Ch1 - Ladybug POV

They balance on the sloped surface of a building's roof. A calm silence swirls around them, but the unspoken words in Ladybug's chest still threaten to break free, just as they had been for days now.

Ladybug looks to her left and sees Chat Noir, as constant as ever. To her surprise, he is not looking at the beautiful sight of the Eiffel Tower looming before them but rather the twinkling lights above their heads. His eyes shine with thoughts and feelings locked away in his soul, and her heart wishes that she held the hidden key. He looks peaceful and content. She wishes she hadn't wasted so much time ignoring how important he is to her.

Ladybug follows Chat's line of sight to the stars, trying to see what he is seeing. The stars wink at her in encouragement, pushing her to say the words plaguing her mind.

"In the beginning," she whispers, her words breaking through the still night and her eyes refusing to shift to look at the boy she is saying these words to. "I didn't think I would come to rely on you this much. I thought you were just a—a stupid boy with bad luck who would get in the way and ruin everything."

Ladybug's fingers cling to the grooves of the surface beneath her and she hangs her head in shame for the words leaving her mouth. She feels guilty for the thoughts that had once been swimming circles around her mind and has felt so for a long time now, but it wasn't until recently that she had felt the need to say them aloud. Recently being around the time she had realised the strength of her feelings for him.

She finally looks up to meet the deep green eyes that belong to Chat Noir. Ladybug says her next words in a hurry, worried that if Chat speaks then she won't be able to say her next words. "I didn't know that I would one day put my life in your hands and not think twice about it. I didn't know that I would one day come to think of you as my best friend, and one of the few people I don't ever want to live without."

Chat Noir gracefully stands from his place beside Ladybug, and for a moment she thinks that he's about to leave her alone on this roof, but he carefully shifts to stand in front of her and reaches hands concealed in black leather out to her. Ladybug looks deep into his eyes and takes his offered hands, and he pulls her to her feet.

They stand there for a moment, Chat cradling her hands in his own. They don't move. They don't say anything. Ladybug is still uncertain about how her words were received, but she tries to gather enough strength within her soul to say the last few words that haven't been voiced.

"And I—" I love you so much. The words catch in her throat and she can't seem to get past the lump residing there, despite her best attempts to get out this one last confession. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

Chat lets go of one of hands only to rest it gently on her cheek. He leans slowly forward and rests his forehead on hers and takes in a deep breath. Her eyes drift closed and she leans into his touch, comforted by the acceptance and trust she can feel rolling in waves from the boy in front of her. Ladybug thinks that maybe it's okay if she doesn't say the words today. That specific confession could wait for another day.

After a long moment in which both of them are reluctant to move, Ladybug takes a long, shuddering breath and lowers herself to the surface beneath her. Chat Noir shifts back a little, but moves to sit back down beside her on the rooftop once more. After a moment of thought, Ladybug finds herself shifting closer until the entire left side of her body if firmly pressed against Chat Noir's, and she feels Chat shift to wrap his arm loosely around her waist.

They both look at the sight of the Eiffel Tower in front of them, a famous landmark of their home the reminds Ladybug of what she is fighting for, and who she has fighting alongside her. They both then tilt their heads back to look up at the stars that have drown brighter as the darkness of the night has grown deeper. Ladybug leans her head against Chat Noir's shoulder and she thinks, I don't ever want to move from this moment in time.

Chat Noir says, as if answer to her thought, with his voice drowning in an emotion that she feels only the two of them will ever by able to comprehend, "I understand, My Lady."