Swinging her yo-yo, Ladybug made her way to the pier. Whilst in the air, she spotted Cat Noir, currently cornered by a mob of angry radishes. Taking a quick breath to make sure her mind was right, she sent her yo-yo flying and swooped down, grabbing Cat Noir by the waist, she swung them both to safety.
"Thought you forgot about me for a second there, M'lady."
"Never, Cat Noir." She smiled, instantly feeling better. They were a team. No matter what, she would be there for him. "Where is he?"
"Looking for me?" Jumping on his carrot pogo stick, the Evil Grocer sprang into view.
"Well that was convenient," Cat Noir shrugged.
Ladybug laughed. When her eyes met Cat Noir's, they stayed there. Oh, who was she kidding? Now that she knew this was Adrien she would never be able to focus.
"Give me your miraculous' or become fruit!"
"Never!" Cat Noir yelled as he somersaulted backward. Ladybug pinched herself to regain focus and then skipped next to him.
The Grocer began shooting out orange beams left and right. Cat Noir twirled his baton deflecting each and every hit.
"It's the apple, Ladybug! The beams are coming from the apple!"
As she watched Cat Noir stop the beams from getting to them, she knew she had to help him, but every time she tried to take a step forward she felt stuck in place. She put her hands on her head. she really needed to snap out of it. never once did she let Cat Noir face danger alone. Was she really about to start now because of her feelings for his true identity? Wasn't that more of a reason to help? If Cat Noir got hurt, so did Adrien. No, she couldn't have that. She wouldn't. She would fight.
"Use your Cataclysm on the carrot!"
"Got it!"
Ladybug jumped to the left as Cat Noir jumped to the right, each dodging orange beams as they moved.
"Lucky charm!" She shouted, and up in a glimmer of red and black dots dropped two certified organic apples. "Apples?" she paused.
"Feeling hungry are we, M'lady?" Cat Noir joked in between jumps. "I hope one of those is for me!"
Ladybug couldn't hide her smile. Adrien Agreste, the jokester, the silly cat. Who would've thought?
Just then, Cat Noir jumped onto the carrot. "Cataclysm!" he yelled and the carrot disintegrated, sending the Evil Grocer down to the ground, finally reachable.
Ladybug threw the apples into the air with a sly grin on her face. "Oh no! My organic apples are going to be bruised!"
"Oh no, they won't!" The Evil Grocer lunged forward to save them, dropping his own apple and onion in the process.
On cue, Cat Noir dove for them. Coming up victorious, he tossed the apple over to Ladybug who caught it instantly and then smashed it on the ground. The apple turned purple and split open, revealing the little akuma within.
"No more evil doing for you little akuma!" With another flick of her yo-yo, the akuma transformed, the purple color draining completely leaving a fresh white free butterfly underneath.
"I'll say it with you," Cat Noir said, waving his hand. Ladybug nodded endearingly.
"Bye-bye little butterfly!" they said together.
"Huh, what?" the now normal grocery man stood up and looked around. "How did I get here and… why am I holding apples?"
"It's a long story," Cat Noir laughed. "But you're safe now."
Ladybug walked over to the man and took the apples from him. Throwing them up in the air, she shouted, "Miraculous ladybug!" and in magical red shimmering lights, the fruits and vegetables transformed back into people and the destruction cleared out, leaving the city exactly as it was before the grocery man had been akumatized. They had done it. They had once again saved Paris.
Cat Noir extended his fist, victoriously. She looked up at him. While she still felt like her mind and heart were a jumbled mess, there was one thing she knew for sure and that was that no matter what, she would never leave him hanging. She extended her own fist until their hands were touching.
"Pound it!"
"Guess my charm worked for you, huh?" Cat Noir said, watching the debris clear up.
Ladybug swallowed hard. She pulled out the charm and held it in her hand. "Cat Noir," she said looking at it, "the person that gave this to you….. are they…" she paused to breathe. She was Ladybug. She could definitely do this. "are they close to you?"
Cat Noir took the charm and put it back in his pocket. "Yeah," he answered. "One of my closest friends."
"Just… friends?"
Cat Noir looked at her sideways, no doubt thrown off by the question. "Honestly?" he rubbed the back of his head. Ladybug's eyes widened in anticipation. "I'm not sure."
"You're," she could feel the nerves getting to her, "you're not…"
"Ah!" Cat Noir looked at his hand, his ring was already two paw lights down. "We're about to change back. We should get out of here soon."
"Wait!" Ladybug yelled, surprising both of them. "Cat Noir, I…"
"M'lady?" he looked at her with a face full of concern.
She clenched her fists and took a step forward, readying herself. "I want you to know who I am."
"You… you do?"
"Yes." She answered definitively. "I trust you and… I think it's time. I don't want to keep this secret from you any longer."
"Ladybug," Cat Noir looked down, he was another paw down. He seemed uneasy, unsure. His very expression made her doubt if this was truly the right move. "I don't want to keep this secret from you either, but…" he put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. Is that ok? There's… there's something I'd like to do first."
"Oh, ok," she put on her best fake smile as she nodded her head. "I understand."
Cat Noir bowed. "Until next time, M'lady!" he then turned the corner and leaped out of view.
