Archive of Our Own

After patrols finish, Chat vaults up and away, exhaustion written in every line of his body, but Ladybug lingers along the skyline a little longer.

She crosses the length of the rooftop with long strides until her feet hit the edge and her toes curl into empty space. From there, it takes only the slightest nudge to lean forwards just enough to teeter on the knife’s edge of balance. It would take only a thought to go tumbling down headfirst into the street below, but her control is perfect, absolute.

And she inhales, long and deep, until her lungs burn with the cold of the night air. Her exhale gets lost somewhere in the high wind bleeding out into the city before her. The view is spectacular; it always is, but rarely does Ladybug stop to really look at it.

Even this late at night, Paris keeps busy with the murmur of cars humming down the streets and the flicker of lights from apartments and cafés still open. A few people linger here and there in the parks or down the streets. The city lives and breathes as its own creature, and when Ladybug sees it in its entirety, she is reminded that she is its keeper.

The enormity of her charge makes her feel small and tired within the unearthly strength of her suit. 

Movement from below catches her eyes. When she peers down she’s greeted by the sight of a young couple waving excitedly up to her, their grins stretched wide. Their eyes shine up at her with wonder and awe, turning the distance between them into light-years, imparting on her the approachability of distant stars. It’s the sort of attention Chat delights and thrives in. Ladybug appreciates it too- when she feels she’s earned it.

She hasn’t done anything worthy of that sort of reverence tonight though, so she merely gives them a brief wave back before stepping away from the edge and disappearing from their sight. The wind comes and tugs at her pigtails, trying to get her to look up and over at the city again. 

Ladybug closes her eyes instead. She remembers now why she rarely looks: the city always finds a way to stare back.

When the footsteps of the couple have faded from her hearing, she slings her yoyo out and drops neatly down to street level to start heading back home. The immediate urge to detransform is strong- she appreciates that she can leave Ladybug behind when there isn’t a need for her- but the veritable cityscape of responsibilities, deadlines, and questions waiting for Marinette back home stop the necessary words from rolling off her tongue. They stop her slow walk down the street altogether, and Ladybug’s not quite sure where to go.

She wonders if Chat ever feels like this- like he’s adrift in his own skin, like he's a little...

“Lost?”   

The familiarity of the voice is the only thing that stops Ladybug from whirling around and giving a good roundhouse kick to the head. Except it's not Chat that she sees as she turns around, but Nino.

“Yes?” she automatically answers, then backtracks to his initial question. “Wait- no… umm, maybe?”

Surprise unbalances her, has her sounding much more like flustered Marinette than confident Ladybug. Something in her face must've shown, because Nino doesn't comment on it despite his pause of confusion. He blinks once, twice, then shrugs.

“Well, I’m going to be hanging out here for a while if you want company,” he says. He looks at her for another moment before offering a small smile. It’s an invitation as he walks to a nearby bench and settles himself comfortably beneath the low light of the streetlamp.

She doesn’t want to stay on among the rooftops, but she doesn’t feel like going back just yet either so- maybe here is where she’s supposed to be.

Nino’s eyes are dark, and kind, as Ladybug steps up and joins him on the bench.

“Ahhh, I'm glad it's not raining tonight,” he sighs into the silence that settles between them. His glasses glint in the light as he stares up at the night sky peeking between the edges of the buildings. “Must get cold up there though, on the rooftops.”

Ladybug glances at him, but Nino’s relaxed posture and easygoing air tells her he doesn't expect anything of her, even conversation if she doesn’t feel like talking. He lets her exist in her own space, under her own terms. That small kindness calms her overworked mind, gives her a chance to breathe lightly.

“It's not so bad,” she offers after a moment. “The suit regulates our temperatures and keeps our core pretty stable.”

“You don't ever get windburn on your cheeks?” Nino raises an eyebrow, a small smile teasing his lips.

“Ugh, don't remind me,” Ladybug finally laughs. She relaxes against the bench, unconsciously mirroring Nino’s pose. “Windburn and sunburn… I've got cover-up down to an art form now. 

His answering chuckle draws her eyes to the motion of his hand rising to fiddle with the lip of his cap. Even in the dark hours of early morning, it remains a constant fixture on his head. It’s ridiculously unneeded for this time, but there’s a strange sense of comfort to be found in his reliability.

“I used to get pretty bad sunburns as a kid,” Nino shares. “And then I'd get these embarrassing tan lines from my glasses during the summer. It‘s why I started wearing a cap.” He glances over to her and quirks up a lopsided smile. “Nice to know even superheroes can burn.”

“I mostly freckle actually,” Ladybug smiles, but it's a half-hearted effort.

She tucks her legs up onto the bench and wraps her arms around her shins, sighing as she rests her chin on her knees. Burning hurts, but being burnt out, she is realizing, is far more damaging.

She starts as something settles over her drooped shoulders. When she looks up, Nino’s jacket rests comfortably over her, falling to completely envelop her slight frame as she shifts in her spot.

“I know that look,” Nino comments when she looks up at him in confusion. He turns to face her, resting an elbow on the back of the bench as he stares at her intently. “I’ve been up late often enough to know that thoughts at this hour are never a good thing.”

“Then why are you awake?”

He shrugs, a little bashful. The movement ripples up until he takes his cap off and runs his hand over his short hair. He looks older, a little more vulnerable, with the same sort of tiredness she's familiar with lingering at the corners of his eyes.

“I like to mix music,” he admits. “Inspiration seems to come out best at this time too. Sort of the trade-off.”

“Is it worth it?” Ladybug asks as she curls up beneath his jacket. The heavy warmth of it seeps through her suit, as comforting as a hug. She tugs it a little closer over her as she shifts onto her side to look at him properly.

Nino hums in thought as he settles his cap back onto his head. “Sometimes. But when I get sucked into bad thoughts, I just remember that things always look better in the morning.”

“Yeah, I think you're right,” Ladybug sighs. She thinks of the city, the dark enormity of it stretching from horizon to horizon, and all the malignity it seems to breathe with. “I guess it's not so bad now either. Things look better if you're in good company too.”

It's only because she's sitting so close to him that she sees the faint red that tints his cheeks. Despite that, he doesn't look away he tilts his head side to side, studying her.

“You're around the same age as me, aren’t you,” Nino observes slowly. “You seem… kind of familiar.”

“I am on TV a lot,” Ladybug points out.

“No, like…” Nino trails off. His hand lifts involuntarily, fingers reaching up as if to lift her mask. Ladybug reels back, alarmed, and Nino drops his hand like a hot potato, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “Sorry, it’s just- your freckles… y’know, I'm probably just imagining it.”

“Y-yeah,” Ladybug laughs nervously, her heart pounding from the close call, from his curious attention. “Wouldnt that be crazy, if I was someone you actually knew?”

Her laughter dies in her throat as a troubled look steals over Nino’s face, punctuated by the frown furrowing his brow. The thought of high-tailing it out of there crosses her mind for a split second before-

“When would you sleep?”

Laughter spills out of Ladybug once more, coloured with an entirely different feeling. Relief and amusement mingles with tired irony- but mostly, she’s touched by his concern.  

“I, uh… I guess I wouldn't,” Ladybug chuckles, feeling the heavy weight of truth in her words. “Sleep is for the weak though, right?”

“People who say that are usually the ones that need it most,” Nino comments dryly, his eyebrow quirking up at her.

“Is that a hint?”

“Only if you'll take it.”

Ladybug quirks her eyebrow up as well, mirroring him, and sets her chin mulishly against the challenge. Their stare-down only lasts a few seconds before Nino lets out a small exhale, signaling his graceful surrender. The stubborn line of Ladybug’s jaw relaxes as she unfurls a victorious smile that she shoots sweetly at him, her eyes sparkling in fun.

The flush that creeps up Nino’s cheeks is noticeably rosier this time. He coughs, as if to dislodge his blush somehow, and mutters, “Yeah, you definitely remind me of someone I know.”

“Someone important?” Ladybug teases, more curious than wary this time at his train of thought.

He glances at her again, his gaze heavy, almost palpable. “Yeah, she is.”

The curious intensity of his stare inspires Ladybug’s cheeks to heat up as well, though she doesn't know why.

“Someone lucky, it sounds like,” she says softly, tugging the jacket closer around her shoulders.

“I guess you could say that,” Nino chuckles, as if enjoying a private joke.

Before Ladybug can question it, a large yawn escapes his mouth, prompting a yawn from her as well. They share tired grins.

“I think I'm gonna head back in,” Nino says reluctantly. “I've got school tomorrow. Uhh… I guess later this morning, actually.”

A few hours ago, that reminder would've felt only like dread and exhaustion weighing heavily on her shoulders, but she feels stronger now, and less alone. A little more solid and sure, under the shell of her suit and the cover of Nino’s jacket.

“I guess I should sleep too,” Ladybug sighs. “It's going to be another busy day.” 

Nino moves first, standing up with a long stretch that has him reaching for the lightening sky. He relaxes after a moment and merely stands there, head tilted up, thoughtful. The pale, watery light whispers over his cheekbones and coaxes the amber from his eyes. He looks different, in this time between dark and dawn, enough that it's like seeing him for the first time.

“Is it worth it?” Nino finally asks, echoing her words. He looks at her, at the mask covering her face. 

Yes, is her immediate thought, the answer that's always been absolute. As a hero, she's never doubted it for a moment.

But Nino’s nonjudgmental and quiet kindness invites a different sort of answer. As a teenage girl, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't imagined, if only for just a moment or two, how much easier and simpler her life would be if she didn't have this extra responsibility, with the long nights and frequent lies and countless fights.

She's only human; but maybe she's also always been a hero at heart.

“Yes,” Ladybug answers. “Maybe because I get the chance to find out if I have it in me, to do this.”

Nino's smile is a soft thing that soothes her heart. “I’m pretty sure you could do anything you put your mind to.”

“Thanks,” Ladybug chuckles. “And, well, also for…”

She gestures outwards, to him, the bench, and hopes her point somehow translates across. She's not sure if there is a word that somehow encompasses the simple but profound effect of his company, patient and steady in the uncertain hours of the night.

Luckily, he seems to understand. She’s not surprised. He’s been understanding her all night.

“Hey, anytime,” Nino says with complete sincerity. “Even superheroes need a break.”

He gives her another smile and a wave before walking away. She watches him go until he turns the corner and disappears from sight. Even though sleep calls to her too, she stays at the bench a little longer, hugging the lingering warmth close.

“Oh,” Ladybug murmurs, surprised. “He left his jacket.”

School later that morning is a struggle for Marinette, to say the very least. She nearly misses her first class and ends up sneaking in 20 minutes late, which Mme Bustier doesn't miss but luckily lets slide.

“You look like a zombie,” Alya remarks when break rolls around. “Text me! If I can bring an extra coffee for Adrien, I can bring a coffee for you too.”

“Y’only got two hands,” Marinette points out around an enormous yawn.

“You say that like that would be a problem for me.”

Marinette simply sighs as she slumps down over the desk. Her forehead makes an audible clunk as it hits the cool wood and although the surface is hardly comfortable, she’s ready to fall asleep in the next eyeblink

A much gentler, softer knock sounds right in front of her. With great reluctance, Marinette rolls her head to the side and squints up at the culprit. She goes cross eyed as a thermos slides towards her until it nearly hits her nose.

She sits up and can only blearily blink at Nino, who holds the thermos out to her.

“It’s got extra espresso,” he says. After a moment, he adds, “It should still be hot too.”

“It’s you?” Marinette asks, a reasonable shorthand for it’s yours and you should have it because he stayed up late too, but she can’t say that because that’s something only Ladybug would know.

She doesn’t really get why Adrien starts nudging Nino’s side with a wide grin, or why Alya starts laughing, or why Nino’s blush seems to light his face on fire. It takes several long seconds before it hits her and, unlike Nino, she doesn’t have a cap or glasses to somewhat deflect the burst of red that blooms on her cheeks. Marinette all but snatches the thermos from his hands and mumbles a vaguely coherent “thank you”.

“N-no problem,” Nino coughs. His voice cracks a little and he goes even redder. “Um, you just, uh...I thought you could use a boost.”

Marinette only has time to shoot him a grateful smile before Mme Bustier walks back in and their next class starts. She sips the thermos with care throughout the lesson, savouring the warmth of the drink and the strength of the caffeine that jolts her wide awake with jittery energy.

Her gaze draws back to Nino throughout the day, curious and wondering. He's always quick to laugh and joke around, and he always seems to know what everyone around him needs. It's not like Alya, who analyzes with an almost uncomfortable scrutiny at times; no, Nino’s intuition is unassuming enough to pick up on the little things.  

He touches Adrien often, giving him fist bumps and playful shoulder nudges. He slides back suggestions on scraps of paper for different video editing programs Alya can try, along with tips and tricks she could use.

And Marinette?

The coffee sits warm between her hands, proof enough.

(She thinks she can feel his gaze on her, too, throughout the day, resting on her like his jacket- but when she looks, there is only the back of his neck, rosy beneath his headphones.)

Time seems to run in two streams: one with the days passing without her even noticing, and the other with the nights crawling slowly by. The thermos of coffee- and by extension, Nino- becomes a fixed point that Marinette finds herself orbiting. She thanks him by bringing fresh chocolate croissants from home that he demolishes with relish in five minutes flat. 

When Nino starts showing up at the bakery in the morning before school, she doesn’t think twice about it even as he drops various excuses of wanting more croissants, of the bakery being along his way, of helping her wake up on time for school. Falling into rhythm with him is easy, natural.

Marinette finds her mornings filled with new music as they share earbuds while walking to school (she tries learning how to beatbox and spends more time blowing raspberries at him instead), her afternoons stuffed with study sessions that often turn into snack runs (Adrien always buys way too much of everything and Alya gets very easily sidetracked, so Marinette goes because she knows where to get the best stuff and Nino comes because he's her impulse control), and her evenings lit up with an assortment of messages from him ranging from homework questions to style advice, from little composition snippets to memes (“Nino, I swear, if you rickroll me one more time-”).

Alya questioned her about it, once.

“So, do you like Nino now?” she asked, curious.

Marinette was so thrown off by the question that she only remembers stammering, “I- I don't know.”

(It's true, she doesn't- but she does know that somewhere along the way, something’s changed.

Nino’s jacket still lies over the back of her desk chair at home. It's not an answer, but she thinks it might be a start.)

She knows she has to return it, eventually, but even if they both happen to be night owls, Ladybug doesn't run into Nino again until a few weeks later. She passes by the bench after each patrol, his jacket dangling from her arms, and waits a few minutes to see if he'll appear again.

Her tenacity wins one late night after patrol. When she lands on the rooftop closest to the bench, she can hear a familiar voice humming a catchy tune. And when she looks down, there is Nino, sitting there as if he'd never left. His headphones sit snugly over his cap as he bobs his head to the tempo of his music, completely unaware of his audience.

Ladybug watches him for a moment, noting the dark circles under his eyes, the frown furrowing his brow, the frustrated sighs that punctuate his humming as he stops and restarts- all the sure signs of a creative block.

She knows the feeling.

It only takes her a few minutes to make a quick trip to a nearby cafe she knows is always open late, before she drops silently down to the street, jacket draped over her shoulders and drinks balanced carefully in her hands. From the way Nino continues to hum, he doesn't notice.

The tune is incredibly catchy, the sort of song that has her bouncing on her toes to the beat. She steps lightly along the rhythm until she's sidled up right behind him.

“That sounds really good,” Ladybug says as she leans over, the grin practically audible in her voice. “It could be a theme song.”

“Holy shi-!” Nino yelps, his headphones falling off and his arms flailing about as he jerks around in panicked surprise. Rather than looking at her with mild surprise (she expected) or with pleasure (she hoped), he gets distinctly more flustered. “L-Ladybug! What are you doing here?”

“Your music summoned me,” she jokes as she clambers over the back of the bench to slide down next to him. “And I wanted to return this to you.”

She sets the drinks down and shrugs the jacket off her shoulders. The cool night air rushes around her shoulders, replacing the warmth and weight she'd grown accustomed to, that she preferred. Resolute, she folds it in her hands and holds it out to him.

Nino doesn't take it. The spooked expression still haunts his face, accompanied by a slight flush to his cheeks.

“You- uh, you said my music brought you here?” 

“Well, I was already looking for you. But then I heard your humming and followed it here. I really like it!”

“Oh man,” Nino groans as he scrubs his face with his hands. Embrassent colours his voice and expression vividly, though it's tempered by bashfulness and a sort of earnestness as he glances at her. “Ok well… um, here's the thing. It is a theme song. For you.”

Ladybug is stunned. Her face is a perfect, frozen circle of surprise before she becomes vibrantly, colourfully alive with excitement.

“Can I hear it??”

Nino shifts uncomfortably, his face growing ever hotter, but a shy smile peeks out despite his hesitation.

“I'll trade you a coffee,” Ladybug wheedles, holding out the hot drink with a winning smile. The unexpected offering startles a laugh out of Nino and he slowly pulls the headphones off from around his neck, handing them to her as she passes over the coffee.

She's not sure if his fingers linger over hers as he takes the drink; she glances up at him but he's looking down, fiddling with his phone.

“It’s not finished,” he warns as she eagerly situates the headphones snugly over her ears. “I started after- well, after I met you last time, and I uh… I know it's been a while but... I wanted to get this right.”

Ladybug spreads the jacket over her lap like a blanket and grabs her own cup of coffee before looking at him expectantly, wide blue eyes bright with anticipation.

Nino takes the hint, and presses play.

The tune starts simply with a few basic chords. It's nice, though a little unremarkable- and then the drums and percussion sweep in, kicking the song off with a quick, bouncy beat that has Ladybug laughing and bobbing along to the rhythm. The melody catches hold of her tongue and she instinctively, easily hums along. When the piano recedes and the electric guitar comes roaring in, she lets out an exhilarated laugh and knocks her coffee against Nino’s, a broad smile on her face.

He grins back, mirroring her enthusiasm. His fingers tap away in his lap and she realizes he's following perfectly along to the song despite not actually hearing it. They're the only warning she gets as his fingers still and the song abruptly stops, save for a few chord progressions that trail tentatively off.

“That was amazing!!” Ladybug breathes as she pulls the headphones down to rest around her neck.

“Thanks,” Nino chuckles, his hand rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. “I haven't figured out how I want to end it yet.”

“I'm sure it'll be great when you’ve got it,” Ladybug smiles, confident. She tilts her head at him curiously. “Why were you making a theme song for me?”

He shrugs and replies, simply, “Why not? I went out that other night looking for inspiration and inspiration came to me instead.”

It’s cheesy- which would've made Ladybug roll her eyes good-naturedly- but more than anything, it’s sincere.

“Oh,” she mumbles, glad that her mask hides most of heat reddening her cheeks. She hurriedly brings her coffee up to sip, suddenly a little flustered. “I should come to you more often if this is what happens. Though I don't know when I'd use a theme song. Chat’s the one who likes to play it up for the audience.”

“Well you came to me tonight again,” Nino chuckles. “And you never know. Maybe there’ll be a movie or a TV show after you guys.”

“They'd have to find a double for me or I’m never gonna be able to sleep again,” Ladybug groans. “My life would belong to everyone else.”

“You don't owe us that,” Nino points out softly.

“I know,” she sighs. “But you don't sign up for this kind of thing and only commit halfway.”

Dark clogs up the lighthearted atmosphere at the turn in conversation. Determined to steer away from the gloominess, Ladybug slings the headphones off and hands them back.

“Thanks,” Nino says as he settles them back around his neck. “I feel weird when I don't wear them. That and my glasses.”

“I don't think I've ever seen you without your glasses. Or without your headphones,” Ladybug comments, head tilting as she studies his face. Too late, she realizes Ladybug has no reason to suggest such familiarity to him, even if Marinette does. She tenses and hopes he doesn't notice. There’s something in the way he looks at her, that makes her think he knows something- but he merely gives her an easy smile, and seems to take her words at face value.  

“It's… weird,” he answers. “It's kinda like, you see yourself a certain way all the time, but when that changes… you kind of forget who you are for a second.”

“You're you, with or without your headphones,” she points out, not missing the irony of her words.

“I know,” Nino says thoughtfully. “You get used to seeing yourself a certain way, I guess.”

“I know what you mean,” Ladybug hums. “Change is hard. But change is good.” She thinks of Tikki and Chat and how far they've come since their rocky start with Stoneheart. “And change can be easy… if you've got the right people helping you.”

“Maybe the real change is the friends we make along the way,” Nino jokes, grinning as Ladybug bursts out laughing. He laughs as she leans over and nudges his shoulder with hers.

It's the closest she's really come to him, and she finds herself staying close enough to hear the smile in his voice, the rise and fall of his chest as he nudges her back. His laugh is warm, slow, wrapping around her like a hug, a better weight than even his jacket.

With music ringing through her mind and coffee giving her energy and Nino warming her shoulders as he slings an arm across the back of the bench, many of the worries and anxieties that stay knotted closely around her heart melt away. The relentless habit of anticipating the future stills in the light of Nino’s smile, his kind eyes, that anchor her instead to the current present.

Of all the places that Ladybug could, maybe even should be, here is where she wants to stay.  

So stay she does, long after they've both finished their coffees and discarded the cups in a nearby trash bin (she had laughed at the way his eyebrows shot up when she nailed the throw without moving from her seat despite the bin being tucked away in an alley across the street). He plays the theme song for her again and again and tries out different endings in his low, mellow hum. At one point he even manages to get her to sing some words hastily composed on the spot. She feels a little silly singing lyrics like “Miraculous! Simply the best!” but the way Nino seizes her shoulders and exclaims that's it, that's what I was missing! is worth it. His fingers fly over his phone in a furious burst of creative inspiration and she watches with fascination and a bit of pride, remembering how frustrated he had been when she first saw him.  

They sit shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh, with both of Nino’s jackets spread across their laps like blankets. She's so comfortable and warm and content, that when she closes her eyes to concentrate better on the tune Nino’s humming, it all somehow fades out- until she's startled awake by his chuckles nudging into her side.

“Tired?” he teases.

“Nope,” Ladybug shoots back quickly. She sits up a little straighter and stubbornly wills herself to stay awake.

Even so, Nino’s humming is very soothing, especially when she can feel the vibrations in his chest. She droops, and droops, and drops into sleep.

It's not the soft, fathomless, encompassing darkness of deep sleep that she sinks into, but a hazy lightness that keeps her adrift along her consciousness. It's not until a gentle weight presses against Ladybug’s head that she slowly, blearily surfaces into wakefulness.

It takes her a moment to realize it's Nino, asleep, his cheek pressed against the top of her head as she slumps against his shoulder. His long, deep breaths tickle through her bangs and his phone slips a little down their laps as his hand rolls over and his fingers uncurl.

She doesn't even think. Her hand moves on its own accord and slides to clasp with his, palm to palm, fingers curled loosely around each other.

Maybe this is her answer, framed in the way they lean into each other, and blanketed by the comforting weight of a gentle warmth. Maybe it's always been there, winking as she walks up to the front of the class for her presentations, waiting for her to turn around and take notice, watching for when she's a little lost, a little lonely, a little tired, and coming to drape a jacket over her shoulders.

(The realization doesn't hit her like a thunderstrike, but settles over her like sunlight, warm and complete.

Maybe… maybe it's an answer she already knows.)

Nino gives a little snore and Ladybug bites down a giggle at the unexpected sound. She half expects him to wake up, but he seems to slump even more against her, succumbing completely to exhaustion.

Concern and a bit of guilt burrows into Ladybug’s chest. No matter how comfortable cuddle napping on a bench may be, they both needed to go home and sleep. 

Still...

Just another minute, Ladybug decides.

Her fingers curl protectively, covetously around Nino’s. She stares at the red of her suit, and wonders if or when she'd have the courage to do this as Marinette. Baby steps, she supposes.

Time’s up. Before Ladybug can procrastinate any more, she slips her hand from Nino’s and nudges his side. He merely grunts and snores on. It takes a few more increasingly forceful nudges until he reluctantly wakes.

“Tired?” Ladybug teases. 

“Mmfghurgh,” Nino mumbles as he stiffly sits up straight and rubs his eyes. “Wha’time is it?”

Ladybug reaches for the yoyo strapped to her side and pops it open. “...2:30. We should probably get back home.”

“Mm’kay,” Nino groans as he stretches his legs and arms, wincing as he works the kinks out. “I'm gonna be a walking zombie at school tomorrow.”

“Yeah, tomorrow’s going to be another long day,” Ladybug sighs, thinking of the hours she hasn't slept, of the homework still piled on her desk, of the uncharacteristic lack of trouble in the past few days- the veritable cityscape of responsibility she is always fighting to balance on her shoulders. It's a far cry from the pockets of rest she seems to find best when she's with him. “You ever wish you could stop time?”

“Who doesn't?” Nino yawns. He watches as she neatly folds his jacket to the side before rolling up to her feet with a stretch. Her suit catches the little light and keeps it, transforming the red into a glowing ember. Despite the dark, she is her own light. “You'll be fine.”

The certainty in his voice gives her pause. “How do you know?”

He tilts his head up to look at her. The light slides past his glasses and illuminates his sleep-soft eyes, catching her in the amber of the moment. She knows, instinctively, that he's not looking at her suit or her mask, but simply at her.

“Because. I know you.”

Panic is not a good look on Marinette.

“I don't think he meant he knows you're Ladybug,” Tikki assures soothingly.

“He says he knows me. I've only met with him, like, twice transformed! How well can you know a person from just two meetings?” Marinette rambles, her mind running a mile a minute. Despite the late hour, sleep is the last thing she can think about. “I think he knows, Tikki. The thermos of coffee. How would he have known I needed coffee that day unless he knew I was up late too??”

“Because you're always oversleeping and running late to class? Maybe it was just a coincidence.”

“Is it a coincidence that he always happens to be where I am? Or that he always seems to know what I need? Tikki, if he knows, and Hawkmoth finds out he knows, he could be in serious trouble!”

“Ok,” Tikki sighs. She flits up to hover in front of Marinette’s face, coming so close to Marinette’s nose that Marinette nearly goes cross eyed to see her properly. “First of all, you don't know if he knows. You're working yourself up over a big what-if. And second, would it really be so bad if he knew?”

Marinette leans back against her pillows and frowns at her. “You said we shouldn't tell anyone.”

“I know,” Tikki sighs. “It's to protect you, but there's more than one way to keep you safe.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nino’s helped you a lot in the past few weeks,” Tikki explains. She flies down and lands gently on Marinette’s stomach. “You've been a lot happier. Being Ladybug has been easier.” Her blue eyes soften. “He’s always looking out for you.”

Marinette takes a deep, calming breath and plucks at a stray thread in her blanket as she thinks. “I...I trust him.” And she does, wholeheartedly and without question. As Tikki injects sense into her agitation, she realizes that Nino potentially knowing her secret isn't really what’s seizing her heart in fear. “I’m… I'm worried how it could backfire on him.”

“Well,” Tikki beams as she leans forward and pats Marinette’s stomach with her little paws. “It's a good thing he's got Ladybug looking out for him too, then.”

And it’s that thought that relaxes Marinette the most. She can and will keep him safe, no matter what it takes.

Sleep eventually finds her somewhere in the early hours of the morning, when the soft, feathery light of false dawn has already lightened the velvet dark sky. It feels like she’s only managed to close her eyes for just a second before her alarm rings shrilly in her ears, demanding consciousness. She shuts it off once, twice, and then falls blissfully back asleep when it's finally silent.

Unfortunately, her habits are too well known to let slide. Right on cue, knocking sounds on her trap door before her mom pokes her head in.

“You better wake up and get dressed,” Sabine warns. “Nino’s already here.”

Anxiety kicks Marinette awake enough to stumble through getting ready and grabbing some breakfast on the way out. When she sees Nino waiting at the front door, already loaded with pastries from her parents, a greeting and a blurted confession stick in her throat, leaving her saying nothing at all.

Nino merely smiles sleepily at her as he waves a brioche. “If we're late again, Mme Mendeleiev’s gonna eat us alive.”

“Right.” The words hurriedly unstick in a rush. “Right. Let's go. You know you could've gone without me.”

“‘Nette.” The unexpected gravity of Nino’s voice has her tensing, and her steps falter as she follows him out the door. He glances back at her and unfurls a shit eating grin. “I'm never gonna give you up-”

“You’re on your own!” Marinette laughs as she tosses a piece of her croissant at him before surging ahead of him in a run. Her steps bounce lightly along the ground as she hears him jogging after her, still singing around a mouthful of food.

Maybe Tikki is right. Maybe he doesn't know.

The day passes uneventfully, and the week blends together in a string of regular routine after that. Sometimes Marinette thinks she spots Nino looking at her with a knowing glance, but when she truly looks, he turns away, leaving only the impression of it being the trick of the light reflected from his glasses. He never does anything more though- no casual remarks or references hinting of her being Ladybug. Just an easygoing flow that sweeps her along.

Normality can only last so long though.

It breaks with an almighty crash as a projectile smashes spectacularly through the window, showering a shrieking Sabrina and Chloe with glass fragments. Through the empty space, the distant rumble of an akuma announcing himself sounds in the distance, followed quickly by the school’s alarm bell signaling for evacuation.

Mme Mendeleiev quickly rounds them up and strictly oversees their progress as they file out into the hallway. Marinette jostles between her classmates, eyes darting for an opportunity to slip away.

She finds it when other students start spilling out of their classrooms and into the hallway, creating an organized chaos that she can easily lose herself in. Her eyes trace a path for her to wriggle through and she takes her chance, before anyone notices she’s gone.

Nino grabs her hand at the last second. Whatever excuse Marinette was going to give him to let go dies in her throat as she sees the worry in his eyes, the understanding, the knowing.

He swallows hard. “Be careful.”

She curls her fingers around his and finds her courage. “Stay safe.”

Marinette doesn't know who lets go first, but she loses him in the tide of evacuating students. She can hear Alya calling out for her and Adrien as she ducks into an empty classroom, and even though she can't answer, she knows Nino will help Alya find Adrien- and she knows he’s got her back.

Now it's up to her to face the music.

“Tikki, spots on!”

When Nino finds Ladybug a few nights later, she's nowhere near the bench. She's skywards, her feet balanced perfectly on the slender ledge of a rooftop, her gaze looking out over the city but her mind a million miles away.

She's in no danger of falling. Her control is perfect, absolute.

It still doesn't stop Nino from blanching as he spots her when he clambers up from the stairs and onto the rooftop. His hesitation and caution are nearly palpable as he walks towards her. When he appears in her peripherals, her mind refocuses onto him with curious clarity. He doesn't come up to stand beside her on the ledge, stopping instead just a step behind her by her side.

“I thought I'd try to find you this time,” Nino explains as he leans forward and peeks over the edge with a gulp. “Wow, we're pretty far from the ground.”

“Don't look down,” Ladybug advises. “Look up.”

His gaze lifts up to the bright red of her, a solid anchor against the dizzying vertigo of being so high up, before looking out over the city sprawled before them, glittering gold against the dark.

“Oh dang,” Nino breathes. “This is… terrific.” 

There are some people who can spend hours looking over the cityscape with nothing but surface appreciation at its vast, unyielding face. Ladybug isn't afraid to stare back, jaw set and prepared to fight for the people she loves. She understands though, why for some a glance is enough.

“Terrific, and terrifying,” Nino laughs as he steps away from the edge. “Terrifyingly terrific.”

“Funny how they're just one letter off from each other,” Ladybug chuckles quietly. “Guess it doesn't take much to transform a word into something  entirely different.” She knows what he means though; the city in its sprawling entirety, reaching from one horizon to the other, is always a lot to take in.

“I guess you'd know all about that, huh,” Nino muses.

His words drop not as a gauntlet in challenge, but float light as a bubble onto his open palm, free for her to take or refuse.

Ladybug turns and tilts her head down to look fully at him, tasting the reversal of their heights, the insinuation in his words. There is a different sort of open space between them that she faces. Her balance teeters on the knife’s edge as she wonders what it'd be like to step into a different sort of falling here, where no superpowers can help her. All she has is control, and choice, and courage.

But maybe that's all she’s ever really needed.

Nino’s eyes are dark, and kind, as she steps down from the lonely ledge and stands before him.

“You know who I am, don't you,” Ladybug says. It's not so much a question as it is a statement of fact.

“Maybe,” Nino shrugs. “Probably. I haven't told anyone, not even Alya.”

“I know,” she says softly. He's always looking out for her, anchoring her to stability and normality. Her next words impulsively jump to the tip of her tongue before caution makes her hesitate- but Nino’s already seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, and still, he’s here.

He's here.

“Tikki,” she murmurs. “Spots off.”

A rush of pink light fizzes through the air, stripping Ladybug away. She watches Nino watch her, watches as he traces the magic with wide eyes filled with wonder and disbelief. When the mask finally disappears from her face, it uncovers her blush as his hand lifts to gently cup her cheek, his thumb sweeping over her freckles with care, with reverence.

She slides her hand over his, holding it as she impulsively turns her head and presses a kiss to his palm. The blush that erupts on his face outshines hers by a mile as they exchange shy grins.

The look in his amber eyes makes her think, this- this is worth it.

“Hi Nino,” she laughs.

He smiles, radiant. “Hey Marinette.”