Antomologist had seen where they landed, which meant they had only a few moments to think of their next move, and all Chat Noir could do was stand frozen where he was, every thought on hold.

Ladybug still had her arms wrapped around him.

Even though both his feet were firmly planted, he clung to her for balance. Her breaths came quickly, matching his own. They were chest to chest and moving closer. His heartbeat drummed in his ears.

"Why?" he rasped, then tried again. "Why did you do that?" He wasn't going to make this weird for her, no matter what fantasies the secluded setting and their position inspired. He removed his hands from her hips and forced them to stay at his sides, imagining they were pinned there.

And Ladybug still held him. "What?"

"He was distracted. You could have snuck up behind him instead of rescuing me. You should have. Why didn't you?"

Her hands slid away from his waist only to find his shoulders, like suddenly she was the one who needed help staying upright. "Because… because…" She looked away, biting her lip. (He tried not to stare. Stop it stop it.) "You probably want some flowery speech. You deserve one. But I–" Her hands slid up to his neck, brushing the hairs on his nape, raising goosebumps. He closed his eyes against her proximity. It didn't help, so he pushed his palms flat against his legs to keep them from trembling. Don't react.

She stepped forward, drawing him in until she was all he could feel. Her arms, her hands, her chest, her stomach. Her soft breath against his lips.

"But I'm so bad with words!"

Her mouth pressed against his, hot and hard, and he squeezed his eyes shut tighter, the only movement he trusted himself to make. Don't. Don't react!

Because she'd said so many times that she did want him. Someone else held her heart. She must not have meant it the way he wanted her to. And because he would ruin something.

Don't!

One hand left his hair to cradle and stroke his cheek. Cherished. He'd never felt cherished before now. He swallowed a whimper.

DON'T!

Closed eyes blocked out her face, but they couldn't block out her. How good she felt. How badly he wanted to kiss her back.

He opened his eyes again, hoping sight would somehow make it easier to hold still, but all he could see was her. His hands had become unpinned and were hovering, longing to hold her, refusing the order to retreat.

When she lightly scratched the back of his head, he thought knees would give out. Or maybe his willpower. How long had he stood frozen like this? Half a second? A whole second?

How much longer could he last against her?

What would happen if he sank into her, held her, kissed her back with every ounce of feeling for her he had bottled up for years?

His hands ghosted over her, so close he swore he could feel her warmth through his gloves. What if he tilted his head to match her?

Her eyes snapped open. She jerked backward, pushing herself into the wall of their hiding spot and covering her mouth with both hands.

They stared at each other.

"Why?" he asked, though he wasn't really sure if the question was why she kissed him or why she stopped. Nothing was making sense.

"I'm so sorry," she said between her fingers. "I'm so, so sorry." Her hands slid up her face to cover her cheeks, but not her eyes. She hadn't blinked since she'd opened them.

"Sorry?"

"I thought you wanted– That you were– I read all the signals wrong, didn't I?"

A shadow passed over the opening of their tree hollow, plunging them into twilight. But his back was to it, his focus on Ladybug. He watched as her eyes followed the movement outside, and then as she put her hands on hips. When she looked back to him, she'd pasted a forced smile onto her face. "Wow, this is so embarrassing! I thought you had fallen in love with me again. Isn't that funny?" Her smile got wider. More manic.

"That's not–"

"I get it." She shrugged her shoulders, and threw up her hands too, for the emphasis. Or maybe because of her nervous energy, he wasn't sure. She wasn't quite meeting his eyes. "I'm four years too late and making you uncomfortable. I shouldn't have kissed you like that. I'm so sorry." Her eyes flicked to his during her apology, then found the wall again.

"Ladybug," he said, taking a step forward. "I don't understand."

"I'm really sorry. That was awful of me!" She threw her arms wide. Definitely nervous energy.

His own feelings were muted. Shocked. Or maybe they were so big he couldn't feel the edges of them to be able to figure out what they were. It was so much easier to focus on someone else.

"I promise it won't happen again," she continued.

At least he could tell how he felt about that statement. He shook his head.

But before he could verbally protest, another voice, loud and echoing, shook through their tree hollow. "There you are!"

The shadow passed over them again, and this time Chat Noir did turn. One of Antomologist's large arms blocked all but a small sliver of light at the bottom of the opening. A shudder knocked both of them to their knees, and then he was flung sideways against the splintering wood as the tree was uprooted and shaken.

The giant red arm moved, and Chat Noir and Ladybug tumbled out. The ground rushed up to meet them.


A/N: Let's play a game! It's called "Guess What The Author Titled the Next Chapter." :D