Keep the Mask, It Goes With Your Costume

~Chapter Sixteen: The Trade~ (Part 1/2)

Cat Noir woke up the next morning with the worst feeling in his gut. He had hardly gotten any sleep that night, and was too anxious to eat any breakfast. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of seeing Marinette in just a few hours. He could imagine how she'd run and hug all her friends seeing them again, and how her parents would cry with joy, and how she would go apologizing to everyone that she made them worry. Just thinking about it made him smile, so much that he would forget for a moment that he was going to be trusting his biggest enemy, and obviously didn't know Hawkmoth had no intention of keeping his side of the bargain.

He logged on to the Ladyblog out of curiosity, he saw that his video was at nearly 1.4 MILLION views! Almost all of Paris must have seen it by now! Not to mention the comments, so many people were so angry at Ladybug, and so compassionate toward Cat Noir. He noticed Alya hadn't updated anything since then, but remembered that he changed all her passwords and she couldn't even log into the website anymore. Seeing all these people angry at Ladybug reminded him was he was angry with her too (even though the reason was made up). Regardless, he wanted to finish the deal already so he could just get it out of his head. And although he knew deep down he might miss Ladybug, it would never compare to how much he missed Marinette. So he transformed and texted Hawkmoth from his baton:

CN: can we do it earlier than planned? I'll be there with her in 30 minutes.

HM: of course, see you soon Cat Noir.

And so then Cat Noir texted Ladybug, unsuspectingly.

CN: hey Ladybug I'm sorry about last night, can you meet with me? I think we need to talk it out with one another, no violence. I'll be in the alleyway on Avenue Élisée Reclus in 30 minutes if you want too.

Ladybug saw the message but took a moment to reply, she didn't know if she could trust Cat Noir. But then again she knew him well, and he would never do anything TOO horrible. Plus although the Élisée Reclus alleyway was a kind of sketchy place for them to meet, it was right near the Eiffel tower and people would be around in case he did something. So she replied:

LB: I will Cat Noir, I do think we need to talk it out, but I'll have to take the long way so no one sees me, you kind of turned Paris against me ;)

She added that last part to test it they were on good terms still and to clarify that she wasn't angry at him for the video as long as he was willing to apologize.

Ladybug decided it would be best to not tell her parents, they would just try to convince her to not go. So she sneaked out of the house and through different, more secret streets to avoid getting seen and people freaking out. It ended up taking longer that she'd hoped, and she only got there just in time.

Cat Noir was already there waiting, Mayura would only show up "with Marinette" after Ladybug was tranquilized, to avoid any unwanted attention.

Ladybug landed at just the opening of the alley, and immediately made eye contact with Cat Noir, who was about 10 meters deeper down. The two of them starred at one another's eyes for a moment, and tears filled Cat Noir's as he remembered what Ladybug looked like. It had barely been a night since he last saw her, but as he starred at her standing in front of him, he once again realized how beautiful she was. Her gorgeous figure, shiny and bright eyes, her dark hair, and her most beautiful feature, her kindness. As he looked at her he recalled her compassion and how she treated everyone around her with generosity. For a moment he wanted to back down, he wanted to just have a good talk with Ladybug and apologize for real, he wanted to be best friends with his best friend, instead of betraying her.

Neither of them took a step toward the other, both of them silent and still, scared of what the other might say. Ladybug finally took a couple steps toward him, and spoke quietly as she got closer, "Cat Noir, I just-" but she was stopped short because before she could say anything more, Cat Noir ran up to her with full force and hugged her so tightly he started crying. That startled Ladybug for a moment, and she didn't say anything more, just wrapped her arms back around his chest.

"Ladybug I'm so, so sorry" he said quietly into her ear. But she was a little confused, he was really crying which seemed like an overreaction, I mean yeah he told all of Paris she was evil, but she wasn't really upset at him for that.

"Cat Noir don't cry about the video it's okay we can fix it." She said, trying to console him.

"No, not for that." He said with a deep breath.

Ladybug raised her eye brow a little bit confused, "wait, what do you mean?" She asked, but Cat Noir just tightened his grip around her and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small syringe. He closed his eyes and thought only of Marinette, and how much her missed her. Then brought his arm back around Ladybug back.

"For this," he said, as he plunged the syringe into her back through her suit immediately knocking her out. And she fell unconscious into his strong arms.

___
Hey guys! Sorry for the cliffhanger! I'm going away this weekend and didn't have enough time to write the entire part before I leave, but I didn't want to keep you waiting til next week so I split it in two. So that's also why this part is a little shorter than normal. Also, yes the Avenue Élisée Reclus is a real place right next to the Eiffel tower and I chose it because my first name is Elise for any of you that didn't know :)

-Your Everyday Ladybug, Elise🌹🐞💓