Please note;

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

Clarion

Chapter 8 - Dissonance

On Marinette's bed, Chat and Marinette spend the rest of the evening pondering their experience of that night. In between brief discussions, it was clear that Chat was troubled by the event. After Chat shared his version of events, his face sinks low and looks down at his lap. Marinette doesn't notice. As Chat comes around, he realises the guilt is going to continue playing on his mind. Had he taken advantage of Marinette in a vulnerable state? He looked over at her, she had shifted slightly and now was unconsciously clinging to the nearest pillow.

"I shouldn't have done it. I'm so sorry."

Marinette looks at him, with some confusion.

"What? No! I... It's no-one's fault" she starts. "But..."

She sits up and looks straight into Chat's emerald eyes.

"But I think we both know... we can't do that again." Marinette takes a deep breath before forcing a subtle smile.

Chat feels a weight lift from his chest. "Okay."

Their gazes drift away from each other awkwardly. Chat rubs the back of his neck while Marinette plays a little with one of her pigtails. Chat moves to the end of Marinette's bed and kneels down, ready to leap.

"So long Princess..."

"WAIT!" Marinette grabs his belt before he can spring out of the room.

"What is... ow?!" Chat stumbles off the bed, crashing to the floor.

Marinette looks down at the stricken feline.

"Sorry," she stutters. "I... I just can't. I'm sorry."

Her face is bright red. The memories from that night and the thought of that feeling being lost forever was too much for her. She needed resolution.

Chat gets to his feet. "You know, there are easier ways to get my attention!" he hisses.

"Sorry Chat, I don't know what came over me."

The writing is all over her face. He sees her rosy red cheeks in the dim light.

"You know Princess, I can see in the dark..."

Marinette's face goes redder still. "I... can't. But I want it."

Chat thinks for a second. This is a bad idea, but he can feel it too. Another second passes, and now his desire starts to overpower him. He springs up from the floor onto the end of her bed. Landing in a crouched stance, Marinette falls backwards from the edge. Chat starts prowling towards her. She backs away slowly as she is hunted like a mouse. With nowhere to go, Chat begins to crawl over her, preventing any escape. Before she can speak, he thrusts his fangs into her neck. She gasps in shock as a cold rush floods through her. She instinctively clenches her fists, then her arms go limp across the bed. She was his prey now, and she liked it.

As the chill rushes down her spine, she closes her eyes, her hands reaching for his back. She needs to claw on him, to feel closer. She needs to show him how intense this is. He gets the message, as he moves down her body, lifting her pyjama top and kissing her exposed chest. Marinette lets out a little moan as he nibbles playfully on her. She runs her fingers through his hair and pushes his head down toward her waist. She can't wait any longer. Chat complies and stealthily removes her bottoms, keeping his head pressed to her at all times. Marinette lifts one leg, then the other onto his shoulders. Chat imagined what he had witnessed earlier, in Alya's room, and now that perversion was coming to life! The rush sent shocks all over him and his muscles tensed up. Looking up at Marinette's blushing face, he wasted no time continuing his work. Chat starts off giving a few delicate licks, swirling his tongue over her most intimate area. Marinette's head arches back and another moan ejects from her, this time a little louder. She covers her head with her pillow for a short time before looking down at her predator. His emerald green eyes meet hers as he continues with his meal. Another strong feeling floods through her as it surges through her body. Another whimper escapes as he uses his fingers to gently explore her thighs. As his hand gets closer to the top of her leg, he uses the back of his claws to stroke her leg downwards. The shivers Marinette feels are unlike anything she has experienced in her life. She gasps heavily and her legs flail uncontrollably. Chat takes over, pushing his shoulders forward and forcing her legs upward, leaving her exposed. With a view of his target, he places two fingers tightly together where his tongue once was, letting them slide into her. She bites her lip instinctively, as he slowly moves his fingers in and out, slowly getting faster as he finds his rhythm. Before he can push deeper, Marinette finds her body is at its limit. She grabs her pillow again, pressing it hard against her mouth and letting out the most exacerbated scream her voice allows. She moves uncontrollably as her orgasm takes hold, bucking against the bedsprings uncontrollably. Chat keeps his face close to her as she squeezes her thighs hard, crushing his head against her. As the feeling settles, she goes limp all over as a sudden tiredness courses through her. Chat looks down at her, purring as he removes his now crushed digits.

"Feeling better?" he asks, giving her inner thigh a tender kiss.

Marinette tries to answer but all she manages is a string of incoherent words.

Chat's faux ears droop, feeling conflicted with the current situation. He was so proud of what he had done, yet a feeling of regret started to settle in. He felt he needed his turn, but it was over. Marinette lay helpless on the bed, exhausted. Even if he wanted it, she couldn't return the favour. Without saying a word, Chat Noir jumps upward out of the skylight and out into the night sky. Marinette comes around as she watches him disappear into the night.

Tikki appears from Marinette's purse. "Are you sure that was the right thing to do?" she asks.

"No!" Marinette suddenly realises what just happened. She bolts upright quickly, seeing Chat's silhouette disappear from view.

Marinette falls back down to the bed, with her head crashing into the pillow. A tear emerges from her eye, then another, as the realisation hits her. Tikki flys over to Marinette, looks at her troubled master and shakes her head.

"You told him you couldn't do that again. Why did you change your mind?"

"I... I..." Marinette couldn't find the words. She didn't know why she did it, she just did.

"It's OK Marinette," Tikki starts, "You're both young, and you know, sometimes you don't know what you want. That's OK. So long as it's what you both want."

"I didn't want to..." Marinette answers. "But I had to. Ever since that night, something inside me changed. All I could think about was Adrien. But Chat has something. I don't find him attractive, but he is there when I want it. When I need it"

Tikki frowns. "I don't understand human emotions too well Marinette, but if Chat helps you with your feelings for Adrien, I won't think any less of you." Marinette smiles a little.

"But, you need to express your feelings to Adrien." Marinette's smile disappears as Tikki drops the bombshell. Tikki was right, Marinette thought. It was hard to hear, but she couldn't take out her frustrations on Chat. He helped her, but he couldn't be a crutch forever. That and such a wonderful night was once again ruined by her desires. It had to stop.

The next morning, Marinette finds herself waking up on time for once. The weight of the previous night's emotion seemingly washed away and for the first time in weeks, she feels good. As she leaps from her bed to her nightstand, pictures of Adrien catch her attention. Instead of feeling angry, she smiles. After washing, dressing and gathering her things, she runs straight to school with a renewed sense of purpose. Alya is waiting at the school entrance with Nino. Immediately she can tell that Marinette is in a good mood.

"Hey girl, you look like something good happened to you last night." Alya teases.

"I could say the same for you," Nino whispers to Alya, giving her a knowing nudge. Nino walks into the school as Marinette walks up the stairs to the main hallway, with Alya walking closely.

"I think I've got it all figured out," Marinette grins, "but we need to find Adrien to be sure".

"Wait?! Adrien? You're not going to call him names today right?" Alya's expression drops with concern.

"No insults, promise!" Marinette giggles. The duo continue walking toward their classroom. Adrien had arrived early too. His glum face catches Nino's attention as he walks in. Alya and Marinette follow Nino in, and also see Adrien's defeated expression.

"You OK dude?" Nino asks, taking his seat next to him.

"Hey Nino," Adrien responds. "I just had a rough night, and this morning didn't help."

Marinette and Alya share a glance as they sit down at their desks. Both listen in, pretending not to notice Adrien's crisis.

"Hey man, I thought things were working out for you. What happened?" Nino leans toward Adrien, holding out for something big.

"The sleepover isn't happening. My father said this morning. I've already told Kagami and a few of the others. I wanted to tell you in person."

Nino looks surprised, but It vanishes quickly. Alya turns around quickly.

"He said what?! Why?! You've been planning this for weeks! All your hard work!" Alya's expression is stunned. After all, she'd been helping Adrien to plan the whole time. Marinette's eyes shoot wide, pupils contracted.

"Oh dude, that sucks." Nino frowns, then looks irritated. "This sleepover was going to be the bomb. I had my mix tapes ready, my sleeping bag, Super Penguino 3..."

Alya smacks Nino around the back of the head. "NINO!" she shouts. "That's our thing!"

Adrien looks at the couple and a little smile appears on his face. Then a bigger one. Then a laugh.

Marinette hadn't moved. Thoughts are screaming through her head. A sleepover?! With half the class?! Then the realisation hits her. She had been intimate with Chat Noir, thinking Adrien wanted to be intimate with her and Kagami at the same time. Marinette's face suddenly loses its colour.

"What have I done?!" Marinette blurts out. Alya stops slapping Nino for a moment to look toward her. Adrien and Nino look at her too. Marinette snaps out of her trance to notice that the whole class is now looking at her. Her face turning red again, she looks at Adrien.

"I'm sorry! I should have been there to support you! We need to go speak to your father right away! No time to lose! Let's go, right now!" Marinette darts out of the classroom before anyone moves.

Marinette stops in the corridor, breathing heavily. She of course didn't mean that she was going to the Agreste mansion. She had made a scene to deflect from her thoughts about Chat Noir. What has SHE done? Meanwhile, Adrien stares at the doorway Marinette had disappeared through. What has HE done? The pair both ponder their feelings for each other. Marinette feels she had let Chat take over in her moment of weakness, twice. Adrien feels like he has taken advantage of Marinette in her compromised state, twice. Marinette feels she had led on Chat Noir and toyed with his heart, Adrien feels guilty for leaving Marinette alone so abruptly the night previously. The only thing they share is their regret. They both wanted it. They both didn't want it. All that matters now was they both share that experience.

Marinette calms down and walks back into class. Adrien's eyes follow her every move.

"Marinette." Adrien says. "It's OK. We'll just try again another time."

Marinette glances back at him. "Another time?"

"Sure! My father can be difficult, but we can persuade him together."

Marinette smiles. Together. That sounds nice.

~Fin~