One step at a time
Ladybug swung expertly over the town, using her yoyo to propel her through the air. Just behind her, were eight or nine fighter planes closing in on her, all shooting rapidly. Who would have thought, Ladybug and Cat Noir, guardians of Paris, were running from the civilians they had sworn to protect. Ladybug swung to the right, losing the planes for a minute, but instead coming face to face with a crowd of people, all carrying axes, swords, or other scary looking objects. Ladybug skidded to a halt, looking for a way out, but she was surrounded, "Grab on!" Cat noir! His staff hung in front of her, and she grabbed it, allowing him to pull her to safety, "Thanks." She smiled at him, which made his heart beat extra fast. "What do we do now?" He asked, as he narrowly dodged a plane. "I…..I'm not sure." Ladybug frowned. "I mean, we're running away from the people we promised to keep safe!" "They're gonna kill us if we don't." Cat Noir pointed out. "Besides, they're under control, they'll be okay." Ladybug had to admit this was true. "We have to find Hawkmoth, if we can defeat him, we can save the people." "Okay, but where are we going to find him?" Cat Noir asked. "Stop it! I'm trying to think!" She snapped angrily. Immediately she felt terrible. It wasn't Cat Noir's fault, it wasn't anyone's fault, she had been fighting all day, and the cramping in her stomach told her it was nearly supper time.
Cat Noir on the other hand, looked down off the building they were standing on, and saw all the people waving their fists. He shuddered. "We'd better find somewhere safe for the night," he suggested. "You're tired." Ladybug opened her mouth to retaliate, but then she closed it again, he was right, she was exhausted. "Okay, I saw a hideout we could use, just try to act like we aren't going there, and maybe we'll be lucky enough to have a quick cat-nap."
The duo swung through the air, so fast that no one saw them, they landed in an abandoned warehouse, and quickly fortified up one of the smaller and less damaged rooms. Cat Noir gathered up some sticks and made a fire, on the dirt ground. Ladybug inched closer to it and sighed quietly. "I'm sorry okay?" She said, "I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm just….." She sighed again. Cat Noir, who was looking out the window, sighed as well, "I understand." He said quietly, sitting down next to her. "It's been a rough day, and you feel like you aren't living up to your expectations." Ladybug looked at him in surprise. "Since when did you become so…understanding?" she asked looking at him quizzingly. "I know you think I don't take things seriously, but," Cat Noir shrugged. "I do care about things. And you." Cat Noir cautiously put his arm around his lady, when she leaned into him, he put it around her more comfortably. The two sat like that, listening to the sounds of the people, madly searching for them, "What have we done?" Ladybug whispered, mostly to herself. Cat Noir patted her arm, to let her know it was alright. "We'll figure this out, together. Like we always do." He told her comfortingly. She smiled softly, enjoying his warm body against hers.
Cat Noir was worried, his kwami Plagg, was exhausted, he knew it, and there was no way he could deform without revealing himself to Ladybug, and he couldn't leave her side, for fear of her being discovered.
Ladybug was having similar problems with her own kwami Tikki, even though neither of them had used their special skills she knew she was running out of time.
"You'd better get some rest." Cat Noir said, getting up half-heartedly and breaking the moment. A look past over Ladybug's face, it lasted only a second, but Cat Noir was 99% certain it was disappointment. "I'll go now, and distract them." "What?" Ladybug knew Cat Noir had some crazy ideas, but this was by far his craziest. "Don't worry, I'll detransform, and pretend to be on their side for the night, give us both a break." Ladybug's arched eyebrow showed him she was not convinced
"It's too dangerous." She said, not wanting to admit her fear of spooky dark warehouses. "Don't worry you'll be fine.' Cat Noir insisted, seeing right through her. She blushed, "Our kwmais need a break." Cat said, hitting a nerve, Ladybug cared deeply for Tikki, she didn't want to hurt her by overusing her powers. "I'll call you if I need your help, and I'll be back by 6 tomorrow morning." And with that Cat Noir had left,
After counting to twenty, Ladybug slowly and cautiously deformed, turning her back to Marinette Dupain-Cheng. An exhausted Tikki flopped into her open palm and struggled to catch her breath. "Tikki! I am so sorry! I really didn't mean to be transformed for so long!" She cried. "It's not your fault Marinette." The kwami said quietly, "I just need something to eat." Marinette dug in her pocket and pulled out three chocolate chip cookies. "I came prepared!"
While Tikki feasted on the cookies, she looked outside the window, but it was too dark to see anything. Cat Noir's really brave to do that. She thought. Her stomach grumbled, reminding Marinette of the fact that she still hadn't eaten. Tikki offered her one of her cookies which she ate gratefully devoured.
Cat Noir de-morphed, becoming Adrian Agrest, he took one more look over his shoulder at the warehouse, he felt terrible for leaving his precious lady alone, but he had to keep her safe. A couple of people came running over, and Adrian tensed, "Hey boy!" One said, "Come on, we have to find them." Adrian breathed a sigh of relief as he was thrown a pitchfork. "I saw Ladybug headed towards the Eiffel Tower." He said, the people ran off, and Adrian tiptoed to a cheese shop, where he let Plagg stuff himself on every piece of camembert he spotted. "Oh hurry up Plagg!" he muttered, glancing through the window every now and then. "I can't help that I eat slow." The kwami muttered.
Early the next morning, around half past five, Marinette awoke, she had managed to sleep through the night without being spotted. Quickly she morphed in case Cat Noir came along, and then dropped into sleep once more.
Cat Noir once again, slipped into the abandon warehouse, he quickly tiptoed to where he had left Ladybug, but found it empty. Cat Noir felt his heart rate increase dramatically as he scanned the empty room, there was no sign of break in or…maybe she had been hungry, what if she had left and gotten caught? what if….
"You are really paranoid, dude." Ladybug! Cat Noir spun around and saw her dangling upside down from her yoyo, it spun around the roof beams. "What are you doing up there?" He demanded. Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she dropped down, "Oh haven't you heard." She teased, "We all sleep like that." Cat Noir wasn't laughing. "I was worried something had happened to you." He said, his arms folded.
Ladybug stopped smiling, as she realised she had worried her friend, "Hey, I wouldn't let anything happen to me, don't worry. Ok?" Cat Noir said nothing and slumped against the wall, Ladybug sat down next to him, feeling the tension rising between them. "You know," She said suddenly, "I wasn't the least scared last night, even without you here to protect me." Cat Noir grunted, knowing it was absolutely impossible to stay mad at Ladybug forever. Ladybug wiggled closer and whispered in his ear, "You were very, very brave to go out there alone." Cat Noir pinged back to his normal self, "Yes, I was wasn't I?" he asked proudly, Ladybug grinned and rolled her eyes.
The two sat there for a while, just sitting near each other, and feeling comfortable, and safe. Cat Noir stroked her hair gently, Ladybug rested her head on his chest.
"Ladybug." Cat Noir said quietly, "Yes?" she answered drowsily. "Can I ask you something?" "Mmmm" was the answer. "Well…" He wasn't sure how he was going to say this, "You're going to be mad, no matter how I tell you this." Ladybug gave an inward groan as she figured he'd somehow been able to do something that would get them both into trouble. "Yes?" She said,
"Marinette?" Ladybug stared into Cat Noir's emerald green eyes. "Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yes? H-how'd you know?" Cat Noir was silent, as he thought about first Marinette, and then Ladybug, how they were so different, but so the same, he'd suspected it for a while. "I had my suspicions," He said, grinning. "Okay then." Ladybug said, "If you know who I am, I have a right to know who you are." Cat Noir opened his mouth to speak, but she put her hands to his lips. "I want to guess." Cat Noir smirked, and she stood up, tapping her chin as she inspected every part of him, she had often dreamt of him, something that confused and disturbed her, as she would have rather preferred Adrian in her dreams….Adrian! Of course!
"Adrian Agrest." She said, such confidence in her voice that it shocked Cat Noir into stuttering. "H-how'd you know?" She grinned, knowing she was right, and so shocked, she wasn't thinking straight. "I had my suspicions." She joked. Cat Noir stared at her for a moment and then started laughing.
"What's so funny?" She demanded to know, sitting down again. "No, it's just that Mari….you're crushing on me, and I'm crushing on you, but our alter egos." Ladybug realised this was true, but as it sunk in she felt…tired, more than ever. "Spots off." She said, turning back into Marinette. Cat Noir deformed as well, and watched Marinette's face. "What's wrong?" He asked, cautiously moving closer to her. "It's just a lot to take in." She whispered. "It's okay," Adrian put his arm around his partner. "We'll just take it one step at a time. Okay?" Marinette nodded, curling closer to Adrian. The shouts of the people grew louder, and Adrian looked at his lady, "What do we do about them?" Ladybug/Marinette looked at him and grinned, "Take it one step at a time."