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It took explaining to Hesperia and another ten minutes before Nebulosus arrived on scene and got Chat Noir untangled from the yo-yo string. Now freed, Chat Noir inspected the yo-yo to see if he could determine if this was Shadybug or Ladybug’s. He wanted to be wrong, he wanted this to belong to Shadybug. Those blue eyes that looked back at him right before Claw Noir made his escape were the only things making him pause.
“Everything alright Chat Noir?” Nebulosus’ voice snapped him out of his daydream as he realized that he was clutching her yo-yo so tightly.
Coughing awkwardly, Chat Noir refocused on the weapon in hand. He knew how it worked thanks to his short time as Mister Bug. “Y-yeah. I’ll find out who this belongs to now.” His thumb was about the flick the screen upward to check the call log before it disappeared in a flurry of red. “Damm, she must have transformed back.” Annoyance laced his voice, yet at the same time he was secretly relieved. He wasn’t sure what he would do if it was Ladybug’s yo-yo that stopped him from getting Claw Noir’s Miraculous.
A reassuring hand was placed on Chat Noir’s shoulder. “Hesperia says don’t lose hope. This was the closest we were to retrieving a Miraculous.”
Forcing a smile onto his face, Chat Noir nodded to the champion. “Right. Thank you for the assistance, Nebulosus and Hesperia. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be taking my leave now.” Pulling his baton out, he took to the nearest rooftop and started running. After a few minutes of running, Chat Noir chose a random roof and dipped behind a chimney. Leaning against the cool brick, he slid down the chimney until he was sitting on the rooftop.
He brough his hands to in front of his face and looked at his barely shaking hands for a few moments before clenching them into fists. He knew that he had time to open the call log, he had time to find out whose yo-yo was used to tie him up. Yet… he knew he hesitated, afraid to know the truth. Nebulosus did say that Shadybug randomly fled the battle, and it was reasonable to assume it was her yo-yo being used to save her partner.
Yet…
The blue eyes in the fog. They looked so much like Ladybug’s whenever she was upset. Maybe, just maybe if he had a few more seconds to stare into them, he would be able to figure out if they were her’s or not.
A scraping sound caused Chat Noir’s ears to twitch and eyes to shoot open. Immediately he shifted from a sitting position to a crouch, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. He glanced around the rooftop and saw that he was alone. “Calm down Chat Noir.” He mumbled to himself after not seeing or hearing anything new for a solid minute. Letting his muscles relax, he let out a long and frustrated sigh as he slowly stood up.
Ever since Ladybug disappeared four months ago, Chat Noir found himself on edge. It was hard to relax when he had no idea if Ladybug was alright or not. Yet in the last few weeks… he found that was even more true than before. Normally detransforming causes the uncertainty and unease to ebb away towards the back of his mind. Allowing him just a moment of peace before someone or something draws him back into costume.
Now?
Now it lingers even after detransforming.
He wants to write it off as being anxious about how long he’s been away from home, about how Ladybug still hasn’t shown up yet. However, there is something keeping him from writing it off. Deep beneath the uncertainty and unease was something else, something intoxicating, a combination of feelings he couldn’t put into words except for one. The deep desire he knew he wanted more of.
Yes, you draw closer. Ever closer.
Whenever he hears that faint voice speak to him within his mind, those feelings jump to the surface for just a few moments. He hasn’t told Plagg about the voice, something deep within him always telling him to keep it a secret. It hasn’t caused any harm yet… so Chat Noir never saw a reason to go against his instincts. They’ve kept him safe this long, why would this be any different?
Knowing that sitting still was no longer an option, Chat Noir continued to run across the rooftops of Paris to try and burn off some of this excess energy. His eyes remained focused on the open skies in front of him. Because whenever he looked down into the dark alleyways below… blue eyes stared back at him.