#clownbug
Ladybug isn’t dating Chat Noir. Why can’t anyone see that?
Rating: T, Words: 3457, Chapters: 1/1
Read on AO3
“I can’t believe this is still in the press!” Ladybug growls at the wrinkled magazine in her fists, arms shaking the magazine as though she’s strangling someone. “Why can’t anyone see that we are not a couple?!”
“Let’s not mind ourselves with their nonsense, My Lady,” Chat Noir suggests. He’s by her side, resting his head on her shoulder and his arms around her waist. It appears that soothing her irritated figure by running circles with his fingers on her waist is doing very little to help. He changes tactics and rubs her shoulder and upper arm with his hand instead. “We know the truth, and that’s all that matters.”
Anyone who views them from behind would see two lovers giving each other side hugs and keeping each other warm on a rooftop, enjoying the scenery before them.
Her arm—the one that’s around his neck—lets go of the magazine to pat his head as a smile graces her face. “You’re right, mon Chaton.” She discards the magazine entirely when her other hand reaches towards his chin and scratches.
Chat Noir purrs happily in response. He brings her closer to his side, eventually lifting her up and placing her on his lap. He makes sure that she can see him before he lifts his chin higher for her to scratch more, and Ladybug giggles and obliges.
They were about to end patrol when she saw the magazine herself, and the sight of her jaw clenching signalled to Chat Noir that something was wrong. He blindly followed her as she kindly asked for the magazine from a civilian and promptly made her way to a rooftop.
She sat down and started ranting about how inaccurate the whole thing was as he sat beside her quietly, listening to her grumblings. Chat Noir knew that she needed to relax and scooted closer to wrap his arms around her.
And slowly but surely, the annoyance within her started to fade. Her beloved Chaton gradually took her mind off of that stupid magazine.
Like always.
The day is already as tiring as it is, no reason not to indulge herself in listening to his cute purrs and enjoying the scenery before them.
He takes her hand in his and presses his lips onto it, eyes never leaving hers. “You’re beautiful when you’re all smiles like that.”
Marinette smiles even wider and teases, “Like what?”
“Your eyes, they twinkle when you smile like that. You’re buzzing with radiance. You literally light up, my Lady, just like how you light up my world.”
“Ah, what a sweet talker, aren’t you?” she chuckles and rings his bell with the tip of her finger.
“Only for you, Buguinette,” he answers with a smile. The smile that she’s always delighted to see etched onto his face.
It’s a carefree atmosphere they have created for themselves, and Marinette yearns for times like this with her best friend. But that wistfulness comes to an end when they realise havoc soon descends on Paris.
Ladybug squeezes Chat Noir, enjoying his heat one last time before releasing him into the cold, getting ready to fulfil her duty to the city she calls home. “Let’s go, mon Chaton.”
——————-
A silly phrase from his mouth, and a flick of his bell from her fingers soon follows as retaliation. Marinette always loved the sound of his cat bell jingling. It goes so well with the softness of his laughter, as though a symphony erupts whenever he does so.
Nadja snaps her fingers, probably the third time now, Marinette doesn’t know. “Now, we would like you both to meet the person who has won her place to have a chat with you! Please welcome Mabel!”
A blast of confetti and loud music burst forth to greet Mabel as she appears on the large TV screen. Ladybug and Chat Noir pause their mini banter at the loud bang, but quickly go back to giggling again once the initial shock wears off.
“We must have pissed off the producers so much that they slammed the buttons to gain our attention.” Ladybug laughs as he wiggles his eyebrows. “Litter did they know they were doing the exact opposite!”
Marinette snorts loudly, since the audience can’t hear her, and gently pushes his shoulder. “Chaton, stop, we need to focus. The spotlight is on us!”
Chat Noir grins and winks at her before turning to the screen to wave at the person. Ladybug follows suit.
“Oh my god oh my god oh my god!” The lady on the screen squeals as she sees her and her best friend. Marinette is always happy to be able to light up someone’s day like that. “Ladybug, Chat Noir, I’m your biggest fan!”
Ladybug waves and addresses her. “We’re so glad to see you! Congrats on winning the contest! It must have been so tough!”
“For the superheroes of Paris, it was all worth it!” She has a big smile on her face and Marinette finds her pleasant to talk to. She’s so appreciative and polite, showering Ladybug with so many compliments she hasn’t heard before that Marinette blushes.
What a charming young lady indeed.
After she’s done, she seamlessly shifts her attention to Chat Noir and again, manages to have her way with words. Marinette loves it when her Chaton receives the love he deserves as well. She’s really liking the person on the screen right now.
Until…
“Thank you so so much for protecting Paris, mon Chaton! Your heroic acts—”
Mon Chaton…
Oh, what a beautiful lady she is. Her pink cheeks made her look so cute and healthy. Marinette is pretty sure she had some blusher on to enhance her looks. Nothing wrong with that, she had to look presentable on TV after all. And her skin was spotless. So very spotless. Marinette could only dream of her skin looking the same. The little brown stains she has on her face must’ve made her own skin flawed.
The lady’s blue eyes, a few shades darker than hers, but still captivating nonetheless. Their hue contrasts her pale skin so much they look like precious gems, worthy of being protected by those long lashes. How is this lady so pretty? She’s just like a doll.
And her long luscious black hair, just like hers. If only she could let hers grow as long as the lady’s on the screen. Marinette wants to run her hands into hers, curious to see if it’s as soft as they look. She’s pretty sure they are. And maybe pull them a little? Nah. She wouldn’t be able to feel how soft they are if she does a little tug. How about slightly harder? Would Chat Noir thread his hands through those locks as well? No. He wouldn’t! Why would he when he has hers—
“My Lady.”
Ladybug snaps out of her thoughts and regards him. Chat Noir has scooted closer to her and his face is right beside her.
“You okay?”
She blinks at how close he is. Seeing him this up close has allowed her to focus on the visage that made him a sight to see.
The black mask covers almost half of his face, yet it still didn’t hide the features that made him him. His intense green eyes shine through the mask, always so brilliant and demanding of her attention. They seem to glow more as the seconds pass. She looks to his lips and bites her own. What a beautiful smile. His lips look so smooth—not chapped like how she has seen on a couple of people. The more she fixates, the more welcoming they become. She wonders what they taste like.
Marinette thought that he couldn’t get any closer, but he leans into her ear and she shivers at the sudden heat that invades her space.
“You were growling.”
She pulls back so suddenly she would’ve fallen off the high stool she was on if it wasn’t for his quick reflexes circling his arms around her waist.
“Désolé, Mabel.” Right, Mabel. Adorable and loveable. Exactly how she is right now… Just. Great. “I’m afraid we have to cut short our time together. There’s something Ladybug and I have to attend to. Thank you for your support and your lovely messages.” Lovely. Super! “Au revoir!”
Chat Noir gives Mabel his signature salute and hooks his arm under Ladybug’s knees, carrying her off the chair and leaving the studio to find a secluded area.
He carefully places her down after coming to a stop. “Buguinette, are you okay?”
Ladybug faces away from him, choosing to remain quiet after nodding.
“Sooo, why were you growling?”
She whips her head towards him, face-red, and glares. “Growl— I wasn’t growling! Why would I growl out of nowhere?!”
“It was a pretty soft growl, but I still heard it.”
Marinette puffs her cheeks and crosses her arms. Looking towards the scenery that presents itself to them. Oh, he had brought her to the top of the TVi studio.
“Or could it be that purr-haps,” he walks to the edge of the building, standing between her and the night lights that filled the scene before her, continuing with a wide smile on his face, “you’re jealous?”
Ladybug widens her eyes and uncrosses her arms. They gesticulate wildly as she speaks. “ME? Jealous?” She gasps. “O—Of who? That girl, M—Mabel? Psshhh. Why—Why would I be jealous of her?”
Chat Noir, still having that cheeky smile on his handsome face, shrugs. “You’re right, why would you be?”
She flushes at his comment, all the while thanking the night sky. He’s impossible, she thinks. Ladybug stomps her foot and crosses her arms once more, facing away from him.
He laughs and sits on the edge of the building, patting his side to get her to sit down as well. She does so after she cools down a few moments later.
And it has gotten too quiet to her liking.
She grabs his arm. “Does— Does anyone else call you ‘mon Chaton’?”
Chat Noir lifts his head and raises an eyebrow as he watches her. “No, only you. And of course, just now when Mabel was sharing her message with us. Other than that, only you.”
“Then,” she swallows, clenching and unclenching her other fist on her thigh. It’s such a trivia question, would Chat Noir think of her differently if she asked? He likely would. But she feels like something is eating at her if she doesn’t ask soon.
Marinette decides to go ahead with it since she has already uttered something—and anything is still better than the silence from before, “do you call anyone else ‘My Lady’ or ‘Buguinette’?”
He gives her a look. The look that Marinette knows so well. That one soft look that Chat Noir gives when she’s spiralling and he needs to ground her. She lets go of his arm and lowers her head.
She’s aware that it’s stupid. That there’s no way he would call anyone else but her ‘My Lady’ or ‘Buguinette’. Right?
There’s just no way.
Right?
His gaze softens as he notices her increasingly tight grip on the edges of where they sit. Chat Noir reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind her ears, his thumb brushing across her cheek. Surprised at the tenderness of his gesture, Ladybug could only stare at his face. The feeling of her cheeks becoming warm slowly catching up to her.
“No, my Lady. Only you.”
Marinette releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. Relief floods her chest and she feels warm all over. She gently removes her face from his palm, looking down again. “You can’t just do that, that’s illegal!” she mumbles.
He smiles. “Nothing illegal about assurance, Buguinette!”
She exhales a tiny laugh, shaking her head at the silliness of it, but she still loves it nonetheless. Ladybug slides closer to him, thighs touching, and plants a kiss on his cheek. She makes sure it’s a kiss with added pressure, not those with a light peck of her lips that she has been giving to him all this while.
“See you around, mon Chaton!” She ruffles his hair as she witnesses his awestruck face with glinting eyes of her own. She leans forward, over the edge. “And don’t you worry. I use that pet name on you and you only. No one else.” Ladybug winks and leaps off the building, into the lights that blanket the city in the dead of the night.
——————-
Marinette’s running away from the scene, running away to find a hidden area so that she can transform into Ladybug and save the poor soul that got akumatised. What she fails to realise is that a car is heading straight for her as the driver got hit by a ray beam from the Akuma.
A loud noise erupts from behind her, and before she could fully process what had just happened, she finds herself in Chat Noir’s arms.
Marinette’s shoulders relax instantly as she sees him. Her partner is reliable as always.
Chat Noir scales up the Grand Paris Hotel and lets her stand on her feet once he assesses that the area is free of danger.
“You’re safe here now, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Stay here while we handle the Akuma,” he winks before jumping off the building and heading back towards where she was running from.
Marinette’s eye twitches. How dare he do that? It’s a Ladybug and Chat Noir thing only.
“Marinette!” Tikki squeaks. “Paris needs Ladybug.”
She shakes her head to stop the thought from encroaching further into her mind. Tikki’s right, the Akuma’s causing significant damage and needs to be stopped as soon as possible. That can wait for later.
“Tikki, transforme-moi !”
That cannot wait for later. Ladybug wasn’t fully focused on the task at hand, often finding herself distracted and about to get hit by the Akuma’s ray beams. Luckily, Chat Noir was always there to make sure it didn’t hit her.
But he could only protect her that number of times.
Maybe she had gotten hit, she isn’t sure. What she is sure of is that Chat Noir’s face is very close to hers, and he’s quickly pulling away.
What’s going on? She just remembers Chat Noir’s desperate cries of ‘Ladybug’ from before, and then she whips her head to see Chat Noir removing the wires that had rendered her immobile. It’s as though a part of her memory is gone. When and how did she get herself tangled in her own wire? How embarrassing!
“Chat Noir, what happened?” She asks as he pulls her to her feet.
“I’ll explain later, my Lady.” He turns away, ready to engage in battle with the Akuma again. “I figured out where the akumatised object is, let’s go!” And he hastily jumps away. Marinette has no choice but to swing her yoyo towards the direction he has gone in. She chides herself for causing the delay of the purification and adding more to Chat Noir’s plate. Ladybug really has to focus. She can only hope that she gets the answers she seeks after all this is over.
She did not get the answers she wanted, as Chat Noir left the scene swiftly, attributing his necessary departure to his transformation wearing off.
Marinette stares at his retreating figure, confused. She’s always the one who departs earlier than him, maybe he really had somewhere to go? If it didn’t warrant the need for them to stay and talk, she guesses that nothing too serious had happened before they managed to free the Akuma. She pats herself on the back, another day of protecting Paris done, and heads home.
Just before she detransforms, she receives a chime from her bugphone. Chaton!
“Can we meet tonight?” She reads out.
“Sure,” she replies, always happy to see him whenever.
Ladybug sits facing the Eiffel Tower, waiting on Chat Noir’s arrival. Sure she’s 15 minutes early, but it’s not like she’s eager or anything. Oh no. She just wants to enjoy the sight. Yes, that’s totally the reason why.
Marinette hears him land behind her and turns her head. She smiles and pats the area next to her. “Come sit, Chaton,” before facing the Eiffel Tower again.
She hears no movement from him and looks at him again, only to see his head lowered.
“Chat Noir?”
Still no movement.
Ladybug stands and walks to him. She holds his arm to gain his attention. “Chaton, what’s wrong?”
His hands suddenly grab her shoulders to push her back a bit, putting a distance between them. “I’m so sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I took advantage of you.” He lifts his head and his eyes look particularly shiny. “I kissed you without your permission and I really enjoyed it.”
“Sorry what?”
“You got hit by the Akuma and started turning really violent towards me.” He elaborates. “I don’t know why. You kept trying to bind me with your yoyo and I just kept running.” He has removed his hands from her shoulders to act out all that he’s saying, possibly for extra brownie points? Marinette doesn’t know. But it’s hilarious to see him run on the spot. “But I saw a couple kissing after the man got hit and turned violent against her, same as our situation, but anyway, they kissed and he’s fine afterwards, so it’s a possible route to take, and the city really needed you, Ladybug. So I somehow managed to cat-ch and bind you, haha, feralbug memories, and kissed you and what do you know! It actually worked. I really enjoyed the kiss and I’m really sorry, please forgive me!”
The outpour of information stunned Marinette. She has a feeling she knows exactly why she got so violent towards him, but she isn’t about to let him know why. He’s currently squeezing his eyes shut and refusing to look at her. It must be so embarrassing to admit that out loud. But really, all she got from this is that Chat Noir’s lips had touched hers, but she has no recollection of it!
“You kissed me.”
He flinches. “Yes, and I’m really sorry.”
And she didn’t get to experience it.
Because of her jealousy from earlier, her carelessness led to her 'demise', and then she missed an entire kissing episode with Chat Noir! What?
No. This won’t do. She needs to fix this.
“You… can make it up to me if you do something,” she begins slowly.
Chat Noir lights up. “I’ll do whatever! Anything to be in your good grace again.”
Marinette shakes her head, he doesn’t need to do that. He’s already in her good grace.
“Kiss me again.”
Chat Noir stops moving. He’s so still that his hair isn’t even moving and Marinette wonders if those three words alone made his soul leave his body.
She moves in and blows his face. “Chaton?”
He shakes his head and stares. “What?”
Ah, he finally reboots.
“What?” Ladybug folds her arms. “I c—can’t determine the appropriate punishment if I don’t know what it feels like, right?”
“True,” he drawls, “but uhh…”
“Do you want to make it up to me or not?”
“Yes.”
She unfolds her arms. “Then kiss me.” And when she sees that he has yet to make a move, she whispers, “please.”
Chat Noir closes his eyes, as though having an internal turmoil with himself, and Marinette feels bad. She was about to drop the topic when his hands wind around her waist and cup her cheek.
He gazes into her eyes. “Forgive me.” And he presses his lips onto her.
‘Soft’ is the first word that comes to mind. They are so very soft as they land on hers. But they are also hesitant. She holds onto his wrist and angles her head, pressing herself against him. Ladybug feels him pulling back and she circles her arms around his neck to stop him.
Chat Noir whimpers as she nibbles on his lower lip. And Ladybug finally opens her eyes when his hands travel to her ribs to push her back slightly. She sees his lower lip trembling.
“My Lady,” a shaky voice escapes his throat, “this feels too good to be true. Please tell me this is real. Please tell me you’re really kissing me.”
She blinks and glides her lips softly over his. “I want to kiss you again, Chaton. Can I kiss you again?”
“Please.” And he cups her cheeks to press his lips firmly against hers.
The next day, an image of their kiss can be found on the landing page of the Ladyblog, and #clownbug is also trending on Twitter. And somewhere in Paris, holds a fuming Ladybug and a nervously smiling Chat Noir.
