Please note;

This chapter contains fruits of a citrus nature (lemons). Reader's discretion is advised.

Clarion

Chapter 6 - Awkward

That evening, Chat Noir patrols the City of Paris, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, vaulting effortlessly with his baton. As he passes Alya's home, Chat stops himself as he notices the bedroom light flickering oddly.

"Well they say curiosity kills the cat... but satisfaction brings it back!" Chat chuckles to himself smugly. Hopping over to the window, Chat hangs upside down from the roof gutter and peers in. The light wasn't flickering at all. It was Nino casting a shadow. Then it was Alya's turn. Chat couldn't believe what he was witnessing, nor could bring himself to look away. Nino was dressed in his detective outfit, moustache and all. Even his bubble blower pipe is left cast on the bedside table, before a stray arm knocks it off the surface. Alya was not wearing as much, and even less as the moments passed. Chat's face turned bright red as he listened in on their activity.

"I know you're hiding something!" Nino says playfully. "Take those off and let me continue my investigation!"

"Oh of course Detective Lahiffe". Alya slips off the rest of her garments. "But I don't know anything!" she whimpers, deep in character.

"I expect my moustache will help me get to the bottom of this!" Nino strokes his fake facial hair. "Perhaps I should start at your feet…"

As Nino's mouth moves further up Alya's leg, Chat becomes immediately aware of his own presence at the window.

"I really don't want to be a peeping Tom cat", he says to himself. Alya's moustache ride takes an intense turn, and Chat finds himself unable to look away. Nino places his hands firmly on Alya's hips, moving one to her back to lay her gently on the bed. Alya complies, moving her legs from the bed to Nino's shoulders. As he watched, Chat found his baton wasn't the only thing that could extend…

Feeling awkward, Chat springs away on his extended baton towards the school (no not that one, the other one). Gliding through the air, Chat spots the lights are on at the Dupain-Cheng residence. Doubtful that he should be there, Chat stops himself across the street and ponders.

His emotions are raw from the previous encounter with Marinette, but he knows deep down their relationship could not continue. He is a superhero, she is a civilian. If they were together, she could end up in danger because of his actions. He couldn't risk it. Even if it broke her heart to do it, they could not be together.

Completely lost in thought, Chat fails to notice Marinette making her way onto her rooftop balcony. With her arms resting over the railings, Marinette takes in the fresh night air, a gentle smile resting on her face. Looking over the twinkly lights of the city, she spots a silhouette across the way. Squinting, she recognises Chat and gives him a shy wave of her hand. Chat sees the gesture, takes a deep breath and vaults over, landing gracefully and with a charming smile.

"Princess..." Chat tries to make his greeting sound genuine, but his efforts don't fool Marinette.

"Are you ok?" Marinette sounds concerned.

"I… um. Sorry for dropping in so late. I hope I'm not disturbing you. Did you want to be alone tonight? It's ok if..."

"No Chat, I'm fine." Marinette interjects. As she leans on the balcony, trying to look relaxed, she loses her grip slightly and almost falling to her knees. Chat Noir catches her, before her clumsy acrobatics could get worse.

As he looks into her eyes, Chat's mind becomes filled with conflict again. He tilts his head and closes his eyes.

"Marinette. I'm sorry. We can't see each other like this. It's too dangerous for us to be together. If Hawkmoth knew, he'd attack you to get to me. It isn't safe until he's been defeated."

"I.. er." Marinette stutters. "I understand. I don't know how this started between us, but you're right, we can't keep doing this."

Marinette loses herself in thought for a moment. In her mind, it was Adrien who got her into this mess. It wasn't fair to Chat if she kept fooling herself. She was still in love with Adrien, and Chat was a shoulder to cry on, that turned into something far too intimate.

Marinette starts to cry a little. Instinctively, Chat cradles her in his arms. Both were conflicted, but the hurt was real. Chat gently picks up Marinette and carries her over to the skylight. Opening the window, Chat carefully lowers Marinette onto her bed. Marinette quietly sobs as Chat places her head on the pillow. She wipes her eyes and looks at him. He looks back with soft eyes and a comforting smile.

"I'm sorry." Chat resigns.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have done this to begin with. Now I've ruined everything." Marinette wipes another tear from her eye.

"No, no!" Chat rebuts. "It's my fault too! I shouldn't have teased you about Adrien. I should have just listened to you. Instead, I did this…"

Marinette watches Chat intently as he lowers his gaze.

"I could have just asked Adrien what he had planned this weekend. I was angry at him, but I don't know why. He did nothing wrong." Marinette listens to her own words and begins to understand what she has done. After all, Adrien had asked Marinette to join him with Kagami. Nothing more. Her mind was filled with fantasies, but never questioned what the reality was. As she looks at her feet, Chat kneels down next to her on the bed.

"I'm sure he meant well." Chat says softly. He ponders the chain of events in his mind. He wanted a friendly social gathering of all his classmates. How did Marinette take it as something more? Did he do something wrong? Did he mislead her? What upset her about it enough that she felt the need to break into Adrien's bedroom? Of course, when Marinette told Chat Noir that fateful night, he merely played along to see what was making her so upset. Instead of finding out the truth, he put on a little too much charm it seems. Chat begins to piece together the events of the night...