Appreciating Chat Noir

Chapter Fifteen

Chat Noir looked over at Ladybug taken aback. Why was she crying? He did expect a shocked reaction, but not like that! Was she really that disappointed that it was him? He looked at her, frozen with surprise of his own, unsure of what to do next.

The question then occurred to him – did she know his civilian self?! How?! What did this mean for Ladybug's true identity?! He studied her closely, thinking. She could be literally anyone he knew! How was he supposed to get her identity right? Or was he meant to? But was that fair as she now knew his identity??? So many questions and so little answers.

Ladybug tried not to cry but she couldn't help it. She sat there, confused as a million thoughts barraged her mind such as; "How on earth could it be Adrien? How did I not know? Why am I crying? Isn't this a good thing? What are we going to do next? How did Adrien cope with Hawkmoth being his very own dad?! Etc..."

She then realised that perhaps he would get the wrong idea with her being speechless and sitting there uncontrollably crying after the reveal. This was a sensitive time of course and she didn't want to screw up their partnership by crying.

That reminded her of their other partnership. The one where, you know, Chat Noir is her sort-of-boyfriend, sort-of-not?

A hundred memories flashed through her mind. What did this mean for them as a "couple"? Did this mean when Adrien tried kissing her in the elevator, that he was doing so with himself as Chat Noir in mind? And so, Adrien/Chat Noir has real feelings for her? Did she have real feelings for him?

She longed to ask him for clarification. But she couldn't just ask that as Ladybug! He doesn't know it's really her, Marinette...

She turned to look at him, sniffling and wiped a few tears away from her eyes. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry! I've been quite stressed recently."

He tried to pretend he wasn't just comparing her face to every girl he knew in his life and hoping it might be that one special girl in his life and not someone awful like Lila. He tried not to blush at the thought of Ladybug really being Marinette this whole time. But it couldn't be, it didn't make any sense, right? Trying not to feel the disappointment of what never was (in his mind at least), he focused on the situation in front of him.

Still unsure of what to do, he placed an arm around her back as a gesture of comfort (it didn't matter who she really was, he was going to comfort her dammit!) and reassurance. He gently pulled her to his side and lightly squeezed, hugging her. It was all he could muster at the moment.

She looked up at him, and stopped crying for a moment in surprise. Her heart warmed, knowing that despite her crappy reaction he was still there, quite literally at her side. Her eyes welled a little and in an impulsive whim she abruptly wrapped both arms around him, and closed her eyes.

She smiled a little when he wrapped his other arm around her side as well. And for a brief moment, it was just the two of them, hugging because sometimes words are too hard.

He kissed her forehead and gently pulled her away from him so he could look at her. He felt as if he could finally speak again. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. She looked over at him, studying his face. How have you dealt with all of this on your own? She wanted to ask. "What about you?" She asked instead. "Are you okay?"

Chat Noir shrugged. He hadn't even thought about it, really. He thought about the questions burning the back of his mind. If he didn't ask them now, he was going to kick himself later. "Are you disappointed that it's me?"

Ladybugs eyes widened. He really thought she thought that? Well, she did cry earlier... She shook her head. "No, of course not!"

"Well, when you were crying, you looked so distraught that I felt – well I don't know what I felt but it wasn't good. I didn't want to disappoint you, Ladybug." He looked moodily off to the side, avoiding eye contact. "And as for another thing, how do you know Adrien?"