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Her legs dangled above the beautiful city of Paris, her home.
From where they were on the tower she could just barely see her parent’s bakery. If she strained her eyes enough she could make out the school. The air is fresh up so high, she thinks, breathing in, and it feels like another perfect moment. One of those moments she used to have back in l’école primaire, where the sun would shine and the birds would chirp, and there were no threats or Akumas or Hawkmoth.
Back when her and Nino would sit and just stare up at the bright blue sky, giggling and rolling in the grass.
There’s no grass on the rooftops she rolls on now, no laughter in a world filled with danger.
“Beautiful day, right My Lady?”
And instead of Nino sits Chat, a bubbly, wanna-be romantique. Her partner and the only other person who understood what it meant to be Ladybug and Chat Noir.
She looks over and catches a glimpse of his smiling face. It’s lit up, filling the air with wonder. She’s so lucky she got paired with him, despite their differences, she wouldn’t have chosen anyone else to be the holder of the cat miraculous.
Plus, she didn’t know if anyone else could handle Plag.
“Good thing patrol was short,” He muses, “I did not want to deal with another Akuma today.”
It's been pretty stressful recently. Three in one day wasn’t so uncommon of an occurrence anymore -- now with Hawkmoth pushing his agenda harder than ever.
And not only did they have to be there for every Akuma, but the entire weight of their budding team was hanging over her shoulders. As the new guardian she’d already made enough mistakes to last a lifetime, so she had to play her cards carefully. She had to juggle so many things she could barely keep count anymore, dropping the ball on more than one occasion.
She’d pushed Chat away for one, she thought bitterly as she stole another glance. Somehow she’d been such a bad partner that she forgot what he meant to her. And as great as Cat Walker was, he was no Chat Noir.
The idea of losing him again played over and over again in her mind. If she had to do it all alone, or god forbid…
She shuddered at the thought.
The constant lying and secrets ate away at her constantly. The very thing that she could never tell him, in danger of catastrophe, is the crux of why he feels untrusted and uncared for.
She wishes there was a way to just fix all of it, throw her lucky charm up in the air and have all her problems solved.
“M’lady? Are you alright?” Chat asked, nudging her shoulder.
She doesn’t jump.
“I’m just thinking.” She answers, staring ahead into the horizon. The sun was starting to set.
“What’cha thinking about?” He prods, ever-curious.
She takes a moment to fold her hands in her lap, flicking her eyes up and down as if the skyline will change if she gives up post for even a moment. She hated the vigilance, hated the waiting and the thinking that occupied every second. She hated how much she wished sometimes that she wasn’t Ladybug, that someone else had been chosen. Someone more capable.
“We could leave all of this behind,” She says suddenly, the words coming out before she’s even thought them, and a terrifying, all encompassing truth. “I think I want to run away.”
The boy beside her seemed confused at first, sort of worried, before his expression turned strange and unreadable.
“We have a duty to protect Paris, my lady,” He reminded, “Who will stop Hawkmoth when we leave?”
“The others will figure it out.” She says, although she can all but taste the lie on her lips.
Of course it would be disaster if they leave, if Hawkmoth isn’t attacking Paris then he’s attacking the world. If there’s no ladybug and chat noir there’s no peace. But the world ended with them here too, once. Maybe it could be alright, she desperately wanted to believe it would be fine.
There’s silence for a moment, nothing but the light summer wind brushing against the cool metal of the tower. And it takes almost everything not to run right then. To fly off in the evening air and never look back. But she won't do it alone. She refuses to leave if it means she’s leaving her partner.
Chat noir takes a deep breath. No doubt smelling the sweetness and the hints of autumn creeping in.
“Okay.” He says finally, his face morphing into a gentle smile. “Let’s run away.”
It’s her turn to be shocked for a moment, scanning his face to find the lie, but there’s nothing. Not nothing, no, there’s hope in his expression. Fragile, aching hope.
She takes a second before rising to her feet, stretching her arms and looking out into the painted sky. Maybe they can do this, maybe they can actually be young and free and not have to worry about anything ever again. It’s a pipedream, she knows, a childish wish that will only end in misery and repercussions. But it’s beautiful, and she swears she can make it out just over the horizon.
“Where shall we go, my lady?” He asks, standing now too, his staff held loosely in his hand.
Where should they go? It didn’t really matter. They would end up in the same spot either way.
“I’ve always wanted to see Nice…” She says, and he’s nodding along like he’s known the whole time what she would say.
And when they jump off the tower, it’s dark, nighttime having finally laid its claim over the city. She whispers goodbye to the bakery. Although it doesn’t quite feel like enough, she’s sure it won't be long before she sees them again.
Plus, she thinks, happily, she’ll always have her partner.