She isn't really thinking when she says it. They're sprawled out on some rooftop after a narrow escape, a mess of elbows and knees. Ladybug shoves Cat Noir away when he makes no move to disentangle their limbs, rolling to her feet and brushing herself off as she grumbles, "Did anyone ever tell you that curiosity killed the cat?"

Cat Noir is busy inspecting a tear in his sleeve, but he blinks at her wording. This isn't the first time she's made a cat joke (she loves teasing him about landing on his feet) but for a second he seems almost appalled. Quickly, though, his surprise melts into a slight grin.

"Why, my lady, you've been waiting to use that one, haven't you?"

Marinette would splutter, say something like, "As if!" As Ladybug, though, she's used to Cat Noir's games, impervious to the flick of his tail and his green-eyed charm.

"Get over yourself, Cat," she says instead, before asking, "How's your arm?"

"Fine," answers Cat Noir, holding his hand out in front of him and flexing it. "A kiss might make it even better, though." His teeth are pearly in the dark.

Ladybug just turns and starts walking, rolling her eyes as Cat scrambles to his feet to catch up.

o.O.o

It becomes somewhat of a game between them.

"You know what really bugs me?" drawls Cat Noir as he drops out of the shadows, sealing off the criminal's escape.

"What?" asks Ladybug, playing along.

Between them, the thief's eyes narrow. "How did you know I'd be here?" he asks, gaze never leaving the yoyo spinning in Ladybug's hand.

"I guess someone must have let the cat out of the bag," tries Ladybug, rewarded by Cat Noir's approving laugh as he edges closer.

And it's strange, because they're about to fight but Ladybug's having fun, and there's a split second where she meets Cat Noir's eyes over the thief's shoulder and he nods, signaling he's ready, and she wishes—

She wishes she could communicate with Adrien this easily.

The thought disappears as they leap into action. Ladybug has always tried to keep her day and night lives separate, after all.

But later, when she slides under her covers aching with bruises and dreading the morning, she thinks next time I'll say 'time to end this cat-and-mouse game' and smiles.

o.O.o

Cat Noir is a lonely, leather-clad figure before her, his tail dragging listlessly behind him. They've been walking in silence for the better part of the evening, and Ladybug can't take the quiet any longer, the self-blame that hovers like a black cloud.

"Hey," she says, and then louder, when Cat Noir doesn't stop, "Hey."

Cat Noir turns, his hair dusted silver in the moonlight. "Yes, my lady?" he answers, but it has none of its usual mischief, and the half-heartedness hurts more than anything.

Ladybug goes to him. Cat Noir takes a slight step back, as if he doesn't know what to do when he's not the one entering someone else's space, but Ladybug follows, bringing her hands up to cup the sides of his face. Outside of battle, she's never been the one to initiate contact between them before, and Cat's eyes widen at her touch.

"Listen, Cat Noir," she says, holding him in place, "tonight wasn't your fault."

His eyes are disbelieving as they drill into hers. Under her gloves, Ladybug can feel the warmth of his skin, the part where the cool edge of his mask meets the softness of his cheeks. And as he meets her stare, Cat Noir's doubt bleeds away, replaced by a look of gratitude. There's something so vulnerable about it that Ladybug wonders, for the first time in a long time, about the boy beneath the costume. She wonders if he has a warm bed to go home to. A pet to take care of. What he likes to eat for breakfast.

It takes her a minute to realize she's held on to Cat for longer than necessary, a minute more to realize that the old flirtatiousness has returned to his gaze. She drops her hands from his face, scalded, and takes a hurried step back, tucking her fingers under her armpits and looking out over the Paris skyline, lifting her chin slightly in an attempt to regain her cool demeanor.

Silence falls between them again. Ladybug resists the urge to fill it—Marinette would, tripping over her words in her eagerness to please, but Marinette doesn't have a mask to hide behind like Ladybug does.

Besides, Cat Noir does it for her, his voice back to its usual smugness as he sidles up to her, smirking, "Why are you suddenly so quiet? Cat got your tongue?"

Ladybug exhales loudly through her nose, digging an elbow into his side to make him jump away.

She bites the inside of her cheek to hide her smile.