AN: So... who asked for some Marichat content? O:)
. o O o .
Chapter 16: So Close
Chat Noir hadn't planned to stop by at Marinette's place. But when, on his way to the Liberty that night, he spotted her standing on her balcony, it seemed foolish to simply ignore her.
"Good evening," he said as he landed on the roof behind her, smiling sheepishly as she jumped at the unexpected sound.
"Chat Noir?" she asked, eyes wide in surprise before she caught herself again. Putting on a sly smile, she asked, "Now, what brings a stray kitten like you out into the night?"
"Oh, you know," he replied in his usual conversational manner. "Just prowling about. It's such a beautiful night."
Marinette hummed, her arms crossed in front of her as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that so? I thought you might have a date or something."
Chat Noir's lips twitched into a suppressed grin. Of course, she knew… He'd briefly wondered about how to act around her—they both knew about their shared boyfriend, after all, and also knew that the other one knew, too. But she was right. Any form of awkwardly dancing around the truth was stupid.
"Hmm, yeah, I probably shouldn't leave him waiting for too long. Still, I thought I would drop by and… I don't know, say hi, I guess."
The smile on her face as he dropped the act was breathtaking. So soft and genuine.
"Well then. Hi. Although, I should let you know that you don't have to hurry too much. Anarka wanted him to get some groceries for them when I was there earlier, and since his bike has a flat tyre, he'll have to go on foot. He probably won't be back for another half hour. But tell him I said hi when you meet him."
Chat's lips twitched in amusement. "Sure, I can do that. And that sounds as if I have some time to chat after all."
He jumped down to her level, and she scooted over to make room for him.
After a minute of gazing at the city lights in surprisingly comfortable silence, Chat chuckled. "Funny," he mused. "I'd thought this would be more awkward."
"Mmh," Marinette hummed. "Me, too. Especially since we don't really know each other at all." She laughed, a little high-pitched. Apparently, being around a superhero made her a bit nervous.
Still, Chat had to fight to keep his face straight at her comment. He knew Marinette far better than she thought, but of course, he couldn't tell her that. "Seems as if the connection we do share is strong enough then," he said, purposefully vague.
"I guess so…" She shifted to face him, throwing him a strange, unreadable look.
Chat didn't even try to understand it though, as he got distracted by something on her arm. "Ah, I see Luka finally finished the bracelet."
Marinette glanced down at her left wrist and smiled. "Apparently. You knew about it?"
Chat nodded. "He searched forever for the right charms to use."
"It turned out so pretty, I love it," she said. With an absentminded smile, she caressed along the braided leather cords and the three charms fixed into the pattern; two made of silver, a clef and a note, and a crystal heart. "A perfect representation of him, and I can carry it around with me wherever I go."
Grinning, Chat shook his head. "If that's how you see it, that's valid, I guess." He reached for her arm after she's answered his questioning look with a nod, and caressed over the charms. "But these are supposed to represent you. His favourite melody."
"Uh, what?" The blush on her cheeks was adorable.
"That's what he calls you sometimes. His favourite melody."
"I see." Biting her lip, she caressed over the charms once more with an even warmer smile, then looked up at him with a cheeky grin. "And what makes that you, then?"
Chat's grin grew wider as he leaned in. "I'm his favourite rhythm. We'd probably sound great together."
I shouldn't have said that! he thought to himself, blushing.
Marinette's eyes grew a little wider as well, and suddenly, Chat realised just how close they stood. He was still holding her arm, his face only a cm or two away from hers. The scent of her shampoo wafted to his nose, berries and vanilla, her breath brushing over his skin as her breathing grew quicker. It made his mind hazy, his thoughts slow to respond.
It would be so easy to kiss her. Just the tiniest of movements, and then their lips would touch. And he found that he wanted to kiss her. His eyes searched hers, beautiful blue depth, looking for a hint of surprise or fear. For any sign that she wanted him to back away. But either his mind was too muddled already or there were none. Instead, her eyes fluttered close, she leaned in a little more and—
The rushing sound of wings was his only warning. Then his nose started tingling, and he just managed to turn his head before he sneezed. Then again. And again.
"What a timing, Jaques," Marinette laughed as she shooed away the pigeon that had landed on the railing next to them. "I'm sorry. I fed him occasionally, and now, he keeps coming back for more whenever I'm up here."
Ribbing his nose, Chat waved her off. "'s okay. Besides, you couldn't know I'm allergic to pigeons."
"True," Marinette muttered, biting her lip and averting her eyes.
Watching her made something in his chest grow tight.
"I… should probably get going now," he said, taking a step backwards. Away from her. "If Luka really is doing his grocery shopping on foot, I could drop by and help him carry." He lifted one hand, awkwardly waving at Marinette. "See you around."
From the corner of his eye, he saw her lift a hand as if to hold him back, but he didn't pause. He had to get away.
. o O o .
Chat Noir didn't need to search for long until he spotted Luka. He was just leaving the supermarket nearest to the Liberty's current mooring place, one heavy-looking bag in each hand. Chat timed it well, dropping off the roof and landing in the narrow alley between two houses just as Luka passed said alley, making him pause.
"Claws in."
There was surprise on Luka's face as Adrien strolled out onto the sidewalk and toward him.
"Hey, Luka. You here? What a coincidence. Wait, let me help you with these bags, I have the same way as you, anyway."
A grin played around Luka's lips as he handed Adrien one of the bags, but he kept it small. "Thanks, I appreciate the help. What are you doing here?" In a low whisper, he added, "Isn't that too risky?"
Adrien shrugged, his voice only slightly lowered. "I just met my friend and band colleague by chance as I went for a walk and now help him carry his stuff home. That shouldn't cause any problems."
Luka's lips twitched, his eyes sparkling with humour and love. "Fair enough."
"Marinette asked me to tell you she said hi, by the way, " Adrien said as they walked down the street side by side.
Luka paused in his steps, though just for a moment before he caught up with Adrien again. "Thanks. That sounds as if it comes with a story, though."
Adrien grinned. Luka was always so observant. "Not much to tell, really. I just spotted her on her balcony on my way here and stopped to chat a little. Wearing all black," he added at Luka's raised eyebrow.
"I see," Luka said, a smirk playing around his lips. "And how did it go?"
Adrien shrugged. "A little awkward at first, but that quickly faded. She took dealing with a famous superhero better than I'd expected." He grinned. "We also talked about the bracelet you made for her."
"I'm glad you got along. And—"
"…and then we almost kissed."
Luka fell silent, pausing in his steps after Adrien had stopped walking, too. "Only almost?"
Adrien bit his lip at the all but disappointed tone in Luka's question. He still held on to his hope that Adrien and Marinette would eventually date as well. Or Chat Noir, for that matter.
"Yeah," he went on in a light voice. "You see, there was this pigeon. I barely managed to turn away."
Luka snorted. "That's some bad luck." He turned on the spot, giving him a long thoughtful look. "And what happened then?"
Adrien sighed. He had an idea of what Luka wanted to hear. Whether he'd started the kiss on his own or whether she was interested, too. How Marinette had reacted and how things had proceeded after that almost-kiss. Whether there was room for more development.
"Nothing happened. I got away from her as quickly as I could."
Luka frowned, his lips pressed together. Adrien could see how much he wanted to take Adrien's hand or wrap an arm around him and how much it cost him to keep his distance in public. Maybe he should have waited to meet him in his cabin after all. But it couldn't be helped now.
"Why did you leave?" Luka eventually asked as they walked on, his voice low so nobody could overhear them. "I mean, if she's interested in Chat Noir, isn't that what you wanted, too?"
Adrien dropped his gaze. "Yes and no. It would be a way for us three to be together, and… and I think I'd like that. A lot! But at the same time, it would feel wrong to keep so many secrets from her. Not telling her about your identity is not such a big deal, and I'm sure she'd even understand—were she ever to find out. But if it's both our identities, something we share but she can never know, let alone be a part of?" He shook his head. "But what's even worse and more important, I'd have to sit next to her in school every day, but couldn't tell her it's me. Kissing her, holding her, and then pretending we're nothing but school friends. I don't think I could do that."
"Fair enough." Luka nodded, slowly. "I'm sorry it all got so complicated."
He sounded sad, so Adrien nudged against him with his shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. "Not your fault. And we knew it wouldn't be always easy. It's okay."
"True. Even so, I—"
CRASH!
A few steps ahead of them, a car crashed onto the sidewalk.
Adrien reacted on instinct. Even as the car was still in the air, bouncing off the hard underground, he grabbed Luka and pulled him to the side and into a side alley, covering his body with his own. Around them was chaos, the street and houses around shaking from more cars hitting the ground, people screaming, and there were even distant explosions.
"Shit!"
"What's happening?" Luka asked, wide awake and hovering on the ground as if to jump up and fight at any moment.
"I don't know yet," Adrien said. He was peeking out of their alley but couldn't spot the source of the chaos yet. "But I'll find out. After I got you to safety. Plagg, Claws Out!"
Chat Noir dropped Luka and his shopping near the Liberty. On their way here, he'd spotted the one responsible for all the chaos, but hadn't got a good view of them yet.
"Okay, you stay here," he said in an earnest voice to Luka. He knew too well how reckless Luka could be when it came to defending those he loved. "Stay safe. Please! I'll get you once Ladybug gave me your Miraculous, but until then, you're too vulnerable."
"Okay." Luka nodded grimly. "But you be careful, too. This one seems to be stronger than other supervillains."
"I'm always careful." Chat winked.
He watched as Luka hid beneath a bridge, then turned to look for HawkMoth's latest victim. However, he didn't even get to make so much as one jump before the supervillain landed in front of him. Chat's eye grew wide as he recognised his opponent. A black suit and black cat ears sitting amidsts untidy blond hair; it was as if he looked into a mirror. Except for the stick peeking out between his teeth as he grinned at Chat.
"There, there, so I finally lured you out," he all but purred. "And now, you'll pay, Chat Noir."
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AN: So... Marichat, Lukadrien, and that ending... 😬
I'm tearing my hair out at how lovely frustrating all their reasoning is. They're all too noble for their own good...
And Copycat found Chat Noir. But, surely, that can't go wrong... right?
