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Adrien couldn’t wait for his birthday. His 18th birthday specifically. Not for any blowout party or to be of legal drinking age, no, he wanted his 18th birthday to come so that his modeling contract would finally expire. When he was younger, he thought when he turned eighteen, he would renew his contract. Maybe he could get more money put directly into his savings for his future independence, but he would still continue to model for the Agreste brand. That’s what his father wanted for him. Its what made his father happy… right?
Well now at seventeen, only a few months away from that contract expiring, (2 months and 26 days to be exact) Adrien couldn’t give a damn what his father thinks or what might make his father happy, that man was incapable of ever being happy.
Being Chat noir has given Adrien way more freedom in his teenage years but that was some secret double life that only a select few got to truly know.
The world still had invasive access to the Adrien Agreste brand and over the years Adrien has lost some sense of self that he desperately wants back. He’s dying to have some freedom as Adrien in addition to the masked alter ego.
“Why don’t you get some breakfast while you’re waiting?” Plagg pipes up from Adrien’s school bag. The small magical kitten shoves as much camembert as possible in his tiny mouth after he says this, no doubt wanting to keep Adrien from skipping any meals. Plagg may be small and annoying, but Adrien knows he cares.
Adrien scans the selection of the best pastries Paris could offer to find one that catches his eye. “Excuse me Mr. Dupan could I have one of those pain au chocolaut?”
The gentle giant smiles down as he turns to grab one from the selection and hands it to Adrien gingerly, “Of course son excellent choice.”
The way the baker says ‘son’ is so alien to Adrien. It sounds soft and warm not bitter, condescending, and commanding. It doesn’t sound like how his own father says it to him.
When Tom Dupan calls Adrien ‘son’ it’s something said with endearment and care, when Gabriel Agreste says that three letter word it’s used to force Adrien to do what he’s told, ‘An Agreste son does this.’ or ‘No son of mine will be seen there, wearing that’, and ‘You are my son, and you will model for the Agreste brand.’
As soon as he turns 18 Adrien wants to stop being Gabriel Agreste’s son and wants to start being his own person, but until then he is stuck under his father’s roof where he is forced to do all that his father demands of him, including modeling.
He has another photoshoot today for some summer line of the latest plain overpriced “fashion” designs from Agreste Fashion but at least he has his whole school day before that. At least at school he gets to see his friends, and Marinette.
Marinette, that’s a designer who knows fashion. Adrien knows he would rather have a career as a circus clown than be a model for Gabriel Agreste, but being a model for Marinette Dupain-Cheng, that’s an idea he doesn’t hate. He contemplates all this while he stands in the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Absentmindedly taking small bites of his chocolate pastry, he waits to pick up his friend so they can walk to school together.
Friend no- wait- girlfriend.
Technically.
They made it official almost 2 years ago and it’s been great, Marinette is kind and beautiful, plus Adrien’s father has never approved of their relationship so Adrien has enjoyed the joy of spending a lot of time with someone he cares deeply about AND pissing off his dad. Win-win.
However, the past few months their relationship has been in some sort of limbo. They still walk to school together, go on group dates with Alya and Nino, and video call almost every day but, at least to Adrien, the relationship has grown stagnant, like they have nowhere else to go. On top of all this, Adrien has had intense resurfacing feelings for a certain spot clad hero with blue-black hair.
Sure, he and Ladybug decided years ago they should just remain friends to be professional, they are heroes of Paris after all, but no one could deny their chemistry. Besides Adrien loves Marinette, he would never want to do anything to cause her harm but… is it fair to continue to call her his girlfriend when he feels these things for another girl?
Right on cue Marinette bursts into the bakery nearly knocking her mom over along the way. “Sorry am I late?!”
Another morning of Marinette being Marinette, her bumbling rush and cute way she tuckers her hair behind her ear makes Adrien exhale a small laugh
“No- no I’m early. I wanted to get out of the house, you know?” His left hand comes up to mess with the hair on the back of his head.
“Oh good,” she lets out a sigh of relief and beams. “We should get going then” she takes his hand and leads him out of the bakery before turning and giving a quick shout goodbye to her parents as the door swishes shut with the soft ding of the bell. The same sound that his own Chat Noir bell makes when Ladybug gives it a playful flick. The two of them. Ladybug and Chat Noir running across the roof tops of Paris, sitting on the Eiffel tower higher than any civilian could reach, all those secret moments shared between the two heroes. It makes Adrien smile just thinking about them, about her.
Her bravery, her wit, how well they work together to save Paris, his lady is really something else. Patrol nights are the highlight of the week for him as he gets to spend the most uninterrupted hours with his lady. He gets to be free from the responsibilities of Adrien Agreste and he just gets to be Chaton. Her Chaton.
Him and her against the world.
Tonight, just so happens to be one of their scheduled patrol nights and the thought of that alone is enough to help him through the school day and the ridiculous photoshoot in the afternoon. Maybe he should bring coffee to patrol- every so often one of them will bring snacks or a deck of cards for quiet nights, little things like this make Adrien wish he could be Chat Noir all the time. Forever side by side with m’lady. Thinking about seeing her tonight brings a smile to his face. He thinks about the way she smiles at him, the most beautiful sight in Paris, and his cheeks warm.
It's somewhere around this point he realizes Marinette seems to have asked him a question. He stares at her blankly.
“What?”
“I said you seem distracted, is everything ok?” She tilts her head in that cute confused cat way, making her bangs fall down her face and she quickly slides her hand across her forehead and behind her ear to clear her view.
That sometimes happens to Ladybug when they are fighting super villains.
“Uh yeah I’m-“He thinks for a moment and runs his fingers through his long blonde hair hoping to stimulate a cohesive thought. Every second this morning Adrien has done nothing be think about Ladybug and wanting to spend time with her, not Marinette.
It’s not fair to Marinette at all, she deserves someone who thinks of her all the time and wants to be with her all the time.
And right now, that’s not Adrien.
So, he musters up as much courage as he can to be honest with a girl he truly cares about. First, he removes his hand from hers, as he hadn’t noticed they never let go the whole walk over.
“I’m not- I’m not doing great.”
“You seemed quiet walking to school. Is there anything you want to talk about? Anything I can do to help?”
She’s too kind, Adrien doesn’t want to break her heart but every day he feels more and more like a liar and a terrible person. His feelings for Ladybug, he sees now, never truly went away.
Now they are resurfacing so aggressively he can’t go on waiting for them to dissipate again. Not without being honest with Marinette. She deserves that much at least.
“Marinette I’m so sorry. I-“He pauses, seemingly at a loss for words. He notices her brows crinkle with concern and confusion. Ladybug always looks so cute when she’s confused-trying to figure out how to use her lucky charm-Come on you idiot!
“Marinette, I need to be honest with you.”
He can see Marinette is giving him her full attention, something he has not been giving to her for a few weeks now.
“I care about you Marinette, so much, but I have feelings for someone else. It’s not fair to you for us to go on like this when I can’t be there for you the way I should as a boyfriend so I think maybe we should just go back to being friends. And I am so so sorry”
The coward he is, he is too scared to look at her when he throws everything out into the open.
Instead, Adrien opts to look anywhere but her bluebell eyes, though there is another set of blue eyes he would love to be gazing into right now. NO ADRIEN! Stop thinking about Ladybug while you’re breaking up with Marinette.
Hours seem to pass as Adrien waits for Marinette to say or do anything.
Eventually he hears a soft exhale, his eyes snap to hers and he feels a small tear escape down his cheek. Why is he crying? He’s not the one getting broken up with.
“You know”- she smiles? Why is she smiling? “I care about you too Adrien and I think part of me knew this might be coming.”
Adrien’s stomach further twists itself into knots.
“Marinette I am so sorry. I was too scared to tell you, I don’t even really know how I feel half the time. Most of the time I feel like an idiot.”
“It’s alright Adrien, and actually I think you’re right.”
“You do?” He messily wipes any tears off of his face, the least he can do for her is not make her have to comfort him during this conversation. He’s a mess.
“Yeah” She smiles warmly, but he can see a little bit of sadness in her eyes. “You’re one of my best friends and you’re right that we should go back to just being friends right now- it’s the best way for us to be in each other’s lives.”
Adrien can’t believe it, he looks at his amazing, beautiful, understanding friend and brokenly smiles through teary eyes.
“Thank you, Marinette,” he says softly “is it too soon to ask if I can hug you?”
With no hesitation Marinette closes the short distance between them and wraps her arms around the crying boy and he returns the gesture.
“Absolutely not” she whispers to him “it’s what friends do.”
They stay like that for a moment before separating and turning to their lockers. Adrien swears he sees Marinette wipe a tear from her eyes but tries not to dwell on it.
But she suddenly turns her face back to him.
“Actually…”
Adrien’s blood runs cold for a second as he fears what she might say next.
“If you hadn’t brought this up, I was going to today at some point” she laughs a little awkwardly.
“You’re saying you were going to break up with me and I just… beat you to the punch?”
“Uh kind of? Well, I wanted to have a talk about where we were heading because for a while now it’s felt like we were only dating because it’s the way it’s always been, not as much because it’s the way we should be now, you know?”
“Yeah… wow yes that exactly it Marinette! I just care so much about you I didn’t want to hurt you and- “
“I feel the same! But there’s this other boy I-” she abruptly stops her interjection “… I shouldn’t talk about that right now, I- I’m sorry.”
“No! I’m just so relieved you don’t hate me” Adrien smiles a real genuine smile knowing that he hasn’t lost Marinette in his life.
“Adrien, I could never hate you, I’m glad were on the same page. Even if that means just being friends. Thank you for being honest with me.”
“Thank you for not hating me.”
They share a friendly smile, and she heads off to class leaving Adrien at the lockers.
“Well that could’ve gone worse that’s for sure.” The tiny nuisance of a kwami takes this opportunity to sit himself on the top shelf of Adrien’s locker.
“I’m too relieved to be annoyed with you right now Plagg” with both his hands Adrien tangles his finger in his hair and takes a deep breath. He has never broken up with someone before, Kagami broke up with him but that was years ago, and they only dated for a month or two. Him and Marinette that has been a multiyear friends-to-dating story that most of their friends and classmates had been in on.
And now they were back to friends, this is what Adrien wants but… it still hurt.
After a moment, he composes himself as much as he can and makes his own way to class.
The rest of the school day was pretty normal considering he broke up with his girlfriend that morning.
They decided together to wait until after school to tell their friends about the official break up, but to Adrien’s delight, having lunch with Marinette was not awkward at all.
He felt a new sense of ease now that everything was out in the open and he no longer felt like he was lying to her. However, once lunch ended Adrien had to face what he was truly dreading that day: the new summer line photoshoot.
As per usual, Adrien’s bodyguard is right on time outside the school to pick him up and take him to the shooting location. As Adrien walks down the stairs he feels a small movement in his bag.
“Psst did you get me any camembert? I’m starving”
“Yes Plagg, you’ll have plenty of camembert at the photoshoot.”
As Adrien gets into the car the small kitten giggles with the excitement of the promise of cheese and Adrien gives a fond smile for the lil guy.
Plagg may be annoying at times, but he is Adrien’s best friend, he’s the only thing in the universe who knows both Adrien and Chat Noir as one. Adrien loves his school friends, but they only know his Adrien self. The boy who is under his father’s thumb at the age of 17, the product of the Agreste brand, the idea of perfection who is actually anything but.
Of course, His lady knows him as Chat Noir. Chat Noir gives Adrien the freedom to be himself and be with the girl he loves.
Loves.
A weight lifted off his chest simply in the act of admitting those feelings to himself. Chat noir is in love with Ladybug, maybe part of him always has been. Even when he tried to get over her, even when he thought he did and moved on with Marinette. Ladybug and Chat noir always had a special and unique connection. Ladybug understands him like no one else in the world.
This realization only further makes Adrien look forward to the end of this damn photoshoot so he can go on patrol with his lady and feel like an actual person and not just a product.
Even on days he and Ladybug don’t have plans to patrol, Adrien dons the mask just to feel like himself, to escape from unpleasant reality of being Adrien. Of course Ladybug is the ultimate perk of the gig but as the years have gone by it’s felt less like Chat Noir was the ‘job’ and more and more as if being Adrien Agreste required all the work.
Adrien can barely breathe without someone telling him how he should be doing it differently, Chat Noir has the freedom to fly.
5 hours until patrol time, 5 hours until he gets to see Ladybug but only 4 more hours until Adrien will be free to become Chat Noir and fly across Paris’ rooftops.
All he has to do now is smile and dissociate until this damn photoshoot is over.
As the smallest act of defiance, Adrien likes to put his earbuds in and blast music any spare second he can. Anything to take him away from this awful experience, of not physically then mentally.
He used to be more friendly with the people doing his makeup and hair but now he’s grown tired of picking, prodding, and touching his hair. He likes his hair the way it is, and he does not like anyone to touch it. Well, anyone except Ladybug.
He always likes it when she ruffles his hair around the cat ears of his suit. Marinette occasionally touched his hair too, but she was always gentle and never put 10 pounds of product in it that left it sticky, crunchy and uncomfortable.
Deep down he knows these people are just doing their job so he’s never outright rude to them, but he prefers to close his eyes listen to music and forget where he is for as long as possible before they have him in front of the camera.
Today Adrien chose to listen to a sad music mix because the melancholy melodies help calm him down when the strangers touching him become too much.
Also, he did break up with his long-term girlfriend today, and while they ended on surprisingly good terms breakup songs can be a jam.
The makeup and hair treatment went as well as it always does. The clothes they put him in were as ridiculous as ever, but he managed to get through the first sessions of photos without completely wanting to run off and jump into Le Seine.
Soon it was time for a new outfit and a touchup of makeup and hair.
The music blasting in his ears shuffle through all kinds of that classic breakup music and sad songs of what might have been.
One song in particular comes on that hits a little too close to home.
After the first verse he almost reaches to skip the rest of the song but instead he forces himself to feel, take in the music, process some of these feelings that haven’t quite hit him yet.
“It's not as simple as a yes or no, it's kinda complicated
But I would leave a five-star review, ten out of ten
Recommend you to a friend if I could.”
Marinette was an amazing girlfriend, but Adrien couldn’t be a good boyfriend for her anymore. He is in love with Ladybug. It seemed like Marinette felt the same way about their relationship, it had run it’s course and there was nothing left for them to do now.
'Cause I think you're the one for someone else
And that shit's hard to say, it's okay
You feel the same, and I can tell
It's hard to leave us in the past
But perfect's just a lot to ask
We're meant to be, not made to last”
Their friends always told them they were meant to be and in the beginning that felt true, maybe it was… but as they are now, they are not meant to last.
Adrien knows a relationship with Ladybug is just as out of reach as it has always been.
Who knows, maybe he and Marinette will reconnect years in the future after he is free from his father, after hawkmoth is defeated… after Chat Noir.
But deep down he hopes in this ‘after’, he still gets to be Chat Noir and (more importantly) he is with his Ladybug, whoever she is behind the mask.
The song fades out as the next one booms with high energy hatred, a more aggressive take on breakups. He’s able to relax in the thought that Marinette doesn’t hate him at least. He’s lucky to have such a great friend and a healthy break up.
The next song that plays, however, takes his thoughts away from Marinette and to his Ladybug…
And let you know, I'll wait for you every night
If you ever wanna fall in love
If you ever wanna bet on us
If you ever wanna be my one
I'll be waiting
Even though he knows Ladybug and Chat Noir have chosen the be friends, to be partners, to save Paris, He will wait as long as it takes to get a chance to love her as much as she will allow him.
He wants nothing more than to be with his Ladybug, to love her, to be in love if that’s something she wants.
He’ll be waiting.
Suddenly a loud buzz runs by his ear, his eyes open wide as he is abruptly pulled from his daydreams and he is made painfully aware of his surroundings.
“STOP!” Adrien rips the headphones out of his ears and jerks his whole torso forward in one swift motion, almost falling out of the chair in the process.
As he slowly turns his head back to look at the hair stylist he sees the source of the buzzing sound, an electric hair trimmer. His hands tighten their grip on the small armrests of the chair.
His eyes trail down to the floor to see he is surrounded by a sickening pile of blonde hair.
Too much. That’s too much hair. His hands fly up to his head- it’s short- way too- hold on.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” He is practically screaming, breath quickening, hands running across the buzzed sides of his head willing it to be a bad dream. There’s still some length on the top, he realizes, and he is able to slow his breathing from complete panic to average panic.
One of the stylists, the one holding the hair weapon, answers him, “We’re just cutting a little bit-“
“A LITTLE BIT?” fuck being polite these people are cutting his hair, HIS HAIR, Ladybug likes to run her fingers through his hair, HE likes to fidget with his hair.
It is something he likes about himself that he is able to control, or at least he WAS.
“I- I’m sorry. Mr. Agreste said he wanted your hair shorter for the shoot.”
“Mr… “of course his father is behind this “but why didn’t you-!” His hands felt the prickles of the newly short hair on the side of his head. Adrien loved his longer hair, he tried to grow it out as much as possible before his father made him get a trim, but he never- never thought Gabriel would go this drastic without at least a conversation.
“I DON’T WANT THIS!”, hot tears escaped down his cheeks. As he looked at the stylist and the makeup artist, they stood stunned and confused, unsure of how to proceed from here. He was being very unprofessional after all. His father would be furious. His father, damn what his father thinks Gabriel didn’t even ask what Adrien wanted.
HE NEVER DOES.
Adrien was out the door of the studio before he could register if anyone protested his leave. They might have watched him storm out without trying to stop him, or they might have shouted for him to stay, neither would have made a difference.
Adrien is on a mission to inform Gabriel Agreste exactly what he thinks of this new haircut.
“Hey kid… it’s gonna be okay-“
“NOT now Plagg.” He feels bad for being short with the Kwami. Adrien knows he’s only trying to help but, in this moment, all he feels is violated and rageful.
He barely gave the car time to make a complete stop before he stepped out, slammed the door, and marched up the stairs to the front entrance. Adrien wasn’t sure if his father was lockup up in his office, in an ‘important’ meeting or what. Whatever that man was doing Adrien was going to be heard now. And as luck might have it, he didn’t have to search for the elusive man as his father met him perched high on the first flight of stairs in the ridiculous grand entry.
“Adrien! What is the meaning of this? You cannot cause a scene and leave before the photoshoot is complete!”
“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CUT MY HAIR!”
“Adrien enough with the hysterics-“
“NO! MY HAIR IS ONE DAMN THING I GET TO CONTROL IN MY LIFE! YOU DON’T GET TO TAKE THAT FROM ME.”
“ADRIEN. ENOUGH.”
The boy glared up at his father with anger in his eyes and resolve in his heart. He’s right, enough.
Adrien was done waiting for this magical 18th birthday to set him free, he won’t do another photo shoot again. He won’t let this man control his life anymore.
With as much composure as he could muster Adrien lowers his gaze and steadily climbs the stairs heading to his room. But just as he turns his back to his father, he feels a strong hand grip his right shoulder.
“We’re not done until I say we’re done Adrien.”
Almost on pure instinct, Adrien shoved his elbow backwards knocking Gabriel to the ground. The men locked eyes and Adrien could see the shock in the man’s face, but he only felt righteous anger.
“No Father” he spat “I’m done, you can go find a new puppet to abuse.”
With that Adrien turned and RAN.
He made it into his room and slammed the door behind him, no hesitation.
“Plagg CLAWS OUT!”
In a green flash the transformation was complete, and Chat Noir stood in Adrien’s stead.
“ADRIEN!”
Chat’s ears twitched at the sound of that name, coming from a man he never wanted to see again.
He grabbed the first thing he could get his claws on, which happened to be the couch, and hurled it towards the door frame with a loud bang. He super strength wedged the now vertical form of the couch in the doorway keeping that vile man from entering.
Next Chat reached under his bed for his grab bag- Adrien threw this bag together one night. He was seriously considering running away but…something stopped him in the end.
Did he not want to abandon Marinette?
Was he too much of a coward to actually leave his father?
Adrien doesn’t remember- neither of those excuses were true anymore anyway. What he does know is he is grateful to his past self for not completely giving up and placing the grab bag under his bed for a rainy day. Not knowing a hurricane like this would ever hit. He threw the bag over his shoulders and secured it across his chest with the buckle.
Without wasting another second, Chat began to smash anything within easy reach.
Trophies, photos, video games on the shelves, nothing was safe from this rage. This feral desire for destruction of the false and muted life Adrien Agreste had been living. In between the crashing, breaking, and smashing Chat might have heard Gabriel calling, pounding at the door behind the upturned couch, but he did not care.
When there was nothing left for Chat Noir to destroy, he left. Left the mess of false perfection of Adrien Agreste behind in the broken room, of a broken home, filled with broken things.
He leaped out the barred window for what might be the last time, he never looked back.
He flew in the open air over the city of Paris, feet pounding on rooftop, arms pumping at his sides, wind blowing through his… his hair..?
Chat Noir came to a halt for a moment and raked his claws along the side of his scalp only to feel the comforting strands of long blonde hair.
Wait.
Holding his hands against his long hair, Chat spins around looking for any reflective surface to confirm this development. When none are immediately visible to him, he vaults off whatever generic roof he ended up on and heads straight for the Montparnasse Tower.
As he lands at the top, he looks into the reflective glass panes. The reflection looking back at him is an unexpected but unfathomably welcome sight.
Chat Noir, in his reflection is sporting a long and shaggy mop of hair. Longer than it was before actually.
He turns his head to examine how a few stray pieces of hair fall around his face and the majority of his hair is tied back in a half up look with the new length falling just above his shoulders.
Tentatively, his clawed hands reach for the nape of his own neck and tug on the bit of length, quietly praying this isn’t all some twisted dream.
He removes his grab bag, and everything starts to catch up with him. The events of this bizarre day replay in his mind, his reflection is distorted by unshed tears. The rollercoaster of emotions he has been through in the past 7 hours is leaving this poor cat unsure if it all actually happened or not.
“Claws in” in a flash of green Adrien is pulled back into sobering reality with the alien and unpleasant sensation of the wind against the short fibers of his new unwanted ‘Adrien’ haircut.
“kid…” the small kwami’s nasily voice is dripping with sympathy and concern and it’s the cherry on top of this horrendous day. Adrien tears his eyes away from the reflection to glace at his floating friend only to fall to his knees with a sob.
He is vaguely aware of the small creature curling up on his bare neck to offer any comfort he can.
Adrien only further curled in on himself, his forehead fell to the ground in front of him and his arms crossed over his chest to try and hold himself together.
If he were transformed, he might have drawn blood with his clawed hands as he pressed his fingers into his biceps tightly.
His whole body shook with cries, muted sobs, and heavy heaves of breath.
After some time, after Adrien had run out of tears, Plagg spoke, “hey kid why don’t we go on patrol?’
Adrien let out a wet and humorless chuckle, he knows it must be bad if Plagg was suggesting such a thing. But he also knows there is nothing more he’d like to do than to transform and never go back to his civilian life again.
And besides, he has no idea where to go now anyway.
So…
“Plagg claws out!”
Immediately he notices the sweet sensation of his hair, and he gives a cold laugh.
It’s so ridiculous. All this over some silly hair…its not like it won’t grow back eventually.
But it’s not so much the hair as it is all that it stood for.
He picks up his bag and heads for the Eiffel tower. Theres a spot high up- where no civilian can reach- where he stashes the bag for now.
He takes one long look over his city and jumps.
Chat runs all around Paris, the constant wind against his cheeks, arms pumping, and lungs heaving leave his head with only one thought “GO”
With this new found desire to not think, Chat pushes himself to any limit and beyond. He runs faster, climbs higher, and falls further. The thrill of freedom, cutting ties to civilian life, losing the weight of expectations others had on him, Chat Noir is exploring the full capacity of super powers the miraculous grants him.
By the time he slows down at all, he finds himself on the roof adjacent to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. The sweet smells in the air remind him he hasn’t eaten anything since lunch and judging by the twilight sky, that was now several hours ago.
He can’t presently do anything to fix this however, since at this time of evening bakery is closed and, even if it wasn’t, it’s not like he had money to buy anything anyway.
The stray looks around for a place to rest for the night and decides on the roof of the Notre dame is private enough and thank goodness the skies look clear tonight.
It only takes a leap or two to reach the top of the left bell tower where he crouches like a cat and leans back to kick his legs over the side.
For the first time, in who knows how long, the feline takes a deep breath and looks over the dimly lit city.
“It’s quite tonight Plagg” Chat noir has taken the habit of talking to his kwami when he’s out without his Lady, sure it’s more like he’s talking to himself since Plagg can’t actually hear him but talking keeps him from getting lost in his own thoughts, and he’s had more than enough of that for one day.
“As always Paris is beautiful from up here. I know you told me the whole suit appearance thing is my ‘hearts truest desire’ or whatever but… thanks for this.” He lifts his hand once again to run his fingers through the few pieces of long fringe in front of his face with a small absentminded smile.
He’s startled by someone clearing their throat close behind him.
“Oops sorry!” her sweet voice immediately soothes his startled nerves “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you kitty I promise.”
It only takes a moment for him to get completely caught up in the sight of her.
The light breeze carries her hair in a way that only serves to make her appear more angelic in the setting sun. What a view. The glow of the Paris skyline pales in comparison to this woman standing before him.
He can tell his ears have perked up as his night just got one thousand times better.
“Of course you didn’t M’lady” each word dripping with playful sarcasm. In all the chaos of the day he can’t believe he forgot about patrol.
She gives him a little eye roll as she sits down next to him. Her proximity makes Chat forget any worries he might have had, nothing else matters when he is with her, the two of them against the world. As always.
As Chat settles into the comfort of being with Ladybug, her gloved hand reaches to grab one of the longer strands of hair in front of his nose and lift out of his face.
“This is new.” She says fondly and adorably tilting her head to the side with a lopsided smile.
When she lets go the hair falls back and hits the bridge of his nose causing him to blink. He fails in his attempt to blow the hair to the side and looks back at his lady with hearts in his eyes.
“Oh yeah?” he matches the tilt of her head with his own, “and what do you think?” There’s a hint of apprehension in his voice. He may not care what his father thinks but her opinion means the world to him.
She studies his face for a few moments with an adorable expression and then gives his hair a look over before straightening her posture and meeting his eyes once more.
He feels a moment of panic as ladybug studies him, but she speaks before he can spiral into another breakdown.
“It looks really good Chaton” Her voice is velvet, and her smile makes him melt.
He exhales through his nose and smiles like an idiot as his gaze falls to his boots kicking over the edge. He’s not sure if his blush shows from under his mask or not.
“Can I…?”
His eyes snap back to her as as she speaks again her hand hovering between them, and it only takes him a second to realize what she’s asking-Can I touch your hair?
He stares at her for just a moment longer then the joy overtakes his face as he practically screams, “YES!- I mean yes go ahead” Immediately embarrassed by his enthusiastic response, chat deflates into himself and leans away from ladybug on instinct.
Ladybug only lets out a warm chuckle and reaches to touch Chat’s new hair. Chat is immediately pulled back towards his lady as he feels her hands run through the longer stands of hair on the back of his neck.
“It really suits you Chaton. I like how you have it tied back so too much hair won’t get in your face during battles.” She takes her other hand and brushes way her own bangs to get a better look at him.
He smiles at her through half lidded eyes as he is enjoying her touches on his scalp, he even feels his chest and throat beginning to rumble with light purrs. “Thank you M’Ladybug I’ve been trying to grow it out for a really long time before…”
The events of the day flash back in his head before he shakes the unpleasant thoughts away and finishes with an incomplete truth, “but ya-know Plagg actually helped a lot. My regular hair doesn’t… doesn’t look like this.” He looks back at his boots clearing his throat to release the sudden tightness, hoping ladybug won’t look deeper into his tonal shift.
At first, she doesn’t seem to notice, only scratching his scalp all the more as she says, “Well I love it.” Her voice is filled with such adoration. She reaches toward him with her other hand, previously rested on the wall, and she turns his head to face hers as she brushes some of his long bangs out of his face cupping both sides of his face, fingers tangled in his hair.
Her bluebell eyes glow in the sunset, she holds his head with such reverence, and her smile- damn that smile- seems to heal all the hurt this kitten has been through today.
He doesn’t realize he started crying until ladybug brushes a tear away with her thumb, still keeping her hands on his head. He looks at her to say something, anything, but any words die on his tongue.
He fears if he tries to voice his adoration, he’ll only end up a sobbing mess.
Luckily- his lady always brings him luck- she speaks for him, tone just above a whisper.
“… I love you…”
His eyes go wide, and his mouth parts in disbelief. Whatever dream this was he wanted to stay here forever.
To his further astonishment Ladybug continues, “I really mean it, I love you Chat.” Her hands fall to the back of his neck, her wrists resting on the edges of his collar bones, “Something happened today, and I finally got the courage to tell you. I’ve wanted to for a long time but,” she looks away from him for the first time since she arrived only to close her eyes, give her head a resetting shake, and meet his eyes again with a genuine smile “well none of that matters anymore. I just really want you to know how I feel, I know when we were younger you always expressed your feelings to me and I’m sorry I couldn’t reciprocate them then and I’m not asking you to reciprocate them now, but I want you to know how much you mean to me Chat Noir. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you by my side and- and- I love you.”
When Adrien woke up this morning, he had no idea the emotional highs and lows he would feel today. The devastating feeling of being totally out of control of his life as Adrien to the unexpected and unparallel high of being with Ladybug and hearing her say those wonderful, wonderful words to him.
All of these feelings are simply too much to house within himself. The ocean of feelings brings a drowning sensation as he seems to be unable to express even a drop of it.
He can no longer hold back his tears as he presses his forehead to hers and cries with a broken smile.
He can feel Ladybug gently rubbing the back of his neck and combing her fingers through his hair in a way that made him feel truly safe for the first time in months.
He can hear her sweet voice offer soft comforts.
When he finally opens his eyes, he can see hers filled with love and concern, so he pulls back, her hands keep him from leaning too far.
“I’m sorry” his voice is quiet, wet, and broken as he continues to suppress his cries. “it’s been a really… hard day.”
“My kitty” She is so soft with him. “It’s okay, I promise. Can I hug you?”
He only had to give a short nod before he was melting into her as she tangled her arms around his neck and his face buried in her shoulder.
Chat’s tears soon ran dry as he focuses on holding the woman he loves and, who he now knows, loves him back.
Once he is sure he won’t breakdown into tears again, he speaks slowly. “M’lady you have no idea what it means to me to hear you say all that.”
Ladybug only holds him closer, “Well, I only wish I was able to say it sooner.” The gentle circles she rubs on his back comfort him to his core, “I’m sorry you’ve had such a hard day. I was actually thinking of you a lot today.”
His ears perk up and he pulls back to meet her eyes once more. “You… you were?”
Her small laugh is the most beautiful sound to grace his ears.
“Yes kitten” her smile brightens up the now darkened sky “I think about you all the time.”
He doesn’t stop the smile tugging at his own lips as he says, “I think about you all the time too, Ladybug. So many things make me think of you.”
They fall into a comfortable silence. Ladybug shifts to snuggle up next to Chat, their hands intertwining as Ladybug lays her head on his shoulder. The sun falls below the horizon, their breaths fall in sync.
Chat could’ve stayed like that forever. Until time ran out, their fingers decomposed, and their bones became intertwined in their eternal desire for closeness.
The comfort of his lady by his side, they fit together like puzzle pieces.
They decide to forgo patrol for the night in favor of enjoying each other’s quiet company on the roof of Notre Dame.
‘Us against the world’
‘As always’
Unfortunately, reality can only be put off for so long, in this case until well into the night hours, when the stars are bright and it’s time for ladybugs to go to bed.
It is a small comfort to him that Ladybug doesn’t seem to want to leave either, but she was always the more responsible of the two.
They stand and whisper quiet goodbyes. Ladybug brings Chat in for a hug. Her arms wrap around his neck, pulling him down slightly. Chat holds her close, unsure of what is to come once he lets go. Their frames fit into each other like puzzle pieces. The smell of her hair is home to him. Her breath on his neck is heaven. Her warmth he holds in his arms is life.
He feels her gloved hands in the long stands of his hair. The sweetest sensation.
He always knew she liked to play with his hair but tonight, having her not only confess her love of his hair but of him… that was… something. If Adrien had any doubt of his own feelings for Ladybug, those doubts were incinerated after tonight.
Ladybug offers a sincere smile with affectionate eyes as she slowly backsteps toward the edge of the roof. “Goodnight Chaton, I’ll see you for patrol tomorrow.”
“Goodnight m’lady, sweet dreams.”
With one last look she leaves.
The warmth is gone, Chat comes down from his high back to earth, and he is lost once again.
Adrien knows what waits for him once he drops his transformation. An awful haircut and nowhere to go.
When Chat ran away hours ago, he really didn’t think this thing through.
But he does know his lady loves him. His lady needs him.
And… Paris needs Chat Noir
Does Paris really need Adrien…?
After today maybe Adrien will take a hiatus, and Chat Noir can take this opportunity to focus more on getting rid of Hawkmoth for good.
Maybe then he and Ladybug can drop the masks and be together for real.