In Love, Always

Chapter 3

Chat Noir's perspective:

His lady was always the better planner between the two. The plan she had come up with was nothing short of brilliant. Chat could've never come up with it himself. He was as dumb as a rock.

The street was empty as Chat walked down it. All the Parisian citizens were hiding in their homes. This had been the first time in a while that Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn't taken down the akuma quickly and in their first battle. Chat tried to console the few people that he and Ladybug had seen on the way here, but had ended up telling them to hide indoors as well. Though Ladybug's plan was brilliant, the heroes didn't know that it would succeed for sure and it was best to keep the general public out of harm's way.

Chat unsheathed his claws, using one to pick the lock on the butcher shop's door. He heard a click and the padlock fell off, the door swinging open. The masked boy stepped into the room and surveyed his surroundings, glowing eyes searching, and nose sniffing, for what he needed. The counter was against the left wall, covering a wooden door that led to the storage pantry, where the meat was probably kept. A single window lit the room as Chat made his way across it, his feet moving silently on the white tiles. The shop was is pristine condition. The owner must take great pride in it. Chat gave himself a mental reminder not to ruin the shop too much. He was careful not to disturb anything as he moved. He pushed open the small swinging door that led behind the counter. Chat ran his fingers across the countertop and cash register as he passed, walking through the door leading to the back.

Chat approached an iron door and brought his fingers to the surface, remembering to avoid using his right hand. He recoiled when he felt an instant cold. Chat grinned and instead reached for the handle, yanking the door open. Slowly, as the door pulled open, light spilled into the room, slowly illuminating a meat locker. The area wasn't very large, just four grey walls that couldn't be wider than 5 feet long, though the ceiling was quite high, and it had to be as large chunks of meat were hung from the ceiling. There were also some icy shelves on the back wall that seemingly held smaller pieces of meat. Chat took a step forward into the box, his breath becoming visible in the chill that possessed the locker. He grabbed at a particularly large piece of meat that hang closest to him. A childhood such as his own had ensured that Chat knew which things were costly, so he recognized the prize piece of meat and promised himself that he would leave the owner some money, or come back later and pay. He knew that he and Ladybug had no chance of returning it. For good measure, Chat took some smaller bits of meat from the back shelves.

After dragging his haul back into the main shop, Chat walked over to the window. He looked up through the blinds at a rooftop across the street. His eyes searched for a familiar red and black silhouette, and when he found it, Chat's eyes met bright blue ones. She cocked her head to the side, waiting for a sure signal. Ladybug didn't want to come in until the last minute, lest the akuma sneak up on them last time, leaving them vulnerable. He nodded at her and gave a thumbs up. Ladybug's figure was suddenly blurred by her movement. She jumped down, landing on window frames on each floor until she reached the ground. Chat shook his head slightly with a small frown. Usually, with the powers their kwamis granted them, Ladybug and Chat Noir could've jumped from a building that high and been fine. Ladybug slowly lowering herself to the ground showed that she had not yet recovered from their earlier battle. The thought made Chat uncomfortable and somehow, again, Ladybug's problems were of higher importance than his. Chat's arm hung at his side limply.

His bug met him at the door.

"Hey, Chat, did we finally get lucky?" Ladybug grinned at him and looked around the room, surveying the meat. She seemed pleased with him. Chat was thrilled.