Let's Take It From The Top, Chapter 7: Unexpected Duets
Ladybug sighed with frustration. Chat Noir was actually listening to me, until YOU showed up... whoever you are!
"Dare I ask who you are?" she asked the heavy figure. She looked him up and down; he appeared to be garbed in a high-tech suit of armor, except that... okay, maybe "high-tech" wasn't quite the right descriptor for it. It's almost like it was made out of... ice cream?
"There are those who call me... the DAIRY DYNAMO!" he bellowed, proudly. "Justice, like vengeance... is best served COLD."
"Ohhh-kay, then!" boggled Chat Noir. "We're officially past the part of my day that makes sense. Can I assume that Papillon sent you, and that there isn't a Gelato Miraculous?"
The energy signature flashed across the Dynamo's face, which was all the confirmation Ladybug needed to see. "You may tell him that, yes. Do not harm either of them... but do not let them leave, either," Papillon ordered him. "Once you have captured them, I will instruct you further."
"Both, Papillon?" murmured the hefty hero, under his breath.
"Talk first, force second," his benefactor explained. "If you can convince them to come with you voluntarily, that's preferable. If they try to leave, stop them. The boy is the priority; the girl..." Papillon trailed off for a moment. "If necessary, capture her as well, and I will apologize profusely when I meet her for the inconvenience."
In his office, Papillon struggled with his decision-making. The girl has done nothing wrong. She may well be a considerable force for good; I don't want her harmed at all. But with the unfathomable power she represents...! I must at least speak with her, whether she wants to or not, for all of our sakes.
Satisfied with his orders, the Dynamo turned to Chat Noir. "Papillon sent me, oui. He needs to confer with the two of you, most urgently; it is a matter of grave importance, and the safety of all Paris may be at risk! May I ask the two of you to accompany me?"
"Two of us?" interjected Ladybug. "What would Papillon want with me? How would he even know who I am?"
"It's... a long story?" evaded the Dynamo. "I'm sure he will explain when we get where we're going."
Ladybug looked at Chat, questioningly. "What do you think?" she asked. "I'm not going to tell you what to do."
Chat pondered his options. I'm not sure about this Ladybug yet... but she's got a lot more credibility right now than Dairy Boy here. I _know_ he's my dad's puppet.
"Hard pass, sorry," Chat smiled. "To both of you. If I want to go home, I know exactly where that is; Dad doesn't have to send a walking dessert to collect me. And as for you, my lady... maybe some other time, we'll talk things out when we don't have frosty company."
Ladybug frowned... then took a step forward. "Look, Chat... I promise-"
Swiftly, the Dynamo pounded the pavement with both frozen fists... and a shockwave roared down the street, separating the two and knocking each off their feet!
"I am afraid that I must insist, little ones. The stakes are higher than you know."
"Careful, Dynamo," cautioned Papillon. "You're supposed to be a hero, remember? Pull your punches."
"My apologies, mon ami. Sorry, children! I am still learning my own strength," he apologized.
Ladybug regained her feet, glaring at her frozen attacker. "If I had any thoughts of going with you, that fixed THAT." She spun her yo-yo, assumed a defensive stance, and turned to Chat Noir... who was backing away from both of them.
"I'm still not sure about either of you," Chat replied. "I'm surprised you're even still here... unless you really ARE on his side."
"For one thing," Ladybug snapped, "he just attacked ME, too. For another, I didn't come find you just to bat my eyes at you and run away."
Chat smiled. "They are pretty eyes, though."
"Not the time or place, Chat." Despite herself, she grinned a little. "What's your plan?"
"This is like the old comic book cliche, y'know?" he said. "Heroes meet for the first time, there's a big misunderstanding, they fight, and then they make up and go out for ice cream later." He gestured with his baton, adding, "Except the ice cream's already here."
"I wouldn't know that one," Ladybug smiled. "I was more into Tintin than superheroes. Less flirting, more running, you think?"
"Running will not help," the Dynamo grinned. "Muscles are not all that I have to share! Let's see what I'll dish out to keep you right there... Peach pink like his lips and mint like his eyes! Hold still while I give you a frosty surprise..."
He raised both arms and let loose with a dual barrage of frozen fury, pumping ice cream at both young heroes at high velocity as if from fire hoses. Both of them dodged the initial assault, though the Dynamo was agile enough to force them to keep moving.
"Hey! I'm watching my figure over here," glared Ladybug. "This costume doesn't have room for a Freshman Fifteen."
"It does look pretty good, though," Chat quipped. "The ice cream, I mean. Though it's probably not lactose-free..."
"This would be so much nicer if you'd just come with me," sang the Dynamo. "But if I must subdue you, I will, c'est la vie?"
"And to think I was gonna ask Firefly to get ice cream at your cart with me!" Chat yelled. "This is not good salesmanship!"
"Wait, you wanted to ask Firefly out? For ANDRE'S Sweetheart Ice Cream?" Ladybug hesitated... then got a faceful of strawberry as a result of being distracted, knocking her over.
"Why wouldn't I?" asked Chat. "She's perfectly adorable. Is that a problem?"
"No, why... would it be?" replied Ladybug, regaining her feet. "I'm just... surprised, that's all."
"Have you met her?" She clearly had Chat's attention. "If you have, has she ever mentioned me?"
"Ahem!" shouted the Dynamo. "It's not that your flirting's not precious today... but I think that it's time that I put you away!" He raised both hands to the sky, his arms glowed with power, and he shouted, "FROZEN STORM!"
A gigantic torrent of ice cream shot from both barrels, knocking over both heroes... and quickly submerging them in huge piles of frozen sludge, hardening rapidly!
"UGH!" Ladybug cried, struggling to get free, but unable to pull more than one arm loose. "This s-stuff is like... freezing c-cold c-concrete! LUCKY..."
She stopped herself, abruptly. I can't do that now! If I use Lucky Charm and CAN'T get free, I'll change back to Marinette in front of both of them!
But... do I really have a choice?
Ladybug looked over at Chat Noir, who was similarly pinned down. His eyes were closed, and he was concentrating on something.
Papillon's energy signature flashed. "You've succeeded in capturing them... but now you only have five minutes of power left! How long will the entrapment last?"
"An hour or two, I suspect," the Dynamo said. "Enough time for you to get here, or send someone, or whatever you need."
"I've almost g-g-got one l-l-leg free, Chat," Ladybug gasped, her teeth chattering from the intense cold. "You got an-n-nything?"
"...Ch-h-hat?" she repeated.
Chat Noir concentrated hard, weighing his options. Please don't make me do this, he thought. It's only going to make my condition worse, Plagg said...
He turned his head and saw Ladybug struggling, visibly suffering from the freezing cold block encasing her, and made his decision. But I'm not abandoning her, he thought.
"CATACLYSM!" he shouted...
...and in a flash of dark energy, the ice cream block encasing him vanished abruptly.
"Let's see what you've got... now?" he began, looking around. He saw a portly armored man running away, conscious of his own ticking timer, and the groaning Ladybug next to him. The girl's not going anywhere, he thought, so I could go take down Andre and come back...
...ah, no way I'd do that! He'll be harmless in a few minutes. She's in pain, and that's WAY more important.
"Hold still, Ladybug," Chat said, readying his baton. "I'm going to chip away at this and I don't want to hit you."
"O-okay," she murmured, closing her eyes.
A few strikes knocked away enough of the frozen concoction to let Ladybug pull herself the rest of the way free; she reached out and took Chat's extended left hand to help her regain her feet.
"Th-hank you," Ladybug replied. "I owe y-you one."
"Maybe someday I'll collect on that. But for now, my own timer's running... so I will say au revoir, until we meet again, fair mademoiselle." He flashed a toothy smile, then took off at his typical high speed.
"W-wait!" she tried to call after him... but he was far away too quickly, and she was in no condition to chase after him, still shaking off the shivers.
A block away, the Dairy Dynamo huffed and puffed. "Did I err badly, Papillon?" he asked. "I have failed you."
"No, my friend," Papillon reassured him. "You tried your best. No one was hurt, and I gained some very valuable information from your encounter, and I thank you for both of those."
"Good," he smiled. "I am not really cut out for the superhero lifestyle... perhaps many years and many kilograms ago... but I wanted to help."
"And you did," said Papillon. "For now, I would suggest getting to some cover, where your transformation back will not be noticed. Perhaps our paths will cross again..."
Papillon broke contact, transformed back to Gabriel, and pondered what to do next.
Clearly, that was more forceful an approach than I would have preferred. If anything, we alienated Ladybug more than we persuaded her! Her voluntary cooperation would be FAR more useful than any chest-beating or bullying could produce. I don't want her thinking that Papillon is some... one-dimensional dime-store supervillain.
But how much information dare I share with her about my situation?
And with the fulfillment of my dream now within reach... how CAN I resist simply reaching out and seizing it?
Nooroo floated over to him, cautiously. "Are you all right, Gabriel?" he asked.
"I am, my little friend. I'm just... troubled. Searching for the right path."
Chat Noir flew from one rooftop to the next, running and jumping until he felt he was safely out of range of potential pursuit, then dropped back down to street level. Out of sight of anyone, he transformed back to Adrien, and quickly had Plagg in his face.
"WHAT did I tell you?" the Kwami hollered. "The more you use Cataclysm, the worse your out-of-control powers will get!"
"Did I really have a choice there? It was either break free or be captured by my father's goon," Adrien snapped back. "I didn't want to, but that girl and I were both helpless unless I did! AND she was suffering! My costume has a lot more insulation, apparently."
"THAT GIRL," Plagg retorted, "was LADYBUG! She had her own power she could have used! She's proof that the Guardian is not only still alive, but nearby!"
"How do you mean?" asked Adrien.
"The Ladybug and the Cat are the two most powerful of the Miraculouses. THAT'S the Creation Miraculous you needed that night! No Guardian would ever let that one out of his sight, unless another Miraculous was out of control. Lucky for YOU, the Guardian seems to have picked someone gentle to wield it." Plagg looked nervous. "And even then, you'd better watch your step around her."
"She's that powerful?" Adrien marveled. "She didn't seem like it back there."
"Maybe the girl's still learning how it works. Or maybe her Kwami has her pulling her punches. But, trust me, don't underestimate any Ladybug," answered Plagg. "You'd be amazed what she can pull out of thin air to beat anyone she faces. Her powers of pure luck are legendary."
Plagg's words registered in Adrien's head, abruptly. "WAIT! So... with her Miraculous, I _could_ cast a proper wish?"
"NO! Don't even think about it! Really, really, REALLY bad idea! Or haven't you caused enough trouble yet?" shouted Plagg. "Look, let me explain it like you didn't give me a chance to explain that night! Creation and Destruction together CAN cast a wish... but the universe will balance it. So if you wish for a million dollars, someone else loses that million dollars. If you wish for true love, someone else loses theirs. And if you wish to bring someone back to life..."
Adrien turned pale as a ghost. "...I nearly did that?" he gasped.
"You nearly did that. But you didn't, and now you KNOW not to," soothed Plagg. "You're not the kind of person who'd hurt anyone else on purpose; I can tell that just by being with you. I think you'll be a good Chat Noir, after all. But you have a responsibility to keep anyone else from misusing Miraculouses, and we have to find some way of fixing you. But first, and even more importantly... my stomach is growling! I need something to eat, and soon!"
Adrien winced. "I think my soul is growling. I can feel that weird hunger again."
"It's too soon for that. This is what I was afraid of... look, let's go get something, okay? I can't help if I'm too weak," asked Plagg.
"Yeah. We'll figure something out."
Ladybug plopped down on her balcony, feeling a little better, and transformed back. She climbed down into her room and wrapped a blanket around herself to finish warming herself up.
"Did I do okay, Tikki?" she asked her Kwami, who looked on with concern.
"Definitely. You have just the right personality for this," Tikki smiled. "You were getting through to Chat Noir, I could tell."
"And then Captain Banana Split had to show up," Marinette grumbled. "When Papillon reached out to ME, he seemed like a decent guy. This hero did attack us, but he didn't seem like he was trying to hurt us. More like hold us in one place... and I can't say I hadn't thought about yo-yoing Chat and taking him wherever, but I decided against that."
"He'd be harder to hold onto than you realize," said Tikki. "You're more evenly matched than you know."
"All the more reason not to try to force him into anything," reasoned Marinette. "If Ladybug can convince him to play along, what should I do? I can't ask you that while I'm Ladybug, and I don't want to transform back in front of him."
"Hmmm. I can't tell you who to contact, yet..." Tikki debated what to do. "Can I have your phone for a second?"
"Sure," Marinette said, handing it over with a curious expression.
Tiny red hands worked for a moment, then Tikki said, "There."
Marinette looked it over, and saw a new contact with an unfamiliar phone number, marked IN CASE OF CHAT BREAK GLASS.
"If you're in a spot where Chat agrees to being helped, you're alone and you're Ladybug, call that number. Hint that you're Ladybug and tell him what's happening. He'll guide you from there," advised Tikki. "But ONLY use it in those circumstances. And be sure about it before you call."
"Who's going to answer?" wondered Marinette.
"An older gentleman. That's all I'm saying for now," Tikki replied. "Are you feeling any better?"
"I am, thanks," she said. "I think I'll go down and talk with my parents for a little while, then have some hot tea or something and go upstairs, get a little night air."
In a convenience store, a young man was shopping quickly, while a tiny cat was unamused.
"CHEESE PUFFS?" howled Plagg, as quietly as he could from Adrien's pocket. "THAT'S your idea of a cheesy snack?"
"Look, I'm not thrilled about junk food, either!" hissed Adrien. "But we're running out of pocket money, and if I make a withdrawal from an ATM or use my credit card, my dad will know where I am!"
"It might be worth the risk," insisted Plagg, with a mouthful of cheesy corn bits. "If it's that or eating this crap..."
"Hey, maybe let me pay for that before you wolf it down?" nagged Adrien.
His attention was diverted by a couple of boys near the entrance, one of whom was becoming quite loud. Adrien surveyed the situation; one looked extremely large and menacing, while the smaller one looked very scared.
Hmmm, he thought. I wonder...
"I TOLD YOU, you don't talk to me like that!" shouted the bully, getting in the face of his companion. "How many times do I have to tell you?"
"Javier, please..." the smaller boy cringed. "I didn't mean to..."
The bigger boy loomed over him, threateningly, only to be surprised when a third person poked his nose into their confrontation. "Excuse me," Adrien said, "is there something wrong here?"
The bully whirled around, glaring at Adrien. "Excuse ME," he yelled, "but it's none of your freakin' business, kid!"
"Perhaps not," Adrien said, looking up at him coolly, "but I find it hard to believe that anyone deserves to be yelled at like that."
"And what are you going to do about it?" the bully growled, raising himself up to his full height.
Adrien looked at the smaller boy, who gave him as subtle a "No" head-shake as he could. Don't, he mouthed, silently.
"Look, I'm just saying -"
Adrien reached out, slowly and gently, with his right hand and touched the left arm of the burly boy.
*SNAP!*
"-that you may be overreacting a little," he finished. "Is that possible?"
The bigger boy jumped in pain... and then collapsed, nearly falling over. It was like the air suddenly whooshing out of a rage balloon, taking all his adrenaline with it.
"Are you all right?" Adrien asked, with apparent concern.
"Yeah... uh... yeah," he managed. "Maybe I... did get... carried away. I, uh... sorry about that," he added to his companion.
The smaller boy stared at Adrien, wide-eyed. Adrien gave him a tiny shrug in return. "Are YOU all right?" Adrien asked him. "You can get home, or talk it out, or whatever you need to do?"
"Y-yeah," he managed. "I think I can do that."
Adrien walked out of the store as nonchalantly as he could. A wide-eyed Kwami stared at him from his shirt pocket.
"Did you just zap that guy on PURPOSE?" Plagg asked. "I mean, he totally deserved it, but, whoa!"
"I needed to stop the 'hunger', right? You needed energy, he needed energy, that guy needed anything BUT angry energy before he did something really stupid." Adrien shrugged, "It seemed like the thing to do at the time. Was that wrong of me?"
"Nah. You did good... and only you could find a way to do something POSITIVE with this. But be careful, okay? Right now, you're not taking too much from them. A few more Cataclysms, and you would be," Plagg offered. "So now what do we do?"
"I... don't know." Adrien looked around him and saw nowhere for a young squatter to go - as himself, at least. "Are you okay to transform?"
"And then some. Between the snack and that energy transfer, I'm close to full," answered Plagg. "What do you have in mind?"
"Chat can go places Adrien can't. Maybe I can find somewhere to hang out, or at least get off the street, okay?"
"Yeah, that works," agreed Plagg.
"Claws out!"
Marinette stood at the railing of her balcony, a cup of tea in one hand, replaying her crazy day in her head.
Not every girl can say she's been two superheroes in one day! Or been nearly frozen solid by a block of butter pecan. Or had a tiny red spirit freak her parents out in her bedroom.
She smiled to herself, processing all of the new insanity in her life, sipping chamomile. What am I going to do? I can only help Adrien - or Chat Noir - if he lets me. I felt like I was reaching him before that guy showed up, but he's really on the edge right now. I can see that, and I don't even know him all that well.
I really think that I'd like to, she mused. Knowing about all this Miraculous stuff helps explain why he was acting so strangely! And now I'm in the same boat. He might be the only other person I can relate to with this.
And if Adrien is Chat, then Gabriel Agreste is Papillon... and, wow, that's someone I don't want to get mad at me if I'm ever going to have any career in the fashion industry! He did seem sincere to me about wanting to help Adrien... but Adrien seemed really sincere that he didn't want to go home.
What in the world happened between them?
Lost in her thoughts, Marinette ignored the strange sensation that she was being watched by someone.
Chat Noir wandered the city for a bit, looking for a rooftop where he wouldn't be interrupted or found. He settled on a balcony atop a tall building, not too far from his school's neighborhood. Hardly luxury accommodations, he grinned, but beggars can't be choosers and I got evicted from my warehouse hangout earlier.
He examined the floor panels, trying to figure out which one would be the least uncomfortable for him to try to sleep on. None of them looked exceedingly promising.
At least it's a nice view from here, he thought. The city skyline, the streetlights and shops, the park over there...
He looked to his left and saw a familiar face some distance away, standing at the railing of her own balcony.
...and one of the prettiest sights Paris has to offer.
Marinette took one last sip of her tea, emptying her cup, and prepared to head back in for the night.
*TH-BMMP!*
A sudden thumping sound behind her made her jump and nearly drop her teacup over the side.
"Hello," said a gentle voice.
She spun around, shocked by both his presence and by recognition. "...Chat Noir?" she gasped.
"Sorry," he replied, sitting on the balcony railing. "I didn't mean to frighten you." He looked at her curiously. "You... know who I am?"
"You were on the news earlier," Marinette evaded. "The rescue on the hill with the sewer pipes, then Officer Roger was talking about you and the thief you caught." She looked at him, a little warily. "What are you doing here? Don't you have, like, superhero-y things to do?"
He sighed, quietly. "I'm not up for being a superhero tonight... and I don't feel like being alone tonight. Would you mind if I hung out here for a little while? I know that we don't know each other... but I could really use a friendly face, and someone to talk to."
Something in his eyes told Marinette that she could trust him... and, after all, this was Adrien underneath... so she smiled, very gently, and nodded at him.
This is hilarious, Marinette thought. My big idea was to get Chat to come home with me... but then how would I explain how Marinette knew Ladybug? And now, here he is all on his own.
"So, Mister Kittycat... why me?" she asked. "Not that I mind the company."
"I can't really say," he replied, hesitantly. "The whole secret identity thing makes things complicated. I saw from over there that you were home, and that you were alone, and I hoped that a strange boy on your balcony wouldn't have you pulling out a baseball bat."
And you've been the one kindness in my life over the last few days, he added to himself. And you have two of the most beautiful bluebell eyes in the world.
"Baseball bat, huh?" Marinette grinned. "You're sure you haven't been here before? That is my go-to weapon for home invaders. Not that I get a lot of those; it'd take a very high ladder."
In Marinette's head, it clicked; So THAT'S what that TH-WHUMP! was, and how Adrien got up on my balcony that night, and disappeared off of it! That little sneak! That's all the confirmation I need of who's under that mask.
"You're not a girl I'd try to mess with, bat or no bat," Chat purred, disarmingly. "One sweet smile from you and I'd be helpless."
Something in Marinette's chest started to flutter. She did her best to make it settle down and keep her cheeks their normal color.
"All right... Chat? You've got my full attention," she said, sitting down on one of her lounge chairs and motioning for him to do the same. "What's on your mind?"
Their conversation was a very delicate dance. Chat struggled to talk about the events of the last few days without revealing whom he was beneath the mask; Marinette struggled to hide that she was sure that she already knew. Despite that, though, they made a lot of progress in getting to know each other, and talked things out for the better part of the hour.
"So... I've seen you with a couple of other super-people on the news, like I said," Marinette noted. "All in the last few days. Do you all get your powers from the same place?"
"I'm not sure," Chat said. "The thing that makes this happen," gesturing to his costume, "is called a Miraculous. One of the people I met said she has one, and I'm sure that she does. The other one, Firefly... I think that a Miraculous gave her temporary powers, because that's what ITS power is, making heroes-for-a-day. Which is quite a shame if it was only temporary, because I'd really like to see her again."
"You would?" Marinette blinked. "For real?" she added to herself, quietly.
"Oh, maybe I'm just... crushing, I guess," blushed Chat. "I only knew Firefly for a few minutes, y'know? I shouldn't make a big deal out of it... but I just can't get her out of my mind! She was very sweet to me, she dove right in to save those people out of instinct, she used up her powers to help others... and, YEAH, she was also the cutest thing I may have ever seen in my life."
He looked up at Marinette, and added, grinning, "I do have a definite thing for big blue eyes." For a fraction of a second, she swore that she saw a flash of recognition in his gaze... but he didn't say anything more about it.
"What about the other one? Ladybug, was it?" she pressed, dying to change the subject as she felt her own blush creeping up steadily. "What was she like?"
"Oh, that made the news, too? I'm surprised, I didn't see any cameras," Chat replied. "Ladybug was... I'm still kind of figuring her out. She seemed very... REAL. Very compassionate. So either she's an absolute sweetheart or a terrific actress. It was like she could see right through me and see just how much I needed help, and she was ready to do anything she could."
"How do you need help, Chat?" Marinette asked. "I mean, are you all right? Do you have someplace to go?" she hinted.
"AM I all right? Um..." Chat hesitated. "Well..." I can't tell you how wrong I really am, inside.
"Come on, you can say it," insisted Marinette. "I won't laugh and I won't bite."
"I'd be lying if I said I have someplace to go," he admitted. "I had a little hideout of sorts, but I got chased out of there today. And I still don't feel like I can go home, and I can't stay in costume forever."
He watched Marinette smile, and wondered why.
"Stay here for a second, okay?" she said, and ducked downstairs when he nodded.
A few moments later, Marinette reemerged with a bundle in her arms.
"What is that?" Chat asked, quite curious.
"That chair you're on right now? It folds down. And you're not moving from that spot tonight," Marinette ordered him. She tucked a pillow behind his head and threw a blanket over him, giggling a little at the look of shock on his face. "Luckily for you, it's not supposed to rain tonight."
"You're kidding, right?" Chat mumbled. "You totally don't have to do this."
"I'm going to tell you what I told another friend of mine earlier today," she replied, her eyes twinkling. "I'm not going to let a friend suffer when I can be there to help him."
Marinette swore that she saw streams of little hearts shooting out of Chat's ears. Heh, I thought only Rose could do that!
"The rest of this," she said, pointing to the bundle, "are just some other things I grabbed. There's a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt; they're my size, not yours, of course, but they're baggy enough that you should fit into them okay. Underwear, you're on your own," she grinned. "There are a couple of bottles of water, some snacks I got out of the fridge... and if you need to use the bathroom, just knock on the hatch first, so that you don't scare the life out of me, okay? I really don't want either of us to get surprised in the shower."
"You have no idea how grateful I am, Marinette," Chat said, with more than a little awe. "Why are you doing all of this for me?"
"Because you needed it," she soothed. "Two conditions, okay?"
He nodded.
"One, if we do this more than just tonight, I'll let my parents know that you're here and let them decide if you can stay. Knowing them, they may give you the spare room, but that's their call, not mine... I just don't want them thinking that I'm running the Marinette Hotel up here for every stray boy in town. And two..."
"Uh-huh?"
"...this time, you wait long enough to say goodbye," Marinette smiled.
"I will. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Marinette," Chat whispered.
"Good night, kittycat," she called back, as she exited through the hatch.
Adrien Agreste laid back on the lounge chair, head on a pillow, body under a fuzzy blanket, feeling completely, gloriously, and utterly unworthy.
Was Firefly still his number-one crush object? Sure, she was; he wasn't sure that he'd ever get that sweet face out of his mind. But that piece of his heart with Reserved for Marinette stamped on it suddenly had a whole lot of company.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, knowing that he really needed to; he'd been running on fumes for a while now. He was almost there when a thought flashed through his mind, and every part of his body felt electrified.
What did she mean by "THIS TIME, you wait long enough to say goodbye?"
Next time:
* "I don't want to hide anything from you... and, apparently, I can't."
* Renegotiating check-out time with the proprietors.
* Nathalie feels a bit... peckish.
* "There's more wrong with me than you know."
* "Maybe it's time I had a talk with him..."