Worth The Wait - Chat Noir x Fem!Reader

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE - Haunted by the Angels

Kiss me.

Word Count: 2478

Love is a tricky thing. Its sickness is a sweet syrup that corrodes the mind from all rational thought. It loosens the tongue. It blinds thought. It can swirl deep in the chambers of a heavy heart, souring in the darkness to hate. Love creates villains, their hands bloodied of their own poor design. To be loved is to embrace danger because being scathed is a lesser punishment than to be in absence of its heat.

It is dangerous. It will destroy you.

My feet created impressions in the dust covering the wreckage of Paris, crushing tiny pieces of debris under my heel. The orange of my suit is faded in the dust, a weak beacon of hope to the victims of the latest akuma. I slide under the cover of a hulking piece of rubble, letting it conceal me from the dark cupid hellbent on wreaking havoc and breaking hearts. A familiar pair of green eyes hovered near me in the darkness and I crawled towards them like a hungry woman in need of salvation. I collapsed beside him in a tired heap of bones, my chest heaving as I took in ragged breaths.

Familiar green eyes glow faintly into the darkness and I crawl towards him.

"Hey," I whisper, my voice hoarse from my unsteady breathing as I slump my body against his. After nearly an hour of exertion, I can feel my strength ebbing despite the necklace clasped around my neck tying me to godly power.

"Hey," Chat chokes out in response, coughing into his hand. Even in the dim lighting, I can see a dark color smeared near his mouth. Blood.

"Please don't pass out on me," Ladybug groans to no one in particular as she sits propped up against the side of the rock, a hand strewn haphazardly over her abdomen. I manage a small nod, still catching my breath.

Chat gives a lazy smile with his eyes closed, finally speaking again. "I'll keep that in mind when I'm fighting for my life."

"Smartass," I murmur under my breath, grinning now.

"Always," he replied with a matching Cheshire cat-like grin, reaching behind himself to pull out a slightly battered pink rose. "Happy Valentine's Day."

My smile is much more genuine as I gingerly take it. "How did you hold on to that?"

He spreads his clawed fingers to show off the thorns embedded in his palms with a proud but pained expression. "Held on tight."

I dropped the rose in shock, my palm pressed against the unintentional smile threatening my lips. "That looks like it hurts."

"It does." His bottom lip jutted out in a slight pout. "Kiss it better?"

I take his hand in mine, carefully picking out the thorns from his palm as I shake my head again. "Your hands are filthy."

Ladybug moves closer, keeping her voice low. As she moves, I can see the small rips in the fabric exposing her fair skin.

Her blue eyes narrow in concentration as she turns over her yo-yo in her fingers. "We can't hide forever. We need a strategy. Separate and attack in a cohesive effort."

Chat speaks, wincing as I pluck a thorn from the pad of his thumb. "We need a distraction."

"I can do it," I raise my free hand, nodding once. The flute slung across my back slips a little almost in reminder. "I haven't used 'mirage' yet."

In minutes, I crawl from the darkness and run across the desperate wreckage, breathing in the scorched air. I can hear the taunts and wails of broken hearts, creating an eerie symphony of pain. I can almost taste the rejection and anger with unreciprocated feelings. I listen for the sound of wings stretching in inky feathers to block out the weakening sun. A Dark Cupid led astray by rejection.