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This time it was a lazy evening in Paris. No super powered people going around wreaking havoc and no super heroes chasing them. Ladybug and Chat Noir were still seen zipping around town, though it was for patrolling, and playing but the citizens don’t know that. While looking out for petty crimes they were playing tag and racing around. In the beginning, they started patrolling to try to find Papillon or catch an akuma as it was just starting to possess someone, but that seemed nearly impossible. They would either miss the akuma and it would be on the other side of town or there would be no akuma at all. Chasing the purified butterflies back now that they had time was pointless as well, since they just disappear after a while. Whether he has a finite amount of them or not is unknown.
They would go crazy if they kept going at it with no results, so they dialed it back a little. Still on the lookout, but not exhausting themselves and occasionally playing games or hanging out to unwind after a busy day. Since they kept it consistent enough, people were able to discern their patrol days and were on the lookout if they were out and about. Some trying to get interviews, like different news outlets or blogs, or just trying to get a picture or autograph, maybe talk with them.
With that information public, normal criminals tended to stay off the streets those nights. A blessing for potential victims, though it meant that they were still at large.
All in all, it was a normal night for Paris. Ladybug and Chat Noir were finishing their patrol, with only a couple blocks left to cover.
Marinette loved these nights. She could just not think about anything except measuring and timing her jumps, looking for a sign of trouble, breathing and feeling the cold night air as she zipped around the city and beating Chat in a race to Hôtel des Invalides, their stopping point for this patrol. They found early on that rotating their final destination and making routes around that helped to cover more ground and throw off would be pursuers trying to ambush them. Though only reporters and Alya have tried that, it never hurts to be careful.
She was swinging over the intersection of Arc de Triomphe, Chat opting to climb over it with his baton, when an idea struck her. They were pretty close to their destination, the Grand Palais coming up and from that they just had to cross the Seine and they were done. Plenty of time and place for a little race to finish off their patrol.
- Hey Chat! – She cried over the wind. At her call he turned his head a little, still staying focused on not falling, indicating that he heard her. She waited till she threw out her yo-yo and was swinging over the streets before she said, - Wanna race to Les Invalides? We’re almost there anyway! – Marinette got her answer in the form of a mischievous smirk. Before she could react, he suddenly tore off. She had only a second to gape before reeling in her yo-yo and shooting after him. – That’s not fair you mangy cat!
He turned his just to say, - All’s fair in love and war Buginette! She couldn’t see his face, but she was almost a hundred percent sure he winked. There’s no way he would resist that. She shook her head, a small smile gracing her lips. Dork.
It wasn’t that hard to catch up. While he was more nimble and graceful on the rooftops, navigating them with ease, she could swing and zip over streets and rooftops faster than he could jump over with his baton. That helped her get over the Seine faster and she was closing in on Les Invalides. Marinette was swinging over La Tour-Maubourg and Chat opted for the buildings on its left side. His turn is smaller than mine, he just has to run to its base and climb up, but if I get ahead enough I can cross his path and throw him off. We agreed to stop at the top of the tower, so we have to use the small buildings around it and he’s better at those than me. And my advantage ends once we go there until I can climb up.
Decision made, she reeled in her yo-yo, going for quick zips instead of long swings. She gained enough speed and momentum to overtake Chat and the turn was coming up. She needed to time it right unless she wanted to lose all her velocity or wipe out. That was a possibility. Just a couple more meters. I have to to do it before he reaches it. In times like these, she remembers her fright when first going out as Ladybug. That was a disaster. True, she was better now, but making a mistake was always a possibility. Technically, I don’t need to do this. I can take the turn where I’m supposed to and risk losing the race. And give him bragging rights. She could live with that. She didn’t have to win all the time. But he deserves me giving it my all. I can’t disrespect him like that. She was competitive. If she had a way to increase her chances of winning, while still being fair, she has to take it. He was giving his all as well.
Marinette wasn’t sure how far behind he was, but taking this turn regardless will help in the long run. It would force him to pick between continuing as planned and trying to overtake her that way or turning earlier and running over the rooftops diagonally. They are already tricky enough to navigate. Having to go around the chimneys and half walls would be harder. Okay, one more block and I turn. As soon as she passed it, Marinette changed direction and took a sharp turn. – Hey! Are you trying to make me wipe out! – Apparently Chat was closer that she thought and was decidedly not happy with her.
- All’s fair in love and war, isn’t it chaton? – She announced, trying to hold back her laughter, though a few chuckles escaped.
- I can hear you laughing! Ears aren’t for show you know! – I can just imagine him pouting. The image caused more chuckles to slip out.
- If you can talk, that means you can run and try to catch up! – She jumped over another gap in the roofs. Marinette could hear him coming closer. She had a decent lead, but the roofs were slowing her down. He could run on four legs and that helps him navigate them. Man, why can’t I have wings? I’m supposed to be a ladybug. I’m gonna have to talk to Tikki about this. She jumped over another gap. The tower was closing in. I just need to maintain my lead for two more roofs. I’ll be close enough to just pull myself straight to the top. She could hear his light footfalls getting closer. By this point she could feel him when he was near.
- You better watch out M’Lady! I will catch up with you at this rate! My heart rate is speeding up the closer I get to you, though you’ve always had that effect on me! – She can practically hear his smirk. Dork.
- I think you better get that checked out! It can be a sign of a fatal disease! – She threw back, laughing. She jumped the last gap and cast her yo-yo. It caught on window of the domed roof and she pulled. She zipped up the side of the building, pushing off with her legs to propel herself further. Almost at the dome, she heard Chat’s staff slamming down on the ground and the telltale sound of it extending. This is gonna be close. She pushed off again and unwound her yo-yo, casting it at a pillar of the tip of Les Invalides. She pulled, now running along the dome, breathing getting heavy. She could hear Chat getting closer. Using the last of strength she sprinted along the dome. Reeling in the yo-yo and made it at the opening of the tip. A second later, he dropped down behind her.
– Aha! I, huh, beat, huh, you! Oh boy, just, ha, give me a, a, minute. – Maybe sprinting the last couple meters when they were already running around the city for quite a while and were racing for the last half hour wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had. But I won. I’m going to regret this tomorrow when I have to get up for school, but it doesn’t matter right now.
- Yeah, ha, you did, M’Lady. By cheating, - He declared. She turned around and a quick look at his face, occupied by a grin, told her all she needed to know. – And I thought I was supposed to be the sneaky one. Though you do usually cut right to the chase. – He seemed really proud of that one, if the twinkling eyes were anything to go by.
- Well then, maybe I should be Chat Noir. I’ve got the cunning, the looks and the puns. - She listed off on her fingers. – Why I practically already am Chat Noir.
- Well I can’t argue that you have the qualities M’Lady, though you did forget the catlike grace. – At that she snorted. Seeing his confused expression, she explained.
- Trust me, grace and I don’t belong in the same sentence. Don’t look at me like that, I’m serious. – His eyes were wide open, brows lifted. - Look, I may be better when I’m Ladybug, but in my civilian life I trip over my two feet, run into walls, - she lowered her voice a little, - go into the wrong rooms. – She cleared her throat and looked at Chat. He was still just standing there, gaping. – Anyway, I have all the necessary qualities to be Chat Noir, except for grace. I see you trying to protest and I’ll have you know that I know better, since I kinda live my life. – He relaxed his stance. His brows lowered and eyes returned to normal.
- Okay, okay. I believe you Buginette, though I must say, you tripping and running into walls sounds adorable, kinda like a classmate of mine, granted you don’t get seriously hurt. – At once his expression changed, his shoulders tensed and he looked terrified. Suddenly he ran up to Marinette and grasped her shoulders. – Are you okay? Have you hurt yourself recently? Oh god, why are you out patrolling? You know, two days ago, I saw that same classmate take a nasty fall and I’m pretty sure she scraped something. She said it hurt while walking. – Huh, what a coincidence. - So I’m asking again, are you okay? – He was panting heavily, getting more and worked up. He’s gonna pass out at this rate, running a race and then getting so worked up. Sighing, she put her hands on top of his.
- Breathe, kitty. Come on, do it with me. In 1, 2, hold and out, 1, 2. In 1, 2, hold and out 1, 2. – They repeated this for a couple minutes. He started to relax and when she was sure he would listen, - I’m fine chaton. Excluding the whole taking a few hits while battling akuma, I’ve dealt with a lot of falls and bumps, and generally my clumsiness over the years. I’m fine. I have a medkit at home that I keep fully stocked. I’m fine. He sighed, body relaxing.
- I know you’ve taken hits Ladybug. I just thought about how dangerous something normal like tripping can be. I told you already about my classmate, right? She’s taken nasty falls. – Ha, sounds familiar. She stretched her hands up over her head. Thanks to the race, they had time to kill.
- Yeah, I get that. We fight super powered villains weekly, sometimes more than once a week, and we survive with like no bruises or they get healed. –She went to sit on the low wall with Chat following suit. - But when we’re civilians there’s no magic suit to protect us.
- Exactly. – His lips suddenly pulled into a small frown, brows furrowing. He stayed like that for a few minutes, until it seemed like he made some sort of decision. He turned his body towards her and said, - You know, I don’t pun as much when I’m a civilian. I do it around a friend of mine and my kwami, though he’s also a friend. Anyway, I’m gonna try to do it a little more, but I kinda can’t. – His face fell a little, sad frown appearing. - I just thought you would like to know. – I see, he was trying to even the scales. That dork, he doesn’t need to.
- You’re right, it was interesting. Being anonymous and having powers has its perks. – She smiled at him and he returned it. Good, he should smile. A frown doesn’t suit him. – Well, your friends just have something to gain once you relax enough to pun around them. – He gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his heart and leaning back.
- Are you saying that you enjoy my puns M’Lady? I feel so honored! – She chuckled at his antics. When she saw his expression though, she couldn’t hold it in and laughed fully. She calmed down after a minute.
- Of course I do kitty. Though they can’t top mine, you gotta work harder. – This time he was the one who laughed. She loved moments like this, where they could just relax and he would laugh freely.
- If you say so M’Lady. Speaking of which, you mentioned that one time that you played Mecha Strike, right? – At her nod he continued, - Well, do you like any other games?
- Well, recently I’ve only had time for Mecha Strike and my father would play with me when we had time. I haven’t had time for a single-player, or any kind of game really. But I do like Tekken and other fighting games and horror games like Outlast or Amnesia. Ooh, I also liked the Silent Hill games. I loved playing the PT and was sad when it was scrapped. You?
- Ah, well I’m not big on horror games. I like rpg and adventure ones. The Legend of Zelda ones are my favourite, though.
- I’ve heard of it, though I haven’t played it. Might check it out. –She looked at him and immediately chuckled. - You look like the cat that just got the cream! – He had this huge smile, eyes glistening.
- I’m just thinking of how much fun you would have! And I can share my theories about Link and Zelda, and the whole Hero of Time and the connection to Ganon and the Tri-Force! Oh man, it’s gonna be so much fun! None of my friends have really played it. One of them only a little, but he likes other games. – She was just watching him; moving his arms frantically while talking, a big smile on his face, when he suddenly stopped and the smile fell. He turned to her with a wide eyed, almost scared expression. – That is, if you decide to play it at all. And if you even want to hear about them of course. – He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.
She frowned and had the urge to just hug him. But maybe hearing something reassuring first would be better, actions speak loud, but sometimes words can speak louder. She smiled and grabbed him by the shoulders, turning him towards her. He still didn’t look at her.
- Look at me Chat. Just look at me and hear me out, okay? That’s better. Look, I don’t mind at all. It’s obviously something you really like. As your friend, I’m glad to listen to you talking about your interests. We’re friends, aren’t we? – His eyes relaxed and a small genuine smile appeared on his face.
- Yeah, we are. – They stayed like that for a while in silence, just smiling at each other. - You know, while I’m not big on horror games, I might check out Tekken. I’ve heard of it and isn’t a new one coming out?
- Oh yes, Tekken 7. The trailer looked so good and I can’t wait! My favourite has to be Devil Jin. I love his lore and power set. I’m pretty sure he was the only one I got customisations for.
- Ooh, you can customize? I didn’t know that!
- Yes you can! I got like all his different wing and horn designs in 6. Though not all of the pants; some had tacky colours. You know, it would be cool if we can use our weapons as, like, portable consoles. We could play co-op or fighting games. Though, that can be stealing if we don’t have the game.
- Yeah it would be cool. About the stealing thing, it could just be us using them as consoles and inserting our game disks. We could play Mecha Strike and see who’s better!
- Psh, that’s obviously me. But I’ll take you on.
- I’m sure you’re strong Buginette, but I’m not half bad. Dare I say, I’m pretty good. But, would you expect anything else? – He flexed and winked, a half-smirk on his face. He’s such a dork. I wonder how he would react if I told him that Buginette is close to my name? Marinette chuckled lightly. He would probably start listing off names with –nette in them. Though if I said no, he would stop.
- If you say so kitty. – They sat in comfortable silence, looking over the city. The moon was higher now and the streets quitter, or as quiet as it could be in Paris. She checked the time on her yo-yo. It clearly showed 00:30. Oh, how long did we spend here? She stood up and stretched, trying to wake up her limbs. – Looks like it’s time to head back Chat. It’s past midnight and we both need our sleep. – He stood up as well, stretching and then he turned towards her, a small smirk on his face.
- Well I don’t really need my beauty sleep, I’m already irresistible. Though, you don’t either M’Lady. You beauty outshines that of the moon and sun put together! A mere mortal can’t hope to compare! – She laughed at his antics. Dork.
- Why thank you Chat. But, sleep is more than just for beauty you know. And this bug is tired. – She walked to the edge of the little platform and turned towards him. – Good night Chat! – And jumped, landing on one of the smaller buildings around Les Invalides and running across the rooftops, heading back home.
Chat Noir watched Ladybug bound across the roofs for a few minutes and then he turned, jumping down as well and heading home. They both took a longer, more complicated route so no one could track them. And so the day ends for our heroes, a relaxing night filled with patrolling, racing and bonding over common interests.