Chapter Text
“Pound it!”
An exhilarating heat courses through me, the sound of rushing blood pounds through my ears.
The small butterfly flutters away, like always, to an unknown destination.
Have we tried following it yet? I’ll have to get back to chat on that one…
I turn my attention to the sodden man crouched over his knees, his head hung low.
The confusion and lightheadedness hit him. I felt my face twinge in guilt.
“Hey there,” I offer gently so as to not come off as too loud, shaking off my own worries and focusing on the person hurt.
“…Ladybug?!” He responds in quiet startle, looking up towards me. A few moments pass in silence as he gathers his bearings taking a look at his own displacement and the dispersing (thanks to Chat Noir) crowd of inquisitive onlookers.
“…have I…,” he glances around, “…I was akumatized right,”
I swallow hard.
He already knows the answer.
It's my fault. He already expected I couldn’t protect him. He knows I’m a failure
His head draws again slightly down, his voice full of deep shame he carries in his knitted brows.
My lungs squeezed. There's no need for shame sir, It’s my fault.
I offer my hand to him. He pauses, staring.
“You can’t blame yourself for being used,” I emphasize a level and clear voice trying to appear more dependable than I am. “Hawkmoth was the one with evil intentions, we shouldn’t condone his evil by claiming it as our own.” My lips pull taut as I relax my face as much as I can before grabbing hold of his arm pulling him to his feet.
His eyes gazed somewhere far away as his muscles relaxed, but his brow remained furrowed. Despite this he nods in agreement.
The calm moment was briskly forgotten as several, in the same uniform, came clustering around him.
I step back slowly to give them space.
“Why didn’t you tell us what you were feeling!?” Cried out a woman with tears streaming down her face, her bottom lip pushed up as she wailed. Her curly hair tussled by her running over here.
“Man, if you thought we were pushy, you could’ve just told us. I know we’re your colleagues, but…” A shorter man pounded his palm against his chest. “We’re your friends too!” conviction bursted from his stance.
The cluster continued exchanging, seemingly unheard prior to the man in question, proclamations and admittances of care, appreciation, and remorse.
The once shameful man seemed blissed in regret.
His back no longer crouched and he stood tall.
From a little ways back, the corners of my mouth instinctively pulled up.
“Ready to get out of here M’lady?” Chat calls with his ever encouraging smile, his eyes crinkling just enough to tell you that he sees more than what's actually there.
Warmth creeps up to my face under his gaze.
I take another look at the group cajoling their friend before finally breaking my watch.
“Let's go Chaton” My muscles relax with the comfort of familiarity.
He nods with energy, his ears flopping along.
He readies to jump off and I pull back my yoyo.
The chimney seems to be a good place, I could probably go quicker than him too if I pull myself at it hard enough
In a single practiced motion, my shoulder lurch forward before my arms tense with griping tightly to my string, the air swishing past my ears in a cold current.
And all at once I'm thrown into the world of above Paris.
Glancing over my shoulder, he’s got a cheeky grin plopped onto his face where it belongs. His muscles strain bounding from roof to roof as leaps beside me.
In his grin you could find nothing but unadultured joy.
His lower lids crinkled in that way when you can’t stop yourself from laughing but his smile, even his mischievous one, was oh so gentle.
How?
I would never know…he was just so,
good.
A splotchy warmth enveloped me like a blanket. Uncomfortable
without realizing, I had unknowingly accepted to race..
The whistling wind slips past my ears, cool air calming my flush.
The absence of any weight.
Almost like flying.
I exhale in the bliss of it all every nerve in my body buzzing in excitement
Breezing by mon chaton, I twirled at the apex letting the rush take me as air stilled before feeling the tug of the earth weigh me down again.
…
I wish we could keep doing this forever
The unspoken wish pitted in my stomach.
You are a superhero Marinette, you are responsible for people's lives. You are not here to have fun.
My mind falters and the world seems to glitch letting my next yoyo swing go forgotten. The wind slapped against me as I stopped moving forward and started heading down.
“My lady!” Chat exclaimed, before diving back to catch me. “Are you alright?” His brows furrow in worry and his smile long gone.
“Uh, yeah..” I say just loud enough for him to hear, as I am all too conscious of the closeness between us, but my guilt doesn’t acknowledge it. I pressed my temple with my knuckles, the sudden stop left me a little woozy.
I have got to keep my head together!
“…” Silence passes us as he sets me down on the roof and sits down next to me.
“hmmm?” He said quizzically, hands on his hop, his thumb pressed to his cheek and his index under his chin, his brows furrow closer to his eyes, his eyes peer into mine like he's searching for something.
“lemme guess,” he said , flicking his hand back from his face all sassy like.
“You were dazzled by my amazing leap and couldn't help but fall for my awesomeness?” He swipes his hair into a toss, posing his face as if he was a model.
“…What?” I laugh out, my arms wrap around my stomach as tiny tears come to my eyes at the display.
That mischievous grin belonging only to chat noir donned upon him.
“Feel a little better M’Lady?”
My lips purse together, frustrated that I was so easy to read. Another sign I wasn’t the superhero I needed to be, I worried my partner
“Yes…Thank you chaton. I just need to refocus”
He laughs a little. “It’s alright buggaboo,” He coos putting on his (probably) practiced suave act.
His face hardens into a more serious expression.
“Were partners after all, we’re in this together”