Running from the Night (A Ladybug and Chat Noir Fanfic)

Chapter 16

Frigid Heart scowled at her as she reached for the necklace and tried to roll out of the way. Ladybug huffed in annoyance as he squirmed. She planted her clawed hand on his shoulder and held him down with one hand. He smiled up at her and she paused in confusion.

She wasn't looking at her right hand as it reached for the necklace sitting on his clavicle. Pain flared against her fingertips and she looked down to see he had formed a thin layer of ice around the akumatized object that steamed even in the cold air temperature. She retracted her hand and frowned.

She felt his feet plant against her stomach too late. With a hard shove she fell backwards and he freed himself from the yo-yo string. She scrambled to her feet swearing under her breath as he shot ice at her once again. She kept an eye on the sky as he drove her backwards, she wasn't about to get stuck again.

"You are looking Meow-velous today," Chat Noir's voice startled her as he dropped beside her. He swung his baton deflecting the ice that was pelting towards her.

"And you're rather late today Chat," she said out of the side of her mouth. Her earrings beeped again to punctuate her point.

"Right, I uh," she scowled as he fumbled for words.

"Don't bother with an excuse," she said through gritted teeth before putting her arm around his waist and throwing her yo-yo into the air. As soon as she felt it latch onto something solid she pulled herself and her partner into the relative safety of a rooftop.

"The akuma is in his necklace but it's covered in some sort of dry ice, I can't touch it," she huffed, crossing her arms and looking down at the villain. She avoided looking at Chat Noir but she knew he could feel the annoyance radiating off of her. It didn't help that her tail was flicking angrily and her new cat ears were flat against her head.

"I'm sorry Ladybug but I just couldn't get away from my civilian life," Chat spoke softly. She felt some of her anger fade. She couldn't blame him but a dull ache had started in the back of her head making it hard to focus on her compassion.

"What your girlfriend hold you up or something," she joked, trying to break the tension, and glanced at him. She noticed his brows knit together and he looked away from her with a sour expression.

"Something like that," he muttered. She felt her eyes blow wide with shock before forcing her expression to go neutral. He didn't know his girlfriend was the one that was stuck in an ice dome without her partner. The more rational part of her said that he just couldn't tell her as it would jeopardize his identity. The exhausted part of her mind that was now being pierced by a mounting headache made her whip around and stare daggers at the akuma. She couldn't grill Chat for answers so instead she could lash at a villain.

Ladybug leaped down to the ground and rushed Frigid Heart. She threw her yo-yo near his head to distract him. He took the bait and smugly stepped directly into the path of her clenched fist and she hit him with an underhook. Her gauntleted hand connected with his jaw and sent him flying backwards. She heard the crunch of his body hitting ice behind him. She was dimly aware of how violent it was and hoped no journalists were around to film it, but it was satisfying.

Chat Noir jumped down and summoned his cataclysm. She watched him touch the necklace with an almost comical gentleness. The ice crumbled to dust allowing the necklace to be safely held, he pulled it off the villain and threw it to Ladybug. She caught it in one hand and read the dangling pendants claim to be best friends forever.

She looked around at the damage and realized she had left her lucky charm in the remains of the ice dome. She walked over to it and picked up the hair dryer. She scowled at the useless object. Her head was pounding as she tried to discern if she had ever won a fight without effectively using the lucky charm.