Chapter Seven
Ladybug had only intended to adjust her head on the pillow when somehow her mouth had collided with Chat Noir's. Her normal impulse would have been to shy away, yet the clogs in her weary brain were turning at a much slower speed than normal. This combined with the zing of electricity that passed between their lips, encouraged her body to respond before her brain had a chance to catch up. Perhaps it was the unspoken shift in their relationship that whet her appetite, driving her fingers to sink into the hair at his nape, nudging Chat closer as her mouth began to explore his. With the flutter of her eyelids, she caught the shocked look in Chat's emerald eyes, which were overshadowed by his masked eyebrows that arrowed up into an expression of pure bliss. She was vaguely aware of the final chirp from her earrings, but her brain remained clouded by the haze of fatigue and lust. She felt Chat Noir's frame stiffen beneath her hands as her transformation dropped, but she continued kissing him, completely lost to everything but the sensation. Her tongue flicked along his upper lip before she sucked on his lower one.
A groan escaped Chat Noir, and his body finally relaxed, his weight settling over her. Part of her was becoming more aware of the situation, as she hooked a single ankle around his. They had shared such a strong connection during the akuma fight and she yearned to be that close to him again. Then the haziness returned as he kissed her back with a vigour that surpassed her own. Again, a miraculous chirped but this time it was Chat's, he tensed and pulled away from her hungry lips. Her interlaced fingers at his nape came undone, dropping briefly to caress his face before slipping to the mattress. With their contact broken, Marinette finally succumbed to the murkiness of sleep.
Chat Noir on the other hand, was wide awake. His lady had just kissed him like her life depended on it. When his miraculous had chirped, letting him know he only had a minute left, he'd somehow managed to disentangle himself from her. Much to the disappointment of his raging hormones. His lips continued to tingle as he hovered over Marinette, with arms braced on either side of her resting form, while he remained uncertain what to do. Was now the time to show her who lay beneath his mask? Even though she wasn't acting like her normal self. Chat remained in that position so long that he transformed back into Adrien. Plagg floated by his shoulder. "So, is there any cheese in this place?"
"Trust you to only think with your stomach in this sort of situation, Plagg." Adrien's head shot around at the feminine voice and there hovered a little red kwami with her arms crossed, glaring at Plagg.
"You must be Tikki."
She gave Adrien a warm smile. "Yes, I am." Then her demeanour changed. "You shouldn't be here. She didn't see you transform."
"I know but something is wrong. She shouldn't be like this."
Tikki swooped down to land on Marinette's shoulder. "She's just exhausted. Think about it, your miraculous boosts your power when you transform but it doesn't have any way to counter fatigue. Sleep will return her to normal."
"I hate to point this out but Ladybug doesn't kiss Chat Noir. I know from years of experience."
"You've been teasing her all morning, that sexual frustration had to go somewhere. Besides she wasn't truly awake when she kissed you."
He sucked in a shaky breath at the idea that he'd actually gotten to Marinette. He turned to study her, as her fingers curled around his wrist in sleep. "She does seem keen for me to stay."
"She'd never admit it to anyone but she's lonely, Adrien. She wants to be loved."
"She is loved." Then his voice turned quiet as he continued, "But she always pushes me away."
"She wants to be loved as Marinette, not Ladybug."
"That doesn't make any sense, she is Ladybug."
"Yes, but she feels like her superhero persona overshadows the girl who lies beneath the mask. She believes that nobody is interested in her as Marinette."
"That explains why she pushes me away as Chat Noir. She doesn't think I see the real her."
Plagg let out a groan. "Cheese! Come on I'm starving here."
Tikki whipped into the air and shoved Plagg from behind. "The fridge is this way, you floating black hole of a stomach."
"While compliments are appreciated, I'd rather food."
Adrien smirked as the tiny pair floated out of the room. Marinette's fingers began to ease their grip on his wrist as she continued to slumber. "Just tired hey," he said to himself as he laid down beside her. As his arm touched hers, she instinctively wriggled towards him and nuzzled his shoulder. He rolled to his side and pulled her close. "I love all of you, milady. I'm just not sure how I can prove it to you."
Marinette was warm, and something smelt wonderful. Not in the sense of something edible although the scent could have been described as yummy, spicy and even intoxicating. It was also familiar, but she couldn't identify it. She burrowed her face into the strong warmth beside her and was embraced in return. She let out a little moan of contentment. She hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time. Her fingers tightened, and she felt something smooth within her grasp. What was it? She struggled to lift a single eyelid. Weird, whatever was close was black. She didn't have black sheets. Her addled mind began to sort through her last memories and her eyes snapped open as she remembered being carried by Chat Noir.
Marinette sat back and stared at the chest before her. That was black leather, familiar black leather. Did that mean Chat Noir was lying with her? She swallowed and gradually tilted her head up to gasp as she spied her partner's familiar masked features, partly obscured by an errant lock of his blonde hair over his closed eyes. Her pounding heart increased its tempo. She was in bed with Chat Noir, how the hell did that happen? And how did they end up in her bed? She lifted a tentative finger and poked his smooth cheek. "This is real," she gulped.
Unable to resist, she found herself leaning closer to observe Chat without disruption. She had never studied him this thoroughly, or in such proximity. The only times they came so near were during battle, when one tackled the other for protection. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply as she attempted to calm herself, instead she drew in his scent which only rattled further. As much as she hated to admit it, Chat Noir was remarkably handsome, and it was something she'd been trying to ignore for some time. The task had been relatively easy when her mind had been filled with her longing for Adrien, it had been effortless to deny and bury the attraction to her partner in the depths of her subconscious. But now she was trying to get over that crush on Adrien, what could she use as a buffer against her partner? She dropped her head to her pillow and sighed. It was unwise to get emotionally entangled with him, if things went awry it would make working together extremely difficult. As if to counter her negative thoughts, Chat's arms coiled around her, pulling her body firmly against his. He buried his face in her hair and let out a contented purr.
To her complete surprise, it felt right being in Chat Noir's arms. It shouldn't feel this good, he was her miraculous partner not a romantic one. Sure, he'd shown his interest for a long time, but it wouldn't last. Not when he discovered who she really was. It was then that Marinette realised her arms were not coated in her red and black spotted costume. She was unmasked in Chat Noir's arms within her own room. This produced even more uncomfortable questions. Panicking, she winged out her elbows in attempt to loosen his hold. Unfortunately, the movement stirred him awake instead. He yawned and gave her a sleepy smile. "I guess I must have dozed off too." He lifted his arms, tipped back his head and arched his spine as he stretched in a very cat-like manner. Her breath hitched as the hard plains of his body rippled against her.
"Why are you here, Chat?" She inwardly winced at the unsteady pitch of her own voice.
"Do you remember the akuma attack on the train?" His eyes locked on hers and seemed to be searching for something.
"Yes, I also have a recollection of you carrying me." Not mentioning that she was almost certain she'd been Ladybug at the time.
He looked away as he asked, "Do you remember what happened after that?"
Marinette's brow furrowed as she sunk her fingers into her hairline. "It's a blur. I remember feeling utterly exhausted." Her hand froze in her dark tresses as she recollected being laid on her bed, followed by the sudden surge of desire to be closer to her partner. She recalled her mouth moving against his and the alluring press of his body over hers, along with a pair of worried green cat eyes. She lowered her hand and peered through her fingers, caging her face. "Did I... um. Did we kiss?"
A flush of pink sat high on the exposed part of Chat's cheeks. His emerald eyes caught hers, and there was a coarseness to his voice when he eventually spoke. "Yes, we did."
Her hand dropped to her lap. "No," she said with shocked disbelief and completely missed the flash of pain in his eyes.
His lips turned white as they compressed. "You didn't mean to?"
"I don't know what I was thinking. I was just so glad you were there."
Chat Noir turned away from her and dropped his legs over the side of the bed. His face was partly obscured behind his hair and curve of his shoulder as he eyed her. "So, it was a mistake?"
Marinette cocked her head at the hostility in Chat's voice. "Have I upset you?"
He stood and placed his clawed hands on his hips, looking up at the ceiling, with his back to her as his tail twitched. He let out a resigned sigh, "I'm confused, that's all."
"Me too." She glanced over at him, not sure how to bring up her transformation. Did he see Ladybug return to Marinette? "What I don't understand is how you knew where I live, that makes no sense."
"As adamant as you are about keeping our identities a secret, I now know yours." He turned and eyed her from head to toe. "I'm sure you've noticed you're not currently Ladybug."
"Did I transform before we got out of the station? Did people see me?"
"No, I got you out of there as fast as I could. The only person to witness your transformation was me."
She looked lost for a moment, then her eyes narrowed, "Hang on a minute, you used cataclysm. Why are you still Chat Noir?"
Chat glanced away sheepishly. "You fell asleep before I dropped my transformation, my kwami recharged and so I recalled my transformation. I wasn't sure if you'd want to know my real identity."
"That hardly seems fair," she snapped.
"It might be better this way. I'm still a wild card because you don't know who I am."
"But clearly you know me out of the mask because you knew where to take me."
"You're right, I do know you. So, all your half-baked ideas of me only loving Ladybug are now irrelevant." With a lopsided grin at his own pun, he placed his clawed gloves on the mattress, either side of her. "I've been denying my own little crush on you, Marinette, for quite a while. I don't have to ignore it anymore."
Leaning back, Marinette swallowed as she eyed him. "Who are you?"
Smirking, he placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'm your partner."
"That's not what I mean, and you know it."
Chat Noir returned to the bed and reclined on his side, curling around her as he rested his head in his hand. "I know what you're asking and I want to show you, but I don't think now is the right time. Besides you've kept me in suspense for years, I think you can suffer a little like I have."
"Chat," she growled as she smacked his arm. "You suck."
"So, you don't like it when I have the upper hand." He traced his finger from her shoulder to her wrist, then his voice lost its playfulness. "Think about what happened today. Tell me you experienced the same connection I felt."
The akuma fight resurfaced in Marinette's mind. With Adrien out of danger, she'd boarded the train and come across Redemption as he'd been striking out at people retaliating. She'd watched in horror as those touched by his silver glove faded into ghost-like phantoms. It had been some time since Hawkmoth had issued such a macabre power. The moment Redemption spotted her, he zeroed in, making it hard to keep her distance. Somehow, he managed to manoeuvre her into a corner as she'd prepared to call on her lucky charm, and despite her fast reflexes he'd touched her. In that second she'd instinctively dropped her yoyo and it had been her saving grace. No, she was wrong, her partner had been her saving grace.
More often than not, it was Chat Noir who was corrupted by an akuma's power, and she frequently had to fight against him in order to restore him to normal. But in this case, she had been afflicted. Redemption had left her the moment she'd dematerialised. Hawkmoth had been furious that he hadn't taken her miraculous first, and as usual the akuma assured him that he had a plan in mind. Ladybug somehow doubted it, Redemption seemed far too focussed on wiping out his fellow passengers.
With him gone she'd tried desperately to pick up her yoyo but her hands had phased through it no matter which angle she attempted. The phantoms around her seemed to be in a place of despair, she tried talking to them, but they remained in their seats fading with a far greater speed than her own. She could only assume her miraculous was preventing her from vanishing as fast. In that moment, she decided to stay where she was and call for her partner. As she waited the ghostly passengers faded further until they disappeared entirely, fuelling the black smoke, and departing out the doors to fog up the platform. The longer she shouted the more disjointed her voice became and a heavy weariness sapped her strength.
When Chat Noir eventually appeared she'd been so relieved, especially when she saw he was unchanged. He easily picked up her yoyo and she tried to go to him, but she found it difficult to move. That altered the moment he touched her. His corporeal form seemed to disrupt the fading process. As he'd said, his touch made her whole again and she was starting to wonder if there was a deeper meaning in that. They'd worked side by side for years, understanding each other with the simplest of gestures, but they'd never been as physically connected during a battle. She had needed him in a way she never had before. When he'd called upon his cataclysm she'd actually felt the charge of his power as it flooded through him, awakening her to the intense link they'd always shared. It was like she finally understood that they were two pieces of the one puzzle, completed and complimented by the other. It dawned on her that Chat Noir was right, they were meant to be close and yet she continued to push him away.
With wide eyes, Marinette returned from her reverie and gazed at Chat. He was studying her from his reclined position on the bed, the fingers of his free hand splayed beside hers as if he was waiting for the opportunity to join them together. "Is that an epiphany I see in your eyes?"
"Is that conceit, I see in yours?"
"Never milady," he rolled onto his back and smiled up at her. "I'm just wondering if I've surpassed your wonderful Adrien."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because I doubt you've ever experienced the connection we shared today with anyone else." Chat lifted his hand to study his claws. "Plus, he might have been a tad jealous when he realised I've seen your bedroom before he has"
"What! Adrien's here?"
"Well he was with you before the train attack and he was supposed to be coming here with you. Imagine his surprise at the turn of events."
"What did you say to him?"
He shrugged, "I may have warned him off, told him you were mine."
"You said what!"
"Since you kissed me like you were intent on claiming me as your own, I thought it only fair to announce the truth to the guy you're desperately trying to forget."
Marinette grabbed his bell and yanked him upright. "I did no such thing. I can't believe you said that to him."
"Are you trying to tell me you still want this guy?" There was a smugness to Chat Noir's eyes that had Marinette confused. Shouldn't he be jealous?
"Chat Noir, you have no idea what's going on in my head. I can't believe you know my identity and yet you continue to play with me like this is some sort of twisted game."
"A game? This is not a game. Down there, on the train I thought I was going to lose you. Hell, my touch made you whole again, surely that means something. I could feel your power when you called upon your magic, didn't you feel mine?"
A muscle in her jaw twitched as she studied the desperation in his eyes. She looked away as she replied, "Yes, I did."
He caught her chin between his thumb and finger. "And the connection? You never answered me, you felt it too?"
"Chat, we were under some pretty strange circumstances." She didn't want to admit the truth. If she did, she had no doubt that he would double his efforts to win her over. They had to remain as fighting partners only.
"Don't brush this off. Stop rejecting me for once and listen to your heart instead of your head."
"I don't know what to think, okay. Just give me some space."
"Says the girl who grabbed me and kissed me like I meant the world."
"Space, Chat."
"Fine," he said as he dropped his hand from her face, then eyed her sideways. "I suppose you want to talk to Adrien."
"He's still here?"
Chat Noir looked out the window. "I can get him. By the way I didn't say anything to him. I was just messing with you."
Marinette picked up her pillow and threw it at him as he hurried out. "Men," she growled as he slammed the door.
And things just got more complicated. Chat Noir seems awfully determined to escape the friend zone, one way or another.
I want to say a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, I'm glad you really enjoyed the akuma fight. It was something I worked on for a while. Thanks for all the support. I've got more chapters to write... Cheers :)
