Eighteen: Small Revelations

Some hours later, I was waiting for Chat on the rooftop patio when he landed gracefully on the railing beside where I was leaning. He didn't give me a chance to greet him before slipping off the wrought iron and wrapping himself around me in a warm embrace. Before I knew it, we were intertwined in each other on my chaise, the loud rumbles of his purr filling the night air as he buried his face in my hair and gently held me against his black-leather-cladded form.

In truth, I knew he needed that simple act of holding me – the reassurance that I was fine, despite having (ostensibly) done something wildly dangerous. I realized I, too, needed the comfort of his touch nearly as much, given the stresses of the week; the validation that I was loved, and the reminder I was the center of someone's universe went a long way toward dropping my blood pressure back into a more normal range.

Even though Friday was traditionally date night for the two of us, neither of us moved to snag the tablet from the side table to start our movie, nor did Chat seem interested in the mountain of baked goodies I'd brought up from the kitchen by way of apology. He similarly overlooked the small package I'd found at the last minute to give truth to my lie. Instead, I remained snuggled into the comforting rumbles emanating from his chest, allowing his admittedly toasty body to stave of the chill of the evening.

I awoke sometime later to find myself in my own bed, comforter carefully tucked around me. It was still dark, but I could sense Chat was in the space. "Kitty?" I called out quietly.

There was a soft murmur of fabric, and then a set of quasi-glowing eyes were peeking just over the edge of the bed. "Princess," he whispered. "I'm here."

I pushed up slightly from my pillow. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "Some date night, huh."

The glowing eyes narrowed. "I think we were both exhausted," he said softly. "And there could be worse things than having your girlfriend drool all over your costume."

"I did no such thing," I said defensively.

"Don't worry," Chat said as he leaned over for a kiss, "my super suit will survive."

I sighed and leaned into him, taking in his vaguely exotic scent that was part sandalwood, part something undefinable but totally Chat. Reluctantly, he pulled away, taking the scent with him. "You're leaving?" I asked. "I never gave you your surprise!"

"I've got to go," he said sadly. "I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye first."

"You'll be back?"

"It'll be late," he said. "My civilian self has obligations today that I can't get out of. But the moment I can get free, I will be here."

I put a hand out and felt for his bell in the darkness, and gently pulled his lips back to mine, but not before whispering, "I'm gonna hold you to that, kitty."

He laughed as he pulled away; silently, he slipped back through the skylight and was gone in a brief gust of air.

I rolled over and nodded off again, waking well into the mid-morning. Channeling my boyfriend, I stretched in the slanted sunshine that was splashed across the bed, yawned and looked down to see Tikki reading one of the novels I'd been assigned in our Classic Literature class. She'd propped the book up against one of my computer speakers and was floating down the text as she read each paragraph.

Flipping off the covers, I slid down the ladder to her. "Jane Eyre?" I asked, eyes wide. "Not exactly light reading."

"No," she said, her wide eyes glued to the text. "It's been more than a century since I'd read this," she murmured as she floated to the side of the book to pull the next page over. "It's still just as riveting as I remember."

I rolled my eyes. "I suppose you read the original?"

Tikki nodded. "My holder at the time was from a fairly well-to-do family and had a first edition."

I did a double-take. "Seriously?"

"Mm-hmm." Tikki was fully invested in the story.

"I'm… going to get something to eat," I said, and Tikki just nodded. As I slipped away, I realized even my kwami needed a break from time to time, and wondered if Chat had moments when he let Plagg roam free for a bit. I started to make a mental note to ask him and then realized it would have to be Ladybug who did so; mentally, I chastised myself for blending the two halves of my life.

Then again, the longer I spent with Chat, the harder I was finding it to keep the two halves of me separate. He'd once told me that Chat was more him than his alter-ego, but I'd never felt that way about Ladybug. She was me, obviously, but was far more confident that I really felt in my daily life. I suspected that was part of what had originally attracted Chat to Ladybug – the smooth, calm, thoughtful persona I presented – composed beauty under pressure.

I tried not to snort my double-mocha; it was more likely the form-fitting costume had attracted his attention first. As I worked through my oatmeal, though, I realized that wasn't fair at all. Chat had turned out to be far more sensitive and compassionate than I'd given him credit for early on in our relationship; ironically, it had taken me shunning him as Ladybug to get to know him more fully.

After showering, I gathered up Tikki and some art supplies and told my parents I'd be over at my spot in the Trocadero; Maman insisted on packing a picnic lunch for two, having more faith than I did that Chat would magically appear. Without Air Chat, I took the Metro over, then climbed the steps to my perch… and found Chat Noir lounging along the granite wall, twirling his tail as he watched me arrive.

"Chat," I said with a smile. "How did you know…?"

"I got done early and swung by the Bakery; your mother pointed me here. I've just been here a few moments," he added as he slid off the wall and landed softly next to me. I could see, though he was trying to mask it, his feline nose had already detected the Belgian chocolate croissants.

"Go ahead," I laughed, and a moment later he was happily munching on a pastry as he folded himself into position next to me. "I'll be honest, I'm glad you were able to escape."

"Me too," he said as he polished off his second croissant and licked the microscopic crumbs off his paws.

As I started a new pencil sketch of the tree a few meters away from us and the flowers surrounding it, I decided to venture into dangerous waters. "I am sorry about yesterday," I said quietly.

"I know," he replied as he leaned his mane on my shoulder. "It's my lot in life to worry about the two most important women in my life."

"I'm capable of protecting myself, Chat," I chided him, "but I understand." I paused for a moment to shade in part of the trunk. "How did you know I'd gone down that corridor?"

Chat blew out a breath. "You locked your friend Adrien in a closet," he replied. "He was just as unhappy as I was that you'd gone into the fray; more so, perhaps, based on how you treated him."

I looked to Chat. "It's because he's such a friend that I did what I did," I explained.

He arched an eyebrow at me. "You do realize he's not a fan of being locked up in small spaces?"

That gave me pause, for it was something I did know – as Ladybug – and had forgotten in the heat of the moment. It had been during one of those many akumas we'd fought in the early days at the Louvre; I'd hidden Adrien inside a sarcophagus only to find he'd been uncomfortable enough to escape and hide behind a pillar instead. "No," I said carefully. "I had no idea. No wonder he was so riled up."

"Well," he smiled slightly as he closely examined a claw. "Now you do."

"Do you go to that school?"

Chat's head snapped to me. "There's no way I can answer that."

"Ah," I said, smiling slightly. "So you—"

Chat's mane was suddenly between me and the sketchbook. "No, seriously," he said, "I can't answer that. If I say yes or no it tells you something you shouldn't know." His masked eyes held a significant look of concern. "I love you too much to put you into danger," he said softly. "It's not safe for you to know anything – even a small thing – about my civilian self."

He slid further and managed to get himself between my arms. "I am already worried about you dating me," he said, very softly, as he leaned close to an ear. His breath actually tickled the corner of my ear, and I found myself reacting to him physically. "You're right to want to keep us off the radar of Paris. I think it finally dawned on me yesterday – if Hawkmoth or any other villain found out about us, they could conceivably come after you as a way to get to me and Ladybug."

Chat sat back a bit, his masked feline eyes blazing with compassion; I could also see how serious he was. "I can protect you," he said. "I know I can. But dating me is dangerous, Princess. I know we've talked about this before, but I have a feline our relationship is heading into new territory." He looked away, his out-of-control locks swinging with the movement. "I would understand completely if you're not comfort—"

I put a finger to his lips and then gently turned him toward me. While there was no way for me to explicitly explain why I was the perfect person for him to be dating, I had a few aces up my sleeve. "I am completely comfortable with our relationship… and where it is going," I said deliberately. "I want those cute kitty ears to hear this and hear it well: there is only one cat for me, Chat, and that's you."

"Mari—"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," I said, smiling, "and I know exactly what I'm getting into. And," I smiled broader, "I'm no shrinking violet. I know you'll protect me if you can, but I am totally capable myself." I flexed my muscles slightly, an admittedly over-the-top action, but continued to make my point. "I work out, and as I think Adrien would agree, was able to muscle him into that closet with little effort."

Chat smiled at that, almost knowingly. "You sure surprised him."

"I think I did. I've not seen him since, though, and now I'm a little afraid to find out how he feels about what I did to him."

"I'm certain he'll let you know," Chat said, narrowing his eyes as he laughed.

"Anyway," I said as I tried to shove him off my lap to no avail (he'd cleverly used his claws to anchor himself), "I'm in for the long haul, so don't try and scare me out of dating you, kitty."

He narrowed his eyes more. "Are you pawsitive?" he asked, very slowly, as he deliberately moved his face closer to mine, once again demonstrating his exquisitely precise body control. "This is the last warning I'll give you," he added in that low-register dangerous voice he often used with akumas.

Pulse racing slightly, mostly due to his physical proximity, I nonetheless held his intense gaze. "Yes, Chat."

My boyfriend let out a soft meowrrr before leaning all the way down and slowly, very slowly, kissing me in a small path down the side of my neck. He paused at a spot just below my chin, and nestled his head there. One of his feline ears tickled at my cheek, and I sighed. "Good," he said softly.

I wrapped my arms around him, forgetting my sketching, and hugged him close to me. I wasn't surprised when he started purring once more, but was shocked when I discovered the Hero of Paris had nodded off in my arms. It dawned on me Chat had kept watch while I'd slept last night; given everything we'd been through recently plus whatever activity his civilian self had been on the hook for, Chat had likely not slept himself for more than a few hours in more than two days.

We were in a somewhat quiet section of Trocadero, but I nonetheless slid the two of us up against the wall and into a more secluded position. Chat didn't stir once, even after I repositioned him with his head and paws upon my lap. I gently stroked his wild mane and let him sleep soundly well into the late afternoon.

Knowing that I needed to get back to the Bakery, and assuming my boyfriend was likely still down a few thousand calories, I gently prodded him back to consciousness. "Chat?" I whispered into a feline ear.

He stirred finally, then cracked a masked eye as he yawned. "Princess," he smiled. "This is exactly the way I want to wake up from meow on."

"Keep dreaming, kitty," I laughed. "Maybe it will come true. Someday."

"It will," he said with certainty as he did that full-body feline stretch that I envied. "I didn't realize I needed a catnap," he said sheepishly. "Thank you for watching over me."

"It's the least I can do," I said as I kissed him. "For all of the trouble I caused."

Chat kissed me back. "You only scared one life out of me, Princess," he smiled as he stood. "I still have eight to go."

"Let's not start a countdown," I said, eyes wide. "Look, you want to come over for dinner?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he laughed.