Apologies
Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug
Ship: Alix/Chat Noir
Word Count: 590
Warnings: None
Note: Done for a rare pair exchange on Ao3. For ProbablyVoldemort.
Alix gently laid her pocket watch on the bedside table and gazed at it for a moment. She'd been such an idiot, asking other people to take care of it for her. But she wouldn't be doing that again anytime soon. No more sporting events for this family heirloom. She was just grasping the string of her lamp as she turned towards bed when she saw a streak of black dart across her window.
In an instant she had replaced the lamp string with a baseball bat. She held it confidently in both hands as she moved towards the window. She made sure to stay behind the curtain as she edged closer. Then with one hand, she tossed them open abruptly before rearing back with her bat.
With a cry of surprise Chat Noir fell at her feet.
"What the-? Chat Noir?"
She lowered the bat as he picked himself up off the floor, laughing nervously.
"What are you, some kind of peeping tom?" Alix demanded as her confusion cleared.
"Of course not! I'm checking on all the students who were involved in today's incident," Chat Noir explained hurriedly. "In fact, one of them asked me to give you this note."
He held a folded piece of paper out to her between two fingers, slightly bowed. She took it, but only stared at the name written across the outside. His eyebrows knitted together in concern.
"Is there a problem?"
"This is from Adrien?"
"Is that a problem?" Chat Noir asked, a bit of his confidence slipping. "He seemed pretty sorry."
Alix unfolded the note as he spoke and scanned it quickly. It was an apology letter just as he said. A small part of her had thought maybe it would be a different kind of note. That someone like Adrien Agreste could notice her as something other than a friend. But, of course, rich, handsome models didn't notice tom girls that way. It wasn't that big of a deal though. Alix was used to being one of the boys, and it wasn't as if she had a crush on Adrien in particular. Sometimes it was just nice to be looked at that way.
"Yeah he does. But it's not his fault." She shook her head. "I'm the one who messed up."
Chat Noir put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to find a gentle, reassuring smile.
"Hey, the important thing is, your watch is okay, right?"
Alix nodded, smiling back.
"But I never thanked you for helping me fix it."
She threw her arms around Chat Noir's neck suddenly. She was surprised enough she'd been so bold, but more so when he returned the hug. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. It was a nice hug, warm and friendly. His arms had a tenderness she hadn't expected.
"No problem, my lady."
She pulled away, a little embarrassed, and immediately started pushing him back towards the window.
"Now get out of my room you peeping tom."
"I'm going, I'm going."
Chat Noir laughed as he jumped onto the windowsill in a crouch.
"Take care of that watch," he shot back over his shoulder before disappearing into the night.
Alix stared after him for a while. So, maybe a super hero who was rumored to be in love with his partner wasn't the best choice for a crush. But there was nothing she could do about it now. Maybe she should get akumatized more often, she thought with a devious smirk as she shut her window.