Miraculous One-Shots!

Coupe De Foudre (Strikeback's Version)

It's raining. Of course it is raining. Reminiscent of that day, oh so long ago, when Ladybug felt like she could do anything. When Marinette fell in love. She sure as hell doesn't feel that way tonight.

They lost, her and Chat Noir, her and her partner, her and her...

No. The only person who lost tonight was Ladybug herself. She and Chat Noir hadn't been partners since God knows how long. She knows that she is pushing him away, but did she really have a choice?

If he got akumatized, he would destroy the world. Ladybug could not let that happen. So she relied on everyone but him. And where had that gotten her?

It got her here, where she cries in the rain to mourn. She had failed today, she had failed her teammates, she had failed the kwamis, she had failed Grand Mater Su-Han. And she had failed herself. Master Fu had lost two miraculous, she lost all but two.

She lost... everything.

"You haven't lost me."

Ladybug looks up, and there is Chat Noir. He is there, with an arm extended towards her. Words bubble up in her throat and before she can stop them, they pour out.

"Why don't you give up on me? I've lost all the Miraculous, I'm the worst guardian ever! I wanted to control everything, I didn't listen to you. I lied to you, I kept you at a distance. Every time you offered me a helping hand, I never took it. I really made a mess of everything!"

He stands there, listening to her. His arm still outstretched with a smile on his face.

Thunder rumbles in the background. And again Ladybug finds herself falling down, down, down... with no umbrella to protect her. Just him... Chat Noir, her partner.

What was it Alya said?

Ladybug hesitates, reaching her arm towards Chat Noir. He takes her hand and pulls her in. Rain falls around them, Ladybug can feel the drops hitting her head.

"My lady," He says as he hugs her. Ladybug melts, her cheeks red.

He hadn't hugged her in a long, long, time. Not since New York and God so much had changed since then. Still, he had never hugged her like this.

"We're going to get them back, one by one, until the very last." He tells her.

"You... and me?" She whispers. It sounds too good to be true. 

"You, the greatest superhero there ever was." He pulls back, but doesn't let her go. Ladybug watches him in awe. She has never seen him like this, so serious and yet he is still smiling. Letting the rain pour down on him.

I remember now.

"And me, your loyal partner." He continues. The word "partner" warms her heart.

It's not about waiting for the storm to pass,

Chat Noir lets her go with an encouraging smile, and turns out towards Paris. A crowd has gathered in their honor, chanting her name. Ladybug faces the crowd and the rain wipes her tears away.

But learning to dance in the rain.