Chapter Text
A new akuma appeared in the city of Paris on a quiet night. Luckily, Ladybug and Chat Noir were around to save the day once again. The akumatized citizen hadn't put much of a fight this time, so neither of them had needed to use their special ability for a change. Once Ladybug cleansed the evil off the little butterfly, it was all over.
“I guess the job's done here, isn’t it?” Chat said, relieved. It wasn't the first time they didn’t have to use their powers, but it was not so usual.
“It’s not bad to have it easy for once. I could get used to that,” Ladybug answered, still slightly stunned but content nevertheless.
“You don’t believe that. You know you like a little bit of action.” He remarked with a naughty expression, half joking.
“Yeah, right?” Ladybug smiled. “But it does feel nice to relax from time to time. Especially after this insanity. I still haven’t recovered from the bruise the last akuma gave me.”
Ladybug thought about all the places where she was sore and the lack of sleep she had been going through the past few days. It was such a hard time when it was busy both in school and in the streets: after a tough fight, missing sleep to finish all the essays and then be on time to class in the morning to turn them in was a nightmare.
“So, wanna chat with Chat on a rooftop somewhere?” He asked in between flirty and nervous.
“As romantic as that sounds, I’m gonna have to pass this time. To be honest, I’m wrecked. I need some sleep.”
“Off you go, then.” It had been long since they last hung out, but her health came first.
“Bye-bye, Chat Noir.”
Just like that, Ladybug left with a smile. Chat watched her swinging in the air until he couldn't see her any longer. She sure looked tired by the way she was clumsily swinging with her yoyo, he thought, still looking where Ladybug had headed to. It was only then that he realized he actually needed to go in the same direction as her. After giving her some more time, for the whole secret-identity matter, he was on the move even though unable to shake the disappointment from having to go straight home after the fight. Not only were they not gonna talk then, but it had also been over two weeks since they had had the chance to just go out and catch up without having to 'purify' akumas. He missed her and not only as a romantic interest, but as a friend. That adorable lazy smile that appeared on her face while rolling her eyes whenever he made a bad cat pun, or those soft punches she’d hit him with whenever he made a bad cat pun…All of her reactions in general when he made a bad cat pun. But also the friendly teasing that he liked so much, or just that tender bright look in her eyes and the energy that it transmitted. She definitely was a special human being and being her friend was already a privilege.
All those things were filling Chat’s mind, completely lost in thought, while jumping from roof to roof until he saw something from the corner of his eye that made him snap out of it. He turned around and went back a few buildings. He stood motionless staring at the red stain he had seen when in movement, which turned out to be Ladybug. She was lying unconscious on a sloping roof. Chat Noir panicked. “Ladybug!” He jumped to where she was to get a hold of her and he shook her gently. “Ladybug, please. What’s wrong?” Chat was anxious and didn’t know what to do. What had happened to her? Then he remembered what she had said before about being exhausted. Maybe she hadn’t been sleeping properly and that was why she had passed out. Had she overdone it trying to keep up with both of her lives? He sure had struggled lately with the school work and the akumas on the streets and had even skipped some extra-curricular classes, managing to do everything else in time thanks to private tuition. What was Ladybug’s life like when she wasn't a heroine? Was it very busy? All kinds of questions crowded his mind, but right then he had to focus on how to deal with the situation at hand. The only solution he managed to come up with was to take her home. Adrien’s home. However, if she woke up, his house's location would be uncovered and very probably his identity too, considering he was famous and lived in a mansion. Nevertheless, he wasn’t gonna leave her there. Besides, she had not used her Lucky Charm, so she wouldn't change back and at least her identity would be safe. Anyway, she was the one who wanted to keep them secret from the beginning, not him.
The decision had been made, he grabbed her as gentlemanly as the situation allowed and headed towards the Agreste house.
Once they got to his bedroom, Chat laid Ladybug carefully on his double bed, he turned on his nightlight and tucked her in carefully. Then, he drew the opaque curtains, moved his chair next to the bed and sat sinking his head in his hands, still in the Chat Noir attire. He ruffled his own hair, feeling half worried, half tired. Pulling himself together, he finally looked up and the fact that he had a sleeping Ladybug in his bed started to sink in. He couldn’t help but stare at the picture in front of him with flushed cheeks, which he was able to do thanks to his night vision. She looked very peaceful with a relaxed expression, different compared to when she interacted with him. Once he had bathed in the situation, he touched her forehead with his in order to check if she was fevering, considering he could not take his gloves off. Relief finally settled in his mind, realizing she wasn’t feverish, just sleeping, and he began to feel the exhaustion take over his body as well. Given the situation, he assumed that the lady in his bed was not to wake up anytime soon, so he turned off the lamp on his nightstand and laid next to her on the side of the bed that wasn't occupied, on top of the sheets and making sure to leave space between the both of them.
Even though he liked her more than he’d like to admit, he was not nervous. Before anything else, they were friends and, throughout all the time they had spent together, they had gotten really close. Resting next to each other, whether it was on a roof or on a bed, was not only comfortable but relaxing. Never had his room felt more like a bubble where the worries of the world couldn’t reach him. Them together, plus the silence of the night and Paris sleeping…it brought him peace. Not even the moonlight could enter through the thick curtains, but his cat eyes allowed him to see. See the girl that he would've never imagined would be sleeping in his bed for one last time before closing his eyelids and letting the darkness and the comfort of the mattress drag him into a nice catnap.
Ladybug opened her eyes to see nothing but darkness. Had she gone blind? But, most importantly: where was she? Her bedroom had never been this dark...It took her a moment to recall her last memories before her present situation. She had been very weak while 'flying' with her yoyo and felt like passing out, so she decided to stop on a roof before everything went black. And it was still black right then. She sat up and felt with her hands what was around slowly to find that she was laying on a bed; she could feel the texture of woolen sheets and the cushyness of the pillow with her fingers. Of that much she was certain. Once her hands traveled a little further, one of them reached the edge of the bed but the other hand had come across an unidentified object. The texture was leather-like and smooth and, when she sank her fingers into whatever it was, it proved to be squishy. Then, she continued tracing with her hand further down and, suddenly, she felt the same leather-like texture grabbing her wrist, stopping her from advancing any more. “You know, touching my abs comes with a price. For you, it will only take a kiss.”
She recognized Chat Noir’s flirty voice. “Chat? Where are we? Don’t tell me this is…”
“Yes, this is my modest and cozy palace. More specifically, my modest and cozy bed,” Chat was laying on his side now, looking at Ladybug even if she couldn’t see him. Heat emanated from the contact of his hand still around her wrist.
“Wh-What happened?” Ladybug was both confused and surprised to be in Chat Noir’s place. Being in total darkness did not help at all with the stressful situation.
“Well, it looks like the stray cat this time wasn't me, m’lady. I found you unconscious on a roof, a sloping one. You could've fallen, so I saved your life. And because you were unconscious, I had no other choice but to bring you here. Nevertheless, as you can see, or not see actually, I concocted a very smart plan to avoid any recognition of my place of residence and, possibly, my identity. A pity, if you ask me, but you're always so worked up over keeping our real lives from each other and I respect your decision...”
Ladybug wasn’t necessarily less confused after having the situation explained to her. She had barely woken up, still feeling really weak. She wasn’t Ladybug at that moment, she was just a tired Marinette trying to comprehend what the cat was meowing. However, she sort of understood why Chat did what he had done, there weren't really many other great choices. “It’s okay, Chat, you did the right thing. Thanks. Now, I’m gonna be leaving. Goodb-” She had begun to stand up when she noticed the hand she had forgotten was grabbing her wrist pushing her back down.
“Where do you think you are going this late at night?” Chat asked, wanting to hold onto her a little bit longer.
“My parents are going to be worried if I don’t go home. They're probably really worried already.”
“Are you sure?” Chat asked, pulling her closer. “This akuma showed up pretty late, I’m sure you had already made up some excuse for your parents.”
“Oh, you’re right.” She answered, ignoring how close they were since she had actually just remembered that she had messaged her parents about staying at Alya’s that night.
“I did come up with an excuse in case it took long to defeat the akuma, but I intended to sneak into my bedroom anyway when it was over, so…”
“Okay, I’ll make it simple for you, sleepy Lady. My plan was to make the room dark with the curtains, which: check, and cover your eyes in the morning to take you back to where I found you. If you leave on your own, my identity is gonna be compromised and I'm really tired to take you on a walk right now. In conclusion, according to my plan, you’re staying.” Then, he laid back looking towards the ceiling without letting go of Ladybug’s wrist.
Ladybug sighed and mimicked Chat. Looking up towards the ceiling, which she could not see, she relaxed her muscles again. “So, you have a double bed, huh? You must have money, then.” When Chat did not answer, she realized that she was prying into his other life which she required of him not to reveal. “Sorry, I asked without thinking. My mind is really cloudy right now and I don’t even know what I’m saying,” she paused. “You know, I can’t believe it but I’ve actually missed you. I missed being together, talking while looking at the moon from the top of a building...It’s a pity that we only get to hang out on roofs at night, if I could take you out with my friends…I think it would be fun. And you’d meet my best friend and the guy I like. I’d love that.” She wasn’t even sure whether Chat was awake, but she just kept on talking. It didn’t take long till she herself fell asleep, too.
Everything was blurry when Marinette first opened her eyes. When she succeeded in focusing her vision, she discerned a white ceiling despite the poor illumination. It didn’t take her long to notice that someone was embracing her, keeping her from moving even her head. It wasn’t that she was uncomfortable by Chat’s embrace, she was already used to a clingy Chat Noir and it didn’t really bother her anymore, but they were friends and she liked someone else, so staying like that was just wrong, wasn’t it? She didn't want to give him the wrong idea after all. “Chat, wake up.”
“Umm, what a sweet voice that wakes me up. Good morning m’lady. What is it?” His voice was groggy and a bit hoarse.
“You’re kind of hugging me all over and I can’t even move,” she complained, attempting to separate from him but failing.
“Everything’s going according to plan,” Chat answered, right before placing himself on top of her while cupping her face in his hands so she would not see the bedroom at all.
“What are you doing?” She asked with a scolding tone, full of judgment.
He took a long look at her. The girl he was in love with had slept next to him and now they were waking up together. He wanted to remember every single thing from that moment. Once he had made sure to burn every detail in his retinas he asked: “Are you ready to go, m’lady?” looking directly at her bright blue eyes.
She hesitated for a moment, lost in the intensity of Chat Noir’s fully green eyes and, for a moment, they stared at each other, completely absorbed by the moment. Seconds later, the chirping of birds snapped her out of it. “Let’s go.”
Chat gently placed his right hand over the lady’s eyes, which she slowly closed to his hand's touch, and he lifted her up at the purest “just married” style.
It was still early in the morning, the sun was still shy. Chat Noir’s sleep that night had been really light for obvious reasons: only gracing her accidentally or hearing her move would wake him up. When he first opened his eyes, he saw her calmly sleeping and, after a few moments admiring her, he moved closer embracing her slowly and gently so that she would not be able to see his room at all. And, even if that had been just so the plan would work, he had enjoyed every second of it.
Once they arrived back at the beginning, Chat put her down without removing the hand over her eyes. He leaned to kiss her forehead barely touching her skin and whispered “I’ve missed you too. Have a nice day, m’lady,” and, like that, he disappeared leaving a blushing and flustered Ladybug.
She didn't think he was awake while she was spouting nonsense the previous night. Whatever. She headed home to prepare for school where Adrien would be. She filled her head with him instead, so she wouldn't think about what had happened. “Tikki, it’s over now” and, like that, there was no more Ladybug, just Marinette.
“It was about time, that was really exhausting.” Tikki complained.
“I’m so sorry Tikki. It won’t happen again.”