CHAPTER 5: one step forward, two steps backward

Attempt after attempt, Ladybug and Stallion Noir only failed. So much so that, they ended up retreating and diving back down the rabbit hole to their starting point: their present.

Napoleon was impossible to approach, the surroundings of Longwood House, the interior of the house and even the interior of Napoleon's room were heavily guarded. The entire island was under high surveillance, making their intrusion completely unlikely, either with their camouflage power-up or the Horse's Miraculous.

"Plagg, Kaalki, divide," whispered Stallion Noir.

"Tikki, Fluff, divide." She followed.

"I'm sorry, I failed," apologized Chat Noir.

"The result would have been the same if I had been the one wearing the Horse's Miraculous…" she sighed. "We'll never manage to approach him. We have to start again from zero and find another track to follow."

"Why don't we just travel back to a time when Master Fu was still the Guardian of the Miracle Box?" he asked, in an impatient tone.

"Do you really think I wouldn't have done that already, if it were as simple as that!" she raised her voice.

Chat Noir shrugged. "With your complicated plans... I always expect the worst…"

"Yeah, for sure, you're not the brain in the team!" she exclaimed with disdain.

"If I can avoid elaborate, weird, ridiculous, and complicated plans with forks, bicycle pumps or even sponges, I prefer to be brainless," he whistled.

Ladybug walked over to him and clenched her fists. "You'd be surprised what I could do to you with a simple sponge!" she threatened him.

"What would you do?" he replied with a snarl. He leaned towards her, a mocking and provocative smirk on his lips.

"I'd erase this arrogant and shit-eating grin off your face!" she groaned, putting her hand on his partner's mouth and pushing him back sharply, annoyed by his behavior.

"Let's start by erasing the mistakes you've been making for a few days!" He got angry. "You're wasting our time, Ladybug! You're the Guardian! It's up to you to get us out of this miraculous shit!" he yelled, before biting his lip, realizing, too late, that he was going too far.

Ladybug was speechless and looked at him with bitterness, disappointment reflecting in her eyes.

"Sorry. I'm... sorry. I really am. I didn't mean that," he apologized, uncomfortably. "This is both our problem and we'll find a solution together."

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "No, actually, you're right. I'm the Guardian. I should have the answers. I should know what to do!"

At that moment, Chat Noir's words echoed through her mind.

"I know that eloquent look. Did you just get an idea?"

"Maybe." The heroine leaned her back against a chimney and slid down to sit on the floor. Chat Noir sat down next to her, shoulder to shoulder, and gave her an inquisitive look, inviting her to explain her thoughts.

"There's no point in going to see Master Fu, because the Grimoire was damaged when he fled Tibet. That's why the copy I have is incomplete and doesn't allow me to reconstitute the whole history," she explained.

"But?" He raised an eyebrow, a gleam of inexhaustible hope shining in his feline eyes.

"But." She smiled, realizing that he knew her so well that he could almost anticipate her reflection. "Before the temple incident, the Grimoire was complete, or at least I hope so. So, instead of chasing down former holders…"

"We could meet one of the former Guardians."

Ladybug nodded. "You see, my plans aren't always so complicated," she said softly.

"I thought the Order of Guardians wouldn't help us because we are, and I quote: the product of an irresponsible and dishonorable mistake," he murmured, staring blankly at the ground in front of him.

"Yes but... hypothetically, let's admit that, maybe, Su-Han likes me enough to visit me from time to time…" she admitted, pursing her lips. "And, still hypothetically of course, that he gave me some information he vaguely remembered, without having the permission to disclose it," she blurted out. "Like names," she added.

"Hypothetically, of course," he noted with a mischievous look. Chat Noir poked her shoulder and laughed gently.

"That goes without saying," she smirked. "I don't have much information, but there was a guardian who lived in France before the Miracle Box was returned to Tibet when he died. Maybe he had the complete Grimoire and could help us…"

"Can we go home and rest first? I'm exhausted. We've been going around in circles for days," he said, turning his head towards her and giving her a nonchalant smile.

She also turned her head towards her partner, their faces now facing each other.

"Say rather that we take one step forward and two backward," she breathed desperately. "Well, maybe not if this Guardian can help us…"

"I don't feel like I'm taking two steps backwards," Chat Noir whispered, leaning slightly towards her, his breath brushing against his partner's nose. "At least, not with you."

The anger previously felt was now momentarily buried deep inside of her heart, bringing the heroine a wave of relief and tranquility that allowed her to open up a little more to her partner. She looked at the hero through her long eyelashes, surrendering to the sensation of warmth that caressed her skin without moving nor ever taking her eyes off him.

"one, two, three, four, five…"

"What are you doing?" she asked, scrunching her nose mechanically because his warm and close breath tickled her.

"I'm counting your freckles."

She blinked, astonished. She flushed, blinking a second time, without saying a word. A smirk stretched the feline's lips as he noted her reaction.

"There are twenty-two of them, on your cheekbones and on your nose," he declared proudly.

"What...game…are you…playing?" she asked. Her words were barely above a whisper and felt drained, her voice hoarse and breathless.

"I could ask you the same," he retorted without hesitation. "You keep saying we're just friends and yet you let me invade your personal space far too closely for that to be true," he explained in a languid voice. "You let me in so close, I can count the freckles on your face, without making any mistakes. I can almost taste your raspberry lip balm," he murmured, leaning closer to her, his lips only an inch from hers.

"For the raspberry knowledge, you're cheating. You know that because you already tasted it a few hours ago," she whispered.

Chat Noir hummed, placing his thumb against her lips and letting it slowly trace the plump curves.

Ladybug slightly opened her mouth letting escape a long sigh which came out almost like a moan, as she stared at him, completely hypnotized. She could see the longing, which had long been contained, shining in the feline's dilated pupils and it made her bold and almost smug. "If you don't stop looking at my lips like that, without doing anything, I swear that—"

Her threats died on the tip of her lips as Chat's mouth pressed fiercely against hers. She let out a tiny muffled squeak, before she swooned completely into the kiss. It tasted of cinnamon and leather. It was sensual, intoxicating, warm and at the same time raw. It was purely him and it made her head spin, giving her a dizzy, divine feeling. Her senses were drowned out and overwhelmed by the abundance of him, which surged through her like a torrent of lava gushing from an erupting volcano.

Even if she'd also melted into the previous kiss he'd shared with her to make her come back to her senses, it was nothing like this one. It wasn't hesitating and shy. It wasn't driven by the urge to keep the other safe. This one was driven by an impulse. An impulse that had been fueled for months—years—by an irrepressible longing.

Chat tightly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her body flush against his and she slid onto him. She straddled his lap without ever breaking the contact between their mouths as their tongues met for the first time. His free hand drifted to grab her butt, squeezing it slightly and she moaned in their kiss.

Ladybug wrapped her fingers around her partner's golden bell and pulled him closer to her, deepening their kiss as much as it was physically possible.

Chat Noir's hand drifted down her pigtails and his claws tore the elastic that held them in place, leaving long, dark ink, wavy hair cascading over her shoulders.

They were both insatiable and chased each other's lips with ever more ardor and passion.

Ladybug let escape a guttural moan when the hero's hands slipped off her hair, caressing her sides and finishing their race at her hips. He grabbed her flesh through the suit and pressed her body harder against his, drawing a second sigh of pleasure from her, before suddenly breaking the kiss, panting.

"I... I don't think...it's a...a good idea to...keep going in our...state," he said, catching his breath. "If a crisis...happens…"

"Are you afraid of me?" she asked without judgment. He wasn't wrong. A crisis could strike without warning and they varied in intensity. Sometimes just a little annoying, sometimes virulent, even violent.

"I'm afraid of myself," he whispered in a trembling voice. "I'm afraid of not being able to control what I'm doing if I'm not myself anymore."

"Fine. I understand," she nodded, pulling herself off his lap. "No more kisses then," she added while standing up.

Chat Noir also stood up and readjusted his bell, an undisguised pout stretching his features.

"I don't know what will destroy my health first: the overdose or keeping my distance with you," he lamented.

"You'll survive, Chaton."

"Of course, now I know that you and I in the future, it wasn't a hallucination," he boasted. "I knew it wouldn't be so hard for you to kiss me of your own free will."

He winked at her with a wide grin, and she turned as red as a traffic light. Her partner had a point. When they had gone four years into the future, they had run into their older alter-egos, kissing on a rooftop, convincingly assuring them —and it wasn't true— that they had hallucinated from their overdose. Sneaky cat and bug!

She had to admit that this was very unexpected but, at the same time, it was also a relief. Their alter-egos from the future had already assured them that they would find a solution, but they had to be patient, resilient and persistent. Now, she also realized that their relationship would stand the test, and they may even come out of it much stronger and closer together. She hadn't really doubted it when she saw that they were still there for each other, even fifteen years later, in the fairest future they'd seen. But, today, this information took on a whole new meaning.

Maybe, after all, this overdose was a test of their partnership... The Ladybug and the Black Cat have been linked to each other since the very beginning of time. They were half of a whole that had to be in constant balance, no matter what. They had already experienced a split in their balance in the past, when she had revealed her identity to Alya, and they knew that it never brought anything good, on the contrary. It made her think that maybe they hadn't done it right all along. After all, Su-Han had always been surprised that they kept their identities secret, when Master Fu, on the other hand, had imposed this rule on them.

"...ady?"

Ladybug shook her head, her partner's voice bringing her out of the internal reflection in which she was deeply immersed. "Sorry, I was thinking."

Chat Noir took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Let's focus on the solution before our personal lives suffer further, shall we? I don't want to pressure you. I just want to make things work between us," he admitted sincerely.

"I... I think I'd like it to work too," she agreed. "But it's not always that simple. Our situation is not... simple."

"I know... and... I guess by that you mean there's always... the other boy?" he noted sadly. "I see it, you know, that nagging doubt when you look at me".

The heroine clutched her partner's hand tighter in hers, as he was about to let go of hers.

"Yes, it is true," she confessed without denying the obvious. "But, he had some competition recently: you," she admitted in a trembling but sincere voice.

The feline glanced at their intertwined fingers and he gently slipped his hand out of hers. "I need to tell you something. I—"

"Shh. Don't say it. I see it, too. I'm not blind. I know I've waited far too long to be the only one who still has a place there," she whispered, pointing her finger at the hero's heart. "It's not simple," she repeated once more. "That's why we have to deal with our superhero problems first, before we deal with our private problems."

Chat Noir nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with his partner's words.

"So, tell me, who is this Guardian we're gonna meet?" he asked.

"Jean de La Fontaine."

To be continued…