Chat Noir had come up with many plans over the years; from wining and dining his Lady, to extravagant displays of affection, including fireworks. Each and every one was great, but this year it was different. This year it mattered more than ever, because this year he was wooing his girlfriend for Valentine's Day instead of trying to cat ch the girl.

They'd been together for nine glorious months, and he'd planned their first Valentine's Day down to the nth degree.

He would set up the rooftop where he'd first declared his love — candles, picnic blankets and roses. But this time he had one more trick up his sleeve, something he should have thought of all those years ago.

Balloons.

A huge bouquet of extraordinary balloons.

He'd purchased her favourite colours, her favourite shapes: hearts, kitties...he had it all.

She said she didn't want him to go too ott, and to be honest he didn't think he had. What were a couple dozen personalised pastries from Tom and Sabine's bakery, a few hundred scented candles, three dozen red roses and twelve balloons? Not enough! That's what it was.

She deserved more than this, but he had to draw the line somewhere (Plagg had convinced him the white doves and dancing swans were taking it a little too far — for this year at least).

So, here he was. Leaving the party shop, balloons in hand ready to woo his Lady like he'd never woo'd her before. Hopefully after all this effort he'd be going home with a kiss or two...or more! Dozens seemed to be the theme of the day, so why not a dozen kisses too?

"Now, make sure you hold onto them tight. You don't want them floating away before you reach your destination."

Chat Noir saluted the shop keeper as he hopped, skipped and jumped out onto the street, balloons in hand, and the pièce de résistance to his plan.

Oh, yes! Today was going to be purrfect .

Strolling down the street, Chat Noir couldn't help whistling a little tune as he walked. He knew he could have run across the rooftops, but where was the fun in that? He wanted to walk the streets and for everyone to know Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug. He'd finally got the girl. And he treated her like the Queen she was!

Strutting his stuff, he saluted to awestruck fans and high fived small wannabe superheroes, greeting everyone who passed him as he made down the street.

All until he felt something wrap tightly around his leg, and something which couldn't be more than five-years-old.

Unsure what to do, Chat Noir pursed his lips and pointed down to the girl, hoping someone who passed would claim the small child and take her from his thigh. Having her in that position was a little too close for comfort, and not at all to his liking. Last thing he needed today of all days was to be arrested for inappropriate behaviour.

The girl suffocating his left leg suddenly started to sob, looks of concern were sent his way from passers-by, each of them giving that look you give broken parents. Where was this girl's mother?

He moved his balloons around, attaching them to his belt whilst he petted the young girl on the head with his other.

"Now, now," he said, "what's the issue dear?"

Oh great! Now he sounded like one of the trolls from Frozen.

"I — I've — I've lost my Maman," the girl wailed, screaming loudly as she cried. Pulling up his metaphorical superhero underpants, because that would not be an ideal thing to do right now, he considered the options of what he could do next.

He'd read somewhere about distraction and if you could distract someone enough you can alter their train of thought, and hopefully in this case stop the screaming. He thought it was Beloni at the time, however, right now it was worth a try.

"Would you rather be a fish squirrel or a bat squirrel?"

The young girl suddenly stopped crying and looked up at him, she sniffed as she stared, bringing her wrist up to her nose and rubbing sharply. Excellent, it was working. "Huh?"

"You know?" Chat Noir said, bending down on one knee and coming eye to eye with the girl. The entire position feeling a lot more appropriate. "Would you want to be a fish squirrel or a bat squirrel?"

"I can't be a squirrel. I'm allergic to nuts."

Chat Noir dropped his head and sighed. "Yeah, you and most of the under ten population."

He looked back up, plastering a smile on his face. "Ok then, what animal do you want to be?"

She didn't even give it a second thought. "I want to be Bluey!"

"Bluey?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Bluey! You can be Dad."

"Oh, woah, woah, woah ! I'm a cat, not a dog."

He watched the crumpling face of the child, a face which, if not fixed soon, was about to explode. Yikes, that trembling, bottom lip was quite a heartbreaker.

"I'll be Bandit! Yes, of course! I love Bandit! Couldn't think of a better animal!" He bit his lip praying that he wouldn't end up in hell for his lies. He was brought up better than this.

He watched as she reached into the small bag on her hip and pulled out some type of Tamagotchi. This was not going to go well.

"Dance mode!" She pressed the button on the front of the Tamagotchi and music blasted out. She looked at him expectedly.

Right... Dance mode!

Checking the balloons were tightly attached to his belt, Chat Noir started to dance, everything from the moonwalk to the Macarena.

The small girl started to clap, dancing around with him and giggling her head off. He grabbed her hands, spinning her around and jumping up and down in a circle. What was that old saying? If you can't beat them, join them?

As they continued to dance, crowds gathered round, phones popping out and most likely posting it live on TikTok. Families were joined by couples and other tourists, each clapping and cheering as he danced with this small child. She was having the time of her life and he was almost certain everyone else around was.

His name began to be chanted. A feeder for his ego, and not in the best way. He picked her up and began to spin her around, her foot getting stuck in the strings of the balloons and loosening one enough to set it free. Placing her down, Chat Noir looked up at the helium filled foil as it made its great escape up into the sky, and straight into a chimney.

The crowd watched with him, all wincing as the sound of a pop floated its way down from the once inflated balloon. Damn!

"Isabella! Isabella!"

A woman ran around the corner, almost swinging a full 360 around the lamppost like a well trained pole dancer. She grabbed her daughter and cradled her head into her shoulder — suffocating the small child as she squeezed the life out of her.

"Oh, thank god!" She rocked the child side to side, as Chat Noir took a step back and waved to the parting crowd. "Don't you ever run off like that again!"

"Maman, why are you crying?" Isabella asked, wiping her small fingers over her mother's wet cheek.

"Thank you!" The woman said. "Thank you so, so much Chat Noir. Isabella is my world."

Chat Noir smiled. "You're welcome, and here..." He parted the strings of the balloons, taking a pink heart and handing it to the girl. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mini Bug. Thank you for dancing with me."

The girl flung her arms around his legs once more, balloon tightly held in her hand before turning and striding off with her mother, both sending him a grateful smile and a wave before they rounded the corner and disappeared.

So his dozen balloons were now down to ten. That was okay. There were still plenty there, including the specially designed ones. Bowing to a couple more of the onlookers, he continued forward and to his Lady.

Nothing was going to dampen his day.

*****

"You're moving the wrong way. Shell is just to the right, not the left."

"I am moving to the right!" Chat Noir hissed. He'd never hissed in his life but he'd been stuck up this tree now for almost 10 minutes and Shell was being stubborn and not coming to him.

"That's not your right!"

"I'm quite sure it is," Chat Noir huffed back, pulling his body more to the right, which was most definitely not the right direction — pun intended.

"Don't answer me back, young man, that's not how you speak to your elders!"

Before he could comprehend what was happening, something started whipping him quite aggressively on the back of the thigh, and his butt. He thought his tail may have started to have a mind of its own, maybe it didn't like the little kitty he was trying to save. But as he looked down he noticed his tail was exactly where it should be and a long, thin stick was whipping him.

"Hey, cut that out... please! "

"I will do, when you move to the right?"

"I am moving to the right!" he shouted through gritted teeth.

A young, loved up couple walking past stopped and stared up at him. He smiled graciously, indicating the balloons currently attached to the railing on the side of the park. "Take a balloon! Happy Valentine's Day!"

The couple nodded, messing with the balloons as the old woman continued to strike him with the stick. She had quite the arm on her for someone of her age and height.

"Will you quit hitting me?" he demanded.

"I will when you move to the left!"

Chat Noir froze, stared down at the lady and slowly began to count to ten.

Remember how your Maman raised you! Remember how your Maman raised you! Remember how...

He pursed his lips. "You want me...to move...to the left!" Why was he a sucker for helping people out? He'd just wasted at least 15 minutes moving in the wrong direction — which he knew because he could see the goddamn cat.

"Of course I want you to move to the left! That's where Shell is."

He closed his eyes, only to be whipped again by the angry old lady with the fiery personality. He couldn't help but wonder if this was what his Lady would be like in her 70s. He chuckled to himself at the thought, resulting in a quick whip to his butt.

"Ouch! Will you stop it!"

"No sleeping on the job, you damn cat!"

Great! Now she was insulting him!

He shuffled across the branches, trying not to panic too much as they creaked under his weight. He looked to the side, just checking his balloons were still there. Three down, but nine beautiful ones left. They'd been dating for nine months. It was a perfect amount.

"Hey, Kitty," he said, to the beautiful cat. Shell's coat was a beautiful shade of grey with tiger stripe details, an Asian tabby if he wasn't mistaken. "Come here. Your batshit crazy owner wants you home, though if she treats you like she did me, I can see why you're hiding up here."

A twig flew through the air, falling back down and conking him on the head.

"I heard that!" Crazy Miss Daisy said from her position on the ground.

Note to self: she has good hearing, and if you insult her again it's most likely she'll be throwing up something a little more damaging. Like a chainsaw — or a grenade.

"Sorry, Ma'am."

Holding his hands out towards Shell, he was relieved to see the cat launch from his spot in the branch into his arms and nuzzling into his arms and nuzzling at his neck. The purring from the cat was infectious, and, as he climbed back down with the pretty kitty, he found himself purring with it. The two variations of the same action created a strange symphony.

"Shell, my baby!" The woman stepped forward and tried to snatch the cat from his arms, the cat's claws digging into him for dear life.

A couple more pulls and Shell was with his owner — along with a layer of Chat Noir's suit. "Hey, we were bonding there."

The woman laughed, stepping forward and pinching Chat's cheek. "You're such a cheeky little stray, aren't you?"

"Stray?" he announced in shock. "I'll have you know I belong to a very special lady."

"Of course you do," she said, patting his cheek, not so gently. "Now, I'll take a pink one please. They're my favourite colour."

He stared at her puzzled. A pink one?

"Come on. I don't have all day. I have Bingo with Janet at noon and she will be so jealous of my Valentine from Kitten Noir." She stretched a hand out like a toddler reaching for candy. She wanted a balloon? One of his balloons?

Chat Noir pointed to them where they were attached to the railing, only to find them gone.

"You know what? Forget it! All you heroes are the same. Entitled kids! You know in my day we didn't get any of these superpowers. If we wanted to blow something up, we had to do it ourselves."

Chat Noir looked from the woman to where he'd placed his balloons. He was sure they were on the railing...

As he looked down the street, he noticed the marvellous display of pink and red moving down the road.

Oh, merde ! He'd attached them to a bike's handle.

Without saying a goodbye, Chat Noir ran down the road, waving his arms manically and shouting at the top of his lungs for the biker to stop. But most of all, he hoped the balloons would all be there and in one piece. He couldn't afford to lose another.

*****

The sweat was pouring off him by the time Chat Noir took a well deserved break in the park. He sat back and let his head drop, his eyes looking to the sky and studying the balloons floating over his head.

As soon as the guy riding the bike saw Chat Noir chasing him, he seemed to think it was some sort of elaborate game. So instead of stopping, he rode faster, weaving and winding between cars and through a couple of the busiest roads in Paris. Chat Noir had never wanted to cataclysm something so badly in his life. Luckily, Luka had been on his bike too and helped with the chase — but not without casualty.

Making his way back from the horrendous ring road that was the Arc de Triomphe, Chat Noir had to come to terms with the fact that his nine brilliant, beautiful balloons were now down to four. But still...four was better than zero and he would present them proudly to his Lady. She wasn't materialistic, but she always swooned at his gestures regardless of size, so hopefully she would this time too.

He sat on his usual bench, hoping Mr Ramier and Mr Banana would be around at some point to come and join him. He really needed to vent after the day he had, and they were both such great listeners. He held tightly onto the balloons, they weren't going out of his sight. No crying kids or cats stuck up trees would divert his attention. He had a one track mind: get to Ladybug. After he'd had a moment or two's rest.

As he sat waiting, he waved to a couple of people passing, and wishing others a Happy Valentine's Day — all until he saw Marinette and Alya at the fountain.

They were huddled around something and he couldn't help feeling intrigued. He looked at his balloons and pursed his lips. It was only a couple of metres to them. He was sure he could make it, say a quick hello and then carry on to the rooftop.

What could possibly happen in such a short distance?

Standing up with determination. He stepped forward, balloons tightly in his grasp and every step a metaphorical middle finger to his supposed bad luck.

One metre to go.

"Heads up!"

His reactions were too slow, embarrassing really for a superhero, but as he was suddenly showered with bird feed he knew nothing good was going to come from this, even more so as a diving army of bird's swooped down around him.

Mr Ramier's shocked expression as he commenced his journey to face planting the floor was the last thing he saw before his head was covered in pink foil. The telltale sign his balloons were no longer in the air, but instead on his head.

With a hard thump, he dropped to his knees, his hand reaching to remove the burst balloons as he tried to school his emotions by biting hard on his bottom lip.

His four balloons had been attacked, and now he had none. He looked at his hand, still holding the strings tightly as the balloons lay destroyed and scattered on the floor around him. He'd never seen anything so sad.

"Chat Noir?" A soft familiar voice spoke to him, another joining him on their knees. "Chaton?"

He looked up into the worried eyes of his friend. Marinette leaned forward and wiped a stray tear from his cheek. He didn't even realise he was crying.

"Hey, it's okay." She launched forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight, very much needed, hug. It was so soft and gentle; she was treating him like he was made of glass.

"I had a dozen," he whispered. He felt Marinette move her head around, probably looking at the ground around them.

"There's only four here, Kitty."

He nodded before starting to sob into her shoulder. "I know!"

"Hey, it's okay." She patted his head, stroking through his hair and scratching delicately behind his ears. He felt his sobs subside, a low, deep purr emitting from his chest.

"There you go." He could hear the smile in her voice, settling him more and causing him to purr louder. Great!

Marinette moved away from him, helping him up and onto his feet before prying the strings from his tight grasp, and leading him back to the bench he was just sitting on. Alya was currently helping a very apologetic Mr Ramier up and back onto his feet.

Chat Noir collapsed down, Marinette settling herself next to him and grabbing a hold of his hand. "So tell me, Kitty, what happened?"

"I just wanted it to be perfect," he sighed, Marinette's hand tightening around his.

"I'm sure it will be, you don't need anything to prove your love for your partner, it's obvious the way you are with her. She doesn't need anything, but you ."

Chat Noir shook his head. "She might not need it, but I wanted to give it to her. She's everything to me, Marinette. She's opened her heart to me and I want to thank her and show her how much she means. I've never had that myself and I swore I would never be as disregarding as my father is. When I love someone, I'm going to make sure they know just how much every single day. Whether they want it or not!"

It was true! Everything he did, every grand declaration was a way for him to show how much he loved her. He felt solace in that. He'd come from a family where love wasn't openly shown and he'd be damned if he ever turned into that.

"Then, let's get you sorted." Marinette stood up with such decisiveness, he almost fell off the bench.

"W-what? Are you doing?"

Sheer determination took over his friend's face. "If it's balloons you want, it's balloons you'll get!"

Chat Noir stood, but Marinette waved him off. "I've got this. You just sit and hold tight."

Slowly, Chat Noir eased himself back onto the bench, his eyes focused on Marinette as marched off and began to discuss something with Alya. Her arms were flying wildly in conversation, every now and then Alya looking over to him. Unsure what else to do, he lifted his hand and did a little finger wave, Alya raising one eyebrow and turning back to Marinette.

The owner of the Ladyblog nodded before pulling out her phone from her pocket and typing away, Marinette turning and giving him a thumbs up and the widest smile he'd ever seen. He gave her a thumbs up back. Thank goodness he trusted his friend. Though, he was a little worried about what Alya was currently doing, especially with such a look of intent in her face.

Suddenly, she turned her phone, snapped a picture of him and then continued to type. He blinked before being notified of an alert on his baton.

The Ladyblog.

He flicked his baton open, tapping on the alert and going straight onto the blog. There he was. Sitting like a sulking cat on the bench, the headline 'Please be my meow -entine.' Not the best pun, but at least she tried.

As Chat Noir began to read through Alya's latest article, someone came and tapped him on the knee. Removing his attention from his baton, he noticed a small child standing next to him — one which looked oddly familiar.

"Hey Isabella," he smiled, the little girl taking the greeting as a reason to climb onto his lap. He closed the baton and placed it down beside him, something bopping him on the head as he turned back to her.

She was holding three balloons.

"This is for you, Mr. Noir, I've bought you a present to say thank you." Isabella handed him two pink heart shaped balloons. She kissed him on the cheek, before clambering off.

"I - I don't know what to say. Thank you," he said hoarsely, the thickness in his throat building from the action of the small child. He'd never been more grateful. "I don't know how to..."

Looking past the girl, he noticed a line building to the side of him, each person holding a selection of pretty pink balloons. With his mouth gaping wide, he looked towards Marinette and Alya.

'Thank you' he mouthed.

Marinette smiled and nodded back as she headed with Alya in the direction of the bakery.

The crowd moved forward one at a time, handing the balloons over to Chat Noir and wishing him a Happy Valentine's Day.

This was incredible.

Ending with double the amount he started, he stood from the bench with a smile on his face and an incredible love in his heart.

That was until he prepared to move away.

"From the ladies at Bingo!" The old woman and her cat stood before him, thrusting what looked to be six balloons in his face.

"I - um - wow! Thank you!"

She grunted something incoherent as she turned and stalked away.

"This really means a lot!" he called after her. She continued to walk away from him, waving her hand as she did. He'd take that as 'your welcome'.

*****

Finally feeling worthy of such a romantic day (well evening now, thanks to the setting sun), Chat Noir grabbed his baton and extended it, set on making his way to their rooftop and preparing for their evening. He was as light as a feather, as happy as a clown, as...

Skidding to a halt, he almost toppled over the edge as he saw what was ahead of him in the distance. She'd beat him to it.

On their usual rooftop was Ladybug and a whole array of romantic gestures. Candles, flowers, teddy bears, an incredible table set up complete with cloches over the plates. Everything you needed, except balloons.

"Hey Kitty," she called out to him, the smile plastered on her face.

He leaped over to their rooftop, before settling his baton behind his back and resting against a chimney.

"I see you have some balloons."

He smiled. "Well, I had to find a way to let My Lady know she lifts me up."

Ladybug snorted, moving closer and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I will ignore the cheesiness of the pun."

He handed them over to her, her eyes widening. "There's so many. There's no wonder I couldn't get any, you've bought them all."

She gave him a look telling him she knew, of course she did. It seemed everyone in Paris did.

"You know, don't you?"

She nodded before giggling. "You know what else I know." She moved closer to him, playing with the bell at the base of his neck.

"I know that I have the sweetest —" She kissed his cheek. "Most caring —" She kissed his other cheek, this time catching the corner of his lips. "Most wonderful boyfriend in the world. And he needs to know how much I love and adore him, because I do. I've always believed I didn't need anyone. That I can do everything by myself. But when you look at me, you really see me, this really does work. And I am just so grateful to be loved by you. I know I sometimes come off cold, or withheld , but just know I appreciate you so much. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

Sniffing, Chat Noir wiped under his eyes. "Out of all the speeches you've given over the years, that one's my absolute favourite."

Snorting, she pushed him away from her, Chat Noir taking the opportunity to move to the table and attach the balloons to the back of a chair.

"Dance with me My Lady." He walked around to her offering his hand which she took instantly.

The sun lowered, casting a wonderful glow around her as he pulled her against his body, swaying them to the sounds of the city, not bothered by the lack of rhythms and melodies, as her head lay flat against his chest.

Their lips met in a lingering kiss, a sweet blend of passion and tenderness that left them breathless, the world fading away in that stolen moment — until a firework went off in the background.

"Yours?" she asked.

Chat Noir shrugged. "Well, our love is explosive!"

As they both laughed, she stretched up onto her toes again, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him towards her.

"You're the light of my life." He smiled widely as she rolled her eyes.

"You can stop it now!"

"I wanted the night to end with a bang."

"They're getting worse, Chaton."

"We have quite the spark!"

"Shush!" Shutting him up, Ladybug kissed him once again, his hands grabbing her waist and pulling her close as they became one on their favourite rooftop.

Their first Valentine's Day may not have gone quite his way but he was sure he could make up for it... after all, their official one year anniversary was growing closer and closer.

He couldn't wait!