Chapter 16 – Stars
Cat Noir's breath shuddered as Ladybug rolled off of him, slipping from underneath his hands, shattering the moment they'd almost shared.
He clung to the fact that she didn't go far, but stayed where she landed right next to him, pressed into his side from shoulder to toes, staring up through the gaps in the leaf pile to the few stars visible.
Protected from the outside world in their nest of leaves, they waited for the other to say something, to confirm or deny what had almost just happened. He felt frozen, suspended in time. The wind was quiet, the stars stood still, and no words came.
Gathering his courage, Cat Noir inched his fingers toward her and took her hand. Ladybug said nothing. Seconds lengthened as he brought her hand up to his face. Her boundaries flexed and stretched. He could tell, just by the way she stopped breathing, that she was deciding how far she would allow him in, but as he touched his lips to her hand, she took it back and started talking.
"Do you know what star that is?" she said, using her newly freed hand to point at one directly overhead.
Grasping at anything to change the subject, My Lady? But this was an opportunity to impress her.
"That's Capella, part of the constellation Auriga, sixth brightest star in the sky, and still not as bright as you."
"Really?" She sounded surprised, not impressed. But she hadn't rejected his compliment, so that was something.
He reached for her hand again, careful to keep it loose enough that she knew he was only offering her the option. He waited for her to pull away, and when she didn't, he started telling her everything his tutors had forced him to memorize. "That one is Aldebaran. That one's Betelgeuse. It's probably exploded already." He pointed each one out to her, barely aware of each one. His focus was completely on her. Was she still interested? Was she bored? Was she watching him? He interlaced their fingers.
With a nudge of his foot, the bottom edge of the pile collapsed inward and revealed more sky. A star was just visible through the bare branches of a tree. "That one's my least favorite. Sirius," he said, nodding to it.
"Why?"
"It's the dog star," Cat Noir said.
Ladybug laughed. "I'm learning all sorts of new things about you today. You're interested in astronomy?"
"Not really, but I like knowing it now."
"Then where did you learn all this?"
He waited before answering, uncertain if she was asking a personal question like that on purpose. "I can tell you," he said slowly, "but you'd be learning something about my home life. Do you still want to know?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched a battle take place across Ladybug's face. A frown of disapproval. Wide-eyed curiosity. Lips pursed in thought. How could this be making his heart pound so hard? She finally settled on a soft smile, calm and certain, like the one he made when he thought of her, and he knew she'd reached a decision.
"Sure," she said. "But nothing too obvious."
Just an hour ago he'd decided against pressing his luck, but her openness made him rethink that. Slowly, so he wouldn't startle her, he brought their interlaced hands up to his face again. "It's nothing really special. I was homeschooled for most of my life, and one of my tutors was very interested in stars. Sort of ruined it by just drilling me on facts. My father didn't allow me to stay up late to stargaze. This is nice."
He didn't kiss her, but he did brush his lips against her knuckles, imagining what it would be like to touch skin instead of suit, what it would be like for this to be a normal part of their relationship.
"Cat Noir," Ladybug complained.
Author's note: We're officially halfway through! (At least chapter-wise. I don't know about length-wise.) You're getting another chapter tomorrow night! It's the last bit of this scene.