Day ten! Something a bit different today, but I really liked how this turned out. Introspection is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to write. Enjoy! -Colorado

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In the beginning, patrol was only strategic. A way to make sure there were no hidden akumas out there biding their time. Ladybug and Chat Noir would patrol different parts of Paris, never conversing with each other unless absolutely necessary. They'd say hello and goodbye, of course, but other than that patrol was spent apart.

Until one night Chat Noir had asked to join her. While she originally had thought he was doing it out of flirtation, she could see that something in his eyes was off. Apparently, he had a bad day and didn't feel like being alone. Well, Ladybug has had plenty of bad days before. She knew exactly (well maybe not exactly but pretty close) how Chat Noir felt. So she let him join her, there was no harm in it. Actually, patrol was a lot more fun when she had a friend by her side, who would've thought? Chat Noir, for the most part, kept his eyes trained on Paris, but every so often he would dare her to race or make a quip about something they saw. When Ladybug got home that night, she resolved to change their patrol schedule. Once a week they'd go on separate patrols without the other, and once a week they'd go on a joint patrol.

As it turns out, Chat Noir wasn't the only one happy about the development. The Ladyblog was suddenly getting a slew of admissions of Ladybug and Chat Noir being out together. Photos of them laughing together, running together, doing parkour together. Alya had a field day and Marinette got to hear all about it. She didn't mind though, she was glad to make her friend happy. Until Alya began to theorize that they were actually dating and in love. Marinette quickly excused herself after that.

Even as rumors flew around Paris as to what Ladybug and Chat Noir could possibly be doing in the night, the two of them kept up their patrols. The new schedule had worked well, each of them having a separate patrol, (with a promise to call the other if they needed back up) but their joint patrol seemed to be the highlight of Ladybug's week. Maybe not always the highlight of Marinette's week, but Ladybug's? For sure.

She still tried her hardest to keep patrols strictly to duty, but it was hard. Especially when the nights were quiet. There were no akumas, the police were doing a fine job at catching muggars and other criminals. They'd occasionally stop one, but without the power to arrest people it didn't do much good. So Ladybug tended to give into Chat Noir's silly challenges more often than not. Besides, the wild grin he gave her whenever she gave in made up for her letting her guard down. 

Chat Noir was such a jokester, Ladybug enjoyed her time with him. She knew he didn't mean half the things he said, so she had no problem rebuffing him. He would challenge her to pun-offs that he won by default. She would challenge him to parkour off of different buildings, just to test their agility! And on quiet nights, when Ladybug was absolutely sure there was no villain lurking out in Paris, they'd sit on a rooftop facing the Eiffel Tower and just... talk.

She had to admit, at first she was skeptical to let Chat Noir in more beyond a business partner. She would take absolute caution when it came to protecting her identity. But Chat Noir seemed to already know that and kept their conversations strictly to patrol, akumas, and the like. She decided to let him in. She was careful, of course, very careful. But small details like the food she ate that day or his very vague rants about the latest anime he was watching posed no risk. As it turned out, strengthening their relationship also strengthened their partnership in battle! Who would've thought? It was nice, being able to call him a friend. A friend who was constantly claiming he was in love with her, but she never let his joking flirtations get to her. They weren't real, after all.

And then they were. Chat Noir had asked them to meet up after one of their patrols, but Ladybug had already made plans. When those plans fell through, none other than Chat Noir showed up on Marinette's balcony to sweep her away. And that's when she learned for all the times she could've sworn he wasn't being serious, he was. All the hand kisses, all the "we're made for each other, bugaboo!"'s, they were reflections of his actual feelings. Marinette felt guilt rise up in her as she stared at the rooftop scene. It truly was beautiful. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to love Chat Noir, that night gave her just a taste. But she couldn't, not with Adrien in her life, it wouldn't be fair.

And she told Chat Noir just that. How much she cared about him as a friend, how much it pained her to do this. How she would never want to lie to him. He understood, albeit a little sad. He simply gave her the rose, a kiss on the cheek, and disappeared into the night. If Ladybug had blushed after his kiss, well, who could really blame her. 

Their joint patrol the week after had been a bit awkward, as one would expect after rejecting their friend, but Chat Noir seemed to take it in stride. He was still flirting with her, of course, but it seemed simultaneously more and less serious. Sometimes he would say things that were so absurd Ladybug could only laugh. But sometimes she would catch him looking at her, his face full of longing, and she felt that familiar guilt rise up in her.

But still, he reassured her that her friendship truly meant the world to him, even if he got a bit too caught up in his daydreams. He also said that if he ever overstepped Ladybug had his permission to give him a black eye. She laughed at that, luckily he hadn't overstepped yet. Or maybe Ladybug had just grown used to his flirting. At this point, it was simply part of their dynamic. 

Patrols were quickly becoming her favorite part of the week, only competing with the moments Adrien gave her extra attention. The two of them leaned on each other, and were constant sources of support. Besides, Chat Noir was genuinely the funniest person she'd ever met. They would spend patrols strategizing on how to track down Hawkmoth, joking about which akumas were the worst designed and easiest to defeat. She opened up on how she felt like she had to be perfect all the time, Chat Noir reassured her she didn't have to be perfect with him.

Maybe that's why she decided to change the patrol schedule once again. She got rid of their individual patrols, deciding to patrol three times a week with him. It made her day, and she knew it made his too. They never talked about it much, but the small hints Chat Noir had given her were enough. She knew he didn't have the best life when he wasn't Chat Noir. If giving him these simple hours of the day were enough, then she'd continue doing it no matter what.

She even opened up a little bit to him. She told him more about the other boy (at his insistence), she asked for advice on physics homework after learning they were the same age, at one patrol she created a makeshift monitor for the two of them to play Ultimate Mega Strike 3 together. Shockingly, she beat him every time. Then the two of them joined forces and completely decimated all online competition. What could she say? Her and Chat Noir were just great partners like that. 

So maybe patrols had turned into less of a super strategic way of catching Hawkmoth off guard and more into her and Chat Noir hanging out, but was that so wrong? Even when they were focused on fighting the good fight, they never did much. If they got too tied up in regular criminals, who knows what the effect on the police would be? And besides, her and Chat Noir simply hanging out not only strengthened their friendship and therefore their bond, it also allowed Paris to see a different side of their heroes. It showed Paris that Ladybug and Chat Noir were always watching over them. Even if "watching over them" sometimes meant sparring with each other's weapons and sometimes meant watching television shows on her bug phone.

Paris' reaction to their frequent patrols were exactly as Ladybug had hoped. She never minded Alya's excitement or signing autographs for kids when she was out. Although, Chat Noir was much better at dealing with the paparazzi than she was. He gave them silky pictures to be plasted on the news, gave his child fans flower crowns, all while reassuring Ladybug that she shouldn't be jealous. His heart only belonged to her. She tried not to think about his feelings for her too often. She was too scared about what would happen with her feelings if she did. She loved Adrien, not Chat Noir. She had to remember that at all costs. But she knew that was much easier said than done. 

One way or another, he had weaseled his way into her heart with joint patrols. While before he was her partner and friend, he was now one of her very best friends. He got to see a side of her no one else did, and he was in love with her! She had to admit, it was very flattering. She enjoyed her time with him immensely, she knew he cared about her, maybe it was time to give him a shot. And besides, it seemed like Adrien was going to date Kagami so maybe just maybe she could date Chat Noir, what's the worst that could-.

A world in shambles, her partner in white and blue, chasing after her screaming her name and begging for her to give him her miraculous, her own face crumbling with just a touch of her hand. A scene that would play in her nightmares over and over and over again. She couldn't love Chat Noir, she just couldn't. Luka was a much safer option.

But it hadn't worked out, her and Luka. Not with her running away all the time. And whenever she needed help, Chat was there. She knew that he knew the guardianship was taking a toll on her. Suddenly, she was the one asking to go get ice cream and go to the movies. Anything to distract her from the pain of her duties. She missed out on patrols that week, she missed Chat Noir more than she thought she would. Not that it surprised her anymore, she'd never admit it to anyone, but before Chat Blanc, she had given Chat Noir some real thought. But she couldn't, not when it caused the end of the world. So when she was suffering, she decided to not let Chat Noir in. For his own safety. Alya was a much safer option.

She missed more patrols. Her and Alya were too busy trying to create a plan to take down Shadowmoth once and for all. She figured that patrols with Chat Noir could wait, especially if this plan worked. Rena Furtive was born and for the first time since losing Master Fu, she actually felt hopeful about the future. But she kept on missing patrols. Chat Noir understood of course, but he did point out it was a bit of a hassle to keep waiting for her. So when she suggested taking back down patrols to just once a week, he listened. Thank God. She and Rena Furtive were onto something big here, even if she couldn't tell Chat Noir that. It was to protect him! She still had nightmares about Chat Blanc. Secrecy was a much safer option. 

But as a result she had nearly lost her partner. She loved her team, she really did, and perhaps she got so swept up in the fact someone knew her identity that she forgot to check in with Chat Noir. She missed more patrols, he only understood. Until he didn't and Ladybug had to cradle the cat miraculous ring in her hand. 

He had come back to her, but the few days without him had been pure torture. She couldn't do this without Chat Noir. When she was nervous during their very first battle, he was the one who told her she could do this. When the entirety of their team had gotten revealed, he was the one who told her it was them against the world. When she began to skip out of patrols, barely pay attention to him, kept secret after secret from him, he only understood. She couldn't do this without him, how in the world had she forgotten that?

So she tried to make it up to him in the next battle, hesitating to get the team together. Until Chat Noir had told her to. And so she did, and they managed to take down Chloe once again. She started showing back up to patrols too. She knew it wasn't an apology, she knew she had to apologize, but she didn't even know where to start. So she tried to show it with actions instead of words. Giving him treats from the bakery when she could, telling Rena Furtive to maybe not keep an eye on their joint patrols, trying to joke and flirt with him like they once did. It didn't exactly work. He still joked with her, but his smile was subdued. When he flirted with her, his guard was up. She supposed she deserved that, but it still hurt.

That was until she lost everything. Her love for Adrien had been her fatal flaw again, it had led to Master Fu giving up his memories and it had led to her losing every single miraculous but her own and Chat Noir's. Yet, her partner was still there. Throughout all of the secrets, lies, their fights, he stood by her side regardless. She didn't know what she did to deserve him. She knew all of her secrecy was only to protect him, she needed to prevent Chat Blanc at all costs. But maybe it was that very secrecy that had harmed them.

In some ways, losing the miraculouses had allowed her to start over. To regain the trust and partnership she had with Chat Noir. And regain it she did. It felt so good for her to show up to patrols where he was giving her his real smile. It felt so good for the two of them to be joking again, like always. Every time he called her his lady her heart skipped a beat and-. Wait, what was that last part? That was new. And it wasn't just when he called her "My Lady," it was when he kissed her hand, or gave her that smile that was genuine she felt like she could burst. No, that had to just be because she finally had her partner back after all of her mistakes, right? No other reason, absolutely not.

When they decided to bring back patrolling three times a week, it was simply so they could stay alert for Monarch at all times. No other reason. Maybe Ladybug wanted to spend a bit more time with Chat Noir, but in a completely platonic way! She finally had her partner back, she wanted to cherish every little moment they spent together. Completely platonically, of course. Because what other option could there possibly be?

But then Darkest Owl showed her that her deepest desire was getting married to Chat Noir, so maybe there was something else there. And as soon as she realized that, all of the emotions she kept locked up and put away since Chat Blanc came rushing back to her. It was almost overwhelming how much she loved Chat Noir. How much she desperately wanted him in her life. How much she desperately wanted more than just friendship with him. Sure, maybe Adrien still had a small piece of her heart, but after all her mistakes, she couldn't afford to love him. Luka had once been the safer option, Alya had once been the safer option, but now? Now the safest option was Chat Noir, through and through.

And so she fell for him. Happily and wholly she fell for him. She ignored Tikki's and Alya's protests, honestly it was quite hypocritical of them to assume she was just in love with Adrien. Although seeing as she never told them about the first time she gained feelings for him, it made sense. But then Chat Noir surprised her again! He took out not Ladybug, but Marinette, on an incredibly romantic date and kissed her! Her! As Marinette!

And yet... she had almost gotten akumatized. Loving Chat Noir simply wasn't the safest option. It never was and never will be. And that small part of her that still clung to Adrien took over. Especially when he showed up the next day and declared his love for her.

So even as she was happily with Adrien, patrols were still a highlight of her week. Did she miss the flirtations from Chat Noir? A little bit. But the slew of compliments her actual boyfriend gave her far made up for it. They still joked around like normal, and they of course still cared deeply for one another, but it was now completely platonic (the small part of her that never moved on from her and Chat Noir's kiss is irrelevant).

Patrols had once been when they started their friendship, where their bond had grown under their care. It had also been where they rebuilt that same friendship, where Ladybug reassured her that only he was her partner and she apologized for making him ever think otherwise. Patrol was when they first revealed to one another they were dating people in their civilian lives. Like real friends. So patrol had always been important to them.

And it always would be. 

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I can't believe the original storyline has been wrapped up, it's kinda crazy how much these characters have changed and grown. Thanks for reading! -Colorado