Chapter Six – Secrets

Marinette fingered the corner of the poster Alya had given her to "encourage her new crush." Alya was completely wrong, of course. All through the school day Marinette had been blushing every time someone mentioned Cat Noir, true, but it was from the embarrassment of last night's "bell incident" and nothing more. It definitely had nothing to do with the two-day break from him she'd had to take to rid herself of the perplexing emotions that Oblivio had caused. Definitely not.

"So are you putting it up or not?" Tikki asked. "You're going to be late to patrol if you keep standing there."

"It's okay for me to have his picture up, right?" Marinette asked. "I can support my partner. I don't have a crush on him." She reached for the tape and started sticking it to the corners. "I'm supporting my friend." Marinette pushed the corners against the wall, making sure they were stuck fast.

Tikki waited until the poster was secure and then said, "It's not healthy to deny your feelings like that."

"I'm not!" Marinette flailed her arms around in an attempt to be taken seriously. "We're just friends."

"Okay. If you're sure."

Marinette transformed before Tikki could say anything else crazy, and Ladybug was soaring to Parc de Bercy before she knew it. Tonight, they would be patrolling the 12th Arrondissement.

Cat Noir was much the same as he had been the night before, quiet and distant, though this time, she caught him staring at her intently when he thought she wasn't looking. She was rattled to realize that she liked the attention.

The longer the night wore on, the more she suspected that there was more going on than just silence. Something was definitely wrong.

The ending of patrol was a drawn-out process. Back at the park, they shuffled their feet and said goodnight several times before Ladybug simply sat down on a bench and patted the space next to her. It was late, and they both should have been going to bed, but it was a nice night, and even though she definitely DID NOT have feelings for her partner, he was good company, and she enjoyed spending time with him. Besides, he still looked like he could do with some more attention. She might be able to help him feel better. A few extra minutes couldn't hurt, right?

"So, you ready to talk about it?"

"What?"

"Whatever is wrong?"

"Nothing," he said. He had left a small gap between them when he'd sat down. The air between them felt colder than the air everywhere else, and she didn't like. She scooted a little closer, careful not to touch him, since she wasn't sure how he would react.

Their bench overlooked a large lake, which reflected moonlight. A light breeze made ripples on the surface dance. After the gates were locked was her favorite time to visit the city parks, when they became one of the few places she could be truly alone with her partner. It was peaceful.

"Sometimes, I don't like being civilian me," she whispered. Maybe, if she started sharing secrets, he'd do the same. He needed to talk to someone. "Sure, the stakes are higher, but I can just erase all my mistakes at the end. Plus, I get this partner to help me out." She bumped his shoulder lightly. "He's kind of great."

"I like to watch anime."

"Come on, I told you a secret. That's not a secret."

"It's a personal detail that you didn't know before. It counts."

"Really? I didn't hear you quoting Steins;gate two weeks ago?" He hadn't explained the reference to her, and she'd had to use her yoyo to Google how a microwave started World War Three. "I know what crazy shows you watch."

"Fine. I-"

For a few seconds, she thought he was going to say it.

"I'd wanted to learn embroidery when I was little. I thought it looked cool, and thought maybe it was fancy enough that my father would let me try it, so I asked for lessons. I was told it wasn't practical, so the answer was no. I tried to teach myself from the internet anyway. Turns out I'm terrible at it, so I quit. I never told anyone else that. Does it count?"

"I'll allow it." They had a common interest? Really?! She tried to squelch the excitement by reminding herself that he had told her a secret, but not what was wrong. She'd have to try a more direct approach. "So this thing that's bothering you, it's a person, isn't it?"

"I- My..." He turned away quickly. She hoped he wasn't going to say her. Three days ago, she'd run out on him, then abandoned him during patrols without warning, and couldn't get a word out of him since. It would make sense that she was the cause, and she hated to admit it.

"My... father," he finally said, and Ladybug sighed with relief.

"What about him?"

"He's very... distant. We don't understand each other very well."

He shifted, bringing his arm up, and for a moment, she thought he was going to put it around her, or maybe run his fingers through her hair, but he only scratched the back of his neck and let his hand fall again. Ladybug told herself that she wasn't disappointed. She hadn't wanted him to hold her. She only wanted to be near him because she cared about him. That was an objective fact. And sharing personal details was making her feel closer to him. That was all. It didn't mean anything else.

"Have you talked to him about it?" she asked. Focus on the task at hand, Marinette. He needs your attention right now.

"Tried to."

"What about other people?"

Cat Noir shrugged.

"No one? You can't expect things to change if you don't ask someone for help."

"You don't get it," he said. "And it's not like I can tell you more about it. Identities."

"Yeah," she said. "I know." There were some secrets they would have to keep, though she'd never hated it more than she did right then.

Author's note: If I ever do one of these prompt month things again, I'll take a leaf out of thenovelartist's book and combine multiple days into larger chapters. Pacing it myself, I probably would have written days one through four as one and days six through eight as another. Day five is the only one that makes sense to me as its own thing. Oh, well.