Happy New Year readers!
This is the 4th thing I've posted this month and it feels sooooooo good!
Five days of recovering, observation, and visits from friends later, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was finally clear to go home. She was also allowed to return to school as long as she took it easy, didn't do anything too strenuous, and to come back if she experienced anymore pain in her head or fainting spells.
She promised she'd try, but knew she wouldn't be able to avoid all strenuous activities. But it wasn't like she could tell the doctor she had to fight akumas when needed.
Her friends had been bringing her all the school work and homework she had been missing so she wouldn't fall behind. The only thing they couldn't bring her was a quiz she had missed the other day. But she will make that up tomorrow—her first day back—after school.
It wasn't until she arrived home that Marinette realized how much she had missed her bed.
With some level of difficulty, her parents managed to get that huge pink bouquet up through her trapdoor and into her room. The other two bouquets from her friends she found spots for easily throughout her room, but the big pink one—the only spot that worked was on top of her truck in the corner.
When Adrien came to visit her, she let him know she was beyond touched he got her such a lovely bouquet. As happy as she was to receive such a gift from her crush, she couldn't help noticing how sad he looked when around her. He smiled when he saw her but it was easy to see in his eyes that he was upset at the very least.
She hated seeing Adrien sad, but he had insisted that he was fine and just glad that she was okay. This warmed her heart, but she still couldn't help being skeptical. Then again, most of her other friends who visited her with him were all giving her sad smiles; sad that she had been hurt but happy that she was going to be fine.
Maybe Adrien was just upset one of his friends was in the hospital and he was worried about her. He'd probably be acting like this if it was anyone else in their class. He would have gotten them an enormous bouquet of their favorite colored flowers too.
Although this thought didn't make her feel like she was special to Adrien specifically, it still reminded her how kind Adrien was and how much he cares for his friends when they are in need.
He is a wonderful person for caring and she loves him for it even more. She just wished he hadn't seemed so sad when she saw him.
She just hoped he would be in a brighter mood when she saw him at school tomorrow.
After a nice homecooked dinner with her parents, Marinette was in her room studying for that quiz she had to make up the next day. She wanted to be extra prepared after missing so many days. But soon, she would have to transform to go meet with Chat Noir.
It wasn't all that late but Marinette felt in need of a break. Even more then her room, she had missed her balcony. The bluenette got up from her desk chair, climbed up to her loft bed, then up through her skylight to get some fresh air.
The view was the same but it never got old to her. She loved this spot. She loved this city. And she loved the way it lit up at night. The cool night air was wonderous to breath in. She didn't get to go out much while in the hospital. Her mom had brought her her sketchbook while she was there, but she didn't feel very inspired to draw much. And that made he feel pretty lousy. Not to mention bored.
But finally getting to go out again, be in her room, stand on her balcony and see the Seine and Notre Dame like always, she starting to feel like herself again. Ready to put this little incident behind her.
After a few minutes of just appreciating the familiar sight, Marinette noticed her plants looked a little wilted. Her parents must not have watered them while she was gone. Oh well, they weren't dead, and she could get them perky again no problem. Marinette grabbed her watering can and went back down through her hatch door. In her room, she took the can to her sink and filled it up. Then, carefully, she carried it back up to her balcony.
Marinette was proud that she had carried her full watering can up to her balcony without spilling even a drop, however, when she reached her destination, something that wasn't there before was there waiting for her.
"Ah!" Marinette shrieked when she saw the tall, dark figure hanging onto her front railing on the opposite side. The bluenette was so startled, she tripped and half the water in her watering can splashed out and landed on her mysterious visitor.
"Marinette! It's me!" a familiar voice said to her.
When the frightened bluenette finally got her footing back and raised her head, she saw a very apologetic looking Chat Noir hanging off her railing.
"Chat Noir?" What was he doing here at this hour?
"Yes. I am so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just saw you standing here a minute ago and was gonna come over but then you left so I just thought I'd wait for you here but I guess-" he explained hurriedly.
"No, no, it's fine," she tried telling him. As she looked at him, she noticed he was holding one of his hands behind his back while the other was holding onto her railing. "Oh, you're all wet," she said, also noticing where the water she spilt had ended up.
"I'm fine, it's just a little water," he waved off, giving his head a quick shake-dry.
"But don't cats hate water?"
"Maybe," he shrugged, trying to smile but his smile fell away. "But, even so, I totally deserved it," he uttered, his eyes looking off to the side in shame.
"What do you mean?" Marinette asked, putting her watering can down.
She saw Chat swallow thickly before swinging his legs over her railing so he was standing right in front of her. "Marinette…I-I don't know if someone told you or if you figured it out but-" he said nervously, not totally looking her in the eyes. Maybe she didn't know. If she had, she should have been horrified and/or furious to see him on her balcony. Still, he thought it was the right thing to do; coming clean, admitting his mistake to her himself and apologizing. Chat took a deep breath and finally looked at her face—while trying really hard not to look at the bandage on her forehead. "It was me! I destroyed the archway of your school and a piece hit you in the head. I gave you a skull fracture! It was all my fault and I'm sorry! Honestly and unbelievably SORRY!"
The moment he finished his rushed confession, Chat jumped down to one knee, lowered his head, and presented her with what he had been holding behind his back—a bouquet of at least a dozen pink roses.
He stayed in that position, waiting for her to react or say something. If she didn't know before, she definitely knew now, so Chat was expecting her to become mad at him. Perhaps swat the roses from his hands in disgust and scream at him to stay away from her forever.
He was fairly but pleasantly surprised however, when she instead said, "Are…are those roses for me?"
Chat dared look up at her, seeing no trace of anger or disgust. "Uh…of course," he answered. "I heard you liked pink," he held them a bit higher for her, encouraging her to take them.
"I do," she replied happily, finally taking them. Marinette held them to her face and took a deep inhale. "They're beautiful. Thank you."
"But…you're not…mad at me?" Chat asked, a little befuddled, rising back up to his full height. "I caused your accident. I put you in the hospital!"
"You were fighting the akuma. I saw you," she said to him. "I probably shouldn't have been standing there in the first place. I was just…worried about you. Ladybug hadn't shown up yet and it looked like you were in trouble." While in the hospital, Marinette had thought it over and she realized her mistake too. She knew now that what she should have done was run out of the school with her friends, then break away from them by running to the side of the school or down an alley, just somewhere it would be safe for her to transform. Then she could have gone back and actually helped Chat. Instead, she just stayed in the courtyard, looking up at Chat struggling while Alya was trying to tell her to come outside. Which was ironic, considering she was always the one telling her to stay away from battles because she wanted to film them for the Ladyblog. Of course, she couldn't admit to all of that, but she at least knew she shouldn't have stuck around as Marinette. "It was my own fault. I got in the way," she admitted, looking down in shame.
Chat listened, taking in everything she had told him. "What? No, Marinette, you don't understand. I didn't mean to destroy the archway. I meant to use it under Miss Fortune's feet to trap her but-" he cut himself off, not sure he could tell her exactly why. It was too embarrassing. "something happened and I accidently hit the stairs with my destructive power charged hand," he finished, still just as ashamed. "If I hadn't foolishly messed up and done what I had planned to do, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. Even with you standing there."
Marinette listened to him. She wanted to know what the akuma possibly could have done to make Chat misuse his cataclysm—it had happened before—but this seemed different. This time really seemed to bother him. But she didn't think she had the right to pry. Maybe he would tell Ladybug later and she would definitely be asking about how the Miss Fortune battle went because she wasn't there.
"And if I hadn't been under the arch, no matter how your plan turned out, I wouldn't have gotten hurt," she told him. "Chat Noir, you said it yourself. It was an accident. They happen. I understand, you didn't mean to destroy the archway and I should have left the school with my friends. It's kind of both of our faults," she offered him a small smiled.
"But I'm a superhero," Chat insisted, placing a hand to him chest. "I'm supposed to protect civilians and keep them out of harms way, even when they are already there." He heard what she was saying. She was trying to make him feel better by taking some of the blame. And she was right. She shouldn't have been standing there. He told her and the others to evacuate but she didn't. Still, his pride was screaming at him that he was the superhero. He couldn't mess up. And when Ladybug wasn't around, he felt double the pressure to save everyone. Reluctantly, he sighed. "But I understand. I shouldn't let this weigh totally on me," he finally said. He still didn't feel like he did enough back there, but it was over now and Marinette was okay. The best he could do was move past it and hope to do better the next time something like this happened.
Marinette smiled again, glad he was starting to except letting his mistake go. The bluenette took a step toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you still feel guilt for your mistake, so I want you to understand that I forgive you," she said sincerely. Chat grinned, hearing her say that. "And in return, I will promise you that the next time there is an akuma, I will run the other way and let you and Ladybug handle it," she promised. She was not going to make that mistake again, that was for sure.
Chat placed his hand on top of hers that was on his shoulder. "It's nice to know you care so much for our safely Marinette, but it would be best if you stayed clear. You are a civilian after all." Marinette cared about everyone, even superheroes who where supposed to be invincible and be the ones to care for them. She was so kind-hearted.
Marinette quickly pulled her hand back to herself. "Yup, a civilian like me shouldn't be anywhere near one of your battles," she said with a nervous grin. That's what she was meant to do; run off so she could transform, then it was safe for her to be immersed in battle once she had her magical super suit on.
"Good. And thank you, Marinette, for being so understanding," he said, nodding his head respectfully at her. Then he looked off to the side as his hand reached up to the back of his head. "I can't imagine an awesome girl like you ever hating me."
A faint blush came to her cheeks, but she subtly shook it off and smiled back at him. "Nobody's perfect, not even superheroes," she told him kindly. They were all human. "And…I could never hate you," she said, bashfully brushing her bangs aside.
Chat smiled bigger. Marinette was the definition of a great friend. So kind and understanding, and forgiving. But she didn't do it blindly like he tended to do. She held people accountable for their actions but then tried to help them move past them and be better. He was honored to be her friend.
"Well, I've got to go meet Ladybug for patrol so I won't waste your evening anymore," he said, pointing his thumb off behind him.
"You didn't waste anything. This was very nice," Marinette reassured him. Everything he said and did during his little unexpected visit was one-hundred-percent welcome and necessary; for mostly his sack, not hers. "And thank you for the flowers," she said, holding the bouquet up to her face adoringly.
"The pleasure was all mine," Chat smirked before stooping down to one knee again and taking one of her hands in his. Now that he knew she wasn't mad at him, he could be as goofy and charming as he wanted. And that made him happy. "Good night, princess," he said, sweetly looking up at her with his big green kitten eyes before bringing her hand to his lips and pecking it ever so gently.
Marinette's breath caught in her throat a bit before she quickly composed herself. When did Chat's suave charm start affecting her like this? "Good night," she managed to uttered out.
Chat let her hand go, turned, and jumping onto the top of her railing. He turned his head back to her and gave her one final smile and two-finger salute before jumping off into the night.
As Chat ran and jumped along the rooftops, he chuckled. So thrilled, it was almost a manic laugh. Marinette was not only not mad at him, but had actually forgiven him right off the bat.
If Marinette was willing to forgive him, he had to at least try and forgive himself.
One issue taken care of. Now all that was left was to meet with Ladybug and explain. Then hope she was just as forgiving.
It took Marinette a few minutes after Chat Noir left to remember she had to transform and meet with him on top of the Arch de Triomphe.
It was their first rendezvous since before the 'Miss Fortune' incident. Since she couldn't be there to help, Chat needed to report how it went. That also meant he was going to have to explain what had happened to Marinette to Ladybug.
She was hoping to ask for more details than what he told her civilian self during his apology. She wanted to know what had happened to make him mess up and cause the accident. He looked very upset and almost embarrass by what he had done.
Marinette was very understanding, so he shouldn't have to worry about Ladybug being any less so.
When she arrived at the Arch, Chat was already there waiting for her. He was pacing back and forth and his back was tensed. Obviously, he was nervous.
"Evening kitty-chat," the spotted heroine called over to him.
Hearing his lady's sweet voice, Chat whipped his head in her direction. "Milady!" he exclaimed before closing the few yards of space between them and hugged her tight. "I'm so glad to see you. I was so worried when Master Fu came to me with your earrings. He and Tikki said you were fine but couldn't transform. Wait-" he pulled away just enough to look at her face but still held onto her shoulders. "Are you okay, milady?"
Ladybug smiled at him. He was so sweet for caring. "I'm okay, Chat. Just fine," she reassured him. "I'm really sorry I couldn't be there. I just…"
"You don't have to say anything else LB, I get it. It was a personal matter that I'm not supposed to know about," he said, understanding but still not thrilled he couldn't know exactly. "I'm just happy to see you're okay."
Ladybug smiled and nodded, her eyes glancing around a bit nervously before remembering the bandage on her forehead had disappeared when she transformed. If Chat saw the same bandage on two girls in the same night, he was sure to recognize something. That was the last thing she needed right now.
"So, Master Fu told me you had already captured the akuma by the time he gave you my earrings but how did the battle with Miss Fortune go? Was she hard to defeat?"
Chat took his hands away and stepped back. This was it. Time to report. "Umm…you could say that," he started reluctantly. "She was pretty tough and not fun to deal with but I did come up with a rather amazing plan to get the upper hand on her." He at least wanted to mention the good he did before admitting to the bad. "But before that…when I first started fighting her at the college. You know, College Francoise Dupont?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"There was a…little incident," he hesitated again, his eyes wondering down to the roof.
"What happened?" she asked. She already knew what was coming and she definitely knew her partner didn't want to talk about it, but he had to. "Chat," she said, touching the side of his arm. Chat looked back up at her. "You can tell me. Please?"
After taking a deep breath, Chat continued.
"I was fighting Miss Fortune on the second-floor walkway and I meant to use my power to destroy the floor under her to trap her but she knocked me back near the stairs of the archway above the school entrance…" he paused again. "And then I…accidently touched the stairs."
"And…?" she urged him to continue.
"There…w-was a student standing down there," he hesitated again but said the rest rather quickly. After that, the rest of his confession just came spilling out. "She got hit in the head. I dug her out but she was unconscious, then her friends took her outside where there was an ambulance waiting. I heard she had a skull fracture but she's fine now. I've been beating myself up for days, and she finally came home today, so I visited her earlier tonight and apologized." Chat almost looked out of breath by the time he was done.
Ladybug did her best to look surprised but not too much, for fear of making her partner think she was horrified by his actions. "And what did she say?"
"She said she forgave me. And she said she understands that it was an accident, and that she should have left the school after I told her and her classmates to evacuate."
"Why didn't she?"
"She said she was worried about me. She noticed I was struggling and you weren't there yet so…" He knew she was wrong to stick around, but a less rational part of him was still touched she cared so much. "She's a very kind and caring person," he told her. "Are you mad?"
Ladybug once again offered him a smile. "Chat. I'm not mad. You were by yourself. If anything, I'm more mad at myself than I was before for not being there to help, then maybe things would have turned out differently." And that she knew was certain.
"No. Ladybug, don't go placing blame on yourself too," he tried to tell her. He certainly didn't blame her and didn't want her to blame herself too.
"Chat, I wasn't there when you needed me. When Paris needed me. That much is on me. I should have been there, that girl shouldn't have been there, and you shouldn't have destroyed the archway," she summed up. "But Chat I have to ask," the spotted heroine's hand went further down to hold his hand. Time to ask the big question she wanted to before. "You're usually so careful with your cataclysm. I know you said you didn't mean to destroy the arch and I believe you, I do, but what exactly happened that brought that about?"
Just as she thought. She watched Chat tuck his bottom lip harshly between his teeth. He was embarrassed, and ashamed to answer.
"Aghh! It's so stupid," he ripped his hand out of her hold, surprising her, and turned away. With his back to her, Chat took a deep breath. "The akuma…Miss Fortune. I later found out she was akumatized because she was having a really bad day and her friends were teasing her that it was because she accidently spilled some salt that morning. And apparently, her superstition manifested itself into a deep dislike to me…as I am a black cat," he sighed the last part, still a bit annoyed. "So she kept saying things like 'I'll use my black cat charm on Ladybug to make her unlucky, but wait, she's already got you' and 'you're an accident just waiting to happen' and I just got so mad I-"
Chat looked down at his hands. Frustrated, they clinched tightly in front of him.
"You weren't thinking," he heard his lady finish for him.
"No, I wasn't," he replied, his head down. "And then I touched the stairs. Well, more like I slammed my fist into it." Having finally fully admitted to his wrong-doing, Chat turned around, prepared to properly face his lady. "Still not mad at me?" he asked hopefully.
"Still not," she replied with a sweet smile to further show him. She also stepped closer to him and placed both her hands on his shoulders, looking up into his face. "Chat, I'm sorry she upset you and I can tell you still feel awful for your mistake despite this girl already forgiving you, but you can't let akumas get to you like that. These people aren't themselves. They are angry and don't know what they are doing. And letting their words get under your skin doesn't help in battle at all."
"Believe it or not, she said worse stuff during the second part of our battle," he mentioned with a light chuckle.
"And yet, you were still able to defeat her and take her akuma without any other incidences. And you went back to see that girl to apologize and took responsibility for your mistake. And for that, I am so proud of you, kitty." Hearing her say this finally brought a real smile to his face. His lady was proud of him. "Even super heroes make mistakes some times. What matters is that after we make them, we learn from them and then can be better in the future."
Digesting her words for a second, Chat nodded his head. "You're absolutely right, milady," he replied, completely in agreement.
"So you're not gonna let the words of an akuma get to you in battle again, right?"
"Definitely not."
"And you're gonna put this incident behind you?"
"Far behind me."
"Good," she said before taking her hands back and clapped them together. "So how about we get going? Paris won't patrol itself."
"At your side, milady," Chat said, back in his usual charming voice as he bowed to her, gesturing out to the city before them.
Ladybug giggled, taking out her yoyo and ran to the edge of the Arch. She jumped and flung her yoyo to catch herself and carry her to the next building. And Chat was right behind her, propelling himself after her with his baton.
And the Marichat fluff starts off small, but fear not, there is more to come.
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay respectful, and stay tuned ;)