Chapter Thirty-Seven

The wave of magical ladybugs swirled over Paris, correcting the damage created by Revenger. Minions were released from their spell and reverted to their normal selves. Chloe was reclad in her clothes. But Ladybug didn't notice, her eyes were fixed on her partner. Chat Noir remained unconscious in her arms as the mystical ladybugs healed them both. The pain disappeared from the heroine's shoulder and she was able to hold him properly.

"Chat," she whispered as she tenderly stroked his cheek. "Wake up," she urged with a cautious shake. Instead her partner's head lolled to rest against her. The crowd of people sensed that something was wrong and drew closer to the superheroes, encroaching on their privacy.

Rena Rouge laid a hand on Ladybug's shoulder as both miraculous chirped in warning. "We need to get out of here," the fox heroine said with a pressing voice while presenting Chat's baton to her. "I can help you carry him."

Ladybug shook her head. "No, he's my partner. I'll carry him." With her shoulder now healed, she easily hefted Chat Noir into her arms, cradling him bridal style. With a nudge of her cheek, against the opposite side of Chat's face, she shifted his head so his nose tucked into the crook of her shoulder. Cameras flashed but Ladybug ignored them. Rena secured Chat Noir's baton at his back and the female superheroes leapt away from the mass of confused people.

As they scurried across the rooftops, Rena Rouge pointed at her necklace. "I'm almost out of time. Where should I take this off?"

Ladybug glanced between her miraculous partner in her arms and her best friend. "Can you hold onto the fox miraculous for me? I need to make sure Chat Noir's okay and I've only got three minutes before I revert back too."

Rena nodded, "I'll keep it safe. Should I continue wearing it?"

"That would be best. I'll come back for it as soon as I can."

"Alright, I need to head home. You know where I live, right?"

"Of course," Ladybug said with a forced smile. Her mind was far too preoccupied with her partner's wellbeing.

With a quick wave, Rena Rouge changed direction and they parted ways. Ladybug increased her speed as she raced for sanctuary. The problem was, where to take him? She could return him to the Agreste mansion but how did she explain his current state? Nope, not an option. Neither was her home, she didn't think her parents would appreciate finding either Chat Noir or Adrien Agreste comatose on her bed. That left the apartment. She just hoped the balcony door was unlocked.

In no time, the heroine landed with a heavy thud on the balcony and elbowed the glass door open then closed. Rushing inside she considered draping him on the sofa but he was too tall to lie comfortably. With an assessing glance she saw an open bedroom door and made her way in to lay him upon the bed. "Chat," she whispered urgently as she stroked his cheek. "Chat Noir, wake up!"

Black masked eyebrows crinkled together low over his closed lids. "I'm tired," he croaked, and his gloved hand reached for his neck. "My throat's sore."

Relief surged through Ladybug. She'd been terrified that the lack of oxygen may have caused permanent brain damage to her partner. The fact that he was speaking coherently had to be a good sign. She couldn't help but throw her arms around him and squeeze hard.

"Gentle!" Chat Noir gasped as he flinched, his eyelids opening intermittently. At his reaction Ladybug wondered if he was still injured, her hands began sliding over his body as she checked for damage. Yet at no point did he wince as her fingers moved over his limbs. Chat Noir simply cocked a masked eyebrow in interest. "I'm not complaining, but why are you feeling me up?"

At the sound of his voice she lifted her head and her eyes immediately focussed on his neck. Without a second thought, Ladybug reached for his bell and yanked his zipper open to inspect his throat for damage. Red gloved hands pried apart Chat's collar as she caught his chin with one hand to tilt his head from side-to-side, observing if he was still bruised. Finding his skin unmarred, it dawned on her what she had just done. Raising her gaze to his, Ladybug found Chat Noir staring at her with wide eyes, his cat ears tuned specifically on her while his Adam's apple bobbed.

"You don't have any other injuries?" She asked as she released his collar while her earrings chirped another warning.

A perplexed look replaced his startled expression. "Injuries? What are you talking about? Oh, wait… Revenger."

"She nearly choked you to death."

Chat raised a hand to his throat and rubbed. "Yeah, that was beyond scary. She was incredibly strong."

Sucking in her bottom lip, Ladybug's eyes began tearing up. Now that the battle was over, she was able to focus on the terrible truth. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"Hey, it's alright. I'm here." Chat Noir reassured her as he sat up to embrace her. "Remember I've got nine lives, although I'm probably down to about five these days."

That made her chuckle as she thumped his shoulder playfully with her fist. "Make sure you don't lose anymore, you hear me."

"Loud and clear, milady."

In the comfort of his hold, Ladybug relaxed against Chat Noir, closing her eyes as she buried her head into his shoulder. "Let's not fight anymore. It seems so trivial after that akuma battle."

"Does that mean you're no longer mad at me?" he asked as he ran the tip of his nose along the shell of her ear.

She shook her head. "No, Chat. I'm just glad you're alive."

He sighed with relief. "You and me both, bugaboo." Then Chat Noir's head moved at her shoulder as he took in where they were. "Um, why are we in a bedroom together?"

"You were unconscious and I didn't think you'd fit on the sofa. You're a lot taller than you used to be."

Chat Noir placed his hands on her shoulders and sat back with a smirk. "Really? I'm not sure I'm convinced. I think you just wanted to straddle me and peek in my suit." To emphasise his point, he indicated to his open zipper with a wave of his hand.

Ladybug was half tempted to roll her eyes but decided to tease him instead. Lifting her hands, she took hold of his open collar and spread it wide to expose more skin. The smug look on Chat Noir's face dropped into a look of shock. "W-what are you d-doing?" he stuttered.

Amusement twinkled in her eyes as she bent down and ran her tongue up his sternum, along his throat and placed a quick kiss on his chin. Chat Noir promptly flopped onto his back and stared at her with a mixture of dazed awe and confusion. Ladybug smiled, "Isn't this the part where you faint from euphoric ecstasy?"

"I-I-I-" he babbled. She placed a finger over his lips as her earrings gave their final warning chirp and her transformation dissolved. Now it was Marinette sitting upon Chat Noir. Something changed in his demeanour and suddenly the girl found herself flipped over as he reversed their positions.

"That's not the reaction I was going for." Marinette grumbled with little conviction.

Chat Noir rested an elbow either side of her head and cupped his chin as he gazed down at her. "You see, if I faint that means I'm out of action temporarily, and right now I don't want to miss a thing."

Marinette couldn't help but match his grin. "So, what do you intend to do with me?"

The black mask shifted with the lift of his eyebrows. "Hmm, let me think. I believe there was some discussion earlier about kissing. I'm thinking we should really explore that particular subject, physically of course."

"But of course," she added with a nod, acting with far more confidence that she felt, given that her heart was pounding furiously.

Chat Noir lowered his hands to the sides of her face, his fingers trembling slightly as his thumbs gently caressed her cheeks while he gazed at her with adoration. "You know that I love you, right?"

The vulnerability in his voice touched her in a way she couldn't describe. To know that he was this enamoured with her had her heart thundering even faster, her palms began sweating and her throat tightened with emotion. "I know, and I love you too."

Utter relief was practically written on her partner's face. "You're so amazing," he whispered reverently as he lowered his lips to brush against hers. "And I want to show you exactly how I feel." The warmth of his mouth softly pressing against hers had Marinette lifting her arms to encircle Chat Noir's broad shoulders. He nibbled kisses along her bottom lip before gently coaxing her mouth open with a caress of his tongue.

Their first kiss had quickly turned heated but this time Chat Noir was determined to worship her mouth with a slow building intensity. Marinette lifted one hand to sift into his wild locks, gently tugging him closer and urging him on as she probed his mouth with her tongue.

A throaty groan escaped Chat and his ministrations became more ardent, his mouth pressing down harder as their fervour heightened. Marinette's left hand dropped from his shoulder, trailing along his open collar and onto his bare chest. Chat Noir instinctively arched up, giving her more space to explore the plains of his chest as he settled between her legs.

Marinette raised her knees, caging him against her while her mouth eagerly roved along his jaw and down to his collarbone. Chat Noir closed his eyes and exhaled heavy, he braced himself above her while leaning on his forearms, clenching his fists as he tried to remain still. But when Marinette's fingers followed the V of his open zip down to his stomach, he arched up again and bit his lip. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" he rasped.

Nibbling her way to his earlobe, Marinette gave her breathy answer, "Maybe." Then she exhaled in his ear and he shuddered.

"I believe you know full well what you're doing. As I spelled it out on the Scrabble board, you're a vixen. Fu gave you the wrong miraculous, woman." He growled as he dove in to nibble her earlobe in return, although it was more difficult for him since he needed to navigate around her earrings.

A gasp escaped Marinette as he ran his tongue along the back of her ear. Somehow she managed to retort, "This from a hot male model who's basically sex on legs."

Chat Noir chuckled at that and lifted his head to grin at her. "Oh, so you find it easier to resist me with the mask on, hmm? Let me fix that. Plagg, claws in."

"I am so out of here." The black kwami grumbled and quickly disappeared.

Marinette blinked as she watched Plagg go. "I didn't see where Tikki went."

Adrien shrugged, "We were a little busy at the time. If she's anything like Plagg, they'll be raiding the kitchen."

The moment Marinette's eyes returned to Adrien she froze. He was right, as attracted as she was to Chat Noir, there was something downright sensual at seeing him without the mask. Gone were the feline eyes, now she was staring into the green orbs that made her knees weak and her tongue tied. Four years of partnership and to think that Adrien's magnificent face had been behind the mask the whole time made her heart jump to her throat.

A crooked smile had settled on his lips. "I'm not a poster on your wall, Marinette. You can touch me. In fact, I really encourage it."

Scrunching her eyes closed and blushing with embarrassment that she could laugh at, Marinette pried open her eyes to see Adrien grinning at her in return. Leaning on his elbows he pointed to his mouth with both hands. "I need some loving, right here."

"I can see you're going to be a demanding boyfriend," she teased.

His eyes bulged briefly before turning wicked. "Does that mean you're finally laying claim to me, milady?"

"That I am," Marinette said as she grabbed a fist full of his t-shirt, tugging him close. "Now let's seal the deal with a kiss."

And finally they're together, about bloody time ;) But the world is wondering about Chat Noir's fate and Ladybug has a miraculous she needs to collect. Stay tuned people.

As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting :)