Ladynoir July 2023

Puns

Day eight! This one is a bit angstier because as much as I love fluff, I needed a bit of a change. Still, I really enjoy how this turned out and it's just a little hint to what I have in store for some future one shots. I hope you guys like it! -Colorado

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Something was off with Chat Noir. Ladybug couldn't entirely place her finger on it, but she knew something was wrong. When he showed up to patrol he was still smiling, still kissed her hand like he always did, still called her all the familiar pet names. But something was wrong, and Ladybug knew it.

It was the way he quickly plastered a smile on his face whenever she looked at him, it was the way he wasn't laughing when he vaulted from rooftop to rooftop, it was the way that he quickly wanted to scan the area and move on. Almost as if he was anxious about something or trying to hurry up patrol.

So when he tried to leap off in the night after only 30 minutes, Ladybug called out to him.

"Chat Noir, what's going on?" She grabbed his hand, wanting him to stay.

"Nothing my lady, why would anything be wrong?" The grin on his face would've fooled anyone but her.

"Stop that, that's a fake smile and you know it." She searched his eyes for an answer.

He sighed, giving up the act. "Was it really that obvious?"

"Not to anyone but me." She sat down on the rooftop and patted the place next to her. "Sit, please?"

Chat Noir nodded wordlessly, and came down to sit by her side.

"Now, tell me, what is it? Are you okay?" Ladybug had to control the urge to cup his cheek with her hand.

"I'm... okay, not great, but not terrible either." He sighed, falling against her. She happily welcomed him, running her hands through his hair.

"What makes it not so great?" She asked quietly.

"Kinda goes into my identity stuff, Bug." Chat Noir sat up, giving her a wry grin.

"Keep it vague, I don't care. I'm still your partner Chat, I'd like to be there for you." She told him, putting an arm around him and pulling him close to her side.

"Well, let's say I have a lot of responsibilities in my life." Chat began, making himself comfortable on her side. "My family owns this very well-known brand, and I do a lot of work for the company. On top of that I have like, six or seven different extracurriculars and school." He shook his head against her, stopping for a moment before starting again. "My father expects me to be perfect in each and every one of those aspects in my life. He doesn't accept anything less. So today, when I told him I only took second place in fe- I mean, in this competition I was in, he sort of blew up on me. Telling me that he does so much for this family, constantly puts in the work," his voice turned bitter, "and that I was just a let-down to the Ag- to our family name."

"Chat..." Ladybug felt her heart break, and the urge to punch her partner's father. "I'm so sorry, you don't deserve that, no one is perfect all the time."

"When you're me, you have to be," he whispered, curling in on himself. "I mean, I know it's an unreasonable expectation, I try to talk myself out of the thoughts that I'm not good enough or I'm not worth anything," he didn't see Ladybug's furious face, glaring at whoever Chat's dad could be, "but it's hard. Plagg helps, of course, I don't know what I'd do without him but sometimes-." He stopped, a shaky breath escaping him. From years of doing the same thing, Ladybug knew he was trying to prevent the urge to cry.