Rena Rouge twists around as she shows him a new scar that trails up her leg like ivy.
"You know I used to think that the scars would be cool to have, but now they've become just ordinary." She presses closer to Cat Noir, and he feels at peace to know that as strong and determined as they can be that they are both all that they need to protect the city though he still loves the feel of Ladybug by his side or the expected calm of Carapace or even the sass and the sting of Queen Bee.
"They become just that. I usually hide mine; Father wouldn't like them." She shrugs at his answer but presses into his side anyway.
"What was your worst Akuma fight by far?" Rena Rouge asks, and for a second, she seems more like a curious cat than a sly fox.
"Just any time that I could have lost Ladybug or the times that I had to go against The Bubbler or Lady Wifi or Antibug. It hurts too much to fight people I know pretty well." He presses against her side, and she smiles a sad smile in return.
"I'm sure that they're grateful for all that you've done." Rena Rouge pulls herself more solidly into his side, and Cat Noir wonders not for the first time when they have patrols with just the two of them when they will return to their respective homes.
Rena Rouge can be sly and mischievous, but she's never the sort to feel all that secretive; he'd found himself opening up quite a bit to her within the past few months since they came to know each other.
She's playful and wild, and some days, it feels like all that they need to make sure that she doesn't become particularly reckless is Carapace by her side.
Cat Noir though likes these quiet yet chatty nights where they've long since finished patrol and just curl up on the nearest roof and let their thoughts take them far, far away and bind them closer.
On particularly tired nights, he sometimes feels as if she's become a part of him: the fox to his cat, the rebelliously playful to his a bit calmer level of playfulness.
Some nights on patrols, he's half convinced that he's fallen in love with her instead of with Ladybug, and those nights scare him with their intensity, their persistence.
Rena nestles just right into his side, and he closes his green, green eyes for a moment of gentle relaxation by her side; thankfully, reporters have calmed down some or are less reckless since Rena joined them and since the Ladyblog became much, much quieter.
Everyone's adjusted to the now normal intrigue of superheroes, and so Cat Noir feels content to just stay close to who has perhaps became his superhero best friend or something more; he can barely admit that to himself and probably will never admit a word of it out loud any way.
