#but also i love this song bc its so sad and angsty and also DOUGIE SINGS IT
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Power to Play Chapter 5
A series of ficlets each based off a song from the McFly album Power to Play
AO3
Prev//Next
I'm Fine
âWhâ get away from me!â
Ladybug blinked, startled as the akuma victim pushed her hand away, scrambling backwards to get away from her. All around them, the miraculous cure was doing its work, knitting everything back together and repairing the city but the woman didnât seem to notice or even care, her eyes fixed firmly on Ladybug as she got to her feet.Â
The woman swayed slightly and Ladybug offered her hand again. âMaâam are youââÂ
âDonât .â The woman spat out venomously. âI donât want your help.â
Of course she didnât. Ladybug suppressed a sigh, her cheeks growing hot with embarrassment. She half expected to see another akuma coming their way, but the sky remained blessedly clear.Â
âRight. Okay then,â forcing a smile, Ladybug turned to Chatâwho had been watching the exchange with a furrowed brow, his mouth drawn into a thin line. Her earrings beeped. âChat? Will you uh..will you get this lady down safely from here? I have to go.âÂ
âNo problem, My Lady.â Chat extended his baton and addressed the woman, his voice noticeably harder. âCome now, madame.â
Not trusting herself to say anything else, Ladybug simply nodded and zipped away, trying hard to ignore the feeling of Chatâs gaze on her retreating back as her eyes burned with unshed tears.
She should have been used to it by now. Had thought that she was, but anti-Ladybug sentiment had been growing in recent months, with multiple articles and news outlets questioning her ability as a hero.Â
Chat Noir was her biggest defender against it all of course. Though sheâd asked him to take a step back and be less vocal after heâd had a go at some people who had suggestedâto her faceâthat she give up the mantle of Ladybug entirely, that she should pass it onto Chat Noir and âlet real heroes sort things outâ.Â
She had never seen him so angry. A few other outlets followed his example, trying to push back against the negativity when she herself couldnât.
It didnât help, however, that Hawkmoth had decided to take advantage of people's resentment of her, fanning the flames by sending more and more difficult akumas and specifically akumatising those who seemed to have a problem with her.
Generally, she tried to avoid reading anything about herselfâAlya had even taken her phone and muted any and all variations of the words âLadybugâ, âParisâ and âheroâ on every social media platform that she had and it had helped, butâŚto see such vitriol in the eyes of the people she was savingâŚit was still jarring and took her by surprise every time.
Ladybug sighed, her shoulders slumping as she landed in the empty backstreet behind her flat and detransformed. She would get through this. Public sentiment changed all the timeâ Alya had told her multiple timesâ and this would blow over soon, she was sure of it. In the meantime, she couldnât let it affect her.Â
She wouldnât let it affect her. She was fine. It was all fine.
*
Chat Noir had a large folder with him when Ladybug met him for patrol later that evening.
âWhatâs this?â
âHow are you doing?â
They both spoke at the same time. Ignoring her question, Chat set the folder down and patted the space beside him. Slinging an arm around her shoulders when she sat down, he pulled her close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Immediately, she felt the tension that had been thrumming through her body all day melt and Ladybug sighed contentedly.Â
For a long moment, they simply sat there enjoying each other's company in silence until Chat spoke. âYou know, I really let that lady have it earlier for being so rude to youââ
â Chat!â
âWhat?â He said defensively, pulling back to look at her. âDid you really think I wouldnât say anything?â
Ladybug sighed, this time, for an entirely different reason. âNo,â she admitted. âBut you shouldnât have.âÂ
âLook, I know youâve told me not to but I saw your face earlier whenââÂ
âIt just caught me by surprise, thatâs all.â Ladybug interrupted. âIt always does, that doesnât mean Iâm not alright.âÂ
Chat didnât seem convinced but she didnât care. He didnât need to know that sheâd made two cakes and three batches of cookies that afternoon in an attempt to stop herself from wallowing in self loathing; to forget the hatred that had twisted the akuma victim's expression when she had seen her.Â
He definitely didnât need to know that sheâd cried for twenty minutes when one of the cakes had ended up overcooked.
âCâmon, letâs go patrol.â Ladybug rose to her feet and stepped past him.
âLadybug.â
âIâll go umâŚIâll go this way.â Unspooling her yo-yo, she prepared to throw it when Chat grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her.Â
âMy lady.â  Chatâs voice was low. Still holding onto her wrist, he turned her gently to face him. He regarded her steadily, his green eyes soft and swimming with concern. âYou canât keep bottling this up. Itâs not healthy.âÂ
Ladybug swallowed past the lump in her throat. âWhat do you want me to say?â she cried out. âI have to be fine! I canât afford not to, because what if I get akumatized? Then what?â
âThenââ
âThen weâd be screwed, thatâs what! â
Chat was staring at her, wide eyed but he did not try to interrupt, standing quietly as Ladybug pulled herself out of his grasp and began pacing back and forth. Now that sheâd started, she couldnât stop. The dam had finally burst, and a torrent of words poured uncontrollably from her mouth.Â
âAndâand I donât know what they want from meâitâs like theyâre just waiting for me to explode so they have another reason to hate me and I justâŚI have to be fine because otherwise theyâll know that theyâre getting to me and get worse!
âYou know, âsometimes I just want to shake these people and yell at them that Iâm trying my best ! Why canât they see that? Â
âI wish I could just get mad and say fuck you to all of them, you know? All those people going on panels and dissecting every fight like theyâre somehow perfect and would have done better!â She scoffed. âIâd like to see them try to do what I do every day.â
Breathing heavily, Ladybug looked back towards Chat, startled to see that he had moved to stand right behind her.
âCâmere.â He enveloped her in a hug. Wrapping her arms around his waist, Ladybug closed her eyes and let herself relax in his embrace. They stood like that for a while until Chat pulled back slightly to look down at her fondly. He was smiling. âFeeling better?â He asked.
âIââ Ladybug paused. She was surprised to realise how much lighter she felt after her outburst, how the weight seemed to have lifted from her chest. âYeah, actually. I am.â
Chat shook his head ruefully, gesturing to the discarded folder at his feet. âAnd here I thought weâd have to set fire to all these articlesââ he wrinkled his nose, âno, they arenât articles, more like rag pieces. Whateverâpoint is I thought it might be cathartic toââ
âTo burn them?â
âI meanâŚâ Chat shrugged âI donât think we need to now. UnlessâŚâ his raised his eyebrows, expression mischievous. âYou want to do it?â
Ladybug was already reaching for the folder. Laughter was bubbling up in her chestâthe first genuine cheerfulness she had felt in a long time. â Absolutely.â Â
#banana writes đ#ml fanfic#ladynoir#miraculous ladybug#it only took 5 chapters for me to get angsty lmaoo#but also i love this song bc its so sad and angsty and also DOUGIE SINGS IT#the acoustic version of the song is actually now my go to 'lying on the floor staring at the ceiling and cry time' song
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