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As the magical ladybugs repaired the area, Chat Noir squinted. He was used to the swarm, but for some reason it seemed brighter this time, more intense. The sound of glass unbreaking, like tinkling of crystals, was all around and when the swarm swept past them he noticed that they were in the middle of the House of Mirrors.
“Pound it,” they said in unison as their fists connected in their ritual bump. Surrounding them were multiple Ladybugs and Chat Noirs, who were also celebrating the victory. It was sorta dazzling and seemed auspicious somehow.
The first chime of a Miraculous sounded, telling them they needed to go.
“See you later,” Ladybug said, turning to walk away and slamming right into a mirror. Chat Noir tried to stifle the laughter as she turned and frowned at him. Rubbing her nose Ladybug squared her shoulders before attempting to walk away in a different direction. “Okay so, maybe this way…”
She didn’t slam into another mirror, but only because she had her hand stretched out. The miffed look on her face would have been adorable if another chime didn’t remind him they did need to get going. Grabbing her wrist, his ears twitching, he said in a less playful tone than might have been expected, “This way my Lady.”
With a pout, that had more to do with her pride then actually being put out by having her partner assist her, Ladybug let Chat Noir lead her through the mirror maze. It was slow going as he could not rely on his sight but was letting his other feline senses try to discern the way out.
Their Miraculous kept chiming and their progress seemed extremely slow with the reminders. Chat Noir could tell by Ladybug's body language, that he could see from so many angles, she was getting nervous. If it were not for their time crunch he might have enjoyed getting to see her everywhere he looked.
“Next one I detransform,” she told him in a worried tone, biting down on her lower lip.
Part of him wanted to tell her it was alright, because he’d never been afraid of them revealing their identities. Well, not really. He understood her reason though, even if he didn’t agree. Keeping their identities a secret kept those near and dear to them safe.
“Don’t worry, I think we’re almost there,” he told her though the truth was he wasn’t sure. He could smell the fair beyond the maze getting stronger. The odors of food and dirt and sweat, but just because they were closer didn’t necessarily mean they were close enough to the exit. “If we don’t make it out, I’ll just close my eyes.”
“Is that going to work,” she asked with concern written on her face.
“You can rely on me,” was his reply, accompanied with a cheeky grin.
“I know,” she said, squeezing his hand as they continued. While he knew what was to come, he was still somewhat surprised when she spoke about a minute later. “Close your eyes!”
His eyelids closed before he even thought about it. Working as a team, they got used to doing things the other suggested (or in this case demanded) without complete understanding or thinking it through. Just as the realization of why dawned on him through his closed eyelids he saw the electric sparkles and felt the fleeing magic.
In an attempt not to accidentally look once the light faded he squeezed his eyes tighter, not noticing he’d also done the same with the hand he was holding her’s in. “Relax Kitty, just don’t look.”
“You’re doing a fine job Chat Noir,” said another voice. It must have been her kwami.
Taking a breath he consciously loosened his grip as he exhaled, and while he did keep his eye closed, he didn’t hold them so tight. “We still have a ways to go before we get to the exit.”
Leading her once more, he ignored the question they both had, what would they do if he detransformed before they reached the exit. It was disorienting not using his sight at all. While it had been his keen other senses that had been how they’d been navigating without his sight he felt lost.
Lost, but safe. Even if she was not Ladybug at the time, he still felt secure with his lady there with him. Not only that, but the akuma was defeated. There was no real danger at the moment. Just a clock that kept chiming to the end of their secrets.
There wasn’t much time left and the hero felt a bead of sweat forming on his brow. Had he failed?
“I see the exit,” the girl behind the mask said excitedly. He didn’t really notice though. His mind was on something else.
“Close your eyes!”
Chat Noir would have thought he’d feel vulnerable as his mask fell with another person present, but it was Ladybug and he could never feel that way with her by his side. Adrien took a breath and felt the hand in his give a tight squeeze. “I’m not looking.”
Adrien smiled despite himself. For the first time ever he was feeling Ladybug’s hand, skin to skin. He had to mentally shake himself as he started to rub his thumb over hers. “How,” he swallowed, his throat feeling dry. He then started again. “How close are we?”
“Super close. I think if we take twenty steps we’d be out. Then we can just, you know, turn away from each other and walk away.” Did she sound hesitant? Maybe. Even if she thought keeping their secret was best, maybe, maybe deep down she wanted to know who he was too.
He didn’t really notice when Plagg flew out of the ring, but he thought maybe he heard Tikki say something to him? In any case the kwami was now crawling into his usual pocket with only a slight grumble. Adrien needed to give him an extra good piece of cheese later. “Twenty pace then turn, got it.”
They whispered the count together, slowly the daylight was noticeable behind his closed eyelids. When they came to twenty they both stopped. This was where they were to part company, walk in opposite directions and not look back. Just as he was loosening his grip on Ladybug’s hand, he heard the voice of his friends.
“Adrien! Marinette! There you both are. We’ve been looking all over for you.”
It would seem that he and his lady were going to have to rely on each other once more to get out of this. The freak out had to wait, had to be stalled, they had to act normal. Whatever normal was. Even if all his eyes could see was sky blue and midnight black, the hand in his kept him grounded.