May 29 - Pajamas
A/N: Sometimes we all need a break.
Ep: No kidding. I think I'm gonna take the summer off from work. Now, how to tell my boss...
Lyra: I LIVE for my jammies.
MR: Sleep? What is sleep? I laugh in the face of exhaustion! *yawns*
Today's story is from DearestMrIcarus.
The belted tail swished from the teen girl's terrance in a feline manner. What would've been a silly sight in the daylight was mysterious and exotic in the Parisian darkness.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Chat asked softly.
Marinette grinned at the perched silhouette. He'd grown a lot in the past 3 years. She still recalled their first year of fighting akumas. Chat had always been ready to fight, all fists and no brain, but in the last year things had changed.
He was livelier, but also more thoughtful. He showed tact, elegance, and professionalism in his heroics. He'd even dropped the stupid puns. He'd become the perfect partner.
"He looks pretty cute in the moonlight," Marinette thought, before snapping back into reality. She forced herself to think of Adrien, who, if she was being honest, was only a hair more crushworthy than her feline partner. Chat was still staring at her, waiting for a response, she realized.
"Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something," she muttered, then guessed," but I bet you want to tell me being a hero is the best."
"Wrong," he answered wistfully.
"Well, it might not be what you wanted to tell me, but it's still true," she countered.
He shook his head. "No, unfortunately it isn't. That's my secret. I'm tired. I'm so tired."
As if on cue, he slipped off the perch and landed on his back, staring up at the sky.
"Chat, are you ok?" She asked, wincing at the fall.
"My body aches, I'm always bored, and the one retreat I had I turned into the same Hell that the rest of my life is. I have to be perfect, even if I'm wearing a mask. And I'm just done. I can't do it anymore. I'm too tired."
Marinette put a hand on her friend, and spoke soothingly.
"There must be good things, though, right? Like your future-girlfriend, Ladybug? Or probably the million friends in your personal life. How about all the cool perks of being a hero?"
Marinette's cheeks flushed pink at the phrase "future-girlfriend" as she tried to tell herself that it was just encouragement, and not baiting him.
Chat shook his head once more. "Nope. Ladybug is cool, but if we are going to be responsible heroes, it can't happen. All my friends like the person my dad molded me into. They like "him", but not the real me. And the perks of being a hero? Well, unfortunately they come with the responsibility of being a hero, which basically makes it impossible to have fun."
In the darkness, Marinette's jaw dropped. Chat had sacrificed his one escape to become a hero. He had traded everything to be what he was supposed to,and carried on until he was burnt out.
"Just a second," she said, jumping up and disappearing down the trap door.
A moment later she appeared wearing a hero adorned pair of pajamas. In her arms was a matching set that she had made in hopes of giving to Adrien.
"I made these… they're for you," she lied, convinced that maybe she had been pursuing the wrong guy all along.
"What is this?" Chat asked, looking at all the caricatures embroidered into the fabric, feeling each one with his fingers.
"It's Majestia," he mumbled. "And Doorman. Sparrow too. Hey, there's Uncanny Valley."
Marinette heard his lips break into a smile as he continued. "And Ladybug! And… me?!"
"Yeah," Marinette confirmed. "You deserve it."
"Why?" He asked. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"Well, you said you're tired. So I thought I'd let you know you have somewhere to rest. Somewhere to just be yourself. So throw on those pajamas, and let's unwind."