Solace in the Storm

Notes:
For sleepysebris

Hey! This is my first time writing a fic in years and it's for ML Secret Santa 2023. I hope you enjoy!

(Thank you so much pisoprano for betaing! I really appreciate it!)
(See the end of the work for more notes.)

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Ladybug stared out at the streets of Paris, leaning against a short railing as the cold breeze brushed past her, making her hair sway rhythmically and sending shivers down her spine. She thought standing on the top of the Eiffel Tower would help clear her mind but it really didn't. The longer she stood there, unmoving and alone, the more the thought about how she failed. And she didn't even know how long she'd been standing there for. It was probably only a few minutes, but it felt like hours.

She just couldn't stop thinking about how she failed Paris. She failed the kwamis. And worst of all, she failed Master Fu. Yesterday had been a complete nightmare, and it felt like one too—she couldn't believe that so much happened in one night. It was just so ridiculous, she might as well have been dreaming.

"Hey, Ladybug!"

Ladybug nearly fell off the Eiffel Tower as she whipped out her yo-yo, ready to fling it at—

"Chat Noir? Wh-What are you doing here?" Ladybug sniffled, putting her yo-yo down and wiping away a tear. When had she started crying?

"Well um, I saw you over here, and I actually had something to show you, but uhm, are you... okay?" Chat Noir looked at her with his brows furrowed and stepping closer to her and she backed up against the railing. "You're crying," he whispered, reaching a hand out to her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing herself to look at him. "Yes! Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She dug her nails into her palms and tried her best to smile at him, hoping he'd buy it and—

Another tear fell down her cheek. And another. And another, until her smile faltered and her face grew warm and a sob broke out of her mouth. "N-no..."

He closed the distance between the two of them, encasing her in his arms. She felt pathetic and her legs were weak and she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him and continue to sob.

"Shh...It's okay." He whispered into her ears soothingly, brushing his fingers through her hair. A tingle of warmth crawled down from her head to her toes as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"We lost, Chat," she choked out through another sob and clutched him tighter. "They're all gone. We... I lost..."

"Hey, look at me." He pulled back from her, placing his hand on her shoulders instead and she immediately felt the cold wind biting at her as she stared down at their feet. "Pretty please, M'lady?" She laughed softly, looking up at his face as he pouted playfully down at her. She blinked away another tear, staring into his emerald green cat-like eyes. "It's not your fault, okay? None of this is your fault, no matter what you say or think. And we will get the miraculous back. I'm paw-sitive. I'm pawsitive we'll get them back."

She smiled softly back at him, rolling her eyes at the pun, and his grin only grew wider.

His eyes gleamed in the sunset and his hands dropped from her shoulder, now intertwining their fingers and gazing down at her face that was definitely bright red, not just from crying.