”
“You’re right.” Marinette nodded. “Do you have any ide--oh. You fell asleep.”
The girl gave a small smile and gently moved the kwami to her bed, taking extra care to tuck the blankets around her form.
She’ll have to finish this as fast as possible.
The bell rang loudly, causing Marinette to flinch at the sound. Without any luck, the headache remained and only worsened as the day wore on.
“Thank you both, this was a well done report.” Miss Bustier clapped. “And since that is the last presentation, you are now all excused for lunch.”
The classroom quickly drained of students in no time, their voices carried along with them. Marinette wasn’t sure if she wanted to bother going to the cafeteria when it was only going to bother her head more.
This dumb report took a lot more time than she thought it would and she barely caught a wink.
Marinette dragged her feet to her seat to grab her bag, shutting her eyes for a moment of temporary relief. It didn’t last long.
A voice came from her right. “Are you tired?” It asked.
Her eyebrows furrowed and she felt a flash of annoyance. Marinette could smell that pick-up line from a mile away. “Yeah, from running around in your thoughts all day.”
It was a common go-to for Chat whenever the situation fit. Fight that ran long, being out past dark, talking about work, the list goes on.
But then he heard a squeak and Marinette remembered that it was Chat who said that, and she was very much not with Chat right now. She’s at school.
Oh no. Ohh no. Her eyes flew wide open and she realized she was face to face with Adrien. His face was frozen in what she could only assume was shock or maybe disgust, but there was a soft pink flush that was creeping up his neck.
Marinette started waving her hands in front of her, secretly wishing the ground would swallow her whole. “Wait- that’s not- I didn’t mean to-”
She sighed. “I misspoke.”
(As if it was possible to jumble your words enough to deliver a line like that.)
“N-No worries. You’re uh...you’re feeling okay though, right?” He stammered.
“Yeah! Yeah, totally. I’m fine feel--feeling fine.” Please, someone put her out of her misery already. “Just a little overworked, but it’s nothing!”
For a moment, Marinette was convinced she was going to die right here and now from utter humiliation. But then the teacher must have had enough of the exchange and shooed them out to lunch.
“Girl, where were you?” Alya called the moment she spotted her friend.
Marinette made a face and grumbled. “I said something so stupid.”
The sun began to set on the horizon and there was a chill breeze that fluttered through her hair. She shivered against it.
“You’re quiet today, Kitty.” Ladybug took a seat next to her partner, letting her legs dangle over the edge of a building.
His expression was unreadable, like he was seeing something she couldn’t. But then he blinked and put on a lazy smile. “Am I not chatty enough for you?”
She knew that he was trying to act like himself, but she pointedly avoided groaning at his pun. He’d dance around her concern like he has in the past. Ladybug wanted to know what was off.
“Chat.” The superhero put a hand on his shoulder.
“What can I say? Cat’s got my tongue.” He tried again.
When Ladybug’s gaze refused to soften, he let out a dejected sigh. “Fine, you caught me. I’m just thinking about uh...thinking about some personal stuff.”
“Personal stuff?” She echoed.
“Yeah. It’s really nothing, but I’m just overthinking it.”
Ladybug let her eyes wander back to the sunset, taking in the warm hues of reds and yellows. The way pink clouds came crashing into the blue sky, stars beginning to dot their endless canvas. It was beautiful, she thought.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing to me.”
Chat sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, can I ask you for some advice?”
“Advice? Sure! What kind?”
“Mm, well you’re the only girl I’m friends with and uh…”
Ladybug could see his internal struggle, clenching and unclenching his fist with a string of anxiety that she was not accustomed to seeing painted on her partner. Whatever is going on, it must be occupying enough of his mind to affect his behavior.
“There’s this girl I was with and she used a pick-up on me. Or at least I think it was? I couldn’t tell and I…I guess I wanted to know if I’m taking it out of context.”
Ladybug hummed. It’s not like it's hard to make a phrase sound suggestive, she supposed, but if it was taking this level of thought, then perhaps it wasn’t a mistake.
“What did she say?”
“She wasn’t looking good when I saw her today. She was kinda pale and had some dark circles under her eyes. I thought she might be tired or sick, but we had some work to do together.”
Ladybug felt herself bristle as he began his story. It sounded oddly familiar to her, but she wrote it off as a coincidence. Besides, it’s not like she could be the only person in Paris who had an off day, right?
She tried not to show her apprehension and let him continue.
“Afterwards, I asked if she was tired and without missing a beat, she said it's from running around in my thoughts all day! I should know that it’s a cheesy romance line because I say it, but- but I’m so confused.”
Okay, maybe it’s still a coincidence, Ladybug tried to reason. This is one big coincidence that Chat as a civilian spoke to someone who wasn’t feeling great and she used a stupid line on him. That can totally happen. Completely. She was being paranoid.
“Wha..um.” Ladybug could feel her heart hammering in her chest. She knew she needed to say something, but the words didn’t want to come out. “It sounds like she was...was flirting with you.”
Chat scrunched his nose. “But she had this frustrated look on her face when she said it, and then immediately took it back. She said she misspoke and...I don’t know. I don’t know at all. I’ve been thinking about it all day. Maybe I heard her wrong?”
Crap. No, there was no mistaking any of this. Chat was describing the exact event that took place at school. Chat was describing the interaction between Marinette and Adrien. Adrien.
Wasn’t there anyone else in the room? Maybe Chat was another classmate. He could be someone standing outside the classroom.
Yeah, that could be it, Ladybug tried to reason. That could be the explanation.
But then why does it make so much more sense if Adrien was Chat Noir after all? That would explain why she thought about that alley cat when she was in the classroom. They have the same exact voice. Her eyes were closed and she was exhausted, not exactly the best state for distinguishing the different scenarios in which she’d encounter Adrien over Chat Noir.
She must have been silent for too long because before she knew it, Chat was waving a hand in front of her eyes. “Ladybug?” He called.
“Oh uh-- sorry! I was distracted by the sky.” She lied.
“Mm you’re right, the night sky is beautiful.” Chat’s voice slipped into an easy going tone. “But not as beautiful as you.”
Ladybug found herself now incredibly fascinated with the texture of her suit, trying to find something--anything--to keep her mind from the fact that Adrien was Chat Noir and Chat Noir liked Ladybug. Nope! She was keeping her mind clear right now.
But that silly cat decided to take her silence as an opening for another attempt. “You know, I started counting one star in the sky for every reason why I loved you, but then I ran out of stars.”
(Do not think about it. Do not think about it. Don’t give him a reaction at all. Just groan and continue like you always do.)
“Whatever, kitty. I’m sure you’re going to spend time thinking about that new girl instead.” Ladybug tried not to look surprised by the steady of her voice.
“It’s true though! If a star fell every time I thought of you, the sky would be empty.”
She felt her face heat and was eternally grateful for the cool wind that was now picking up. At least it could offer an excuse for the rosiness of her cheeks if Chat turned her way.
“Do you think it's a full moon? Because I feel a tidal pull toward your heavenly body.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s go back. I think that your girl might have confused you for someone else.”
Chat frowned. “I wasn’t done showering you with my affection.”
“It’s getting cold out and I don’t know about you, but my suit doesn’t come with a built-in heater so I’d like to go home soon.”
“Well in that case…” He scooted himself closer to Ladybug, ready to throw his arm over her shoulder, but the girl ducked away fast. “Hey! I just wanted to keep My Lady warm.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” This stupid boy was going to be the end of her. “I only wanted to say that maybe her weird reaction could be because she thought you were someone else. That’s it.”
“I guess that makes more sense…” He tapped a finger against his chin. “Then I shouldn’t be too worried.”
“Worried?”
That word struck a chord with her. Adrien was worried that Marinette might be flirting with him? That she used a bad line on him and he was upset by it?
“Er--not worried but confused.”
“How so?”
Suddenly Chat raised a hand. “Hold on, I know what you’re getting at.”
Ladybug felt her blood run cold. Did that mean he....did he figure it out too? This day continued to be one disaster after another. Maybe it would’ve been better to catch some sleep and half-assed that presentation. It’d save her a lot of embarrassment thus far, but then again, Adrien wouldn’t have been happy with a B.
Grr..this was proving to be so much more difficult than she anticipated. How could it be that the two superheroes would know each other in their civilian lives as well!
“What do you mean?”
Chat gave her a knowing look and smiled. “I haven’t forgotten that you said you were interested in someone last night.”
Relief flooded Ladybug’s veins and she tried not to show how concerned she was in her expression. “Right, I uh...hoped you’d let it go.”
“It isgetting cold so if we’re done, we might be heading out soon, but I do want to give you one piece of advice.”
She looked at him dubiously before he continued. “My Lady, this guy should be my rival, but I’ll let you know that if you choose to pursue him...you should go for it. A lot of guys are into the same cheesy lines we dish out and I’m sure you can imagine we’d like flowers just as much as the girls.”
Ladybug was astonished. Was...was Chat giving her all of his likes? Surely if he was saying this applies to all guys, he means it applies for him too.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Mmm, well you helped me, so I thought that we could at least be even.”
“Even…” Ladybug considered the words.
If he wanted to be even, that would mean she should make him endure the same amount of flirting, cheesy lines, and outrageous acts of affection. But she couldn’t possibly do that...could she?
“Yeah, okay. We’re even.” Ladybug finally smiled.
“Then it looks like I’m the first one to leave this evening. I’ve got some things planned in the morning that need to go purrfectly well so I better prepare tonight.”
“I’ll see you,” she waved.
Without another spare glance, the two headed off in their respective directions. Ladybug could feel her legs go weak with adrenaline, but it had nothing to do with her fantastic swings across the city.
When the girl went to sleep that evening, all she could think about was how she could now use this knowledge to get back at her alley cat for causing her so much distress this past year--as Adrien and Chat Noir.