AN: So…I really had been hoping to get this next chapter out before Christmas, but my life was so busy. No worries, though. I do plan to keep writing this story (even though Christmas is over now) because I know that there are many that enjoy reading it. Hope you all like this new chapter!
Chapter 6: Nighttime Talk With Ladybug
A silence fell between Ladybug and Cat Noir. Neither quite knew what to say to the other. Cat Noir could sense his partner's unease; she had already read his emotions just from his one-word greeting to her. He hated this feeling between them, like one little thing could break their friendship forever.
"I'm glad that you finally came, Cat Noir," Ladybug finally spoke. "You said that we would meet here again some night, but I did not know when that would be. I came here every night, hoping I would see you again. Each night, I continued to hope that it would be the one."
Cat Noir's breath caught in his throat. Here he had been thinking that she would have given up by now, that he wasn't going to see her tonight, and, yet, she had come by here every night, waiting for him! "I..." he started, not quite finding the words. The edge was gone from his voice. Now, he was certain that his sadness was creeping into his words. "Ladybug, I'm sorry." He looked down to the ground so far below them. "I didn't know. I didn't mean to..." He stopped as he felt Ladybug's small hand gently placed on his shoulder.
"Cat Noir, you don't have to apologize. I know that you were going through a rough time the last time we saw each other. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Ladybug gently told Cat Noir. "I will gladly listen, though, if you do want to. Above all, though, I just want to make sure you're okay. We're partners, Cat Noir, but you're also my friend. I miss our friendship. I guess I even miss your puns and your flirting too," she finished with a small giggle.
Cat Noir felt his heart flutter at the sound of Ladybug's giggle. Even after all this time, he still could not deny his feelings for her. He still loved Ladybug. Even if she had, more or less, ended his mother's life, Cat Noir could only ever see the good in Ladybug, her constant bravery and determination to help everyone. These were some of the qualities that had made him fall in love with her from the moment he'd met her.
"It's...it's okay, Ladybug," Cat Noir stuttered out a little. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged his legs tight, as if that would help to comfort him as he spoke. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave so suddenly and disappear for months. It's just, being there and knowing what had to be done, it made me sad, you know?" Cat Noir tried to choose his words very carefully. He knew that he could not reveal too much about how he had felt that day or else Ladybug would figure out who he really was without the mask. "I never expected that Hawk Moth would turn out to be...Gabriel Agreste," he continued, stumbling a little at his father's name, almost accidentally referring to him as "Father." Looking down at the ground agin, Cat Noir kept speaking. "I never would have guessed his reasons for wanting the Miraculous."
Cat Noir did not even realize that he was crying until he felt Ladybug's gloved hand swipe the tear from his cheek. "I know, Kitty," she spoke softly to him. "I can assure you that it was no easier for me, either, to be the one who..." she trailed off, thankfully not mentioning what she had done that night after Cat Noir had run away from the area.
"So, I guess that's just it, then?" Cat Noir shrugged. He had no idea to put into words all that he was feeling. "After all this time?"
In his peripherals, Cat Noir saw Ladybug turn away from him to also look out over Paris. "For now," she replied. "It's not over, though. Timetagger proved that. In the future there is still us and another Hawk Moth. This is just a break, I think."
Cat Noir hugged his knees closer to him. "That still worries me," he confessed. "M'lady, you have both the butterfly and peacock Miraculous now. I can't help but to wonder how the new Hawk Moth ends up with the butterfly Miraculous."
"I worry about that too," Ladybug told Cat Noir. "Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to matter. It's going to happen, regardless of what we do to prevent it."
Cat Noir noticed something in Ladybug's voice, a very slight change that he might not have sensed if he did not already know her so well. It held a hint of sadness and Cat Noir could pretty much guess what it meant. He shifted to pull Ladybug to his side. "You know that I don't blame you, M'lady, not for anything. I could never blame you for what will happen to the butterfly Miraculous or what you had to do that night at the Agreste mansion."
Saying that last part felt like a weight off of Cat Noir's shoulders. He knew that he could never have stayed upset with Ladybug. She'd had no other choice and he would just have to accept that.
Cat Noir felt Ladybug sigh against him. "I know. I still just feel bad, especially for Adrien. He doesn't deserve any of that, what happened to his mother and all that his father did. I just wish I could apologize to him and comfort him as he adjusts to all of this."
You are, M'lady, Cat Noir thought to himself. Thank you. Then, Cat Noir thought of something. Maybe now Ladybug would agree to it? Pulling himself away from Ladybug so that he could better see her, Cat Noir voiced his idea. "M'lady, maybe we could...I mean, what do you think about revealing our identities to each other?"
Oh, hey…a cliffhanger! So, how do you think Ladybug is going to respond to this? Well, we'll find out in the next chapter!