Chapter Text
"Isn’t it amazing, my lady? You have a boyfriend, and I have a girlfriend, and we can talk about them with each other, like real friends do."
They were sitting on a rooftop, facing the sun setting somewhere behind the Eiffel Tower. Whole Paris was drowning in the liquid gold the sunlight was flooding it with. That was such a beautiful and peaceful view.
Ladybug looked at her Chaton with a soft smile.
She was so happy about their newfound dynamic. Gone were the days when Chat Noir used to pout and try to make her jealous by inventing his non-existent girlfriend, or when she had to be extra cautious not to let anything slip about her everyday life in order to protect her identity.
It was such a relief for both of them to be allowed to share some details of their civilian lives with each other. Chat Noir was a perfect audience. He soothed her nerves when she was too anxious about not being good enough for her boyfriend. He encouraged her to confess her feelings to Adrien. He was genuinely happy for her.
He was an amazing friend, so tender and supportive. Not a single sign of jealousy.
Ladybug pulled her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around herself.
"What about your girlfriend, Chaton? Are you really in love?"
"Yes, I am. Fallen, lost, and crazy in love," he confirmed, a beaming smile on his face.
Ladybug’s smile softened more. He was so cute when he gushed about his girlfriend, whoever that lucky girl might be. Ladybug found herself wanting to scratch him behind his cat ear, run her fingers through his golden locks, kiss his cheek, or do anything else to show him her affection. This catboy deserved all the happiness he claimed to have now and more.
"She’s amazing, you know," Chat Noir continued. "I can talk about her for hours."
Chat Noir looked somewhere over the rooftops and let out a lovestruck sigh.
"Oh Marinette…"
Ladybug jumped on her spot, as if struck.
"What?" she squeaked, turning pale. "What did you just say?"
Chat Noir flinched as he realised what had happened.
"Nothing," he said hastily.
But the word, once uttered, couldn’t be recalled.
"You can't fool me, Chaton. I clearly heard you say 'Marinette'. Is it your girlfriend's name?"
"Well… actually, it is." Chat Noir said, confused, looking down and scratching the back of his head, not noticing that Ladybug’s face went completely chalk white. "I know I wasn't supposed to say this. I might've been lost in my thoughts. But yes, I’m dating Marinette".
"Is she… is she the same girl who caused André's most recent akumatisation?" Ladybug articulated with effort because her lips suddenly refused to cooperate.
"Yes, the same Marinette you had once given the mouse miraculous to," Chat Noir confirmed with a lovesick smile, gazing at the sky above them, still oblivious to the state his confession put Ladybug in.
"It's impossible!" Ladybug blurted out without thinking.
Chat Noir looked at her, surprised by this exclamation.
"Why do you think it's impossible?" He asked with a hint of offense in his voice. "Do you find me not good enough for a girl like Marinette?"
"No, no, that's not what I meant!" Ladybug assured him hastily, and her cheeks went slightly pink. "Every girl would be lucky to get to date you. It's just… I didn’t know that you and Marinette knew each other in your civilian life."
"But it’s not like you were supposed to know this, either," Chat Noir said with an indulgent smile. "You always said that we couldn’t know anything about each other to prevent exposing our identities, didn’t you?"
"You’re right," Ladybug somehow managed to say, surprised that she still had the power of speech.
Chat Noir looked carefully at her, asking himself if she was mad at him.
"Sorry, my lady, I said too much. I might've endangered my secret identity. I'm begging you on my knees not to try to find out who Marinette's boyfriend is, unless you want to discover who I am under the mask."
"Okay," Ladybug mumbled, looking anywhere but at him.
Chat Noir sighed with relief.
"She's so wonderful, you know. I adore her," he went on, his unfocused dreamy look back in his eyes again. "The night when André was akumatized, I was outside hanging around and thinking of her, and then I saw her on her balcony, and I... I just couldn’t resist. I took her out for a little date, and we had fun together, and then we kissed, because she’s irresistible, but I regretted it immediately, because I knew I had no right to be with her while being Chat Noir, and I told her that, as much as it hurt, and she got so upset that she almost got akumatized, and the next day I went to check up on her and found her in depression. She had told me that night that she used to be in love with my civilian self, and I thought that maybe somehow I could make her fall in love with me again. I tried to comfort her, but she was so depressed that she didn't want to see anyone, but then I tried again, and that time she felt a little better and she gave me a chance, and that's how we got together."
As Chat Noir was speaking, Ladybug’s eyes grew wider and wider, her pale lips tightly pursed together.
"... and we are having a date tonight. I can’t wait to see her again. My lady, are you even listening?"
Chat Noir was looking at her worriedly.
"Yes," Ladybug mumbled, her lips barely moving.
Chat Noir stood up and stretched.
"I have to go now, my lady, I can’t make my girlfriend wait. I guess I’ll see you around!"
He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. Then he set off, leaving Ladybug totally broken, in some sort of stupor.
She still sat there, staring blankly right before her, clenching her fists, not even seeming to be aware that her partner had just left.
"It's not possible," she murmured, barely audible under her breath. "No, it can't be true. It's not possible."
Suddenly she was awoken from her daze with a start. Then she got up abruptly, as if the rooftop she was sitting on had become white-hot.
"Adrien!"