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Post by skyeknight on Nov 21, 2016 18:18:20 GMT
A smile? A laugh? Chat felt rather surprised. This was probably the first time he actually made Shadow laugh. He was going to count it as a victory in his book. It probably wasn't going to happen again for a long time. It was good to hear that Shadow had never truly been upset with him. Even if he had flirted with the girl Shadow liked. At least Chat knew now truly to keep his paws off unless he was assisting Sunshine or saving her. Actually, he also realized that after Sunshine showed no interest, he hadn't felt the need to flirt with her. Rather, he put more effort into his flirts with Yang. She laughed him off. She always did. But thinking back, he wouldn't have minded too much if she did agree to go on that date with him, even if he had been teasing when he asked.
"I'd never have let her get hurt." Chat said honestly. "I... don't want anyone to get hurt."
That's why he left Yang, even though he missed her something fiercely. It was like a piece of himself had been cut off. Things certainly hadn't been the same since he decided to take the noble route. He was trying to put as much distance between him and Yang as he could. She didn't need to get caught up in his messes. But things just hadn't been as fun since he left her. Served him right, he supposed. He did literally abandon her at her home.
"She's tough." Chat said.
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Post by Zuyuri on Nov 22, 2016 6:25:16 GMT
Shadow nodded. Chat was telling the truth not just in his words, but in his inflections and body language. A detective knew a truthful person from a liar by just watching the language as opposed to hearing the words the police wanted to hear. Besides, Chat's whole goal of stealing was to return what was rightfully a person's back to them. He was the unusual help, not unlike the Others Unit; Maybe that was why Shadow tolerated Chat, because in the end, both the unit and the young cat burglar wanted the same thing, to keep the streets and people safe.
"This is what separates you from most," the cop said, "you tend to put the needs of others before yourself. You said you left a friend to avoid them getting hurt. I hate to be 'that guy' but..." he looked at Chat long and hard, his red eyes locking with the kid's green ones, "...what exactly maade you turn tail and run from your friend? That's...uncharacterstic of you. It's like me going to work in a ballet tutu."
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Post by skyeknight on Nov 22, 2016 15:23:55 GMT
"I... got on the wrong side of the Elemental Gang." Chat admitted. "I stole something from them and they tried to make my Princess talk. Tell them who I was. She didn't... She doesn't know and they tried to drown her."
They shackled her and threw her off the side of the bridge. It was only because of sheer dumb luck and Pitch Black that she had even survived. Yang was so stubborn that she was more concerned about what Cinder had planned for him once the woman got her hands on him. But Chat had been terrified to the core. Losing Yang was frightening. It had chilled him to the core. It had almost been hard to breathe. A world without Yang was hard to imagine. Mostly because she had consumed most of his night life as Chat Noir. He enjoyed sneaking up to her place, to drop off gifts, gaze at the stars, laugh and the soft whispers so they didn't wake the kids. It had been nice. He had felt normal for once in his life.
And he almost lost it all.
If they had been successful, Chat wouldn't even have known until her face popped up in the papers or in the obituary. He wouldn't have been able to do a thing. He hadn't even realized he used Yang's nickname. His Princess... He had to distance himself, cut all ties so that Cinder and her gang thought they were no longer... together? Affiliated? That whatever they had was a passing thing? But whatever he had stolen, had been important enough that Cinder wanted him dead, was willing to kill people to draw him out. It was scary. He gave the rookie cop Riku the pictures of what he had stolen, in hopes that the young officer could get the information to Pitch Black, the responding officer who had saved Yang.
"She would have died and I wouldn't have..." He wouldn't have been able to save her. He felt a raw emotion building up in his chest, choking him up a bit. "She's my only friend. I can't lose her too. I guess that makes me a scardy Chat."
He would rather be alone than know he had caused her death.
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Post by Zuyuri on Nov 22, 2016 21:15:42 GMT
Shadow's face fell into a stern frown. The Elemental Gang had been a thorn in the Other Unit's side recently. Their leader, Cinder, was a force to be reckoned with herself. Shadow had only seen her once, when he was a rookie. His hand went to one side, remembering how intense her fire burned and his he almost got scalded. Chat getting involved with them was bad. Very very bad.
The look and emotion in Chat talking about his "friend" spelled a lot. The guilt of leaving her high and dry out of fear, relief she had gotten out of the situation okay, and something he knew well.
It was heartbreak.
"I overheard the commissioner laughing about some request to send people to Stella Theatre. I would have assumed it was about the Clayface incident five years ago, but....he mentioned some kid giving him the thing. Was that you protecting your princess?"
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Post by skyeknight on Nov 22, 2016 21:35:18 GMT
"No!" Chat cried in horror. "That - he wasn't supposed to say anything about it! She'll lose her home!"
The Peter Pan Act only went so far to protect Yang and her kids. She obviously didn't have them in a 'traditional' home. The theater worked well despite it's peculiarities. Some people could even argue that it wasn't livable conditions but she did what she could with what she had. If the wrong sort of people, namely corrupt child service agents only looking for their next big break, and started digging into that place, everything Yang had, everything she had worked for would be gone because he tried to 'help'. He had to do something... Buy the theater. Put it in her name. Something. Anything to protect her. How many times could he screw things up before he finally got it right?
He was no help to anyone. All he brought was bad luck, just like his name suggested. Black cats didn't bring good luck if they crossed your path. He guessed the same could be said for him. Now the commissioner knew of his request, laughed it off, no one would look out for Yang. It left him feeling rather helpless.
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Post by Zuyuri on Nov 22, 2016 22:00:55 GMT
"Calm down," Shadow held up a hand to prevent Chat from panicking further. If this meant so much to the vigilante, he needed to know every detail. Who was it that Chat was upset about, and more importantly, why the Elemental Gang was going after them. They didn't just pick on anyone. They picked on people by exploiting a lot of weaknesses.
Shadow set down his glass and began pacing. "If it helps, the only person I'll let in on this is Sunshine. She's good at keeping secrets. You should see how jealously she guards her recipes. We're going to help your friend."
Letting the joke end, he got back to seriousness. "Who is it?"
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Post by skyeknight on Nov 22, 2016 22:11:13 GMT
Chat started to shake his head. He wanted to trust Shadow, but it seemed that even the rookie wasn't good enough to get the job done right. Shadow and Sunshine did their best, but what if that wasn't good enough to save her? The could have been in Cinder's pockets for all he knew. Or they were only going to help so they could arrest him later once they figured out who he was. But... Yang would be safe. The pros and cons bounced through his head. Eventually, his shoulders slumped in defeat. If his ears were real, they might have laid flat in dejection.
"Yang," he said, in a near whisper.
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Post by Zuyuri on Nov 23, 2016 0:46:30 GMT
"Luck's on your side today. Because Yang Xiao Long and I are good friends. I'm serious, I hang out with her when I'm off duty.." Shadow was, once again, smiling. "She helped me rescue a kid in the bayou, then during the Sapien thing showed me and Sunshine to...well...have a good time." Chat and Yang had been seeing each other? He had to admit, he should have seen that coming, but didn't put two and two together. "She mentioned you coming by, said you showed up when you were needed. I didn't ask any more since you proved yourself trustworthy."
He looked away, remembering how he had broken someone else's trust. By digging into Aqua's past when studying the badge to check its accuracy, he had probably snapped the minuscule thread of alliance he had with her. He'd find a way to apologize to her.
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Post by skyeknight on Nov 23, 2016 0:59:27 GMT
"You won't let them take the theater from her?" Chat asked. "Or the kids?"
The city would kill her just as fast as Cinder would. Without her home, without her kids, Yang had nothing. He was afraid to hope for more than that. Yang had mentioned Shadow and Sunshine, but he had no idea they were this close. They were close enough to hang out during the day. He could have been a little jealous because Shadow got to see Yang during the day but Chat/Adrien would never get to. Not with the media. Not with his father. He sighed softly. All of this was just draining.
"What about Sunshine?" he asked.
If Shadow got all protective of Yang, it might ruin whatever chances he had of winning over Sunshine. Especially if Sunshine thought Shadow had feelings for someone else.
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Post by Zuyuri on Nov 23, 2016 1:48:19 GMT
Shadow clenched his hand around one of his inhibitor rings. It began to radiate a bright yellow before flashing and a sound not unlike a safe opening resounded. It clattered onto the balcony with a rattle. He repeated this with the other inhibitor ring. "If they want to tear her world apart, they're gonna have to go through me." He motioned for Chat to move before jumping off the balcony.
Red and yellow energy formed around Shadow as he descended. When he landed, a dent was made in the concrete. He rushed forward, a cone of pure, unrestrained energy warping as he skated along the sidewalk. Cracks appeared where he had rushed, a few things went flying from the fierce wind he had left in his wake. When he got to the end of the curb, he snapped his fingers, reappearing back to his apartment.
"And that's why you don't cross me," he said simply, returning the inhibitor rings back onto his wrists. "As for Sunshine, I view Yang as a daughter, not a love interest."
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Post by skyeknight on Nov 23, 2016 2:11:41 GMT
"I'm going to try and find Cinder." Chat said softly.
He wanted to track Cinder down, try to find out why Cinder just tried to kill Yang and get her arrested. He wanted her off the streets, charged with her crimes and behind bars where she couldn't hurt anyone ever again. Keep Yang and Sunshine safe. The world was a better place when it had people like those two in it. His princess and his lady. Shadow understood. He obviously thought the world of Sunshine.
"I know that, but does Sunshine?" he asked. "Yang didn't take me seriously. I mean... I flirted. A lot. But if you're a little more direct with her... Maybe you won't lose her..."
Like Chat did with Yang. Yang was furious with him. Likely only to grow more and more so as she found out all the lengths he was going to in order to catch her would be killer. If she ever found out who he was in real life, then it was game over. She would never speak to him again.
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Post by Zuyuri on Nov 23, 2016 5:41:13 GMT
"You and I both know how dangerous Cinder is." Shadow warned Chat. "If you plan on going after her, start with what you know from what Yang told you. Leaping into a situation too quickly could get you into more trouble than you intend."
That was one of the many things Shadow had learned from the police academy. A wise man had said 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend', which could be true in many ways. Pitch had arrested Emerald, one of Cinder's right-hands. That left Mercury, who would be tough for an average human cop, but not for a homonculus. Telling Chat to stay out wasn't an option; he was in too deep enough.
"As for Sunshine, you and I both know she's smarter than she seems. That 'dumb blonde'stereotype can be broken by many, your princess and..." What could he call Sunshine? Chat was better at the nicknames. He struggled to find a word. "...my partner." Lazy, but it worked for now. He sighed. "I'm not ready to tell her, kind of like how you're not ready to tell Yang....when you are, tell her everything." He paused. "...I know, I'm not the best when it comes to talking about love lives. You were the better flirt than I was."
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Post by skyeknight on Nov 23, 2016 14:20:17 GMT
"I know." Chat said. "I'm being as careful as I can be."
And he was. He was pulling out every trick in the book to dig up information on Cinder, without being caught. Everything from wiretapping to camera surveillance. That and he poured over the pictures of the things he had stolen from her. Things that had not moved since he took them because he wanted to know what he took that was so important to Cinder. Something obviously had to have enough value to kill over. He was just glad that Shadow hadn't told him to back off. This was personal. Sure, he would probably call the police in when he had a good lead, but they had cases they had to take care of. Emerald wasn't going anywhere in her holding cell for now.
"She'll hate me if she knew who I really was." Chat said softly. "She won't see me as Chat Noir anymore. I would just be... a disappointment."
Yang hadn't exactly kept her distaste for the rich a secret. When they dined on steak, caviar and wine every night, she and her kids had cold pizza or canned soups. The rich flaunted what they had, things that were out of Yang's reach just because of the poor hand she had been dealt when it came to living conditions. If she had been born a rich man's daughter, she would have gone to a private school, she would have been raised to be dainty and poised, submissive and polite. In a way, like Weiss, though all the school in the world could not make Weiss be 'submissive' in any sense of the word considering she yelled at a demon. But Yang wouldn't be the girl he had gotten to know so well?
Love life? Chat was about to protest quickly but froze in his spot. Was that what it was? He cared for Yang, obviously. He was even going out of his way to keep her safe from Cinder. He hadn't needed to go back to her place time and time again. After the ball, he had been terrified for her, even paid off the tab for everyone injured after the demon attack so that he could include Yang in that count. He had rushed to her place as soon as his leg had allowed him mobility and a pressure had been released as soon as he saw her alive and well, if a little shaken. He buried his head in his gloved hands. Her smile. Her laugh. Her teases. Her jokes. He just hadn't realized it before Shadow put it into those terms. It's why he lost interest in Sunshine and her loss of interest in him hadn't bothered him. His heart was racing.
"I love her..." he whispered, as it finally came to terms with him.
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Post by Zuyuri on Nov 24, 2016 5:52:05 GMT
"The only way you'll ever know she'll hate you is if you tell her. Like I said, just do it when you're ready." Shadow shook his head.
Yes, Yang wasn't fond of rich folks. When he had seen her at the ball, not counting saving her life from Thrax, she had looked super uncomfortable. But this kid was a break from the rich archetypes. The only other person who broke the mold of the rich folks was Elsa, who went out of her way to defend Other cops despite being shunned by the rest of society. Yang was the type to wear her heart on her sleeve, just covering it with her determination to prove she wasn't helpless.
The three words Chat whispered out of disbelief made Shadow smile again. Not out of taunting, not out of the 'I-was-right' smirk he gave a lot of colleagues. This was a smile of understanding.
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Post by skyeknight on Nov 24, 2016 17:20:48 GMT
"I don't think she'll even talk to me." Chat said. "I sort of... left."
He had probably gone about it the worst way possible. He had been more emotional, acting on fight, more than flight. He had been utterly terrified. Scared to the core of what could happen to her. Cinder was cruel and willing to do anything to get back at him. He knew things were going to be difficult, trying to catch that elusive woman. There was so much at stake. Yang. Him. The city. If Cinder had her way, the entire city would be beneath her boot and falling in line with whatever it was she had planned.
"How do you do it?" he asked. "Seeing her every day and not telling her?"
He was referring to Shadows feelings for Sunshine. It had to be difficult. Chat hadn't even realized his feelings until Shadow put it into plain terms for him. He hadn't had a word for the feelings until then. Now that it finally made sense, it only made his heart ache more. It only put a name to the hurt that he felt. He looked up at Shadow. He wanted to see what got Shadow through those feelings.
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