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Checking his baton’s locator, he glanced around the area, spying the signature spotted red he sought.
He dashed over the rooftop’s ledge, extending his baton to land beside his beloved partner. A happy sigh escaped upon reaching her side, having missed her the past few weeks.
Hawk Moth’s defeat and subsequent reveal had sent shockwaves through Paris. No one had experienced them greater than his own son.
Chat frowned at the memories plaguing him, doing his best to shut them down. He didn’t need to worry about them any longer, not with his partner beside him again. It’d taken him far too long to dare this venture from his new home, but he couldn’t take being alone any longer.
“Evening, my Lady,” he whispered, kneeling in front of her.
His hand itched to reach out and touch her, but her hunched posture stopped him. Her head rested on her knees while her shoulders shook with raw emotion.
“My Lady?” He knelt closer, his knees hitting the billboard’s platform. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
He reached for her, his hand brushing against her hair.
She stiffened. “Chat?”
“I’m here, my Lady. Whatever you need, I’m here.” He wrapped his hands around her arms. “I’m sorry I disappeared for a bit, but I’m back and not going anywhere.”
The air around them changed. Charged itself with an expectancy that surprised him.
She launched at him, using his hold on her for leverage. Her arms slid around his neck and squeezed impossibly tight.
“My Lady, I can’t breathe,” he choked, making his voice teasing to lighten the mood.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered against his neck.
Her hold didn’t loosen.
Taking matters into his own hands, he tugged on her arms until her hands finally broke their hold. Satisfied, he wrapped his arms around her back and settled her in his lap, nuzzling her cheek.
“I never got to say goodbye,” she whispered after some time had passed. “He’s gone. You were gone. You both left me without a word.”
Tears fell onto his exposed neck, sliding beyond his suit.
They tore at him, ripping apart the barely repaired seams of his own pain. His heart clenched as tiny sobs escaped her.
“Oh, my Lady, I’m so, so sorry. I never meant to leave you. I’m back now. I’m not going anywhere as long as you want me at your side.” He gulped, needing the moment to gather his courage. “I wouldn’t have left you if I didn’t have to.”
“I don’t understand, Chat. Why did you leave? Was it because of him? Did he ask for your help? He didn’t have to leave. I would’ve been there for him.”
A fresh sob punctuated each question and declaration, sending his heart further into turmoil.
“Who are talking about, my Lady?”
He knew in his heart who she meant, but he had to hear her say it. He needed to hear her say his name, to say she cared about him.
“Adrien,” she whispered, flinging her hand in the direction of the billboard.
His eyes followed her movement, taking in the half-destroyed photo of himself. An old ad if he had to guess.
“He’s one of my best friends. I loved him, Chat, but he left. He left, and I never got to say goodbye. I never got to say that I loved him.” She sobbed harder, her tears falling freely against his skin.
His heart soared at this new information though it dimmed swiftly.
He’d caused her so much pain by disappearing. He hadn’t tried to slow down the events after his father had been unmasked as Paris’s great supervillain, allowing his life to change around him. Adrien had quickly disappeared with only small appearances of Chat Noir in the weeks since everything had gone down.
Hoping to make it right, he pressed her closer, his arms settling lower on her back. His chin nuzzled her cheek as he whispered, “Tell him now.”
Her sobs lessened, her mind whirling with a thousand thoughts.
He could feel her thoughts, his lips curving into a small smile.
“What?”
“Tell him now, my Lady. Tell him how you feel.” He tucked his face into the nook of her shoulder and neck, cradling her closer. “I know he needs to hear it if it’s still true. Please, let it still be true, my Lady.”
“Chat, I don –”
Dropping his transformation, he waited for her reaction, sensing his doom despite the bold move he’d made in the small hope for happiness.
She pushed away to get a better look at him, her eyes widening far more than he thought possible.
“Adrien? You’ve been Chat the entire time?”
He nodded, his voice lost to his rising dread.
Her hand swiped at her tears, drying her eyes as best she could. She offered him a small smile as she softly commanded, “Transform again, please.”
He did, calling Plagg back into his ring.
Brushing a kiss against his cheek, she whispered, “I love you. I have loved you for so long. My heart broke the day you disappeared. Don’t ever do that again, Chaton. I need you in and out of your suit. You are my partner, my best friend, and the man I love with all my heart. I never want to say goodbye to you, so don’t you dare leave me again.”
Sensing the second chance he never thought he’d get, he grabbed onto the promise of her words, his voice equally soft. “Never, my Lady. I’m yours for now and always. I’m not going anywhere.”