This one takes place after Bleached White parts 1, 2, and 3, and after Cornered, Take My Hand, and Bully me with Kindness. But it takes place before Velvet Soft, Kitty Cuddles, and Kitty Kisses.
"Avalanchemon!" was the last thing Ladybug heard before she—and subsequently half of Paris—was buried under a mountain of snow.
She expected the cascade of snow to hit harder, to feel more crushing, feel colder, and even braced herself for it. But... something hard and warm had barreled into her chest at the last second, painfully knocking the wind from her lungs and sending them tumbling through the door of a nearby house. A wall of snow followed them inside, spilling harmlessly over their legs, but woefully sealing their exit.
"I take it that akuma was a digimon fan..." grumbled a very familiar voice. "I bet the new reboot really pissed him off."
Ladybug coughed out a mouthful of snow, and managed to chortle, "He's certainly raising hail."
Her partner's sweet timbre returned a chuckle next to her ear and added, "You'd think all this snow would help him chill out." It was enough to send shivers down her spine that had nothing to do with blanket of snow covering them both.
For a moment it felt like home, like old times and security. It wasn't until she opened her eyes to blink up at him that the sleek black leather and warm chartreuse of her memory melted and she was left staring up at pale ivory and sinister magenta.
An awkward silence settled between them, like someone driving a wedge between hearts that had, for the briefest moment, locked fingers. His pupils narrowed into nothing more than slits, as realization seemed to dawn on him. That once soft expression hardening until it was just as cold as the snow around them.
Chat pushed himself off of her, dislodging some of the ice, and shook himself free from the rest of it. Her breath held when he crawled away from her, slinking low. The temptation to laugh scraped the back of her throat because those Floofy ears of his were stained pink on the tips, and his usually luxurious tail fur was caked with clumps of snow.
"We can't get out," he stated flatly.
"What?" Ladybug kicked free of the snow mound and turned towards him, brushing it off her suit.
Chat shoved at a window, but it wouldn't budge against the wall of white outside. She watched him stalk across the room to the other side, and attempt the other windows, all yielding the same results.
"We should try a higher floor," she suggested, "maybe something up there will open?"
Chat Blanc started for the stairwell before she even finished the sentence, all too eager to find some sort of escape. No doubt, dreading the thought of being confined so near the spotted heroine; the only person capable of taking away his akumas. Ladybug followed after him, her heart holding out hope that they weren't trapped inside this building while a snow akuma plunged France into an early ice age.
"No!" Chat bellowed, his voice echoing down the stairwell. "No no no no!"
Ladybug arrived on the top floor only to witness Blanc acting like a caged animal; he scratched against blocked windows, pushing at panes that hardly budged. His claws gouged paint chips from the frames and splintered wood. In one room he ripped the widow from its frame, and began digging wildly into the snow. His hands shoveling desperately at the wall of packed ice until his breaths came out as ragged wheezing.
And still he never reached the top.
About five feet up his tunnel of desperation, the snow collapsed.
If she had not been there to dig him out he might've been stuck, might've frozen to death. That close shave seemed to finally bring the realization of their predicament down upon Chat Blanc.
They were trapped in here, together.
Him and Ladybug, snowed in together, until one of the other heroes defeated the akuma and dug them out. It was Blanc's worst nightmare made a reality, while on the other hand it was Noir's dream come true.
Chat felt all sorts of conflicted.
Ladybug on the other hand was weighing her options. There were at least five other heroes, and Carapace was more than capable of bestowing a new miraculous if the situation called for it, being the new Guardian of the Miracle box. Statistically someone had to be able to fight this akuma.
She gave her lucky charm a shot, but only managed to conjure up a blanket. It seemed to be a sign that even their miraculous thought they should just wait this one out.
"This is your fault," Chat snarled, curling his lip at her.
"Excuse me!?" Ladybug retaliated, planting a hand on her hip. "I didn't cause that akuma!"
"You almost got yourself trapped under that avalanche. If I didn't have to save you we wouldn't even be stuck in here now!"
"You never had to save me! That was a decision you made all your own, Chat."
He opened his mouth to object, but shut it again, pressing his lips in a tight line.
To her absolute surprise, Chat Blanc offered her privacy while she slipped away to the seclusion of a closet to feed her Kwami and recharge her powers. He muttered something about having no interest in her miraculous, and that he wasn't like other akumas. Despite his earlier unfounded accusations Marinette couldn't help but feel a sting of fondness for his more gentlemanly side.
It was Noir. Chat Noir would never take her miraculous. Just like it was probably Noir that tackled her, to protect her from the avalanche. Before he'd turned white she'd trusted him implicitly. It seemed that trust was not misplaced, because even as an akuma he was trying to protect her.
"What did you see when you conjured the Lucky Charm?" asked Tikki between nibbles of a macaron.
"The uhhh... the magic highlighted... Chat." Marientte played with one of her pigtails, and tried to will the blush out of her cheeks.
"Nothing else?" the kwami pressed, "What part of Chat was highlighted?"
"All p-parts of Chat," she stuttered out, "and nothing else... just Chat. I didn't tell him that though," she quickly amended. "He thinks the Lucky Charm didn't work."
"Seems to me the Lucky Charm wants you to stay warm... together?" Tikki winked and took another mouthful of cookie.
"Oh god... I can't be trapped in here with him!" Marinette hissed in protest. "He kissed me last week!"
"Well technically he kissed Marinette, and you're trapped with him as Ladybug. Besides he's been trying to pretend like it never happened anyway. Or at the very least that it didn't mean anything. As long as you suit up before he smells you, there shouldn't be a problem."
Tikki had a point. Luckily the Miraculous's magic rendered Ladybug's scent unrecognizable. Unique only to the hero when transformed, and masking all her civilian smells.
"And didn't you say you liked that kiss?" added the Kwami with a sly smile. "Seems to me like this would be the perfect opportunity for it to happen again. Chat stills likes Ladybug after all~"
"Tikki no! Spots on!"
Ladybug found Chat Blanc sulking near his collapsed tunnel, flexing his claws like he was contemplating a cataclysm.
"Don't you dare, you could bring this whole house down on us, or worse."
Chat flicked an ear in her direction and snorted. But he retracted his hand anyway, folding it over his knees. The clumps of snow on his tail had melted off now, and when he whipped said tail indignantly it made a soggy slapping noise against the wood floor.
Ladybug found herself getting lost in thought, watching the way his suit molded over his shoulders like a second skin. She noted the contours of his shoulder blades, and the muscles in the back of his neck, the way they subtly flexed every time he shifted, made even more apparent by the sheen of water coating the suit material.
"I've sent a message to all the other heroes, letting them know of our predicament," she informed him, peeling her eyes from his back and attempting to find some other place to stick her gaze. "So long as I can keep my transformation up, they'll be able to track our location."
He flicked his tail again as some sort of acknowledgement, and it made the sad wet-mop noise once more.
"Did you want to help me find some towels so we can dry off?" The suggestion was more for his benefit than hers, as her detransformation and retransformation had resulted in a new dry Ladybug suit.
"No."
Despite the sketchy electricity that continued to hold for now, the temperature in the building continued to plunge. Chat was sopping wet, and if she watched close enough she could see him shiver. In spite of his declination, she had a feeling he was going to want those towels sooner or later.
He's being stubborn because he doesn't want to be trapped with Ladybug. The one person who could potentially steal all his akumas away and purify him.
"Fine, I'll get them myself."
He didn't so much as react when she stalked away.
She wasn't sure whose house this was, but it was fortunate that no one was home. Her Miraculous cure would put things back to normal before anyone realized Ladybug and Chat Blanc had raided their home.
And curled up in their bed.
That was another conundrum. There were two bedrooms in this house, but only one had a bed. She supposed someone could take the couch—should it come to that—but that would be in the same room that the avalanche had chased them in. And the floor in there was looking to be a bit flooded at the moment.
The other bedroom had been an office of sorts, and Chat had collapsed his tunnel in there.
Really the only rooms that weren't a mess were the kitchen, laundry room, and main bedroom.
She briefly contemplated making Chat sleep on the dryer like the cat he was.
Ladybug made quick work changing the sheets on the bed with fresh linens, collecting clean comforters, and raiding the towels. She was on her way back with a stack of towels when she peeked in on Chat.
The office-like room was vacant, he wasn't where she'd left him. But rather she found him curled up on the bed in the bedroom. Drooping ears, curled back in contempt, with eyes closed, and soggy tail wrapped around his soggy leather clad body.
"Get off that bed!"
"No." Chat nestled deeper into the nest of blankets he had made.
"You're getting the bed all wet!"
"Guess it's all mine then." Like a spiteful man child, Chat Blanc proceeded to rub his hair all over the blankets.
*Crack*
Ladybug stalked to the end of the bed, and snapped the towel tight between her fists. It was enough to make the akuma still, eyes narrowing. She noted the way his tail arced just slightly and the fur bristled.
"If you don't get out of that bed and dry off, I will do it for you."
"Such big talk from the weaker Miraculous holder," he sneered up at her. "But, you're welcome to try, Bug." The inflection he put in that nickname dripped with challenge.
Don't play this game with me, Blanc.
Ladybug lunged for him, but Chat was prepared and met her in a grapple, sending the two tumbling back, rolling around atop the blankets. He made a snatch for the towel, and she twisted it from his reach, taking swipes to mop the moisture from his suit and hair.
Amidst the power struggle, she purposefully knocked her yo-yo loose, and let it fall from her hip to the mattress, the twine anchored to her left hand. Chat didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he wasn't concerned with her yo-yo. This gave her the chance to kick it beneath him, before using her other foot to kick it once more, looping it around one of his legs.
For next five minutes they continued to wrestle, and it was clear Chat had the advantage. His superior strength never giving her an inch, all the while she began to fatigue, her own muscles trembling to match him and keep from getting pinned, or thrown off. It was her own flexibility that saved her, managing to slip his holds and wiggle out of his grasp, keeping her yo-yo moving with precise kicks, taps, and flicks. Even taking note that he was being incredibly careful with his claws.
She wasn't oblivious. All it would have taken were those cruel fish hooks to dig in, and he would have had her. His hellish claws able to pierce her suit, and cause all kinds of damage to her otherwise impenetrable Ladybug exoskeleton. And yet, through their entire brawl, he kept those claws retracted, relying solely on his own strength and agility to keep her at bay.
This was play. Despite his insistence that Ladybug was his enemy and his continued frosty attitude towards her, right here and now, she recognized that he was having fun. Their entire physical engagement nothing more than a game to him.
And something about that realization sparked hope, and the cozy embers of warmth in her chest. Every restrained swipe and every half hearted hold, only stoking her endearment, and although she fought with everything she had, exhausting herself to keep up with him, it felt more cathartic than perilous.
One of her trembling arms gave out, and Ladybug collapsed to her side, losing a grapple with the white cat.
Chat twisted and pounced, pushing her into the bed, face first, finally managing to pin her to the mattress. Futilely Ladybug slammed her foot into the mattress, seemingly one last attempt squirm free, but Chat kept firm his hold, failing to notice that the impact of her foot bounced her yo-yo one last time, where it landed just inches from her hand.
His palm applied pressure on her shoulder, making her bones creak, and he leaned down to growl next to her ear.
"I win."
Yeah, you go ahead and relish that victory, Kitty.
She responded by tugging on her yo-yo sharply, causing the weapon to retract its twine. The string suddenly drawing tight, as all the looping and weaving she'd done during their scuffle came to a head.
"Whaaaaaaahhh!" Chat made an inhuman screech as twine tightened around him and he came down, crashing into her back, writhing like an animal. The struggling causing her yo-yo to pull tighter.
She released a breathe of triumph and rolled over to face her prey.
"I win," she jeered back, a devilish smirk etching her face. Snatching up the towel, Ladybug shoved it into his stricken face, mopping his wet hair while she relished his immobile state.
Chat had no words, just made angry huffing sounds through his nose.
Slowly and methodically, Ladybug ran the towel over him. Though most of the water had been rubbed off onto the bed, she wanted to relish this and take her time drying him off. One floofy ear, then the next. She paused when her hands brushed his earrings. Maybe he noticed her open admiration, the way she ran her thumb over the simple gold hoops.
When she snuck a glance at his face, his gaze was turned pointedly away, frowning so hard his fangs dug into his bottom lip.
This was a familiar scene. Outside the mask, Chat often treated Marinette with this sort of indifference. Never wanting to make eye contact even whilst he pushed his head into her lap, demanding to be petted.
The temptation to stroke his ears was too much, and Ladybug chanced it.
But Chat Blanc must've had a lock down on his vulnerable side, because the only noise she got out of him was an annoyed growl. A stark contrast to the ease of which he would purr under Marinette's fingers.
You would have enjoyed this if I wasn't in the mask.
She cast a look at the trussed up and quite helpless cat, and proceeded to run the towel over him. Starting with his shoulders and working her way down his chest, then over his stomach, stopping just above his belts.
Chat made another huff, testing the binding, before letting his muscles go lax again.
"Roll, over so I can get your back and tail."
A feral hiss spilled from his throat, and Chat barred his fangs at her.
"Don't be a pill. I wouldn't have had to tie you up, had you simply let me dry you off to begin with."
Too petulant to use his words, he opted to snap at her when she attempted to touch him again. Teeth narrowing missing her wrist. Rather than be intimidated, she sharply yanked on his shoulder, forcing him onto his belly.
And that's when she discovered the source of his foul temper.
"Oh, shit."
Somehow, amid all their wrestling and her careful weaving of the yo-yo twine, she'd managed to catch his tail in it all. But Instead of pinned securely against his leg, it was caught between several loops, and kinked at an odd angle; no doubt incredibly painful for him.
"I am so sorry."
Ladybug reached to free his abused tail, but the moment she touched the fur he loosed a viscous snarl and fought the bindings. I was enough to make her withdrawal.
"Do you want me to help you or not?" she snapped, pressing her hands against her thighs and leveling him with a hard look.
"You did this to me," he spat, still barring teeth.
"You didn't leave me with much choice," she countered, and the lights in the apartment flickered as if responding to her ire. "And I seem to recall you welcoming me to try. That's a challenge if I ever heard one."
Chat looked like he was about to respond when the lights flickered again, then went out completely, plunging the room into darkness.
Oh sweet mother of mercy... Not only was she trapped with Chat, but now she couldn't see anything.
Not that Chat will be overly affected by it, she lamented to herself. Kitty night vision and all that noise.
The excessive snow had finally managed to knock out the power in their building, and no doubt the rest of the surrounding neighborhood. Which meant no heat, and no lights. And the absence of the latter was going to make untying Chat a real chore.
"So about that tail..." Ladybug reached a hand out to his side, and placed it on his ribs.
"You know," he rasped, sounding much less combative than before, "staying tied up until the turtle and foxy dig us out doesn't sound so bad."
"—I think I can get it free." Feeling confident she knew where to touch, she moved her hands farther down, reaching out for where she thought the start of his tail might be.
"I'd rather you noAaaaa—," Chat broke off in a strangled noise.
"That's—" Ladybug stilled her hand, and had to will herself not to squeeze. "Oh. That's uh, nice—I mean—did I hurt you?"
"This is harassment."
She bit down on her lip to keep from snickering. Reminding herself to focus, she slid her hand over the one cheek until she found the top of his tail. "You can sue me later," she replied, surprised at the amount of control she had over her voice.
"I will," he groused, "I can file sexual assault. You'll be receiving a strongly worded letter from my—aiiiiittt!" Chat suddenly bucked beneath her hands, and she felt all his muscles go tight, even the ones in his glutes. "You do NOT need to put your fingers there!"
"Would you calm down?" she rebuked. "I'm not trying to finger you, I needed to get my hand under your tail."
"You need to get your hands OFF my tail."
Ladybug heaved a sigh through her nose and ignored him, following the direction of the fur until she came across the first loop of twine. Taking a moment to feel it out, she attempted to pull his tail through it.
"Stop! P-please stop!"
Immediately her hands stilled.
"Did I hurt you?"
Chat let out a shuddering breath, "...yes."
She sucked in her own breath, and tried to calm her nerves. "Ok. Let me find my yo-yo. It'll probably be safer if I untangle all of you, than trying to manipulate your tail from the twine.
There was a moment of two of silence as she patted around the mattress for the mechanism of the yo-yo, her hands bumping into him on occasion.
When Chat Blanc finally did speak again it was to ask, "I take it this means you're going to be feeling up the rest of me."
Her hands located the yo-yo next to his chest, and followed the twine along his defined shoulder blades before it disappeared below his rib cage.
"Why, Chat," she teased, "before you were akumatized you would have loved that."
His response was a snort that she could have sworn sounded amused, before arching his body so she could reach below his chest. "Just, tell me how I need to move, my La—uh... Bug."