Chapter 20 – Trust

Claustrophobia was something Ladybug had never really understood. How could small, cozy places be scary? Sitting on the cold tile floor, an akuma prowling just out of sight, trapped and blinded by the rack of dresses that she was counting on to keep her safe, she thought she could learn to understand.

Space inside the circular rack was so cramped that she was wedged tightly against her partner, but she moved in even closer for comfort, resting her cheek against his shoulder as he listened. He smiled slightly. Well, she was glad someone liked being trapped here. Though, she would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying the touch just a little.

"Okay," Cat Noir whispered. "He's moving away again."

Ladybug leaned in, massaging her sore shoulder. It still hurt a little, and not even the magical suit was enough to completely ease the pain. He'd offered to do that for her, but the glare she'd given him had shut him right up.

Though, if it was still sore later, maybe...

"What else do you hear?" she asked.

Cat Noir squinted, tilted his head to one side, and his hair fell across his forehead. She wanted to reach over and push it out of his eyes for him. Stupid boy with this stupid hair and his stupid face, making her feel stupid things in the middle of a battle.

"There's still a lot of people in here," he whispered. "They're mostly tiptoeing around the edges, trying to get out." He lowered his voice even further. "Akuma's coming back around. No, wait. He's going to the back of the store. More people outside. They're talking. I don't think they know what's going on... And I can hear my heart."

"Your..."

He cracked one eye open at her. "Which is beating only for you."

Ladybug's mouth fell open, but just as quickly she snapped it shut and pretended to be interested in the blue empire waist next to her. "Stop being so cute."

Ever contrary, Cat Noir grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Can't. Sorry. The cuteness is a feature." He didn't let go, but neither did she.

"I think it's a bug. I would know."

"Did you just pun?"

"Me? In the middle of a battle? Never."

Chuckling, he asked, "Should we use Lucky Charm?" and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. It was very distracting, though she wasn't about to tell him that.

Staring at the dress like it would help clear her mind, she said, "I'd rather not use it to escape. We'll probably need it later to fight."

They waited in silence for a few more seconds. The dresses rustled as someone brushed past their rack. Ladybug turned to her partner, who gave her a thumbs up. Nothing to worry about. Just a civilian escaping. In the back of the store, Dodgeboy grumbled about them not coming out to play his game. She could feel the distant voice rumbling in her chest.

Cat Noir squeezed her hand tighter. "I have an idea to get out of here, but you're gonna hate it."

"I'll consider any plan right now." They'd been fighting for ages and ideas were slow coming with him rubbing relaxing circles into her back of her hand. The sensible thing would be to ask him to stop. She did not do the sensible thing.

"Well," he began slowly, "we can try to... blend in with the crowd. You know, just walk out with all the other civilians."

"I think the akuma would notice us pretty easily. Our suits are-"

"No, I mean... detransform first. We're just two kids. No one will look twice at us trying to escape."

Detransform? Right now?

"You're right," she said. "I hate it. But I..." She looked down at their still-joined hands. The circles he was rubbing weren't intended to be relaxing, she realized; they were supposed to be consoling. Her heart pounded painfully, spreading panic with each beat. She wasn't ready. "I don't have any better ideas," she whispered, hating how afraid she sounded.

"Hey." Slipping one knuckle under her chin, he lifted her face up to his. The space was so small that their noses almost brushed together. His eyes were so full of concern and adoration that she leaned toward him involuntarily. Mostly involuntarily.

"This is just to escape, and once we're back outside we'll get back in the suits." He kept his voice low, drawing her in. "I promise I won't look. Do... do you trust me?"

"Yes," she breathed.

"Thank you." He kissed her forehead, then cocked his head, listening again. "His footsteps are far enough away. I don't hear anyone else nearby. No one will see us if we go now."

Ladybug nodded and unfolded herself from her crouch, joints stiff from sitting on the floor for so long. Forcing herself to let go of his hand (which was harder than she expected), she slipped out of the clothing rack. Immediately, she felt too exposed and crossed her arms in front of herself, knowing the sensation was about to get worse.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Never," she said. "Let's do it."

Looking straight ahead, they both released their transformations, hid their kwamis, and walked toward the nearest exit sign. The boy who was not Cat Noir padded quietly to her right, his bare forearm occasionally brushing against her own. It was strange to realize she'd never actually touched his arm before. Or his hands.

Another thing Marinette had never realized was how many mirrors clothing stores had. They covered every pillar, capped the end of every aisle. Even the metal clothing racks and glass cases of jewelry were reflective enough for her to see herself. It would be so easy to glance in any direction and see her partner's face accidentally. The temptation was very, very pressing, so she kept her eyes trained upward, on the exit sign.

By the third time their arms brushed together, they'd safely left the store and were back in the mall's wide hallway, and she'd come to the conclusion that the touches were definitely not accidental. This was proven true a few seconds later when he caught her hand and laced their fingers together.

"A couple would draw less attention," he explained.

"This is completely unnecessary," she hissed. "We looked fine the way we were." No one was looking at them. The itch between her shoulder blades continually warned her that they about to be discovered, but it looked like Dodgeboy had lost them, as well.

Despite the validity of her arguments, Marinette's free hand found the crook of his elbow. Fabric bunched under her fingers.

"Unnecessary..." Not Cat Noir said. "Get your hand off my arm then."

"No."

There were plenty of people in the hallways, though much fewer than there had been before. Faces peeked out of shop entrances and through wide glass panes. Dodgeboy and his craters were nowhere to be seen. That should have been reassuring – it meant they were escaping safely – but Marinette was a little unsettled because it also meant they didn't know where he was.

"So the backpack," she said. "I think we need to get that off him."

"Which means we're either going to create one captivating distraction or we'll need to get him stuck somewhere."

"That'll come down to the Lucky Charm I get," Marinette said. "But I think getting him trapped might be easier."

"Agreed. There's enough debris outside to work with, plus it'll neutralize his guns."

While they were outlining a plan and making their way to the closest exit, Marinette's hand roamed up his arm, coming to rest on his bicep, and she hoped he didn't notice. It was either an attempt to walk closer to him or... something else that she didn't want to name. She wasn't sure which.

"Speaking of guns," Not Cat Noir said. Fabric went taught as his arm bulged. "Like what you feel?"

Okay, it definitely wasn't THAT. Marinette had to focus on keeping her footsteps even for a few seconds to refocus her brain. Then, to punish him for noticing, she ignored his question and started obviously exploring the muscle, drawing circles and dragging her fingers over the lines of his shirt until he tripped.

"Ha," she said. "Who's making who flustered now, Kitty?"

"P-please. I'm trying not to die, here."

She wasn't sure if the danger was the akuma or her hands. "Oh, so when I tell you not to goof off with puns and flirts in the middle of a battle, now you know how it feels." She gave him an extra tight squeeze.

"Can we focus, please?"

"I'm trying to distract you." She did it again, feeding the happy feeling that curled from her heart all the way down to her toes.

"You- I- You-" He picked up their pace, shop windows sliding past them in his haste to escape her teasing. They turned a corner to see a bright rectangle of sunlight at the end of the hallway. An emergency exit. He walked even faster.

"Imagine what this would be like if your sleeves were even shorter." She hummed, sliding her hand from his shoulder down to his elbow and feeling him shiver.

"Wh-Why don't you distract me later?" he said, lowering his voice. Marinette thought his attempt to sound alluring and back in control of the conversation was adorable in its absurdity. The wobble in his voice and his need to escape told her he had no idea what he was doing, but he kept trying. "I can think of some good distractions," he said. "Wink wink."

"Did you just narrate your wink?"

"Well, I know you're not looking at my face."

Cat Noir practically punched the door open, cracking against the outside wall and setting off an alarm. Marinette blinked in the sunlight, still hanging onto his arm. Turning her face carefully away from him, she surveyed her half of the parking lot.

"I can't see anyone. You?"

"No one," he said.

"Okay. I guess we should get back to work, then. Playtime's over."

"Oh, thank goodness, claws out!"

Plagg cackled at them as he was sucked into the ring.

Marinette giggled. "Am I too much for you to handle?" She glanced at his face. Mask already back in place, Cat Noir was looking away from her – like she knew he would be – and was violently blushing. She laughed at his discomfort and at the power of his suit that tickled her palms as he transformed. "Spots on."

"Got your baton back?"

"Right here," he said, pulling it out with his free hand. "That's a relief."

"First thing's first, we need to find Dodgeboy before he gets into trouble," Ladybug said, slowly peeling her hands off him.

"Wait." His interlaced fingers squeezed hers before she could get away, and she paused. He still hadn't turned to look at her yet. "Would you..." he asked the air in front of him. "Would you be interested in going on a date with me?"

A punch in the gut couldn't have left Ladybug more winded. All the happiness their teasing and flirting had created evaporated.

She hadn't had time to make her choice. She wasn't ready for this question yet, and she kicked herself for not seeing that she'd been inviting it.

She hadn't been silent for two seconds before Cat Noir said, "It's fine. You don't want to. I get it. It's okay."

"It's not that," she said slowly. "I just... haven't decided what I want yet. I don't want to string you along."

Cat Noir turned to her, hope blazing in his eyes. "So don't decide yet. I just want to spend time with you. That's all. Just a date? I won't ask for anything else until you've made up your mind."

But that wasn't all. What about Adrien?

Well, she thought, what about him?

Cat Noir's eyes were wide and earnest, and she loved him so much. A date sounded wonderful. No patrols, no akumas, a chance for him to dedicate time just to her, for them to be together.

Hands still linked, Cat Noir waited patiently before finally breaking the silence. "We can stay in our masks. No revealing identities yet, if that's what you want."

What was the harm in it? As long as he understood it was just one date, as long as he would give her the distance and time afterward to make her final decision.

"I... I'd like that," she said. "I'd really like that."

His cat ears perked up. "Friday?"

"Sure. I'm free all evening. We'll talk about it later, though. Akuma."

"Right," he said, letting go of her hand at last and turning away, and she thought he heard him whisper, "It worked again!"

Cold wind blew in the threat of a storm as they circled the building and found a crowd of civilians on the other side, pouring through the doors to escape the fire alarm. Dodgeboy was there too, both cannon-hands train on the largest door, waiting for them.

"Hey, Dog-breath! There's more than one door!" Cat Noir bounded over the akuma's head, and the crowd below cheered. "Too late to ambush us! You'll have to cat-ch us!"

"Head toward the school," Ladybug said, throwing out her yoyo.

They twisted away from each other, frigid wind whipping at their faces and muting Dodgeboy's roars.

"What's the plan, My Lady?"

"Working on it."

But she wasn't working on it. Her mind was compiling every action she'd taken in the last week, laying it out plainly for her for the first time. The smiles, the flirting, the texts, all the times she'd wished she could be near him, and now agreeing to a date.

She'd promised herself she would either stop or choose him. She wasn't stopping so...

Did this mean she was choosing him?

Author's note: Don't let the happiness fool you. The angst chapters are imminent.