#artisticflutter

“Chat Noir,” she grumbled, landing on one of the platforms of the Eiffel Tower with him, “this better be important or I promise that this will be the last thing you ever do.” She pulled her yo-yo off of its anchor, wrapping it back around her hips. The black cat hero swallowed hard. His lady, hero of Paris and protector of all things good, was menacing when she was angry; more so when the moonlight was glowing behind her, casting her in shadow except for her eyes that were blinding in the dimness around her. He chuckled nervously.

“I promise it’s good my Lady. Definitely not a waste of your precious time.” She crossed her arms.

“Chat….”

“No, seriously,” he stopped her, placing his baton back in its spot. His tail moved slowly behind him and like her, his eyes glowed in the darkness around them. Only his face was twisted in a brilliant smile instead of the frown that crossed hers. Chat stalked towards her and gently took her hands; she allowed this but rolled her eyes. “It’s good. Close your eyes.”

She sighed and did. It warmed his heart to know that she trusted him so implicitly to do as he asked. He squeezed her hands. The night air around them was cool. Winter was finally setting in as the Christmas holiday was upon them and he knew that this time of year was stressful for his lady because of what she did outside of the mask. Sure, they’d talked over the years. Just a bit and every now and then. It had been about a month ago, during November, that she had admitted to him that she was a crafter and fashion designer in her everyday life. Therefore, the months of November and December were the hardest months for her. She took commissions. Plus there was, of course, her own friends and family members she had to make gifts for. Since she had so many, she had started early, back in July, but that didn’t mean that she had kept up with her tasks or hadn’t pulled a couple of all-nighters or that she hadn’t been asked last minute by other people to make some kind of gift. To say her stress levels were through the roof was an understatement. She needed a break.

A break was exactly what Chat had in mind for her.

Ever since that night, she had done her best to keep quiet about everything but he could still sense it. It boiled in the pit of her being, nearly bubbling over a couple of times, but she always managed to stamp it back down and return to being the hero that Paris wanted to see. It worried him. It worried him at how good she was at pushing it down. He wasn’t dumb. He knew that a person could only do so much before the bottling became dangerous for them.

“Right this way my Lady. I promise not to let you fall!” She huffed again.

“I know you won’t Chat but could we please get on with this? I have a lot of things I need to be doing.” He chuckled and pulled her forward.

Ladybug trusted him with her whole being. After all, he was her most important partner. How many times had she trusted him with her life and he had protected her against a fall or a fatal wound? Too many for her liking in all honesty but even in her current state of frustration, she couldn’t help but immediately trust him.

They moved in silence, the only sounds were the soft taps of their feet on the beams of the tower. Ladybug couldn’t help but grow more frustrated the longer they went. Finally she asked, “Chat Noir!”

“Almost there my lady.” He squeezed her hands. “Just a few more steps.” She huffed. Just as he said this, Chat stopped her before gently grabbing her shoulders and positioning her a certain way before stepping back as he counted, “Three… two… one… open your eyes!” She blinked her eyes open and wanted to nearly faint. It was stunning! Tied up between the steel beams was a white sheet with a projector some distance away which was surrounded by so many blankets and pillows. There was even a basket waiting for them. Fairy lights were strung up around the place as well, lighting it up nicely but not so outrageous that it wouldn’t be disturbing to their movie. Chat shuffled next to her.

He coughed, “I know… I know that you’ve been stressed out cause of the holidays or whatever and I just thought that you could use a day off so I went ahead and got all this together and I know that you’re busy but I was hoping you would stay and….” She reached up, gently touching a finger to his lips. He stopped immediately. A smile was on her face. Her eyes, no longer sharp with frustration, were softened and glistening with relief that he hadn’t seen in some weeks.

“Thank you Chat. It’s wonderful. I love it.” His shoulders slumped with equal relief. It didn’t last long as he perked up again, eyes brightening and ears going erect, as he grabbed her hand and pulled her forward to the pillows.

Ladybug was extremely grateful. As the evening progressed, they decided to watch The Polar Express, an appropriate holiday movie for the occasion, and eating warmed goodies from the Dupain-Cheng bakery (which made her giggle at the realization of where he had gotten them from). Chat sang along with each song. Of course he did it in the most over the top way possible, causing her to laugh until she couldn’t breathe. When it came to the scene where the train was magically drifting on the ice, he even dared to reach into a separate cooler, flinging cold water on her exposed skin which immediately prompted a water fight between the two of them that ended with them laying across the pillows breathless and laughing like a couple of little kids. She rolled over, smiling at him.

“Thank you Chat. I really needed this.” He smiled, rolling as well to look her in the face.

 “I know my lady,” he confirmed. He reached over slowly and brushed some hair off of her forehead. “I’m your partner. I’m supposed to know when you’re not doing well or when something’s wrong. I’m supposed to be there to help you when you need it the most; even if that means I help you realize that you need a night off.”

“You’re right,” she smirked, “but this is a two way street Chat.” She grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I couldn’t imagine having a better partner.”

“Of course not. I’m purrfect!”

She groaned, “And way to ruin the moment.” He laughed.

“I didn’t ruin it. I just made it more meownificant!” She swatted at his shoulder.

“You’re punlieveable!” He laughed louder, wrapping his arms around his mid-section as he rolled. Ladybug sat up then. “Let’s get this cleaned up. It’s getting late.” She held out a hand for him and once he was good, wiping a tear from the corner of his eyes, he smirked and took it.

What a lovely evening it turned out to be.