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Chat Noir has never felt as relieved as he did the moment he sees the Miraculous Ladybugs rushing towards him.
What an achievement, he thinks. He’s pretty sure he’s the first person to ever get punched by a holder of the Tiger Miraculous.
Clout was never used for evil before, after all.
Chat Noir can’t tell exactly where he’d landed, he just knows he’d crashed violently into a building, based on the individual bricks falling and landing near his head. The world is upside down, the pain erupting everywhere in his body, and he is physically fighting to pull air into his lungs, even though he can’t move a muscle. The metallic taste that flooded his mouth is something he isn’t familiar with.
He doesn’t understand how he is still alive.
A feather-light sensation that he feels all over his body brings him out of his head, and he sees the Ladybugs encasing him. They use their magical powers to heal the heavy blow he had sustained from the enemy and undo the damage he had suffered after being propelled across the city. The healing process is painless and Chat Noir is back on his feet again, feeling as upbeat as he had before the start of the battle.
Once the Miraculous Ladybugs have done their job, they proceed to scatter in all other directions, and all Chat Noir wants is to be by his Lady again as soon as possible. He heads towards where he last saw her, hoping that she’s at least in the vicinity and not somewhere else. He can’t fathom the thought of her being punched like the way he was.
That’s when Chat Noir notices that the Ladybugs are still flying around, restoring the city to its former appearance.
Was their battle that extensive?
He’s getting more worried by the second and he quickens his pace.
As he nears the area, he sees Ladybug comforting the rescued akumatised victim, paying no attention to the magical Ladybugs that surround her briefly. One of her hands is on the victim’s shoulder, while the other is clenching onto her yo-yo.
She isn’t usually this impatient to leave after a battle…
“That was another job well done, My Lady!” He comments as he lands right next to her, holding his fist in midair. She whips her head towards him, eyes wide and darting between his own pair of eyes. Ladybug seems to be reaching out to grab his arms before she suddenly retracts them. She bites her lower lip, lowering and clutching her hands before she raises one to fist bump him softly.
Her eyes never leave his, as though she’s searching for something.
Chat Noir hears the crowd approaching, and that’s their cue to leave. He readies his baton, but he feels a tug on his belt.
“Chaton, wait!” She swallows and clears her throat. “Your injury. Let me see it.” Ladybug lets go of his tail.
“It’s gone. Your Miraculous Ladybug can heal, remember?” He says as he turns to face her.
She isn’t looking at him now, she’s fixated on his rib area, where he was punched. She moves closer, hands extending to his “wound” before she decides to put them on his arm. “You can never be too sure.”
Chat Noir sends a smile. “I’m feeling superb, my Lady!”
Ladybug lifts her gaze, eyes shinier than what he remembered, and peers into his, tugging at his arm this time. “Please.”
It’s only then that he realises her insistence is more than her desire to look at and treat his non-existent wound. She wants to be closer. Ladybug has always been close, be it physically or in his mind. But since the fallout of the battle against Strike Back, she has been clinging onto him like he’s her lifeline.
Chat Noir really doesn’t have a problem with her wanting to be close. That much attention on him? Who is he to complain?
Her change in behaviour is getting a bit worrisome. They aren’t bantering as much as before, like she’s too afraid of offending him with her sharp tongue.
As if sharp words would be enough to drive him away after they’ve been through so much together. He has seen her at her worst. Besides, bantering is his favourite pastime with her.
Ladybug has since then, begun giving him a pat-down on his body every time, making sure to check that zero injuries are left on him before she lets him go. She isn’t as rough as she used to be with him, as though she thought Chat Noir would just suddenly disappear without explanation if she manhandled him too much.
The beeping of their Miraculouses catches his attention, and Ladybug looks like she’s about to cry at the sound.
Chat Noir surveys the growing crowd before facing her again. “Okay, let’s get away from this place and recharge, then you can have me.”
Her eyes light up immediately, and she pulls him along, heading to another rooftop far away from the crowd.
They stand at opposite sides of a giant pillar and call off their transformation. Adrien feeds Plagg his beloved Camembert silently—the Kwami takes his time to savour that disgusting cheese—and he thinks about what to do to comfort her once they are suited up again.
Ladybug was already worried as heck when he got Cataclysm-ed the last time, even though he could still move around and fight.
He doesn’t know how to put her at ease. How does one calm their partner down when one doesn't even know what has happened?
It was all a blur, all Chat Noir knew was that he felt a heavy impact on his ribs, and then, he could hardly move and breathe anymore.
Plagg finishes his Camembert, and Adrien suddenly remembers that Plagg can feel whatever Chat Noir feels.
“Plagg, are you okay?!”
“After my beloved Camembert? Definitely! Now let’s go!”
Adrien exhales, amused. Plagg will always be Plagg. He calls for his transformation and is immediately tackled to the ground by something.
That something?
Ladybug.
Pain flares in her hands with the force of her tackle as they fall onto the rooftop. But she couldn’t care less about that right now. Not after what he went through.
“Buguinette?”
Ladybug wraps her arms around him, refusing to let go. She tries hard not to remember the sound that could be heard from his ribs when Clout was used on him. She tries not to think about how far he flew away from her when it happened. She tries not to imagine how messed up his body was after that.
She tries, but they keep replaying in her mind.
Ladybug tightens her arms around his waist and presses the side of her face into his chest.
Sturdy.
Warm.
Healthy.
A beating heart.
“I’m so glad you’re okay, mon Minou!” she cries.
Chat Noir wraps his arms around her and rubs his hand along her back. “I’m okay, My Lady. I’m still here.”
“Will you stop being so reckless?”
“And give up the opportunity for you to tackle me every time? Never.”
Ladybug lifts her head from his chest with furrowed brows, her hands reaching his cheeks to squeeze and pull.
“Ow!” His hands rush to her forearms and quickly tighten around them.
“I’m serious, Chat Noir,” hoping that her face shows how stern she is now that she’s up close to his.
He chuckles, messaging her arms to coax them into releasing him. “Will you stop being reckless too?”
Ladybug looks away and releases her hold on his face. “I can’t, the Miraculouses…”
Chat Noir rubs her arms. “Then you should know that I can’t either.”
Ladybug stares back at him, wanting to be angry at him for his response, but she’d be a hypocrite if she did. And it’s unfair for her to react like this, because she knows that this is affecting him as much as it’s affecting her.
It’s her and him now. The ever-present weight of the world falls on their shoulders, not just hers anymore. A weight they can only share with each other.
Yes, she has Alya to support her too, but she wants to be able to support Chat Noir too. She doesn’t want him to be alone again when they are fulfilling their superhero duties.
Never again.
Ladybug surges forward and circles her arms around his neck, placing her chin on his shoulders.
“At least be careful. Promise me you’ll be extra careful from now on.”
Chat Noir wraps his arms around her, bringing her closer to him. “I promise.”
Despite his word, Ladybug still doesn’t feel at ease. She buries her head into his neck, trying to be as close to him as possible.
Being this close to him, feeling his warmth and his heartbeat against her own, lessens her worry a bit. So she continues laying on top of him. She has plenty of time before she detransforms again, after all.
It’s so nice and cosy being this close to him, with his hands rubbing soothing circles on her back, and him being okay with enveloping her in an embrace. The light of the day drains away as time passes, painting their surroundings with the soft colours of lavender and pink before dark blue descends upon them. Ladybug knows it would be a sight to witness, especially with him by her side, but all she sees is gold.
His hair tickling her face should’ve encouraged her to move away, but she needs to feel all of him against all of her, even that tingly sensation. She moves to breathe in his scent, and now, all her senses are filled with him.
The more she breathes him in, the more she loves his scent. But Ladybug really hates her brain sometimes, because the moment she thinks of something as enjoyable, her brain will steer her away from the pleasure and present to her the worst-case scenario.
What if she’s never able to smell his scent again?
Memories of her Chaton in white, cold and distant, flood her brain. Chat Blanc was still Chat Noir deep down, but she couldn’t recognise him at all.
Ladybug couldn’t even get close to Chat Blanc. She realises now that she took for granted how easy it was to be close with Chat Noir.
“My Lady.”
The recollection sets her heart racing again and she pushes her nose into his neck, nuzzling and inhaling him as deeply as she can. She’s so focused on the act that she didn’t even notice Chat Noir’s hands have stopped in their tracks.
“My Lady.” He starts to pull back, but isn’t able to move far with the grip she has on him. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” She speaks and she feels her own lips vibrating against his neck, causing him to suck in a gulp of air. “Just enjoying your scent. Partners do that right?”
“I—”
“Partners bathe in each other’s scent when they hug and cuddle and get cosy, right?”
Ladybug doesn’t move, waiting for his answer, hoping it’ll be permission to continue… whatever she’s doing. She doesn’t want him to push her away. Not now, not ever.
She feels herself sinking as Chat Noir exhales, realising that he’s been holding his breath for who knows how long. “Yeah.”
His voice is so close. Ladybug shivers as she remembers how Chat Blanc had called to her. How desperate he was to get out of that place of loneliness that he was willing to fight her.
And as though that memory wasn’t painful enough, her brain reminds her that she’d pushed him away a second time, to the point where he left his Miraculous with her.
He was gone just like that, like a part of her vanished, and no way to reach it. She was just extending her arms aimlessly, hoping to grab onto something that was long gone.
It awakens memories of how distressed she was when he wasn’t around. But Chat Noir is right here with her now. Words can never describe how thankful she is to be able to be in his embrace like this.
Ladybug feels a hand at the back of her head, just above her nape, pushing her against what she now recognises as his neck.
“I’m still here, My Lady.”
And she feels her own tears leaking from her eyes, completely unaware that her vision has been blurry for a while now.
“I'll always be here, My Lady.” His arms circle her once again, but tighter this time. “By your side, till the end of time.”