Chapter Fifteen – Race Through the City
Cat Noir flung himself through the frigid air, pushing his muscles to their limit, feeling his adrenaline and the wind in his hair burn away his sorrow from the day. The familiar zip of Ladybug's yoyo line was comforting, reminding him that she was behind him, in more ways than one. Their finish line at Parc de Bercy was on the other side of the city, and they were making good time. Cat Noir maintained his lead for several minutes, but Ladybug kept on his tail and slowly gained.
When she was close enough that he could hear her heavy breathing, he said, "I'll be a gentleman and let you go on ahead." He retracted his baton just enough to let her dart over him and watched her as she took the lead.
"That's a funny way to admit that I'm faster than you!"
He felt the wind of her passing and couldn't help but smile.
They bounded over a skyscraper, and the distant park came into view. Bare trees waved at them in the twilight, leaves swirled in the empty streets. Most of the civilians had gone home to get away from the cold, but the chill was waking Cat Noir up.
Ladybug was two leaps ahead of him, and he let her stay there. He was sure she'd let him know all about her victory later, but had other things on his mind, like how they'd been together for well over an hour, and how he still couldn't believe she was there with him, like she'd promised she would be if he needed her. All he had to do was ask, and she said yes?
They bounded over the gates and into the park, Ladybug still ahead but slowing down now that they'd reached their destination. A giant pile of leaves sat almost directly in front of them and gave him an idea. As she pushed off of a park bench and leaped into the air, just before she threw her yoyo out to pull herself forward, she was in free fall, weightless, and Cat Noir pushed himself forward and caught her around the middle, ruining her trajectory and flinging them off course.
The pile erupted when they landed, spewing leaves in every direction. Ladybug shrieked in surprise until it was overpowered with her laughter, and he found himself laughing too - truly laughing - for the first time that day.
"Oh, so you think this is funny?" she asked, taking a fistful of leaves and throwing it into his face. "I'm glad!"
The crackling mound was enormous and completely hid them from the outside world. Leaves from the explosion rained down on top of them, covering them further. He tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down, burying them even deeper. They twisted and tumbled, each trying to keep the other from escaping their leafy igloo, until Cat Noir realized she was lying on top of him - his hands around her waist, legs tangled, faces only inches apart - and froze.
He was close enough to her face that he saw the exact moment she noticed their position. She blinked and stopped moving, balancing with one hand on the ground and the other on his chest. They were so close, but she didn't move away, not to close the gap, but not to retreat either. The air around them seemed to thicken, blocking all outside noise and light and existence. She was the only thing real to him, her and her ragged breath, and her eyes that darted to his lips and back again so quickly, and her face that dipped toward him slowly, almost imperceptibly as she lowered herself closer.
Eager anticipation electrified him, making him see and smell and feel her more vividly. Did she want him to? Tonight had started out as just a way to make him feel better, but maybe...
Slowly, gently, Cat Noir slipped one hand from her waist to her face, tilting her head, guiding her to him, and he lifted himself up to meet her halfway. Ladybug let him inch closer, her eyes beginning to drift closed.
Until finally, with a gasp, she lost her nerve and rolled off him.
Author's note: DARN YOU, LADYBUG.