Just Fine

Cloudy

The clownster tasted defeat, and Marinette tasted the sweetness of victory. But everything else seemed wrong.

Yeah, Chat was acting smug as usual, but everyone one else around her, seemed strange.

It was like they all had some kind of...cloud of dust around them all.

No one seemed...aware? She had seen people act distant or strange after the shock of an akuma attack.

But that had been in the past. People were so used to it now. It was sad to think about sometimes.

To the point where she didn't know if the haze over everyone was a relief or something she should worry about.

It was something she would think about for sure.

She thought about it for a moment, but then she thought too much into it. Lately, overthinking had become her normal thinking. She almost feared what it would be like to "overthink" now.

Her eyes felt dry, staring at the blank slate faces of those around her.

Maybe it was because of all of the false happiness the clown had brought, and now everyone was back to reality. Or the fact that clowns were a common fear among people.

She decided to believe the second option and let it all be from shock.

"Ladybug!"

She turned her head to see her partner running over to her.

"I've been calling you!" He stopped in from of her with a furrowed brow.

"You okay?" He asked carefully.

"What? Yeah yeah I'm fine." She shook her head quickly.

"Sorry I was in a daze I guess"

How ironic, worrying about the shocked, dazed citizens had put her into a daze herself.

"Oh." He put his baton in its place on his suit, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Where were you?" She asked, wondering why he had ran over to her.

"Oh I got caught up by a few girls. I think they were like 14." He scratched the back of his neck.

She simply chuckled, mumbling "Casanova" under her breath.

Such a missed opportunity to say cat-sanova

It didn't go unnoticed by him, but he also didn't acknowledge it. He looked at her in such a way that felt as if he were in a movie. Watching this girl as if the wind around her was dancing against her skin.

She truly was beautiful.

He felt proud to be able to stand next to her. Proud to call her his partner. And if that was all he ever got to be, he knew that alone would be a blessing.

Though he planned on trying to win her over, again. Like he had many times before.

But he didn't want to give up. No part of him felt like he should. And now he knew even more about her. He knew the two sides of her.

The shy, quiet, but trustworthy and kind Marinette. And the bold, outstanding, courageous and caring Ladybug. It wasn't a clean divide either, they blended and bled into one another.

Like when you draw dots with a sharpie, and drip rubbing alcohol onto them, and their colors spread and it becomes hard to distinguish between them.

She wasn't just Marinette, and she wasn't just Ladybug.

She was her.

And it was wonderful.

"Chaton?" She waved her hand in front of his face.