Tears of a Wolf
Chapter 7 The Second Day
Cat awoke at sunrise not quite remembering at first the events that transpired to land him in Marinette's room. He felt even more tired than when he fell asleep. Not surprising, considering he had only gotten half a nights rest…if that. Wait, why was he in Marinette's room again?
"Oh… right." Cat groaned as his mind finally began to wake up along with his body. His hair was messy, well… messier than what it usually was as Cat Noir, but apparently no one was around to see it. He peered at his surroundings to find that he was alone. Where had Marinette gone?
Cat tried not to give it a second thought. "She's fine." He thought to himself, trying not to worry.
The rays of sunshine shone through the windows making the room slightly glow in the low light. Maybe it was time he should leave? He didn't want to overstay his welcome, considering how kind Marinette had been to him already, not to mention… that kiss.
What on earth happened last night that compelled him so strongly to kiss her like that? Or was it more of her kissing him? Cat wasn't really sure, but it was the last thing he remembered before drifting off to sleep, and now it was the first thing he thought of upon waking up.
Marinette was so wonderful in every way that he could think of. He felt like an idiot if he was being honest with himself. How often did he, as Adrien, call her "just a friend" in the past? There's no way he was just now realizing that she had so much more potential in his life than that! She was beautiful, had adorable freckles, you could lose yourself in her eyes, she was kind and generous, and had a heart of gold. She was talented and clever, always putting others before herself… wait a minute… had he fallen for her?
Cat tried to organize the feelings in his heart, attempting to make sense of them. What about his feelings for Ladybug? Was he really ready to give up on her and move on? Wait… even if he was, didn't Marinette already like some other boy? He didn't know the name of the guy, Marinette had only ever referred to him as "Buttercup" but if she had feelings for someone else, what exactly was Cat doing? If she had feelings for someone else, then why did she kiss him… or did she? Had he stolen a kiss from her? Cat held his head, more confused than ever before.
Great… just what he needed. More potential heartbreak. He thought of his dad… of Hawk Moth. What was he going to do? How was he going to live without… Cat sighed and his thoughts trailed off. Things were going to keep changing for a while. As soon as this Wolf business was settled, at least he and Ladybug could confront his father. That would be one good thing that would come from this. Wait… Ladybug! He hadn't told Ladybug yet!
Cat scrambled around Marinette's desk, trying to find a pen and paper. He would leave a quick note and then he would call Ladybug. No sense in leaving right away and leaving Marinette to worry.
Marinette came up the stairs, opened the latch door to her room and held a tray of croissants as she poked her head through. She witnessed just in time to see Cat writing a note on a small scrap of paper.
"Leaving already Cat?" She asked as she stepped into her room. She had to hold in a laugh, witnessing his bed head.
"Oh, Marinette. There you are. Yeah, I just realized I need to tell Ladybug about last night, but I didn't want you to worry so I was just leaving a note."
Marinette smiled and took him by the hand, leading him to sit down on the bed next to her. "That's sweet of you Kitty, but I'm sure Ladybug won't mind if you had some breakfast first. Besides, you can't go out looking like you just got out of bed."
Cat wasn't exactly sure what she meant. He hadn't even looked in a mirror yet.
"Here, you eat these and I'll at least comb your hair for you okay?"
Before Cat knew it, he was scarfing down Marinette's croissants and actually enjoying himself a bit as she made him look more presentable. The croissants were so warm and buttery, with chocolate filling inside. It was an unexpected touch, but a welcome one. Even more pleasant than that was having Marinette fix his hair. He tried his best not to purr as she ran her fingers around his head, combing his hair down. It proved difficult and he was pretty sure he failed. Oh well… nothing to do but hope she didn't notice.
She combed his hair until he looked like his regular self, and he finished the last of the croissants. Cat hadn't experienced an act of love like that in… actually he couldn't even remember. "Thank you princess. You know you really didn't have to do all this."
"It wasn't any trouble. Will you be coming back after you meet up with Ladybug?"
"Oh, I uhh… I don't know. I feel like I've already overstayed my welcome and I don't want to be a burden…" Cat was cut off mid sentence.
"Cat, it's not like you can go back home. You come here if you need to, I mean it!" Marinette's voice was firm but gentle as she spoke to him. Cat looked over to her and saw the concern on her face.
"Princess, I'll be okay. Last night was a shock but I'm okay now."
Marinette looked back at him with a more fierce expression. "Cat, don't lie to me. There's no way you can be okay after learning what you just did."
Cat wasn't in the mood to talk about his father, not anymore than he had to anyway. He looked down and his voice turned soft. "I will be okay… eventually."
She tilted his chin up, forcing her gaze upon him again. "Promise me you'll come back here after you meet up with Ladybug."
Cat smiled, touched by the concern she had for him. "I promise." He took her hand in his and brought it up halfway to his lips, stopping himself before he committed to kissing her hand. He had to stop. Marinette liked someone else, and he had probably just stolen a kiss from her last night. Enough was enough.
"Cat?" Marinette spoke with a sad sounding concern.
"I'm sorry Marinette… about last night. I shouldn't have… kissed you like that."
Marinette couldn't explain it, but her heart broke at his words. She shouldn't have cared that he apparently considered their kiss a mistake, but for some reason she did.
"Oh… umm, it's okay…" she stammered, her voice holding back hints of sadness.
"No it isn't! I know you like someone else, and I was too upset last night to care. I put my feelings before yours and that was wrong of me."
Marinette could barely believe what she had just heard. Did he just confess that he had feelings for her? "Your… your feelings? I thought that… you and Ladybug were…"
Cat shook his head. "Ladybug will always be precious to me, but…" Cat had to break off his own sentence. Even if he had developed feelings for Marinette, he couldn't just tell her that. Marinette deserved to be with the boy she loved, even if that wasn't him.
"But what?" She asked. If Cat didn't know any better, he would say that she sounded hopeful.
Cat sighed. He knew he had to say something, but he didn't know what would be appropriate. "But you're my princess." He said, unable to resist the need to see her smile.
Marinette's heart fluttered at his words. Whao… what was going on? Get ahold of yourself Mari! You like Adrien! What's the matter with you? She failed to hold back the blush on her face.
"You know princess, I know it's none of my business, but if you haven't told this boy… this buttercup… how you feel about him, don't you think it's time you should?"
Marinette stammered, surprised at his question. Uhh… well, I mean… uhh… it's not like I haven't tried! Every time I look at him, I turn into a total klutz and usually just end up embarrassing myself! I'm not always as confident as I look…"
"Don't be silly, princess! I don't know who this boy could be, but I know one thing. If he doesn't see how amazing and pure and talented you are, then he doesn't deserve you. Besides, if he ever rejected you and broke your heart, he'd have to deal with me!"
Marinette smiled and gently flicked his nose. "That's exactly why I haven't told you who he is, you silly cat!
Marinette and Cat's moment was interrupted by her cell phone going off. It was a phone call from Alya. Why would she be calling so early in the morning?
"One second kitty." Marinette picked up her phone.
"Hey Alya."
Alya's voice was loud and enthusiastic. It was enough that Marinette had to move her phone away from her ear a bit. "Girl! Turn on the news right now!"
"What? The news? Why would I…"
"Just do it! And stay on the phone with me! Whatever you do, don't hang up!"
Marinette quickly grabbed the remote from her desk and flipped on her TV. This wasn't exactly a good time for Alya to be calling, but it sounded urgent enough. She flipped through the channels until she eventually wound up on the news.
The reporter spoke at the sight of the news outing, which just so happened to be the Agreste mansion. It had been almost entirely destroyed! Marinette watched in horror as she listened to every word the reporter had to say as if her life depended on it.
"This is France 24 news coming at you with a brand new report! The Agreste mansion was attacked last night by Paris's new villain and former hero, Gray Wolf! As you can see behind me, the wreckage is quite extensive, but miraculously no one was injured. However we regret to inform you that teen model Adrien Agreste, son of the famous Gabriel Agreste, has been abducted by Wolf! No motives have yet been given on the reason for his kidnapping, however Mr. Agreste has offered a million dollar cash reward to anyone who can bring his son back alive! The wreckage behind indicates however, that there was more than just Wolf here last night at the scene of the crime. This type of damage has been witnessed before as the result of Cat Noir's cataclysm, however when asked about Cat Noir's appearance here as of last night, Mr. Agreste seemed unwilling to offer any information on that possibility. Why did Wolf kidnap Adrien Agreste? Did Paris's famous superhero, Cat Noir, have any involvement in his abduction? Please stay tuned with us as we provide you with real time updates!"
Marinette shot her glance back at Cat, but he wasn't there. He had already gone and immediately she had to assume the worst. Something had happened to Adrien and only Cat knew what it was. There is no way Cat would work with Wolf though right? He admitted that he was with Wolf last night, but he never mentioned anything about the Agreste mansion.
Marinette felt the chill of the morning air, coming through her window. Apparently Cat had escaped while she was distracted.
"Marinette! Marinette, are you still there?" Alya shouted over the phone.
"Alya, I have to go!"
"Wait, Marinette! Don't hang u-..." Alya was already cut off. It was too late. Cat was holding some sort of secret and she was going to find out what it was! More importantly than that, she was going to rescue Adrien from Wolf!
Meanwhile out in the city…
Cat leaped from rooftop to rooftop as fast as he could. He didn't even know where he was going, he was just running. How could he have been so stupid? Of course the local authorities would pick up on the fact that he was there last night! Now all of Paris will be looking for him and Adrien at the same time! He had nowhere to hide. Worst of all, now Marinette was probably thinking the worst! She probably thought that he had something to do with Adrien's disappearance, although she would technically be correct on that one. He only wished that she didn't think Adrien was hurt, or worse. He wanted to call her, to let her know that he was okay, but it was too risky. There would be too many questions that he couldn't answer.
Speaking of questions that he couldn't answer, he started to receive a call, almost as if on cue from Ladybug herself. Yeah… he had a lot of explaining to do.
Cat answered her somewhat reluctantly. He should've probably rehearsed what he was going to say a few times, but it was too late for that now. He held his staff up to his ear and tried to sound casual.
"Hey Bugaboo!" Yeah… that was probably the worst thing he could've said. Just great…
Ladybug was practically screaming on the other end of the call. "Cat Noir! Where are you?" What have you done to the Agreste mansion?"
Cat had to move his staff away from his face just to be able to understand Ladybug through her screaming. Yep… She was mad.
"Don't worry my lady, I promise everything is fine… well mostly everything…"
"Don't you 'my lady' me you mangy stray! You know something and you didn't even call me! Where is Adrien?"
Oh boy, he was definitely in trouble now. He couldn't answer where Adrien was, at least not truthfully, not without revealing his identity. Still… he had to tell Ladybug something.
"Ladybug, I can explain. I found out last night who Hawk Moth was. He's Adrien's father. I admit I may have… cataclysmed the mansion… by accident, but it was only to help protect Adrien! I didn't have a chance to call you, otherwise I would have! I swear!"
Ladybug stood silent on the other end. Moments passed without another word being said by either hero. Cat stood with goosebumps popping up on the back of his neck, waiting for Ladybug to respond.
She couldn't say anything. She was too stunned by Cat's words to speak. Last night, Cat had told her as Marinette that Hawk Moth was his father, but now Cat was telling her as Ladybug that Hawk Moth was Adrien's father.
There were only two possibilities. Either Cat was lying, a possibility which seemed extremely unlikely, or… Adrien Agreste was Cat Noir!
"Umm… Ladybug? Are you still there?"
Ladybug stood motionless just outside her balcony, desperately trying to speak. At this point it didn't matter what she said, just so long as some words… any words, escaped her throat.
"Where… where are you Cat?"
Cat barely even heard her. Her voice was no longer angry. "I'm just a few blocks away from Collège Françoise Dupont."
"Stay right where you are! I'm coming to find you!" Ladybug demanded before hanging up.
Cat stood on the rooftop of the building he was currently at, wondering about the sudden change in Ladybug's voice. She had gone from angry, to calm, to panicked in like… three seconds! How was he supposed to figure out if he was in trouble or not based on that? Wait… that was the wrong question… What was he going to say when Ladybug asked where Adrien was again?
Cat had only a minute to think of some sort of response, but unfortunately that wasn't enough time. Ladybug appeared zooming towards him faster than Cat had ever seen her go before. She might have been going a little too fast in fact, as Cat struggled to catch himself from falling as she practically tackled him.
Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her body close to his, like she was hanging on for dear life. Cat stumbled and had to take a few steps back before replanting his feet.
"My… lady?" Cat Noir asked. Ladybug sure was acting strange today.
She didn't answer. Ladybug knew that there would be time to freak out about her partner's identity later. For now she was happy that Adrien was safe, even if Cat Noir wasn't aware that she had already figured that out, but she also just wanted to wrap Adrien up in her arms and tell him that things were going to be okay. She had already done that of course… last night, but now that she knew who Cat was, she felt the uncontrollable desire to do it all over again.
Well… okay, maybe not do EVERYTHING over again. That kiss she had shared with Cat was probably just a stir of the moment thing right? Surely there was no way that she actually felt… wait a minute… Cat Noir was Adrien… She kissed Cat Noir last night… she kissed Adrien last night!
Upon this sudden realization, Ladybug stumbled back in a way that only Marinette could have done. She let go of Cat and began her usual rambling and stuttering. She was almost speaking too quickly for Cat to understand.
"Oh… umm.. hey Cat Noir! Fancy meeting you here… I mean not really, considering I just called you and asked you to meet me here, but obviously you already know that right? Right! Anyway, yeah I heard about Adrien's dad, I mean… just now anyway… when you told me over our communicators, and I just saw on the news that you and Wolf were there last night, and I got really upset and wondered what you could be doing with Wolf, but then again I guess I can't be mad at you for that because I was also talking with Wolf last night too and…"
Cat quickly grabbed her by the shoulders. "My lady, slow down, I can barely keep up with you! Did you say you were talking to Wolf last night too?"
Ladybug's face grew even more pink at Cat's… well at Adrien's touch. If becoming even more embarrassed in that moment was even possible that is. "Yeah… he and I were talking last night."
"What about?"
"I could probably ask you the same thing."
Cat scratched his head. "Well, I never found out why he did it, but without Wolf I never would have been able to figure out who Hawk Moth really was. For some reason, he just wanted to tell me."
"Actually… I think I might know the answer to that…"
Cat looked extra confused. Were they really talking about Wolf right now? Doesn't she want to know where Adrien is? Actually it was probably best not to complain. Cat still didn't have an answer for that question yet.
"Really my lady? Don't take this the wrong way, but how would you know?"
"Because, like I said, I talked with Wolf last night too remember? You were actually the topic of conversation. I… I don't think his mind is always his own. Getting rid of Hawk Moth only made his job harder, but I think a part of him wants to lose. He's tired Cat, and he wants to give up, but he's bound by his promise to Sylvia."
"Wait, so you think he's subconsciously sabotaging himself?"
"It's possible, yes, and if he's going to do that, then I think we have the edge we need! If we can get our hands on the Butterfly Miraculous, then it could be a huge advantage in taking down Wolf!"
Cat's eyes lit up. "You're a genius my lady! Wolf might have even figured that out too, but…" Cat trailed off remembering that he had revealed his identity to his father. Going back to apprehend him now could be dangerous. It would mean potentially revealing his identity to Ladybug. Little did he know she already knew…
"Umm… my lady?"
"What's wrong Cat?" Ladybug frowned.
"Well… I might have messed up. Hawk Moth… he… he knows who I am."
Ladybug smiled and took Cat's hand in hers. "It's okay, Cat. This is the moment we finally get to take down Hawk Moth. If I discover your identity a little earlier than what we planned, then that's okay."
Cat's eyes lit up again. "Really my lady! We finally get to know?"
Ladybug beamed. "Let's actually go and arrest him first Kitty, then we'll worry about what happens later.
Truth be told, Ladybug couldn't help but feel a great anxiety in her chest at the thought of arresting Hawk Moth. She may have already figured out that Adrien was Cat Noir, but she only learned that like… five minutes ago! She hadn't had the time to process that yet. She hadn't freaked out yet. She would need at least several days ideally speaking, but now here they were about to arrest Gabriel Agreste and jump right into their big reveal. Her body started to shake and her smile faded. She wasn't ready.
"Let's go, my lady."
At least Cat hadn't noticed her anxiety. Fair enough. He had enough on his plate without having to worry about her.
It was a short distance away to the Agreste mansion. When the pair arrived they stood on a neighboring rooftop and they were a little surprised to see the mass amounts of caution tape surrounding the mansion, or rather what was left of it. Duh… it was technically a crime scene after all, they thought to themselves.
Hardly any of the once proud mansion stood anymore. It was more like a proud pile of rubble. The only thing that was there were a few standing rooms on the first floor that hadn't toppled over due the weight that came crashing down. Or at the very least they hadn't toppled over yet.
It had been several hours since the mansion's destruction and not even the local law enforcement were there anymore. Apparently they had just left, as the only one standing in the home was Nathalie. She was holding a bag in her hand and was looking extremely distressed, almost to the point of tears. She seemed to be the last one to be leaving the scene, but where was Gabriel?
"That's Nathalie Sancoeur. She's Mr. Agreste's first assistant, the one who manages his fashion label." Cat chimed in.
"Does she know that he's Hawk Moth?" Ladybug asked.
"I don't know, but if Adrien's father was hiding secrets from him, it wouldn't surprise me if she's just as oblivious as he was. This could be easy though. We just ask her where Gabriel is and go from there right?" Cat began to tremble visibly. Sure his voice was sharp, but his body language betrayed him. Being back at his home, seeing the wreckage that he caused… it was becoming too much.
Ladybug reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it in hers. Almost immediately his trembling stopped and their eyes met.
"I'm with you Kitty." She spoke gently, reassuring him further. Her face glowed in the morning sun, and her eyes sparkled a beautiful blue. It brought a sense of familiarity to Cat Noir. Sure he had admired Ladybug's beauty before, but this time felt different. It was like looking into someone else's eyes other than Ladybug's, as if for some reason, she somehow seemed familiar in a different way. Cat didn't know how to describe it.
"Let's go!" He finally said.
Nathalie was apparently ready to leave. She stepped slowly towards the front gates with a bag of her belongings in hand, her back facing the rubble. Step by step she made her way to the gates, not even bothering to look up. Had it not been for long shadows of Ladybug and Cat stretched by the morning sun, she may not have even noticed them at all.
Nathalie finally looked up. Her mouth hung open and her eyes widened and instantly filled up with tears.
"Adrien!" Nathalie practically screamed and dropped her bag. She instantly began running straight towards Cat and just like that, for the second time today someone else had flung their arms around his neck, embracing him in a tight hug. Only this time, the person hugging him was crying profusely.
"Adrien! Thank God! Thank God you're safe!" Nathalie sobbed into the nape of Cat's neck, cradling his head like it was golden treasure.
Cat was of course taken aback by Nathalie's sudden actions, but his mind was occupied with something else. She had called him by his name. This could only mean one thing. His father had told her of who he was and his identity was no longer only his father's knowledge. No… now it was Ladybug's knowledge too. She had used his name in front of her.