"Just a Friend?" Book 1 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy (MLB FanFic) |COMPLETED|

Chpt 18: Superhero dance fighting, er, training. Cat Noir does an experiment.

The four superheroes met Sunday night at an old warehouse near Master Fu's. There was plenty of space to train, few windows, and the location kept them from traveling very far with the Miraculouses. Cat Noir was sitting on a box in a small storage room while he waited for Rena Rouge and Carapace to transform.  Ladybug said she would let him know when he could join them.  He could hear the murmur of voices out in the warehouse but he couldn't really recognize any of them from where he was, not even Ladybug's.  While he was waiting he wondered again whether he knew who the other two superheroes really were. He fiddled impatiently with the item in his lap that he had removed from the bag he brought with him. He had what he hoped would be a funny surprise for the others. Well, at least he found it funny, and he thought it might make everyone relax a little on this first day of training. 

He heard a loud call of "We're ready, Cat Noir!" from the other room.

"Finally!" Cat Noir muttered to himself.  He stood up and turned on the old cd player in his arms. The cd he had made of a bunch of '80s musical movie training montages started to play and he cranked up the volume. He hadn't dared to bring his phone, which would have been easier, in case anyone in the room actually knew him and would recognize it.

Cat Noir strutted out of the room with the music blaring and called out "Dance fighting montage everyone!" before starting to do some dance fighting moves around the room. 

Ladybug swiveled her head away from her quiet conversation with Rena and Carapace to see just what crazy thing Cat was doing now.  When she saw his moves, she only just kept herself from laughing- not because he wasn't good, but because of how much he seemed to be enjoying himself.  And, he was actually really good.  She wished she were able to dance and could join in without embarrassing herself. Unfortunately, she would probably just make a fool of herself and then what kind of leader would she seem to be?  She covered her embarrassment by rolling her eyes at Cat. 

Cat noticed her annoyance, but was surprised that she didn't seem to be as annoyed about it as he had expected. He wiggled his eyebrows at her trying to get her to join in. She shook her head "no" but continued to watch. He thought he might have even seen her laugh a bit. Progress!  

The dancing Cat motioned for Rena and Carapace to join in and after receiving a nod of assurance from Ladybug, Rena and Carapace had no reluctance about joining in and adding their own dance fighting moves. Ladybug watched the three superheroes dance around the room for a few minutes and Cat Noir sent a cheesy grin her way when he noticed her watching him.

"Okay, okay," Ladybug smiled, "good icebreaker, Cat Noir, but now it's time to get to work. We can't stay too long as I'm assuming we all have school tomorrow!"

Cat turned off the music and they all pulled up some boxes and sat in a circle.  They started out by discussing different team fighting strategies and then Rena and Carapace demonstrated what they had been working on together.  They then built upon what the two had shown them to include all four of them.  The time passed quickly as they all got comfortable with each other's abilities. They trained together for about an hour before Ladybug called a stop for the night.

"Good job tonight everyone!" Ladybug said. "I think we've really developed some good strategies to work on and I can tell that Rena and Carapace have already spent a lot of time developing their teamwork skills."  Rena and Carapace blushed slightly under Ladybug's praise.  "Cat Noir, could you go in the other room for a minute and I'll join you there?" 

Cat nodded and headed back to the storage room, trying not to show his disappointment about being left out again. Rena and Carapace transformed once Cat Noir was gone and they handed Ladybug their Miraculouses. 

"Thanks so much- that was so fun!" said Alya as she took Nino's hand.

"Yeah, so much fun," said Nino. "So, when do we get to do this again?"

"Soon, I think. I promise that I'll let you know as soon as I can," said Ladybug.  

The two teenagers nodded and said "Bye!" before heading toward the door.  Once they were gone, Ladybug placed the Miraculouses carefully into their respective boxes and then went into the back room to get Cat Noir.

Cat was sitting on a box in silence, elbows on his knees, and looked up at her as she entered. She had expected him to poke at her again for leaving him out, but when he didn't she started to wonder why he was so quiet.  It was so unlike him.

"I think that went well. I was glad that they have been practicing on their own- it made everything easier," said Ladybug. Cat Noir nodded his agreement, still distracted by his thoughts of Ladybug seeming to react to his touch the other day that had come into his mind as soon as he had sat down in the small, quiet room. He wondered if the reaction would happen again.

Ladybug noticed a strange expression cross Cat's face.  Between that and Cat's unnatural silence, she began to feel a bit nervous, though she wasn't exactly sure why.  She raised her eyebrows, inviting him to say whatever it was he was thinking. But, when he still didn't say anything, she gave up- she had better things to do than to wait around for a pouting Cat!  At least that was the only thing that she could imagine was the reason for his silence. She huffed in annoyance and said "Well, I guess I better get these back to Master Fu." She was turning to go when Cat suddenly stood up and gently touched her arm. Ladybug stopped mid-turn and shivered a bit. She gazed at him questioningly. 

Cat kept his hand on her arm while he looked into her eyes, trying to read her expression, but he couldn't tell what she was feeling.  His experiment to see if she would have the same reaction to him as before definitely gave the same results- he was certain this time that she shivered in response to his touch.  "Never mind," he said, removing his hand from her arm.  

She nodded uncertainly back at him before turning to leave.  "Good night," she said quietly.  

Cat Noir watched her go and then went around the building turning off the lights as he wondered for the second time what has going on with Ladybug.