Two: Unexpected Visitor

As Marinette begins her recovery process, Chat receives a surprise visit from Master Fu.

Every spare moment I had, I spent with Marinette in her apartment in the days after she returned from the hospital. Sabine moved in, leaving Tom to run the Bakery; true to form, she had no problem with an overgrown feline helping out. Having learned a few things from being friends with a baker's daughter for so many years, I quickly made myself useful cooking dinner most evenings, getting a smile from both Marinette and Sabine each time they saw me wearing the frilly apron.

About a week from Marinette's return, Sabine took the opportunity of my arrival that evening to run home to the Bakery to check on her spouse and retrieve some fresh pastries he'd promised.

"Take as much time as you need," I said to the petite woman. It wasn't hard to see the dark circles beneath her normally vibrant eyes. "I can stay the evening – why don't you come back in the morning?"

"I can't ask that of you, Chat," she said.

I leaned down to hug her small form. "Of course you can."

"Don't you need to do superhero things?" she asked.

"Got it covered," I smiled my most disarming Chat smile. "Now, off with you."

She looked at me skeptically, but waved as she exited the apartment, perhaps knowing that it had been a few days since I'd heard from Ladybug. That in itself wasn't unusual, for Hawkmoth had often gone days if not a full month once between attacks. I was silently praying we were in one such lull period, for I didn't want any distractions from tending to Marinette.

Carefully, I moved down the small hallway toward her bedroom and tapped my claws on the door. "Mari?"

"Come on in," she said.

I pushed the door open and did a quick cat vault to the foot of her bed, perching along the floral filigree of the footboard effortlessly. "How do you feel tonight?" I asked as I extended my feline senses out.

"Okay," she said, trying not to look at the massive cast running from her shoulder to her wrist. Her hair was up in a perfunctory bun, out of the way but nonetheless just as lovely as could be. "I'd give my other arm for a bath, though."

I didn't need those feline senses to know she was feeling a bit depressed.

Playing to my character as Chat, I grinned at her a bit wolfishly. "I might be able to help, there," I said. "Cats use their—"

Marinette's eyes went wide. "I'll stick with the washcloth for now," she said quickly, then paused. "You don't actually do that, do you? I mean, you're a real person under that mask, right?"

I made a show of cleaning an area of my costume below my right wrist. "Sorry?"

A welcome chuckle issued from Marinette and I smiled to hear it. "Incorrigible."

"Yes," I said. "Can I get you anything? Water? Wine?"

"Nothing, thanks," she said. "Did I hear Maman take off?"

"She'll be back in the morning. You're stuck with me tonight."

"There could be worse things," she said.

I slid off the end of the bed and took a bold risk, snuggling up beside her and rubbing my head against her chin. "There could," I reminded her as I started to purr.

"Hey!" she said as she halfheartedly tried to push me away one-handed. "There's barely enough room for one on this mattress!"

"You want me to curl up closer, then?" I said as my tail playfully looped around her waist.

"Chat," Marinette said, slightly exasperated. "What exactly are you doing?"

"It's been scientifically proven that cats can raise levels of helpful endorphins," I said, notching my purring up a bit. "I'm simply assisting in your recovery."

"Really," she replied, and I didn't need to see her face to know she was rolling her eyes. "I'd like to see your data on that."

"Would you?" I asked as I snuck my arm behind her head so she could lean on my bicep. "I could talk for hours about cats, and you know that."

She turned her head toward me and though she was smiling there was still something there that I didn't like seeing. Especially the dark circles she, too, seemed to be sporting below her eyes. "You're not sleeping, are you?"

"After a fashion," she said.

I leaned my mane into her. "Tell me."

"It's nothing," she said quickly.

"It's something," I said. "Nightmares, then?" I surmised, my feline ears hearing her pulse quicken as I made the suggestion.

"Yeah," she replied, turning away from me.

I continued to purr, allowing it to fill the silence and make it less uncomfortable for her. After all the years I'd spent fighting Hawkmoth, I had some sense of what her dreams might be filled with – though I doubted it included being entangled in a massive web with a cat-eating spider bearing down on her.

The thought made me shudder and caused Marinette to turn back to me. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I just had a flashback to one of my worst ones," I smiled as I used a claw-tip to slide a bang away from her forehead. Thinking this might provide an opening, I continued. "It's from an akuma attack when I was much younger. I was trying to rescue a civilian and got, quite literally, stuck in a spider's web."

"Wow." Her eyes went wide.

I laughed a bit. "Once again, Ladybug had to save my furry butt. And that was also the first time Carapace joined us. So I guess it wasn't all bad."

"Except for the spider?"

"Except for the spider," I agreed, snuggling my head back into hers. I continued to purr and hold her close. "So… you're not the only one that has terrible nightmares. Mine are real gems."

She laughed slightly. "I suppose so."

"What's your nightmare?" I asked softly. "Does it also involve cat-eating spiders?"

"No," Marinette sighed. "Do you mind if we just stay like this for a bit?"

"Of course, Princess," I said, and let the silence lengthen once more. I recognized the delaying tactic but also didn't want to push her, either.

As I continued my gentle purring, Marinette's breathing became regular, and her pulse slowed down; within a few moments, she'd drifted off to sleep. It occurred to me that whatever else was bothering her, for at least a little while she was feeling safe enough to allow herself to finally relax. As best as she could with one arm in a cast, she snuggled tightly against me and I simply let her be, stroking her hair every so often and continuing my purring. I adjusted ever so slightly to accommodate her form a bit easier, but otherwise remained curled around her until Sabine quietly cracked open the bedroom door the following morning.

Carefully sliding myself out from beneath Marinette, I padded out into the hallway and closed the door. "She slept fitfully, but did stay asleep all night," I whispered.

Sabine smiled slightly. "That's good – and the first night since she got home." She looked at me closely. "You didn't, did you?"

I shrugged as I yawned. "I'll find a sunbeam later and catch up."

"Please do," she said as she pressed a small box into my paws. "For you."

I smiled, already smelling the Belgian chocolate croissants. "Thank you," I said as I kissed her cheek. "I'll be back tonight."

"I'm cooking coq au vin," she said.

"Then I won't be late," I laughed as I carefully tucked the box under an arm and vaulted out of the still-open balcony doors and into the early morning sunshine.

Father had, in his own quietly demanding way, asked that I remain with him at the mansion after I graduated from University. Even with the freedom of movement that being Chat Noir afforded me, I had no desire to remain in the gilded cage that was my space at Agreste Manor and had instead purchased my own apartment with funds I'd earned modeling through college. It wasn't much more than a studio, really, but it was all mine.

In a nod to my needs as a feline superhero, while it didn't have a balcony, it did have floor-to-ceiling windows with an amazing view of the Seine – and that could open wide enough for a human-sized cat to arrive and depart undetected. I landed in a three-point crouch on the windowsill and frowned, for my feline sense of smell had immediately picked up the telltale scent of ginseng and black tea.

"Master Fu?" I called out as I remained perched on the window, feline eyes scanning the space.

"Chat Noir," he said as he stepped out of the shadows the early morning sun was making in the rear of the bedroom.

"This is unexpected," I continued, unwilling to move from the window. "Should I be worried?"

"No," he replied with that enigmatic smile that generally told me everything and nothing. "Come have some tea, will you?"

I slid off the windowsill. "I don't have tea in the apartment," I said, masked eyebrow arched.

"Fortunately, I travel equipped," he said as he guided me out of the bedroom and into the small combination kitchen/living space. To my surprise, a teapot and two cups were awaiting us on the small island that served as my dining table.

Opting to stay transformed, I wrapped my paws around the china teacup and allowed Fu to pour me a cup; my feline eyes watched the steam rise as the stream came out of the spout, and I could feel the heat through my paws despite the costume's intrinsic protective properties. It occurred to me once more that I had yet to plumb the depths of the magic contained within the costume itself. My masked visage turned to Master Fu. "Why do I feel like you're about to rock my world?"

He smiled again. "You are a perceptive one, Chat."

"It comes with the ears and tail," I said as I blew on the hot liquid before taking a sip.

"No," Fu corrected. "It's part of you, Adrien. The Cat Miraculous just enhances that aspect, along with your other qualities."

"Like my puns?"

"Maybe not all of your abilities," he laughed.

"Lay it on me, then," I said.

Fu put down his teacup and moved the octagonal Miraculous box I'd already spied sitting next to the teapot. "Ladybug is going to be unavailable for a while," he said carefully. "So I need you to temporarily take her earrings and kwami. I will take your ring in the interim and return it to you once she is… available again."

My ears flattened and I had trouble separating two competing emotions. I had zero desire to see Plagg, my near-constant companion for almost a decade now, suddenly go away; perhaps more importantly, though, I was worried something had happened to Ladybug. "Is she okay?" I asked, putting aside my worries about losing Plagg for a moment.

"She is now," Fu said as something crossed his normally inscrutable face. "I don't ask this of you lightly, Chat," he said, somehow reading my own thoughts. "I know you've grown into your relationship with Plagg, and it's not my intent to separate the two of you before your time as a Holder is actually done."

I nodded, bell ringing as I did. "I'm not a very good Mister Bug," I reminded him.

"You sell yourself short," he smiled. "You've only had one outing, which is not enough of a chance to become proficient. And," he said again, "this is only temporary."

"How temporary?"

"Three or four months," Master Fu replied. "I've also decided to loan Carapace and Rena Rouge their Miraculous for the duration so you will be able to call on them as needed."

My jaw hit the counter. "That's… that's not temporary." I looked at the box again. "What, did Ladybug go on a world cruise or something?"

Master Fu weighed something and then answered. "She needs some time away, Chat. That's all I can tell you."

I blinked. "Is it me? Did I do something—"

"Nothing like that, Chat. It's more personal."

"But she didn't even say goodbye!"

"She's not gone, Chat. Ladybug will be back."

I stared at him. And then looked at the box, then the ring on my hand with its glowing paw print. After all this time as Chat Noir, the very idea that I might not be him any longer was unsettling. Masked eyes flicked back to Master Fu and I searched his wizened face for answers he was unwilling to give me. My feline eyes moved to the ring once more.

If this is to help Ladybug, in some small way even, there's really no decision is there? I thought.

"My father is going to kill me," I smiled as I turned back to Master Fu.

"Why?" he asked, genuinely caught off guard by my comment.

I brushed back the unruly mane of blonde hair I had when transformed, exposing my ears. "Getting these pierced will drive him insane, especially with the catalog shoots coming up."

Fu smiled. "You don't sound worried."

"I'm not," I laughed before sobering slightly. "All right," I replied as I looked to the box with no small amount of trepidation.

"Thank you, Chat."

"Plagg – claws in," I said softly.