Prompt: Hot
Characters: Ladybug and Chat Noir
Pairings: view it how you will
Disclaimer: Only the grammar mistakes are mine.
Dedication: Serulium, thank you for all your encouraging words.
There were times where being a super hero was amazing. The ability to flit across the rooftops as free as the wind, the speed and stamina that would put the most seasoned of athletes in fits of jealousy, and best of all the warm feeling that spread through her from head to toe with every soul they saved from the clutches of Hawkmoths Akumas. Yes there were days where being a superhero was downright amazing.
As she pushed her rain soaked bangs out of her face for the fourth time in a matter of minutes, Marinette decided that tonight was one of those rare times when being a hero really sucked. Two Akumas in the last five days and the seemingly unending deluge that had covered Paris had pushed her to her limits, and it seemed that the strain and stress had finally taken its toll.
She had woken up in the morning, and then promptly wished she hadn't. Her head had felt like a pile of bricks, and each beat of her heart had sent a spike of pain streaking behind her eyes like lightning. Her clogged nose had only added to the pain and every so often hacking coughs would leave her chest feeling tight and her lungs quivering. Even snuggled as deep as she could physically get under her blankets she had not been able to get warm enough to stop the small shivers that had danced their way down her limbs to wrap around her very bones. It had been only through a battle of sheer will power that she had forced her aching body to peel itself away from her sheets and stumble through getting dressed. She had nibbled on a croissant to please her parents, then had dragged herself to school.
Her day had only gotten worse from there. Class seemed to drag on at an unnaturally slow pace, every second spent fighting to keep her eyes open rather than actually absorbing anything that her teacher was saying about Shakespearian literature. She had used her entire time for lunch napping, only to feel even worse when Alya had shaken her awake five minutes before class with a concerned frown and had suggested she stay home. She had stubbornly declined, stating that the nap had actually helped, when the truth was she couldn't really afford to miss any more school with all the time she had already skipped because of Akuma attack. One surprise physics quiz later however, and she had been wishing that she had taken Alya up on her offer to cover for her. Not even Adrien's concerned glances had had any effect on her as she had dragged herself through the rest of her day. She had walked home in a daze, collapsing into her bed, determined not to move for the rest of the night.
Yet here she was, soaked to the bone on the roof tops of Paris on what rapidly becoming the worse patrol she had ever had. Tikki had begged her not to go when her phone had chimed its five minute warning at her, but duty had driven her to get up and head out. After all it wasn't like Hawkmoth would give her time off for feeling under the weather. As the only person who could purify Hawkmoths evil black butterflies, the last thing she wanted was for Ladybug to give the impression that she wasn't up to any challenge that was thrown at her. Shivering violently at the bite of the wind, she pressed herself deeper to the small overhang she had found, silently cursing her pride. It was official, this night could not get any worse.
"Well hello M'lady. What's a purrfect thing like you doing out on a nasty night like this?"
And just like that the universe proved yet again why those words should never be uttered. Groaning softly she buried her face her hands and vainly wished that he would go away if she simply did not acknowledge that she had heard him. It wasn't that she didn't love Chat. She did. He was a great partner and friend, one that she had come to love as dearly as she loved her family. Normally patrols with him were fun, spending long nights racing each other all over the city of lights while he called out horrid puns and jokes to provoke some sort of reaction from her. Sometimes they'd spar, using each other as a safe place to experiment and grow their own unique fighting styles, strengthening the bonds that made them an unstoppable team on the battlefield. But she just was not up to dealing with his antics tonight. Not when all of her energy was going into trying to keep her shivering body warm enough to move. But Chat Noir was not someone who ever took well to being ignored, and she knew that if she didn't say something soon, he would try other ways of catching her attention. Sighing, she lowered her hands and cleared her throat.
"Hello Chat."
She suppressed a wince at the weariness in her tone, hoping that the heavy rain might have done something to muffle it. When no response was forthcoming she chanced peaking up at him, trying her best to scrape up a convincing smile. Her cat themed partner stood a few feet away, his normally messy blond hair plastered to his head with rain water. He stared at her openly with brilliant feline eyes full of concern, his normally bright smile replaced with a deep frown that looked completely out of place on his lips. His cat ears drooped, twitching ever so slightly with every rain drop that struck them and his tail hung low and still.
"You don't look so good my lady."
She watched him come closer with wary eyes, struggling to focus on him around the pounding in her head. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes Chat was kneeling in front of her, his face so close that their foreheads brushed. Surprised, she tried to lean back, only to be stopped by the wall at her back.
"Chat! Would you please not…"
"You have a fever my lady. You should be home in bed, not out here in the cold."
The last thing she needed or wanted was to have the obvious pointed out to her right now. Paris needed Ladybug, and she refused to fail her city because of a little cold. Her aches and pains, coupled with her frustrations from the day combined to cause an irrational tide of anger to surge through her, giving her the strength to shove Chat out of her personal space.
"I'm fine Chat Noir. Let's just hurry up and get this patrol over with."
She ignored the harsh edge to her voice, and the look of shock mixed with hurt on his face. She braced herself against the edge of her meager shelter, mentally promising herself that she would make it up to him later. Gathering her legs underneath her, she pushed herself to her feet. Several things happened almost simultaneously. Her vision swam as her normally infallible sense of balance deserted her. She could feel herself swaying and threw out a hand to try to steady herself as the world dissolved into an unintelligible mess of light and sound. Her legs turned to jelly, and she could feel them giving out from under her as the world went black.
When she next came to her first coherent thought was that she was being held against something solid and warm. Her thoughts seemed to orient themselves around that feeling, focusing on how good the heat felt against her cold skin. She wanted to get even closer to it, to press close until that heat filled every single part of her. Strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to that wonderful heat and taking the weight off her legs. Which was fine with her because they didn't seem to be really up to supporting her anyway.
"Ladybug!"
With what felt like a momentous effort, she peeled her eyes open only to be met with an up close view of Chat Noirs leather clad shoulder. The material felt soft and soothing against her sensitive skin, and she unconsciously nuzzled closer to him before her floating thoughts suddenly reconnected to reality. Chat was holding her, his voice soaked with fear and a tinge of panic. Groaning she tried to bring her arms up to push away from him, but the most she could do was weakly curl her fingers around his biceps. It was like her illness had somehow cut off her minds control over her body.
"Chat? What…"
"Happened? You scared me to death, that's what happened!" His breath washed over her face like a warm tide, making her want to sigh happily despite the seriousness of their current situation.
"I'm sorry Chat… I didn't mean to." She whispered, trying once again to channel as much energy as she could into pushing herself away from the haven of his body heat. She managed to pull her upper body away, but trying to place her full weight back on her exhausted legs failed miserably, and after teetering almost comically for a minute or two she ended up leaning against him once again for support.
"Crap, you are so not up for being out in this kind of weather. I've gotta get you somewhere warm and dry."
The arms around her waist shifted, one sliding up to rest under her shoulders while the other went lower to scoop up under her knees. In the blink of an eye she was nestled in her partner's arms, held snuggly against his chest with all the carefulness that one might give to a priceless porcelain doll. Letting out a squeak of surprise she looked up at him, opening her mouth to protest. It was bad enough she had collapsed into his arms like some damsel in an old time movie, she didn't want to further her humiliation by having him carry her too. But the words died on her lips as she got a good look at the expression on his face, a mix of determination and concerned that seemed to pin her in place.
"Just relax. I'll take care of you, I promise."
Any thought of arguing melted away at the firmness in his tone and the smile he gave her was so earnest, that she couldn't help but return it. It was so rare for her to see Chats serious side. She knew he had one, but it was normally buried deep behind the silly antics and cat puns that her friend preferred to use when confronting most situations. She had learned to accept that side of him, she'd even come to find it refreshing during times where her dual life would weigh her down. But this side, this side of Chat fascinated her and she never passed up the chance to see it. So she did as he asked and relaxed into him, letting her head fall back against his shoulder.
"I know you will, you always do."
She closed her eyes, pulling her arms in close and letting him have complete control over where he took her next. A brief tightening of his arms was the only warning she had before she was suddenly flying through the night. The wind screamed around them and rain lashed at every bit of exposed skin on her neck and face. Trying to control her body's reaction to the cold she turned her face further into his shoulder, she tried to concentrate instead on the comfortable feeling of his pulse against her skin. The steady beat captured her exhausted mind and she quickly lost track of time, coming back to reality only as Chat leapt gracefully down from the roof tops into a familiar court yard.
"The school?! Why are we here?"
From her place in his arms she could not help but see the faint pink color the tinged the apples of his cheeks, or ignore the slight hesitation in his voice as he spoke.
"Well I couldn't exactly take you home, seeing as I don't know where you live. My home isn't exactly the best place for recovering from illness. Here's someplace we both know. You can warm up and try to get some sleep. Plus there's gotta be some medicine for that fever of yours. And…I don't know, this place has always been a sort of safe place for me when I've needed somewhere to go."
She looked up at him, watching a range of emotions dance over his face. It was another thing she had come to rely on when it came to Chat, his inability, or maybe more accurately his lack of desire to hide from her. Every thought and emotion was worn like a badge of courage on his sleeve. Whether he was flirting or fighting, everything he had went into it. It was an honesty that she had always treasured and respected, one that she did her best to always try and return in kind.
Taking another look around, she could suddenly see why Chat had chosen to come here. Unlike in its daylight hours, where noise and activity filled every crevice and corner, the twilight hours were still and peaceful. It was as though a blanket of soothing calm had been thrown over the corridors, whispering silent promises of relief and shelter for those of the night who might have need of it. Tilting her head to look back up at him, she felt a tiny smile fight its way through the exhaustion that hung from every muscle and bone of her body.
"This was a great idea. Thank you Chat."
His answering grin could have rivaled a ray of sun.
"I live to serve my lady! Come on lets go get you settled in."
His boots echoed loudly off the hard brick walls as he strode towards the nurses office, the confidence in his stride suggesting that he knew exactly where he needed to go. Peeking up at him through her bangs, she let her mind wander over the small amount of new information he'd given her, and she couldn't help but worry as questions started drifting through her aching head. Why did he walk like he knew these hallways like the back of his hand? They had only fought a small handful of Akuma here, and never ones that had required them going anywhere near the nurse's office. Did he really come here that often? And if so what for? She had always secretly feared that he wasn't being completely honest with her about his physical state after a fight. Was he coming here for care when he was hurt?
She tried to scrape up the courage to ask him, but lost her train of thought as they stopped in front of the familiar door. She was jostled as Chat shifted her in his arms, freeing up one hand to reach out and turn the door knob. To her surprise, it opened effortlessly, swinging inward in welcome. Her face must have betrayed her astonishment, because the pink staining his cheeks darkened and a sheepish chuckle rumbled through his chest.
"I accidently broke the lock the first time I came here. It's been like that ever since. I don't know why they've never fixed it."
The urge to do a face palm was nearly overwhelming, but her head gave a vicious throb of warning and she settled for an exasperated eye roll before turning her attention back to the open door. The room beyond it was small but neat, with chairs lining the wall closest to the doors, while four cots sat across from the large rain splattered windows. Various cabinets and cupboards spanned the length of the far wall, with two other doors, one that lead to the nurse's private office and the other to a tiny bathroom.
Chat wasted no time, moving into the room and gently depositing her on the chair closest to the door before disentangling himself and stepping away to rummage through one of the larger cupboards. She couldn't help but whine as he pulled away, bereft for the loss of the comfort his arms had given her. Without him the cool evening air made itself known once more, forcing her to wrap her arms tightly around her upper body. She opened her mouth to call him back, only to squeak as a large towel was suddenly dropped over her head.
"Hey! Chat that's not…"
Her words died in her throat as gentle hands swept over her head, using the towel to absorb the excess rain water that dripped in small rivers down her face and cascaded like tiny waterfalls from the ends of her pig tails. The feeling of his claws scraping gently against her scalp through the absorbent material was heavenly and she let out a tiny sigh, relaxing back against the hard wood of her seat and letting him continue his ministrations without even a hint of protest. With a warm chuckle the towel slipped from her head to trace its way down her neck and shoulders to her arms, drying her suit with firm, brisk strokes. Fighting the urge to hum with pleasure, she let her head rest back against the wall behind her and closed her eyes. It felt absolutely marvelous, being taken care of like this. Since becoming Ladybug she and her partner had been going nonstop, fighting to keep the delicate balance between their civilian lives and their roles as Paris's first and only line of defense afloat. She almost couldn't remember the last time she had stepped back and allowed someone else to take care of her like this.
But this wasn't just anyone, she mused as she slit her eyes open and watched him finish thoroughly drying her before giving himself a quick rub down as well. This was Chat. Her silly, flirty kitty. The only person in the entire world that when push came to shove, she could count on to have her back without any need for question or hesitation. He was always there for her, a strong presence at her back that never wavered, no matter how bad or how hard the situation became. It was with him that she felt safest with in the end, despite her insistence that they keep their identities secret. With him she had a safe haven, one that was as precious to her as her parents or Alya.
Her rambling thoughts were cut short as she was once again swept into Chat's arms, letting out yet another high pitched squeak of surprise. His laughter bounced off the tiny office walls, vibrating through her in a way that made it impossible to hold on the anger that had started at being manhandled. With quick strides he carried her to the closest cot, setting her down with extreme care before quickly wrapping her in two of the sheet thin blankets he had found during his foraging through the cabinets. Sweeping his eyes over her he sighed and shook his head.
"You know, you would think that for all the money spent on the public school system, they could at least spring for some better blankets. We'll have to fix that if we keep coming here."
Part of her wanted to roll her eyes and tell him that she didn't intend to come back any time soon, but that side was trumped by the greater part of her that realized that she was no longer wet and just wanted to sleep. Laying back she curled her legs into her chest and tried to relax, tried to ignore the pounding in her stuffed sinuses and her trembling limbs. She had only just managed a fitful doze when she was being gently shaken back to awareness. Slitting open one eye, she glared up at Chat, barely taking in his apologetic smile as he pulled her upright once more and offered her a glass of water and two small pills.
"Sorry my lady, I promise you can sleep after you take this. It will help with your fever."
Not having the energy to argue with him she did as she was told, taking the pills and finishing the water with his encouragement. That done she wiggled back down till her head touch the pillow and curled back up, desperately wishing for a deep sort of sleep she knew she wasn't going to find. She idly watched Chat Noir set the water glass down on the floor before getting up and walking out of her line of sight. She heard him stop behind her, his hesitation an almost tangible thing before decisiveness took its place. She suddenly found herself being pulled back against the warmth of his chest, one arm wrapping around her stomach to pull her flush against him while the other slipped under her neck to support her head. The cot was small, really meant for one person rather than two, and his legs tangled together with hers in an attempt to create more room than was there.
"Chat what are you doing?!"
"You're shaking like a leaf bugaboo, and those blankets aren't going to do you much good."
She made a halfhearted attempt to sit up, catching sight of the rumpled and discarded towel next to the puddles of water they had left on the floor. Cabinets hung open all around the room, clearly showing that someone had rummaged through them rather carelessly while searching for what they needed.
"Oh no look at this mess! People will know we've been in here!" She whispered, "Chat we need to…"
With a firm tug she was pulled back down into the circle of his arms. His voice was soft in her ear as he gently shushed her, sweeping one hand across her arm in a soothing motion.
"Just relax and try to sleep if you can. I'll take care of everything else."
Any argument she might have made died in her throat as the heat of the body wrapped around her sank in from all sides, transforming instead into a breathy sigh of contentment as she gave in and snuggled as close to him as she could. His breath tickled the top of her head as he gave her a tight squeeze, and she felt the soft rumbles of a purr start in his chest. The feeling of security let her relax fully into him, her eyelids slowly falling as exhaustion and illness took their toll and she passed into the peaceful world of sleep.