Adrien had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in and out. His cold was now in full swing. Still, he'd argue the most miserable part of being sick was the fact he still was having nightmares on top of it all, keeping his sleep from feeling overly restful. The sleep was helping, to be sure, but he was still very, very tired.
In spite of this, when sounds of another akuma attack woke him a little after midnight, he felt compelled to answer the call.
"Plagg-"
"Hold it!" Plagg demanded, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Ladybug deeds help." Adrien qualified; voice thick with congestion.
"And you're stuffier than your dad's personality." Plagg quipped, "Stay put."
Adrien scrunched up his face, "I feel fide. I've bed sleebing all day." he reminded.
Noises outside seemed to grow louder.
He looked at Plagg, "Please."
The kwami sighed, "Fine. Not like you're going to listen to me anyway."
"Sorry, Plagg. Claws out!" Adrien said.
As Cat Noir, he headed out the window, following the sounds of the fight.
He vaulted over with his baton, landing neatly by Ladybug, "Hey, Bugaboo." he greeted simply.
"You?!" Ladybug said in surprise, "Why are you here?"
"Of course I'b here. I'b your partner." Cat Noir replied, offering a slight pout, "It's as if you're dot habby to see be."
"You sound awful." Ladybug replied flatly.
Cat Noir was about to argue when he saw a projectile sailing towards his partner, and he swiftly deflected it by spinning his baton.
"Careful, M'lady." he offered with a bit of a smirk. It would have looked far more coy if his nose wasn't a chapped reddish hue.
"Wipe that smug look off your face." Ladybug grumbled, moving quickly to avoid another volley.
Cat Noir offered something between a laugh and cough, "Cub od, I've bed sleebing all day. I was getti'g bored all od by lodesub." he swatted another two projectiles away with ease.
Ladybug sighed, "Fine, stay, but if you start feeling worse you need to find cover. I mean it." she said sternly.
He grinned, "As you wish."
~x~x~x~
Ladybug expected to have to haul him away from the fighting, but Cat Noir held his own for the most part. She could see him wearing down by the end, though.
He was panting and coughing as they stepped onto opposite sides of a chimney to detransform, feed their kwamis, and retransform.
"No more akumas until you're better, okay?" Marinette said as Tikki nibbled a cookie. "I appreciate the help, but I don't need you keeling over on me."
"But what if you deed be?" came a tired response followed by a distinctly wet sound of him blowing his nose. "Ugh."
Marinette scrunched up her face at the sound, "I'll manage. Just take a day or two off, okay? However long you need."
"Heh... Hhh'tchhhuuu!" He sneezed despite his best efforts and blew his nose a second time in an effort to clear out the junk, "We'll see." his voice was a little clearer after blowing his nose, but he still didn't sound great, "Not much to do at home other than sleep."
"Good. You could use it." Marinette said pointedly.
"Not always that simple."
Marinette blinked at his reply, but Tikki was finished eating, so she transformed back into Ladybug and waited until she heard Cat Noir moving before stepping out onto the main part of the roof. Cat Noir had moved to the guard rail, staring out over Paris silently.
Ladybug decided to join her friend, watching for several moments on end. The silence was peaceful in some ways, and yet felt almost heavy standing here next to her partner.
Ladybug spoke first, "You okay, Kitty?" she asked at last, "Don't you dare lie to me." she tacked on.
Her ears prickled at a snuff of amusement, or at least she thought it was.
"Kitty?" she pressed.
"I'm... I'm not really sure." Cat Noir confessed.
Ladybug frowned and strode over to him, examining him more closely, his face was flushed again, and his green eyes glossy.
"Your fever's back, isn't it?" she asked, pulling gently at the back of his neck to touch his forehead to hers to know for sure... that was a big yes.
She sighed and let go, "Come on, sit down for a bit." she took a seat first, beckoning him to do the same.
He slumped down next to her, resting lightly against her shoulder.
Ladybug went rigid at first, but relaxed. Her partner was sick, so she'd let him lean on her as long as he needed. Something told her in some ways, he'd been suffering in silence longer than she knew of anyhow.
"I miss her." Cat Noir said quietly at last.
"Huh? Miss who?" Ladybug asked, pulling back enough that she could look at him again.
"My mom."
Ladybug's eyes widened, "Your... mom?" she asked carefully.
She and Cat Noir tried not to share too much about their personal lives, it could lead to them discovering the other's identity. She wasn't sure if he'd ever mentioned a mom... just a dad who wasn't around much.
Cat Noir nodded slightly, lips loosed by fever, "It's after midnight, so it's technically her birthday." he began slowly, "She's been gone a while now... I know it hit my dad hardest, so I try my best to be strong for him... but I..." his voice cracked slightly, and his breathing hitched. "Come on.. pull it together..." he murmured, more to himself than to her.
"Cat Noir... I'm sorry... I-I don't know what to say." Ladybug chewed her lip.
She felt horrible, like she was privy to a secret she really shouldn't know. It didn't tell her who he was, and yet it felt distinctly private. Raw. He was spilling his guts and she didn't have the heart to shut him up.
"No... No, you're fine." Cat Noir offered her a wobbly smile, despite tears in his eyes, "I don't know why I'm telling you this... it's my problem, not yours. I'm sorry... I'm just a mess right now. Heh." he offered a half-hearted laugh, fumbling to get up.
Ladybug swallowed and made a quick decision. He needed her right now, and that's all that mattered. She reached forward all at once, pulling him into a hug, "It's okay. Let it out."
He flinched, but then melted into her embrace, shaking. Ladybug felt her heart breaking along with his when she held him, easing him back down into a seated position.
Cat Noir breathed heavily, "Most days, just her memory is enough to keep me going... but lately every time I close my eyes it's like I'm losing her all over again and I can't bear it. I can't sleep." his voiced strained through the tears, "I keep trying not to let it get to me, I don't want to end up akumatized or something, but I just- it hurts, LB. It hurts so much." he devolved into sobs.
Ladybug didn't know what to say, what she could say that would help in any way.
"I'm here." was all she could find to say, "I'm here, Kitty. You're not alone." She held him, rubbing his back gently until his sobs died out.
She held him in silence for moments on end, deciding she would let him be the first to pull back.
"I'm sorry." Cat Noir murmured quietly at length; face still buried into his partner's shoulder.
He showed no signs of letting go yet, and she wasn't going to rush him. The horrible thought occurred to her- what if this hug was the only one he'd received in a long time?
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Ladybug assured.
He went quiet again.
"Kitty?" Ladybug asked to no response.
She pushed him back gently, only to notice her partner had fallen asleep.
Somehow, she wasn't too surprised. It was late, he was pretty feverish, and had exhausted himself crying. At any rate, it was probably smart to let him rest a bit before he had to get himself home. And so quietly, Ladybug shifted her partner down so his head rested in her lap. She gently stroked his hair with a gloved hand absently, just wishing she could've done more to console him.
He looked so fragile in his sleep, a far cry from the flirty clown he usually was. To be honest, it kind of scared her.
She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, "I'm always here for you, Kitty." she whispered.
Despite her best efforts to stay vigilant, Ladybug could feel herself nodding slightly. Inwardly, she panicked and fought against it, but the fatigue of many late night akumas won out.
~x~x~x~
Cat Noir woke first. Weirdly, he'd slept the best he had all week, in spite being sore and stiff. He was also fairly soaked in his own sweat. On reflection, his fever must've broken at some point. It took him a couple minutes to get his bearings and register the fact that he'd never left the rooftop last night... and a moment longer to register that neither had Ladybug.
Well, this was a new development.
His eyes were as wide as saucers when he discovered he was lying in Ladybug's lap and she was fast asleep, head pillowed on one arm propped up by the nearby guardrail. That couldn't be comfortable, he noted, but a part of him also really didn't want to wake her up. He watched her quietly, resolving he now had two girls he owed.
Ladybug seemed to sense his eye on her as she stirred slowly, blinking her blue eyes sleepily, "Oh... hey, Kitty. How you feeling?" she yawned, not fully awake.
Suddenly her eyes widened and with an 'eep', she shoved him out of her lap.
"Oh no! I can't believe I fell asleep! This is a disaster! What time is it?!" she said jumping up to her feet.
Cat Noir blinked and laughed slightly, "Take a deep breath, M'lady."
"Heh...Hhhht-chuuuu!" he rubbed at his nose idly with the back of a gloved hand. "Ugh. Pardon me."
Ladybug paused and looked him up and down, "You look a bit better." she noted.
His eyes were more focused, and his color was more normal.
Cat Noir nodded, "Pretty sure my fever broke last night."
"That's good. You should still take some time off to rest though." Ladybug said pointedly, glaring at him.
Cat Noir held up his hands, "Alright, alright."
"I mean it, Kitty." she tapped him on the chest for emphasis.
"I will." Cat Noir promised.
That seemed to satisfy her as Ladybug nodded and turned her back to him, "We should hurry home now. With any luck no one's noticed either of us is missing yet."
"Wait!" Cat Noir exclaimed, coughing slightly.
Ladybug turned to him, "Yes?"
"I wanted to thank you, LB." Cat Noir said, tone serious, "Last night after the akuma, I was really out of it and I know I told you probably more than I should've." he had a vague recollection of the subject matter, though the finer details were hazy. "I shouldn't have burdened you with my problems and for that I apologize, but LB? Thanks for just, you know, being there... It meant a lot."
Ladybug blinked, then shook her head, "Silly Kitty. We're friends, aren't we?"
"Uh, yeah?" Cat Noir agreed.
"Well then, you don't need to be sorry about anything. Friends sometimes need someone to talk to when everything gets too heavy... and things can get heavy a lot for people like us." Ladybug tapped an earring slightly to emphasize her meaning, "But as long as you're not telling me your street address or names of people that would narrow down your identity? You can always talk to me."
Cat Noir pulled her into a hug, then straightened, "That goes both ways." he assured.
"I never doubted it, Kitty." Ladybug replied, "Now get your tail home!" she tacked on easily as she swung off with her yoyo.
Cat Noir grinned as he watched her go.
He loved that girl.
Author's Note:
And THERE is the big LadyNoir moment of this fic. One chapter left to go! Your all's continued support just means so much. I'm still currently super into Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, so even though this fic is winding down, maybe I'll write more for this fandom? I can't make any promises though. ^^; Reviews make me happy, and I'll see you all in Chapter 8!