It hit him like a train of bricks.
How could he have not seen the comparison earlier? It makes total sense! Only a fool wouldnāt put all the pieces together.
And oh, was he a fool. A big, dumb, ridiculous fool.
But atlas! He was able to come to his senses and he can proudly declare that he was no longer a fool.
Over the past year, he noticed how his friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the girl that lights up the entire room with just her presence, had grown to be an amazing, natural leader. The way she was able to help anyone, the way she creatively came up with any solutions, that sharp, calculating gaze when someone tried to bullshit her.
Okay, so maybe heās making it seem like he just thought of it one day and it made sense.
But reaally, it went more like that.
āKim, I need to leave.ā
āListen, buttercup. I know you have this weird heroism vendetta thing going on, but you cannot, under any circumstances, leave.ā
āMarinette Dupain-Cheng, I said no!ā
Marinette stared at him with such a deadpanned expression, you would have thought he was telling her no for something like ice cream. And definitely not because a 10-story robot was making its way down the road. Why did she always have to disappear? Canāt she see that he was just trying to protect her? Thereās a reason why he was picked as a miraculous hero!
She shook her head and stood up. āSince when do you get to tell me what to do?ā
āYou know I like my dominant girls, but you canāt just run out when thereās an akuma lose. Besides, we have to wait for Ladybug to show up.ā Kim said, matter-of-fact. Also, he might admit how scared he actually was. Because if Marinette ran away, he would have to come after to here, of course. Thatās what heroes do, right?
āWe canāt spend our whole time waiting for a polka-dotted heroin so Iām just gonna, uh, go.ā With that said, she made a run for it, only to be halted by Kim gripping her arm.
Kim stared at her, gaping as he couldnāt believe what he heard. He knew Marinette was more of a Chat Noir fan, but why was she so distasteful towards Ladybug? But all those thoughts were scrambled and scattered when he suddenly found himself on the ground, with a knee digging into his back. Holy s- when was she so strong?
āDude, what the fuck? Get off me!ā
He heard her grunt in frustration(what did she have to be frustrated about? He was trying to protect her from a dangerous and savage akuma!) before groaning. āYou leave me with no choice and I can hear Chat Noir frantic yells from here- and I cannot stand anymore of his puns at the moment.ā
He felt the weight lifted and immediately jumped to his feet. Despite how confusing what she said was, there was no way she was going to disappear from his sight.
At least, that was until he saw the wave of pink engulf his friend and standing right where the bakery girl was, was the spotted heroin herself. Unable to pick up his jaw from the ground, he felt himself slide down against a wall, utterly dumbstruck by what he witnessed. When she walked over to him, stared at him with that sharp piecing glare, he all but gulped, terrified at what fate had in store for him at the moment.
āStay here until I come get you.ā
And who was Kim to go against the demand of his all too powerful friend?
Of course Kim was too scared of her to even utter her hero name around others. And again, felt utterly stupid whenever he thinks about all the signs he missed.
But he had a fun time teasing her when he found out just who her partner was behind the mask.
So yeah, Kimās a fool. An loud, ridiculous, big-hearted fool.
But at least he wasnāt an oblivious fool.