31 Days

10 - December 1 - Day 1

Texting Ladybug was hard. I didn't know how to start, and my show with Marinette left me feeling extremely confused. Of course when I'd first met her I'd felt ashamed that she regarded me so lowly, and gaining her trust in the rain led me to feel the slightest of feelings towards her. And even further on, learning about her sweet nature made me fall a little deeper for her. So I wouldn't call me feelings towards Marinette as love, but simply refer it to a simple crush. Not something I wanted to go farther than friendship, but given the chance, I may have dated. Before I met Ladybug, of course. What I felt for her was beyond anything I'd ever felt for anyone. Although I hand't felt much of anything for anyone in the love department, really.

When I reached love lock, I was surprised to already find Ladybug standing there, a small figure looking for me in the very center of the bridge. I was suddenly struck by the idea to approach her from behind. So I did, and to my surprise, she did not reject me as I expected her to. She shivered in my grasp, just a hand placed on either side of her body, at the tops of her slender hips. "Chat Noir." She drawled lightly out.

"M'Ladybug." I said, allowing Ladybug to render my hands useless at the sides of my body.

"Not so fast, buster." I couldn't help but let out a little laugh at her choice of expressions.

"Buster?"

"Yes." She said, a blush spreading across her face.

"Okay, then... Shall we?" Ladybug took my arm, looking down.

"We shall." She said, moving over, closer to me.

"So, how have you been?" I asked, strolling leisurely along the path.

"Alright. And you?" She answered politely.

"Excellent. Damn, we sound British."

"How so?"

"We're talking so politely." I remarked.

Ladybug giggled. Then laughed. "Why British?"

"First people I could think of." I laughed along.

"Where are we going?" Ladybug asked, calming down.

"I don't know. You said you wanted to go for a walk." I shrugged.

"Down to the docks? And then we can do our challenge." Ladybug suggested.

"Alright. Sounds paw-sitively claw-some." I said, rattling out some puns.

"When did you become pun master? Seriously." Ladybug cracked a lop-sided smile.

"I've always been pun master, my lady." I smiled.

She let out a laugh at this. A second later, a gust of cool wind blew across the city and she moved in even closer to me. "Onward, cat!" She said, stepping back and bolting in front of me.

"Hey, no fair!" I called, chasing after her.

We raced to the cold dock, Ladybug beating me by seconds. We sat on a bench, laughing. "Alright, alright. Let's do our challenge." Ladybug said, reaching in her pouch for her phone.

"Innocent or Sinful?" I asked suggestively. 

"Innocent." Ladybug said, clicking things on her phone.

"Wait, did you already click it?"

"Yes. Read the text." She said smugly.

"What does yours say?" I asked, lazily pulling out the phone and unlocking it.

"Not to tell my partner what it says." She teased, turning away from me to read the message.

[ Do not share the details of this challenge with your partner. Give them a compliment. Sneak it in, and don't make it too obvious. If you're already complimenting them, kiss them on the cheek. ]

Oh, this was too good. "Ladybug, I read mine."

"Me too. Seems we should just pass some time. Wanna get something to eat?"

"Okay." I agreed easily.

That was how we ended up racing to a pizza place, ordering pizza as we tried to catch our breath, and eating it in content silence. When we finished off what we had ordered, we threw out the dishes, and I realized just how much  would have relished a soda. Ladybug unscrewed the lid of hers with a sizzle, taking a sip. Her lips pouted over the lip of the bottle as she drank some of the bubbling liquid down. "Hey, Ladybug..." I began tentatively.

Ladybug loosely replaced the lid before handing me the drink. "I kind of expected you to do that." She smirked, beginning to walk off.

I polished off the drink, smiling idiotically after the girl who had stolen my heart. "Wait- Ladybug!" I called, trying to catch up to the girl.

"Yes?" She asked, turning.

Her hair swayed with the action and I watched the blue-black strands shine in the little remaining light. "Is it over?" I asked, feeling a subtle pout come over my lips.

"Why, do you want it to be?" She asked, leaning forwards teasingly.

"No. I never want it to end." I said, closing the small gap between us.

Ladybug was forced to stand up straight as our bodies nearly touched. I leaned forward, hoping this was an appropriate time to kiss Ladybug. Really kiss her. My face was only an inch or so away before Ladybug shot up, placing a little kiss on the outermost corner of my lips. It wasn't really more than a kiss on the cheek, only our mouth corners touching, but I wasn't ready, and missed my chance to kiss her back. I stood dazed for a second, and Ladybug made her quick escape, sprinting down the street. I watched as she pulled her hat from her head, hair splaying out behind her like a cape. I, too, ran home, my fingers pressed firmly to the skin the Ladybug's lips had landed on. When I was within the safety and confines of my home, the back of my hand flew up to my forehead as I sank against the door, sighing, love-struck.

"Ladybug."