Chapter 7: Bad Idea - Favoritism Part 4 Chapter by beccalovesyuge
Summary:
"I tried to tell her this was a bad idea."
Part of the Favoritism AU
Order of chapters:
5-Bridal Style
6-Kitty Kisses
7- Bad Idea
3-Can I pick, Princess?
Notes:
I did not proof this. Sorry.
It had been six weeks since Marinette had confessed to Chat Noir. Chat had felt blissfully happy ever since. She had promised him to keep his identity a secret and he had reluctantly agreed. That hadn't stopped Adrien from texting her or showing up at the bakery. They were friends, so it wouldn't be weird for him to do that, right? At least that's what he had thought until Marinette's replies were slower and choppier. She made excuses to not see him.
It was fine. He could still be with her at night. He could hold her and kiss her. She would fall asleep in his arms and he would watch her. He whispered words of love to her and she would cuddle farther into his arms.
He was completely and thoroughly in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
And it all came crashing down that Wednesday morning when the tabloids hit the shelves. Adrien had walking passed a newsstand when he saw the rows and rows of Marinette kissing Chat Noir on her balcony. He nearly dropped his coffee as the headlines assaulted him. Each heartless word was a dagger to his chest. Each defamation of Marinette's character was a slap to his face.
Adrien tossed his nearly full coffee in the nearest trash bin before thumbing his phone to scroll his social media.
His hands shook as little black dots appeared throughout his vision. His body warmed and his hearing deafened as he struggled to process the bombshell that threatened everything.
Hawkmoth would know about her. He would hunt her down to get to him, his Miraculous.
"Oh, god," he croaked out. His chest burned as his heart missed a few beats. "Marinette!" He pocketed his cell and sprinted towards her home; several pedestrians cursed and shouted after him.
XXX
When Chat Noir arrived on her balcony, he was very careful to stay out of view of the media swarm at her front door. He could hear their shouts mixing with her parents.
He knelt on the floor by her trapdoor. He stayed crouched tightly to best stay in the shadows and hidden by her furniture as he knocked three times, paused, and knocked twice more. It was his secret code they had established when he first started coming around years ago.
Though he wasn't surprised she didn't answer given the circumstances, his chest still tightened further. A bad feeling settled in his gut. "Marinette?" He called softly as he opened the door. Normally, he would be grumpy she had left it open, but today he thanked every god above.
Sliding into her room, he was cautious to not get his boots on her sheets as he maneuvered around her bed to drop to the main area below. The room was empty, but the feeling in his gut did not lessen. "Marinette?" He called again.
"Chat Noir."
He was immediately on the alert as he whirled at the strange voice. His hand twitched towards his baton, but it immediately stilled at seeing a strangely familiar creature. It was red with black spots and while it's body was small, it's head reminded him of a bobble head. It was a creature he had never seen, but he knew exactly what it was. "You," he dropped to his knees as his energy sapped away from him. His ears burned as his vision blurred once more. "You're a kwami."
His mind slowed to a stop as if protecting him from the discovery he was upon. A tremor passed through his body because there was only one reason a kwami would be in Marinette's room. A distinctly ladybug like kwami.
The kwami floated to his eye level, her shoulders and antenna were drooped. "I tried to tell her this was a bad idea." Her voice was high-pitched and sweet despite the dripping sadness. "You know better than anyone how stubborn she can be, however."
A dark chuckle ripped through his chest and throat. "I screwed up big this time," he grumbled. "Hawkmoth has her, doesn't he?"
The goddess nodded. "He akumatized one of the reporters. He snuck up here and took her." She let out a shaky sob as dropped her heavy head into her tiny nubs. "He took Marinette. He took my-"
"Ladybug," Chat finished.
