"Plottwister, I trust you will carry out your plan carefully, and get me their Miraculouses. But if you happen to fail..."
"Do not worry, Hawkmoth, they will never suspect me. I just need to tear apart their feelings from the inside..."

A girl walked casually to school, locks of her long ebony hair bouncing behind her and lively brown eyes sparkling with determination.
She looked up, seeing flashes of red and green dashing across building tops.

Perfect...

She pulled something out of her pocket, something that would appear as a piece of paper to most.
But if anyone bothered looking closer, they would see a dark red butterfly cupped in her hands.
Taking it out, she gently blew it forward, assisting its flight up.

Fly away, my little akuma.

And let the drama begin...

...

Chat felt strange.
He felt... different.
Something just... bothered him.

So much so, that, he barely uttered any flirtatious comments towards Ladybug as they fought off Hawkmoth's latest akuma- Plague Bringer.
It was rather weak, too, giving him plenty of time to flirt and joke as he normally would- but it didn't feel... right.
As if he was betraying someone by doing so.

Ladybug seemed to notice this, but if she did, she didn't say anything.

After a few moments, they cornered Plague Bringer, easily bringing him down. Ladybug quickly cleansed the akuma, and Chat realized they didn't have to use their respective powers at all.

"Bien joue, Chaton. And it just me, Chat, or is Hawkmoth becoming a little lenient?"

Ladybug looked at him strangely, when he didn't reply, seemingly in a daze.
Rolling her eyes, she repeated her question.
When he didn't reply, she was genuinely filled with worry.
Something was off about her normally flirty, punny partner.

"Ch-chat? I-is somet-thing wrong?"
She quickly covered her mouth with a hand. She hadn't meant to stutter like that...

Chat finally met her gaze, smiling softly.
"I-I'm fine, LB. Purr~fectly claw~some."
He gave her a wink and two finger salute.
"And this cat needs to be fed. Au revoir!"
With that, Chat Noir dashed away, jumping buildings and clambering along the rooftops of Paris.

Ladybug hadn't realized she was still holding her hand out, the words Pound it! still on her tongue.
But all she thought of was how he didn't call her his lady, nor stick around.
It was lunchtime, the free time for every school-going child in Paris, meaning he could've stuck around for a chat.
But, instead, he leaped away abruptly, not even giving her a fist bump, as per usual.

Normally she shrugged off Chat's behavior, but today she felt stung.
Did he not like her anymore?
Did she say something wrong?
And why did she care so much?

Sighing, Paris's savior, the famed hero Ladybug, made her way back to school, cutting through a clear blue sky, the birds humming and leaves falling, a normal city day, leaving two confused superheroes out of it.

A/N

Sorry for the late update! Heh, I'm actually working on another story rn.
I've FINALLY got the cover done for it, and I'm kinda excited about it.
Is that weird?
*shrugs*
Oh well. I'm really REALLY sorry for the short chapter.

Goodbye for now, my little akumas!