Chapter Fourteen – Encouragement

Texting Ladybug had probably been the best decision Cat Noir had ever made. He'd spent so much of the day miserable, but now he was lying down next to the lady of his dreams on a homemade blanket she'd brought just for him, picnic basket almost empty, and feeling- well, not good, but at least not empty and abandoned. Their heads were close together, and she wasn't complaining about the lazy circles he was tracing on the back of her hand with one clawed finger.

And still he wondered. Was she lying this close to him on purpose? Or was she only cold? Was she solely trying to cheer him up? Or...

"So are you ready to talk about what's wrong?" Her question was a whisper.

"Can't," he sighed. "Personal life stuff."

"Your dad again?"

"I wish it were that trivial."

Ladybug hummed, though he wasn't sure if it was in sympathy or displeasure. A gust of wind made her shiver, and she slid even closer, tucking her toes under him for warmth. He wished he were feeling better so he could appreciate what it felt like as she snuggled into him.

"Could you maybe talk about it without specifics?"

"Not if you don't want major identity hints."

She hesitated.

She actually hesitated.

Long enough that Cat Noir started to get his hopes up, that she'd ask him to say it anyway, that she'd let him tell her. It would be so much easier. He would be able to actually talk to someone about his grief, how he felt orphaned by his mother's disappearance and his father's distance.

And if she figured out who he was, that was fine with him. He'd be able to share both halves of himself with her. Both halves already belonged to her anyway.

But she shook her head and mumbled, "Sorry," and Cat Noir sunk back into the dreary stupor that had held him prisoner all day, his pinprick of hope snuffed out.

"I'll just have to guess at what to say to make you feel better," she said. "Tell me how I do, okay?"

"Don't. You're not going to guess it." She was probably going to be way off and not say anything helpful, just hollow phrases like, "You've got this!" and "Cheer up! Everything's fine!"

"You're stubborn." she said. "And it's very annoying."

It was so unexpected that he smiled in spite of everything. "You're really bad at this."

"But it makes you good at our job because you always get back up, no matter what has been thrown at you. It's amazing. You're thoughtful and kind. I'm always impressed with how you deal with akuma victims after we fix everything. You're much more compassionate than I am, did you know that? A lot of times, I'm ready to go home and not deal with the person who was just trying to kill us, but you're never like that. Unless your time's almost up, you make sure they're okay."

She paused, letting her words sink in. He thought she hadn't noticed all that about him, the Adrien side that was sometimes visible through his Cat Noir charm. He'd never really thought about what those qualities would mean to his job – or to his Lady.

Whatever their intended effect, her words made him feel more curious. He'd had vague feelings that things had been different between them for weeks, but here was solid proof. Ladybug would never have noticed little things about him before, and she definitely wouldn't have commented on them if she had. Her feelings for him were changing.

She wasn't finished. "I'm glad you asked me to come out here. I love spending time with you, and I want you to know that you're important to me."

"Well, forget what I said before. You're pretty good at guessing," he said. It wasn't going to bring his mother back – there was nothing anyone could say that would – but the bands of heartache squeezing around his chest lessened as she continued her careful praise. And he knew she meant every word.

"Your puns aren't that bad."

"I knew it."

"You make fighting to the death fun because you can always see the good in everything. You have never let me down; I know I can always depend on you. No matter what happens, I'm always going to be here for you."

As she talked, she watched the sky. Clouds were racing above them and stars were feebly starting to shine. Pinpricks of light, like the rays of hope she was poking through his gloom.

He turned to stare at her face in profile, mesmerized by the shape of her lips and their movement. As soon as she noticed, Ladybug stopped talking abruptly and stood up. He was disappointed, until he saw her blushing. He watched her brush imaginary dirt off herself to avoid his steady gaze until she got her face under control, then held out a hand to help him up. He didn't let go of her when she started to pull away, and she didn't complain, just quietly relaxed into his hold.

"I b-bet you can't beat me to P-parc de Bercy," she said, obviously looking for a change of subject.

He wasn't ready to let the moment go quite yet, so he stepped forward until he was close enough to bend down and kiss her cheek, just brushing the corner of her mouth, far to long to be just a peck and far too close to her lips to be platonic. He didn't want to push his luck, not today, so he pulled himself back and said, "Thank you."

"F-f-for what?" she asked, touching the spot.

"For the head start."

Cat Noir hopped over the railing, leaving his stuttering partner in his wake.

Author's note: This is another group of chapters that should have been one chapter. This one and the next three are all one big scene that's been divided up, and I would have put into one chapter if I wasn't posting the prompts separately.