Ladynoir July 2023

Falling

Ladybug wasn't quite sure when it happened. She wasn't sure if there was even a solid moment when it began. It wasn't like with Adrien where one moment he was a new friend and the next he was much much more. She didn't jump head-first. Instead she tested the waters, slowly moving deeper and deeper never truly noticing the difference until she looked back. By that time it was far too late to back out, she was in too deep. And now that she knew about it, she had absolutely no idea what she should do about it. Preferably ignore it and hope it goes away, but that would never work. Her heart was far too stubborn.

Chat, to his credit, hadn't mentioned anything about her weird behavior. She knew he noticed it. She saw the looks of curiosity, the careful guarded smiles, his hesitancy when saying a cheesy line a bit too seriously. But he never breathed a word about how she suddenly opened up to him. How she suddenly stopped rebuffing his flirtatious remarks. How she was suddenly sad whenever he didn't leave her with a signature hand kiss. Chat Noir was much too kind to point any of those things out.

So the two of them keep pushing. He kept asking to take her out for ice cream, she kept saying yes. She kept kissing him on the cheek, he kept telling her how much he loved it. He kept calling her his lady, she kept calling him her kitty. Both of them knew they were getting closer and closer to the point of no return. It terrified Ladybug in a way. But she also knew she couldn't stop herself if she tried.

So there they were, two lines forever getting closer to the meeting point, but perhaps they'll never actually meet. She wasn't sure what was worse, them crossing the line or dancing on it until the end of time.

If she knew Chat Noir as well as she thought she did, she knew he'd be the first one to push. The first one to give in. Out of the two of them, he was the one to confess his feelings. Maybe they always ended in rejection, but it was much farther than Ladybug had ever gotten.

So when she left for patrol that evening, it was easy to tell that she was distracted. She knew that she was distracted, that she probably should've taken a careful route to their normal meet up spot. But she didn't. And as she slung her yo-yo towards a rooftop, she realized she was falling.

She braced for contact. She knew it would hurt, she had taken hits similar before. Hopefully her suit could absorb most of the damage. She saw the ground get closer and closed her eyes before-.

She hit something, but it wasn't the ground. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her, carrying her bridal style. From where she was pressed up against his chest she could feel his heartbeat. She didn't even need to look to know it was Chat.

"Are you alright, Ladybug?" He asked as he landed on a roof. He let her go, but grabbed her shoulders, his eyes roaming her face.

"Just fine kitty-cat, I was too caught up in my head, that's all." She waved her hand, but she could tell Chat Noir wasn't convinced.

"Okay, My Lady." He picked up her hand and placed a small kiss on it. She felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"O-of course." She breathed out, caught off guard by the look in his eye. It was a rare occasion seeing Chat Noir so serious. His mouth was pressed in a thin line, his face was searching hers for answers to a question she was scared of.

"Especially when it starts to affect you like this. You and I are partners first and foremost. I need to make sure that my partner is okay." She really wished he'd stop looking at her like that, it made it hard for her to not kiss him.

"I know, I am." She placed a hand over his, squeezing it once.

"And..." he bit his lip, obviously hesitating, "I need to make sure that she's telling me what's going on."