Chapter 9
That Monday, Adrien woke up to a text from Nino, saying he'll be out sick that day. Apparently, he got a really bad stomach bug. The blond immediately called bullshit on that, the DJ was perfectly fine on Saturday when they hung out. He was 99.9% sure that he was just spending the day with Alya.
Whatever, it was none of his business, so Adrien didn't call him out on his lie. Besides, he's lying to Nino everyday by keeping his criminal identity a secret, so he had no excuse to berate his best friend for his little fib.
Since he didn't have Nino to greet him by the doors of the school, he just walked straight to his class. Marinette and Alya weren't there yet, so for now he'd have to be alone, although there were a few of his classmates settled in their seats.
His green eyes imperceptively narrowed when he spotted Kim. The jock was gradually getting better, becoming more normal as the days went on. To Adrien's satisfaction, he made sure to keep his promise and neither look nor speak to Marinette.
However, he still wanted to punch the bastard's face in. But Marinette surely wouldn't forgive him for that, so he was resolved to just sit back and watch very closely for any wrong moves.
The model sat in his bench and took out his tablet for class, then proceeded to lightly drum his fingers on the desk in boredom. If Marinette and Alya weren't going to be there, he'd be stuck with Chloe. The thought of her pathetically flirting with him made him want to stick a fork in his throat.
The door to the classroom opened, the noise causing Adrien to perk his head up. As a criminal, he always had to be alert. Whenever he heard a noise, he had to quickly look around and identify the source. He's never had a run-in with the police yet, but you could never be too careful.
His lips spread into a wide smile as he laid eyes on Marinette, a very alone Marinette. The girl's cheeks developed a soft, rosy hue as she made eye contact with him and smiled back.
She walked closer to get to her seat, when Adrien greeted her.
She stopped in her tracks and quickly turned to him. "H-Hi, Adrien!" She squeaked.
"Nino told me he'd be absent today," he spoke, frowning. "Guess it'll be just the three of us today." He had no proof that Alya was absent. For all he knew, she could be in the bathroom. But, if for once his luck was good, Marinette was just as best-friendless as he was.
"Ah, actually, no," she mumbled, biting her lip and not meeting him in the eyes. His heart jumped at her answer, was she really alone today? "Alya won't be here either, she texted me this morning."
Yes! He schooled his expression so that he just raised his eyebrows, appearing to look surprised by this revelation. "Really? Huh. Then I guess it's just us two for today." He winked quickly, finishing off the semi-flirtatious remark. The blackette blinked at him, as though confused by something.
Nevertheless, he was still smiling warmly. "Since Alya and Nino won't be here, want to sit next to me?"
Marinette stopped breathing and her mouth dropped open a little. He winced at the reaction, was that pushing her too far? She probably didn't want to sit next to him, and now she feels like she's trapped. If she says yes, then she'll be stuck with him, if she refuses, she'll look rude in front of everyone.
He didn't deny that it hurt.
"Marinette? It-It's okay if you don't-"
"Yes!" She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. Adrien stopped talking when she spoke, eyes a bit wide at the volume of her tone.
As if realizing this, she cleared her throat and tried again. "I mean, yes, I'll sit with you."
He smiled on instinct at her answer. "Great!" He scooted down so that she wouldn't have to walk all the way to the other side of the bench. He saw her smile at the gesture before she sat down in his previous spot.
It was quiet for about a minute, in which Adrien was thinking of something to say. His eyes brightened when he did think of an idea, something seemingly innocent yet important to them both.
The blond turned to her, propping his elbow on the desk and resting a fist on his cheek. "So, how was your Halloween?" he asked, a slow smile stretching his lips. He hoped she really did have a nice night and had fun with Chat Noir.
Her sapphire orbs twinkled with amusement. Her lips slightly puckered as she was fighting off giggles, but ultimately some escaped. "It-It was very good. Very nice."
He knew just what she was giggling at, the knowledge making his eyebrows furrow but a tender smile to play at his lips.
Marinette calmed down to ask him a question of her own. "How was yours? Did you go to Aurore's party?"
No, because I chose to spend it with you. He shook his head. "Nah. I didn't feel like going." It wasn't technically a lie.
"Oh."
Back to the awkward silence. Adrien pondered on something interesting to say, maybe somehow make a remark about Chat Noir. But just as he was about to talk to her again, a very familiar screech tore through the air and into his ears.
Irritation at being interrupted clouded his mind, yet there was enough clarity to regain control and mask his features to a look of concern. His green eyes followed Chloe and Sabrina as they stomped to his bench, neither looking too happy.
Chloe tried smiling, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Adrikins, why the sudden seat change?"
He shrugged indifferently. If he told Chloe the real reason, he'd never hear the end of her screaming. "Nino and Alya aren't here, so I thought it'd be nice to have Marinette sit next to me."
Her icy eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "Why didn't you ask me?!"
"You have Sabrina, I'm sure you wouldn't want to abandon her," he lied easily. Truthfully, the girl would most likely be more than willing to leave her best friend behind if it meant sitting next to him.
"B-But we're childhood sweethearts! I'd always sit next to you."
He scowled at the statement. "We were not childhood sweethearts."
"But-"
Adrien mentally breathed a sigh of relief when the blonde was interrupted by the teacher walking in and greeting the class. He didn't miss the way Chloe glared daggers at Marinette before pouting and going to her seat, followed closely by Sabrina.
He closed his eyes and rubbed a hand along his face. "Thank God," he mumbled. He hardly ever got this annoyed with other criminals. How can Chloe be so infuriating to deal with?
He diligently copied the notes for the lesson, writing them down word for word. It may or may not have had to do with trying to impress Marinette and how he wanted her to think he was smart and a good student. Yep, it had nothing to do with that.
When she wasn't looking, he'd sneak glances at her. At one point they happened to meet each other's eyes. Her bluebell eyes were wide with surprise at being caught. Adrien offered a playful grin and went back to his work.
Soon enough, he was growing a bit restless. Marinette was sitting next to him, yet he was doing absolutely nothing about it! He should change that.
Smirking when the idea came to him, he slowly scooted closer to her, at a pace where it wasn't noticeable to the teacher, Marinette, or the other students.
Eventually he got close enough to smell the faint vanilla scent coming from her. It was honestly the perfect aroma, not too strong but just soft enough to be enticing and leave him wanting more.
Marinette suddenly turned towards him, eyes wide and a fierce blush lighting her cheeks.
Adrien's lips spread into a warm, inviting smile. "Hey, I missed some of the notes from the last slide. Can I copy?"
He noticed her swallow in obvious nervousness. Nevertheless, she nodded her consent.
He thanked her and bit back a grin as he looked over at her tablet and began copying off her. He made sure to lightly bump her elbow with his as he wrote, all the while trying to fight off an amused smirk.
Should he take it farther? He spared a glance at her and saw she was looking straight in front of her at the chalkboard, not paying attention to him at all.
Well, he'll have to see to that, won't he?
The blond moved his head to the side closer to her own, like he was trying to see her notes better. He became so close that a stray lock of his hair brushed against her cheek. He heard her sharp intake of breath and saw her bite her lip.
He hid a satisfied smile and continued copying her notes as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
When he was done, he craned his neck around to look her in the eye. "Thanks, Marinette!"
She quickly nodded. "Y-Yeah, s-sure! No, no problem!" She stuttered a whisper, her cheeks becoming a deeper red.
He ended up staying at her side for the entire class. It may have been a bit mean to get her flustered like this, but hey, at least she's affected by him, right? That must mean she likes him to some degree, right?
When the bell rang, he stood and began packing up his things, not missing the amusing sigh of relief that came out of Marinette's mouth. Just as she was about to leave, he stopped her by thanking her for letting him copy the notes.
She blinked before squeaking out, "no problem!"
"You know," he trailed off, eyeing her with a mischievous grin as the thought came to him. "I don't think Nino and Alya are really sick today."
The blackette adorably tilted her head in her confused state. "What do you mean?"
Adrien chuckled at her innocence. "I think they just took the day off to do other activities."
It took a minute, but at last the light bulb seemed to shine, as she gasped and her eyes widened comically. He couldn't resist laughing at her expression and walked out the door to his next class.
...
At lunchtime, he tried to find Marinette in order to ask her to spend her time with him. He planned on taking her to the cafe he, Marinette, Alya, and Nino all previously went to before Halloween. But alas, he couldn't find a single trace of her. It was like she vanished into thin air.
"Adrikins!"
Adrien softly groaned but plastered on a smile when he faced his childhood friend. Sabrina was standing diligently next to her with a sneaky smile on her face that perfectly matched Chloe's.
"Would you like to join us for lunch?" Chloe asked, batting her eyelashes and forming her lips into a pout.
His green eyes darted around the hallway, looking for any sign of the elusive designer.
"Actually, um, I was having lunch with..."
No sign of her.
He released a defeated sigh. "...You."
Chloe squealed and latched onto his arm, tugging him away to the exit of the school and to her limo.
...
Marinette avoided him like the plague the rest of the day. Yes, it got on his nerves a little, but it was overpowered with puzzlement. What did he do to make her act like that around him? Did he creep her out in class? Did he go too far?
He shook those patronizing thoughts away. Now wasn't the time for thinking about his civilian life, he had a job to do.
A row of white teeth glinted in the moonlight as the owner surveyed the closed jewelry store, not a soul in sight.
The feline thief skillfully leaped onto the roof and was easily able to find a way in. Opening the display cases, he grabbed as much jewelry as he could into his hands and placed it all into the black sack he held.
Chat Noir jumped as the sound of glass shattering smashed against his ears. His heart pounded in fear as he whipped his head around, expecting police, but instead was met with four men in all-black outfits standing inside the shop, glass shards and a big, gaping hole where the front door used to be behind them.
His heart rate slowed as he looked at them with narrowed eyes. They didn't look familiar at all...must be some randoms.
Chat planted a wide smile on his face. "Sorry, gentlemen, but this shop has already been spoken for."
The one in the middle spoke. "We don't care. We've been eyeing up this shop, you're going to leave."
Chat laughed at the demand. They must really be out of the loop if they didn't recognize him. Aiming to kickstart their memories, he took hold of his very feline-esque belt-tail and casually twirled it around as he responded.
"Now, boys, don't you know who I am? Trust me, you don't want to do what I think you're going to do."
The one on the right end talked this time. "We know who you are, Chat Noir. But however good you may be, there's still four of us and only one of you. You don't stand a chance."
The handsome criminal chuckled and ceased spinning his tail, letting it hover above the ground again. "I'm willing to take that chance. There's a reason why they call me the best."
He put down the sack of jewels and crouched into a fighting stance. Immediately the four men slowly walked to him, Chat kept his eyes trained on them the entire time for any sudden moves. It threw him off a bit when instead of lunging for him, they decided to surround him, instead.
He masked his concern with a laugh. "Is this an attempt to intimidate me? I'll tell you right now, hardly anything in this world can scare me."
"And soon that will include us," one man said and that's when he made his move.
With the agility of an acrobat, Chat leapt over the man and when he landed, spun around to face the barrage of attackers. One rushed at him and tried to punch him, but Chat ducked just in time and delivered a punch to his stomach, making him bend over and moan in pain. Meanwhile, a man sneaked up behind him, so Chat rose his leg and kicked into his abdomen, causing the man to groan and collapse.
After awhile, it seemed the fight was going back and forth with neither side gaining an advantage. Chat may be the best, but even he had to admit that fighting four men at once was a challenge. A challenge that he accomplished once before, but these guys were proving to be much better fighters than the last four he faced.
Taking a quick breath, he caught his attacker's fist in his hand and didn't waste time to connect his fist with his face. The other two then tried to fight him, Chat blocking and moving to get in a few hits.
Chat grunted when he felt the weight of a man landing on his back and trying to choke him. He frowned and tried to get him off.
That's when he felt it. He froze as he felt a fiery pain in his lower left side. Gritting his teeth and letting out a low groan, he dropped to the floor, the previous weight on his back disappearing.
The blond glared venomously at the man standing above him, holding a knife dripping with his blood. He saw his lips curl into a smile in the ski mask.
"Took you long enough," one of them complained while gasping for breath.
His dagger-wielding assailant shrugged his shoulders. "He wouldn't sit still for long enough. Let's just take this and get out. Cops will probably be here soon."
Chat, helpless to stop them, remained collapsed on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. He watched with anger as one of them picked up his sack and continued to fill it with jewels before proceeding out of the shop.
"I guess you were the best, Chat Noir," one man teased smugly.
Chat clenched his teeth. "I am, when I'm fighting with people who are fair. What your buddy did was dirty."
He shrugged with a grin on his lips. "Nothing's fair in this world, buddy. I thought you'd know that already, given your reputation. Geez, they really over-exaggerated. Unbeatable, skilled, the best, cunning...why, you're just a disappointment."
Chat growled and reached for his baton. Grabbing it, he extended it and swiped it under the unsuspecting man's legs, causing him to fall on his ass.
He grinned when the lesser criminal narrowed his eyes at him. "You son of a-"
"Hey!" The man holding the knife shouted, halfway out the hole leading to the outside. "Let's go. Stop wasting your time on this guy."
His friend frowned, glanced between him and the man holding the knife, then back to him again. "Coming," he finally decided, faintly pouting. He trudged to the hole and they disappeared into the night.
Chat Noir groaned and gritted his teeth. He rolled over to inspect the damage.
A clean swipe across his lower left area, covered in blood. It was definite that he'd need stitches, along with a new suit. Hawk Moth didn't like giving out multiple suits, but this is only his third one in three years, so his boss probably wouldn't mind too much.
But how would he get the stitches? He needed them fast, and he didn't know a doctor. He couldn't go to the hospital; they'd patch him up then send him straight to a jail cell.
He just needed someone handy with a needle-
He knew the perfect girl for the job.
...
He was about ready to collapse in exhaustion when he arrived at the familiar balcony. This trip was the hardest he had ever made, and he hoped he would never have to do something like that again. His head was swirling when he raised his knuckles to knock on the trapdoor.
He waited for a few seconds but she didn't come. Her light was on, he knew she was awake. Grimacing, he knocked again, louder this time. He closed his eyes and scowled at the pain.
Please come, please come.
At last, Chat heard the heavenly sound of her trapdoor opening, along with Marinette's gasp of shock.
"Chat Noir? What happened?" She asked frantically.
He didn't have the energy to answer her. Instead, he tumbled through the opening, barely avoiding her, and landed on her bed. Lying on his back so he wouldn't get blood on the sheets, he craned his neck back and moaned.
"Chat...what happened to you?" She whispered in concern.
He clenched his teeth at the memory. "Bastard had a knife," he bit out, beyond pissed. "While I was busy with the three assholes the fourth jumped me and one of them slashed at me with the knife."
Her forget-me-not eyes seemed to bulge. "Ar-Are you okay?!"
A wry grin crossed his face at her question. "I will be, if you can do what I hope you can do."
She faltered for a second, frowning and raising an eyebrow. "What can I do?"
"This is a pretty big cut, Princess. It's not something a band-aid will take care of. You're going to have to give me stitches."
She flinched back at his answer and looked at him like he grew a second head. "Are you crazy?! I'm not a doctor!"
"Well it's not like I can go to a real one!" He snapped, anger spiking. He shrunk back when he realized his mistake. "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to yell at you."
She blinked in surprise before forgiving him. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "How am I supposed to help you?"
"Get a needle and thread and sew me back together," he explained bluntly.
The blackette looked she was about to be sick at his choice of words.
"You're a designer, Princess. You know what to do," he soothed, trying to encourage her.
"I sew clothes, not people!" She shrieked.
"Please," he begged, clenching his teeth again. "Please, help me. I'm losing more blood than I would like to at the moment."
She paused. "Alright," she decided, sighing. "Come on."
She gently helped him out of the bed and down the stairs before laying him on the floor. She got him a pillow for his head and grabbed her sewing kit before hurrying to the bathroom, probably to wash the needle she'd use.
When she came back she sat down beside him. He eased his hand away from the wound, not missing the flinch that Marinette gave when she saw it.
Without a word, he grabbed the zipper on his suit and pulled it down, then removed his arms from the sleeves so the top half just lay on the floor.
He saw her eyes zero in on his muscle and her cheeks color.
On any normal night, he would've taken pride in her admiration and teased her relentlessly about it. Unfortunately, it wasn't an ordinary night.
"While normally I'd love for you to admire my body," he drawled, causing Marinette to tear her gaze away and settle on his eyes. "We have a more pressing matter at hand."
She quickly nodded and started to wrap the thread in the needle. When she was done, she lowered it and simply stared at the gash, seeming to ponder of what to do.
"Just like your clothes," he advised, closing his eyes and mentally bracing himself. "Just imagine I'm a shirt or something."
"Won't this hurt you?" Marinette questioned timidly.
Not looking at her, Chat Noir released a bitter laugh. Sometimes she was just too precious. "Princess, no matter what happens I'm going to be hurting. Just get to work."
She nodded, visibly swallowed, then poked his skin with the needle. He bit his lip at the small twinge of pain, bracing himself for more, but found himself holding in a shout as it went through the other side of the piece of skin.
He knew it was going to hurt, but hell, this was horrible.
He bit back a scream when she finished the first stitch. Marinette froze at his agony, but he managed to tell her to get on with it. The sooner this was finished the better.
A nervous whimper tore from her throat as she got back to work. As if getting slashed by a knife and getting pricked by a needle wasn't bad enough, he made a sound like that come out of her. What kind of guy was he, anyway? Making this sweet girl stitch up a messy wound and getting her hands soiled by his blood. This was probably terrified, not to mention completely grossed out.
"Why were you fighting four guys?" She suddenly asked, breaking him out of his miserable thoughts.
He faltered before answering. "Went to rob a jewelry store, four bastards also decided to rob it. They interrupt me, I tell them to leave because I was there first, then they fight me. I can take on four guys at once...without weapons. Two, maybe three, if they have weapons. Anyway, I got stabbed. Normally I'd continue to fight, but that bastard got me good. I knew I wasn't going to win that battle. So I left, and now all that jewelry is going to be in their hands. That's the real tragedy of this story."
The blackette scowled at his answer. He guessed it had to do with his sarcasm at the end.
"Chat, you can't try to take on four guys at once."
Oh. That's what she was mad about? What for?
"I did it before." It wasn't like he was inexperienced. Why was she mad?
"And you said you would normally continue to fight. Have you gotten stabbed before?"
"Yes. But they were only minor cuts. This one is the worst I ever got."
She didn't look at him as she worked. "You need to be more careful," she scolded.
"I know." A corner of his mouth quirked up in amusement. "If I died then you wouldn't have a knight to protect you, Princess."
She scowled. "I mean it, Chat Noir. Not for me, but for yourself. You need to stay safe for yourself."
"Can't do that," he replied automatically. She was what mattered most, he valued her more than his own life.
Marinette stopped to glare at him. "Yes, you can. I don't matter. I want you to stay safe for yourself."
His eyes narrowed. How can she think she doesn't matter? Was Chloe getting to her? "Don't ever say that. You do matter. Stop arguing with me on this, you're not going to win."
"Chat-"
"I'm still bleeding, in case you haven't noticed," he interrupted dryly. He wasn't going to let her try to contridict him.
He heard a few unintelligle grumbles escape her mouth as she got back to work. He smirked at the noises, but it vanished when he felt the needle pierce him again. At last he resolved to try to relax and just bear it, it'd be over soon.
The blond studied his impromtu-doctor as she worked. He loved the way her tongue poked out of her mouth in concentration, how her eyes were narrowed and trained on the task at hand.
Finally, it was done. Marinette stood.
"I'll clean it up," she said.
"No need," he answered. He bit his lip at the lingering pain and stood with her, although the movement was a lot more shakier than hers had been. "I can clean it at home. Thank you, though."
Her eyes flickered down to her hands and she grimaced at the sight of his dried blood on them. Chat looked at his stitched-up wound, he couldn't help but grin at the superb job she did. He zipped up his suit and took a step towards her.
"Thank you, Princess." He took both of her hands in his own and kissed them, bloodstained and all. "I am forever in your debt."
She closed her eyes and sighed through her nose. "Please. Please be more careful."
He frowned at the pleading tone and used a finger to tilt her head up. A pang of hurt hit his heart when she opened her eyes and he saw they were moist with unshed tears.
"I'll be more careful," he stated. Hoping to lighten the mood, he grinned and added a pun. "Purromise."
"I'm serious, Chat. I don't want you getting stabbed again."
"You'll never have to stich me up again," he promised. He could find someone to do it, it shouldn't be too hard. He wouldn't make her go through this again.
"That's not it!" She snapped, sapphire eyes blazing with anger and another emotion he couldn't put a finger on. Her sudden change in attitude made him blink in astonishment.
"It's not about me stitching you up, it's about you getting hurt. I don't want you to get hurt again!"
His eyes slowly enlarged. His mouth parted slightly in wonder.
She was mad...because she cared about him? Judging by her reaction, it seemed she cared about him deeply.
A smile slowly spread across his face, he was fully touched at her care for him. This sweet, beautiful girl cared about him and didn't want him to get hurt. Well, he'd surely have to be more careful now, in this case.
"I will be more careful," he vowed. He bent his head to press his lips to her knuckles, sealing the oath. "Promise." He kissed her hands again, trying to prove to her that he meant it.
Chat gently let go of her hands and carefully walked the staircase leading to her bed. Before hauling himself out of her room, he bit his lip to prepare for the strain. As he leapt, he made a small groan, but no other noise to showcase his pain.
"Good night, Princess," he bid before vanishing. He wanted nothing more than to relax in his bed, but for now, he had to go order a new suit.
A/N: I went to the Toys R Us by my campus and they had some Miraculous toys. I got the Chat Noir doll (the big one, not the little figurine) and omg, people, he is RIPPED x'D He has a freaking six pack, does that mean he has a six pack in the show? xD And he has buns of steel. Seriously, his ass is rock hard lmao. Besides that, it's an awesome doll, it even has a real bell on it! :D
Kinda low-key want to see a pic of Chat kissing Marinette's bloodstained hands. Idk what's wrong with me xD