ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:
UnicornAttack528: Thanks so much! I hope you'll like this chapter too! :)
DestructionDarkness: Omg thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the story so far.
HeredemAquam: Ohh thank you! I really don't know about the credit, but I try to write it half-decently ^_^
Dark: Haha oh yes, there will definitely be something to uncover about Chat here ;)
Rosalind2013: Do you have any questions? Want me to explain something about the story?
Chapter 6
"Hey, call in one of your male buddies." Chat Noir's snarky tone didn't impress Marinette one bit.
She was dead tired.
She was ready to kill to get some sleep.
She wouldn't let him stop her.
Her voice was equally cranky, if not more, "If you don't want to get a broken wrist, get out of my way." She usually didn't threaten criminals, she really didn't, not if they didn't threaten her first at least, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Chat Noir looked unimpressed, foot tapping as much as the chain allowed him to, "I'll be out of your hair as soon as you call a guy."
That was it.
"Alright already! Why? For what?!" she quickly shoved her hand into her pocket, violently ripping her phone out and speed typing for her contacts.
He rolled his eyes, "It's been nearly a week, you know what I haven't done in a week?"
She stared blankly at the criminal before her, brain already shutting down to sleep and reboot for the next few hours, until he roughly shook his chains in annoyance, "Bathed! I didn't take a single shower in a fucking week! So either way you call in one of your men or watch me undress and bathe me yourself, lieutenant!" the flaring of his nostrils and the pure fury in his eyes told her just how aggravated the cat really was.
Couldn't she get even a bit of sleep before she had to tend to him?!
Marinette ignored the heating of her cheeks, finger shaking above her phone display, "We can't undo your cuffs." Despite her exhaustion, she was glad the authoritative tone almost came automatically when in front of criminals.
In a rare show of indulgement, either in her suffering or his sole amusement, Chat Noir smirked and moved closer to her, so close she had to crane her neck up and caught a whiff of his scent, a stinging, sweaty smell mixed with herbs she'd put on his leg, "Fine, then clean me with your own hands, I bet that will be fun."
The dark-haired woman promptly turned around to escape the piercing green eyes glowing in amusement and the stupid haughty smirk that should be illegal, instead she reached for the device she'd absently discarded, hiding the fierce redness over her cheeks and neck, before a dry voice sounded from behind her, "It's in your back pocket." Chat Noir's eyes traveled down to her backside, where her phone peeked out of her back-pocket. His gaze stayed there a moment too long, even after the phone was gone, before he looked away and cleared his throat.
When had she put it there again?! Didn't she have it in her hand a second ago?! What was she doing?!
Trying to tune out the amused chuckles behind her, Marinette mentally cursed herself before she grabbed her phone again and dialed up the first person she could think of.
A little longer than a few minutes later…
The dark-skinned man scrunched his nose, Chat Noir leveling him with a flat, peeved look, "Okay…why do I have to do this again?" he glanced at Marinette.
Her cheeks, which had regained her normal skin color, turned pinkish again, "B-Because I can't! And…and he hates police officers Nino!"
"Uh-huh…" Nino Lahiffe crossed his arms, "Aaaand you couldn't call Nathaniel or Marc because…?"
The female police officer sighed, "…Well, just in case he," she gave a sharp glare towards Chat Noir, "-tries anything, I had to call someone more…able bodied just in case."
The DJ chuckled, his tone as dry as a desert, "What a nice way to say I'm strong." The sigh that left him could topple mountains as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, "Alright, it's like bathing a cat, right?" the venomous hiss that followed his comment made Nino pause, "…A bigger, more dangerous, more pissed off cat."
Marinette moved behind Chat Noir, pushing insistently against his broad back toward the bathroom, leveling him with a warning glare as if to say 'behave'.
The look on Chat Noir's face told her he would do anything but.
She only hoped Nino was up to the challenge and could handle him without her help.
In the meantime, she could get some shut-eye.
A good half an hour later, the door lock sounded and steam exited the bathroom.
Marinette tumbled from her half-asleep nest on the couch and stared.
Both men were soaked, Nino more so than Chat Noir, who had a towel thrown around his shoulders, a black shirt clinging to him, hair still dripping and messy.
Nino looked like he had taken a full dunk in the tub, clothes sticking to him like a second skin and water dripping on her carpet.
The DJ flicked his red cap off excess water, trying to shake the last droplets off it, a dark frown on his face, "Nette…" Marinette winced at his tone, "You never said I'm dealing with a crazy cat."
Chat Noir's smirk was far too wide for the situation.
"Was he that…difficult?" just what happened in there?
The evil smirk on the criminal's face told her everything before Nino even opened his mouth, "Don't ask, I almost died trying to bathe this dude." The dark-skinned man ran a hand down his face, "He's worse to deal with than the government…or Alya in that time of the month."
"Nino!"
"What? It's true. Get in the tub with him and you'll know. He's a nightmare compared to Chris." With that and a hurried 'thank you' from Marinette, he left, muttering something about 'crazy demon cats' and 'stubborn criminals'.
Marinette sighed, rubbing her forehead of the impending headache she could sense was coming.
She watched the way the shirt clung a bit too tightly to Chat Noir's torso, it was Nino's shirt, but it still seemed a bit too small on him. She tried to focus on something else than the moving ridges of muscle as he tried squeezing his strands free of water, as much as the short chain would allow him movement.
"We…will need to get you a set of clothes. Where is your apartment?"
Silence.
And a death glare.
The woman sighed again, "Didn't think you'd answer that." She checked the time, "…Guess I'll need to ring a colleague over to buy you a few things. Is 'Medium' alright?" she grabbed her phone again.
Chat Noir, still armed with a glare, sighed, as if the bath had physically and mentally drained him, "…'Large'. And black and green would be fine."
Marinette's teeth grinded together as she waited for the caller to pick up, "Any more wishes, your majesty?"
He pretended to think, before smirking, "Yeah, underwear would be clawsome too."
The lady flung her phone at his face so fast he almost didn't catch it, fumbling with the device before he heard whoever she called finally picked up, "Hello?"
"Good morning, I would like a few things delivered to Lieut. Dupain-Cheng's house as soon as possible. Clothes that will cover for at least two weeks, size 'L', colors in black, green, grey and white. Red is negotiable, but try to avoid red, it clashes too much with my eyes. Also, underwear, a three week's worth, size-"
Marinette had her hands glued to her ears the whole short journey to her bedroom, closing and locking her door to finally get some sleep.
All she heard afterwards when she finally deemed it safe enough to drop her hands from her head was the yell sounding from her phone and Chat Noir's amused chuckles.
That man would be the death of her.
"Hey, lieutenant, you awake yet?" the knocks on her door sounded like blaring sirens from Alix' firefighter vehicle and the woman rolled onto her side, facing away from the door.
"Mma 'sleep…" she mumbled into her comforter, pulling the blanket up over her head.
The doorknob rattled impatiently and Chat Noir's sing-song voice sounded again, "…I picked your lock."
She didn't move an inch.
"I raided your fridge."
Marinette was out of her bed in seconds and right in Chat Noir's face, door flung open not even three seconds after he finished his sentence.
Her heavy eyes narrowed, "You better be joking, cat."
Her cranky, sleep-deprived self was met with a smirk.
For her own sanity, Marinette shoved past him towards the kitchen to check on her food.
She should've thought sooner, he couldn't even eat half of the things inside since he couldn't use his hands to open anything, "On second thought, I could call that prison in the middle of an island again, I'm sure they have an available, isolated cell for you."
The man huffed, unimpressed. "I'm so scared."
They both stared each-other down, before she slumped tiredly on her chair, "Why…it's still so early!"
He pointedly looked at the clock, "It's 12:30pm. You came in here at ten, since you slept in the precinct, genius."
She frowned at the mocking insult, before standing up and fixing herself some coffee, placing two cups down from the cupboard.
Chat Noir arched a brow curiously, "Sit, you got washed, now you'll get fed." This time, he didn't rebel against the commanding tone of her voice.
Moody women weren't always his strong point, especially not armed ones with combat skills. He decided to stay quiet, feeling better after taking a shower.
He felt just a small twinge of guilt for causing that Nino guy so much trouble, he hadn't been a cop and he had been nice enough, helping him out of his clothes and washing his hair for him.
Chat Noir also thanked his lucky stars for the man to have a sense of respect and decency, quickly unchaining him so he could wash his privates himself, before the dreaded cuffs were on him immediately after. He still relished the seconds of freedom he had.
In hindsight, he could've knocked him out and escaped, but the cop was outside, a gun always within reach and all exits locked, searching for the keys would've wasted precious, limited time.
He also needed new clothes.
He looked ridiculous.
He hoped none of his members saw him like this.
Chat Noir frowned at the thought of his kittens back at their hideouts, what they were possibly thinking, plotting. If rival gangs had started harassing them now with him temporarily out of commission.
A sigh left him, "Something wrong?" Marinette's back was still turned to him as she prepared coffee.
"…Thanks…for the shower." He cleared his throat, the words were starting to get easier to say, at least to her, she was civil enough with him, despite the circumstances. He knew from experience, any other cop wouldn't grant such requests of criminals, they would leave them to their own devices.
Her tone sounded lighter, less tense, "Of course, it's your basic rights, that much I'm allowed to grant." She finally turned around, two steaming cups in her hands, a red straw peeking out of one of them. Chat Noir rose an eyebrow when she placed it in front of him, the red straw moving with the action, "It's easier to drink like this."
He nodded his thanks, mildly bewildered she had thought of this solution, before she placed her own cup down and turned back around, retrieving something from the fridge, "I hope you like to eat croissants."
Chat Noir felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach when the cop placed a plate full of three smaller cut croissants in front of him, along with butter and chocolate, "I don't know what you like to eat them with, so just tell me which spread you want and I can-"
"…Thank you." His voice was softer, filled with genuine gratitude Marinette never heard before from a criminal's mouth, at least not the more dangerous one she always dealt with.
She blinked, "…W-what?"
Chat Noir himself looked a bit dazed, before clearing his throat and straightening his back, the open expression that had been there for a split second gone, "Thank you for the food." He avoided looking at her as he began to eat, internally relieved to see she had cut them into smaller pieces for him to easily grab with his teeth and swallow in his mouth.
It was beneath him, he had pride as a first class criminal, he had dignity, dignity which could not easily be stripped from him , despite everything he was forced to do, he was a self-respected adult who did not- "…You did them yourself?"
-ask for recipes.
Marinette allowed the briefest smiles to curl her lips before she quickly hid it with her rim of her cup, "Yes."
He bit his tongue to not meowl at the amazing taste that exploded on his taste buds, it was almost enough to completely destroy his defenses.
He should be more cautious, more guarded that she could poison him or at least drug him to get answers, but his stomach kept screaming at him to shove it and eat his plate clean because he had no idea when he would eat this good again, not if he tried escaping this place.
He would take her with him, she would be their chef, a chef that could cook well and defend herself if worst comes to worst.
The perfect recruit.
He would make her join them if she resisted, he would kidnap her and keep her in his quarters.
Chat Noir dislodged his thoughts when he sensed her eyes on him, schooling his features into a neutral expression as he ate and drank his coffee.
It was a purrety good coffee.
Chat Noir lifted his head when the cop cleared her throat, "Any incidents I should know about? I hope you behaved." She shot him a suspicious look.
He scoffed, "Tch, Tweedledee and Tweedledum watched me like hawks." He chewed on another piece of croissant before swallowing, "You should really strengthen security, if I had broken out of my restraints, I would've easily beat them up."
It seemed like his gloating didn't impress the officer one bit, "Think again. Ivan used to do professional boxing in his youth and Kim is the fastest runner and best athlete around, he's almost on par with a panther." The particular memory with a certain panther in the zoo made Marinette shake her head. She was thankful Kim had matured, a bit, from their time as teenagers.
"You know I could use this information against you, right?" Chat Noir rose an eyebrow, questioning her intelligence.
Marinette leaned forward and allowed a rare, playful smirk to curl her lips, "And just how sure are you the information I just said holds a sliver of truth?"
Chat Noir remained silent for a while, "…The panther one is negotiable, I've heard worse."
Marinette snorted in mock laughter, finishing her coffee and cleaning her cup in the sink with her back to him.
"So, when will you get these chains off me, miss lieutenant?" Chat Noir lifted his head to look at her but his gaze stopped at the swing of her hips.
Focus!
His head shot up at breakneck speed when she turned, "When my evil rival donates all of her fortune to charity, which will never happen, mister criminal."
The haughty look on her face was infinitely better than the stoic, almost murderous hardass cop persona. He hoped he was warming up to her.
He curbed down the feeling of something pleasant when she smirked and said, "That good enough of an answer for you, Chat Noir?"
This woman was starting to annoy him in a different way, not that he couldn't say wasn't a breath of fresh air from her initial high distrust of him, maybe he could soften her up, "It sure is, princess."
That seemed to have been the wrong thing to say, women usually swooned at his flirts, but her expression turned stoic and cold and she collected the empty cup and dish from the table and went to clean them.
Oh, right, she didn't like being called princess.
Damn.
He stood up from his chair and was about to say something, until the doorbell suddenly rang.
His mood soured, what timing.
Marinette dried her hands quickly and walked towards the door, peering through the spy eye briefly before swinging the door open in surprise, "Luka?"
Chat Noir's mood darkened even more.
What was that snake doing here?
He discreetly watched from behind the wall, watching the woman's every move.
"Hey, Ma-Ma-Marinette." The criminal rose an eyebrow at the weird use of the woman's name before Luka's voice turned slightly whiny, "…Why me?" Luka rose an eyebrow as he handed her the bags, "I'm supposed to be your superior, you know?"
Marinette giggled nervously, taking the bags from his hands, "I'm so sorry, Luka! I actually called Marc but uhm…"
Luka sighed, "He gave the phone to me in a panic and I had to write down whatever catass listed up on his wish list." He smirked, crossing his arms in amusement, distinctively hearing a low hiss from somewhere in the apartment.
Marinette bowed her head, "I'm sorry, I promise to make it up to you."
A gentle hand landed on her shoulder and Marinette looked up at Luka's gentle expression and kind blue eyes, "It's alright, anything for you. Just make sure you keep yourself safe, alright?"
Marinette beamed a warm smile up at him and nodded, "I will, don't worry."
Before Luka could turn to go back to the precinct, he stopped in his tracks and turned to face Marinette, "Did you forget something?"
Luka scratched the back of his neck, an action Marinette knew he did whenever he felt uncomfortable, nervous or shy, "To be honest…why don't you join me for lunch tomorrow during break? It's been a while."
He was right, Alya usually always came by to swoop Marinette away so the girls enjoyed lunch together, it felt like decades since Marinette ate lunch with Luka, "I'd love to Luka."
The bright grin on his lips was worth seeing, "Eggcellent." They both chuckled at the silly joke.
A dark aura surrounded Chat Noir and he wished he still had his gloves to dig his claws into the man's face, "Tch, that's what he calls a pun? Pathetic."
He quickly and silently moved over to the couch when he heard the door closing, sitting in his usual spot and trying to act nonchalantly.
Marinette stopped at the doorway, glancing at him for a brief moment before setting the shopping bags next to his sitting form, "Alright, I think these are enough."
Wait, if Couffaine was shopping for him, then-
Chat Noir hastily used his teeth to flip one bag upside down, using legs and bound hands to look over the articles of clothes. Marinette helped in dumping the rest on the couch for Chat Noir to inspect.
Most seemed alright, but there were a few culprits among the bunch.
A neon orange shirt, pink boxer shorts which read 'TEAR ME' on the back, two pairs of socks, one with dogs and the other with cats.
Then, the underwear. Thankfully, it was just one, but one pair of boxer shorts had ridiculous motifs on them, pineapples, bananas and a sky blue background.
He would kill Couffaine for this.
Hearing amused giggles, he looked up at the woman in question, who tried covering them with her hand, "Well, he sure has taste."
Chat Noir wished he was free so he could pinch her nose in punishment or chain her up.
He sighed in defeat, at least now he had clothes.
A sense of dread quickly began filling him and when he glanced at the lady cop, she had similar thoughts to his own.
"…Call that Nino guy."
This time, Marinette didn't waste a second.
Nino stretched his back, sighing heavily and rubbing his forehead, "Next time, I want to see cash."
Marinette bowed apologetically, "Thank you so much Nino! And I'm sorry, what did he do this time?"
The man frowned, "Nothing much, dude's well behaved, he was just fussy with the underwear, can't blame him though, I would die if some strange dude dressed me." He shivered at the uncomfortable thought, rubbing the back of his neck, "Hey Nette?"
Marinette looked up at him, "Yeah?"
Nino cautiously looked back at the closer door before lowering his voice, "You…you're sure he did it?"
Surprise flickered in bluebell eyes, "What do you mean Nino? That's Chat Noir."
The DJ held his hands up in defeat, "Yeah, yeah, I know, worst criminal of all times and all but…I don't know dudette…didn't seem like he did it this time, not his usual style."
Marinette rose an eyebrow, "Not his…style? People got killed Nino." Something hardened in her voice and Nino backtracked.
"Don't misunderstand Nette, I know but…the victims were women right? Prostitutes? Some…of them were still kids, right?"
She bit her lip, nodding.
"Right…I don't know, you know that better than me, being a cop and all but… you think someone tried framing him? Knowing it would work since he already has an impressive record?"
Marinette shook her head, "Nino, I don't understand, why are you even doubting this? He's a criminal."
The dark-haired man shook his head, placing both hands on his friend's shoulders, "Nette, I know, I know, but listen, as bad as Chat Noir is, he never got on the news for things like killing women and children, right? At least, I never heard Alya report it before." He shoved his hands in his pockets, slowly walking through the small corridor and towards the door, "I know I just washed and dressed the dude but… he didn't attack me, despite having openings. I turned my back on him while he was unchained and he didn't even move. It doesn't say much but…" he shrugged helplessly, "Just make sure you check everything over." With that, he left.
Marinette frowned, a stinging feeling in her chest.
How could Nino even question it? Chat Noir was barely caught close to the scene, the women and children were involved in prostitution and illegal sex trafficking, which a group associated with Chat Noir had done in the past. All evidence pointed to him. His suit had also been covered in blood, his boots and lower legs at least.
Marinette sighed, massaging the tense area on the back of her neck before she heard the rattling of chains within her bedroom.
Not bothering to knock, Marinette opened it to investigate.
Chat Noir was staring at pictures at her night desk, pictures of her with friends and one with her parents.
"What are you doing?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously, quickly giving her room a once over. He was chained up again, he couldn't do anything suspicious, but she felt it was weird why he was still in her room, staring at her pictures no less.
What was he plotting?
Chat Noir stiffened, turning around to look at her.
He was dressed in dark well-fitting jeans and a simple black muscle shirt and Marinette tried not to feel surprise at seeing how broad his shoulders really were.
She suddenly felt like her room as so small with his tall frame in it. She shook her head, dismissing her strange thoughts and blaming it on the lack of sleep, "I hope you're satisfied, this isn't the usual service we offer."
A dry smile crossed his face, it was more like a half smile and a faraway look in his eyes made them darken, "Believe me, I'm aware."
Something akin to guilt settled into the pit of her stomach and Marinette's voice came out a bit more quiet than she intended it to sound, "Those officers that…did that to you, detectives investigated the case and found video footage of the infirmary. With the hard evidence, the court easily prosecuted and stripped them off their ranks." She locked eyes with Chat Noir, "They'll never have anything to do with people again."
The man remained silent for a moment, eyes still locked onto hers, before he offered a small half smile, the darkness in his eyes receding, "Hm…would you look at that."
Marinette rose an eyebrow, stiffening when he suddenly moved towards her, stepping beside her so they were shoulder to shoulder, or rather, Marinette's shoulder reached his forearm, "A cop turned their back on their own kind. Miracles do happen after all."
The woman turned her head and looked directly at him, "It's not a miracle, it's justice. I never turn my back on justice."
He turned his own head to look down at her, still smiling that small half smile, "I'll take your word for it."
Both parties just stared at each-other for a moment, before Chat Noir walked out of her bedroom, leaving Marinette alone to her thoughts.
And her racing mind.
Kim sat on a chair outside of the small café, legs crossed over one another, top leg bouncing rhythmically in the air as he stirred the dark liquid in his cup, eyes focused on his car parked across the street.
"You're impatient as always." He turned his head at the familiar female voice, lips pulling up in a smug smirk.
"If it isn't the hose monkey." Voice dripping with a playfulness his job didn't often allow, Kim's gaze was fixed on the woman throwing her firefighter helmet into the smaller truck.
Firefighter Alix Kubdel mirrored his smirk, her dark pink hair tousled and messy from her helmet, "Hello to you too, blue canary."
She sat down next to him, a cup of steaming coffee already waiting for her.
Thanks for reading! What did you guys think so far? :3