Miraculous Oneshots and Drabbles

What if...? - Ladynoir

"Hey, Ladybug."

"Yeah, Chat?"

Chat Noir took in a deep breath of the evening air, his gaze deliberately focused away from her and on the sun setting over the skyline, an array of oranges shining over the beautiful city they called home.

The two superheroes sat upon a beam near the top of the Eiffel Tower, Ladybug's head leaning upon Chat's left shoulder.

Even though they'd finished their patrol a while ago, they couldn't bear to leave each other yet. They didn't normally stay with each other this long after patrol, but Ladybug could see that something was terribly wrong with her partner that night.

Usually, he'd be full of life, his eyes sparkling with wonder and freedom. But tonight, he was quiet, an aura of sadness clinging to him.

"Do you ever wonder how things would go if something ever happened to us?" He questioned, a somber tone to his voice.

Ladybug's eyebrows furrowed into a frown as she moved her head to look up at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"What if something happened to one of us during an attack?" he began, a feeling of worry creeping into Ladybug's heart at his melancholy tone. "No one in our civilian lives knows our true identities, so how are they ever supposed to know that we're hurt?"

Chat turned his head to face her, their gazes locking. That's when she noticed that his eyes shone with unshed tears that threatened to escape his eyes at any given moment, and his lips began to tremble with fear.

Ladybug gaped at her black-clad partner in fighting crime, her expression softening at his broken demeanour. No wonder he was acting so different tonight.

"Do you remember how I got hit by that akuma a few weeks ago — the one that made me fly into the wall?" Chat inquired, Ladybug nodding in response.

"Of course I do, you stupid cat! You need to stop jumping in front of me, Chat. I know that you only want me to be safe, but it really worries me. It's as if you don't even care that you'll be hurt in the process," she whispered, concern flashing over her gaze.

The memory of Chat Noir being hit so hard that he flew into a wall with an extremely loud crash and what sounded like the crack of shattering bones still haunted her. She could vividly remember the scream that had escaped her lips at the horrific sight and how she swore in that moment to never let her partner be hurt that way again.

"Well, I may or may not have gotten hit harder than we thought," he admitted and winced as Ladybug gasped before her expression morphed to a mixture of anger and shock. "I ended up with bruises all down the right side of my torso. I hardly slept that night because the injuries hurt so much."

Ladybug felt her heart shattering into thousands of shattered fragments at his words, her concern for him increasing by the second.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ladybug asked, her voice almost breaking at the end of her question. If she'd have known, she could have done something about it! No wonder he seemed to be in pain that week.

Chat avoided answering her question, opting to continue with his point instead. "My point is, nobody in my civilian life knew, not even my father. Honestly, he's the last person I would want to know about my injuries. That entire week, I had to pretend that nothing had happened, that I wasn't actually hurt."

Ladybug watched as a stray tear leaked from his eye and trailed down his face, an abundance of them following moments later and cascading down, some of them dripping onto his lap.

Her heart shattered even more (if that were even possible. It already felt as if it had been completely torn apart) and her vision went fuzzy as tears began to brim in her own eyes.

"A girl I'm friends with hugged me the next day, and I swear it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. My entire side screamed in pain, but I had to pretend that I was okay, that there were no injuries anywhere."

Chat trembled as he took in another deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he could potentially start hyperventilating.

"Oh, Chat..."

Ladybug wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug, rubbing soothing circles along his back as he nuzzled into her neck and let his tears flow.

"I-it just made me think," he began, letting out a few sobs as he stuttered, "that if something ever happened to one of us — something really serious — how would anyone know? What would happen if I di—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Her stern voice cut through, causing them to be enveloped in silence as Chat's sobs suddenly came to a halt.

He lifted his head up from her shoulder, wiping the tears away from his eyes as he met her steel gaze.

"I won't ever let anything like that happen to you, Chaton. You mean way too much to me. If you're ever troubled like this again, tell me right away. I don't want you bottling up your feelings," she told him, her voice full of passion as tears began to flow from her eyes and down her porcelain skin.

Chat found himself almost speechless at her words, his mouth hanging agape in surprise. Nobody had ever shown this much care for him, not even his mother when she was actually around.

Maybe he wouldn't have to hide how much he was hurting next time. Not from her, at least.

"Thank you," he shakily breathed, his lips starting to curl into a weak smile. "I love you."

Ladybug only smiled at him and wiped her tears away, pulling him into another comforting embrace which he soon returned, the two watching as the sun finally set over the horizon.

Even though they sometimes felt alone in the world, they both had each other to depend on, an indisputable fact that would never change.