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“Ladybug! On your left!”
Kagami tightened her grip around Ladybug’s torso, her heart hammering in her chest as the motorcycle swerved at the last second, narrowly avoiding the Akuma’s blast that would have turned them to stone. Kagami remained tense as Ladybug weaved through a series of side streets, some so tight they should have been impossible to navigate. Then again, their ride was Ladybug’s Lucky Charm; there was probably some magic involved.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t seem to lose the Akuma. It appeared in their path as they turned onto a busier street, its steps shaking the ground as it chose its next victim. Ladybug swerved one more blast and skidded to a stop. Before Kagami could protest, an arm wrapped around her waist as Ladybug’s yo-yo pulled them into the air.
“Change of plans,” Ladybug said as she landed on a rooftop and shifted Kagami into her arms.
This wasn’t the first time Kagami had been carried by Ladybug, but today it was rather…thrilling. After all, it wasn’t every day you got to ride on the back of a motorcycle with an objectively smoking hot superheroine. And there was something reassuring about her, too. She smelled nice. Like bread, or cookies, or—oh.
Ladybug smelled like Marinette. Who’d been at the restaurant when the Akuma had attacked, though as far as Kagami knew she was safe. After all, Kagami had been luring the Akuma away from her when Ladybug showed up.
It had been following them ever since.
But remembering who she’d left behind made Kagami feel somewhat guilty for enjoying her jaunt through the city.
“You might as well put me down,” Kagami said. She couldn’t see the Akuma anymore, but she did notice someone else bouncing across the rooftops behind them. “Chat seems to be on his way. I assume he could use your help.”
Ladybug shook her head. “Not until I’m sure you’re safe.”
“I am safe. The Akuma isn’t chasing us anymore. And frankly, I’d rather the threat be resolved sooner rather than later. I was in the middle of something before, with my…Marinette.”
For some reason, that made Ladybug stop. Well, it made her nearly smash into a chimney, but she caught herself just in time.
“Your Marinette?” Ladybug shrieked, setting Kagami down—almost dropping her, really—and beginning to pace back and forth across the roof.
“Slip of the tongue,” Kagami said, not sure what to make of Ladybug’s strange behaviour. “She’s not mine.” Not yet. “Although, I did intend on asking her to be my girlfriend today.”
Ladybug stopped pacing, facing Kagami with wide eyes. “Really?” she whispered. “How were you planning on—no, wait! I don’t want to know. Or maybe I do? No, no, no. I shouldn’t.”
“Probably not,” Kagami agreed. Maybe superheroing didn’t leave Ladybug much time for dating, but that was no excuse for indulging her romantic fantasies in the middle of an Akuma attack. Besides, it was really none of her business.
A goofy smile overtook Ladybug’s face. “You’re perfect, you know that? I mean, I did give you the Miraculous of perfection, but at the time I had no idea…” She sighed dreamily. “Just no idea.”
Kagami raised an eyebrow, biting back some comment about how she hoped Ladybug had more ideas when it came to fighting the Akuma. Before Kagami could figure out to phrase that more constructively, Ladybug’s yo-yo rang. She jumped and fumbled to answer it, sending Kagami a shy smile in the process.
Weirdly, the smile seemed to spur Kagami’s heart rate, but that was easily explained by the Akuma-induced adrenaline still coursing through her veins. Probably.
Ladybug popped open her yo-yo. “Hello?”
“Heeeey, Buginette,” Chat said. “Any chance you’re on you’re way he—” He broke off with a yelp, and Ladybug’s expression shifted; suddenly she was all business.
“I’ll be right there.” She slammed the yo-yo shut, glancing briefly back at Kagami. “It seems I have to go, but…don’t move, okay? I’ll be back soon.”
She leaped away before Kagami had a chance to point out that she was stranded on a rooftop—there wasn’t exactly anywhere she could go.
Kagami sat in the middle of the roof, watching as magical ladybugs swept across the city. She’d tried looking for a way down, but none of her options seemed all that reliable. There was a route she could take if worst came to worst and Ladybug forgot about her, but…she could wait a little while longer.
Still, as time went on it started looking like a pretty good option—she didn’t want Marinette to think she’d stood her up, after all. Kagami had tried calling, but Marinette wasn’t answering, and the longer she waited the more uneasy Kagami felt.
“I’m here!” Ladybug shouted.
Kagami turned as Ladybug sank to a seat beside her, breathing heavily. And really, even if her behaviour earlier hadn’t been a red flag, her breathlessness alone seemed a cause for concern. In Kagami’s experience, wearing a Miraculous offered a significant boost in stamina, and it seemed odd that Ladybug would be struggling.
But Kagami had other priorities. “Would you mind taking me back to the cafe where you found me?”
“Oh, uh. I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
Kagami narrowed her eyes. “Why not?”
“Well, what if Marinette went home? Or if she decided to to go for a walk?”
“Then I’d like to confirm that for myself. She’s not answering my calls, which is…not completely out of character, but still. I would like to make sure she’s alright.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry! She’s fine. A-okay. Just peachy.”
Kagami didn’t ask how Ladybug was supposed to know that when they were at least a couple miles from the cafe—she’d given up on getting a straight answer.
“I’d still like to go back.”
“Of course! Totally.” Ladybug let out a strangled laugh. “And if she’s not there when you get back, then…well, sometimes nature calls, right?”
Kagami stared until Ladybug looked away, fidgeting relentlessly. “I suppose.”
Ladybug sighed. “Alright. I did bring you all the way out here, so…I guess it’s only fair.”
She scrambled up and reached a hand down. Kagami ignored her offer, keeping her distance from Ladybug as she stood. She no longer felt comfortable the way she had on the way here—Ladybug’s attempts to avoid taking her back to Marinette didn’t sit well.
Of course, she had to let Ladybug pick her up in order to actually take her back, but Kagami remained rigid as she wrapped her arms around Ladybug’s neck. Ladybug also seemed less certain than she had before, remaining uncharacteristically silent. Her arms shook a little as they began their journey back.
When Ladybug finally set her down in an alley beside the cafe, Kagami sighed in relief.
“Thank you,” she said curtly. The words were but a social obligation, necessary for Kagami to escape.
“Of course! My pleasure.” Ladybug’s waved her hands frantically. “I mean, not pleasure. I’m not saying I enjoyed it or anything. Heh.”
And Kagami had thought things couldn’t get any weirder.
“Um, alright. I guess I’ll—”
“Wait! No!”
Ladybug grabbed Kagami by the arm and pulled her closer. Too close, really. Kagami hadn’t known Ladybug had freckles. Just like Marinette.
Kagami pulled away, and Ladybug’s mouth dropped open, her eyes filling with horror.
“Sorry! Sorry! I just didn’t mean it like that!”
“Okay, that’s fine.” Kagami would really say anything to end the conversation at this point.
“It’s not! Because I didn’t not enjoy it. In terms of giving civilians a ride it was, like, an eleven out of ten enjoyable. Would recommend to a friend. Except the only friend I have who can offer it is Chat—but that’s a little different, riding on his baton. Wait…that’s not an innuendo! Because he has a boyfriend, so that wouldn’t be cool of him. And you—you—are about to have a girlfriend. Who’s totally not me. If I also end up with a girlfriend soon then that’s totally unrelated. Just saying.”
“What? Why on Earth would it be rel—”
Oh.
There was one thing that would explain everything about this absurd afternoon. It would also explain the way Marinette had a habit of disappearing during Akuma attacks and why she seemed uncomfortable when people talked about Ladybug and why she’d looked so smug when she first showed Kagami her collection of Ryuuko merchandise…because she’d known.
Ladybug stared at Kagami, her eyes so wide that Kagami could basically dive right into them and see her brain—Marinette’s wonderfully ridiculous brain—short-circuiting. She could see the moment Ladybug decided to flee, even before she took an awkward step backwards and mumbled something about needing a bathroom.
Nature calls indeed.
Kagami facepalmed. “Ladybug, wait.”
“Nope! No way!” She took a few more steps backwards before running into a brick wall. “I’ve kept you from your date long enough, I—”
She broke off when Kagami stepped forwards and grabbed her wrists. "Marinette," she whispered. "Please don't make me wait any longer."
“Marinette? Who’s Marinette?”
“If it’s not you, then I am genuinely concerned for the fate of the city right now.”
Ladybug nibbled on her lip for a few excruciatingly long seconds before asking in a small voice, “Is it…okay if I am?”
Kagami slid her hands down from Ladybug’s wrists, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. “Well, that depends. Does Ladybug want to be my girlfriend?”
“I mean…” Ladybug glanced up shyly through her lashes as Kagami stepped closer. “I guess there’s one way to find out for sure...” Her eyes flicked down to Kagami’s lips.
The answer, as it turned out, was a resounding yes—though it took a while for Ladybug to remember she hadn’t responded when they finally broke apart. And Kagami, for her part, found that being in Ladybug’s arms while being kissed by Ladybug was absolutely a pleasure, one she very much wanted to enjoy again.
It also wasn’t the last day Kagami ended up stranded on a rooftop during a would-be date, but Marinette was always worth the wait.