The bell rang. It didn't register in Adrien's head until minutes later when he heard the last minute shuffling of paper and the heavy thud of footsteps next to him that class was over. He blinked, looking all around the room as he ducked and bent to try to see past his classmates. There was one person in particular Adrien was searching for.
In a hasty flash, Adrien jumped up from his seat, sliding his bag over his shoulder. His legs stretched into a fast paced sprint through his classmates. Muttered apologies were thrown out when Adrien bumped into someone as he dashed past. He didn't look behind him as the words died in the air—as frail and brittle as they sounded. By the time that Adrien had rushed out of school, he caught Nino right at the gate. He slapped his hand over his friend's shoulder and wheezed.
"Why are you so fast?" Adrien asked, a huff coming out of his mouth as the pressure slowly started to dissipate from his body.
Nino glanced over his shoulder, staring at Adrien as his eyes searched him like he was doing a double take to make sure he was seeing things correctly. "Dude, class ended like ten minutes ago. What are you talking about?"
"Seriously—it did?"
"Uhh… yeah? I thought you were just really involved in doing something like you are every now and then, so I let you be 'cause I thought you knew. But should I make sure next time?"
"Nah." Adrien shook his head, patting Nino on the back as he walked past. "Just thought we could walk home together for a bit is all."
Raising one of his eyebrows, Nino followed Adrien through the semi-busy sidewalks. People crowded around shop windows talking on cell phones that look as if they were strapped to their ears. Some were in a rush, running down the sidewalks like it was an olympic sport, while some moved at the speed of human snails. Neither of the boys paid attention to what was going on around them as they let jokes slide out of their mouths and laughs applaud them. Nothing of context in the conversation made much sense, but the boys still seemed enthralled by just the hum of each other's voices.
It wasn't until Nino started talking about something Alyla had said to him earlier that day did Adrien react. The slight jump in the corner of Nino's eyes caught him off guard, flinching as he looked to Adrien. Then Nino laughed with a shake of his head as he watched Adrien's body physically stiffen next to him. Adrien's face went white as a sheet, his shoulders pulling up closer to his face as his eyes went straight down for the sidewalk under his feet. A smile etched it's way onto Nino's face. His brain worked like a fast oiled machine, connecting the dots to what Alya actually meant.
"Okay, spill," Nino said, pulling Adrien back out of the way of the walkers. "Something's clearly bothering you. What's up?"
-x-x-
Adrien bit his lip. "Well, something happened earlier is all. Not anything major! just something different. It kind of caught my interest, just a bit. I want to know more about it, but I can't do it on my own, so the thing is that I need some help from you. It's nothing big, I just need to record you shouting some… slanders and possible threats."
Silence slipped in the cracks between. It pranced right in between them and took each boy under its shoulder as if they were best friends from the very start. A looming pressure hovered over them that tickled at both their hearts. Even when Nino and Adrien were being yelled at for loitering in the sidewalk by their elders or bumped into by people whose noses were stuck in their phones, neither looked ready to say anything.
Finally Nino sighed, scratching the back of his neck as a conflicted look crossed his face—smoothly as cream lathered on a bagel. It lasted for a fleeting second before vanishing in the depth of his words.
"I'm all for helping you, bro, you know that and usually my policy isn't to ask questions, but I'm sure something's wrong with you today." Nino held his hands up in front of him, his fingers spread evenly apart on both sides. "You don't have to say anything if you want, I know life's tough on all of us right now, but I'm just saying that I'm here if you need someone—to you know… talk to."
Adrien nodded his head as a smile wormed its way onto his face. "You know I appreciate it, and we're still best friends no matter what, but if you could start talking into my phone soon that would be great."
Nino laughed, slapping his hand against Adrien's elbow. "Sometimes you do the craziest things."
"You don't even know the half of it."
Adrien took one final breath, watching Plagg finish of the small chunk of Camembert he still had left. Despite it only being mid afternoon with the sun shining brightly down, in the shadows where the light didn't reach, the air was tinged with chill again Adrien's skin. He looked down as he let out a breath to make sure that it wasn't cold enough to the white puffs. It wasn't.
The seconds ticked on. Nervous chittered started to fill Adrien's stomach where the party was being held that he hadn't gotten an invitation to. Adrien started to tap his thumb against his pinky as he looked around his empty surroundings—nothing but a few stinky crates shoved into the alleyway from the restaurant's kitchen behind him and a dumpster that was starting to contaminate the air a little too much around him.
Words of reassurance filtered through his mind, but despite the exemplary positivity that was surrounding him, Adrien couldn't calm himself down. Looking up into the sky, Adrien lifted his hands over his eyes, and thought for a moment all the times he remembered jumping over these rooftops with Ladybug. That was, after all, how he'd found out about this nice little place when he needed to hide quickly to transform. It was long enough to for no one to see him from the streets, and he could easily hide behind the dumpster or crate if one of the restaurant employees came out (and forget about them even noticing if it were at night—his realm).
To Adrien, it was a perfect spot to sit back and forget about the world around him for a few seconds, so he leaned back against the brick wall that sent a shiver down his spine and closed his eyes. He listened to the screeching of car tires and the little bits of conversation that flittered in from the streets, but he focused on the beating of his heart as it fell into a relaxed rhythm.
Plagg's burp brought Adrien out of his quiet thoughts. He paused for a moment when his eyes landed on Plagg, watching him hover slightly up and down in the air. "You look awfully willing to do this for once."
"Willing to be ready to puke when you start flirting with her again?" Plagg stuck out his tongue. "Yeah right. I get enough of it with Ladybug. I don't need two of them keeping your attention."
"I'm not—I wouldn't do that with Marinette—" Adrien groaned, the blood starting to rush to his cheeks as he tried to find where to keep his eyes. "—...this time. Either way, that's beside the point; I'm just curious why she was acting so, well, almost like she was sad earlier is all. We're going to check up on her, make sure she gets home fine, maybe ask some questions, and leave. It sounds easy."
"Kehe 'sounds easy.' I've heard that one before."
"Come on, Plagg," Adrien moaned. "Let's go."
.
The air was rapidly getting colder as the minutes ticked on. From high in the air, it was even colder, the clouds starting to group together in large grey clumps that no doubt signaled an incoming storm. Chat Noir sat on the roof near Marinette's house as he surveyed the entrance on the screen from his staff. He didn't know enough about Marinette to know her schedule, but she looked like a semi-busy person to him. Even if he was wrong, at some point, she had to come out of her house; he was betting on it.
Come on, Princess, Chat though, glaring at a pigeon as it flew by. Just then Chat heard a faint jingle. He snapped his eyes back to the screen in front of him and sure enough, there was Marinette, one hand holding the door open as the other waved to what Chat assumed were her parents inside. She smiled, her elbows shaking as she laughed, and turned on her heel as she made her way across the street.
Chat jumped up from the spot he was crouching at to the ground, wincing as his legs started to tingle. He followed straight after Marinette, making sure to stay hidden in the shadows because every now and then she would turn around with a suspicious look on her face as she searched in the open space around her.
.
After a heart pounding moment later, Chat slipped in through one of the school windows. He landed light on his feet without a sound, crouched low in case anyone were there to spot him. was on the second floor and looking over the railing had proven Marinette was making her way through the gymnasium to the stairs. She hugged herself as she walked, her eyes searching all around her. Chat guessed that in some form Marinette could sense him, she just didn't know it was him. It was all too good—too preoccupied with the strange feeling she must have, Marinette would never notice Chat making his sneaky entrance. He'd play the hero that she would "need."
Seeming like a good enough moment for Chat, he pressed the paw button on his staff and let the recording of Nino play as he jumped from the rail to the column directly under him. Chat clutched the slick metal bar with one hand, crossing his legs as he started to spin down. Within seconds Chat was almost at the ground. He smiled, extending out his hand.
"I hear you're in need of a hero, Prince—"
Chat let his mouth hang open as his eyes stared at the fist only a few centimeters from his face. Marinette stood in front of Chat, fists clenched as she glared daggers at him. As soon as her fist stopped, however, her face mimicked that of Chat's. There was a need in the superhero to explain himself, but when he opened his mouth, words seemed to leave him; it was a great time too.
"Chat Noir!" Marinette screamed, pulling herself back into a normal, straightened position. She grinded her teeth, fists balled at her side as the glare from earlier was burning in her eyes. "I should have known that a mischievous cat like you would pull some kind of dumb prank like this."
"It's no prank." Chat held his hands up in the air next to his head. "I can explain. Well, you see, I was out on my patrol when I saw some suspicious figure following you. I chased after you, but by the time I got into here with you, I wasn't able to find him anymore. My guess that he might have saw me and fled the scene."
Marinette placed a hand on her hip, raising one of her eyebrows. She cocked her head, the frown on her face deepening. "Well then, looks like you did your job, kitty. You can leave now."
"No."
"I think it's about time you finish with your patrolling."
"And leave an unguarded, sweet girl like you all by herself? That's ridiculous. It's still dangerous out, Princess; there's no way I could do such a thing. The sensible thing to do here is escort you back home and protect you. I'm a superhero, so it's also my duty to relieve the tension of ordinary citizens like yourself." Chat placed a hand on his chest, parting his lips as he smiled his famous toothy grin. "So all your worries and insecurities, you can share them with me, Princess."
The last thing Chat expected Marinette to do was laugh, but he couldn't say anything. Her smile was intoxicating him, drawing every last fiber of attention until she was a reflection his in eyes—the one and the only light bright enough to leave him speechless at that moment. A million words passed through his mind, a million different scenarios with a million different outcomes. He was light on his toes, always quick to react.
But the one thing he was never prepared for were his own feelings. They froze him, kept him locked in place. Usually they were chains rubbing his skin raw, but right now, at that very moment, he was sure this feeling would lead to trouble. Yet it was soothing a part of his heart that was raw.
"Oh really?" Marinette asked. "And you think you can handle all of that, Chat Noir?"
"Of course I can," Chat said.
His voice was sharp but quiet in the still quiet. He scoffed, shaking his head once only slightly. As if that was enough a question.
Marinette let out a breath, closing her eyes as he smile softened. "You know, Chat, you're not all that bad. Past all your puns and questionable actions sometimes, you're a really good guy. Ladybug is lucky to have you as a partner. I'm sure she's proud."
"You say that like you know."
"It's obvious to anyone that knows you, Chat. You have the kind of personality that makes relying on you a piece of cake—besides, you've never failed to save me when I'm in danger so far."
The words tickled Chat's ears, collided straight with his heart, and clamped his mouth shut—left it dry and wanting. Even though Marinette had done nothing, Chat felt the weight of her words hit him like a piano was dropped on him. He couldn't move, couldn't speak. The only thing he was able to do was stare at Marinette as he thought hopelessly of a way to compose himself.
Marinette watched Chat's reaction to her words, slowly and carefully moving her eyes across his face. Her shoulders moved slightly as she pushed herself forward. Chat moved his head back, watching her, waiting for what she was about to do as if her words alone could burn him. The corners of her mouth twitched, revealing a wide grin that lighted her eyes up, a hidden secret glaring behind them—a hint of mischief Chat knew all too well.
"What's wrong—Cat got your tongue?" Marinette cringed, her face scrunched up in obvious distaste as if she'd eaten something sour, her body pulled back upward. "That was awful. I can't believe I said that. Maybe I'm spending too much time around you lately."
Her words slapped Chat in the face. He blinked, a feeling of deja vu floating around the air. Chat looked around the room. Hiis brows scrunched together as he tried to piece together the exact moment he was thinking of, but when his eyes hit Marinette, his face jumped up. He wrapped his hands around his side, laughing pouring out from his mouth. It was a force that he couldn't—and frankly didn't want to—resist.
"Princess, I didn't know someone as serious as you could crack a pun. Well, it's almost as good as mine. Maybe with a little work."
"Sure, Chat," Marinette said, shaking her head. "Whatever you say."
But as the smiles and laughs faded, Chat stood there impassive. He wondered quietly to himself, watching Marinette as she looked off to the distance talking about something, if she even knew how much those words had meant to him. Could she see the shadow of incompetence that ate away at him? See him reaching forward desperately in front of him for something he wondered if he could ever grab? Chat blinked. Who was he talking about—Chat Noir or Adrien?
He closed his eyes. In the end the person didn't matter. She'd spoken to his heart. Like every other time he'd met her as Chat, she seemed to know exactly what to do, exactly what to say to make him feel better when the little bits of insecurity were blurring him. In fact, Chat was sure she had no idea. She was simply being Marinette.
Chat smiled, resting a hand on his side. He knew that words didn't fix problems, he'd had first hand experiences with that—sometimes the problem had gone over the line of what words alone could handle. Inside his body, however, energy was pulsing through him. If it were right now, Chat knew he could take on the world right then and there. With only a few simple words as his backup. That was all he really ever needed, and it was all thanks to Marinette.
Even though he was supposed to check up on her, she'd somehow been the one to check up on him. Without even trying, without knowing, she'd seen his wounds and she'd helped him.
.
Marinette yawned, stretching her arms behind her back. She looked to the stairs, and when she found Chat lost in a daze, she shook her head, moving back towards the stairs to reach her destination.
"You're a real gift, you know that?"
The sound of words stopped her dead in her tracks, her body slowly turning back around to face Chat. "Did you say something, Chat?"
"I said that… I was serious about escorting you today. You're not secretly being bullied in school, now are you?"
Silence danced between them. An elaborate waltz of sparks and doubts—caressing their cheeks and entrancing their hearts like a siren in her element. Chat watched each movement Marinette made, but unfortunately for him, she didn't make many, which left him nothing to work off of. He could feel his body creek to a standstill, joints grinding against each other like he was made of wood.
What if Marinette was really being bullied? The thought entertained Chat's mind for the briefest of moments before Marinette's laughter caught him off guard.
"Where did that idea come from, you silly cat? Even if I was being bullied, they'd just be words and harmless pranks. I'd still have my friends and my family that love me. Besides—" Marinette's mouth moved without sound, but even straining, Chat couldn't make them out. "—is much harder than that."
"What did you say, Princess?"
"Chat, I thought you were just escorting me?" Marinette asked, raising one of her eyebrows as she turned back around and started to walk again. "Since when do escorts ask so many questions?"
Chat stood in place, his eyes glued to Marinette's back as she walked up the stairs. He frowned, her words echoing on repeat in his head. "I thought I was too…"
