"Just a Friend?" Book 1 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy (MLB FanFic) |COMPLETED|

Chpt 6: Is Cat Noir actually being serious?

Ladybug and Cat Noir met on a dark rooftop later that night. "I'm glad you got my message," said Cat Noir.  He wanted to get right to the point of the meeting, so they would have enough time to discuss things.  "I'm really starting to get concerned about how quiet the city has been and I think we should make some plans."  He looked down, trying to think about what else he wanted to say.

Ladybug was again surprised at how serious he was.  He made no humorous comments, didn't mention how much he had missed her, or even try to kiss her hand or anything.  Maybe he really was worried.

"It's good to see you, too, Cat Noir," she said sarcastically.  He looked up at her, startled.  "Sorry," she said, "I just wasn't expecting you to be so serious."  His expression turned to hurt at her comment.

"I do think about things, you know, and since it's been so quiet I've had a lot more time to think.  The people of Paris are also feeling uneasy- Nadja's newscast certainly didn't help anything- and I would like to do all I can to help them.  If, or when, Hawk Moth shows up again it would be a benefit to all of us if the whole city wasn't emotionally volatile and easily akumatized," he said gruffly staring at her.  "You remember what happened the last time, right?"

Ladybug looked at him closely trying to figure out just how worried he was.  "Okay," she said slowly, "you're right and I'm sorry. Can we start again?"  She paused and then said "So, what do you think we should do?"

Cat Noir looked at her, completely surprised she was asking him what they should do.  He expected her to take charge, so he wasn't prepared for the question.  He gazed out over the city and tried to collect together all of the thoughts he had the last few days and put them in some kind of order in his head. 

"I think that you should contact Nadja and get us some media coverage for an announcement tomorrow evening, maybe at the Mayor's podium?  You should make a speech that helps to calm the unease of the city.  Do you need my help with that?"  She shook her head and waited for him to continue, since he really had seemed to have thought things through. 

"Make sure Alya hears about it so she can cover it for the Ladyblog, too" he said.  "That will reach a different audience than just Nadja's viewers.  Do you think you should talk to Master Fu and see what he thinks?  I just have a really bad feeling that something big is going to happen.  Should we somehow be preparing ourselves?  Or am I just overreacting because we've never had a lull like this before?" Cat Noir rushed on with his thoughts and looked down at the ground again, feeling a little embarrassed.  Does Ladybug think I am being foolish worrying so much?

Ladybug touched his arm reassuringly.  He looked up at her. 

"There's no way to know, but we have managed to solve all of the past problems and there is no reason to believe this won't be true in the future.  The best way to prepare for the future is to continue to be a good team.  As long as we trust each other and continue to be friends and have others we can rely on to help- people who believe in us and who believe in doing the right thing- we can do this!"  She felt her own confidence growing with her speech and she hoped it helped him just as much!

"I'll contact Nadja and set things up.  Anything else?" she asked him, removing her hand from his arm.

"I think that's a good start, but maybe we should continue to check in with each other more often if 'nothing' continues to happen?"  Cat Noir looked down to keep her from reading his face, trying to get his emotions under control.  He knew Ladybug would suspect that he wanted to meet more often just so he could be around her, not because he really thought it was important to their ability to work well as a team.  Of course, he did want to be around her as much as he could!  Cat Noir had a difficult time hiding his hurt and frustration that Ladybug didn't love him the way he loved her, but he knew she wouldn't respond well if he let her see his emotions about that topic.  He took a small breath and let it out. 

Cat Noir tried to keep his voice sounding business-like as he said "I know you're not interested in hanging out unless we're fighting supervillains, but if we don't see each other regularly we may lose some of our connection which could affect our ability to work together as a team."  He glanced at her inquiringly.  He really did believe that and willed her to see the truth in what he said.

Ladybug had to admit that what he said did make sense and she didn't think he was just saying it as a way to see her more often. "Okay, we can figure out how to meet more regularly after we address the public tomorrow.  I've got to go now.  Bug out!"

"Alright," said Cat Noir, "see you tomorrow!"

They both took off in different directions into the city.