Something new

chapter 22

"I can't believe it. You. (Name) (Lastname), are talking to Adrien Agreste like he's your friend." (Name) slapped Nathaniel's shoulder and rolled their eyes. "I wouldn't call him my friend, ew. But he isn't as bad as I first thought."
Nathaniel blatantly stared at them, "I know. He's a mommy's boy. but YOU saying that? What happened to 'Fuck rich people'?", he laughed out.

(Name) blushed out of embarrassment, "I still won't change my mind on that, EAT THE RICH!.. But Adrien really isn't a Chloe Bourgeois." They said, smiling a bit.
Nathaniel smirked but didn't say anything, he just went to eat his sandwich.

"Hey Guys, what are you talking about?" Mark asked, sitting down next to Nathaniel.
"(Name) is growing soft on rich people." Nathaniel answered, Mark just sipping on his orange juice packet, "Mhm, keep going." (Name) got annoyed, "I am NOT growing SOFT on ANY-" "Hey (Name)!" They got interrupted.
"I wanted to apologize about what happened during the weekend again." Adrien continued, avoiding eye contact.

"I wasn't thinking straight, I just wanted you to be safe and-" "-Relax, Agreste. I'm not dead, am I?" (Name) laughed it off and punched his shoulder lightly for him to relax more. "Like I said, if you should do this again I'll make sure your own father won't even talk to you anymore."
"He already doesn't-"
"BUT THAT PROBABLY ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN SO SOON SINCE YOU WON'T DO IT AGAIN, RIGHT?" (Name) didn't hear what he said, but Mark and Nathaniel definitely did.

Adrien laughed at (Name), "Yeah, it won't.", he reassured, smiling at them.
"Good." They smiled back.

Meanwhile Mark and Nathaniel kept texting how (Name) grew soft and how Adrien has serious father issues.
_______________________________

"I don't know if it's you, but now that you talk to me I keep getting involved with villains. Something isn't adding up."
(Name) said to Chat Noir, who was visiting them, again. (Name) was doing their homework on the floor and eating ice cream while Chat Noir was watching them, also eating ice cream.
At this point (Name) wasn't questioning his visits anymore, Chat Noir became like a house pet that sometimes saves the city and just walks around your house, you know, like every cat.

Before Chat Noir could respond to this, they continued, "And the thing is, I'm not even scared of those akuma attacks, I got used to them. HOWEVER, WHEN I AM THE TARGET-"
Chat Noir laughed at their irritation. "Well, how scared do you think I am when I'm the one who has to FIGHT them?" Chat Noir said, licking his ice cream.
"Nuh-uh, you have superpowers AND a girlfriend with superpowers to defeat them. We are not the same." (Name) shot back, smiling.

Chat Noir wasn't smiling though, "What do you mean, 'girlfriend'?"
(Name) stopped smiling, they sat up on the ground confused, "Isn't Ladybug your girlfriend?"
Chat Noir shook his head, "No, we're just partners."
"But, you always flirt with her??" (Name) asked again, thinking about the many times he flirted with her on the ladyblog and the news.
"Well, because.. Uhm.."
He inhaled deeply and then exhaled again. "I love her."
(Name) nodded, understanding the situation more. "How did you two meet anyway? Like when did you two decide to partner up? Were you in love with her then too?"
Chat Noir waved his hands frantically around, "No, not like that. I didn't decide to partner up with her, we don't know each other outside from hero work." He tried to calm (Name) down.

Well, that didn't calm them down. "What do you mean you don't know each other outside from hero duty??" (Name) was about to ask a question they really didn't want the honest answer to.
"..Chat, you know Ladybug's identity, right?"
Chat Noir didn't understand their concern and just answered honestly, "No, of course not. We're not allowed to know each other's secret identity for safety reasons."

Ah, there it is. The answer I DIDN'T want to hear.

"Are you serious, my guy??" (Name) asked, getting up from the ground.
"You mean to tell me, you fell in love with someone you don't even know?!" , Chat Noir immediately got defensive, "I fell in love with her for her passion, her kindness. I didn't need to know much about her to know that she's a great person!" He put his hand on his chest, where his heart is. (Name) rolled their eyes, trying not to get mad at him. "Chat Noir, you fell in love with nothing but a sweet fantasy. You can't tell me that you're the same person outside your hero duty as you are inside your hero duty."

He stopped for a second. His expression looking hurt.

"When I'm Chat Noir, I'm the person who I want to be, who I really am, (Name). And I can tell that Ladybug is too." "You don't even know her name!" "I don't need to know her name to know that she's perfect!" He shot back, (Name) started gripping their hair, mad at his stupidity.
"Then tell me, how old is she, Chat Noir?"
He wanted to answer but knew that no matter what he would say now, it would be wrong.

"Do you know how fucked up that actually is?"

"No, It's not! It was love at first sight!" He yelled back, he didn't mean to yell, but right now he was hurt, not by (Name), but by the feeling he cheerished the most.

(Name) stared at him, his back being the only thing that faced them. Their hands calmed down.
After a couple seconds they sighed, "..I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad."
They took the empty ice cream bowls and put them on their desk.

Chat Noir finally faced them again, (Name) was looking at him and reached out their hand, "Come on, let's sit down on the balcony."
Chat Noir let (Name) hold his hand and they went to sit down on the balcony, where (Name) then let go of his hand. It wasn't for long but it still helped him regain control of his emotions.

They sat down for a couple seconds, no one saying anything.
Then (Name) spoke up again, "Look, I didn't mean to make you upset. But I don't think I have to explain to you how messed up that just sounded."

He didn't say anything.
"What if Ladybug was a minor and you were a grown adult flirting with her?", they continued. "But I'm not an adult, you know that!" He said, looking (Name) in the eyes again.

"Yeah, I know that. But does she?" They responded. "Or imagine you weren't Chat Noir. What if that was a grown man flirting with a child. Yeah, cool, Paris's most loved superhero is a pedophile, we love to see it.", they explained further. Chat Noir understood what they were trying to say.
"Or what if Ladybug is an Adult. You're a child. Do you really think being in love with a woman in her mid 30s is that nice?"

He sighed, (Name) was right. And both of them knew that they were right.
"It's not..It, It doesn't even matter anymore. She has a boyfriend now, even if there wouldn't be a weird age thing, it still wouldn't make it okay for me to flirt with her."

(Name) looked over to him, his head was burried in his hands while his eyes were closed and full of guilt.

"Then.. maybe it's time for you to start looking for other people." (Name) said, putting their hand on his shoulder, making him look up to them.  "..Try viewing them from a different perspective.", they smiled at him, unsure if what they are saying is helping him in any way.

Chat Noir slightly blushed, still looking at them.

"Or don't. Just stay without a crush. It's pretty chill when your everyday life doesn't consist of thinking about one or more certain people. Crushes can be exhausting, dude."
(Name) said shrugging off everything they just said. "Most people suck anyway, so.." they laughed and fingergunned at him. They just wanted to cheer him up.
And it seemed to work, since he started laughing.
After he calmed down he just continued to smile at them while they smiled back.

"Thank you, (Name),"
"No problem, kitty."