His golden hair, in sharp contrast to the dark and overcast skies above, whipped around his face entrancingly, letting the lights of the balcony illuminate his perfect jawline's silhouette.

I drew in a sharp breath, before approaching him and stopping, just a few feet away from where he was seated on the black railing. "Hey," he whispered, as if sensing my blank stare. He caught my eyes perfectly as he craned his neck towards me. "Don't I even deserve an hello?"

Tears stung my vision, and I bit my tongue in order to keep from whimpering or uttering words in a haste. His ears drooped, and he crossed the railing to stand before me, palms spread up as a sign of surrender.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, and I could no longer take it. I lunged myself at him, fists colliding repeatedly, like a pendulum, against his hard leather chest.

No matter how hard I bit my tongue, or the side of my cheek, I could not help the anger that tumbled out of my mouth in coherent sentences. "You! You indespicable cat! You run out on me, let me face my demons alone, turn up after days, and say hey?!"

I felt his hands wrap around my wrists and pull it down to my sides. "I-I never really expected — father, he— I'm sorry." His head hung, as a marionette would without its lifeline. My heart dropped, and I took a step back.

"F-forget it."

The glint of hope in those swirling emeralds were too much for me to bear without having anything to squeeze my frustration and adoration out on. As any sane person would do, I clenched my fists. His eyes traced the action, and he grimaced, throwing his hands up in surrender once again.

I narrowed my eyes down at him. Who was he even kidding? Colette Blanchard? Heck, never! "What?"

"Look," I started, trying to put in as much sterness as I could, both into my tone as well as my stance. I might not be clad in my super Ladybug suit, but I had valor enough to face a kitten bigger than this, alright? "I'm only going to stay here for a while, and I don't wish to let whatever we have going down the drain during that period. S-so, please just forget it."

Sad eyes met horrified greens, any previous trace of fury dissipating, an unspoken agreement sealing itself.

"How do you know?" he managed after a long while of just looking deep into the other's soul, venturing further into the lands and exploring what the other had to offer with a mere gaze. "That — that you'll be returning to your world?"

The atmosphere was thick with tears, but I managed to choke out what I thought sufficed for an answer, with how less I was feeling of the said emotion.

"I just know, okay?! There's no point questioning how! I have got more things to worry about, right now. Like this 'Beep' person who has ruined everything I pained myself for."

Whatever snapped in him, I had no clue. Whatever went out inside me, that was a question too. The next thing either of us knew, it was leather against fabric, his grip warm and possessive over my small figure, his voice barely above a whisper. "Are you hurt?"

"Tad."

I couldn't believe my voice, or the compromising position I was in. Being held in such a way, as if letting go would mean eternity, was never something I received; it has all been offering, giving, but never taking. For once I was on the receiver's side, and it made me crazy with inexplicable heat spreading across my cheeks.

"Should I patch you up, Coco?"

I blinked back the unshed moisture clouding my eyes. The nickname I had longed to hear was back, and better, it was being whispered to the wind surrounding me while locked in a moonlit embrace. "Do you know to?"

"Well, no." Came his sheepish reply, and I felt him shift slightly, caressing my head. Drawing in a sharp inhale, I let myself melt into his arms for a fleeting moment.

Then, I let my hand trace the back of neck gently, before dropping them to the sides. As much as I would have loved to been at it for hours, days, months, years, even, I shouldn't be getting addicted to the one boy I cannot have, thanks to an entire universe between us.

"That will not be necessary," I supplied, pushing him back and taking a step away. His face faltered, nevertheless, he wore a genuine smile, as if he had seen the sun after a long winter. Sun. . . Alarm shot through my veins when I realized it was almost dusk. "Alya already did, and I've got to go. Tikki, spots on!"

The red kwami whirred through the hatch and entered my earrings. I closed my eyes as the flash of transformation blinded the surroundings.

Soft leather covered my arms, before the familiar feeling of the mask sprawling over my eyes sent goosebumps afresh my skin. I felt my waist for my weapon. It was there.

With my yo-yo in my hand, I swung it to the nearby lamppost, only to be held back by the wrist by something, someone: Chat.

"Wait, where?" he asked urgently, his eyes scanning me for a bare second.

"The letter. Ask Alya."

With that, I wriggled out of his, oh, so wretched, grasp, and leaped into the Parisian air. It was a fresh feeling I had missed the past few days, but just a simple glance of him made sure to sweeten the hour. It was a panorama of reunion, a view I would forever etch in my mind.

The darkening skies were casting looks of longing. I swore a secret smile when I heard him shout behind me. "I'm joining too! It's us against the world, remember, Ladyette?"