#mesfics

[cakemousse]

it's better to burn out than to fade away

This is one of the many happenings in the lives of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Except this time, Ladybug is giving Chat Noir a bath (unsuccessfully), and he trusts her for that.

Rating: T, Words: 1375, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

━━━━━━

Ladybug would’ve felt the load behind her back if she was carrying this weight as her civilian self. But she’s Ladybug now and is therefore not feeling feeling it, which is so wrong, because she should be feeling the heaviness on her back. 

She really should. 

Missed patrols, smiles that never really reach his eyes, missed picked-up calls, zero callbacks, different personalities when they are alone compared to when they are with the whole group of superheroes. The list goes on. 

She should’ve known. 

He wasn’t responding when she had found him—in an alleyway, of all places. Snapping her fingers, shaking his shoulders, and lightly tapping his cheeks yielded no reaction. 

But water might help. Cats hate the water after all. 

She’s currently carrying him to one of the fountains in Place des Vosges, and she almost wanted to slam her face first onto the sandy pathway. It’s the middle of the bloody night, of course, that stupid fountain won’t be on. 

Ladybug almost throws the weight on her back over her shoulders in frustration, until she realises who she’s carrying. 

Grumpily, she steps into the fountain and sits down, letting him go. He immediately plops onto his back, and she wants to smack her face again. 

She’s trying her best but he keeps getting himself hurt. 

Ladybug makes sure that he’s lying comfortably and in line with where the water will be hitting his face before leaving him alone to get what she needs. She’s not doing anything wrong, she’s merely borrowing tools from the park guard’s cabin to turn on the fountain, and once it serves its purpose, she’ll turn it back off and drain it. 

And everything will be back to the way it is. 

She returns to the fountain to see no signs of Chat Noir, and coldness starts flooding her body. Ladybug drops the tools and starts sprinting around the circumference of the fountain. When she gets to the other side, she sees that he has rolled towards the edge of the fountain, in front of where she was originally standing. 

He’s still here, he's still here, he's still here. Quickly get your ass to work! 

She runs back to collect the dropped tools to turn the fountain on. The sound of the water starts pouring in, cutting off her ability to hear almost anything else in the dead of the night, but she gets all fidgety when she realises that the water is instead trickling down into the reservoir. The sight is such a contrast to the sound it emits. 

Looking over to Chat Noir, he remains as still as before. All she sees is his back, and he appears as though he’s stuck to the edge of the fountain, unmoving. 

She briskly walks towards him, grabbing his biceps and bringing him up into a sitting position. She tenderly taps on his cheeks again but he’s still not responding to her. Ladybug decides to pull him towards where the water is hitting the surface of the growing pool in the reservoir. She’s going to get wet in the process but it doesn’t matter. Nothing else matters as long as she gets a response from him. 

As the water wets her hair, she quickly moves to squat in front of him, allowing the water to hit his back. Surely the water would evoke some reaction now. 

Nothing. 

Ladybug grabs his shoulders and gently pushes him till his head is tiling backwards, hair and face coming into contact with the water. 

Chat Noir immediately pulls himself forward, away from the stream, coming face to face with Ladybug but almost knocking against her nose in the process. 

“Chaton?” Her hand moves to swipe his hair away from his eyes before resting on his cheek. 

Ladybug feels him leaning against her palm and she sees his eyes focusing on her just for a second before they lose their clarity again. 

“Chaton?”

He then looks elsewhere in confusion, seemingly wondering how and when he got into a fountain and is soaked. 

Another hand cups his cheeks to get his attention, then she presses her forehead against his. He’s still warm. Good. 

She pulls back and one of her hands runs into his hair, caressing the back of his cat ears and it twitches in response. A small smile sits on her face. 

“Chaton, wash up? You stink a bit, haha,” she lies. 

Ladybug carefully but steadily leads his face towards the water and when she feels that he’s moving on his own, she withdraws her hands from him. Chat Noir slowly lies down and closes his eyes, as though he’s going to bed after a long and exhausting day. His head dips below the water and bubbles from his nostrils float towards the surface. But his hands cradle themselves against his chest.

They aren’t washing his face. 

They are tuck closely against his body. 

Lifelessly. 

As though he's a mummy. 

“NO!” 

She panics, quickly grabbing his face and yanks him out of the water. 

“What are you doing?!” she scolds. 

Chat Noir takes a few deep breaths and looks elsewhere, even though his hands are clutching onto her wrists. 

“You were going to drown, Chat Noir! You were—” 

“Is that so bad?” he whispers. 

Ladybug should be happy that he has finally given her a verbal response after that whole ordeal. But those words feel like a slap to her face instead. His hooded eyes directed at her shouldn’t be causing her distress, but it feels so much like a stab to her heart. 

“Is that so— what the fuck??” She wrenches his face closer to her own. “Of course it is!” 

“I don’t think so.” 

He’s gone mad. Chat Noir’s gone mad. 

Ladybug shoves Chat Noir backwards, to the spot where the water trickles down onto his hair. He almost falls backwards again but she catches his shoulders to steady him. She then quickly sits herself onto his lap, her back against his chest, and makes sure that his arms are around her waist. She would really like for Chat Noir to put his head on hers but she realises that she’s not actually that small and doing so would be super uncomfortable for him. So she doesn’t care where he puts his head, as long as he’s upright and the water is flowing down his face, waking him up from his delusional nonsense. 

“I do think so! And and,” she sniffles, “and you’re not going anywhere! You’re not going to drown, you’re not going to disappear. You’re gonna be right here, where I can keep my eyes on you!” 

The sound of water splashing is all she gets in return. No delighted laughter or the jovial tone of his voice she loves and knows so well escapes from his lips, no physical movement from his arms, nothing. 

Respond!! Why won’t you respond?! This is the last thing she needs from him now. 

Ladybug pulls his arms forward to make his chest press against her back even more before she tugs his arms around herself and hugs them. 

Fine. If he doesn’t want to do anything, fine! She’ll use his body heat to reassure her racing heart. At the very least she knows that he’s there. 

Everything will be fine once he’s allowed to brood according to his terms. They each have these episodic periods where it feels like their world is crashing down on them. And for each one of them, they were each other's silent but unwavering support, present throughout the process.

Ladybug cannot do anything but be by his side, there are just lines that they can’t cross. They both know that. So she’ll stay here as long as she needs to, school be damned. And she knows that her presence is welcomed and wanted by her kitty, especially right now. They’ve walked through infernos together. Just because this one is but a small flame doesn’t mean he deserves any less love and concern.  

Things will pass, things will settle, and everything will be alright again...  

Ladybug trusts him, just as he trusts her. She’ll be here for him, just as he has for her. 

Everything will be alright. 

Right…? 

The tiny twitch of his fingers tells her so. 

please consider leaving kudos and comments on ao3 ^^

[cakejots]

#clownbug

Ladybug isn’t dating Chat Noir. Why can’t anyone see that?

Rating: T, Words: 3457, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

“I can’t believe this is still in the press!” Ladybug growls at the wrinkled magazine in her fists, arms shaking the magazine as though she’s strangling someone. “Why can’t anyone see that we are not a couple?!”

“Let’s not mind ourselves with their nonsense, My Lady,” Chat Noir suggests. He’s by her side, resting his head on her shoulder and his arms around her waist. It appears that soothing her irritated figure by running circles with his fingers on her waist is doing very little to help. He changes tactics and rubs her shoulder and upper arm with his hand instead. “We know the truth, and that’s all that matters.”

Anyone who views them from behind would see two lovers giving each other side hugs and keeping each other warm on a rooftop, enjoying the scenery before them.

Her arm—the one that’s around his neck—lets go of the magazine to pat his head as a smile graces her face. “You’re right, mon Chaton.” She discards the magazine entirely when her other hand reaches towards his chin and scratches.

Chat Noir purrs happily in response. He brings her closer to his side, eventually lifting her up and placing her on his lap. He makes sure that she can see him before he lifts his chin higher for her to scratch more, and Ladybug giggles and obliges.

They were about to end patrol when she saw the magazine herself, and the sight of her jaw clenching signalled to Chat Noir that something was wrong. He blindly followed her as she kindly asked for the magazine from a civilian and promptly made her way to a rooftop.

She sat down and started ranting about how inaccurate the whole thing was as he sat beside her quietly, listening to her grumblings. Chat Noir knew that she needed to relax and scooted closer to wrap his arms around her.

And slowly but surely, the annoyance within her started to fade. Her beloved Chaton gradually took her mind off of that stupid magazine.

Like always.

The day is already as tiring as it is, no reason not to indulge herself in listening to his cute purrs and enjoying the scenery before them.

He takes her hand in his and presses his lips onto it, eyes never leaving hers. “You’re beautiful when you’re all smiles like that.”

Marinette smiles even wider and teases, “Like what?”

“Your eyes, they twinkle when you smile like that. You’re buzzing with radiance. You literally light up, my Lady, just like how you light up my world.”

“Ah, what a sweet talker, aren’t you?” she chuckles and rings his bell with the tip of her finger.

“Only for you, Buguinette,” he answers with a smile. The smile that she’s always delighted to see etched onto his face.

It’s a carefree atmosphere they have created for themselves, and Marinette yearns for times like this with her best friend. But that wistfulness comes to an end when they realise havoc soon descends on Paris.

Ladybug squeezes Chat Noir, enjoying his heat one last time before releasing him into the cold, getting ready to fulfil her duty to the city she calls home. “Let’s go, mon Chaton.”

——————-

A silly phrase from his mouth, and a flick of his bell from her fingers soon follows as retaliation. Marinette always loved the sound of his cat bell jingling. It goes so well with the softness of his laughter, as though a symphony erupts whenever he does so.

Nadja snaps her fingers, probably the third time now, Marinette doesn’t know. “Now, we would like you both to meet the person who has won her place to have a chat with you! Please welcome Mabel!”

A blast of confetti and loud music burst forth to greet Mabel as she appears on the large TV screen. Ladybug and Chat Noir pause their mini banter at the loud bang, but quickly go back to giggling again once the initial shock wears off.

“We must have pissed off the producers so much that they slammed the buttons to gain our attention.” Ladybug laughs as he wiggles his eyebrows. “Litter did they know they were doing the exact opposite!”

Marinette snorts loudly, since the audience can’t hear her, and gently pushes his shoulder. “Chaton, stop, we need to focus. The spotlight is on us!”

Chat Noir grins and winks at her before turning to the screen to wave at the person. Ladybug follows suit.

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god!” The lady on the screen squeals as she sees her and her best friend. Marinette is always happy to be able to light up someone’s day like that. “Ladybug, Chat Noir, I’m your biggest fan!”

Ladybug waves and addresses her. “We’re so glad to see you! Congrats on winning the contest! It must have been so tough!”

“For the superheroes of Paris, it was all worth it!” She has a big smile on her face and Marinette finds her pleasant to talk to. She’s so appreciative and polite, showering Ladybug with so many compliments she hasn’t heard before that Marinette blushes.

What a charming young lady indeed.

After she’s done, she seamlessly shifts her attention to Chat Noir and again, manages to have her way with words. Marinette loves it when her Chaton receives the love he deserves as well. She’s really liking the person on the screen right now.

Until…

“Thank you so so much for protecting Paris, mon Chaton! Your heroic acts—”

Mon Chaton…

Oh, what a beautiful lady she is. Her pink cheeks made her look so cute and healthy. Marinette is pretty sure she had some blusher on to enhance her looks. Nothing wrong with that, she had to look presentable on TV after all. And her skin was spotless. So very spotless. Marinette could only dream of her skin looking the same. The little brown stains she has on her face must’ve made her own skin flawed.

The lady’s blue eyes, a few shades darker than hers, but still captivating nonetheless. Their hue contrasts her pale skin so much they look like precious gems, worthy of being protected by those long lashes. How is this lady so pretty? She’s just like a doll.

And her long luscious black hair, just like hers. If only she could let hers grow as long as the lady’s on the screen. Marinette wants to run her hands into hers, curious to see if it’s as soft as they look. She’s pretty sure they are. And maybe pull them a little? Nah. She wouldn’t be able to feel how soft they are if she does a little tug. How about slightly harder? Would Chat Noir thread his hands through those locks as well? No. He wouldn’t! Why would he when he has hers—

“My Lady.”

Ladybug snaps out of her thoughts and regards him. Chat Noir has scooted closer to her and his face is right beside her.

“You okay?”

She blinks at how close he is. Seeing him this up close has allowed her to focus on the visage that made him a sight to see.

The black mask covers almost half of his face, yet it still didn’t hide the features that made him him. His intense green eyes shine through the mask, always so brilliant and demanding of her attention. They seem to glow more as the seconds pass. She looks to his lips and bites her own. What a beautiful smile. His lips look so smooth—not chapped like how she has seen on a couple of people. The more she fixates, the more welcoming they become. She wonders what they taste like.

Marinette thought that he couldn’t get any closer, but he leans into her ear and she shivers at the sudden heat that invades her space.

“You were growling.”

She pulls back so suddenly she would’ve fallen off the high stool she was on if it wasn’t for his quick reflexes circling his arms around her waist.

“Désolé, Mabel.” Right, Mabel. Adorable and loveable. Exactly how she is right now… Just. Great. “I’m afraid we have to cut short our time together. There’s something Ladybug and I have to attend to. Thank you for your support and your lovely messages.” Lovely. Super! “Au revoir!”

Chat Noir gives Mabel his signature salute and hooks his arm under Ladybug’s knees, carrying her off the chair and leaving the studio to find a secluded area.

He carefully places her down after coming to a stop. “Buguinette, are you okay?”

Ladybug faces away from him, choosing to remain quiet after nodding.

“Sooo, why were you growling?”

She whips her head towards him, face-red, and glares. “Growl— I wasn’t growling! Why would I growl out of nowhere?!”

“It was a pretty soft growl, but I still heard it.”

Marinette puffs her cheeks and crosses her arms. Looking towards the scenery that presents itself to them. Oh, he had brought her to the top of the TVi studio.

“Or could it be that purr-haps,” he walks to the edge of the building, standing between her and the night lights that filled the scene before her, continuing with a wide smile on his face, “you’re jealous?”

Ladybug widens her eyes and uncrosses her arms. They gesticulate wildly as she speaks. “ME? Jealous?” She gasps. “O—Of who? That girl, M—Mabel? Psshhh. Why—Why would I be jealous of her?”

Chat Noir, still having that cheeky smile on his handsome face, shrugs. “You’re right, why would you be?”

She flushes at his comment, all the while thanking the night sky. He’s impossible, she thinks. Ladybug stomps her foot and crosses her arms once more, facing away from him.

He laughs and sits on the edge of the building, patting his side to get her to sit down as well. She does so after she cools down a few moments later.

And it has gotten too quiet to her liking.

She grabs his arm. “Does— Does anyone else call you ‘mon Chaton’?”

Chat Noir lifts his head and raises an eyebrow as he watches her. “No, only you. And of course, just now when Mabel was sharing her message with us. Other than that, only you.”

“Then,” she swallows, clenching and unclenching her other fist on her thigh. It’s such a trivia question, would Chat Noir think of her differently if she asked? He likely would. But she feels like something is eating at her if she doesn’t ask soon.

Marinette decides to go ahead with it since she has already uttered something—and anything is still better than the silence from before, “do you call anyone else ‘My Lady’ or ‘Buguinette’?”

He gives her a look. The look that Marinette knows so well. That one soft look that Chat Noir gives when she’s spiralling and he needs to ground her. She lets go of his arm and lowers her head.

She’s aware that it’s stupid. That there’s no way he would call anyone else but her ‘My Lady’ or ‘Buguinette’. Right?

There’s just no way.

Right?

His gaze softens as he notices her increasingly tight grip on the edges of where they sit. Chat Noir reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind her ears, his thumb brushing across her cheek. Surprised at the tenderness of his gesture, Ladybug could only stare at his face. The feeling of her cheeks becoming warm slowly catching up to her.

“No, my Lady. Only you.”

Marinette releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. Relief floods her chest and she feels warm all over. She gently removes her face from his palm, looking down again. “You can’t just do that, that’s illegal!” she mumbles.

He smiles. “Nothing illegal about assurance, Buguinette!”

She exhales a tiny laugh, shaking her head at the silliness of it, but she still loves it nonetheless. Ladybug slides closer to him, thighs touching, and plants a kiss on his cheek. She makes sure it’s a kiss with added pressure, not those with a light peck of her lips that she has been giving to him all this while.

“See you around, mon Chaton!” She ruffles his hair as she witnesses his awestruck face with glinting eyes of her own. She leans forward, over the edge. “And don’t you worry. I use that pet name on you and you only. No one else.” Ladybug winks and leaps off the building, into the lights that blanket the city in the dead of the night.

——————-

Marinette’s running away from the scene, running away to find a hidden area so that she can transform into Ladybug and save the poor soul that got akumatised. What she fails to realise is that a car is heading straight for her as the driver got hit by a ray beam from the Akuma.

A loud noise erupts from behind her, and before she could fully process what had just happened, she finds herself in Chat Noir’s arms.

Marinette’s shoulders relax instantly as she sees him. Her partner is reliable as always.

Chat Noir scales up the Grand Paris Hotel and lets her stand on her feet once he assesses that the area is free of danger.

“You’re safe here now, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Stay here while we handle the Akuma,” he winks before jumping off the building and heading back towards where she was running from.

Marinette’s eye twitches. How dare he do that? It’s a Ladybug and Chat Noir thing only.

“Marinette!” Tikki squeaks. “Paris needs Ladybug.”

She shakes her head to stop the thought from encroaching further into her mind. Tikki’s right, the Akuma’s causing significant damage and needs to be stopped as soon as possible. That can wait for later.

“Tikki, transforme-moi !”

That cannot wait for later. Ladybug wasn’t fully focused on the task at hand, often finding herself distracted and about to get hit by the Akuma’s ray beams. Luckily, Chat Noir was always there to make sure it didn’t hit her.

But he could only protect her that number of times.

Maybe she had gotten hit, she isn’t sure. What she is sure of is that Chat Noir’s face is very close to hers, and he’s quickly pulling away.

What’s going on? She just remembers Chat Noir’s desperate cries of ‘Ladybug’ from before, and then she whips her head to see Chat Noir removing the wires that had rendered her immobile. It’s as though a part of her memory is gone. When and how did she get herself tangled in her own wire? How embarrassing!

“Chat Noir, what happened?” She asks as he pulls her to her feet.

“I’ll explain later, my Lady.” He turns away, ready to engage in battle with the Akuma again. “I figured out where the akumatised object is, let’s go!” And he hastily jumps away. Marinette has no choice but to swing her yoyo towards the direction he has gone in. She chides herself for causing the delay of the purification and adding more to Chat Noir’s plate. Ladybug really has to focus. She can only hope that she gets the answers she seeks after all this is over.

She did not get the answers she wanted, as Chat Noir left the scene swiftly, attributing his necessary departure to his transformation wearing off.

Marinette stares at his retreating figure, confused. She’s always the one who departs earlier than him, maybe he really had somewhere to go? If it didn’t warrant the need for them to stay and talk, she guesses that nothing too serious had happened before they managed to free the Akuma. She pats herself on the back, another day of protecting Paris done, and heads home.

Just before she detransforms, she receives a chime from her bugphone. Chaton!

“Can we meet tonight?” She reads out.

“Sure,” she replies, always happy to see him whenever.

Ladybug sits facing the Eiffel Tower, waiting on Chat Noir’s arrival. Sure she’s 15 minutes early, but it’s not like she’s eager or anything. Oh no. She just wants to enjoy the sight. Yes, that’s totally the reason why.

Marinette hears him land behind her and turns her head. She smiles and pats the area next to her. “Come sit, Chaton,” before facing the Eiffel Tower again.

She hears no movement from him and looks at him again, only to see his head lowered.

“Chat Noir?”

Still no movement.

Ladybug stands and walks to him. She holds his arm to gain his attention. “Chaton, what’s wrong?”

His hands suddenly grab her shoulders to push her back a bit, putting a distance between them. “I’m so sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I took advantage of you.” He lifts his head and his eyes look particularly shiny. “I kissed you without your permission and I really enjoyed it.”

“Sorry what?”

“You got hit by the Akuma and started turning really violent towards me.” He elaborates. “I don’t know why. You kept trying to bind me with your yoyo and I just kept running.” He has removed his hands from her shoulders to act out all that he’s saying, possibly for extra brownie points? Marinette doesn’t know. But it’s hilarious to see him run on the spot. “But I saw a couple kissing after the man got hit and turned violent against her, same as our situation, but anyway, they kissed and he’s fine afterwards, so it’s a possible route to take, and the city really needed you, Ladybug. So I somehow managed to cat-ch and bind you, haha, feralbug memories, and kissed you and what do you know! It actually worked. I really enjoyed the kiss and I’m really sorry, please forgive me!”

The outpour of information stunned Marinette. She has a feeling she knows exactly why she got so violent towards him, but she isn’t about to let him know why. He’s currently squeezing his eyes shut and refusing to look at her. It must be so embarrassing to admit that out loud. But really, all she got from this is that Chat Noir’s lips had touched hers, but she has no recollection of it!

“You kissed me.”

He flinches. “Yes, and I’m really sorry.”

And she didn’t get to experience it.

Because of her jealousy from earlier, her carelessness led to her 'demise', and then she missed an entire kissing episode with Chat Noir! What?

No. This won’t do. She needs to fix this.

“You… can make it up to me if you do something,” she begins slowly.

Chat Noir lights up. “I’ll do whatever! Anything to be in your good grace again.”

Marinette shakes her head, he doesn’t need to do that. He’s already in her good grace.

“Kiss me again.”

Chat Noir stops moving. He’s so still that his hair isn’t even moving and Marinette wonders if those three words alone made his soul leave his body.

She moves in and blows his face. “Chaton?”

He shakes his head and stares. “What?”

Ah, he finally reboots.

“What?” Ladybug folds her arms. “I c—can’t determine the appropriate punishment if I don’t know what it feels like, right?”

“True,” he drawls, “but uhh…”

“Do you want to make it up to me or not?”

“Yes.”

She unfolds her arms. “Then kiss me.” And when she sees that he has yet to make a move, she whispers, “please.”

Chat Noir closes his eyes, as though having an internal turmoil with himself, and Marinette feels bad. She was about to drop the topic when his hands wind around her waist and cup her cheek.

He gazes into her eyes. “Forgive me.” And he presses his lips onto her.

‘Soft’ is the first word that comes to mind. They are so very soft as they land on hers. But they are also hesitant. She holds onto his wrist and angles her head, pressing herself against him. Ladybug feels him pulling back and she circles her arms around his neck to stop him.

Chat Noir whimpers as she nibbles on his lower lip. And Ladybug finally opens her eyes when his hands travel to her ribs to push her back slightly. She sees his lower lip trembling.

“My Lady,” a shaky voice escapes his throat, “this feels too good to be true. Please tell me this is real. Please tell me you’re really kissing me.”

She blinks and glides her lips softly over his. “I want to kiss you again, Chaton. Can I kiss you again?”

“Please.” And he cups her cheeks to press his lips firmly against hers.

The next day, an image of their kiss can be found on the landing page of the Ladyblog, and #clownbug is also trending on Twitter. And somewhere in Paris, holds a fuming Ladybug and a nervously smiling Chat Noir.

[cakemousse]

a malevolent affair

Chat Noir had fallen. But so did Ladybug and Monarch. 

Rating: M, Words: 3000, Chapters: 1/1

note the rating, please check the tags before proceeding

anywho, @rosekasa drew this dinner date between akumabug and chat noir a while ago and i had ideas 🤩

thank you @h-sunnywet-d @fortuna-et-cataclysmos @literaphobe and @ladyofthenoodle for betaing!!

Read on AO3

written for day 12 of @ladynoirjuly

━━━━━━

Everything’s quiet. 

Too quiet. 

The faint ringing in his ears gets louder and louder until it’s too disruptive to remain at peace any longer. 

Chat Noir blinks, trying to clear his vision of the fog that has been rendering him motionless. 

He sees the silhouette of his hands, but they refuse to move as he pleases. Feeling the string digs into the cuffs of his suit as he wiggles, he’s made aware that he’s sitting by a circular dining table with empty plates before him, and that the metal string coiled around his wrists is attached to a yo-yo. 

A black one, decorated with red polka dots.

What…? 

Chat Noir lifts his head to see the person responsible for his current state, and he realises that the room’s too dull, far too monotonous. It’s as if the shadows have consumed her vibrant and colourful essence. She, the shining symbol of hope for all, is stained in all the wrong colours. 

Seated right across him, with elbows on the table as her head rests on her palms, she grins. The glinting of her eyes and the eagerness on her face are a stark contrast to everything in the room. 

Especially when she’s smiling at him like that. 

That playful smile. One that he always witnesses as they banter and tease each other. One that, as soon as she flashes it at him, he knows that it’s her. He recognises it, but there’s a degree of eeriness to it that leaves him uneasy. 

“Lady… bug?” 

“Hey Kitty.” She waves at him, but the way she wiggles her fingers at him suggests something playful. Flirty, even. 

“Ladybug, what’s going on?”   

“Aww, not even gonna call me your Lady? Booo.” She pouts and brings her hand back to where it was a few seconds ago. But she’s still looking at him with those brightly coloured heaven eyes. 

Chat Noir struggles, “You’re not my Lady!” 

“Nonsense, Chaton.” 

He gasps. That tone of voice. He’s drawn to that inflexion anywhere. 

Akumabug raises her arms as if to present herself to an audience, but there’s only him. “I’m right here.” 

Chat Noir wrestles against the metal string around his wrists, knowing that he’s too late, but he needs to do something! Anything!

“I would advise against that, Chaton. Don’t want those strings to cut any deeper, do you?” she coos. 

“Then release me!” 

This is wrong. So wrong. Everything has gone horribly wrong. 

Why can’t he remember anything? 

Akumabug stands to reach out for his hands, but Chat Noir snatches them away as soon as he feels the heat of her touch. He tries to stand as well but finds himself tied to the chair by more ropes. 

He whips his head towards her, attempting to counter whatever she’s planning, but all he sees is her stunned in place—face painted with utter disbelief as she stares at the palm of the hand she had touched him with.  

Chat Noir feels a drop in his stomach. His spine tingles and he sits up straight on his chair. 

He messed up. 

Akumabug looks up at him, face unreadable. She suddenly appears right beside him at breakneck speed, and he winces when she grabs his face, nails digging hard into his head. She drags him as she stands to her full height, straining his neck and pulling him towards her, as far as his body allows her to. Chat Noir breathes in quick successions at how fast it all happens; how close he is to her face. 

Her eyes dart between his own as if searching for something he doesn’t know he holds. 

Then, she releases him. He falls backwards onto his chair, rocking with it. He feels his chest heaving and his blood pumping in his ears, but he’s keeping his eyes on her. That's the least he can do. Akumabug walks backwards, away from him, her expressionless features morphing into delighted ones as she nears the table again, “What you need is food!” 

She snaps her fingers and a ball of spaghetti falls onto the plate right before him, sauce splattering everywhere on the grey cloth. 

“Bon appétit !” She bends over and puts her elbows on the table again, head propped up on the back of her hands. Akumabug watches him and smiles, like a lover who can’t take her eyes off of him. 

“Uh…” 

“Oh, silly me,” she laughs and goes behind him to push the chair closer to the table. Chat Noir struggles again but quickly stops as a sharp, cooling sensation presses against his neck. 

Her face suddenly appears right next to his and he feels the pressure against his neck increasing. “What part of ‘stop doing that’ do you not understand, Chat Noir?”  

Flinching at the sting on his neck, he blinks and eyes her hard stare. Something must be very wrong with him because he still finds her beautiful even when she’s holding a sharp blade to his neck. Chat Noir chooses to stay silent. 

She searches his eyes further before removing the metal—a dagger with traces of his blood—from his neck and settling it down on the table. Akumabug moves to his plate and starts mixing up the spaghetti with utensils that appeared out of thin air. Once she rolls a mouthful of spaghetti onto the spoon, she holds it out to him, “Here.” 

Chat Noir leans as far back as he possibly can, to not open the wound she has just given him any further, while still being cautious enough to not trigger another terrifying event like the ones before. 

“It’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re worried about?” She asks with a smile and brings the food closer to him.

Chat Noir looks away from her. 

Akumabug sighs. “Don’t you trust me, Chaton? It’s delicious too! I know my way around the kitchen.”

“Hard to believe when all I see is you creating food out of thin air.” His eyes widen at his own remark. 

Why did he say that?! This isn’t his Lady! 

She huffs. “How mean. I made this just for you and you won’t even try it.” She directs the spoon to her own mouth and chomps on the utensil. Chat Noir flinches at the sound of the impact. 

“Mhmm!” She hums while chewing on the mouthful, eyes closed and swaying her body side to side, “My creations don’t disappoint!” 

Akumabug licks her lips clean and swallows; Chat Noir gulps at the sight. 

“Come on,” she holds out another spoonful again, “I know you want some. You’re starving.” 

As if on cue, his stomach starts growling. Chat Noir sets his jaw and closes his eyes. 

And it’s quiet again.

He knows that she’ll probably threaten him more, and he’ll deal with what she throws at him when the time comes. But for now, he‘ll cut off any contact he has with her and focus on centring his Cataclysm at the tip of his claws. Any wrong move could spell disaster on his part.  

The sound of her yo-yo opening reverberates around him, and then it’s deafening stillness again. It’s his signal to act. 

He whispers, “Cata—”

“Please eat.” 

He still doesn’t want to open his mouth, but he does anyway. Chat Noir opens his eyes and parts his trembling lips. 

Akumabug pushes the spoon into his mouth gently, surprising him. He regards her as his lips slowly wrap around the spoon, and she pulls it out. A burst of flavours colours his mouth when he chews, but everything outside is bland and stale. Except for the tears trickling down one of her cheeks. Huh?

He swallows, “Ladybug?” 

“Still won’t call me your Lady, huh?” She sniffs as she rolls another ball of spaghetti onto the spoon and brings it to his mouth. 

He pushes the spoon away with his cheek and peers at her, “Buguinette, what’s wrong?”  

Eyes wide, she stares at him with a slightly open mouth. 

“Buguinette?” 

“You haven’t called me that in a while…” 

“I—”

She grabs his cheeks to open his mouth, pushes the spoon into his mouth again, and releases her hand as soon as he bites. 

He quickly gulps and tries to get her attention again, but she shoves another spoonful into his mouth as soon as he opens his mouth. 

A smile returns to her face; her body posture exudes contentment. The way she smiles is so familiar, he almost forgets that she’s currently not his Lady. God, this isn’t his Lady!! Chat Noir racks his mind for what he can do. How he can get rid of the Akuma. But he has no idea where to even find the Akuma. 

“What a kitten,” she suddenly giggles, “you’ve made a mess of yourself. Let me clean that for you.” 

Chat Noir expects her to create a serviette out of thin air, but instead, she leans into his space, and he jerks backwards as soon as he feels something wet touch the skin next to his lips. 

He stares at her, feeling his eyeballs about to pop out of their sockets and his face hot. He can’t believe she just did that. 

She raises a brow, moving towards him again. 

“Wait!” 

She grins at his reaction. “What a rare sight. Is mon Chaton shy? It’s just a lick, we do this all the time.” 

“What?!”

She grabs the back of his neck to stop him from moving. 

“Please, don’t,” he begs as she moves in. 

The glee is still on her face. “Oh well, since you asked so nicely,” she pulls back and summons a serviette from her hand. “I can at the very least wipe it off of you, hmm, Chaton?” 

Chat Noir inhales and slowly nods. Akumabug beams as she once again gets into his space, this time climbing effortlessly onto his lap. Her index finger reaches for the bottom of his chin and tilts his head upwards as though evaluating him. The other hand dabs on the excess tomato sauce on his skin, and the tightness in his chest makes its presence known again. 

“There, all clean!” She boops his nose. “It would’ve been so much more fun if I could lick those off though.” 

Chat Noir whimpers. 

“I’m just teasing!” she pats his head. “Wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable now, would we?” She smiles. 

Her smile is really starting to get unsettling. “Er… right…” 

She removes her hand and goes back to sit right across him, in the same manner as he first saw her. 

“Why are you grinning like that?” He decides that her smile is sinister now. 

“Hmm? Because you’re amusing.” 

Chat Noir raises an eyebrow. “I’m not doing anything but staring at you?” 

“Oh? You sure that’s all you’re doing, Minou? Aren’t you trying to think of something to get me to give up my Akuma?” She says as she stalks over again to sit near him on the table, eyes never leaving him. 

His eyes widen a little and she cackles. “Oh, what a cute little kitten.”

Akumabug once again reaches out to him and pats his head. “Don’t worry your pretty head over this, Chaton.” 

He tries to say something, but she cuts him.

“I’m still Ladybug.” 

“Monarch akumatised you! You even admitted that you have an Akuma!” 

She tilts her head and considers him. 

“You must’ve hurt your head pretty badly.” 

“Huh??” That’s what she got from that?

She moves closer and ruffles his hair softly, until a sharp pain erupts from the back of his head. She must’ve caught him scrunching his nose because she immediately jerks her hand away. “Shit, it wasn’t enough.” Akumabug looks at the plate of cold spaghetti and starts mixing again. “You need food to gain more energy, Chat Noir.”

“Ladybug,” he rasps softly and she looks at him. “What’s going on, really?” 

“You really don’t remember?” 

He shakes his head lightly, but quickly stops as the pounding gets harder. “Argh…” 

Chat Noir hears Akumabug snap her fingers again, he peeks and catches a glimpse of a first aid box on the table. 

“It’s going to hurt for a while, Chat Noir,” she informs as she comes closer again. “Bear with me.” 

“What are you…” 

“I’m going to use some alcohol swabs to disinfect the area, then I’ll use my superpower to enhance the healing process.” 

“You can… do that?”

“Creations of new cells. It won’t heal perfectly now, but the road to recovery will definitely be a lot quicker.” 

Chat Noir looks at her, “Talk to me about what happened to distract me from the pain?” 

The seriousness on her face dissipates, quickly replaced with a smile. God, she looks so beautiful. Even as Akumabug, her determination never wavers. That’s what made him fall in love in the first place. 

She leans in and plants a kiss on his cheek, and cackles as his expression morphs into disbelief once again. 

“Right, so you must know I was fighting Monarch, to end up in this state right? And because we’re a team, you’re always there with me.” 

He hisses when she applies pressure on the spot. “Yeah?” 

“Well, basically you got flung across the room and hit your head real hard.” She stops her movement. “Must’ve cracked some bones, I’ve never heard anything like it.” 

She hovers her hands lightly over his wound and begins her magic. “So he went into this whole monologue, something something final battle with me, something something ‘I’m doing this for my family’. Whatever he said affected me so much that he thought he could make use of my emotions against me. Well, wrong move! I took him out and here we are.”

“But—” 

“That’s really all you need to know, Chat Noir. Now just relax, I’m going to hasten the healing process.” The pain—on both his head and neck—increases for a while before dulling.

Once Akumabug removes her hands from him, she turns around and takes the plate of spaghetti again. 

“Please Ladybug, I don’t think I can eat anymore.”

She looks between him and the plate and puts it down. 

“Alright. Since you don’t want to eat, how about some dessert? Everyone has space for dessert! And you still need to heal.” She begins walking away to god knows where. 

There’s really no way to reach out to Akumabug, huh? She doesn’t seem to understand what he meant when he said he can’t eat anymore. His appetite doesn’t exist anymore as long as she’s like that. 

And this is really the time to use his Cataclysm if he ever wants a chance to escape. However, it’s a risk now that he can’t concentrate well. Not with the slight pounding in his head. 

Besides, there’s something that’s been nagging at him ever since he regained consciousness.  

And suddenly, he remembers. 

He hears Akumabug’s footsteps getting closer and closer. She walks past him, a huge plate with a cloche in her hands. She drops the plate on the table and it lands so roughly that he’s surprised everything still looks as presentable as she had first held them. 

Her fingers reach for the knob. “Do you want to know what his last moments were like?” 

That. 

A chill runs down his spine. The intensity of her gaze reveals that she’ll accept no other answer but yes. 

Chat Noir gulps. 

“Wha… What did you do?” 

“Ah, I still relish in his screams and his blood on my face as each slash tore through his skin.” Her eyes brighten as she recounts. “Dangling the illusion of being able to get away from me right in front of him, as I slowly walked after him and he got further and further away. The desperation of his panting increasing as he kept going, but found no escape anywhere. My presence constantly overshadowed him, waiting to pounce. The sweet despair in his eyes when he finally realised that he had nowhere to run. The final sensation of the metal gliding across flesh, and the satisfaction of witnessing it rolling, until it comes to a stop at my feet.” 

The pounding headache has come back in full force, and he tries to breathe deeply to calm his heart that’s slamming against his rib cage. But he can’t. He can’t do anything. His body has chosen ‘freeze’ as the optimal response to what’s happening around him.

Akumabug bites her lower lip, as though she’s really eager to show him something within the cloche as she slowly lifts it away from the plate. 

“I hope you enjoy your dessert.” 

His breathing quickens. She raises the cloche open but Chat Noir slams his eyes shut and screams, “No!” 

When all he can hear is his loud panting, he slowly peeks open his eyes to glance at the plate. 

A cake like any other. 

“Sheesh, I’m not that crazy.” She proceeds to throw the cloche high in the air, and it hits something as she walks back to her seat.

Chat Noir looks up—to see Monarch hanging from the ceiling. 

He whips his head back down to his lap. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening! Shit shit shit! What happened to push one of the kindest and most loving souls he knew to this length? 

What was it!! 

“…Adrien?” 

Chat Noir tenses. He directs his attention to her, a pleasant smile now present on her face, but she isn’t looking at him. Rather, she’s looking at her palm. 

“I asked,” she repeats nonchalantly, “how’s Adrien?” 

He remains dumbstruck. What is even happening anymore? 

“Is he fine? Is he coping well? How’s he feeling?” She looks up from her palms and at him.  

“Wha— Why would I know how he's doing?” 

“Because,” Akumabug approaches him and gently takes his left hand. Chat Noir allows her to stretch his palms open—holding them out as though she had just proposed and he had said yes—and pushes two rings he knows very well onto his ring finger. 

“He’s you.” 

please consider leaving kudos and comments on ao3 ^^

[cakemousse]

just a taste of the undiscovered

Misterbug’s plan was simple: head over to the empty apartment and snooze his head off. Now if Lady Noire would just stop leaving her sleeping spot and getting into his…

Rating: T,  Words: 2870, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

my first only one bed fic and contribution to only one bed: a miraculous challenge

thank you so much @chocoluckchipz and @kasienda for beta-reading! your suggestions and comments have been very insightful and valuable to me 💕💕

━━━━━━

Last few jumps. 

Just a few last jumps and Lady Noire and he can finally crash into soft, warm beds and sleep the remaining night away. 

The frequency of battles happening dead of the night has skyrocketed as of late, and they both concluded that Hawkmoth is trying to wear the whole Parisian population down, driving them to madness at the superheroes’ inability in getting rid of the pest who’s made a hobby out of disturbing everyone’s lives. 

Disrupting Parisians’ days alone isn’t enough anymore, he had to meddle with their nights too. 

And to be honest, when Misterbug and Lady Noire are out and about as civilians, they have witnessed Parisians getting dissatisfied with the superheroes. 

Made worse by the fact that there are people on the internet scattering lies and controversies over the matter. 

Luckily for them, there have been numerous very kind-hearted civilians who had offered up their spare rooms and apartments for the heroes to sleep in whenever their battles got too late into the night. Friends, family members, and acquaintances of the heroes themselves—people that would never sell them out. Still, Misterbug and Lady Noire haven’t actually used those apartments to sleep in. 

They never had a reason to. 

Not until now. 

The battle starts on the outskirts of Paris. Once it is done and dusted, the next one begins. The area suffers damages during the few minutes the superheroes take to feed their Kwamis, and while this second battle is insanely difficult to deal with, they manage to stop the Akuma.

They always do. 

But even before Misterbug releases the purified butterfly from his yo-yo, another Akuma appears and Lady Noire’s growling in frustration.

“Hawkmoth’s really having the time of his life, huh? To have this many Akuma appearing in the same place at the same time!” 

Misterbug can’t disagree with her. He’s only glad that at least they don’t need to rely on food to recharge their Kwamis anymore, although the immediate energy boost that comes with feeding them would be amazing at this moment.

But he’s running out of macarons, and if there are more Akumas, it’ll severely impair his ability to fight. 

“I’ll go first!” is the only thing he hears Lady Noire huffing before she’s gone from his sight.

When he arrives at the scene, Lady Noire is showing no mercy against the Akuma. Hopefully, she has some food left to feed Plagg to gain back the energy she’s lost. 

After countless consecutive battles into the next day, both of them are excessively tired. Misterbug is trying to stand as tall as he can on the rooftop for a lookout for Akumas, and Lady Noire is sitting beside him, leaning her whole body against his leg.  

He concludes that that was indeed their last battle and thanks his lucky ladybugs because they only had to fight one Akuma without a recharge. 

He thanks them again when Lady Noire sleepily tells him that there’s an empty place nearby they can sleep in before heading back home. 

Misterbug’s too tired to care about the implications, he just wants to crash. So he reaches down for Lady Noire. With her cheek in his palm, he gently lifts her head off of his leg as he squats. He holds onto her shoulder and softly taps her cheek to wake her up and get her to climb onto his back. 

He once again thanks his lucky ladybugs.

On his back, Lady Noire groggily directs him to their destination and he lands clumsily on the balcony. 

He opens the heavy balcony door to the room and immediately looks for a bed, only to freeze in his place from the realisation that there’s a problem with the whole setup. 

The fluffy and comfy bed that everyone climbs in at the end of the day—there’s only one. 

Misterbug sits heavily on the bed, unwrapping Lady Noire from him to get her to lie down before searching the apartment. The cold hits him on all sides and every ache in his body protests. He misses her warmth so badly that he just wants to abandon the chore that his brain thinks he should do. He turns around, ready to snuggle beside Lady Noire, but when he sees her unmoving figure and peaceful face, he forces himself back to the task at hand.   

The faster he completes the task, the faster he can sleep. Misterbug bounces to his feet, which proves to be a bad idea as he feels the whole floor wobbling. He grabs onto the wall nearby to steady his balance. 

He runs his hands down his face and gets to work. 

It isn’t a very huge apartment, so he knows with one look that there are no other beds. He does find a sofa in the living room, though, and he decides that he can and will be sleeping on that. He just needs to check on Lady Noire one last time to make sure she’s nicely tucked into bed before he crashes once and for all. 

He returns to the bedroom to see that she has shifted from the position he had left her in. She’s now upside down with half her body off the bed, stretching in a way that has Misterbug blushing and rooted to the ground. How is it possible for him to feel hot, but cold at the same time?

“Oh, the bed is so comfy, Buguinet,” she purrs and continues stretching, “Do you want to lay down and sleep with me for a bit?” 

Misterbug clenches his fists. He wants to. He desperately wants to. He just wants to lie down somewhere to stop the pounding in his head. And what better way to spend the night other than in his Lady’s arms? 

His headache will go away too.

Now, that’s an added bonus!

Lady Noire looks so welcoming he just wants to lay down and cuddle against her warm kitty body, bask in her scent, and sleep the night away. 

Pain burns the sides of his face before he can fully comprehend that he had slapped both of his hands on his cheeks. 

The exhaustion is messing with his mind.

And probably hers too. 

Misterbug steps towards her and kneels on the bed. Lady Noire is smiling ever so sweetly at him that he almost gives in. His thread of reasoning almost burns away with how warm he’s feeling, but he quickly grabs the sides of the blanket and wraps her into a burrito, lifting and flipping her over so that her head is on the pillow. Lady Noire is too stunned to move but now that her head is right side up, she thrashes as much as the burrito allows her to.

“Wh–What the hell are you doing?!” she hisses. 

He leans in to kiss her forehead before pointing to where he’ll be sleeping, “You can take the bed, I’ll sleep on the sofa. Good night!” 

Misterbug leaves the room without bothering to answer her question. She’s too fatigued to understand him anyway. 

He plops onto the sofa as soon as he gets there. Even though he’s sleeping next door with windows closed, slight chills crawl up his spine. He’s so tired. Misterbug tries his best to ignore it—it’s just a minor itch after all—and shifts around until he gets into a position comfortable enough to fall asleep with ease. 

Just as he’s about to fall into Slumber’s embrace, his ears pick up on soft whines. 

“Misterbug, release me!” 

He blinks multiple times to consciousness, and he hears her soft pleas again. 

“Buguinet, please! I can’t sleep like this.” 

Lady Noire’s pull is amazing. Misterbug is drawn to her; she sounds just like a little wet kitty begging for his attention, but he can’t risk it. He knows what she’s capable of, and now that her filter is completely gone, Misterbug isn’t sure he can handle it. 

Who is he kidding? He could never resist her even if every fibre of his being is screaming at him to do so. If she mewls one more time, he’ll go to her. 

But the next mewl never comes. The apartment is deadly silent now. 

Misterbug rolls over, about to leave the sofa when he feels warmth descending upon him. 

Lady Noire has gracefully made herself at home on top of him and her cheek is pushed against his own. She is attached to him from head to toe. 

He is too tired to do anything about their current position, and besides, the weight pressing down on him and her warmth against his skin are really welcome. She’s like the weighted blanket he has at home and he couldn’t be happier. 

Misterbug swiftly drifts to the edge of snoozing when she starts purring, and he can’t help but chuckle. 

“Lady Noire.” 

“Oh, sorry.” She shakily stands up—her left top cap hitting against the floor so heavily a loud thud resounds around him—and lifts his arms awkwardly to wrap them around herself, so she can snuggle into his chest. “Ah, you’re so warm.”

He laughs. What did I expect? Misterbug looks down to see her constantly shifting. 

“Chaton. I’m trying to sleep.” 

Her shifting continues. “Well, so am I.” 

Misterbug exhales, amused at her tactics.

Oh, his poor needy kitty. 

He knows that she wants him to hold her, but he lets go and strokes her head instead. 

Lady Noire looks up from his chest with a pout. “Why don’t you want to sleep with me?”

His hand stops. “It’s a small bed. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. Besides, you don’t know what you’re asking for.”

She pushes her face into his chest again and shifts some more. 

“My Lady…”

“I’m not uncomfortable, and I want to sleep with you beside me.” She slowly peeks at him again, “Unless… you’re… you’re not comfortable sleeping with me?”

Misterbug can’t believe that she would even come to that conclusion. He wants to squeeze her pouty cheeks, chiding her for arriving at that deduction, but mainly because she looks so cute. 

And very wrong. 

Lady Noire can’t be further from the truth.

He tightens his arm around her waist. “Why wouldn’t I be? I like having you around.” He scratches her under the chin, “You’re my favourite kitty.”

Lady Noire purrs, as though very content with him, reminding him of his feelings for her. The soothing sound goes on for a while. Until she, Misterbug deduces, remembers that she’s supposed to be angry with him for not wanting to sleep with her. Because she suddenly bites him. 

She chomps his index finger. Misterbug’s too tired to pull his hand away in time, so he allows her to continue nibbling on it until she’s satisfied, letting go and snuggling into his chest even more. 

She’s such a kitten. 

He should carry her back to the bed because there is no way she is letting him go now and there’s more space there for them to have a good night’s rest. 

Her legs wrap around him when he sits up, and she clings onto him like her life depends on it when he stands. 

Lady Noire locks her thighs behind his waist and curls her tail around his left leg as he stumbles towards the bed. 

“I’m not going anywhere, my sweet kitty.”

“No.” She secures her arms around his neck even tighter, pushing her face into his neck. “You’re gonna put me on the bed again and wrap me into a burrito and then go back to the sofa and leave me—”

“Purrito.”

“What?”

“Wrap you into a purrito.”

She loosens her hold and raises an eyebrow at him. “Wrap me into a purrito and then go back to the sofa and leave me all alone on the bed again.” Her face is back at his neck again. “But this time you’re gonna make sure you coil your yo-yo around—”

“I’m not going to do that.” He chuckles and climbs onto the bed. “Even though I should.”

Lady Noire whines as her back lands on the bed, but she stops when she sees the blanket draped over them. 

“You’re safe, my Lady.” Misterbug gently pries her arms away from his neck so that he can give her a forehead kiss. “Now, sleep, mon Chaton. We really need it.”

He turns away, moving as close to the edge of the bed and as far away from her as possible. 

He said he did not care about the implications of sleeping in the same apartment together, but in the same bed? Now, that’s scandalous. No one must know—not that it matters. Literally no one else is there nor has seen them in the dead of the night. 

The public can’t know.

The bed covers rustle before he feels two hands wrapping around his waist. 

He must’ve used too much of his lucky ladybugs’ magical powers earlier because nothing seems to go according to his plan ever since he stepped into this apartment!

“Er, Lady Noire?” he wheezes. This is too much contact. Her whole body is pressed against his back and he’s enjoying it too much for it to be considered appropriate. “What are you doing?”

“Hug the bug.”

“What?” He has enough air to expel from his lungs? How is he still breathing? His insides should’ve melted by now.

“Hug the bug,” she explains, as though repeating the same sentence would get him to understand her. “I saw it online: your fans use ‘hashtag-hug-the-bug’ to show their gratitude to you. And I’m your fan too.”

He swears he’s having a heart attack right now. “B–But isn’t that inappropriate?” he squeaks. 

“Hmm, you’re right.” 

Misterbug’s sure she’ll release him, and he’ll be able to breathe again and go back to sleep. Instead, he releases the most unrestrained squeal when Lady Noire squeezes him tighter.

“I’m not just a fan. I’m your friend too! And friends sleep together!”

Hhhhhhhhggggggggggggnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhhhh! 

He should’ve listened to every fibre in his being from before. Lady Noire is actively trying to kill him. 

“N–No?”

“Yes.”

“What? No!”

“Yes! I sleep with my friends all the time!”

Misterbug has never flipped around so fast in his life. 

Even in the face of death. 

“What!” 

She can’t be serious.

Lady Noire releases her hands and snuggles into his chest once again. “I sleep with my friends all the time.” 

He grabs her upper arms and shakes “No, no, no! My Lady, look at me! What do you mean? With who?!”

A frown etches itself onto her mouth as Misterbug once again pushes her away from his chest. “Argh, let me sleep!” 

He hugs her against his chest and asks again, “Lady Noire, what do you mean you sleep with your friends?” 

She looks up at him and smiles. “You know? Sleep and cuddle in the same bed together, like… like a— a sleepover! Yeah, that’s the word! I have sleepovers with my friends all the time!” 

Oh.

A sleepover. That’s what she meant. 

Misterbug releases a sigh of relief. Yeah, that’s normal, something he knew people his age do all the time. 

But wait. 

“You mean with girl friends and guy friends?” 

His eyes widened as soon as she replied without hesitation. 

“Yep!” She buries her head into his chest as though she’s too shy to admit it. 

No way. No freaking way! 

He understands she has her own life outside of superheroing, but to have another guy snuggling with her? Before he even has the chance to? 

Unfair!

She peers at him again. “Oh wait, no I didn’t. Only with girls.” 

YES! He’s the first!! 

No wai—

“But you’re my favourite, Buguinet.” 

Misterbug quickly flashes her his teeth. “I’m your only Buguinet.” 

She pushes her face into his neck and giggles. “My favourite Buguinet in the whole wide world!” 

He smiles fondly as she circles her arms around his neck, bringing herself impossibly close to him. In response, he wraps his arms around her too and feels the vibrations of her soft purrs with his touch. 

Misterbug plans, really plans, to leave the bed as soon as Lady Noire falls asleep. But after learning that he can be the first guy she sleeps in the same bed with? He isn’t strong enough to ruin his own opportunity like that. 

She has also been pretty adamant about sleeping with him, even though he has tried his literal best to prove that she’s not thinking straight—to no avail.

So, he’ll just go with it for now and settle for cuddling and snuggling with her for the rest of the night. He has waited long enough for this to happen. His future self can deal with what could possibly happen later. 

Because for now, Misterbug will just embrace his Lady and have this very platonic sleep with her. With her hands around his neck, his around her waist, and her on top of him, weighing him down like his weighted blanket on this cold quiet night. Except it isn’t a quiet one anymore with her purring so contently, but that’s like a lullaby pulling him towards sleep. 

Misterbug’s so blessed. 

He has never been so blessed.

[cakemousse]

forbidden silence

Chat Noir couldn’t help but notice that Ladybug hadn’t really been her usual self since Strike Back. And then on one random day, he got punched so hard he flew across the city.

Rating: T,  Words: 2100, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

Lisa @ladynoirist im so sorry this is so so late 😭😭😭 but i hope you enjoy this and have a good day ahead :tikkieyes:

thank you so much to Noodles for helping me and beta reading this! 😭❤

━━━━━━

Chat Noir has never felt as relieved as he did the moment he sees the Miraculous Ladybugs rushing towards him. 

What an achievement, he thinks. He’s pretty sure he’s the first person to ever get punched by a holder of the Tiger Miraculous. 

Clout was never used for evil before, after all. 

Chat Noir can’t tell exactly where he’d landed, he just knows he’d crashed violently into a building, based on the individual bricks falling and landing near his head. The world is upside down, the pain erupting everywhere in his body, and he is physically fighting to pull air into his lungs, even though he can’t move a muscle. The metallic taste that flooded his mouth is something he isn’t familiar with.  

He doesn’t understand how he is still alive. 

A feather-light sensation that he feels all over his body brings him out of his head, and he sees the Ladybugs encasing him. They use their magical powers to heal the heavy blow he had sustained from the enemy and undo the damage he had suffered after being propelled across the city. The healing process is painless and Chat Noir is back on his feet again, feeling as upbeat as he had before the start of the battle. 

Once the Miraculous Ladybugs have done their job, they proceed to scatter in all other directions, and all Chat Noir wants is to be by his Lady again as soon as possible. He heads towards where he last saw her, hoping that she’s at least in the vicinity and not somewhere else. He can’t fathom the thought of her being punched like the way he was. 

That’s when Chat Noir notices that the Ladybugs are still flying around, restoring the city to its former appearance. 

Was their battle that extensive? 

He’s getting more worried by the second and he quickens his pace. 

As he nears the area, he sees Ladybug comforting the rescued akumatised victim, paying no attention to the magical Ladybugs that surround her briefly. One of her hands is on the victim’s shoulder, while the other is clenching onto her yo-yo. 

She isn’t usually this impatient to leave after a battle…   

“That was another job well done, My Lady!” He comments as he lands right next to her, holding his fist in midair. She whips her head towards him, eyes wide and darting between his own pair of eyes. Ladybug seems to be reaching out to grab his arms before she suddenly retracts them. She bites her lower lip, lowering and clutching her hands before she raises one to fist bump him softly.

Her eyes never leave his, as though she’s searching for something. 

Chat Noir hears the crowd approaching, and that’s their cue to leave. He readies his baton, but he feels a tug on his belt. 

“Chaton, wait!” She swallows and clears her throat. “Your injury. Let me see it.” Ladybug lets go of his tail. 

“It’s gone. Your Miraculous Ladybug can heal, remember?” He says as he turns to face her. 

She isn’t looking at him now, she’s fixated on his rib area, where he was punched. She moves closer, hands extending to his “wound” before she decides to put them on his arm. “You can never be too sure.” 

Chat Noir sends a smile. “I’m feeling superb, my Lady!” 

Ladybug lifts her gaze, eyes shinier than what he remembered, and peers into his, tugging at his arm this time. “Please.” 

It’s only then that he realises her insistence is more than her desire to look at and treat his non-existent wound. She wants to be closer. Ladybug has always been close, be it physically or in his mind. But since the fallout of the battle against Strike Back, she has been clinging onto him like he’s her lifeline. 

Chat Noir really doesn’t have a problem with her wanting to be close. That much attention on him? Who is he to complain? 

Her change in behaviour is getting a bit worrisome. They aren’t bantering as much as before, like she’s too afraid of offending him with her sharp tongue. 

As if sharp words would be enough to drive him away after they’ve been through so much together. He has seen her at her worst. Besides, bantering is his favourite pastime with her.

Ladybug has since then, begun giving him a pat-down on his body every time, making sure to check that zero injuries are left on him before she lets him go. She isn’t as rough as she used to be with him, as though she thought Chat Noir would just suddenly disappear without explanation if she manhandled him too much.  

The beeping of their Miraculouses catches his attention, and Ladybug looks like she’s about to cry at the sound. 

Chat Noir surveys the growing crowd before facing her again. “Okay, let’s get away from this place and recharge, then you can have me.” 

Her eyes light up immediately, and she pulls him along, heading to another rooftop far away from the crowd. 

They stand at opposite sides of a giant pillar and call off their transformation. Adrien feeds Plagg his beloved Camembert silently—the Kwami takes his time to savour that disgusting cheese—and he thinks about what to do to comfort her once they are suited up again. 

Ladybug was already worried as heck when he got Cataclysm-ed the last time, even though he could still move around and fight. 

He doesn’t know how to put her at ease. How does one calm their partner down when one doesn't even know what has happened? 

It was all a blur, all Chat Noir knew was that he felt a heavy impact on his ribs, and then, he could hardly move and breathe anymore. 

Plagg finishes his Camembert, and Adrien suddenly remembers that Plagg can feel whatever Chat Noir feels. 

“Plagg, are you okay?!” 

“After my beloved Camembert? Definitely! Now let’s go!” 

Adrien exhales, amused. Plagg will always be Plagg. He calls for his transformation and is immediately tackled to the ground by something. 

That something? 

Ladybug. 

━━━━━━

Pain flares in her hands with the force of her tackle as they fall onto the rooftop. But she couldn’t care less about that right now. Not after what he went through. 

“Buguinette?” 

Ladybug wraps her arms around him, refusing to let go. She tries hard not to remember the sound that could be heard from his ribs when Clout was used on him. She tries not to think about how far he flew away from her when it happened. She tries not to imagine how messed up his body was after that. 

She tries, but they keep replaying in her mind. 

Ladybug tightens her arms around his waist and presses the side of her face into his chest.

Sturdy. 

Warm. 

Healthy. 

A beating heart. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay, mon Minou!” she cries. 

Chat Noir wraps his arms around her and rubs his hand along her back. “I’m okay, My Lady. I’m still here.” 

“Will you stop being so reckless?” 

“And give up the opportunity for you to tackle me every time? Never.”

Ladybug lifts her head from his chest with furrowed brows, her hands reaching his cheeks to squeeze and pull.

“Ow!” His hands rush to her forearms and quickly tighten around them. 

“I’m serious, Chat Noir,” hoping that her face shows how stern she is now that she’s up close to his. 

He chuckles, messaging her arms to coax them into releasing him. “Will you stop being reckless too?” 

Ladybug looks away and releases her hold on his face. “I can’t, the Miraculouses…” 

Chat Noir rubs her arms. “Then you should know that I can’t either.” 

Ladybug stares back at him, wanting to be angry at him for his response, but she’d be a hypocrite if she did. And it’s unfair for her to react like this, because she knows that this is affecting him as much as it’s affecting her. 

It’s her and him now. The ever-present weight of the world falls on their shoulders, not just hers anymore. A weight they can only share with each other.

Yes, she has Alya to support her too, but she wants to be able to support Chat Noir too. She doesn’t want him to be alone again when they are fulfilling their superhero duties. 

Never again. 

Ladybug surges forward and circles her arms around his neck, placing her chin on his shoulders. 

“At least be careful. Promise me you’ll be extra careful from now on.” 

Chat Noir wraps his arms around her, bringing her closer to him. “I promise.” 

Despite his word, Ladybug still doesn’t feel at ease. She buries her head into his neck, trying to be as close to him as possible. 

Being this close to him, feeling his warmth and his heartbeat against her own, lessens her worry a bit. So she continues laying on top of him. She has plenty of time before she detransforms again, after all. 

It’s so nice and cosy being this close to him, with his hands rubbing soothing circles on her back, and him being okay with enveloping her in an embrace. The light of the day drains away as time passes, painting their surroundings with the soft colours of lavender and pink before dark blue descends upon them. Ladybug knows it would be a sight to witness, especially with him by her side, but all she sees is gold.

His hair tickling her face should’ve encouraged her to move away, but she needs to feel all of him against all of her, even that tingly sensation. She moves to breathe in his scent, and now, all her senses are filled with him. 

The more she breathes him in, the more she loves his scent. But Ladybug really hates her brain sometimes, because the moment she thinks of something as enjoyable, her brain will steer her away from the pleasure and present to her the worst-case scenario. 

What if she’s never able to smell his scent again?

Memories of her Chaton in white, cold and distant, flood her brain. Chat Blanc was still Chat Noir deep down, but she couldn’t recognise him at all. 

Ladybug couldn’t even get close to Chat Blanc. She realises now that she took for granted how easy it was to be close with Chat Noir. 

“My Lady.”

The recollection sets her heart racing again and she pushes her nose into his neck, nuzzling and inhaling him as deeply as she can. She’s so focused on the act that she didn’t even notice Chat Noir’s hands have stopped in their tracks. 

“My Lady.” He starts to pull back, but isn’t able to move far with the grip she has on him. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” She speaks and she feels her own lips vibrating against his neck, causing him to suck in a gulp of air. “Just enjoying your scent. Partners do that right?” 

“I—”

“Partners bathe in each other’s scent when they hug and cuddle and get cosy, right?”

Ladybug doesn’t move, waiting for his answer, hoping it’ll be permission to continue… whatever she’s doing. She doesn’t want him to push her away. Not now, not ever. 

She feels herself sinking as Chat Noir exhales, realising that he’s been holding his breath for who knows how long. “Yeah.” 

His voice is so close. Ladybug shivers as she remembers how Chat Blanc had called to her. How desperate he was to get out of that place of loneliness that he was willing to fight her.  

And as though that memory wasn’t painful enough, her brain reminds her that she’d pushed him away a second time, to the point where he left his Miraculous with her. 

He was gone just like that, like a part of her vanished, and no way to reach it. She was just extending her arms aimlessly, hoping to grab onto something that was long gone.

It awakens memories of how distressed she was when he wasn’t around. But Chat Noir is right here with her now. Words can never describe how thankful she is to be able to be in his embrace like this.  

Ladybug feels a hand at the back of her head, just above her nape, pushing her against what she now recognises as his neck. 

“I’m still here, My Lady.”

And she feels her own tears leaking from her eyes, completely unaware that her vision has been blurry for a while now. 

“I'll always be here, My Lady.” His arms circle her once again, but tighter this time. “By your side, till the end of time.”

[cakemousse]

next to you

They agreed to remain as friends, but the feelings continue to linger…

Rating: T,  Words: 880, Chapters: 1/1

READ on AO3

this is literally just my writing when my brain’s empty and my heart filled with emotion. i really need to get it out, if it doesn’t make sense, im sorry. also i can’t believe my confidence in writing is at an all time low but i still decided to post this. the lovesquare sends me crazy i guess  exaltation spoilers ahead

━━━━━━

They both sit on a rooftop, gazing towards the city but also at nothing at all. 

Ladybug shifts her eyes towards Chat Noir, her head still facing forward, to see him as still as ever. She slowly turns towards him and raises her hand, moving it to the back of his neck, and she knows that he sees what she’s doing, because he doesn’t jump when her fingers slowly come into contact with his nape. 

“What’s gotten you so stiff, Chaton?” scratching his neck lightly, hoping to ease his shoulders.

She feels him leaning slightly into her palm, and if she listens very closely, paying all of her attention to him and only him, she would’ve heard his soft purring at her touch. 

Chat Noir directs his attention to her, “Oh I was stiff? Haha, I didn’t notice…”

He visibly arches his back, bringing his hands above his head to stretch his whole body.

And her hand falls from where it was so comfortable being.

“Thank you, my Lady, for always looking out for me.”

She smiles at him, then continues staring into the blank space from before, crossing her arms over her knees and tucking her head into them.

Ladybug is not expecting the breeze that’s flowing through her hair to be as calming as this, and she can’t help but close her eyes at the ease it brings her. 

That is until she feels something pushing her bangs out of the way to reveal her eyes. 

She blinks, then stares at black gloves before moving her eyes to see his greens. 

“What’s gotten you so sad, my Lady?”

Sad? 

Well, lots of things, and mainly one. But she doesn’t want him to feel responsible for it, she’ll never do that to him. 

Ladybug smiles again, “Sad? Oh no, you must have mistaken it for tiredness, I did sleep later than usual last night, so don’t have to worry your pretty—”

Both of their eyes widened. 

“I-I mean… don’t have to worry your head over me. Just need a couple more hours of rest and I’ll be fine!”

“Speaking of which,” Ladybug slowly stands up, “I should go before I look any more tired huh?”

She’s looking up now, Chat Noir has risen to his feet together with her. 

Something is lingering behind his eyes too. 

Ladybug waves, “see you soon, Chat Noir,” and reaches for her yo-yo, only to feel his hands on hers soon after. 

“Ladybug, we’re still friends right?”

Ah.

She drops her hand and grabs his. “Yes, of course! Why wouldn’t we be?”

“You’re not… letting me help you…”

Ladybug bites her lower lips, “Of course I am! You enabled me to know how I truly am feeling! That’s plenty of help—”

“Buguinette.”

If she has any other lingering thoughts to share, they all disappeared when he uttered that nickname. 

She lowers her head and releases her hold on his hands, gently running both of her hands up his palm, waiting to see if he’ll move away from her, waiting to see when he’d grab her forearms to ask what the hell she’s doing. 

Chat Noir does none of that, instead, he lets her trace her palms to his elbows, and she moves forward, bit by bit, slowly lifting her hands away from his arms, and steadily circles his waist. 

Ladybug carefully steps into his embrace, worried he’ll pull back anytime. 

Again he remains rooted to the rooftop. 

When she’s chest to chest with him, it brings back memories of how tightly he had hugged her a while back. 

She looks away from him, blinking, and fails to notice his sudden hitch of breath.

“It’s… complicated…”

Ladybug feels his arms shifting, circling them around her shoulders. 

She blinks even more. 

Chat Noir tucks his face into the space beside her neck, “I’m always here.”

Ladybug shakes and Chat Noir pulls back, not too far, but just enough to look at her. 

“I understand Ladybug, it may be difficult now, but know that I am always here for you.”

She gazes at him, and he gazes back. And slowly, she sees that he’s leaning into her as if he’s so shy to do so. 

Ladybug continues looking, and Chat Noir doesn’t stop, until he places a cheek kiss on her. 

Her breath gets stuck in her throat before she focuses on him again. 

“I—”

She places a hand on his cheek and caresses him while smiling. “Thank you, mon Chaton.”

The smile she shows must be a genuine one, because Chat Noir shares a grin of his own, “Anytime, my Lady.”

Ladybug pulls back, her hand still lingering on his as her other hand reaches for the yo-yo. “I’ll be going, see you soon.”

“Yeah, see you.”

But their hands are still connected. 

She shifts her fingers slightly, and so does he, stroking each other’s hands as gently as possible, afraid that too much force would yank them apart.

It’s as if they wanted to hold onto each other a while longer, and she believes that to be the case because she definitely wants to.

But she slowly retracts, and he stops his caress.

She takes a step back, smiles at him, and throws her yo-yo, swinging back to her house, never looking back at him.

[cakemousse]

omg #clownbug reached 300 kudos and i didn’t noticed 🥹 thank you 🥹

[cakemousse]

along the moonlit path

Ladybug and Chat Noir are tucked into blankets on a rooftop, enjoying each other’s company like any other midnight rendezvous they have had. Totally what partners frequently do together!

Rating: T, Words: 1276, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

@ladynoirjuly , 4 months later?

━━━━━━

“How’s the Chouquettes, mon Chaton?”

“Excellent!” he chews on another. “How’re the roses, my Lady?”

She has been sniffing the flowers ever since Chat Noir gave them to her once he lands on the rooftop. “Sweet, I’m going to hang them by their feet!”

The one Chouquette that’s being catapulted into his mouth almost missed its destination. 

“What?”

She giggles. “What?”

“Why would you hang them!!” He whines and crawls over from his spot of blankets and pillows to hers, coming right into her face.

What a kitten. Ladybug wonders if he’s like this when he’s not Chat Noir. 

She really wants to know. 

“So that they last forever, silly,” she boops his nose as he pouts.

“But you’re supposed to admire their beauty!”

“That I’m doing Chaton. They haven’t exactly left my face the moment you gave them to me,” Ladybug wiggles the roses a bit in her hands, “but I prefer to still have them a few years down the road.”

He plops right beside her, grumbling, “But Buguinette, they won’t look fresh anymore.”

She scratches his chin, “Trust me Chaton, they might change a little, yes, but they’ll still be as beautiful as before.”

Chat Noir purrs, closing his eyes at the sensation. “Show them to me once you’re done hanging them by their feet.” 

She runs her fingers through his hair, “Of course!”

Chat Noir moves in and rests his head on her shoulders. He takes a piece of Chouquette from the packet and brings it to her mouth aimlessly, and Ladybug moves to bite it from his hand. 

“You're planning to share that right?”

He looks down into the packet. 

“Er…”

“Chat Noir!”

He takes shelter from her as Ladybug starts raining down soft blows on him with her pillow. “Shh! My Lady, it’s past midnight, keep it down!”

“Nobody sleeps past midnight in Paris, now come here!”

They continue their pillow fight, except it isn’t exactly one when Ladybug is chasing Chat Noir and hitting him with her pillow while he runs away and protects himself from her harmless swings. Both having fun and not really caring how loud they get as they laugh at the top of their lungs, and that’s when Ladybug finally catches him. 

They end up on Chat Noir’s section of the makeshift blanket bed, Ladybug sitting on him while he protects his face with his arms from her attacks. 

She throws her pillow beside his head and takes her yo-yo, reaching in to pull out another packet of Chouquettes.

Chat Noir stares at her hands, wide-eyed. “We went through all of THAT, only for you to already have another packet?!”

Ladybug smirks as she rolls off of him, plopping into the spot next to him, “You’re telling me you'd rather not play?”

He puffs his cheeks and immediately tries to steal the packet from her again.

“Chat Noir! NO!” Ladybug hurries to shove as many Chouquettes into her mouth as possible.

He seizes the packet, “Oh no you don’t!”

They continue wrestling until the remaining Chouquettes fall onto the blankets. 

“Now wef nouere to sheep!” she crosses her arms and munches aggressively to get all the food down. 

“Ue do,” Chat Noir grabs Ladybug to get her to stand somewhere else, and he gathers the ends of the blankets and starts shaking the crumbs off, all the while chewing. He then flips it over so that they have a clean area to sleep on. Once the blanket looks like how they first were, he swallows, “et voilà !”

“Ew.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, my Lady. What do you mean ew? May I remind you that we nap together after Akuma battles? After we actually sweat?” 

Ladybug sticks her tongue out at him and returns to the blankets, easing herself into them. “I’m gonna sleep, nights.”

“Hey!!” Chat Noir dives into the blankets, coming face to face with her, “who sleeps this early in Paris?” he grins. 

She groans and tosses the blanket away, taking her flask and two cups from their picnic basket situated beside their sleeping spot. “Okay, fine, here,” Ladybug pours the contents of the flask into each cup, “have your hot chocolate so you’d feel tired.”

“What am I, seven?”

Ladybug raises a brow at him. 

Chat Noir grumbles and leans against her, drinking his hot chocolate. “Miam, this feels so homey!”

She lightly hits her cups against his, “cheers!” and leans into him as well, taking sips from her cup. “Mhmm! This is delicious!”

“Share the recipe with me?”

“Sure,” Ladybug replies as her hand absentmindedly travels into her hair to pull the twin ribbons off. 

Chat Noir starts rubbing his head against her shoulders and she looks at him, brows raised. 

“Tie your hair ribbons onto mine?”

Ladybug bursts out a laugh, “You’re very needy aren’t you, mon Chatounet.”

“What can I say?” he flips his hair and grins, “Kittens are very needy creatures.”

She sets her cup down and turns around to see Chat Noir already lying before her on his belly and his head on his pillow. 

Ladybug chuckles at the sight and moves to his side, allowing herself to be closer to him to work on his wild mop of hair. She takes just enough to tie circles around his hair, giving him a pigtail that is similar to hers, yet all the more shorter. The tiny amount of hair sticking out from the ribbon resembles a bunny’s tail, and it’s too cute of a sight to ignore. Ladybug gently tugs at them, much like how an unsuspecting victim would run their hand over a cat’s tail.  

Chat Noir shifts slightly, but she pays him no attention as she wonders how it’d feel like to run her bare hands into his hair. Would it be as soft as a kitty’s fur? She wouldn’t stop running her fingers through them if that were the case. They are the softest things she has ever had the pleasure of laying her hands upon, and now she’s just hoping his hair is as soft as those are. 

They better be!

But with how easily she’s combing his hair, Ladybug knows that that would be the case. 

Tying hair ribbons shouldn’t have taken this long, but Ladybug’s so engrossed with running her fingers through his hair that she still has yet to tie the other half of his hair. The soft purrs that reverberate around the open space and the lightweight now present on her thighs bring her out of her trance. 

Chat Noir has the left side of his face pressing against her thighs; the side of his hair not yet done up is left exposed for her to do her magic. Ladybug should’ve been upset at him for messing up her work, but she finds herself not bothered by that fact. Not when she is free to stare at him for as long as she likes. 

The purrs that she loves to listen to have stopped since she came out of her daze, and Ladybug continues to pet his hair, once again wishing that she could remove only the hand area of her magical suit to feel his locks against her palms.  

His purrs fill up the air around them again, and Ladybug finally works on tying the rest of his hair into the pigtails she’s frequently associated with. 

Now that she’s done, Ladybug has all the reasons to push him off of her lap. But even with the possibility of suffering from leg cramps after, she finds herself not minding that one bit. 

Not when she gets to be this close to him and gaze at his beautiful blissful face uninterrupted.

[cakemousse]

solace in solitude

A little bug on a roof, languishes without her kitty. Except, there is a kitten by her side, always.

Rating: T,  Words: 4713, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

Noodles @ladyofthenoodle i'm so sorry for the late bday gift 😭😭 i hope you like it though!

thank you so much Lisa for beta reading this! 😊💕

and special shout out to the friend who inspired all of this and allowed me to write about it fsklf

━━━━━━

“What…” Ladybug breathes as she sees the Akuma fluttering away from the akumatised victim. 

She throws her yo-yo at the Akuma, scanning the area to see what damage has been done to the city. 

Besides the victim being in a place that they shouldn’t be, everything is just the way it is. 

Huh? 

Ladybug knows that she’s late—unforeseen circumstances have led her to break her impressive track record of showing up to battle on time—but surely some action should have taken place during her absence?

And where is Chat Noir? 

Is that why no destruction has taken place? 

She heads towards the victim, hearing their endless iterance of apologies for succumbing to the powers of Monarch. Ladybug reassures them that it wasn’t an issue and asks if they had seen Chat Noir, only to be slightly dejected with their answer. She knows it’s normal for them to not remember anything after an akumatisation, but still, having some information would be nice.

Cheers for her saving the day once again erupt as she leaves the scene. Ladybug prefers to claim credit only where it’s due, and this is certainly not one of those situations. 

She does have a naggy feeling at the back of her head though, that something is a little weird with the state of affairs. And so, she hangs around and searches the area for a little while more, trying to find something, anything that could put her at ease or at least explain that feeling.

Again, she finds nothing out of the ordinary.  

With no choice but to move on, Ladybug returns home, taking detours before landing in her own house and releasing her transformation. Marinette goes about her day as if the Akuma battle had never happened in the first place, before allowing her head to hit her pillow. 

━━━━━━

Being swamped with work has made Marinette forget all about the bizarre event that happened just two days prior. 

With a cup of tea in her hand, she’s about to leave for work when she sees a cat by her window. He’s just observing her as though he has never seen a human before. If that’s true, though, his reaction to her is somewhat peculiar, as a cat that was unfamiliar with humans would normally bolt away if it ever encountered one. But this cat continues staring at her, and Marinette has never seen such a pretty cat in her life. His eyes are so big that Marinette can’t resist taking a picture. 

She sends it to Alya, and she receives an enthusiastic reply instantaneously. The cat remains fixated on Marinette as she texts Alya, and after she has finished her conversation with her, she walks over to the window where the cat is and takes a closer look at it. 

No collar… it’s a stray… better keep away from it.

But she notices his wide, curious, green eyes, and his jet black fur reminds her of her Chaton. 

Where is he anyway? He normally texts her random stuff with the communicative devices that come with their suits, something she secretly loves—especially when it’s done out of the blue—but he hasn’t done that since the last Akuma. She misses him but she figures she’ll see him during their patrol tonight. 

Marinette leaves her apartment and heads to work, far more focused on spending time with Chat Noir in the dead of the night than she is on anything she does at work. 

Ladybug sits at the edge of a rooftop, waiting for Chat Noir to show up at their meeting spot, but he is again, nowhere to be seen. She starts swinging her legs as more time passes, until she sees a black cat in her peripheral vision. 

She watches the cat as it approaches her, and her eyes widen as she recognises him to be the one by her window earlier that day. Ladybug feels her heart pounding against her chest until she remembers that animals can’t speak and thus, can’t expose truths.

She slumps from her previously stiff posture. 

With her knees now under her chin, she takes her bugphone and calls Chat Noir, but to no avail. Ladybug would give it another try if it isn’t for the pressure she feels against her calf. Her eyes leave her yo-yo to see the black cat encircling her and rubbing himself all over her. 

Ladybug thinks that there is no harm in caressing him, so she reaches down to his head. She scratches the back of his ear, and he starts purring, leaning into her hand. 

Chat Noir also likes ear scratches. 

“Since Chat Noir isn’t here, he’ll be missing out on ear scratches, and I’ll be giving them to you instead, er, Chaton Noir.”

He continues purring. The black cat pushes against her hand and Ladybug relaxes her legs over the edge of the building once again. He must’ve seen that as an invitation because he climbs onto her lap straight away, his head now pushing into her stomach. 

“You’re really attached huh?” Ladybug has one hand under his chin while the other thumbs his ear. “This will be our little secret, okay?”

The constant purring soothes her, but her mind drifts to Chat Noir’s purrs when she gives him scratches, something she likes to do right after he does something impressive, or whenever she feels like it—which is most of the time. 

Ladybug misses her Chaton. It’s been a while since she last saw him, and she really hopes to see him soon. 

No, she yearns for it. 

A meow brings her out of her thoughts and the cat is now grabbing her arm with his little bean paws, rubbing his head against her, and Ladybug can’t help but think how cute he is. 

“You’re so affectionate, I wonder if my Chaton would be jealous if he sees you rubbing against me so intensely,” she chuckles. 

Chaton Noir meows in response and Ladybug stares elsewhere, willing that Chat Noir would appear soon with her magical ladybugs. 

The cat jumps off her lap and onto her chest, startling her in the process. He clings onto her shoulders as he rubs his head against her neck and Ladybug’s hands land behind her to steady herself. 

“Are you trying to mark me?”

Chaton Noir continues doing what he has been doing all this while and her fingers wrap around the cat, pushing him away from her and putting some distance between them. 

“Alright, that’s enough. Only one cat is allowed to do that, and sadly he’s not here.” She stands up and puts Chaton Noir down. “I’m sorry, but see you around I guess.”

She takes off towards her apartment, throwing glances at her back to make sure that the cat isn’t following her. 

━━━━━━

The next morning, everything’s the same as usual. 

Except. 

Marinette sees the black cat at her window again. 

“Oh la la, you shouldn’t be here, Chaton Noir,” she says as she takes out her phone to snap a picture of him. 

He gazes at her with those big familiar eyes and they remind her so much of a certain cat. 

Or maybe she’s just projecting again. 

“It’s not gonna work. And I have to get ready to leave as well. See you later.”

Marinette continues preparing for her day and as she exits the door, she sees the black cat just by her stairs. 

“Erm.” She begins walking down the stairs and Chaton Noir walks with her, and she has to take a photo again, this time sending it to Alya. 

Marinette: the little cat came to see me this morning!

Alya: gurl he’s escorting you 

Marinette: absolutely! he was waiting for me outside my door, and we walked out together!

By the time she finishes texting Alya, she realises she’s a few metres away from the entrance to her workplace. 

Marinette sees the cat sitting at the foot of the staircase and she feels the need to thank it, so she returns to the cat’s side—his pupils have definitely enlarged—and she pets his head a few times, before rushing to work. 

━━━━━━

Marinette sends a picture of the cat outside her window to Alya again. 

Alya: You saw him again!! 

omg he’s meowing 

Marinette: yea, he really wants to come inside 

Alya: LET HIM IN

KEEP HIM

Marinette: NO or i’ll have to take care of him for the next 15 years lol

Besides, she already has a cat in her heart, not that Alya needs to know.

Alya: but he’s so cute!! 

HE HAS CHOSEN YOU 

Marinette: he’s adorable not gonna lie

i’m sure if i open the window one day, i’ll find him in my kitchen

━━━━━━

And another. 

Marinette: look who welcomed me home after work

Alya: HE'S ASKING YOU TO KEEP HIM 

we really should give him a name

Marinette: chaton noir!

Alya: but don’t you already have a chaton noir?

Marinette: no, that's chaton

this is chaton noir

Alya: and what is—

nevermind

chaton noir it is 

━━━━━━

Marinette’s texting Alya the same topic again, but now, it’s for a different reason. 

Marinette: omg alya

this morning I opened my window to let some air in, went to the toilet, and when i came back, he was on my desk 

Alya: HAHAHHAHA

Marinette: alya please help me, this is not the time to be laughing at my misery 

Alya: what? this is a blessing! he’s a stray looking for a home, and he really wants you. 

Marinette: ALYA!

Alya: ok ok erm

don’t feed him any food, i think he’ll leave eventually 

and maybe don't pet him too 

Marinette: i didn't do any of the above, but he’s still coming to me!

She may or may not have forgotten about petting him. A couple of times no less. 

Alya: awww

mr handsome cat liking a pretty lady

makes sense

Marinette: aww thanks

BUT NO!

━━━━━━

Her hand reaches into her yo-yo. This is probably a bad idea. She knows that it’s a bad idea, however, she can’t help but feel bad about how she’s treating Chaton Noir. He merely wants a home, but she isn’t able to give him one. 

The kitty in her heart has already taken up too much space to let another in. 

Ladybug continues putting some other snacks and toys into her yo-yo. She won’t play with him as Marinette, but it doesn’t mean she can’t play with him as Ladybug. 

She makes sure that the cat in question is nowhere to be seen before she leaves for her meetup with Chat Noir. 

Well, if she can even call it one at this point… 

Her heart squeezes at that thought. She understands that Chat Noir has only missed one patrol, but that’s one too many. 

He never misses patrol. 

And she really wants to see him again. 

Ladybug makes sure to bring the snacks that Chat Noir loves too. Yes, she’d be angry at him for his absence, but that doesn’t mean she can’t offer him food. 

She descends upon their usual meeting place, and sure enough, the black cat is waiting for her, tail swaying like the waves of a calming ocean. 

Ladybug feels like she should be scared of the cat—he seems to know the entirety of her schedule, and not even Alya knows that!—but nothing about the cat sends any malicious vibes towards her. 

Maybe he’s just really really really affectionate.  

“Hello, Chaton Noir,” she runs her fingers through his fur as he climbs onto her lap and makes himself at home, tail curling around her forearm. “Is there a reason why you fancy me so much?”

Chaton Noir peers into her eyes again, with those big green kitty orbs, and she longs to see her Chaton. She misses the way he lays his eyes on her, as though she hung the moon and stars in his sky. “I’m sorry for treating you like that as Marinette, I’m making it up to you as Ladybug now.”

She yanks out a small ball of yarn for him to play with, but Chat Noir’s favourite snack falls out of her yo-yo in the process, and Chaton Noir immediately jumps at it. Ladybug tries to snatch it back but he’s too fast, and the snack is now clutched in his paws. 

“Oh no!” Ladybug cries as Chaton Noir rolls onto his back and savours the snack, oblivious to her internal dilemma. “That’s for him…”

She retracts her hand as she sees how happy Chaton Noir is. “You’re lucky you look so cute.”

Ladybug hugs her knees as she watches the blissfully ignorant kitty lay on his back as he munches on the snack. “I miss you, Chaton, where are you?”

All of a sudden, Chaton Noir is by her side, rubbing his head against her thighs. Ladybug mindlessly caresses his head, “Thank you for comforting me Chaton Noir, but it just isn’t the same without him, you know?” 

Her gaze focuses on him and realises that the snack he was holding onto was gone. There’s no way he could’ve finished it in such a short time. Chaton Noir couldn’t have gobbled it down, it’s too big for his tiny mouth. She scans her surroundings and notices that the snack is slightly smaller in size now, and it registers to her what he had done.

Ladybug carries him into her arms and snaps a picture of him. She rubs her cheeks against his, “Thank you so much, Chaton Noir.” 

━━━━━━

She should’ve bought the fan when she saw one. 

She really should’ve, else she wouldn’t be in this situation right now. 

And there’s a really simple solution to solve all this. 

Marinette just has to open the window to her apartment, and that’ll allow the precious and cooling air to enter and ventilate her room. 

But she knows that once she opens the window, he’ll be there. 

He’s become a permanent fixture in the view from her window now.  

And it’s… kinda weird now that he’s not there. 

Still, should she risk it? Marinette knows that he’ll appear out of nowhere—he always does—but her neurons are melting in the heat and the solution to it is quite literally right in front of her. 

She sighs and makes up her mind. She’ll be sure to buy a fan on her next trip to the department store. 

But for now, she’ll open the window. 

Marinette walks towards it and her knee knocks against something hard. She looks at the object, only for a smile to etch itself on her face. 

She proceeds to fold said object and carries it over to the window. Making sure that the coast is clear, she opens her window and places the huge piece of cardboard horizontally against the opening. It covers half of the window, but it still allowed the wind to enter her apartment. Marinette sits back and relaxes as the cool air gushes in her face, finally relieved that she wouldn’t have to bake to death.  

But of course, it doesn’t last long. 

Marinette hears the cardboard being nudged aside and she opens her eyes to see Chaton Noir trying to get into her house through that small opening she left at the side of the window. 

At first, she wonders why he didn't just jump over the cardboard. Marinette knows that cats are more than capable of jumping to insane heights, but her pondering got interrupted when Chaton Noir began to scratch the cardboard. 

She scrambles to her feet to grab the handle of the window. However, she trips and falls in the process—her entire body weight pushing against the window—slamming it shut. She didn’t mean to, but the force of the slam startles even her, so she makes sure to check that Chaton Noir is scared away. What she sees instead, is him still trying to push the cardboard aside. 

“It’s impossible, Chaton Noir,” she takes out her phone, “shutting the window has locked it in place. I’m so glad you don’t have Cataclysm to break it down.” 

Marinette snaps a photo of Chaton Noir’s attempt, snickering at how cute and dumb he looks. 

“Gotta keep this for memories’ sake.” 

━━━━━━

Marinette’s phone rings beside her. 

Alya: hey just a thought

Marinette: ?

Alya: could chaton noir be chat noir?

Marinette: chaton noir and chaton are different 

Alya: yea no i mean like think about it

chaton noir is black and has green eyes

chat noir disappeared one day

and there haven’t been any akuma attacks since then

and then there is this random cat that appeared out of nowhere and is like so super overly attached to you for some reason

a cat that you have never seen in your life might i add

Marinette: OMG 

could it be that they got his ring?!

Alya: omg gurl calm down

if they did, wouldn't they be more relentless in getting yours too? 

anyway

why not try calling him chat noir and see how he responds?

Marinette: er, what if he’s just a regular cat?

me calling him chat noir is like i’m projecting my feelings onto him, not that i have any

Marinette knows very well what her feelings are. 

Alya: just try and who knows, he might be by your side all along

Marinette: … 

okay… 

━━━━━━

Pacing around at the top of the Eiffel Tower with a few sweat drops on her forehead, Ladybug ponders as to exactly what to do with the suggestion Alya has thrown at her. 

On one hand, it’s ridiculous, so so ridiculous. Because there is no way in any universe possible that Chaton Noir is her Chaton. It’s just— Ladybug believes that she would’ve known if that were the case. She knows that it isn’t logical but she can’t help but believe that she would know if it was him. 

On the other hand, ever since Alya planted the seeds of possibility in her mind, Ladybug has been playing her carefully created moment of truth in her mind on repeat, even though it goes against all that she stood for. She feels guilty for wanting Chat Noir to be Chaton Noir, but if it really were the case, that means she’ll finally be able to see him again. 

Not to mention, even though her heart belongs to Chat Noir, she has really been enjoying Chaton Noir’s company as of late.

Is she cheating on him if she feels this way?! 

Her hands fly into her hair, who is she kidding, she’ll feel guilty either way, it’s a fucking mess now. 

Ladybug sits down on the platform and takes deep breaths. She doesn’t know what to do! Just address him as Chat Noir? What if she calls him Chaton Noir instead of Chat Noir? Habits die hard. Also, Chaton Noir has always been responsive to her regardless of what she said, like he doesn’t understand human language and just looks at her curiously and with all his attention. That or he has been looking at her exactly like how Chat Noir focuses on her when she speaks… 

Which is it?!

She’s officially going mad. 

She needs to jump off the Eiffel Tower. It’s dangerous enough to preoccupy her mind, she’ll think about the others later. Ladybug drags herself across the platform, and steps off of it, plummeting down straight to the base of the structure. She needs to act fast if she doesn’t want to smash into the metal that is already beginning to curve outwards. Ladybug throws her yo-yo, and she hastily retracts the wire so that she doesn’t smack face down onto the ground—she still needs to find her Chaton—and Paris still needs her as their protector.

After being flung into the air again, she soars across the bridge, her trajectory that of an arc, attaching her yo-yo to lamp post after lamp post before reaching her destination. She gracefully lands on her feet at the top of the Trocadéro, adrenaline pumping through her veins from the novelty of doing something that crazy. Ladybug finally looks back at the Eiffel Tower, trying to imagine how she looked when she was speeding through the route she had just taken. 

Her mind was definitely not thinking about the Chaton Noir situation as intensely as before, and now she has to deal with it. 

But first, she has to find him. 

As she reaches for her yo-yo again, the meowing of a cat catches her attention, and Ladybug immediately whips her head in the direction where it came from. She sees an orange cat and is relieved but sad at the same time. She really needs to find him!

Another meow of a different octave catches her attention and she sees the cat that has been in her dream for a while now. 

Ladybug dashes to him—the cat alarmed at the speed she is approaching him—and snatches him in her arms. She throws her yo-yo and zips away, with Chaton Noir screaming and meowing at the top of his lungs.

Once they land on a rooftop, she gently places the now shaking and shivering black cat down, and proceeds to sit right across it. Chaton Noir shakes his head and blinks a few times before approaching her.

“Stop,” Ladybug thrusts her right hand towards him, and he looks at her before sitting back down on the spot where he barely moved, ears drooping. 

“Chaton Noir,” and immediately his tail moves and curves. 

She audibly smacks her own head, of course it was impossible to call him Chat Noir, but the movement of his tail gave her an idea to work with. 

“Stop moving your tail.”

Chaton Noir stops and lays it flat on the tile, ears still droopy, but head tilted nonetheless, still staring at her with those wide green eyes. 

“I’m going to need you to cooperate with me,” Ladybug physically cringes at what she’s saying. “Move your tail.”

And she sees him tapping the end of his tail against the tile. 

“Stop.” And it relaxes again. 

Okay, I can work with this. He understands me perfectly well. Here goes…

“Chato— ChAT Noir!” He wiggles his tail again, and Ladybug physically jumps on her spot, blood coursing through her veins as she has finally found him!

“Chaton Noir, it’s really yo—” 

Her heart beats faster as he keeps wiggling his tail. He’s not Chat Noir?

Think! What can she do right now?

“Carapace?” He continues moving his tail, albeit less than before. Until it finally stops. 

“Please help me here,” she pleads, “move your tail when it’s you and don’t when it isn’t.”

“Carapace.”

His tail immediately lies flat.

“CHAT NOIR!”

The black cat rises on all fours and runs towards her, tail swivelling behind him as he crashes into her open arms. 

 “Chat Noir!” she cries as she rubs her cheeks against him. “I’m not crazy! I’m not crazy!”

“Oh my god!” she suddenly drops him as she stands up with unwavering clarity. “You know my identity! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!”

Ladybug starts pacing around in circles on the rooftop again, hands in her hair, and Chat Noir follows close behind, meowing loudly to gain her attention. She eventually feels a weight on her shoulder as something bumps against the side of her face.  

She turns to her left with wide eyes and remembers that she has a more pressing issue to deal with. 

“Oh my god! How can you become human again? This is a nightmare!!” Then she faces forward. “Unless… Lucky Charm!”

And Chat Noir fell off her shoulders at the gesticulation she had just busted out. 

A plate of spaghetti falls into her hands, drips of tomato sauce landing on her face in the process. 

“The heck am I supposed to do with this?!” Ladybug asks out loud as she glares at the messy plate of spaghetti. “Gah!!”

Chat Noir climbs her figure once again, stopping beside her shoulder and licking her face—to get her to calm down or to lick the tomato sauce off her face, Ladybug does not know. What she does know is that doing so has formulated a new idea in her mind.  

“Ha, there’s no way,” Ladybug places the plate down on the roof and grabs Chat Noir from her shoulder, enabling her to face him directly. Her cheeks begin to redden and her arms begin to tremble, “There’s no way this is going to work but let’s try anyway.”

Ladybug brings Chat Noir closer, she sees his tail wiggling endlessly, and she knows straight away that he has been waiting for this moment since forever. That makes the two of them. She angles her head to the left, nuzzling her cheek against his squishy ones, just to tease him. But it wasn’t as much of a tease as she would like it to be, going by the purrs he releases. She pulls back and eyes a certain spot, making sure she would not miss it before closing her eyes, lips pressing against the cute forehead space between his eyes.  

The effects are immediate. A cloud of magic surrounds the black cat as she feels herself losing her grip on him. She lets go when she sees the silhouette of a human. 

Her hands clutch themselves close to her racing heart, recalling the list of things she can do once human Chat Noir appears. She can finally tackle him into a hug, run her fingers through his hair, press herself against him, enjoy the feeling of his arms around her, and on and on it goes. 

Ladybug gasps as she sees a face that she recognises, a face not concealed by a black mask, a face that isn’t her Chaton. Instead, she sees— “Adrien?!”

She witnesses Adrien’s look of adoration directed at her, eyes that make her heart beat even faster than before she’s becoming dizzy from it. 

Even so, before she could succumb to the dizziness, she blurts out, “But— But you’re not Chat Noir!” 

Adrien takes a step towards her with a face so soft and so in love. She can’t take it anymore. 

Where is her Chaton?! 

“No, no. Wait, how are you a black cat? I could’ve sworn that you’d be an orange cat if you ever turn into one. Where is my Chaton!” she cries, hands grasping the side of her face. 

Her light protest of asking him to stay where he is must not have been clear enough, because Adrien is now wrapping his arms around her, pulling her in and removing her hands from her face. Ladybug’s eyes grow wider at this, and she directs her attention to him, desperate to ask what he’s doing but he beats her to it. 

“One,” he starts, bright green eyes still admiring her, “I am your Chaton, my Lady. And two, aww, you thought about me turning into a kitty before.” He teases her as he boops her nose. 

Ladybug wonders how her eyes have yet to pop out of her sockets. 

“WHAT?!” 

“Plagg, transforme-moi !” 

It’s Chat Noir’s hands that are around her now. Adrien’s lovely and heart-racing smile is Chat Noir’s. He has been by her side this whole time. Chaton Noir is Chat Noir. Everything that she has ever said to Chaton Noir, Chat Noir knows. And Chat Noir, in other words, Adrien, her first and only love, has heard all the embarrassing declarations she has made about him. 

Ladybug feels hot as her cheeks flush red. “Cha— Chaton?” 

He flashes a beautiful smile. “My Lady.” 

Ladybug buries her face into his neck, hitting her fists against his chest. “How dare you… You heard… everything…” 

Chat Noir places his hand on the back of her head and pulls her closer, his own face nuzzling her hair. “You’re every bit as crazy as I am about you.” 

Ladybug jumps onto him so suddenly Chat Noir loses his balance and they both fall onto the rooftop. “Ah—”

His breath hitches when soft lips land on the side of his face. “You better make it up to me for disappearing on me for so long,” she says as she plants a kiss with each word uttered. Chat Noir cups both of her cheeks to bring her lips over his own. 

He licks the corner of her mouth that’s covered with tomato sauce, “With pleasure.”  

[cakemousse]

sunset; sunrise

Ladybug felt it the night Chat Noir held out his hand to her on the Trocadéro.  The instant the thunder cracked above them.  She knew what it was.   But getting the Miraculouses back was her top priority. And so, she decided she was going to keep it professional.   in other words, Ladybug chooses to be a clown again.

Rating: T,  Words: 3636, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

heyyyyy Emsy @emsylcatac i'm so sorry it took so long but here's my belated birthday gift fic to you! 9 days later xD  i hope you enjoy this and that you’re having a good hiday ❤

thank you so much Noodles for beta reading this! ❤

━━━・❆・━━━

Ladybug felt it the night Chat Noir held out his hand to her on the Trocadéro. 

When she thought she was all alone. After she convinced herself that she was the worst Guardian that ever existed. 

Her heart responded immediately when he addressed her with her favourite nickname from him, relieved that he still called her that. She first looked at his outstretched palm, then lifted her eyes, and it happened in the moment she saw his soft eyes and pleasant smile directed at her. 

The instant the thunder cracked above them. 

She knew what it was. The realisation flooded her entire being and washed away all the previous feelings of failure and regret, like they’d never been there in the first place. 

There was only him and her. 

And as though he understood exactly what she needed at that very hour, Chat Noir pulled her into a hug, comforting her. Ladybug shouldn’t have been surprised, because deep down, she already knew that’s who he is. Always trying to help, always kind, always loyal to her. Always been there together with her. 

From the very beginning. 

It was embarrassing how long it took for her to see something so blatantly obvious.

Ladybug was not oblivious to what she felt in that moment. But this was Chat Noir, and getting the Miraculouses back was the top priority in their current predicament. 

She couldn’t mess up again. That would be equivalent to letting her Chaton down, and she can’t do that. Not when he’s been there for her time and time again, been her best friend, been her strongest rock, been her best supporter. Even when she’d let him down before.

Ladybug doesn’t want to put him through that again. 

And so, she decided that she was going to keep it professional. No slip-ups, no room for error, no nothing. Defeat whatever-the-fuck-name-he’s-going-to-call-himself-from-now-on, and get back on track with her life. So that she can start dating again, and start appreciating the people she loves. For real this time.

It’d be a piece of cake, she told herself. After all, she had more pressing issues than to stare at Chat Noir and admire him in all his beauty… 

How gentle he is…

How he has also been with her, and there for her…

...

Ladybug had to keep it professional.

No exceptions.

━━━・❆・━━━

She has seen Chat Noir smile plenty of times. In fact, she would go as far as to say that’s when he looks most handsome even. She can stare at his face forever and ever.

And Ladybug’s pretty sure she’s seen his smile at least a million times by now. 

When he’s talking to rescued akumatised victims, when he greets anyone, whenever he’s bantering with her, whenever his eyes light up as he sees her approaching the scene.

God, that last one makes the good butterflies flutter in her stomach. Since when did she start having butterflies around Chat Noir?! He would have loved the pun if she said this out loud, she believes. 

Ladybug is the reason why Chat Noir looks so elevated in battles. She’s seen video clips—no, she did not seek out their Akuma battles on the Ladyblog to watch, who has time for that?—where he looks so thrilled in situations when he shouldn’t be. In situations where she isn’t even sure that she could save him and restore everything to how it once was. Chat Noir trusts her so immensely. He has more confidence in her than she has in herself. That thought is exhilarating and terrifying by itself. 

She knows he’s also happy whenever they have their downtime together, just hanging out and patrolling and making sure that Paris is safe. Those are the times when it made more sense for Chat Noir to smile, when there wasn’t any immediate danger. She thoroughly enjoys that time spent together, too. Seeing him share that same emotion with her, brings about a sense of floatiness within her chest. 

And as she’s said, there are many many smiles. She sees them almost all the time when she’s with him.

But when had it gotten so beautiful? 

They have just defeated an Akuma. And now, it’s their first fist bump ever since the last hug on the Trocadéro. 

The tip of her knuckles touching his feels funky, but it isn’t enough to distract her from the sheer brilliance of Chat Noir’s smile. 

Those upturned lips, sweet squishable cheeks, and the soft but still energetic green cat eyes that gaze at her. His face grips Ladybug’s attention so tightly she could hardly breathe. Her heartbeat picks up pace. 

Chat Noir lowers his hand. “Nothing can beat the Cat and Bug team, My Lady!” 

Ladybug brings her knuckles up to her face to scrutinise, she imagines a band magically materialising over her ring finger, just like how her magical suit comes into form, and cups her other palm to her reddening cheek. 

She knows what this feeling is—

“Buguinette?” 

—but she has to keep it professional. 

“Hmm?” 

Chat Noir tilts his head and regards her expectantly, as though waiting for her to say something.

“Did you hear what I’ve said?” 

Shit! Whatever he had said went completely over her head.

Ladybug moves the hand on her cheek to her back while she brings the hand she was inspecting to her mouth and coughs. “What?”

“Nothing can beat the Cat and Bug team! Don’t you agree?”

Ah! Easy. He’s looking to banter. She can definitely do that.

“Y—You mean the Bug and Cat team?” 

Ladybug wants to die in a hole. 

Chat Noir raises an eyebrow and she’s overcome with the immediate urge to flee.

“You ok—”

“Shoot! I left my oven on! Gotta go, see you soon, mon Chaton. Bye!” And she swings away, hoping the wind would clear her mind, and cool down her pinkish hot cheeks. 

━━━・❆・━━━

“… was blushing. There’s no way—”

“Who’s blushing?” 

“My Lady!” He has a hand on his chest. “Don’t scare me like that!” 

She takes a seat beside him and waves her hand, dismissing him. “Not my fault you’re so lost in thought you didn’t hear the yo-yo, it is pretty loud.”

Chat Noir grumbles even more. 

“So, who’s blushing?” 

He leans back, placing his hands behind him. “Ah, a very close friend of mine. But anyway, how was your day?” 

Ladybug stares at his outstretched hand that is just a few centimetres away from her own, “Eh, the usual.” 

Has his hand always looked like that? 

She has always been aware of how big his hands are—that is to be expected, given that he’s taller than her—but there’s something about them that she can’t put her fingers on. Maybe it’s the aesthetics? The roughness of the outline of his hands makes them look hard and bony. Which is such a contrast to his personality. So kind, so warm, so giving, so understanding. And somehow, his large and generous hands fit that quality of his as well. 

Ladybug decides that it’s the duality of his hands that attracts her, and she finds her own hand edging towards his. 

Though, it’s such a shame for his hand to be covered. Hers too. She so desperately wants to know how it feels to be touching skin to skin, but she convinces herself that touching his warmth is still way better than having her hands on the cold, dirty rooftop. 

She glimpses at the area where Chat Noir sits to see him facing forward, not paying her any mind. Ladybug follows suit, hoping to deflect any suspicion rising from him, but she makes sure to glance back at the spot where their hands are every 5 seconds or so, to see if her hand has reached his. 

All the while, Ladybug continues sliding her hand closer and closer. 

It’s a good thing the distance between their hands isn’t that far, because she doesn’t know what she’ll do if it takes her longer than a few moments to touch his hand. 

A peek at him, and he’s still focused on the scenic view before them. 

Good. 

She moves her hand in further. 

Almost there… 

“It’s been a while since we last saw the sunset together huh, my Lady?” 

She halts the moment he speaks and gazes at him when he calls her. 

“It’s beautiful and calming, isn’t it?” 

As much as Ladybug wants to confirm the beauty of the scenery and acknowledge his words, she finds herself captivated by his wistful, shining eyes.  

In fact, she doesn’t even want to look at the scenery now, because she’s sure there’s no way the sunset is more gorgeous than his look of awe. She doesn’t want to look at anything else now that she’s focused on him. 

The beautiful golden hue paints him in colours that she would associate with feelings of happiness and warmth. His eyes sparkle brighter than any jewel she has ever seen, and the sun reflects such a pleasant colour off his cheeks that she just wants to touch them. But she keeps her hands to herself. Ladybug’s glad that she was interrupted before she could hold his hand. What has she been thinking?! 

Touching him was tempting, but just like touching the sun, it’s far too dangerous right now. It was safer to stay at a distance and admire.

She wishes she had a camera with her though, so that she could witness this moment forever and ever. The lovely colours of the golden hour picture added to her room, hung on the walls full of pink and green would be so cute! 

Green…

Wait. 

Green?!

Ladybug finally catches on that she was so deep in her admiration for Chat Noir that she didn’t realise she was staring at him. Her cheeks burn fiercely. She uses both hands to cover them and looks elsewhere.

“L—Ladybug?”

No no no don’t call her that! Call her by the nicknames!! 

“H—Hey,” he scoots closer, “are you alright? Is it too hot here?—”

Stupid.

“—We can always find shelter.” 

Cat.

“Yeah,” she quickly stands up and faces away, a hand on her yo-yo, “that’s probably a good idea!” 

She hates how high-pitched her voice is.

Ladybug hastily throws it in a random direction. She doesn’t even know where she’s going—the heat within her face is frying her brain—but with her luck, the yo-yo always manages to latch onto something. 

And off she goes. 

Forget Chat Noir being her best friend. The wind has knocked him off of his rightful place and is now her best friend.  

She hears the sound of his baton extending behind her, and she looks back, only to see his brows pinched and his nose scrunched up. 

Shit shit shit!

At least he’s following her. That’s got to be something, right?

Marinette plops into her bed face down the moment she enters her room from the skylight. She doesn’t care if she hasn’t showered after that patrol. She doesn’t care if she’s dirty and sweaty and that she’s lying on a newly changed, clean bed lining. 

She just wants comfort now. 

“Tikki Tikki Tikkkkkkkkkkkkiiiiiiii~” she whines.

“What’s wrong, Marinette?” Tikki’s voice appears right by her ear. 

“Didn’t you see? Chat Noir, he—”

“No.”

Marinette grabs the pillow and shoves her head into it more. “I think he hates me now and wants a new partner. I mean, did you see the look on his face?!”

A pause. A pause that goes on for longer than she’s comfortable with. She lifts her head from the pillow to look at Tikki. 

It was getting hard to breathe. 

“Again, no.”

Her head hits the headrest again. “Oh là là !”

“Marinette, are you done?”

She squirms. No, no she’s not. Marinette wants to scream. How did it end up like this? Everything was fine! She was going to keep it professional! She—

She’s in the process of a breakup and she can’t deal with it! Not again! 

A particularly painful impact collides with her temple, and she moves her head to see Tikki’s unimpressed face. “Why would he want a new partner?”

“Because I rejected his offer to help once again!” she cries.

Marinette didn’t think that Tikki’s face could go beyond what she’s displayed to her before, but just then, it did. And a tiny part of her is impressed that such a small creature can convey so much emotion. But she’s mostly offended that Tikki is so done with her.

Tikki then looks at her dead in the eyes, makes sure she has her entire attention on her, and Marinette really thought Tikki was about to gobble her up whole, when she suddenly has the sweetest smile on her face and says, “You need help.” Before floating away to munch on her delicious cookies. 

Marinette watches her go with wide eyes. “Hey! What do you mean! Tikki! HEY!”

━━━・❆・━━━

How did she survive this back then? 

Just. How? 

Okay, she admits—only to herself—this is not a piece of cake. She gives up! It has happened before, why did she think she can be composed a second time? 

Ladybug’s sure all Chat Noir sees right now is a blob of red, with black dots everywhere else except the top, which is where her jet black hair is. Her cheeks are set ablaze and she’s dying, but she really needs to get that cursed Akuma so that she can put an end to this. 

Well… one part of this, not the other. 

Not the part where his hands are on her. 

Ladybug does not hide what she truly likes; she’s a woman of her words after all. 

It seems that the Akuma really hates her today. The aggression towards her never stops and Chat Noir has to dive in to rescue her a couple of times. The force of his body pushing them away from the scene sends them rolling on the ground together each time, arms around each other, and they come to a stop with her on top of him, or vice versa. Either way, her face is always beet red whenever it happens.

She’s sure Chat Noir notices, there’s no way he doesn’t. But she’s thankful that he says nothing each time. 

Anyway. 

It’s not because Ladybug isn’t paying attention to the battle, it’s because her own efforts to dodge all the attacks are turning futile and Chat Noir has to step in. And even with him coming face to face with the Akuma to defend her, Chat Noir is left totally unscathed.

A Chat Noir fan, perhaps? 

They eventually come up with a brilliant plan to make sure Ladybug doesn’t get hit too. 

And it works like a charm. 

Yes, even for her, though she’ll never admit it to his face. 

They still have to evade the attacks, but it’s less intense now that she basically has her body attached to his. 

Literally.

Chat Noir carries Ladybug around like a doll. He piggybacks her at times, and the way his claws dig into her thighs as they swerve the Akuma’s attacks has her squeaking. 

Other times, his hand snakes around her waist, pulling her as close to his body as possible, for some reason Ladybug wasn’t paying attention to, because she’s busy trying her best not to die from how close their bodies are pressed together.  

This time, she is trying to figure out her Lucky Charm. And she’s looking at it intently, but nothing’s coming to her mind. Not when she’s being bridal carried. They found a spot and hid from the Akuma, and Chat Noir is on the lookout while he gives Ladybug ample time to figure out how to win the day.  

“Chaton, you can put me down now,” she squeaks. 

Guess that’s how she sounds now.

He holds her tighter, and her heart skips a beat. “No, it’s too dangerous. Nothing can happen to you.”

Despite how it looks to others with him carrying her around, his touch is always featherlight and tender. 

He has always been so gentle with her, since the beginning. 

The observation sets her heart racing. Ladybug’s going to combust if this goes on any longer. 

“C—Chat Noir, I—I need you to put me down, so that I can figure out how to use the Lucky Charm!!”

And as though he realises her abashment for the first time since the Akuma attacked, he lets her go, and she falls onto the ground. 

“Ow.”

“My Lady!” He kneels beside her to help her up. “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she holds onto his hand and rubs her bottom, “just, stop touching me for a second.” 

Never stop touching her. 

“Just g—grab me when you need me,” Ladybug retracts her earlier statement and goes to the fallen Lucky Charm, putting some distance between them and trying to get her mind to work again. 

She needs this to end fast. 

No she doesn’t. She needs to get back to him fast.

━━━・❆・━━━

Maybe she only has herself to blame for this. 

Her own greed landed her in this situation. Not that she minds, but she’s so hot she can basically cook an egg on the top of her head. 

Ladybug isn’t sitting too close to him at first, she sits at a respectable distance from him—enough for her to throw secret glances at him once in a while. But then there really isn’t much to do during patrol. So she decides to just scoot closer to him. And she didn’t do it discreetly like the last time; she just stands and plops herself down beside him. 

Chat Noir eyes her when she makes the move. She senses his eyes on her even as she sits down. What started as a curious gaze shifts into a mischievous smile when she looks at him again after getting comfortable. 

Then, it was his turn to make a move. He first lays his head on her shoulder, which she really wasn’t expecting at all, so she flinches at the contact. He then starts rubbing his head against her, his hair tickling her chin—that, she had to get him to stop, lest he discovers her weakness. 

“Chat Noir, what are you doing?”

He stops and looks at her with that same grin again and stands to walk to a wider, open space behind her. 

“Oh nothing, just stretching, you see?” He proceeds to stretch one of the most exaggerated stretches she has seen in her life. 

“Silly Chaton,” she giggles and faces forward again. 

He continues his bizarre stretching and she pays him no attention. Ladybug would love to look at him as he stretched, but she’s too scared of doing so. She got caught once, she’s not going to get caught a second time. 

Chat Noir starts counting out loud and her curiosity gets the better of her. Ladybug is about to turn her head when she feels hands on her shoulders, and Ladybug's breath hitches.  

“C—Chato—”

 He places his chin on the crown of her head, sucks in a deep breath, and whines.  

“Patrol is soooooo boooring!”

He swirls her body along with his and she feels her head heating up. He lets go of his hold and stands beside her, taking her hands in his and pulling her to stand. 

“Come dance with me, my Lady!” 

Chat Noir leads her to the place where he did his stretches, with a softer, brighter smile now sitting on his face. His hand is on her waist once they arrive at the middle of the open space, and he starts guiding her around in calculated steps. His touch is so gentle again, and Ladybug does not know how she has not turned into a puddle of goo yet. 

They continue gliding along the rooftop, Chat Noir twirling her around a few times, and she lets him, because why the fuck not? She's getting a dance she didn’t think she would get in the first place and she’s enjoying it, of fucking course she’s not going to stop him. 

She keeps her eyes on her feet, anxious that she might step on him, but he does a great job at making sure she doesn’t. The footwork he sets isn’t hard to follow. And when she’s confident enough to leave her feet to their own accord, Ladybug lifts her gaze to him, and she realises that he has been staring at her the whole time. Those eyes, so full of love directed at her, and her mind is hazy with heat again. 

“Ladybug, are you okay?” His voice is warm and soft. “You’re really red.”

This aggravating cat! 

“I—I’m fine.” 

“Really?” Their dancing has stopped this time, and he touches her forehead before cupping her cheeks. How has she not fainted yet with him touching her so tenderly is beyond her. 

“Buguinette, you’re really hot. Are you sure you don’t want to end the patrol to go home and rest?”

She wants to. She so desperately wants to. She doesn't think she can take this anymore. 

Ladybug looks down and circles her arms around him, hugging him close, one ear on his chest.

It’s so soothing to listen to his heartbeat that she practically melts into him. She thinks this must be enough to show him what’s going on with her all this while. 

It has to be. 

And just like how he always manages to read her like a book, he shows her his way of understanding now, too. His arms wrap around her as tightly as she remembers their embrace back on the Trocadéro. She pushes herself deeper into him. 

“You’re so clingy.”

“You came into my space and started up a convoluted plan to get me to hug you??”

“I can stop—”

“Don’t you dare!”

[cakemousse]

if only

A hug was all it took for Chat Noir to understand the betrayal.

Rating: T,  Words: 2047, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

this was born from me wanting to make chat noir silently suffer from his decision to let ladybug go aka missing ladybugsimp!chat noir hours and since i saw this art, let’s go

━━━━━━

She would never admit it to him, but Ladybug adored this photo of herself and Chat Noir being so close together with smiles she believed could brighten even the darkest of days. 

Chat Noir had sneakily taken a photo of them when he told a joke so ridiculous she couldn’t stop laughing, and thus couldn’t stop him from getting closer and snapping a picture. 

Those were fun times. 

Fun times she deemed were long gone. 

Ladybug continued to stare at the photo on her bugphone, reminiscing the love she had lost because of how long it took her to realise her feelings for him. Because of how everything in the universe was telling her that their love was impossible, even though she was convinced that what they had or would have was the very definition of love itself. Because of how she gave up chasing it, even though her heart refused to stop fluttering at hundred kilometres per hour whenever Chat Noir sent a soft smile her way. 

Because her relationship with a certain classmate has changed. 

Adrien had started showing interest in her, for reasons she didn’t know, but he always looked drunk in love whenever he was around her. Very similar to a certain someone if she was willing to admit herself. 

Their journey to being a couple was a rocky one, but ultimately they were together now. 

She now had Adrien. The sweet, lovely, and pure-hearted Adrien that never failed to show how much he adored her, and she honestly shouldn’t be out here when she was due to meet him in a few minutes. 

Marinette really shouldn’t be doing this to him. 

But here she was, as Ladybug, sitting on the rooftop that Chat Noir had once decorated magnificently in hopes of confessing his love to her, and possibly even ending up as a couple by the time his declarations were done.

Oh if only Ladybug wasn’t so stubborn back then, how different would everything have been from then on. 

The more she thought about it, the more her vision blurred. 

That was in the past. She should leave it in the past. But she’s clinging so desperately to that beautiful memory. 

She just couldn’t let it go. 

The photo on her bugphone had also etched itself onto her mind, refusing to let her forget that it happened. 

Ladybug tightened her grip on the yo-yo, feeling her eyes burnt and her heart ached the more she basked herself in the current atmosphere. Maybe she should feel this, feel this longing that Chat Noir must’ve felt whenever he was with her. Feel his hopelessness, and now hers, that she can’t do anything to ratify the mess she got herself into. Feel this— 

“Ladybug?” 

—————

Heading over to Marinette’s as Chat Noir probably wasn’t the best idea, but he’d be able to avoid fans on the way, and it was the fastest way to see her.

Ah, Marinette… 

Adrien was well aware of the time they had agreed to meet each other, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be at her house earlier than expected. 

Marinette’s always happy to see him whenever. She was just all pink cheeks and stumbled on her words whenever he showed up earlier than expected. Something about her room being in a mess or that she had lost track of time designing. Adrien always gave her his best smile and let her know that he could pack the room with her or that he would be more than happy to work with her on her designs together. To which she always flushed further, grabbing his hand and leading him to do whatever she had left undone. 

It’s the simple things like holding hands and spending time with her that made  Adrien’s heart feel so warm and full. He couldn’t wait to see Marinette, and he was nearing her house now. Just one more jump past that rooftop and— 

Chat Noir almost fell off the rooftop with how suddenly he stopped his jump. The red and black polka dot suit was hard to miss against the grey backdrop. Ladybug was sitting on the rooftop—her back facing where Marinette’s home was—and looking at her yo-yo, no, more like staring at it with how she’s not moving at all. 

Her posture looked different. Vastly different from how she normally was. Ladybug always had this larger-than-life, bright and confident aura to her, even when she was relaxing or when she was down. And Chat Noir knew that it was because she never lost hope. No matter the obstacle, she always faced them with her head held high, and she always triumphs. He was always there whenever she required a little assurance and push from time to time, and it had never failed to awe him as he witnessed the change within her. 

And if there ever was a slight change in her demeanour, Chat Noir would know—he did spend a huge amount of time watching and observing her when he was still head over heels for her. He could identify it straight away. And right now, she didn't have any of her usual demeanour present. 

Right now, she looked defeated, and Ladybug never looked defeated. 

Chat Noir couldn’t have her feeling like that. 

He’s early to Marinette’s anyway, he’d make sure his Lady’s feeling like her usual self before heading over to Marinette’s. 

Chat Noir vaulted over to where Ladybug was and was hit with a fresh reminder of the fond memories that came attached as a package to this particular rooftop. He was glad that he did not lose his best friend back then. 

He landed on the rooftop, and Ladybug did not seem to hear him as she hadn’t shown any signs of acknowledgement of his arrival.

“Ladybug?” 

She jumped and whipped around, slamming her bugphone shut, looking at him as though she were a deer caught in the headlights. 

There were tears in the corner of her eyes. 

This was worse than he thought. 

Ladybug placed a hand on her chest, “Oh, Chat Noir, it’s just you,” and quickly turned her head, probably to wipe her tears away. 

Chat Noir moved to sit beside her, facing Marinette’s home, and gently placed a hand on her shoulders, “Is everything alright?” 

Eyes freshly wiped of tears now looked at him, “Oh yeah, everything is going great!” 

“Do you want a hug?”

Ladybug immediately shut herself up and gaped at him. Then he watched as her face flushed pink before she tucked her face into her now raised knees, just like how she was seated on the Trocadéro after Shadowmoth stole the Miraculouses. 

“It’s fine, Chaton.” 

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” She nodded her head in her arms. “I’m just… trying to get some air. And I need to be elsewhere soon.”

He had to be elsewhere as well, but he couldn’t leave her like this. “Okay? Then I’m just going to stay here until you need to go.”

No response from her.   

Well then. 

He couldn’t do parkour with her to lift her spirits—that’d take too long as well—and he couldn’t make a fool out of himself if she was not looking up, she could listen but he couldn’t talk about his personal life without risking his identity. 

He could only talk about Plagg then. It’s not much, but he hoped he could cheer her up.

“You know, as much of a simple-minded cheese-loving gremlin Plagg is,” he leaned on his hands behind his back, “he’s actually a lot of fun to be with. You’ve interacted with him twice haven’t you, my Lady.” He wished that Plagg could take his place now because he knew that Plagg would know what to do to cheer her up, even if he had only interacted with her twice. He’s been around for aeons after all. 

“The first time I met him, I was so excited about being a superhero that I practically just got him sucked into the ring without him telling me everything about being Chat Noir. And now you know why I used Cataclysm so carelessly on my first try.”

He glanced at her to still not see much movement from her, but at least she hadn’t left. 

That’s a plus point. 

“But that day, I thought he was a genie! I don’t know about you, but I was so fascinated by him because there’s nothing like him! It’s weird how normal it is for us to have this cute little creature beside us all the time now. But Plagg, back then, was anything but cute, he was this mini monster that was trying to eat everything in my room! And you know how they can be if they don’t want to be caught. I think I’m made to be Chat Noir because I had to climb everything, effortlessly might I add, to finally catch him. Who knew I was a cat all along.”

Chat Noir knew that he was rambling, but if he could get her to cheer up by sharing his joy, he’d continue to ramble. 

“And despite this ball of destruction doing what he knows best, well, being a chaotic black hole, Plagg is always there for me when no one else can. He can be insensitive at times, but he tries his best. He’s seen my worst days and does anything he can to cheer me up. Like playing the pi—! Uh… I mean, we do things together afterwards. But sometimes, him just being there is enough for me. And… I hope I can be the same for y—”

Chat Noir suddenly felt the air knocked out of his lungs. He would’ve fallen backwards on impact if not for his hands behind him. 

He looked down to see her dark hair and her red suit with black polka dots leaning against him. 

Chat Noir’s relieved that he still understood her well. She needed the hug after all. 

Surging sideways, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him and laid his cheek on the crown of her head. 

She smelled so nice. 

Ladybug tightened her hold and they stayed like that for a while, basking in each other’s warmth and presence in silence. 

No words were needed for them to know that comfort was given and received by each other. That’s how they always have been. 

No words needed, to know that Ladybug would be alright after this. 

Ladybug shifted her head, now leaning her other cheek on his chest and pushing herself in, sighing at the increased contact. And Chat Noir? Well, he felt something brewing in his chest. He did not think it’d ever surface again. 

But it did. 

The rumbling started out small, but as she was directly on top of his chest, she knew what it was. 

And Ladybug did something Chat Noir didn’t think he’d miss. She traced her fingers behind his back, and it felt like that was the final key needed to unlock a full-blown purr from him.   

It’s a hilarious moment for both of them. It had to be because that’s how they joked and bantered around like always. Ladybug started chuckling when she felt the vibrations from his chest and giggled when she heard the purrs resounding around them. 

But for Chat Noir, it’s not a funny moment, yes his cheeks flushed at her laugh, but it isn’t exactly a funny moment for him.  

Chat Noir pulled back and covered his mouth with both hands, trying his best to cover his pink cheeks from her and stop the purring, but Ladybug saw and knew all. 

She continued giggling as she reached for his hair and pets, a gesture not often used, but a gesture he understood nonetheless. His hands were in her way to his chin. 

Ladybug rose and walked to the edge of the rooftop that was hidden from his view. “Thanks, mon Chaton, I feel better already.”

And with that, she zipped away. 

Chat Noir still had his hands on his mouth even though there was no one to hide his rosy cheeks from. He tucked himself inwards, feeling his heart rate increase as he couldn’t deny the revelation stuck at the forefront of his mind. 

Ladybug still had him in her tender hands. 

[cakemousse]

everlasting warmth

Adrien finally gets to experience comfort again after a few years of being in the cold. But this time, from another beloved.

Rating: T, Words: 2396, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

Warmth, a flowy and heartening sensation he constantly feels around and within him now. And he’s forever grateful for it to be back in his life once again. He knows exactly what it is. After all, it had etched itself onto him for most of his life. 

But just until sometime before this, it was always cold. Warmth is always there, but it was far removed from him—like how he would desperately reach out to grab the brightest dazzling star hanging in the vast dark night, only to realise that it was impossible to do so in the first place. He could only yearn hopelessly for it. 

It was stripped away from him after a major shift within his life, and he felt so cold and hollow. He didn’t think anything was capable of destroying such a powerful and lovely emotion. But he was wrong, and those were a lonely few years. They were painful too. 

And as though warmth knows that he’s thinking of the terrible past again, it envelops him once again, bringing him back to where he truly belongs.

He smiles.

Yes. It’s brighter now, and that’s all that matters. 

Adrien woke up to a pleasant sunny day, and given how infrequent such weather could happen, he was sure that the rest of the Parisian population would flock out of their houses to enjoy the sunshine too. 

For once, he’s thankful for the mansion he lives in…

It’s so warm and cosy, and Adrien really cannot get enough of it. The amount of joy he experiences by just lazing around under the sun is incomprehensible to him.  

The grass patch against his back—though regularly trimmed and voided of the colourful dots he often sees in gardens that scatter across the city—provided him with enough cushion not to get uncomfortable after lying on it for so long. 

The tender sun rays kiss his skin as he basks in the sunlight. It’s a rare sight to see him in shorts, but it’s a deliberate choice to still be in his pyjamas. He wanted as much contact with the toasty daylight as possible. 

The light breeze that flows around him, and the sound of the gentle rustling of leaves from above remind him that he still has his face under the shade. And as much as he loves the sunbeams, he still prefers his current position, especially when it feels so soothing. 

The soft and delicate fingers that thread through his hair and massage his scalp every now and then bring about such blissfulness he can’t help but release a deep rumble behind his throat. 

“Adrien, Chaton is showing.” 

Did he mention how comfortable he is whenever he rests on her lap? 

He opens his eyes to gaze at Marinette’s blue glinting ones. 

… and how very fortunate he is to be with her, just the two of them, in their own bubble of happiness. 

He purrs again. “What is showing?” 

Marinette leans down to plant a kiss on his lips, and he smiles against her lips. 

“Try again?” 

“Hmm, try what?” 

And Marinette leans in to press her lips against his forehead this time. “Now you’re just doing it on purpose to get more kisses.” 

“Can’t blame me when you have such sweet lips, my Lady.” 

She blushes. He decides he wants more of it. 

“Not to mention how masterful your massages are, you’re so good at it, Marinette.” he praises. 

She flushes a lot more, and Adrien loves seeing her bashful beams over such simple but truthful words. They are so precious to him. 

Marinette leans back into the tree and covers her cheeks. “You can’t just spring that on me out of nowhere, mon Chaton.” 

Adrien sits up and wraps his arms around her, bringing her down to lie on the grass patch with him. Their faces centimetres apart as they face each other. 

Marinette’s eyes widen and pink floods her entire face, she quickly hides behind her hands. 

He doesn’t know how he can still breathe with his Lady looking so adorable. 

Adrien encircles his fingers around her wrists and brings himself closer to her. He nuzzles the back of her palms to coax her into lowering them. 

She does. 

“But it’s the truth.” 

Her blush is so endearing he leans in to kiss her cheek. “I wish you could look this pink all the time.” 

They are so warm too. 

She laughs and intertwines their fingers together and squeezes.  “I'll faint constantly if I look like this all the time.” 

“And I'll be there to catch you every time.” he chuckles. 

“Besides,” she pushes him onto his back and lies on top of him. “seeing it so sparingly makes it more special, no?” 

Marinette rounds her other arm around his neck, bringing herself impossibly close to him. 

“I—”

“But I do agree that seeing it all the time has its perks too.” Her blush is fading, replaced with a confident smirk—the smugness she always has when she knows she’s about to win the fight, but the rosiness is still there. “You look so cute in pink too, Adrien.” 

By then, he’s sure that crimson has dusted itself onto his cheeks, probably onto his ears and neck as well. 

Enough teasing for now. 

He brings his free hand to the back of her head and pulls her down until their lips connect. Both eyes flutter close, getting lost in euphoria, all the while clutching onto each other’s warm hands. 

—-------------------------------------------------

It’s cold again, but nothing out of the ordinary. It's just the weather fluctuating and Adrien feels physically cold. He’s out in the open right now, there’s no way he can feel warm with how the winds are scraping through his skin. 

Wintertime is always beautiful in Paris. The lights that are scattered throughout make the city bright and cheery. It’s also a time of joy and love, and Adrien knows in his heart that he now has both, and that he will never feel that feeling ever again—that cold feeling he once was friends with is long gone and dead. 

But still, he’s reminded of it.

And just when it’s starting to feel as though the cold could really come back and freeze him over, the warmth that surrounds him as he enters the bakery makes the cold as useless as he remembers it to be. 

The bakery is warm, the ambience is warm, the two hugs he received are warm, the walk up isn’t really but he soon gets a small, cute pink cup of hot ginger tea and it feels warm again. 

Everything associated with her is warm. 

And just to make sure that the cold is down and beaten, Adrien cuddles with Marinette in her bed after a few mouthfuls of delicious pastries and a cup (pink again!) of hot chocolate. 

He loves cuddling with her whenever, but especially so when he’s in her room, on her bed. Everything around him is just so Marinette he can literally drown in happiness. 

Adrien loves the contact they share whenever they snuggle together. Of them just squishing their bodies as close to each other as possible, feeling her heartbeat just beside his. It’s so intimate.  

He squeezes her just a little closer and buries his nose into her hair, inhaling her scent. He could never get enough of it.

She’s so warm too.

But…  

Will she still be this close and warm even after what he has done?

Marinette shifts in his arms, her ear directly above his heart. 

What if he sounds too cheesy? Worse, what if he sounds too clingy? Will she leave him? Will she be disgusted with him? Will whatever he has right now just fizzle up into nothing? Into that thing he so despises, the worst time of his life. He made sure everything would be just fine. No secrets, everything about him laid bare for her to see, for her to use, for her to take. Did he overstep a boundary? 

Will she hate him? 

Adrien shut his eyes. He can’t even phantom such a thought because he would die even before he can experience it. Will she—

“Minou, are you okay?” She looks up from her spot on his chest. “Your heart is beating so fast.”  

Really hard too, he can hear the thumping in his ears. 

“U—Uh, yes!” Adrien’s face feels hot. Was it from him being caught? Or from her looking so damn cute, with her chin on his chest and her cheeks looking so squishy all he wants to do is pinch them. He doesn’t know, both are equally plausible. “I was just thinking…”

“Thinking…?”

“I have s—something to— I mean! C—can you teach me how to doodle?” 

She fixates on him. 

He blinks at her. 

She raises an eyebrow. “Is… Is that why your heart is beating so wildly? You’re… you’re worried that I won’t teach you?” She pauses, as though waiting for him to correct her, but he didn’t. She clasps his hands in hers. “Uh, sure! Just let me get some pens and paper.”

And she left his side. 

Just like how she would after he presents to her what he has done. 

He’ll be left in the cold again, never to feel the constant warmth in his life ever again. 

Adrien clutches the paper in his pocket. 

Maybe he shouldn’t—

He feels two soft hands cupping his cheeks. He lifts his eyes to see her sad ones. 

“Adrien, is everything alright?” 

The pens and papers are set aside, no, chucked aside. And he’s reminded of how he can’t hide anything from her. Always so attentive to his needs and wants. Something he didn’t have when he— 

Maybe he shouldn’t be afraid. Maybe she’ll accept his gift willingly. But… But what if he’s wrong. 

He has to be, his life is constant bad luck after all. 

And she just has to make this harder for him than it already is, with the care and concern she’s giving him. Adrien really wants to cry. All this will be gone really soon, the care and tenderness, the warmth, a loving home. Everything. 

A soft brush against his cheek brings his attention back to her again. “Adrien?” 

He smiles. “Not really, but teach me how to doodle?” 

There’s no use lying to her. Marinette could always tell. 

She returns with worried eyes. “But—”

“I’ll explain after I learn how to doodle?” Maybe this would suffice as their last day as a couple together… 

Who is he kidding, it never could. 

Marinette peppers kisses all over his face. “Mon Chaton, you’re really scaring me.” 

Adrien takes her wrist and places a kiss on the back of her hand, holding her hand like he always has been doing since the very beginning. Her bare hand. And to think that there was a time when all these were nothing but a distant dream to him. “Please?” 

Marinette blinks rapidly. “What do you want to doodle?”

He brushes her skin under her eye. “Us? As our civilians and superhero selves?” 

She stares at him. “A doodle isn’t enough to show how beautiful you are, Adrien.”

What a way to lift the mood. He laughs and winks. “Oh come on, doodles have their own beauty too. Besides, I can’t draw.”

“Then I’ll draw for you!”

“But I really want to doodle! At least create something of my own.”

They partake in a staredown, and Marinette proceeds to gather her materials again. “Fine.” She hands them over to him.

“Oh, I have my own piece of paper, I just need a pencil.”

“Alright,” she lies next to him, ready to doodle. “First you need to…”

Ten minutes later, Marinette doodled them perfectly, while Adrien resorted to doodling a cat and a ladybug for their superheroes selves. Doodling two humans is more than enough work for him. 

“How cute!” Marinette giggles as she focuses on his paper. “Look at those big heads and small bodies!”

Adrien shifts the paper towards her. “Want a closer look?”

“Yes!” She picks it up and admires them, only to see handwritten words behind the doodles. Marinette shifts her gaze to him, sees him nodding, and moves to flip the paper open.  

My Buguinette,

You made buttercups grow inside of me in places I didn't know were still alive.

Your presence made my life a lot brighter and every millisecond spent with you is filled with joy and love.

I never knew I would find a love that is so pure and kind. You are both and so much more (which I can’t write them all down, else you will be receiving more than 10 pages of paper).

You gave me hope in my worst moments, and suddenly the world becomes so much more magical. 

My Lady, I shall love you eternally and agelessly, and no amount of time will change my admiration and adoration for you.  

Many hugs and kisses and love, Adrien

So many things happened within those few seconds. Adrien was bracing for her screams of him to get out of the house, but that never came. One second he was receiving multiple soft hits on his right shoulder—to the point of being pushed onto his back—the next second, Marinette was lying on top of him and raining down kisses on him. 

“This was what you’re afraid of?” Each word is punctuated with a kiss. “You’re afraid of giving me a love letter?”

“I was—” It’s so hard to explain himself when she’s kissing him like that. And he’s thrilled that she loves his gift! “I was afraid you would find me too clingy.”

She stops her kissing, but her face is still right by his own. “Mon Minou, have you seen me?”

“Well, yes—”

“I have your next 35 birthday gifts planned out!” She sits up and glowers at him. “You are not clingy. Even if you are, I don’t mind! Let’s be obsessed with each other!”

“But—”

Adrien can’t speak anymore as his lips are busy moving against her sweet lips. He cups her cheeks to deepen the kiss. 

As much as he wants her to know his reason for feeling down earlier, he tells himself that that can wait. He won’t interrupt her, not when she’s giving him so much attention. 

One that he desires all the time.

written for @st-athanase-day-is-today

[cakejots]

Just my stupid little daydream of how the ending of Ep 100, aka S4EP22: Ephemeral, might happen

Ladybug stares at Chat, knowing that their time together, the time where they finally found each other, was coming to an end.

“Well, I guess this is it…”

Arguably, many things went wrong within this short period of time. Yet, she can’t help but feel that this was so cruel. The one they have always been seeking is right there, right in front of them. But the time isn't right. It never is.

Chat sees her pained expression, one that he decides he doesn’t like on her face, and one that he swears to never let fall on her face ever again.

The raindrops landing on her face weren’t helping either.

And so, he draws out his umbrella baton towards her so naturally. His gesture feels so familiar he smiles. What a time to remember this sweet sweet memory, the time where he decided to be honest with this girl who was angry at him for something he didn’t do.

He could have ignored her, but what he did that day ultimately led to where they are now.

“It may not be the right time now, but I’ll find you again, Marinette. It’s a promise.”

Ladybug stares into his eyes, the conviction within his voice so strong it shook her world.

The lightning strikes again. And she remembers.

The time where Adrien showed her vulnerability.

The time she fell in love.

For the soul so pure and kind and generous.

Telling her the truth. Hoping they could start all over again.

She gazes into his eyes, seeing the two morphing into one. And she knows that they will be okay.

She reaches for the umbrella baton and smiles. “I’ll find you too, Adrien. It’s a promise.”

[cakejots]

soft voices, warm hands, and a piece of me

Heya @overworkedunderwhelmed ! This is my fluffy gift to you as part of the Adrien Protection Squad Secret Santa gift exchange, Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Holidays! 😁

Grand presents, outings, and meals? No. Adrien just wants to spend his birthday with Marinette in the simplest way possible.

Rating: T, Words: 4249, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

Adrien stirred as his phone on the bedside table rang to signal the start of his day. Though he was a light sleeper, he abhorred the sound of the alarm blaring in the background. With closed eyes, his hand reached towards it, only to find himself unable to stretch any further as Marinette was snuggled up against him.

The Chat Noir onesie she had donned since last night made it nearly impossible for him to leave her alone. And though she didn’t resemble a kitten now—the hood of that onesie had fallen to reveal her dark hair—Adrien still wanted to continue cuddling with her, but not with that irritating sound ringing right beside them.

He tried again, this time lifting himself off the bed to reach for his phone, but Marinette, despite being of a smaller build, pulled him back down into the bed with ease.

“Don’t… go,” she circled her arms around him tightly.

Adrien laughed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her nose. “I’m not going anywhere, Buguinette. Just turning off the annoying sound so that my ears don’t bleed.”

“Wha… sound?” her voice getting thick with sleep again.

Marinette was too cute for her own good, Adrien thought. She could hear him loud and clear but not that unpleasant sound just beside her. He pulled her flush against his chest and got up with her in his arms. He managed to turn off the alarm before sinking back into the bed again, his back on the bed and her on top of him.

His fingers brushed through her hair, leaving light touches on her cheek, neck, and back before repeating the gesture all over again. As he was doing so, he planted a few kisses on her forehead before hugging her close.

“Marinette,” giving a forehead kiss once more, “it pains me to do this, but it’s time to wake up if you want to finish doing everything we’ve planned for today.”

“5 more minutes…” Marinette buried herself deeper into his neck.

Adrien chuckled and let her rest for a few moments more. He threaded his fingers through her hair again and pressed his lips anywhere they could reach. Her hair, her hand, her cheek, her face, he showered them all with kisses.

Marinette shifted slightly from her position, and she lifted her head from his neck. She gazed at his pretty face and smiled warmly, her hand cupping his face as she kissed his forehead.

“Happy Birthday, mon Chaton,” she grinned and continued peppering kisses on his face.

Adrien beamed and pulled her in, intending to give her a long and loving kiss, but Marinette pulled away soon after, brows creased. “Birthday privileges do not include kissing with morning breath, Adrien.”

He smiled teasingly. “Yes, it does. And as I was about to say before you so rudely pulled away and interrupted me,” he booped her cute button nose. “Thank you, my Lady. Your wishes fill my heart so full that I’m content with just staying in bed with you for the rest of the day.”

A glint flashed across her eyes. “My thoughts exactly.”

The corner of his lips twitched. He took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “Buguinette,” Adrien hinted, the teasing from before had dwindled.

“Sounds really good, no? Let’s just cuddle in bed!” she said with a sly smirk on her face.

His smile started to falter. “Marinette!” he whined.

She giggled and circled her arms around his neck. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” she kissed his cheek, “I know how much you were looking forward to this day.”

Marinette pushed herself off of Adrien and laced their fingers together, squeezing them and pulling him out of bed. “Let’s go!”

“Adrien,” Marinette tugged their joined hands towards another direction, “the baking stuff is this way.” He had stopped suddenly en route to their destination, causing her to almost fall backwards with just how rooted he was to the floor.

“I know, I know. But let’s look at these first!” He pulled her towards the Fruits section of the supermarket, eyes sparkling as he spotted his favourite fruit sitting on the shelves in all its glory.

Marinette followed close behind, unsure why he’s heading over to the Fruits section out of all places.

Adrien was still beaming when he stopped in front of the shelves, and it was only when Marinette looked at the fruit did she understand why he practically dragged her here. She was so caught up and stressed about deciding what she wanted to make with him that she had forgotten all about incorporating his favourite flavour into the cake.

Marinette mentally smacked herself.

Adrien had placed a few passion fruits into the basket and rubbed his neck. “Been a while since we had them, I hope you don’t mind?”

What a horrible girlfriend she was.

“No, of course not, sweetie,” her smile was strained and she quickly turned and walked towards the bakery goods section, pulling him along. Her mind was racing through all the years of baking experience she had had, recalling to see if it was possible to have the cake passion fruit flavoured somehow.

She found something.

“Is everything alright, Marinette?”

She whipped around, anxious eyes met worried ones. “Yes, everything’s fine, it’s your birthday, the most joyous day on earth! Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Your whole demeanour changed after seeing the passion fruits.” He held both of her hands in his and caressed them, his perfect brows knitted together. “Should I return them?”

“No!” she cried, albeit a little too loudly with the number of people frowning at her. She hastily moved them from the centre of the aisle to a more secluded part of the supermarket. “I mean, no. Please don’t. We haven’t had them in a while, they’re perfect!”

“Then why—”

“Mon amour, please don’t worry about it.” Her hands cupped his cheeks, itching to stretch them to make him smile again. “It’s just a minor hiccup on my part.”

Adrien tilted his head, and Marinette was debating whether to tell the truth or not. He looked so cute she just wanted to kiss the living daylights out of him and make him forget about the whole turmoil she had just unwillingly created.

But in the end, her desire to remove that look on his face won out and she inhaled deeply, preparing herself for the possible embarrassment she might face once he’s in the know.

“I… you know how we’re going to bake your birthday cake together right?”

Marinette had angled her eyes away, and she felt a nod in her hands.

“So I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and finally had the type of cake in mind to bake together with you! But… the flavour of the cake didn’t cross my mind so seeing them made me panic a little there.”

Maybe moving to such a quiet place wasn’t the best idea. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. Was that even enough of a reason she could use? It sounded so much like an excuse. Forget about the embarrassment, Adrien’s silence was killing her.

She shut her eyes and blurted out, “It’s a super versatile cake! That’s why I didn’t think much about the flavours when I picked it. I’m really sorry, mon Chaton, please forg—”

Marinette couldn’t finish her sentence as she was suddenly squealing.

“Adrien! Wha— Oh my god! Adrien!”

He lifted her into the air and spun around in circles without a care in the world.

Marinette was clutching his hair tightly. “Adrien, baby, that’s enough. I’m gonna puke if you don’t stop now.”

And that was enough to get him to put her down.

She hit his right arm lightly, “I moved us to the corner of the supermarket to reduce the attention on us, not gain more with that stunt you pulled!” A few eyes were scowling at them as they walked past.

He still had the audacity to laugh. Marinette gritted her teeth; she was right about the embarrassment.

“Aww Buguinette, you’re adorable,” he said as he gently poked her cheeks. It was flooded with a rosy tint and he knew it was due to her being more flustered than angry.

Adrien cupped her cheeks, feeling the heat beneath her skin, and brought his lips to her forehead. “As you’ve said earlier, we’re going to bake the cake together. Even if the flavours aren’t my favourite, that’s okay.”

“But it’s your birthday,” she looked so disappointed in herself.

He placed both hands on her shoulders and gazed straight into her eyes, just like the many times he’d done to get her to believe in herself again in battle. “Marinette. Spending time with you is all that I ask for.”

Adrien really, really liked just being around his belle. And if he was being honest, he wouldn’t mind staying in bed the whole day with her either. But he remembered how persistent she was in doing something meaningful together that he couldn’t deny her of that.

“All that matters is that you’re here with me,” he rubbed his nose against hers, “and that we’re doing things together. I’m really enjoying myself right now, it’s indeed the most joyous day on earth!”

“You’re just saying that cause I’m a blushing mess now.” She directed her attention to the rice bags on her left and pouted.

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him and kissing her temple.

“Now let’s go on an adventure!” Adrien declared, softly enough only for their ears, as they ambled towards the Bakery section.

Adrien waited for them to arrive home before popping the question that’s been bugging him since they left the supermarket.

“My Lady,” he eyed the pile on the table quizzingly, “are we in need of replenishing our stocks?”

“No, not really. We’ll be using them all today.”

His brows raised. “I didn’t know a cake needed that many ingredients.”

“Who said we’re only doing one?”

He twisted his head towards hers, mouth wide open. Her back was facing him as she was getting the utensils needed for the cakes.

“Alright Buttercup, so right now, we’ll be doing—”

“Is there enough time?!”

Marinette's eyes widened at his sudden outburst, and then she giggled, covering her mouth with a piece of paper that he could only assume contained the recipes for the cakes. “Of course there is! It’s not even afternoon yet! Don’t worry your pretty head about it.”

Then Marinette covered her face with both her hands. “Oh god, it’s not even afternoon yet, and I’ve already made you worry twice on your birthday. I’m such a disastrous girlfriend.”

Adrien approached her and pried her hands away. “And I still love you all the same. Besides, sometimes I’m a disaster too,” a mischievous smile attached itself onto his face, “we can be known as the disaster couple.”

Marinette snorted, “Come on, Minou.” She led him to the kitchen counter, “Let me share with you what we’ll be doing for the rest of the afternoon before our friends come later tonight.”

She pushed the paper towards him, her forefinger tracing down the list. “So, the 2 cakes we’ll be making are Gâteau au yaourt and Quatre-Quarts. The yoghurt cake was the one I initially decided to make with you, since it’s simple and practically all children in France learnt how to make it fairly early on. But since your father’s a prick, you might not have experienced making it personally, so I want to be part of your first!”

Well, Marinette was spot on. Adrien had never made yoghurt cake—any cake for that matter—in his life and was eager to learn. He was also more than willing to have her be a part of his first. In fact, he wanted her to be a part of all the other firsts he was going to experience from now on.

“And I couldn’t find any passion fruit yoghurt in the supermarket just now, so that wouldn’t be passion fruit flavoured,” she scratched the side of her cheeks bashfully. “And that’s where Quatre-Quarts comes in. We will be making a passion fruit glaze to…”

He wasn’t paying attention to the piece of paper anymore, he was fixated on her face. Her pink cheeks, the ones that he knew he’d be able to make them flush red as soon as he praised her. Her pretty blue-bell eyes, ones that he’d seen held so much determination it scared him sometimes, and ones that he could get lost in whenever he stared into them. And the overwhelming kindness that reflected in them, he didn’t know what exactly he did to deserve so much of that sweet quality.

Adrien was floored, really. He had said he didn’t mind having his birthday cake in a flavour that wasn’t his favourite, but she still managed to think of something in such a short period of time to make sure he had a satisfied belly. Marinette was an exceptional baker, no doubt, but she didn’t have to put in the extra effort to appease his cravings. Having the fruit itself was more than enough.

He had thought that his admiration for her had already peaked, but he was wrong, it can go even higher. And he did not doubt that it would continue to grow as long as he was with her, which made him really happy because it meant that he’d be able to shower her with even more affection.

Adrien leaned in and captured her lips, pouring in as much adoration and love as physically possible into the kiss. She needed to know all the emotions she made him feel, but most importantly, how elated he felt whenever he was with her.

Marinette was caught off guard, but moved against his lips when she felt a hand brush against her neck. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation, registering the appreciation, passion, devotion, and all other emotions he was sending her way, and she wasn’t going to stop the kiss until he did. Kissing Adrien was always a pleasurable experience for her.

When he pulled back, he touched his forehead against hers and kissed her nose. “Thank you, so so much, mon amour.”

Marinette flashed him a heart-stopping smile, as if he needed more reminders of just how lucky he was to have her. “You’re welcome, mon Chaton.”

She threaded her fingers through his hair. “Well, as much as I would like to continue kissing you, we have work to do. We can always kiss again after we’re done,” she added when she saw his pout.

“So tell me, Adrien, what was the last thing you heard from me?” her mouth curved into a smile.

“Uh— I— I only know that we’ll be making Gâteau au yaourt and Quatre-Quarts?” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

The sound that soon reached his ears made his heart flutter. Her laughter was intoxicating.

“I don’t know whether to be mad or pleased with you. On one hand, my explanation had just fallen on deaf ears. On the other,” she grinned, “I didn't know I had that much power over you.”

Yep, there she was. Savage Marinette had taken over and was ready to slaughter him. Adrien’s cheeks felt as though they were burning and he’s pretty sure she’s enjoying the sight.

She kissed his cheek. “Okay, I’ll stop teasing you, for now. Let’s get back to it!”

“Yeah! I’m ready to learn!” And a giggle was his reply.

“So as I was saying,” she read the paper before shifting it back to him again, “we’ll be making passion fruit glaze for the Quatre-Quarts. It’s basically a smooth and shiny cover on top of the cake. It’s pretty hard to incorporate the purée or juice into a cake which normally doesn't have liquid ingredients.”

Adrien nodded, that made perfect sense.

“These 2 cakes are really easy to make, so don’t worry about them! I’ll guide you along the way.”

His face twinkled. Marinette as his pastry chef teacher, how wonderful!

“We will also be making passion fruit curd to go with the plain yoghurt cake, and it’s the first thing we’ll be making since it needs to be refrigerated.”

“And the glaze and curd are easy to make too?” Well, with Marinette by his side, he had no doubt it would be, but some extra assurance wouldn’t hurt.

“You bet! So let’s get started now!”

Adrien was using a spoon and a sieve to separate the passion fruit seeds from the juice, letting it fall into a mixing bowl when Marinette placed a pot of simmering water beside him.

“Okay, now pour in the sugar and the egg yolks.”

Adrien gawked at her, “E—Everything?!”

“Sinful, isn’t it? But no worries, it’s not like you’re going to eat everything yourself, right?” she smiled, but he could see a hint of a smirk in it. Her eyes were also giving him a knowing look, as though she knew exactly what he was planning to do.

“O—Of course not,” he forced out a laugh to hide his shame. He proceeded to pour everything into the mixing bowl.

“Now mix it until it's smooth.” Adrien tried to mix them the best he could.

“Chaton, you’re doing great,” she lightly tapped his eyebrows with several fingers, as if to make the furrows go away, “don’t worry about it.”

Once she saw that the mixture was smooth, she placed the bowl over the pot. Marinette replaced the baking spatula in his hands with a whisk and asked him to keep whisking. “Now we just have to make sure it’s cooked nice and thick. I’ll let you know once it’s done.”

“Alright.”

Adrien couldn’t tell exactly what had changed, as he hadn’t removed his eyes from it, but he saw that there were practically no bubbles left after his constant whisking.

“Perfectly done!” She removed the bowl from the pot and brought over the plate of unsalted butter. “You can see that the mixture had coated the bowl, and the colour had changed to a paler yellow.”

He nodded, grateful for her explanation. “And now we add the butter and continue what I’ve been doing until they are melted?” Adrien grimaced at the amount of butter present on the plate.

Marinette agreed eagerly. “Yep!”

His hands continued what they had been doing all along, while his eyes glimpsed at the clock. Adrien was surprised at how little time had passed; it was just a little over noon.

“Et voilà !” Her voice brought his attention back to the mixing bowl. “We’re done! Now, to cover this and put it in the fridge, and we can move on to the next item on the list.”

“That was so fast!”

She dipped a finger at the side of the bowl to have a taste test. “Um-hum, and you’re a natural at this, Adrien, it’s delicious!”

Adrien was glad that he didn’t disappoint, but he almost felt bad for demolishing her approval so soon with what he was about to do next. Keyword almost.

“Thank you, my Lady. But isn’t that hot?”

“Not really, why?”

“Then I won’t feel guilty for doing this.”

“Doi—”

Adrien grabbed her other forefinger and brought it over the bowl to dip it in, but not without a struggle as she was wrestling her hand away.

“Adri— what are you— Adrien!”

He managed to coat her finger with the passion fruit curd and went ahead and licked them off of her finger. “Mhmm, you’re right, this is delicious.”

Marinette gaped at him. He laughed as he witnessed a crimson hue dusting her cheeks. He moved past her to get a cling wrap, “What’s next on the list?”

“Come back here, you mangy cat!” she hissed.

Adrien and Marinette sat across each other quietly, cakes laid out on the kitchen counter, tired from all the baking and messing around. They probably would have completed everything much earlier if they hadn’t fooled around as much, but Adrien had fun.

He really did have a lot of fun.

Adrien regarded the cakes. The Quatre-Quarts had a shiny passion fruit glaze, and the Gâteau au yaourt had whipped cream with berries decorated on top. As simple as the cakes were, the end results were anything but. Marinette was able to effortlessly beautify them, and Adrien could only admire her craft from afar.

Then he gazed at his girlfriend’s face, to find her also staring at the cakes. Despite being covered in flour—he had laboriously applied them to her face—she still looked as beautiful as ever. Adrien would joke that he had created a piece of art, but he knew she didn’t need anything to be one.

She slowly lifted her eyes to his face, and he saw the look hardly anyone else had ever spotted on her. It was the face she made when she had a plan in mind, a lady on a mission. That smile would have seemed downright diabolic to others who didn’t know her, but Adrien knew her really well, and he was sure that she had thought of something to get back at him.

He mentally prepared himself.

“You know, you really were a handful the entire afternoon.” She leaned forward and her hands were edging closer to the cakes. “So, I deserve a reward for making sure the cakes are done just in time for your birthday party tonight.”

“So,” he drawled, “you want a piece of me?”

The hands that had been slowly crawling towards the cakes stilled. “Tell me you did not just pun.”

“I totally did, Buguinette.” And he was so proud of himself for that.

She speedily reached out to grab both cakes, but Adrien was faster and he stood with the cakes, away from her.

Marinette was also standing now and she stomped her foot. “I want a piece of those cakes now!”

Adrien gasped, “My Lady! How improper! Don’t you know you’re only supposed to eat them after the birthday boy makes his wish?”

“So, you’re saying no? To your Queen? Now that’s death.”

Adrien's eyes widened as he watched how Marinette ran towards him at a frightening speed. He fleetly made his way out of the kitchen to escape her vicious hands and save his beloved cakes. He must have looked ridiculously stupid running around the house holding 2 cakes up in the air with both hands, but he couldn’t care less. As grateful as he was to Marinette about the cakes, letting her eat the cakes before he made a wish was a big big no. He thought of his own reason for not wanting her to do so, and he shook his head at the ridiculousness of it.

Adrien ended up running back to the kitchen, despite Marinette being close behind, and swiftly placed one cake on the counter. Before she could seize the cake, Adrien halted her movements by snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss, hoping to distract her from the cakes.

She gripped his face and he yelped, quickly putting down the other cake and hugging her as tightly as possible, not allowing her to get away. “I’m so sorry, Marinette. Please forgive me, I promise I’ll be good later on. I’ll even give you my share of the cakes, just please don’t eat it now.”

Hearing him plead like that must have softened her heart as she rubbed her thumbs over the tiny red marks on his face and kissed him on the lips sweetly.

Then, her hands left his face to reach behind him.

So much for believing.

Adrien leaned forward to prevent her from getting to the cakes, and he released his lips from hers. “I won’t be able to spend the rest of my life with you if you do that!”

Marinette stopped trying to touch the cakes and snorted, laughing, “What are you even talking about?”

Adrien begged earnestly with his eyes and Marinette finally gave in, embracing him and squeezing him tightly.

“Fine, I’ll only eat them after you make your wish.” Adrien visibly relaxed, head on her shoulder, body slouching against hers.

Marinette lifted his face to have a better look. “I’m sorry for those,” she ran the back of her hand over them.

Adrien was super tempted to say those tiny grazes were nothing, because that was the truth. They had fun like this a couple of times now, but he guessed it’s enough teasing for today. They needed to prepare for the arrival of their guests anyway.

“It’s okay. Just allow some time and give me a couple of smooches and they’ll be good.”

Marinette showered kisses along his cheeks, and then smoothly nuzzled against them. “Alright, let’s go prepare for your birthday party later.”

“As My Queen wishes.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe I said that.” She covered her face in her hands, then peeked at him, “You’re never going to stop, are you?”

He grinned. “Nope, Your Majesty.”

“Adrien, I believe this was a huge success?”

He agreed. “Everyone’s having so much fun, and they loved the cakes. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

He brought his face close to hers, “Thank you so much, Marinette. I love you.”

“I loved you too. Happy birthday, Adrien.” She leaned in and sealed their lips together at one corner of their house, away from everyone else.

[cakejots]

with you, everything and nothing makes sense

A mess created by their stupid pining longing for each other, they are currently lying to everybody in Paris, including themselves, by playing pretend as a couple because—according to everyone else in the world—friends do not touch like that. To give herself a chance, and to fix said mess, Marinette made something in hopes of confessing to Adrien with it, even though she is certain that he doesn’t feel the same.

Rating: T, Words: 3777, Chapters: 1/1

Read on AO3

A final knot done, a final cut to the string, and the red fabric in her hands was finally completed after being worked on for ages. Her fingers probed the fabric slowly and she raised it to inspect from afar. It finally looked and felt the way she wanted, and Marinette squealed as she hugged the red fabric close to her face.

Her happiness came to a stop as soon as she felt her throat hurting. She must not have had anything to drink since she woke up and decided she should head to the kitchen to get a glass of water, before coming back to admire her handiwork again. She folded the red fabric neatly beside a black one on her bed and promptly left the room.

After a few slow gulps of water, she felt a lot better and much more refreshed. Marinette returned to her room, only to scream and irritate her throat once again at the sudden appearance of Adrien. He was staring at her bed before he directed his attention to her and lit up like a Christmas Tree.

Shit.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she tackled him into a hug.

Adrien enveloped her in a hug and greeted her with a soft kiss on her lips, one that never failed to fluster her cheeks. “My surprise to you, and also to keep up the appearance.”

Of course. None of this means anything.

She raised an eyebrow.

Adrien kept smiling, teasing her as if she’d forgotten something. “They are coming over soon, aren’t they?”

“Who—”

Then it all clicked in her head. She had texted him about their mini get together, and she totally forgot about it.

Marinette whipped her head towards the clock and her breath hitched, she only had thirty minutes until Alya and Nino were due to arrive. She cursed herself. She was so concentrated on perfecting her craft that she had lost track of time.

Her house was a mess, she hadn't ordered dinner for the four of them, and she had promised to bake them macarons to enjoy later that night, but she didn’t even buy the ingredients for them. Marinette felt a wave of anxiety approaching, and her heart began picking up pace, but she felt hands on her cheeks and she refocused her eyes on the face right there with her.

“Hey, hey, it’s why I’m here,” Adrien pressed a loving kiss to her forehead. “Don’t worry about it, alright? I’ll protect you if Alya comes after you,” he added with a chuckle.

Even with all odds stacked against her, Adrien always knew how to calm her down. Granted this was nothing compared to the scale they had to deal with when they were in suits, but even as civilians, he was still her strongest rock.

Their reveal had caught them off guard, and their balance had been shaken from it, both as superheroes and as civilians. Yet, it was abundantly clear that they didn’t like what had become of their relationship. Often sneaking glances at the other when they weren’t looking, sometimes lingering to the point of getting caught, awkward moments with pink cheeks and rubs to the nape soon followed. This went on for a while but not long after, slowly but surely, they came to see how the other fit perfectly into the additional puzzle they had thanks to the Miraculouses.

And immediately after a meetup to address everything, they hugged it out and had stuck to each other like glue ever since, the relationship back to how it was before the reveal. Only, Adrien and Marinette were now in the picture too, along with Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Everything would have been perfect if that’s all there was to their relationship.

But of course, with them, nothing was ever that simple.

They both wanted something more. The wall between them was finally gone, but they were afraid. Afraid that the other did not feel the same, afraid that they might be asking for too much.

And so, they compensated their stupid pining longing for the other with closeness and touches.

Marinette was the first who initiated it. She was the one who tackled him into a hug right after the talk. And without delay, Adrien followed suit by refusing to let her go, even if they were wrapped in each others’ arms on the filthy ground. Much like their superhero selves, not much needed to be said; they just knew that it was okay to let the routine touches shared between Ladybug and Chat Noir bleed into Adrien and Marinette.

They felt so at ease after doing so, disguising their touches as polite, friendly gestures shared between friends.

But that wasn’t missed by prying eyes, because—according to everyone else in the world—friends do not touch like that.

Their friends had called them out. So had the media, publishing photos of them looking at each other like they held their world. Arms around shoulders, waists, and arms, pressing as physically close as possible, embracing like any couple would.

They denied the rumours every time, saying that they were just friends. But it had gotten to the point where they couldn’t breathe for a single second. Cameras were stationed everywhere they went, news reporters following their every move, and they made the collective decision to say they were indeed dating.

What an awkward moment that was, but they managed. They always did, and they always will.

Besides, it was enough to get the space they so desperately needed back.

It explained the current predicament they were in, one that had Marinette in a dilemma. On one hand, she got to date Adrien, something she had always wanted; on the other, she knew this was all fake, a hoax to appease everyone else and get them to leave them alone.

But, in all honesty, it didn’t feel any different from before.

“Let’s start by ordering dinner, then we get to cleaning. Sounds good?” Adrien’s smile was still ever so present.

The only difference was the label attached to their relationship now.

Marinette nodded her head shyly, “mhm.”

Adrien held her hand in his as they walked to her computer, searching for restaurants nearby to hasten the delivery process. After deciding together that pizzas, a few plates of pasta, and sushi, however weird the combination was, would be filling enough for everyone, they placed their orders and went to the living room to start packing.

Marinette heard the bell rang and realised again, that she’d lost track of time brooding over exactly where they stood in their relationship. Adrien went for the door, and Marinette was expecting the delivery person, but Adrien received Alya and Nino instead.

Alya was startled by the sight of him but quickly looked at the current state of the house and sighed. “Man, were you two so busy fooling around that you forgot we were coming over?”

With pink cheeks, both decided not to comment.

“Oh well,” Alya shook her head.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

After dinner and games, they decided to end the night with a movie. Both couples snuggled up on the sofa with their significant other. All the lights in the house were switched off to achieve the cinema experience.

Which technically meant that they can drop the couple act now.

But Adrien was too into the role of keeping up with appearance.

He had his arms wrapped around Marinette securely, refusing to let her go.

And that wasn’t a problem for Marinette. Their proximity was something she had gotten used to ever since her early superhero days.

The problem was that Adrien had his hand buried deep under her shirt. From the beginning, he had placed his hand on her hips. And as the movie progressed, it slipped under her shirt and rested against her waist, occasionally running patterns along her increasingly burning skin. His fingers drew new circles on other areas of her skin every now and then, and Marinette shivered whenever he did so. Eyes on the screen but no longer watching whatever was on it. His fingers were enough to grip her attention.

“Are you cold?”

Marinette jumped at the sudden question, too focused on the intensity of his green eyes to say anything intelligible, “uhh—”

“Wait for me.” He released his hold on her to go to her bedroom, only to return with the garments he saw on her bed earlier on.

Alarm bells were ringing in Marinette’s head as it was undeniable that Adrien had seen the matching hoodies and was now putting the red one over her head. He shouldn’t be seeing these so soon!

When Adrien was done, he frowned. The Ladybug hoodie was way too big on her.

“Adrien, they are not done,” she lied, trying to take it off of her and grab the Chat Noir one from him.

“Is that for me?”

Marinette froze.

No.

“Y—Yes,” she whispered, admitting defeat as there was no way she could change his mind now that he knew.

Adrien was all smiles, he removed the Ladybug hoodie only to dress her in the Chat Noir one, and kissed her cheek.

The kiss means nothing, he doesn't mean it.

But she still blushed nonetheless and Adrien wore the Ladybug one himself before wrapping his arms around her again.

Marinette knew they didn’t have to act as a couple now, but she felt the need to kiss him for what he had done. It just came so naturally to her.

Adrien’s eyes were back to watching the movie, and so she reached for the side of his face and planted a thank you kiss on his cheek.

His reaction was instantaneous. His eyes shone immediately and disregarded watching the movie altogether, looking at her so appreciatively and pulling her towards him, closer than before, to hug her even harder and rub his cheek on hers.

Marinette couldn’t say she hated his display of affection, but she felt herself getting really hot and she wanted to remove the hoodie lest she suffers a heatstroke. Adrien was still rubbing his cheeks against hers, and she placed her hands on his chest, preparing to push him back and—

“You guys can’t resist huh?”

Adrien and Marinette jolted and regarded the other couple, only to see them standing.

“We’ll be going.”

“Huh, why?” Marinette stood up as soon as Adrien released her.

“You two weren’t exactly subtle, especially fitting with what’s on the screen now.”

They both glanced at the screen and sure enough, the characters were getting it on. They both burst into flames.

“Wait, we weren’t—”

“Save it Adrien,” Nino cut in this time, “you just came back from your trip, and I guess distance does make the heart grow fonder. No wonder you were at Marinette’s even before we knew you came back.”

That didn’t go unnoticed by Marinette, but she ignored it for now.

“Enjoy yourselves, au revoir,” Nino bid.

“But—” the door closed, “we aren't done with our night together.”

She deflated and slumped back down into Adrien’s embrace, his arms instinctively wrapped themselves around her from behind.

And she was reminded of the heat again.

“Actually, Adrien, it's getting hot, could you remove your arms?”

His arms flew away as though he had touched red-hot metal. “O-oh, sorry.”

Marinette felt bad, she quickly removed her hoodie and fell back into his arms, taking and wrapping them around her waist again. “Don’t worry about it.”

Adrien began rubbing circles again. “Are you sure you're okay with it?”

“Okay with what?”

“Me holding you.”

She angled her neck to look at him. “Why not?”

“There’s... no one around anymore...”

“Oh. Okay.” She knew it, she got the message loud and clear. “Sorry I assumed.” Marinette prepared to stand, her hands went to his arms to push them away from her.

But she failed as she felt them strengthening their hold on her and he leaned his forehead on her shoulder.

“No, wait, please—” he spluttered, “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t, Adrien.” She traced her fingers along his right arm. “I would’ve told you if you did.”

“So can we stay as we are?”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not.” She sank into him for the nth time that night.

Marinette shivered when Adrien moved to the section between her neck and shoulder to breathe her in. “I missed you so much, my Lady.”

Her hand crept into his golden mane and patted, “I missed you too, Chaton.”

They stayed that way, basking in each other’s presence for a while longer before Marinette trembled again.

“Marinette, you sure you don't need the hoodie?” She could hear a tint of worry in his voice. “You're shivering.”

“I'm not shivering because it’s cold, Adrien.” Marinette patted both his hand and head to assure him. “Your body heat is more than enough.”

He raised his head. “Then what are you shivering from?”

Marinette’s cheeks bloomed a healthy shade of pink and she chose to stay quiet, hoping that he’d drop the issue. She was frantically searching for another topic, any topic. Then she remembered what Nino said earlier.

“Is it true,” she offered instead, “that you didn't tell anyone else that you’ve arrived back in Paris?”

He halted his hand. Did she hit a spot?

“Yes.”

“So I was the first one to know you're back?” she supplied, seeing that he didn’t add anything else after that one important word.

“Yes.” He was more forthcoming this time.

“Why?”

“Because I missed you.”

“Is… is that all?” Maybe it was their separation that led her to push for more answers because she would never want to make him uncomfortable. Ever.

Marinette felt his heart rate increase. Adrien was taking a while to reply, but the silence was deafening. She was about to apologise for pushing when Adrien’s response stopped her in her tracks.

“No.” He tightened his hold on her, effectively bringing her to him as close as possible, and brushed his lips against her skin, to which Marinette felt a shiver run down her spine, before he planted a few light kisses on her shoulder and neck.

She inhaled sharply and felt herself burnt from his actions, but she combusted when he nibbled her skin before soothing the area with his tongue.

With one final kiss, “That's… that’s the reason.”

“I— I see,” she squeaked.

Did that really just happen?

“Do you want me to stop?”

Marinette had waited far too long for this to stop now. She was certain that Adrien had made it clear. Crystal clear. That he felt the same as she did for him. Maybe it’s time to—

“No."

Adrien continued peppering soft kisses along her shoulders and neck, nose travelling up to behind her ear to breathe in her scent and place more kisses there. Marinette released a soft gasp, shuddering and closing her eyes to enjoy the sensation despite burning everywhere else.

She brought her hand back to his hair and ran her fingers through it a few times before moving down to massage his neck, bringing him in even closer. Adrien lifted an arm from her waist to palm her shoulder, ensuring that she stayed close to him and not shift away.

He moved against her skin, nuzzling and mouthing everything his lips touched and she tilted her head to give him more access. Adrien nibbled her skin a little harder this time and soothed the area afterwards, leaving soft kisses in his wake.

Adrien was getting bolder, but she wanted more.

Marinette slowly leaned forward, moving away from him until he got the hint.

He released her straight away and she quickly stood up, already missing the contact she had with him. She turned around and saw his dilated pupils directed right at her. She couldn't take it anymore.

Adrien was horrified that he had taken a step too far. “I’m sor—”

But Marinette was already back in his lap, straddling him with her hands on his shoulders. She grinned as she circled her arms around his shoulders, bringing herself closer, and her eyes darted down to his lips before gazing back up again.

She pressed a shy kiss to the corner of his mouth, watching to see if there was any discomfort on his end, only to see none. She pressed a firmer kiss to his lips, finding them warm and wet. Marinette soon pulled back, worried that she’d get addicted to kissing him given how soft and welcoming they felt.

Adrien gently cupped the back of her head, thumbs caressing her cheeks to bring her back to him. Closer to him. Marinette’s lips were so soft and her cheeks were so brilliantly pink that Adrien wanted nothing more than to kiss her. She looked so adorable with the way she was staring at him, and he could feel how hot her skin was and how fast her heart was racing by the pulse he’d felt against his palms. Adrien was sure he was the same but he couldn’t delay it any longer.

He gave multiple kisses to her cheeks, each getting closer and closer until he finally arrived at her lips, pressing his onto hers and finding them as eager as his.

His eyes fluttered close as their lips glided over each other smoothly. His right hand travelled down to her waist to bring her impossibly close to him, and Marinette squeaked when it stroked the small of her back. Adrien smiled and continued kissing her, his hand going under her shirt to roam her body and caress her skin.

Marinette’s attempts at suppressing her moans failed as she could feel Adrien’s smirk against her lips.

He knew exactly what he was doing to her. He knew he could get a response from her and was pushing her just as much as, if not more than, she was pushing him. Marinette felt goosebumps all over, yet her body burst into flames at his touch. Her heart raced and she loved what he was doing to her, but she wanted to get back at him as well. It was so unfair for him to do so much to her with so little.

In the end, her pride won over and her hand threaded into his hair to massage a bit before tugging. Adrien groaned as he shifted backwards slightly and Marinette didn’t expect the effect it had on her. She liked his groans. She really really really liked them. The hand on his head pulled him towards her and she pressed her lips harder against his, kissing him more passionately than before.

If lip-locking with him was this pleasurable, Marinette was never going to live a day without it. She needed more, way more. She traced her tongue over his lips for access, and she bit his lower lip as he parted them. Adrien’s moans were music to her ears and it spurred her on. She wanted to know how the insides of his mouth felt, so eager to explore, and her tongue barely entered his mouth when he suddenly pulled back.

Adrien was out of breath, he wasn’t expecting their kissing session to escalate this quickly. But he wasn’t complaining either.

“What about you?” Adrien panted.

Marinette, still in her daze, “Huh?”

“Why the matching hoodies?”

“To keep up the appearance.”

“Is that it?”

This sly cat, using what she had used against him earlier on her. Marinette just wanted this kissing session to continue and refused to let up, leaning back into him for more.

Adrien’s hand moved into her hair to hold her in place and he shifted backwards again. “Is that all?”

Marinette's eyes were glowering at him, this wasn’t supposed to affect her that much. “No, I was going to use them to confess to you and maybe get us to start dating for real. But I would most likely chicken out and never would have given you, us the matching hoodies but you saw them so hurray.” Frustration was evident in her voice. “Can we go back to kissing now?”

He smiled playfully and leaned in, but only to kiss her nose.

“Adrien!”

“I would love to date you for real, Marinette.”

She blushed. Kissing Adrien got her all dumb that she had forgotten about proper dating etiquette.

“We need to mark the occasion,” Adrien beamed.

Marinette tilted her head. “What?”

Adrien brought her lips to his again, and her hands went to work, erasing the distance between them as fast as possible. Her hands were around his neck and in his hair while his continued whatever he was doing from before. They caressed her neck and her left rib beneath her shirt, feeling goosebumps rise once more, and he smiled as she hummed appreciatively. His hand went to the back of her head to pull her closer to him as he angled his face to deepen the kiss.

Marinette was licking his bottom lip when she felt his lips leave hers, trailing down her jaw and planting kisses along the way, his hands never stopping their caress of her skin. She was whimpering as his hot breath fanned over her neck, his mouth lightly sucking the skin there.

Adrien was taking his time on her neck and she finally understood what he meant; he wanted to leave as many marks as he could on her. And she welcomed it. Oh, she welcomed it so much.

He licked her pulse and she moaned, hands tugging at his hair. Adrien continued mouthing her neck, alternating between kissing and licking and nibbling, lavishing in the sounds she released until a yank on his hair told him she’d had enough teasing. Adrien bit down on her pulse to suck and she squirmed against him. He grinned as her desperate cries reached his ears.

Marinette was clawing at him and he continued sucking for a while longer before releasing her. The tiny kisses he showered afterwards were so ticklish that she tried to move away from him, but he wrapped his arms around her waist, hands no longer caressing her skin underneath her shirt, to stop her from escaping. Adrien brought her into him again and kissed her full on the lips, and she felt hot all over again.

Eventually, he pulled back to inspect the bruise and looked so proud when it was finally visible from afar.

“There. Marked.”

Marinette had lost count of the number of times she combusted today, but she wasn’t going down without a fight just yet. Never.

“No,” she leaned in, “I haven't marked mine.”

And she went straight for his neck.

[cakejots]

this is us trying, Chapter 1 - The Beginning of an End

In this AU, they don’t know each other outside of the suit. And in this AU, Ladybug and Chat Noir love each other. But in this AU, Chat doesn’t want their identities revealed.

Written for @ladynoirjuly 2021

notes: this is a coherent story based on all the prompts; each chapter contains at least 3 prompts

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | Ch 10

Read on AO3

1. Older

“Well, Chaton?”

Chat stared at Ladybug as though she had grown an extra head.

“My lady, are you sure you want to know?”

“Oh come on Chat, there are at least tens of thousands of people who are of the same age. There’s no way you can figure out who I am just from that.” She leaned forward, chin on her palms and eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Hmm, that is true.” His fingers under his chin, eyes searching the sky. “I'm turning 21 this year.”

Ladybug looked dazed for a moment before smugness took over. “So I was right about your age! Well, the age range at least.”

“Oh? And how did my lady manage to guess it?”

Ladybug slowly ran her eyes down his body before peering right back into his eyes, and she smiled innocently.

Chat barked out a laugh.

“Now guess mine!”

“Don’t need to. I know you’re in the same age range as meow.”

She raised an eyebrow and his lips curled slyly. “The same way you managed to guess my age. Do you really want me to say it? Or in this case, show it to you?”

Ladybug couldn’t help but blush. “Okay, okay. You’re not wrong, I’m turning 21 this year too.”

Chat’s child-like demeanour came back, eyes lighting up. “Okay, but now I have to know who’s actually older! Mine’s in September.”

“I'm Leo, so the range is from July to August,” she grinned.

Chat regarded her with a mixture of awe and shock. “No way… You’re actually older than me!”

“Why is this a shock to you? I am more mature than you are,” Ladybug giggled.

“I mean, yeah, but for that fact to get thrust into my face, it just feels—”

“Surreal. I get it,” she sighed blissfully.

They fell into a peaceful silence as this new realisation settled within their hearts and minds. They were finding the most minute of things to share without giving away their identities, and just this tiny, basic fact about each other was overwhelming enough.

This, was something they could experience soon enough, to be normal again and enjoy the process of courting. This, was something they could slowly discover about each other soon enough, to fall in love harder, and to fall in love all over again.

“We are so close. So so close.” Chat gazed into her eyes, took her hand in his and squeezed, much like how his heart was feeling as it was overcome with emotions.

“We are finally nearing the end of all of this.” Ladybug pulled him into a tight hug.

2. Masks

It was over.

It was finally over.

It was a joyous day for Parisians as the supervillain who had been terrorising their city over the past few years had finally been caught and sent to prison.

It was a joyous day indeed.

But why was the atmosphere surrounding him so burdensome, just like the downpour that struck ever since he had entered the Agreste mansion?

The thunderstorm that raged above him, the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses that sat in his palm, and the face of the supervillain who was actually his father, glaring at him from a distance away with absolute despise and fury, they all seemed to be mocking him for his ill-fortune.

Of course there was no happy ending for him, even after the final battle. How could he have been so naive to believe that there was a positive outcome for him? He was the epitome of bad luck. From being chosen to be the Black Cat Miraculous holder, right down to his fate that had decided his course for him ever since he was brought into this world.

He was all alone now. His mother’s passing during his early teenage years had left an open wound in his heart. He saw the funeral happened. He cried as the ceremony went on for days on end. He was there to witness the burial of his mother. Those were definitive proof that his mother had passed. He has been mourning for his mother every year on her death anniversary.

So imagine his shock when he saw her in the basement he didn’t know existed, still as radiant and beautiful as he remembered. And to be slapped with the knowledge that his father had a hand in all of this.

He had a hand in withholding the truth about his mother’s whereabouts all this time. The truth that he had rights to. That she was well and alive but in deep deep slumber, one that she might never awake from. He had a hand in causing him so much pain, so much trauma. To be the perfect child he is to be, else he was no son of Gabriel. The direct role his father played in causing him to feel neglected, unloved, and worthless. Just so that he could play the supervillain and recruit innocent Parisians in his quest to obtain the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses.

He caused Parisians so much pain, stripping them of their right to feel what they feel. A minor slipped up from being unable to control their emotions and they became the villains for the day. He had used them for his selfish desires, to do his dirty work for him. All this for not being able to move on from the death of his wife. Not being able to accept the natural cycle of life.

And all of this had happened under his nose, but he didn’t even know. He has been living with the supervillain all his life. He has interacted with the supervillain almost daily. He has shown care and concern for the supervillain. He has forgiven the supervillain for his actions, always telling himself that he had his reasons for acting the way he did. He was a superhero and he didn’t even know.

If he had known, maybe he'd be able to convince his father to stop whatever he was doing. Maybe even prevent the current outcome of events, and even save his father from serving jail time. Some superhero he is.

He didn't know what would become of his mother, but he had long accepted that she had passed. And now, his father will leave his side, to pay for what he did.

Chat was truly alone now.

“Chaton?”

He blinked and looked over to his left. His lady was standing right beside him with concerned eyes, her hands on his left arm. The rain had lightened up considerably and he could see her as clear as day. He didn’t register her touch until he had seen it himself.

Chat wordlessly turned towards her and extended his right hand, the hand that held the two missing Miraculouses. He was expecting her to take them from him and called it a day with their habitual fist bump, but she closed his right hand and held both his hands in hers tightly and peered into his eyes.

“Chaton, are you alright?”

Ladybug cursed herself for asking the obvious. Clearly, he wasn’t feeling his usual self. The cheeky and confident demeanour he always had after the end of a battle was gone. His ears, tail, and posture seemed so deflated and depressed that he just looked like a kitten kicked hard.

She touched his face.

Chat grabbed her hand on his face and wanted to smack himself. His lady was right beside him all this time as he was drowning himself in self-loathing and self-pity. He couldn't let his gloominess take hold of her on this glorious day.

“I’m fine,” Chat showcased the brightest smile he could muster at that moment.

Ladybug worried her lips, not buying it for a single second.

“Chaton…”

He knew she wasn’t going to buy his act with the way she was watching him. Chat really didn’t know what he should do. His hand squeezed hers, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Can we go for a run, just for a while? I promised we’ll talk when we meet up again at the Eiffel Tower.”

When Ladybug didn’t respond, he opened his eyes to beg. “Please?”

Ladybug squeezed his hand before nodding and letting go, giving him a head start. Chat caught her hands before they fell completely by her side, and placed the Miraculouses within her palms. He made sure she put them away securely before jumping away. She followed him soon after, giving him the time and space he needed.

.

When Ladybug arrived at the Eiffel Tower, Chat seemed really nervous. She really didn’t know what made him like this, but he shouldn’t be that restless. Not of the revelations he made during the final battle and his rooftop run, and he definitely should not be uneasy about her arriving.

She extended her arms towards him. “Minou, can I hug you?”

Chat rushed to her and embraced her tightly. Her hands drew soothing circles on his back to release tension from his body, and he relaxed ever so slightly into hers.

“Okay, I’m ready to talk.” He took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself before he continued. “I-I know you’re looking forward to the reveal after the final battle. I am too. We’ve waited years for this moment. But… but can we not do that now?”

Ladybug instantly pulled back and gawked at him. To say that she was shocked was an understatement. She did not expect this at all. Yes, she totally forgot about the reveal because she was so focused on making sure he’s alright, but for him to just drop the bomb on her like that. “But—”

“I know this is a really unfair request from me,” he quickly added. “But I don’t want to deceive you. We can go on dates in our suits! So that you get to know me. All of me. How I act in and out of battle.”

He slowly averted his gaze. “And that the feelings you have for me will still be there even after our dates.”

Ladybug couldn’t believe her ears, Chat is still Chat, no matter the situation. The fact that he didn’t even include her in the proposal he just suggested made it obvious that he wasn’t even convinced himself. They both knew that they weren’t going to act any different. They’ve hung out outside of Akuma attacks, they will be the same in and out of the suit. It just didn’t make sense.

“Chat...” she pleaded.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry. Please don’t leave me,” he sobbed and enveloped her in a bear hug, afraid that she'd run if he didn’t have a tight enough grasp on her.

Wait, what? No, no! Where did he get the idea that she’s going to leave?

“I-I can’t—”

That's absurd.

“Chat, you don’t have to explain.” Her hands continued the back rubs from before, making sure that it soothed him enough till he’s comfortable loosening his grip. She slowly pulled back and cupped his cheeks, a smile on her face. “Words are not needed. I may not understand the reasons behind your decisions now, but I trust that your heart is in the right place.”

That subtle shine in his eyes did not go unnoticed by Ladybug. “Words cannot express how thankful I am, my lady.”

“Well, then better make it up to me with the dates you promised.”

“Of course, my lady.”

Judging the look on his face, she slowly added, “Do you need more time to sort things out?”

“I don’t know. Can you stay with me a while longer?”

She nodded understandingly and went back to hugging him. Chat tightened his arms around her and breathed in her scent. Her fingers left delicate touches in its trail from his back to his scalp, knowing full well that it's a gesture he’d appreciate. Low rumbles of purring slowly filled the air around them.

They stayed tangled for who knows how long before Ladybug popped the question.

“About the masks, are you sure?”

“Yeah. We don’t drop them,” Chat said with a conviction he knew was never there.

3. Tease

It’s been a week since the defeat of Shadowmoth.

A week since Chat broke down from whatever he had experienced during that short time frame of the final battle.

A week since he had declined the reveal.

Ladybug wasn’t pleased, how could she be? She had waited 6 long years for that, ever since the day they first met and swore to protect Paris from Hawkmoth’s clutches. Well, Shadowmoth now.

It sucked. Even Shadowmoth has had development. Her relationship with Chat? Null.

No. It wasn’t fair to say that. Of course their relationship had developed. From practical strangers to lovers, they trusted each other with their lives, even if they didn’t know who the other was behind that mask. That’s some intense trust they have right there.

But still.

She was really looking forward to the reveal. They were really looking forward to the reveal.

Chat must have had a reason for what he chose that day, strong enough to throw away what he desired most. But what?

Ladybug sighed, she supposed the only thing she could do was to hope that nothing about their relationship had changed. And be there for him when he needs it, like a good girlfriend she is. Are they even a couple? The unnamed boundaries were causing her additional anxiety she didn’t need now. She guessed she’d have to talk it out with Chat and make clear where they stood.

She got broken out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps approaching her.

“Hey...”

Before she even turned around, the tone of his voice sounded so tired, as though coming here was a chore for him. He had shared with her before that meeting her is always the highlight of his day. For it to become a chore… He must be really affected by it.

“My lady?” He stopped behind her.

That wouldn’t do.

She whipped around and flicked his bell, “Hey Chaton, you’re here!”

And as if that wasn’t enough, she had the sweetest smile he has ever seen plastered on her beautiful face. Those rosy cheeks and welcoming lips upturned, and the whites of her teeth slightly visible from her smile, directed at him. So happy to see him. So thrilled for him to be here.

It shot right through his heart. He couldn’t do anything else besides fixate his eyes on her radiant and alluring face.

“Aww, cat got your tongue? Or in this case, a ladybug got your tongue?” She cooed and flicked his bell once more.

She was relieved she still has this effect on him.

“S-she definitely did.” A pink hue dusted his cheeks.

Cute.

Ladybug figured the only thing she could do was to remind him of all the enjoyable memories they had together and banish the sad ones that gripped him from a week ago. The reveal can wait. What's important was to make sure he doesn’t forget why they wanted the reveal in the first place.

She concluded upping her tease factor was the way to go.

“I’ll make sure you know that my feelings for you are real and you won’t be able to resist my charms any longer.”

“My lady,” Chat whined. He was already regretting his decisions from a week before.

Ladybug, on the other hand, was grinning. She’d accept whatever he’s willing to give. She supposed she could get the ball rolling, to begin filling in on fresh empty pages as they experience falling in love all over again. Because deep down, that is what they’ve wanted after all.