Miraculous One Shot Compilation

Behind The Mask

"Chat..." Ladybug was starting to rethink her words. She stood by her assertion that they would never be a couple, but maybe she could have been nicer about it. Her partner - whom she wasn't ashamed to say she did love platonically - was crouched at the edge of the roof, staring out over the city - sullen. This was all over her.

"Chat," she tried again, moving closer to him. "Let's talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about," he whispered. "It's not your fault I don't meet your standards for a boyfriend. I'll get over it."

"Don't say that," she scolded. "It's not you, it's..."

"Please," he interrupted her in a monotone. "Not the 'it's not you' cliche. I've heard it before. Not personally, but I know it's just a way to let someone down easy."

"But I mean it," Ladybug pressed forward. "Let me explain to you why I said no. I am only one of Ladybug. There have been many before me, and there will be Ladybugs after me as well. It doesn't seem right to use a borrowed identity for something as personal as a romantic relationship. I don't think you should be looking for love as Chat Noir either. You're such an open and sincere guy. Just give it a try as yourself, and I'm sure you'll find a great girl to love you."

"Is that the best thing about me, Ladybug?"

"It's the first thing that comes to mind, but it's not a bad thing! I actually admire that about you."

"There's the thing," Chat protested. "I'm only free to be the true me as Chat Noir. My civilian form is so... fake."

This surprised Ladybug. If anyone seemed to be free of societal pressures, she would have said it was Chat. But if he truly was the way he described himself, having to squish his liberties into one small window of time, that would explain his more obnoxious behaviors.

"Then don't be," she advised him, "just be you. I'm sure that will work out better for you."

Chat was unsure. "But if you don't like me that way, how can you be so sure that other girls will?"

"Because when I'm working, I'm not looking at boys," Ladybug lied. "Even my biggest crush couldn't distract me on the job. With my civilian form, things could be different. If we're really meant to be together like you tell me we are, then in our civilian forms you will find me."

Chat didn't know how to feel; less than an hour after being told they would never be together, his lady had finally told him the way he might win her heart! She'd seemed less than certain about them ending up together, but he had no doubt. Something had already drawn him to her once, so it seemed kind of silly to think it shouldn't be possible to happen again. He was so far entranced by his imaginations of their sure future that he hardly noticed when it came time to say their goodbyes for the night - nor did he pay much notice to his route as he automatically made his way home.

"She finally convinced the ultimate loverboy to quit pestering her, huh?" Plagg questioned once released from the ring.

"It's not quite like that." Unlike the loneliness of the average evening spent alone in his room, Adrien now felt a jubilance that made him grin from ear to ear. "She just made me realize that if I love her, I have to let her go."

--

"I can't believe that worked!" Tikki giggled, back in Marinette's room.

"I feel just a little bit bad for lying to Chat," Marinette admitted, "but it's in his best interest. He really must think he's in love with me. If using myself as bait is what I need to do to get him to go out there and look for love, then that's the place to start. My hope is that he'll find some girl out there, and by the time he realizes that she isn't me, his feelings for her will be strong enough that he realizes he doesn't need me."