by luck or by choice? - klance x mlb

evening patrol

Keith strolled across the rooftops, swinging his belt. Patrols in the evening weren't even strictly necessary, it was always easy to tell when Zarkon had created another Akuma - but Ladybug always insisted on them anyway; and, well, Keith wasn't exactly gonna turn down another chance to see him, was he? Besides, Ladybug was a person he could literally never say no to.
Still, it was nice to be out and about as Chat on his own for a while; when he was stressed out, the lower the expectations the better. Keith made his way to the recording studio, which was their designated meeting point for patrols. It was deserted right now, with no Ladybug in sight - at least, not yet. With a sigh, Keith sat on the roof and waited.

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Lance surveyed the streets, his senses heightened by his costume. There seemed to be no Akuma activity this evening, which was good - he could cut patrol short for the night and maybe get some of his homework done.
Nearing the recording studio, he spotted a familiar pair of purple eyes through the darkness.
"Salut, Chat Noir. Seen anything this evening?" he said, touching down on the roof and smiling at his partner.
Chat blinked slowly, then reciprocated, grinning up at him.
"Seen any Akumas? Nope. But I sure do see a cute boy in front of me." he replied with a warm tone.
The flirting no longer seemed like a distraction to their duties as superheroes - Lance knew Chat well enough now to realise that the teasing and bad puns were his way of getting to know people, seeing how they reacted. Lance's reactions may have been more cold before, but he found that he didn't actually mind the pickup lines so much anymore. He even tried to respond in kind, which normally resulted in Chat doing it even more. The easy banter definitely added to their dynamic as partners.

Lance chuckled. "I'm flattered, truly."

Chat scrambled to his feet, and gave a little bow.
"Anything for my Ladybug." he purred.

"Oooh, laying it on thick tonight, are we?"
Lance joked, but Chat's face fell, and he turned away a little.

"It's true." he mumbled.

Lance was kind of taken aback. He didn't really know how to respond to that.

(maybe he was wrong about Chat flirting with everyone.)

"Um..anyway, flirting aside, if there's no Akuma activity tonight, we can probably head home. Race you to...hmmm..." he looked around, "How about Krolia Kogane's place?"

Was it just his imagination, or did Chat look angry at that name?

"Yeah." he said, slowly. He took off, leaping across the rooftops at a dizzying pace.

Even when Lance finally reached the Kogane mansion, Chat was nowhere in sight.
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'I really am in a bad mood.' Keith thought. 'I never get mad at Ladybug... but I'm more mad at myself. Why do I bother with the whole flirting thing when I know it isn't gonna get me anywhere?'
He sat down hard on his bed. 'But...it's worth it, just to see him smile.'

"Plagg, claws in."
The little cat zoomed out from his ring, flopping onto the bed next to him.
"Keeeeeeeith, I'm starvinggggg." he moaned.

"Okay, okay. I'll get you that extra wheel of Camembert."
Plagg visibly perked up, and flew through the door.
"Plagg, you little pig." Keith had to smile a bit.
The Kwami poked his head back through the door. "I am a cat!" he growled indignantly.
Keith laughed openly this time.
"Alright! Let's go, then! But I'm tired, too, so let's make it quick."

Kolivan almost caught them on the way back from the kitchen.
Still, Keith felt a little lighter, and fell asleep easily. You can probably guess what he dreamed about.