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It was later, and Cat Noir was worrying about everything that had happened.
The Marionette. Tikki. Finding out her identity. The kiss. It had all happened so fast. Not even twenty-four hours had passed and Adrien was already pacing across his floor. Plagg didn’t have the same worries, sitting on his bed with a piece of cheese in his tiny hands. Paws. Whatever they were. But Adrien was overcome with anxiety. “She has a right to know, right?” he muttered. “If I know, I should come clean.”
Plagg shrugged. “Are you gonna tell her who you are?”
“I-I don’t know.” Adrien sat beside Plagg. “That would be the right thing to do. But what if she hates me for this?”
“For what?” Plagg shoved half the cheese in his mouth. “Telling her?”
Adrien didn’t bother responding. No matter what he did, it seemed to lead down a dark path. He could ruin the dynamic they’d built over all this time with one simple sentence. He went over to sit down at his computer. As soon as he opened his browser, his homepage was filled with alerts about an akuma making its way through Paris. He could worry about Marinette later, half the city was frozen in time. “Plagg, transform me!”
One green flash of light later, Cat Noir was bounding out of his window and across rooftops. Black and white crept across the streets, coating the city. He jumped headfirst across the barrier. He may not be able to see the red and black of Ladybug’s suit, but he could recognize the spots anywhere. She swung down the street alongside him with ease. They came together at the park beside the school. The villain was standing on the fountain railing. He swung his cane above his head. With each swing, the sky seemed to get darker. Time seemed to pass a little slower. Ladybug and Cat Noir launched themselves into the park.
If Cat Noir was being honest, he felt stupid for not noticing it before. The little mannerisms in how she fought. The same determined grimace that crossed her face. The eyes that were usually the perfect shade of blue.
But he didn’t really have the time to fawn over Ladybug right now. Or over Marinette. His stomach twisted just thinking about what would come after the battle.
“Lucky Charm!” she shouted. Even the charm seemed to fall in slow motion. The villain was approaching her at a normal pace. If she couldn’t figure it out quickly, he would get her Miraculous. Her identity would be revealed. To Hawkmoth, at least. Cat Noir started towards the villain. A sheathed rapier fell into her hands.
Without a second thought, Cat Noir grabbed it from her hands and swung it up. He knocked the villain’s cane back, speeding time up a pace. She heard Ladybug’s voice saying something along the lines of “nice thinking.” He continued to beat the cane back until time sped up enough for Ladybug to race towards him. She grabbed the villain’s cane and broke it over her knee.
“Enough evil-doing for you, little akuma,” she said, smiling to herself. She swiped a finger over her yo-yo and caught the akuma with ease. Cat Noir watched her with awe-struck eyes. Without even looking at him, she grabbed the rapier and threw it into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” A billion ladybugs scattered around them, fixing everything that had been wrecked. They surrounded the villain and put him back the way he was.
By the time they got the man to calm down and leave, Ladybug was on three spots. Her Miraculous beeped. Make that two. She sighed. “Well, chaton, I’ll see you later then?” She swung her yo-yo around a streetlamp across the fence.
Now or never. The longer he waited, the less likely he was to ever tell her. “Wait,” he scrambled. He wrapped a hand around her forearm to keep her in place. “We need to talk.”
She retracted her yo-yo string and turned fully to him. “Can this wait? My Miraculous is going to run out.”
“I’m afraid not, my Lady.” He was already struggling for words. “This morning, I fought off the Marionette-”
“Right.” She was cutting him off. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, I had something I had to attend to.”
“Actually, that’s-” A huge lie? “That’s not it. When I was fighting her, something happened. Because you weren’t coming to help and I-” Tell her the truth, minou. “Then Tikki told me you wouldn’t be there.”
Ladybug’s eyes widened. Tikki had told him? “I-Cat Noir-”
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. His eyes instinctively went to the ground. “I should have told you immediately, or something. I promise I won’t tell anybody.” He put a hand over his heart and looked back up to Ladybug. “Cat’s honor.”
Her Miraculous beeped. One minute left. She felt the world crashing around her. He knew. She had no way to get out of it now. “You know who I am,” she whispered. It wasn’t even a question. It was an echo.
As if on instinct, he took her hands in his. He looked like he was about to cry. “I’m sorry. I won’t tell a soul. I’ll even tell you who I am,” he rushed out.
She shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “I-I have to go.” Without a word, she swung her yo-yo around the same streetlamp and swung away. Cat Noir watched her drop into her own bedroom, barely concealing her transformation. Silent himself, he walked away.