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Ladybug did her best to resist looking behind her as she ran -- it would only slow her down. Agreeing to team up with the Teen Titans for this mission was a mistake. She should have just given them advice and let them handle the ten-foot monster that was currently chasing her by themselves. They were capable young adults. They could handle it.
Ladybug, on the other hand, was running on two hours of sleep and three cups of coffee. Chat Noir, the lucky bastard, was visiting his aunt in London (which Ladybug was currently cursing him out in her head for).
Her comms crackled to life, “Take your next left, you’re almost there.”
She didn’t respond as she turned the corner, sliding a little on the damp ground before finding her footing again.
“There should be a door in front of you. Go through it.”
She slams the door open and holds back a shiver as she’s exposed to the cool air. She can see the city skyline around her and she jogs towards the edge of the roof, panting hard. She’s on top of one of the tallest buildings in the city and there’s no rooftop close enough to jump to.
Ladybug reaches for her yo-yo before remembering it’s not there. She had lost it at some point during the fight when the team got separated. The monster had ended up chasing her while the rest of the team was able to catch back up to each other and make it to the ship. It would return to her upon her next transformation (magic!), but for now, she was weaponless.
“Uhh, guys. Now would be a good time to show up.”
“We’re almost there, Ladybug. Don't move.” The crashing of the monster grew louder, but she didn't dare to look at the door behind her. Ladybug shifted her weight from foot to foot in an attempt to calm her nerves. If she could, she would be biting her nails, but the gloves on her suit didn't come off so she clenched her hands into fists, feeling her fingernails dig into her palms.
“We’re here!”
Ladybug looked around but didn’t see anything, “Robin, I swear-”
“We’ve got invisibility cloaking on right now but we have eyes on you. Turn a little to your right. A little more. Okay, back a little. There!” Ladybug’s eyes strain for something -- anything -- that would indicate that there’s a spaceship in front of here but there’s nothing out of the ordinary. She can’t even hear it!
“Uhh-,”
“On the count of three, you’re going to jump. Can you do that?”
Ladybug blanched, “I beg your pardon?”
“I’ll catch you!," he paused, "Probably.”
“Probably?!”
“I promise! I’ll catch you.” Ladybug glanced behind her as the crashing grew louder. Surely she only had a few more moments before the creature caught up to her.
“Robin I swear to all the gods if you drop me...”
“I won’t! Promise,” Robin could practically hear Ladybug rolling her eyes, “Jump on three! I’m on the ladder hanging below the ship, ready to catch you. The glamour will fade once you touch me and you’ll be able to see the ship.”
Ladybug huffed but didn’t say anything. It was clear to everyone on the ship that she was nervous.
“Do you trust me?”
Ladybug snorted, “Not really!”
“Well, you’re going to have to. Ready? One...”
The crashing grew closer and she heard something ram into the door that she had opened just a few minutes ago.
“Two...”
The door slammed open, but Ladybug didn’t dare turn around.
“Three!”
Ladybug didn’t hesitate as she ran towards the edge and gracefully leaped off, ignoring the whoosh of air on her back from the pair of claws that had barely missed her.
She flew through the air for a few moments -- it felt like she was flying. Until suddenly she wasn’t. She let out a small squeak as she began to drop (not that she would ever admit it). Suddenly there was a hand grabbing onto her arm and she grunted as she was pulled into a warm chest.
“I got you, Bug.”
She stared up at him then, now that she was suddenly able to see him, and tried her best to ignore the heat that was creeping up her neck and face, “Robin...”
He grinned down at her, “I said I would catch you, didn’t I?”
She smiled along with him, “I never doubted you for a second.”
He raised an eyebrow as the ladder they were hanging from began to be raised into the ship, “Really? Because that’s not what it sounded like a minute ago.”
“Well, maybe a few seconds.”
“Uh-huh,” he sounded unconvinced.
The ladder swung as the ship started to fly away from the rooftop with the screaming creature on it (a problem for later) and she held on tighter to him. As she snuggled her face into his neck (only because it was so cold out in the open air with the wind blowing on them -- it was the middle of winter after all. That’s the only reason, okay), she noticed he smelled like vanilla. It was nice. She refrained from inhaling his scent -- she had already embarrassed herself enough today, thank you very much. Being caught sniffing her savior would be humiliating. When Robin drew her even closer (gods, how strong was he?), she was glad that he couldn’t see how much she had begun to blush.
It didn’t take long for the ladder to reach the ship and Ladybug accepted the helping hand of one of her temporary teammates (she wasn’t really paying attention to who the hand belonged to, instead trying to force the blush to vanish from her cheeks).
Once they were safely aboard, the rest of the Teen Titans walked away to give them some privacy and she turned to Robin, “That was a really impressive catch back there.”
He smirked, “I’ve had a little practice. Used to be part of a circus before I met Batman. Learned how to use the trapeze.”
“Really?" she sounded impressed, "I used to be a gymnast before I became Ladybug, though that was a long time ago. It’s not really the same thing but...” she trailed off.
“I can tell. If you gave it a try I think you would be a good trapeze artist, as well. A good catch requires two people, you know. And that jump was pretty impressive.”
Ladybug grinned, “What? Are you offering to teach me?”
Robin looked deep into her eyes. He hadn’t had a trapeze partner in a long time -- he refused too. After watching his parents fall, he was afraid to fly for a long time. Only after becoming Robin did he use the trapeze bars that Bruce had installed in a corner of the Batcave. Even so, he had never flown with another partner since his parents. It felt wrong, almost. Like he was betraying them. And he was afraid of dropping his partner -- of being forced to watch another person fall while he could do nothing but watch. Maybe it was time he finally opened up again.
He grinned, “If you’d be up to it.”
Ladybug was quiet for a moment, thinking, “I am.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, watching the other occupants of the ship as they worked and monkeyed around in a way that only the Teen Titans could. It reminded Ladybug of her own team back home. Now that Hawkmoth had been taken care of, they were free to be themselves around each other, and there was a lot less stress on their shoulders.
She wondered what it would be like to learn trapeze with Robin. She had flown before -- on her yoyo. But it had never truly satisfied her. She was always left with the frustrating feeling that she could touch the sky, but it was just out of her reach. In Paris, she would leap off of the tallest buildings just to let herself fall. That was the closest she could get flying. During class, she used to stare out the windows, watching the birds. They would ruffle their wings and she would feel a strange form of jealousy. They could leave whenever they wanted. Fly away through the sky, their only worry being what their next meal would be (and of course they always had an abundance of options). Marinette wanted that freedom. Because that’s what flying was to her -- freedom. She thought back to her trips to the circus as a child and the awe she would have when watching the trapeze artist gracefully fly from one bar to another. Oh, how she had desired to be up there with them. She wanted to learn how to fly like them. And surely, with Robin, she would learn what it truly feels like to soar.
“You know,” he interrupted her thoughts, “We’re not so different, you and I.”
“Oh? And how’s that?”
He grinned, “We’re both made to fly.”
Ladybug was about to respond when she was interrupted by Kid Flash as he walked into the room, “Hey, we’re almost back to base, and when we land head straight to De-Brief. Okay?”
Robin nodded, “We’ll be there.”
They stood awkwardly as they watched him leave, grabbing onto a wall to steady themselves a moment later when the ship landed.
Robin started to walk towards the exit but Ladybug grabbed his hand to stop him, “Thank you. For saving me, that is.” She smiled.
He looked back at her, his eyes softening, “Of course, Bug. Anything for you,” he leaned over to kiss her cheek and she stiffened in surprise, a fierce blush gracing her cheeks. He promptly let go of her hand and walked away again, not letting her get a chance to say anything.
A smile grew on her face as she lifted a gloved hand to caress her cheek.
“Y’all are hopeless,” a voice sounded from outside of the room.
Her smile melted and she turned to glare at him, “Shut up, Kid.” She could hear Kid Flash laughing as she stalked out of the ship, still blushing.
Maybe she should work with the Teen Titans more often.