That silly kitty, Marinette thought as she watched him fly into the night. Tikki came out from hiding when he was surely out of sight. Marinette was still watching and began to shift into what Tikki deemed the 'daydreaming position.' Marinette typically leaned both arms against a table, or on the balcony railing, and would prop both elbows up and lean her head against her hands with her head tilted slightly. The kwami usually saw her miraculous welder in this position when she though of Adrien. To say she might be thinking of Adrien as Chat Noir left could be possible since Tikki knew Marinette's crush was borderline obsessive, but this wasn't exactly the 'daydreaming position.' Instead of using both hands to lean on Marinette looked more relaxed just leaning against one hand while the other dangled over the railing. This could mean a couple things and Tikki, like the helpful kwami she is, would investigate so Marinette wouldn't bottle up her feelings.

"You were quite friendly with Chat Noir," she points out.

Marinette slowly moves out of her 'daydreaming position' by bringing the hand she was leaning on down to grip the railing.

"I'm always friendly with Chat Noir. I can't be too annoyed as myself because that's my job as his partner."

Tikki became confused, "Your job is to be annoyed?" She almost felt exasperated, "After all the akumas we've fought you think that's the job?"

Marinette shook her head and giggled, "No Tikki, I meant that as partners I can't afford to lead Chat Noir on. I know he likes me, but It's best to think about how annoying he is instead of the way our banter brightens my day."

A small moment of silence passed. Tikki mulled over this tidbit of information. This is all quite a contradiction to what she originally believed. Through the transformation, Tikki and Marinette become one, hence Tikki knows what happens while Marinette is Ladybug. She's witnessed multiple interactions between Chat Noir and Ladybug. Marinette always seemed annoyed by the cat's humor, especially his puns. He also tended to be a bit clumsy. It was quite odd how as a superhero Marinette rarely had clumsy incidents. Regardless of the duos shared conversations and moments throughout akuma fights there was a small part of Tikki that knew the partners were meant to be together. She just stayed patient, waiting for Marinette to start opening her eyes.

"That's cute," Tikki giggled.

Marinette quirked her head to the side, "Cute?"

Tikki continued to giggle, a little too much for a centuries old being but it couldn't be helped with the knowledge she had, "That bantering with Chat makes your day."

A blush creeped onto the teen's cheeks. She let out a small cough, "Um…"

She needed time to regain her composure, she disliked when her kwami pointed out words she said absentmindedly.

Tikki pressed on, "Marinette, it's good that Chat has his ways of making you happy. It's always best to see the good in people and to not focus on the bad. I think in all people there's a balance of good and bad qualities. There are some moments when one quality may outweigh the others, but there's always some good. That's the part you must find."

Tikki gave Marinette a reassuring smile, "And in Chat's case you know his intentions are good."

Marinette couldn't help but let her jaw drop a little bit. Tikki's little speech caught her off guard. She wondered where these words of wisdom came from sometimes despite knowing her kwami was some centuries old. Tikki had a way of giving the best and most necessary advice, but this felt different since it was about Chat. Chat involved complications that seemed like too much for anyone to sort out. Marinette didn't realize things were ever complicated until now.

"Well," she wishes she could think a bit more, "I never thought bad of Chat Noir. I know he's a good person."

Tikki nodded, "Always remember that then, even if his puns are catastrophic."

Immediately Marinette's hands swiftly cupped her face, "You did not just say that."

Of all the reasons to laugh during the last couple of centuries Tikki never giggled so much, "I think it might've been the purrfect moment to say that."

Marinette could not stand this one bit, "Let's just go meet up with that cat already."

Tikki was in tears from laughing so hard but stopped long enough to respond, "Ready to pounce?"

The teen groaned, "You know I'm starting to think your advice is unvalidated now."

Tikki tried wiping her eyes with her stick-like arms, "I shouldn't receive such a pun-ishment."

This whole conversation was getting worse with each passing minute.

She shook her head and decided to end this all by saying, "Tikki transform me!"

Marinette loves the feeling of a transformation. In a way, it was like an out-of-body experience. She felt as though she could see the swirl of ladybugs touch every part of her. When she opened her eyes, adrenaline immediately took over, helping her swing into action and to be ready no matter her surroundings.

As soon as the transformation finished she swung into action, knowing that she was keeping her partner waiting too long.

While swinging above the streets of Paris she couldn't help but fall in love with her hometown even more. There's no other place in the world she'd rather be, and she always feels honored to protect her city.

She reached the Eiffel Tower, their usual meet-up spot for patrols, in record time. Chat didn't seem to notice her, which was odd. He usually readily greeted her with either a bow or an energetic wave and smile. He seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. What does he think about? Marinette wondered. The super duo never spoke much about their personal lives. Such topics were off the table to conceal their identities.

Tonight, she would have some fun. It was already late, she figured she wouldn't get more than 4 hours of sleep at this rate.

She pulled off the classic 'reach around and tap a shoulder' trick. Chat felt a hard poke on his shoulder. He immediately looked to see no one there, then turned to the other side. His Lady covered up her mouth as she giggled. This is new, his Lady rarely messed around and went along with his antics.

Her midnight blue hair was slightly tousled, probably from her journey to their meet-up spot. The way her eyes scrunched up from laughing made him adore her more. And her bright smile did more than lit up a room, she brightened his world.

"Kitty, you should've seen your face," she said once she found some composure and regained lost breath, "I've never seen you look so confused."

A small smile found his way to his lips. There was no way he could frown around her unless it was to make her laugh.

"You got me M'Lady. You always got me."

Ladybug could not fully decipher the tone of such vague words. It felt like they meant more than the possible blatant meaning.

She turned away when a blush began to sink into her cheeks. Why did this bother her? Chat always flirts with her, but this feels different.

"Anyways," she turned back slightly, avoiding his eyes, "Let's focus on our 'special mission.'

At first, she didn't realize the slight slip-up. Thankfully, Chat didn't notice.

"Whatever my Lady wishes," he winked- the cat was back to himself, "We either need to go back to where the chase left off at the zoo or follow an akuma after we purify it from an attack."

"Who knows when the next akuma attack will be. Either way we'll have to be patient and follow discreetly." She pondered for a moment before realizing, "We should probably go back to the zoo and see. If we follow after an akuma attack it's likely we both would use our powers and not have time to follow the akuma before we change back."

He nodded, "You're always so smart Bugaboo."

She finds that she is back to herself when she reaches up to pinch his nose, "Silly kitty- I'm the brains of this operation."

He wiggled his nose out of her grasp, "I'll never deny that statement, but c'mon. I've had good ideas before."

Alright, she'll bite, "Such as?"

He thinks for a few moments too long.

"Well?"

He shrugs, "My puns are some of my best work. They're my greatest contribution and you know it." Now he's smirking. God, she wants to make it disappear.

"You know, you're rubbing off on my kwami and I don't appreciate it."

A small chuckle escapes his lips, "That's because they're so pawesome."

He continues to laugh at his own joke while she just scolds him, "If this partnership was contractual I would've torn it up a long time ago."

Chat brings a hand up to his chest, acting like he's in pain, "M'lady, you don't mean that, besides, I bake the law around here."

Now she was confused, "What the-?"

"Mostly torts though."

.

.

.

"I'm ready to move on to the next chapter of our lives now so this can stop."

"M'Lady, that's no good deed to end a chapter without a real conclusion."

.

.

.

"Alright let's get a move on with the plan," she got up from where she was seated beside Chat and swung her yo-yo into the dark.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It's summertime and I low-key miss school. But I have time to try to write more and get over my current fanfic obsession… don't ask.

Anyways, I'll try to update more and write more so I can follow through with those updates (wow great plan).

Comment if you'd like, vote/give me likes if you'd like.

Happy Summer!