Work Text:
buzzzz...buzzzzzzz...buzzzz….
“Pollen…” Chloé yawned, her eyes still closed. She was resting on her bed. It was probably like one in the morning. And until now, she was sleeping. Sleeping really well, even. “Control your buzziling a little…”
buzz….buzzzz…buzz…buzzz….
“Pollen.” Chloé called her kwami again, raising her voice more this time, lifting a bit of her sleeping mask and taking a peek. Yawning again, she turned her head left, and then right on her pillow, annoyed. “How can your queen have a beauty sleep like this?”
What was happening to Pollen tonight? Frankly, she normally stopped when Chloé called her.
buzz…buzz…
“Pollen!” Chloé shouted, taking her sleeping mask out of her face and throwing to the bed, clapping her hand once to turn the light of the bedroom on. She got out of bed and went to the tiny beehive placed on her side table. Pollen was still shaking while sleeping in her hexagonal enclosure, and Chloé just sighed, pulling Pollen’s tiny feet to wake her up.
“What’s the matter, my honeybee?” Chloé asked. Pollen woke up agitated, circling around Chloé’s head. She could barely listen to Chloé. “Oh, no! Calm down, Pollen! Buzz it off!”
The kwami levitated close to Chloé’s cupped hands, and then sat on it as she stared at her holder with a very apologetic look that made Chloé more awake.
“I’m sorry, my queen. I didn’t mean to bother you in your sleep” Pollen apologizes, still a little frantic.
“I’m well-aware you wouldn’t want that. ” Chloé murmured. “Were you having a nightmare?”
Pollen nods.
“Come sleep with me. My pillow has plenty of space, and it’s very comfortable, I assure you that.”
“Is it okay? I don’t want to disturb your sleep any longer.”
“Neither of us are going to rest well if you go back to sleep like this anyway, Pollen. It’s ridiculous thinking otherwise. You’re safer with me.” Chloé assured, then added: “I thought you knew that already.”
Chloé went back to bed, this time carefully placing her loyal companion at her side as she lays. Pollen snuggled on the locks of Chloé’s loose hair.
“What were you dreaming about anyway?” Chloé asked, curious.
“Oh.” Pollen sighed. “It started very nicely. I was with all of the other kwamis, and we were having honeycomb candy for brunch.”
“Your favorite's,” Chloé recalled.
“Yes. It was a delicious meal indeed, my queen. We all were talking, and having a nice time connecting with each other. Then, we realized we didn’t know where our miraculous holders were anymore. But it was a bright, stunning day. The bees were buzzing, as we always do. The birds were singing, and the trees were dancing with the breeze. We weren’t concerned, at first, and we thought it wouldn’t be so bad having some kwami quality time for ourselves. Suddenly, we saw a beautiful little girl running, and she was trying to catch a butterfly. She resembled you a lot, and she was giggling and having fun, and couldn’t even see us. ”
Pollen stopped, sighing deeply.
“Well? Keep talking.” Chloé gave Pollen a comforting pat, so she knew Chloé was interested.
“Then, the dream became a nightmare. The little girl was so distracted, she didn’t even notice she was approaching a precipice. All of us got really scared, because we didn’t know what to do to make her stop. As an attempt to try and save her life, I… I may have stung her.” admitted Pollen, with a shaking voice. “She was froze on the edge of the precipice. And you are well-informed by now that when kwamis use their powers without a holder… the consequences are disastrous.”
“Oh, Pollen.” Chloé gasps, terrified. “I can see why you were having trouble in your sleep.”
Pollen sniffed.
“She never got herself unfrozen. It was horrifying. She became a teen, and then an adult, and then an elder. And she was there, unable to do anything, but very much alive and aware. At the top of that hill, looking down at the precipice, and…and…” Pollen lost her voice, putting her tiny hands in her face, and Chloé could bet Pollen was grieving, even though it wasn't real.
“This is horrible. So, so horrible.” Chloé said, in shock. “Are all kwami’s nightmares terrible like this?”
“I’m afraid they are, my queen.”
“Honeybee, I had no ideia.” she said, trying not to show how sad it made her feel. “Have you ever stung someone with Venom before?”
Pollen nodded.
“Indeed, I have.” Pollen sighed. “I’m as old as the universe itself. It would be difficult to be here this long without making any mistakes, or having no regrets” Pollen confessed, shaking slightly, like she would start crying at any minute.
“And… When you did it, was it like in the dream?” Chloé asked.
“Venom without a holder does not make one’s self frozen forever. At least, it never did. It’s hard to say what could happen after they get unfrozen, as every kwami’s powers are quite unpredictable. At best, It could paralyze one’s toe forever. But at worst, It could paralyze one’s heart, or even their brain. It could simply…” Pollen stopped, scared.
Chloé put her hands on her face, horrified. Pollen didn’t need to finish the sentence. The phrase filled the air with its implications on its own.
It could simply kill them. And maybe it could even affect everyone close to the impact, Chloé realized.
“I’m your obedient servant. Always at your orders, my queen.” Pollen guaranteed, getting up from the pillow and bowing gently. “And I’m such a thing because I have to be. My powers cannot be used without moderation. It's not like Plagg’s, or Trixx's: Venom requires a living target, which can be scary to deal with. But I have a duty, and I’ll not run nor hide from it. That's the reason It’s so important to me that my holder can put their full trust in my abilities and my loyalty. It’s essential, truly.”
Pollen looked at Chloé, anxious about her reaction. It was clear how her kwami was afraid she would run away. But the thing is, Chloé was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a coward.
Chloé just smiled softly, getting up as well.
“Pollen, I trust you with my life, and I always will. You’ve been nothing but an honorable and helpful companion. I should let you know I don’t run or hide from my responsibilities either.” Chloé picked her kwami up and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. “You can count on me forever. A queen must always protect her subjects, isn’t that right?”
Pollen agreed, smiling.
“Good. I’m glad we’re past that now.”
By that time, it was already two in the morning, and both of them were very awake.
“Is there anything you do to calm yourself down from a nightmare like this?” Chloé asked, frustrated.
“Oh, there is. But I’m afraid you’re not going to like it.” Pollen said, shyly. “I miss talking to Sass. I always felt a little more appease whenever he advised me to look for peace within. He is very good at comforting us since the beginning of time itself! It’s such a shame he’s on the other part of the town now, really.”
Fuck.
Chloé huffed. Of course it would be Sass.
“Really, Pollen? Of all of the kwamis in that stupid box, you have to make me go to that snake guy’s boat?”
“No, my queen! I know you and Viperion don't get along! I wasn’t trying to…”
“We are going.” Chloé declared. “If you need inner peace, I’ll do it for you.”
“I’d never ask you to do that after what happened yesterday between you two!”
“ Don’t talk about yesterday, Pollen. Let’s hope Luka’s sleeping deeply, and you and Sass can talk in peace. I really hope we can avoid that awkward conversation for at least a week or two”
Being royalty requires sacrifices, I guess.
“No one in their right mind would be up so late.” Chloé said to herself, putting on her yellow coat, and hoping for the best.
As soon as she dressed appropriately and tied her hair up in a ponytail, Chloé turned to her kwami. “Pollen, buzz on!”
Making her way out of the window as Honeycomb, Chloé snorted thinking at the reaction Luka would have at seeing her, if he was awake. She could not believe she was doing that for Pollen. She felt a chilling sensation, like she was about to rob a bank, or go out in public using off-brand heels – both very similar crimes.
“Well, at least we know that I’m a good person now” Chloé said to herself, as she ran from building to building, and took enough stamina to set flight. “Good people are always making themselves fucking miserable for the ones they care about, right?”
It wasn’t that Viperion and her didn’t get along. The root of their problems was that they were not very good at fighting together as teammates. He was always very polite to her, of course, but Chloé knew that dude got frustrated whenever she was too unpredictable on the battlefield.
Chloé wasn’t very fond of him either. She hated obeying orders, it was one of her flaws as a superhero, and half of Viperion’s powers were just telling them about how things should be approached. Just like Chat Noir, she could be a little bit too impulsive at times. So yeah, it was hard to work together sometimes.
Ladybug seemed to appreciate her skills, though. And Marinette already had noticed how Chloé could be a brat when Viperion was doing his job. No superhero was like the other, and Ladybug already realized that it was better that they all had different types of approaches to danger, even if sometimes these approaches could conflict. Chloé didn’t like that he knew better, because it always caught her off guard and made her feel incompetent.
Yesterday was different, though.
They had one of those miserable love akumas making everyone fall in love with each other, and Luka told them in the aftermath of the fight that he got caught by one of the love arrows at their first time fighting this villain. They didn’t know it, obviously. He told them it was really bad, because it didn’t matter how many times he went back, he was still under the influence of that first arrow, and still being under the influence of the akumatized villain after he rewinded time had never happened before. Ladybug got really worried when he mentioned this. It meant his powers were kind of useless, but no one knew that when they were fighting, as he reseted time and time again.
Chloé wasn’t a genius. She just started getting annoyed by how overprotective towards her he became all of the sudden during the fight. He barely was letting her throw punches, and if it wasn’t for her getting mad at his love-dovey strange behavior, refusing to follow his directions, assuming he got caught by an arrow, and stinging him to actually avoid his attempts at protecting her, they would be stuck with this villain forever. Ladybug got really mad at Chloe for paralyzing one of her fellow teammates at the time, but after Luka explained what happened, she had to give it to Chloé: it was the best solution not letting him use his powers.
There was also… something else that happened. Uh. No. Let’s hope he doesn’t bring that up. No, actually, even better, let's hope he's sleeping, and never finds out she is about to enter his home.
Chloé landed on a street light, looking at the boat, and to her displeasure, he was sitting on a chair on the deck, playing his guitar and humming a song. Very much awake.
Great, she thought, bitter. Lucky me.
Sass was sitting on Luka's shoulder, with eyes closed in meditation. They both looked so peaceful together. It was so rare to see Viperion without his powers. When they talked, they usually were in a rush to save Paris, and honestly quite done with each other's presence by that time. He was handsome, obviously. Chloé wasn't blind. She's always been painfully aware of how cute he was, with his beautiful eyes, weird outfits, black painted nails and rockstar-wannabe vibe. Being that attractive made it difficult for her not to sigh a little when thinking about him sometimes. She was a girl like any other when it came to cute guys.
Chloé assumed that was the reason she could not wipe the memory of yesterday away, not even if she tried. And oh, she tried .
In this life, they were meant to be terrible partners, or as he would say it, ‘out of sync’ forever.
It was a shame, for sure. A waste of both opportunity and skills.
She snorted, then jumped a few meters in front of him to reveal herself. He was caught by surprise.
“Honeycomb?” Luka stopped playing the guitar, looking at his teammate, worried. “Are you here to see me? Is there something wrong?”
“Pollen, buzz off” she said, interrupting his questioning. She detransformed and adjusted her ponytail. “I’m not here to see you .”
“Then, what are you…”
“My kwami.” she explained quickly, picking a honeycomb candy out of her coat and giving it to Pollen. “She needed to see yours.”
“I had a nightmare,” Pollen explained, chewing the candy.
“I sssee.” Sass said, getting off of Luka’s shoulder. He made his way to his fellow kwami, and both of them flew away to the other side of the boat, leaving their holders just staring at each other.
She crossed her arms, annoyed. Luka was still holding his guitar, looking at her. It was so obvious he didn’t know what to do with his hands. It was so awkward.
Aren’t we lucky?
“You can sit on the chair beside me, if you’d like.” Luka offered, calm as always.
She sighed. Chloé couldn’t stand up looking at him with a frown forever. “I hope this doesn’t take long.” Chloé snarked, then sat, crossing her legs.
“It’s really nice of you to bring your kwami all the way here to vent this late at night.” Luka says. “Everyone comes here to do this, but usually to me”
“Yeah, I’m not everyone. I didn’t come here to vent to you. I’m perfectly fine and emotionally stable at all times.”
“I can see that.”
She couldn't tell if he was being ironic or genuine.
Either option made her angry, so it didn't matter anyway.
His fingers ran through the strings of his guitar. He was trying to compose a melody, she realized.
“The akuma yesterday was… something else” Luka said, and he was discreetly looking at her.
She frowned once again. Maybe she could frown forever.
Ugh… here we go.
“We really don’t need to talk about it, you know” she guaranteed.
“Shouldn’t we?”
“It was just that stupid arrow, Luka.”
“It made our jobs harder,” he admitted. “I’m sorry”
“You already apologize for that. It was irritating that you were trying to protect me midfight, of course. But it wasn’t your fault. Sometimes we get caught, and that’s why we all work in the same team.”
“If it wasn’t for your stubbornness, we would be stuck in that fight, looping again and again, for I don’t know how long.”
“Oh, please. Even if it wasn’t for me, sooner or later you’d forget to go back in time, or some of our teammates would’ve realized you were kissing my ass too much.”
Luka stopped playing the guitar when he heard that, and turned to look at her. She regretted her choice of words immediately.
“Should we talk about the kiss, then?”
Fuck . Her jaw dropped. For a second there, she almost believed he wouldn't address the elephant in the room. On the boat’s deck. In her mind.
“How about we not ”
“I’m just saying I remember it.” he acknowledges quietly. “Even after Ladybug fixed everything, I remember it.”
She panted painfully, this time looking at her hands.
“I know you do.” she says. “I do too.”
What really happened during that battle was that Chloé needed to get close to him, so she could sting him. She was already seeing he was acting weird, smiling so much in her direction, sometimes taking her by her hand so she wouldn’t run to punch the villain, and actually putting himself in danger to defend her. Viperion was not like that at all. He usually was careful, and mindful. And he would definitely not put himself in danger for her, who was such a brat, of all their teammates. So she thought - and rightfully so - that he was hit by an arrow and they simply missed it, or more accurately, as they’d found out later, forgot it.
His powers were too easy to activate, so she needed to get close to him without raising suspicion that would make Luka try to rewind. She knew the more effective way of doing that was by saying what he wanted to hear. So she pretended to also get hit and ran towards him saying sweet nothings, lovingly. It made her want to vomit, obviously, but it was her duty as a hero, or whatever.
Luka remembers the way the arrow made him feel about Chloé. The heart pounding, the mixed melodies in his mind, her beautiful tied up hair flowing as she ran in his direction. The world was brighter, and more beautiful. And he couldn’t explain but he thought it was all because of her. He knew he should’ve gone back in time to try and stop the arrow from also getting her, but he couldn’t do it. He was in love, and as far as he knew, she was also in love. So he didn’t care about that fight anymore, or the magic, or the others at all. His senses were clouded, and the only thing that mattered was that she wanted to be with him all of the sudden, and that was good enough. She ran towards him like she wanted to kiss him, so he pulled her close by her waist and did exactly that. Which was surprising to her, of course, because she was pretending.
They also had an audience watching. Chat noir whistled at them, and they made Ladybug choke, so it was very embarrassing.
It was also weird, because it was really good. And it was weirder because for a second there he really thought she liked kissing him back. A few things gave him that impression: the tight grip of her soft hands on his nape, her sigh, the way she murmured longingly against his mouth to activate her powers and catch him off guard….
The way she licked her lips afterwards without realizing it. He remembers it well.
He liked it too. The taste that her lipgloss left in his mouth stained him worse than that arrow ever could. He wondered if he would feel the same if they did it again. He really wondered, and that was the weirdest part of all. The fact he was still thinking about it, even though all of those feelings were washed away after Ladybug used her miraculous to restore things.
Everything was gone, but the feeling of her fucking mouth. It lingered , like notes rising in an orchestra. He could play that melody until his fingers bled.
“I’m sorry about the kiss” he says. Which it is and isn't true. He is sorry it happened like that. He wasn't sorry for wanting to do it again because of it.
“You already apologized for that too, you know” Chloé retorts, bluntly. “It was just a kiss, I knew it could happen if I got close to you when you were in that state, and I didn’t care.”
Which also wasn't a lie. The only thing she hated was how much she liked it. She had never been kissed that tenderly before, and Chloé realized that no one ever loved her as much to kiss her in that way. Was it really that surprising she was captivated by him a little at that moment, then? She thought about it so much during the night before finally being able to sleep, but could she be blamed for it? Luka tasted like peppermint, and had the warmest touch. She burned slowly while kissing him, and it was eternal while it lasted. She hated herself, and her body, and her mind for making her feel it all, making her realize she was still alive and capable of feeling raw emotion. It also made her sad that a boy had to be out of his mind to love her that much.
“I’m quite curious as to why you decided to sting me instead of activating my bracelet for Second Chance. I knew it wasn’t working on me, but you didn’t.” Luka asks, taking her back to reality.
“Would you believe me if I said it was my stubbornness?” she confessed, which made him chuckle. “I just really thought we could defeat this villain without using your stupid powers. Using Venom on you meant two things: you wouldn’t try to stop me from fighting, and you wouldn't be able to use your powers. So it was a win-win situation for me, really”
He looked fascinated by her confession, and then, they laughed about their relationship as teammates.
“Well, can I ask how you didn’t see that coming?” she questioned. “You said you went back in time a lot during that fight, so I must assume I’d have tried to do something similar multiple times before.”
“Chloé, you are very unpredictable” he says, which makes her snort.
“Well, I know that.”
“No, you don’t.” he denies, putting his guitar down.”You’re not like the others. I can almost always predict how they will react to certain things I ask or do during battle. It also rarely changes during the rewinds. But you, on the other hand” Luka breathes deeply. Oh, she didn’t know she made him that disturbed. She felt sadistic satisfaction with it. He looked kind of cute, staring at his hands like he didn’t want to think about it. “It’s like you flip a coin or something when you are fighting. It’s so weird. Almost everything stays the same during Second Chance, except for some tiny little details usually caused by me, and then suddenly you are making a completely different decision than you did last time.”
“Oh” she said, smiling like the devil would. “That’s why you don’t get along with me. I make your job way more complicated than I imagined.”
“I know it’s not exactly your fault, but… yeah, you do. Imagine how hard it is to rearrange a plan when there’s a Chloé there to consider.”
She smiled, satisfied.
“Have you…” Luka started asking, but then stopped, thinking if it was really that necessary to know. Maybe it wasn't, but he really wanted to ask anyway. “...Have you thought about it?”
She bit her lips.
“The kiss, you mean?” Chloé asked, like she was stupid.
“Well yes, the kiss.”
She laughed nervously.
“I mean, it wasn’t bad, right.” Chloé said, her cheeks reddening as she remembers it in her head. “You could use more pressure when touching my waist, for sure. But beyond that I…”
“Am I hearing this correctly? Are you giving me advice on how to kiss you?”
“... I guess?”
“It was absolutely not what I was asking, Chloé.” Luka said, but he looked a little amused by that. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Well, you should have asked that instead, really. It's constructive criticism, I learned this term a few weeks ago.”
He opened his mouth, completely baffled.
“ Oh ? So you should know you could use your tongue a bit more too.” he answered back, with a smile on his face.
At least she had the decency to be offended by it.
“I… I wasn’t trying to kiss you back, you know?” she responded, defensive. “You were out of your senses! I wouldn’t try to use you like that…”
“I’m pretty sure I felt your tongue in my mouth, though.”
“Because you put it in mine first! I was just trying to gain time!”
He shrugged, and picked his guitar up again.
Oh, absolutely not. She could not let him out like that.
“You think you’re so slick, yeah? Okay. Let’s try again, then.” she said, in a challenging way, and way too mad at his nonchalant behavior about her kissing. She takes his guitar from him, and puts it down again.
“You mean, the kiss?” Luka blinks, surprised, to say the least.
“Well yes, the kiss!” Chloé confirmed, impatient. “Let’s do it again! For real this time.”
He was looking at her with such an indecipherable expression that it made Chloé feel yet more offended.
“Fuck, Luka! You asked if I thought about it, because you thought about it, right?” Chloé said, convinced.
“...Have you?” he comes back to his question, phlegmatic as always.
She bites her lips.
“Uh, whatever. Maybe I have.” she answered, defeated. “Maybe It was nice, until you ruined it just now.”
“Did I?” he asked, his voice smoothing with each question.
“Yes, you did” Chloé put her hands on her face. “You know what? Forget it . What a stupid request I just made. We aren’t even attracted to each other.”
“Aren’t we?” He leaned closer. Chloé felt a chill. “I cannot speak for you, Chloé, but I’m attracted to you, for sure. Always quite been, to be honest.”
Chloé choked with air. She could not believe that.
“What? You were just now complaining of how unpredictable and stubborn I can be.”
“It doesn’t make you less attractive, I’m afraid.” he jokes, shrugging. She was absolutely stunned. “As Viperion, you could be a pain in my ass, I'll be the first one to admit it. But I couldn't help but wonder if I'd appreciate your traits in a casual set.”
What the fuck.
“Eh… how am I going at it?” she asked, like she was an idiot.
His smile widened, like he was one too.
“Not bad. Your heart sounds like a baby bird would, Chloé. It chirps. It is as if it’s learning to sing as you’re simultaneously learning to hear it. It’s so nice.” Luka acknowledges, sweet as he always was. “I barely had the chance to hear and appreciate it, because we are always busy fighting together or complaining about one another. But I knew I would’ve enjoyed this. It’s as unique as its owner.”
“I don’t quite understand what you mean by that. I'm not cut out for poetry. ” Chloé looks at him, with a subtle smile. “But thanks, I guess. I’m very unique, I’m glad someone around here noticed. I’m quite the gem, really.”
He chuckles.
“Let me show you what I mean” he signs to her, so she could give his guitar back. She does.
He plays her melody. It’s different from what he usually plays, or hears, and it's very new and fragile, but it’s worth it. It’s not naive or innocent, it was more of an intriguing sound. Like he was hearing potential itself sing, and it made him breathe deeply, and his hands anxious to touch it while he could.
“I don’t like this.” she said. “It’s unsettling, worthless.”
“It’s a rare sound, but it doesn’t make it worthless, Chloé.” Luka responds, touching her hand. She stared at his fingers around hers. She wished it didn’t make her feel so different. “I think it’s very precious and you should polish and cherish it.” Chloé squeezes his hand, he does the same. “It’s temporary and it’ll transform, and I’m sure you’ll miss it when it’s changed. I’m damn sure I will.”
Chloé flashed him a smile.
“You do know how to flatter a girl, huh. ” she says, feeling her lips a bit dry.
They stared at each other. She didn’t want to pull away from his warming touch, and Chloé didn’t realize how close they suddenly were. Their knees were brushing, her shoulder was touching the side of his arm. His eyes could not be more clear with his intentions. She was absolutely infatuated by the moment as well.
No love arrow at sight. This was them, wholeheartedly. He leaned closer, she bit her lips in expectation, feeling his breath against her skin.
“Let’s do this again, then” she murmured, his hand was on her neck now. She felt his finger lifting her chin lightly.
“And we’re going to do this the right way this time,” Luka murmured.
“So right” she agreed, and he gently pulled her by the neck.
When Luka kisses, he kisses without any rush. His lips are pressing gently against her at first, then Chloé allows him in, and their tongues dance slowly, and sensually. His mouth is familiar now, as it’s his scent and the tight grip on her waist when he pulled her closer. She moans when he licks her lipgloss off her lips and captures her mouth again. He asks under his breath for her to sit on his lap, which surprised Chloé, because she was thinking the same thing since their lips touched.
We do have some kind of sync, then.
Luka drags his mouth to her neck, and the lipgloss leaves a track on her skin. She feels his mouth is sticky because of it. Chloé likes it. She sits on his lap, and Luka takes the opportunity to bite her. Gently at first, but then he does it again, a little harder this time. He tightens his arms around her, so they could press against each other, feeling their skins burn through their clothes as their breath fastens. She raised her hands to his face, and kissed him a bit more urgently now, because Luka was not supposed to be the only one calling the shots. Chloé was not as patient as him, and even less soft. She bites his chin, and sucks his lower lip. She can feel what this is doing to him underneath her, and can’t help but grin while moving on his lap.
The dawn made making out on the boat’s deck a little less frightening than It could be. The breeze was nice, and all of Paris was sleeping around them. His fingers trace her hair, then arms and waist, then her hips, and they finally settle at her tights, and Luka grips them, full hand. She starts to slide his jacket off of him, and Luka’s looking at her, curious, as if he’s pondering.
“What?” she whispered, stopping at the spot.
“Are things going to get complicated?” he asked back, taking a lock of her blonde hair and putting it behind her ear.
“Were they ever simple, to begin with?”
Luka chuckles.
“Good point.” he caressed her skin, but still seemed to reflect on the matter. “But if we actually keep going, it might be a different kind of complication, wouldn’t it?”
Chloé brings her hands to his cheeks.
“Things don’t need to be anything, Luka” she says. “I’m down for whatever you want right now. I mean it.”
“One nighters are not my style” Luka explained. “Especially not with my teammate.”
“So, you’d rather not go any further?”
Luka pulled her by the chin again, and gave her a tender kiss.
“That’s not it, Chloé. I’d love that.” he says. “But I also want to get to know you better afterwards.”
She was caught by surprise.
“What does that mean?” Chloé had to ask.
“A date.” he replies. “I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think you wanted it, too”
She smiled.
“You’re just too good at reading people.”
“I’m glad we have that in common already” he says, opening a smile too. Chloé pulled him and kissed the corner of his lips. Maybe she wanted him to keep looking at her with this gorgeous lustful face. Maybe they weren’t so different afterall, and maybe she could…
“Oh, my. Look what the cat dragged in.”
This voice. They look up at the same time. Chat Noir is looking back at them from the street light, humorously. Chloé got out of Luka’s lap quickly, and Luka ran his hands to his hair, tidying it. She picked the guitar up and passed it to him, no questions asked, and Luka felt so thankful for having something to hide his lap.
“What the hell, Feline?!” Chloé shouts. “Besides being annoying, are you also a purrvert?”
“We hate to break the lovely moment between such good teammates, but we have an akuma attack” Ladybug suddenly jumped to the streetlight as well, her arms crossed, smiling like the know-it-all she was.
“This late and we are already back at fighting?” Luka asked.
“Evil doesn’t sleep” Chat Noir responded, playing with his metal tool. “Neither can we, apparently.”
“Ah, just kill me already,” Chloé complained, a little agitated still. “Pollen! Time’s up! Let’s go!”
“Sass!” Luka called, breathless.
“Take all the time you two need to cool off” Ladybug laughed. She was not worried. They’ve been doing this for at least 6 years by now. It was just another day. “I didn’t know the love arrow was still affecting you, Luka.”
Luka sighed at the tease.
“Let me be” he says, with a discreet smile.
“Yes, Ladybug, let his Bee.” Chat Noir said, super satisfied with himself. “I knew there was a reason that they kept bitching and moaning about each other to us.” Chat Noir makes a heart with his hands, as his tail wiggles. “It was love!”
Chloé was about to pun-insult Adrien's whole family tree, which wasn't very big for starters, But Pollen finally appeared.
“Are you feeling better now?” Chloé asked. Her kwami nodded.
“Much better. Thank you, my queen”
“I've seen you two have worked out your complicated feelings towards each other, Luka” Sass says, calmly and satisfied.
“We’ll see about that,” Luka said, sighing. Time of truth. Setting their differences out of the battlefield was one thing. “Sass, scales slither!”
“Pollen, buzz on!” Chloé followed.
They both looked at each other, and after an awkwardly long stare, she says:
“You’re not going to stop me from fighting, right?”
“I'd hate to end with your fun, Honeycomb.” he answered. “I'd also hate to be stung again, for sure.”
“Glad to know you’re a fast-learner, Snake Face.” she said, smiling maliciously. “Such a good quality.”
They were still messy when fighting together, but it was way better now. Making out didn't solve their whole problem with teamwork synchrony, unfortunately. But it was a good start. Ladybug notices that at least they didn't leave the battlefield as soon as the fight was over, looking frustrated, or anxious, or angry. They smiled at each other when their job was finished. Understanding each other's perspective made this more tolerable for them, and now Ladybug was pulling her cat by his tail to leave them be. Maybe until the end of the night they would solve all of their remaining problems, so Ladybug better let them get it started already.