6Author's note: This is the sequel to 'cruel summer' which you can find at /s/13404570/1/cruel-summer
On the one hand, Adrien is relieved that the days after Ladybug's breakdown are blissfully quiet and devoid of akumas. His Lady had seemed like she needs some rest, and he is glad she will have time to recover from the emotional rollercoaster she's undergone.
On the other hand, he is worried about her.
Between the two of them, it is safe to say that Ladybug is the more down-to-earth, rational presence that keeps the two of them on-target. Seeing her suddenly so distraught had been unnerving.
Then again, he's always known that beneath the mask, she, too, is only human.
After a week passes with no Hawk Moth in sight, they meet up for patrol. At dusk, Chat Noir goes to their usual spot, a rooftop near the Eiffel Tower.
When he jumps onto the roof, his Bug is already standing there. She greets him with a bright smile and bubbly laugh. "Hey Chat! Quiet week, huh?"
"I sure enjoyed the extended cat nap." Chat stretches exaggeratedly and collapses his baton. He eyes Ladybug up and down for a moment. "You're looking better," he says then, his voice more serious.
"I feel better," she says, smiling. "And… I'm sorry, again. Last time, the feelings were all still pretty fresh."
"I assumed as much," Chat answers with a shrug. "Still, glad to see you're holding up okay."
Ladybug settles down on the roof as she speaks, and Chat sits down next to her. "I wouldn't say I'm over it, but… I guess I'm coping?" she says. "This boy, he's a really good friend of mine, and... in the end I just want him to be happy. And he seems pretty happy without me."
Chat scoffs, "He's an idiot."
Ladybug gives him a friendly shove. "Hey, that's my friend you're talking about!" she exclaims, clearly offended on the idiot's behalf.
"Well, then your friend is an idiot," Chat reiterates. "He's got you right in front of him and he doesn't even realise what he's missing out on."
What he wouldn't give to be with Ladybug… To him, it is unimaginable that some other guy who could actually have her would pass on the chance. Calling Ladybug's crush an 'idiot' is putting it mildly.
How could anyone who knows Ladybug ever fall for someone else? She'd claimed Chat's heart after just a couple of hours.
Ladybug sighs, pulling her knees up and hugging her legs to her chest. "I'm not as badass outside of my costume," she says.
"But you're still you," Chat insists. "Your sense of righteousness, the fierceness with which you protect those you love. Your stubborn determination to find a way out of even the most impossible situations…" Chat's chest feels warm just thinking about all her qualities that he admires. "Surely that doesn't all disappear along with your mask?"
Ladybug doesn't answer. When Chat looks over at her, he is surprised to see a fiery blush on her cheeks.
She clearly notices him looking, because she averts her eyes. Still, he is glad to see a smile on her face. "Not everyone looks at me through Ladybug coloured glasses like you do, Chat," she says kindly.
Chat reaches out and cups her cheek, tilting her head to look at him. He can feel the heat of her blush through the leather of his glove.
"They don't need to, my Lady. I'm certain the light that shines through you is bright enough to show through any lens."
She playfully slaps his hand away, but her smile betrays her amusement. "Silly kitty," she chastises as she gets to her feet.
She holds out a hand to help him up, and he gladly takes it. He doesn't need her help, of course, but he loves feeling the strength hiding in her unassuming frame whenever she effortlessly lifts him off the floor.
"We should get going, this patrol isn't going to do itself," she says, already twirling her yoyo around.
"As you wish, my Lady," Chat says with a deep bow. "Let's go fight some crime!" Starting with knocking some sense into that idiot who turned you down, if I ever find out who he is, he privately thinks as they swing off the rooftop into the Parisian night.