Chapter Text
“Sometimes I look at the stars and wonder why I was chosen…” Ladybug glanced over to Chat Noir before turning her focus back to the stars. “Before I was Ladybug, I wasn’t all that extraordinary. I mean, I wasn’t a wallflower, but I wasn’t someone you’d go up to and say, ‘hey, you’d made a great superhero.’ I was kind of a klutz. I still am at times…” She sighed and rested her chin on her fist. “I guess I just wonder what set me aside from all the other amazing people out there.”
Chat furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to speak before shutting it indecisively. With a glance to the ground, he gathered his thoughts. “I don’t think you were chosen because you were already a hero. I think, maybe, we were chosen because of our potential to be something more than what we thought possible.”
Ladybug smiled softly and turned to face Chat. “Look at you being all wise, Kitty. Didn’t know you had it in you behind all those puns and corny pick-up lines.”
“Oh, Milady, there’s much more to me than you realize.” He threw in a wink and a gleaming smile after his words.
With a groan, she covered her face with her hands. “And… he’s back.”
Chat laughed briefly before pausing to reach over and pry Ladybug’s hands from her face. “No, seriously. I’ve tried asking my kwami why I was chosen before and he wouldn’t tell me much, but he told me that it wasn’t about who I was before. I think he meant that it’s about who I can become. I think the same goes for you.”
A little stunned, Ladybug forgot to pull her hands out of Chat’s grasp, instead letting him hold them in his own without realizing. When Chat glanced down and blushed a little at holding her hands still, she noticed and slowly retracted them from his hold. “Thank you Chat… I think I needed to hear that. There are days in my unmasked life when I don’t feel super. I guess today was one of those days.”
“You let that villain get to you, didn’t you? Everything he said was a load of kitty litter. You are deserving of your title. I don’t know how many other girls could swing from building to building with a yo-yo like you do but I know that there’s only one Ladybug and that’s you.” Chat emphasized his point by tapping her on the nose softly. “If I’ve learned anything in the last few years of being your partner in heroics, it’s not about how people see us, but how we see ourselves. But if it helps… I think you’re pretty amazing.” Chat glanced down, a slight pink glowing in his cheeks.
Pink slowly overtook Ladybug’s cheeks as she took in Chat’s words and expression. Over the years, Ladybug had slowly come to realize the full extent of Chat’s feelings, and without her permission, feelings had taken root in her own heart. With a decisive movement, Ladybug wrapped her arms around Chat and let her chin fall to his shoulder. “You certainly don’t give yourself enough credit, Kitty. You’re rather amazing as well. I couldn’t do half of what I do without you by my side.”
“My Lady…”
Out of Chat’s view, Ladybug bit at her lip, her mind at odds with her heart. Slowly, she untangled herself from his body but let her hands rest on his shoulders. She stared at the ground before letting out a breath. Chat stared down at her, watching in confusion as she seemed to come to some sort of decision. He was unprepared for what happened next.
Chat’s lips were just as soft as she remembered them being. He was frozen for the first 5 seconds before his brain seemed to catch up and his lips shortly followed. With a shaky hand, Chat slowly started to wind his right hand in his Lady’s hair, wishing he could know the feeling without the gloves in the way.
Time seemed to slow as Chat realized that he was getting what he’d been wishing for the last 3 years that he’d known Ladybug.
When they separated, their foreheads were still touching, but their eyes didn’t meet.
“My Lady… does this mean-“
“Yes…” She cut him off, glancing to the side where she could see the street lights glowing below. “It’s been building for a while now. I’ve just been fighting it and I guess, I’ve finally stopped fighting.”
Chat’s featured seemed glued in awe, his eyes shining with unabashed adoration. When Ladybug finally met his eyes once more, he seemed to snap out of his stupor. “My Lady… I’ve hoped this for so long, yet now, I can’t think of what to say…” He let his gaze settle on her eyes, taking in the mirrored emotion he saw there. “All I know to say is what I’ve been trying to say for 3 years. Ladybug… I love you.”
A tear spilled from her eyes as she absorbed his words, let them wash over her like the moonlight. “I love you too, you silly kitty.” She let out a small laugh as more tears leaked from her eyes.
A beeping sound broke them from their gaze as they each looked to see that they were almost out of time.
“I… need to go. I don’t want the big reveal to be when I have tears all over my face and when my eyes are red and puffy.” She laughed a little as she wiped at her face and prepared to zip off with her yo-yo.
“I’m sure you’re beautiful even with puffy eyes…” Chat stood to watch her leave. She smiled at his response before turning.
Just as she was about to swing away, she turned back once more. “Next time, I’ll leave the mask at home.” With a mischievous grin, she took off into the night, leaving Chat behind to fully understand the weight of her words.
With a dropped jaw, Chat faded away to Adrien, still standing on a roof, staring in the direction his Lady had gone. Plagg floated up to Adrien’s eye level, grumbling all the while.
“We could have been back to your room by now if you hadn’t been staring off like a love sick loon for the last 5 minutes. I sure hope you brought cheese with you, otherwise, it’s a long walk for you.”