I'm back!!!! And I'm doing Ladynoir July! If you were here for last years Ladrien June or Adrienette April, you'll already know the drill. Prompts are thought of by me and will not match the official prompts because I'm writing one-shots ahead of time. So enjoy! -Colorado

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ladybug fidgeted with the bracelet in her hand, gazing out at the Parisian sunset. She knew it was risky to have her lucky charm out in public, but she needed something to keep her grounded. Even if the one who gave her the charm was contributing to her issues.

Adrien, her first love, the one she swore her heart to forever. But it seemed as though the universe loved to laugh at her, because as soon as Adrien showed some semblance of interest in her, she felt her heart run to someone who felt safe. Someone who felt like home. Someone who, under no circumstances, could Ladybug ever love. Not if she wanted to keep Paris safe, and Paris would always come first. If her heart even began to entertain the idea, her mind would supply an onslaught of memories proving it was a bad idea.

If the universe wanted to prevent her and Adrien from their happy ending so desperately, could she at least catch a break with Chat Noir? Nope! It seemed as though her luck only applied to saving Paris, because the universe gave her constant reasons on why her and Chat Noir couldn't work.

Ladybug heard a whirl behind her (speak of the devil), and quickly slipped the charm in her yo-yo. She had enough to deal with without Chat Noir linking her to Marinette.

"Good evening, My Lady." Her partner walked over to the edge of the roof, taking a seat next to her. "I didn't think it was your night to patrol."

"It wasn't," Ladybug shrugged.

A heavy silence settled between the two, and Ladybug didn't need to turn her head to know Chat Noir was worried.

"So... with all due respect, what are you doing here? It's not like you to be out like this." Chat Noir bit the bullet after only two minutes, much to Ladybug's dismay.

She bit down a laugh. No matter how hard she tried to run or hide, somehow Chat Noir always saw right through her. She couldn't let him read her so easily this time; it was simply too dangerous.

"I needed to get out." Try as she might to play it off as casual, she knew that Chat Noir could see the extra tension in her shoulders, the tiredness in her eyes, the hairs out of place. When he didn't say anything for several moments, Ladybug looked back over at her partner.

He seemed to be fighting something, too, opening his mouth and closing it repeatedly.

"You?" She finally asked, it wasn't either of their night to patrol.

"The same." He gave her a grin she hardly ever saw, a grin of pain. She wanted to wipe it off his face, but she stamped down the urge as soon as it came. Ladybug nearly said something, but a flash of a blue world stopped her, so she merely nodded and turned back to the sunset.

As the seconds ticked by, she could feel the tension between the two get harder and harder to ignore. A new emotion rose up in Ladybug, frustration. She had transformed to try and escape her heart and her mind's war. Yet here was Chat Noir, showing up and being him and making things much more difficult. As her heart rejoiced, her head cried out, and Ladybug was stuck between them.

"Have you ever thought about change, Ladybug?" Chat Noir's question made her flinch.

"It seems as though it's all I've been thinking about." She muttered, but Chat Noir's hearing picked up on her words regardless.

"Is that why you're out here tonight?" He scooted a bit closer to her. She was equal parts thrilled and terrified at his new proximity.

"Yeah, just civilian life things, you know how it is." She waved her hand and shot him a smile, but Chat Noir wasn't convinced.

"I do know how it is, which is why I'm worried about you. What's this about?" He looked so concerned that Ladybug almost told him. Her heart whispered to her how much of a relief it would be, how Chat Noir would never judge her, she wanted to give in. She scooted a bit closer to him, opening her mouth up, words filling her throat-.

Unwillingly, Master Fu's constant warning flooded her, Tikki's constant protests about her new-found feelings weighed on her.

She snapped her mouth shut and moved away. She didn't see how Chat Noir's expression fell.

"I wish I could tell you," she settled on saying instead, "but I'm afraid it's too dangerous. Like all changes."

"Change can be dangerous." Chat Noir agreed, moving towards her again. Her mind screamed, her heart rejoiced.

"It is," she whispered into the night, her mind flooded with memories of Chat Blanc.

"But, it can also be wonderful." Chat Noir smiled and Ladybug wished she could get even a fraction of his inner peace. "Like, getting our miraculouses. That was a big change, and look at us now." He bumped his shoulder with hers.

"Yeah, fighting for the protection of all of Paris, how is that not dangerous?" Ladybug scoffed, but part of her was rooting for him to change her mind.

"It is, but it's also wonderful. We got to meet each other, we got to stand up for what's right every day, and tear down Monarch's ego akuma after akuma. And besides," Chat Noir gestured to the City of Lights, truly living up to the name, "who else gets to see a view like that?"

Ladybug smiled, despite what her mind was constantly telling her, maybe Chat Noir had a point. After all, telling Alya her identity was a scary and dangerous change, but if she hadn't given into her heart, who knows what would've happened?

Maybe if she relied on Chat Noir, the change would pay off?

Could she get so lucky?

She remembered every moment of the dream the two of them shared. Dating, getting married, having kids, being so incredibly happy it felt like her heart was going to burst. She craved that happiness with him desperately, how she wished she could have stayed in the daydream forever. Maybe if she talked to him, maybe that happiness would come back, at least for a fleeting moment. He must have been going through something similar, after all.

Her head screamed no, but her heart whispered yes. While Ladybug always prided herself on listening to her head, Marinette had no qualms with following her heart. So perhaps it wasn't Ladybug, the superheroine, who was responsible for what happened next, just Marinette, just her.

"It's about the other boy." Ladybug rushed out before she could psych herself out of it.

"Oh." Whatever Chat Noir had been expecting, it wasn't that. "Do you feel like talking about it?"

Ladybug glanced back over at him, the memory of his lips against hers rushing to the front of her mind.

"It's also about what happened the other day with Darker Owl." She felt a blush rising to her cheeks, but she tried to stamp it down.

"The dream?" Chat Noir's voice sounded shot, perhaps if they were having any other conversation, Ladybug would have laughed about it.

"Yeah, the dream," she whispered into the sunset.

"I'm sorry, My Lady."

"What are you apologizing for?"

"Maybe if I had kept my feelings for you under control it wouldn't have happened. Of course my fantasy of us becoming a happy couple would mess with your feelings. I can't apologize enough, I know you don't feel the same way, and that's absolutely fine! No one should be able to tell you who you can and can't love, especially not me. You know I'd never expect more from you, it was just a moment of weakness, I swear." Chat Noir wasn't looking at her, opting to mess with his hands instead. Ladybug could only blink incredulously at him.

Did he seriously not know?

"Chat... Darker Owl struck both of us," she said slowly. That got him to look at her, a mix of emotions shining in his eyes. Pain, yes, but also hope. She squeezed her eyes shut, the weight of what she was about to do pressing down on her like bricks. "That was my dream too."

"Oh."

Ladybug snapped her head up to him, his eyes shining and his mouth open in a little 'o.'

"Oh? That's all you have to say? No flirtatious comments? No bragging about how you've finally won me over?" She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Have I really?" He whispered, almost reverent.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." She shot him a wry grin. Deep down inside, she knew she had already figured it out. But her head wasn't going to let her say it.

"You kissed me," he suddenly remembered.

"Yep."

"Of your own accord."

"Yep."

"And we both remember it."

"Yep."

"My Lady, with all due respect, why?"

She glanced over at him, giving him a real smile this time and grabbing one of his hands. Her head was yelling at her to knock it off, but Ladybug couldn't bring herself to care. Taking a deep breath and staring down at their intertwined hands, she gave in completely to her heart.

"Because I wanted to. I've been fighting my feelings for you ever since Monarch stole the miraculouses. Things have felt different between us, in the best way possible. I guess I never realized how much I cared about you until I realized how much I needed you. You've always been important to me, Chat Noir. But now you're not just my partner who I'd trust with anything, you're my closest confidant. So when we were suddenly allowed to be happy and in love I-." Ladybug choked, tears nearly welling up in her eyes. "I gave in and when I realized it was fake I needed something to hang on to. And yet," she laughed bitterly, "regardless of how much I care about you, how much I want this, I can't stop thinking about the other boy."

She looked over at Chat, biting down on her lip. Would he reject her? Would he think she's disgusting? A manipulative weirdo who wanted both her partner and Adrien? He was staring down at their hands, an unreadable expression on his face. Had she messed everything up? Would he leave her again?

Suddenly, he smiled at her, squeezing their hands together, and all of her worries disappeared.

"I'll wait until you figure it out, My Lady." The way he was looking at her, as if she had just hung all the stars in the sky, almost made her want to kiss him again. But not even her heart could convince her to throw away reason that badly.

"I'm sorry, everything is just changing so much." Once she started talking, she just couldn't stop. "It terrifies me. Monarch, the end of school, now our partnership might be on the verge of changing forever. I don't know what to do or what to think. My heart wants this, it wants us. But my head is telling me that it would never work, that it's too risky, too much of a change."

"Are you sure that's your head talking?" Ladybug furrowed her brows. Chat Noir had a careful expression on his face, deep in thought. "Don't get me wrong, My Lady, I know you are one to listen to your head, but it sounds as though your fears are connected to anxiety. What is your head actually telling you?"

Ladybug closed her eyes, trying desperately to see anything but Paris covered in water and her partner akumatized. Maybe before Chat Blanc she could chalk up her worries to just plain ol anxiety, but now? Now she had proof that being with Chat Noir could lead to disaster.

"It's telling me to put Paris first. I mean, let's say that we get together and then break up? How could we work together in that case? Or worse, what if one of us got akumatized? And what about our secret identities? We'd want to know eventually that way we could be a real couple. Us getting together would just change too much."

"Counterpoint: what if we didn't break up? I've been in love with you for so long, Ladybug, you mean everything to me. There's a reason why the two of us work so well as partners, perhaps you and I are simply meant to be." Chat Noir wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"There's the cheesy lines." Ladybug giggled, despite herself.

"And even if we did break up, we have your magical charms to help us from becoming akumatized. As for us working together, we've had fights before, haven't we? And we still defeated Monarch each and every time." The determination in Chat Noir's eyes made her blush.

"But what about-?"

"Our secret identities?" He gave her that grin she loved so much. "Bold of you to assume I haven't thought of a million dates to take you on in the suit." Despite herself, Ladybug had to laugh.

"Oh really, Kitty? So you've got it all figured out then?" A grin grew on her face, but she didn't even want to try and stop it.

"Absolutely!" His expression turned serious, but no less gentle. "My Lady, all I've ever wanted was a chance."

It was funny, just an hour ago it seemed as though her feelings for Chat Noir were the end of the world. But just sitting with him, holding his hand, talking with him, it was like all of her fears had vanished. All of them, except one. Her head had one final card to play, good thing her heart had already thought of a solution.

"You have to promise me." Ladybug turned to him, all joking gone from her expression.

"Of course, whatever it is I'll do it."

"You have to promise that if we break up that you won't get akumatized. I don't care what you have to do, you just can't get akumatized." She squeezed his hand, fighting every part of her that screamed it was a bad idea.

"Why My Lady, you make it sound as though we're already together." He grinned, but she only squeezed his hand harder.

"Promise me." She said again.

"Okay, okay!" Chat Noir put his hand up in resignation. "I promise you, cat's honor."

"Thank you." Just like that, the memories in her head quieted. Everything was going to be okay.

They sat in silence, much more comfortable than the ones they shared before. Ladybug could feel the weight lifting from her heart. If the night ended here she would've been completely content. Her partner, on the other hand, didn't seem to share the sentiment. His knee was constantly twitching, and she could tell he had more to say.

"Out with it, Kitty." A fond smile playing on her lips.

"You know, I was only half joking earlier, you made it sound like we're already together. But what about the other boy? It's not fair to you to be in a relationship with someone you only partially like." Chat Noir's shoulders slumped.

"I think my feelings for the other boy have gotten just as dangerous as my feelings for you. I've made some horrible mistakes because of them." She had lost Master Fu because of her poor judgment, she had lost her precious kwamis because she was too blinded. "And after failed love confession after failed love confession I'm just exhausted. With you, everything seems so much easier. I'm not overthinking how much you like me or if you will laugh at me when I trip"

"I will absolutely laugh at you when you trip." Chat Noir nodded solemnly, and Ladybug shoved him.

"Shut up, Chat." The two laughed until Ladybug turned her head out to the view again. She trained her eyes up at the sky, the first stars twinkling above her. "He might always have a small piece of my heart, but it's time for a change."

"Even though changes are dangerous?" Chat Noir hesitantly asked. Ladybug shot him a look.

"Weren't you the one who said changes can be wonderful as well?"

"Just making sure that this is absolutely what you want."

"It is. I-." She bit her lip, was she really doing this? Her head had gone silent, accepting its loss in the war. "I love you, Chat Noir."

He sucked in a harsh breath.

"Really?"

"Really." She nodded shyly.

"I love you too." He whispered at her, eyes shimmering as if she had just granted him his deepest wish. It occurred to her that perhaps she had. She was blushing, of course, but she was also smiling so widely it hurt. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled like that.

"Good." She paused, running over their conversation in her head. Something was still tickling her in the back of her mind. Then it occurred to her.

"You know I never asked, you were the one who brought up change, why?" She scooted closer to him, not hesitating to soak up his warmth.

"The school year is ending, like you said, everyone is asking me what I'd like to be and I have no idea. But I do know one thing," he smiled down at her and Ladybug could hear the line before he said it, "I know that I love you."

Didn't mean hearing it was any less surreal.

"I love you too." She said again, and how good it felt to say it. Her heart had won and she was going to lap up its victory in every way possible. There was just one thing left to do.

"Can I kiss you?" She whispered.

"Absolutely." Chat Noir squeezed her hand and leaned in.

When their lips met, Ladybug was struck by how right it felt. They fit each other perfectly, two halves of the same whole. It was undeniable now that things would change, there was no way they could go back to normal after this. But as they drew apart and Ladybug saw the clear love reflected in Chat Noir's eyes, the love she knew was written all over her face, she couldn't help but think Chat Noir was right.

This change would be dangerous, but it would also be wonderful. Her heart had won, she was satisfied and happy and best of all, in love. Take that, universe.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I'm getting out of my hiatus and into the swing of things, my writing might be a bit more clunky than usual. I know this was kinda of a challenge to write, however, I still really enjoy the end result. Don't worry, more classic Ladynoir is to come, thank you all for your support! -Colorado