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Ladybug glances at her partner. It's fucking weird.
Their hair, newly blonde to the point it could be called bright yellow, clashes heavily against the night-soaked slates; but everything else about them is soft. She never expected so much gentleness from anyone in her life, least of all the holder of the Miraculous of Destruction.
Even after a month — an eternity for high school relationships — they still give her butterflies. The irony is not lost on her.
Ladybug hasn't asked about their come-to-Gimmi moment; they haven't asked about her little chat with, well, the other Ladybug. It's a sign of love in itself, she thinks, that they can have secrets for each other — yet somehow not have secrets for each other. If that makes sense.
A lot about this situation doesn't make sense.
“Hey.” Ladybug realises, as she lays there on the rooftop, that her life is pretty great right now: which means she needs to set it on fire. “I think we should get a third.”
At first, Claw doesn't say anything — because what is there to say? She just threw a grenade at their relationship. Because Ladybug is still Shadybug, and Shadybug is still Marinette, and Marinette still doesn't know how to love.
Claw watches her with huge catlike eyes, the colour of battery acid; their claws batter the cold slates, a requiem for what could have been.
“'Kay,” they say at least, shocking words tumbling from unpainted lips. “Can I choose?”
Well, fuck. She doesn't know what to say to that.
“Uh, yeah…? I mean, do you have someone in mind?”
“Kinda.” Ladybug regrets everything she's ever thought about secrets. “Do you have someone in mind?”
“Well, no… I just wanted to see how you'd react.”
“Was that a test? Did I just fail?”
“Not exactly.” She could cause a scene right now — it would be so easy. Justified, almost. “Is it someone I know?”
“Duh!” Claw Noir shrugs, because apparently, none of that matters half as much to them as it does to her. “It's a third partner, not a side piece — so it should be someone the both of us want to kiss.”
“And that other person you want to kiss is…?”
“My buddy Nino.”
“Nino?! The water pistol guy?!”
“It's a very cute water pistol.” Claw huffs and puffs, a hint of blush seeping below his mask. “But if you don't want to kiss Nino, I suppose we could ask Alya...”
“No. No way in Hell.”
It's not like Marinette — Shadybug — Ladybug hasn't thought about it before; but she can't exactly afford to question her sexuality right now. Besides, Alya sees right through her façade, always, and that's scary as shit.
If there's going to be an intruder in their relationship, it better be someone she can handle… although, she never pictured Nino of all people as a homewrecker.
“Nino is fine,” she says, against all probability.
“Right? So fine,” Claw agrees, folding his arms below his head. “I think you frighten him a little.”
“Good.” They laugh. She's dead serious. “I hope he can handle the both of us.”
She hopes she can handle the thorn in her heart.