So I went to Halloween Horror nights and it was epic! Had a ton of fun but driving home was awful since we didn't leave the park till two am and had a 3hr drive. Blarg... I feel dead today... I'm really glad everyone liked the action sequence! I'm always happy when I can convey the action in my head down into writing so you readers can see what I see in my mind. In any case here is some Adrienette! Next time we get to see some more Marichat!
Yuuzhan Vong Jedi... MMMM in the real world a manriki (that's what her weapon is properly called) is probably not regulation. I kinda explain that in this chapter and I wanted to give her a weapon that was close to her yo-yo. I just didn't want to give them a gun since guns are boring and just so final...
bow-and-arrow-lover… I'm so sorry about the commas but I am trying to get better with them. I hate commas and was never taught how to properly use them so we are lucky to see any in my writing at all. I'm also really bad with run on sentences and spelling although spell check catches most of that. I never mind constructive criticism since that helps me improve my writing. There is a reason why Adrien is more Chat like since he is older and has gone through his own gauntlet in life. Remember he has been on his own living away from his father for several years now so his personality isn't the meek yes man persona he puts on as a mask. These characters are a little more rough and tumble too and I did warn in the beginning that they may be a touch ooc. Also this story is very long, already 100 pages in my word document file. (I'm no where near done yet either...) Thanks for the input!
Marinette is a detective who can't keep a partner while hunting down the notorious Hawkmoth gang. Chat is the new cat burglar on the streets who never gets caught. After Marinette gets handed his case it's it won't be long before their fates collide especially when monsters start roaming the streets
(Weapons and Paperwork)
For the next two days work sucked. Marinette had woken stiff in places she had forgotten she had muscles in and she had probably gone through at least two tubes of icy hot. Her side from her shoulder to hip bone was one gorgeously solid bruise, and it was already starting to change into a rainbow of colors. Her arm on the other hand still held an aching soreness that made even putting on her jacket a challenge but she was rapidly healing and Marinette knew that in another few days she would be back to 100 percent. The bruises annoyed her though because it meant she couldn't go work out in the gym downstairs for fear of her bruises being seen. Any injuries on or off the job were supposed to be reported and her bruises weren't something she couldn't just shrug off if someone accidently saw them. Thankfully the days were still cool and since her office was always cold she was able to get away with wearing a thin long sleeve shirt that hid all of her bruises. Another thing that made her slightly twitchy was the fact that Adrien was hanging around the precinct, shadowing people as he did. Twice he had tried to shadow her but she had managed to slip away from his sight. She was tired of avoiding him though and she knew that at some point she would have to talk to him face to face once more. It hadn't really been that bad the first time but there was something about him that just drew her attention. It wasn't just his pretty face that drew her either, there was something about him that made her just want to trust in him and that alone made her wary. Tiki had given her the same feeling but unfortunately Marinette just didn't know him well enough to let herself relax. It also didn't help that she had a crush on him. Honestly Marinette knew she needed to just bite the bullet so to speak and talk to the boy but after avoiding him for two days Marinette wasn't sure when she would see him next. His schedule was different from hers and Marinette knew Adrien would never be assigned as her partner as long as his father was head of the precinct. Walking to her office she collected the newest pile of papers stuck in her office box and opened her door not bothering to keep the hinges from shrieking. Tossing the papers to the desk and her jacket to her chair she left briefly to grab some tea from the break room. When she returned she was stunned to find Adrien standing in her office her jacket in his hands.
Adrien was mystified and awestruck all at the same time. Marinette was in a word incredible and he wanted her to be his. He wanted her as his partner 100 percent and as something more he wasn't totally positive. He couldn't be totally positive because he had only truly met her twice. Three times if he counted the rooftop chase/sparing match that had left him bruised and breathless. He had tried shadowing her over the past few days so he could get close enough to talk to her, but Marinette was apparently a master of stealth. She would slip away before he had a chance to pounce on her and half the time he would get pounced on by Chloe before he could hunt Marinette down properly. It was aggravating and in those few peaceful moments Adrien had, he couldn't help thinking about his run in with her as Chat Noir. He had been on a hunt since he had gotten some new information on a possible akuma as Chat when he had first noticed her lithe figure darting after him. After a few short jumps that put most people off his tail didn't work he had tried something a little more edgy and she had followed with a crash. He had been forced to take notice of her then and he took off but hadn't been able to lose her. Then when he had finally figured out a way to get rid of her she had pulled some kung-fu ninja weapon thing on him and almost gave him a dam heart attack. The ensuing sparring match had been bliss until he realized that if he had been a normal human he would have lost badly. Marinette was full of surprises and even when he had almost lost control she stayed calm without an ounce of fear to show for it. Long story short, his curiosity was piqued and he was determined to get to know who Marinette really was.
Her office door had been open when he walked up although she was nowhere to be seen. Her jacket, the same one she had been in a few nights ago lay across her chair and overcome with curiosity he moved forward to pick it up. It was far heavier than it should have been and the sleeves from the elbows down to the cuffs were stiff. Thin rods ran the length of the inside connected by bands that were sewn into the jacket itself. Adrien grinned realizing that had to be why she had been able to take the blow to the arm without flinching then he frowned when he felt the slight denting in one of the bars. Had he done that? Worry seeped into him as he remembered that he hadn't held back on his strength as much as he should have, especially that last blow that had sent her flying. A small gasp alerted him to a new presence and as he turned he saw Marinette standing beside her open door.
"What are you doing?" she asked and he hurriedly turned around looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Uh, I uh came to see you and I was going to sit but I noticed your jacket was heavier than a normal jacket and uh…" Adrien trailed off as she stalked forward noticing the ever so slight favoring of her one side and winced internally.
Placing her drink down on the desk she turned and eyed him critically for a moment half wanting to throw him out of sheer self-preservation. Her heart was already thumping excitedly at the fact that he had come to her and with a mental sigh resigned to the idea she was going to make a fool of herself, Marinette decided to get the 'Lets get to know each other better!' thing over with.
"Sit." Marinette said pointing to a chair at the end of the joined desks. Dropping into her own chair with a grumble she watched as Adrien moved to the chair she pointed out her jacket still in his hands. Sitting in the spare chair Adrien eyed her with mounting concern.
"Are you ok?" he asked causing Marinette to flinch.
"Uh y-yeah fine totally fine. W-why do you ask?" She stuttered her straight forward mannerism dissolving into a shy mess.
"You're favoring your side, what happened?" Adrien pointed out keeping his voice level and friendly. She was nervous around him and he didn't want to do or say anything that would make her too uncomfortable.
Marinette froze her mind going in circles as she tried to conceive a believable excuse. "I was doing some uh… Parkour and I slipped." She managed warming up to her lie. "I hit kind of hard and bruised my ribs and arm. Nothing is broken. Please don't tell anyone, although I think you have been the only one to notice so far."
Adrien raised an eyebrow at the fib impressed despite himself. He was glad to hear that nothing was broken though and he vowed that if he ran into her again as Chat he would apologize while staying out of arms reach. After all she had one hell of a punch and whatever those chain weight things were had left bruises on his skin which in his case was impressive. They lapsed into an awkward silence and Marinette sipped at her tea as she waited to hear why Adrien had sought her out. She'd had a slight panic attack when she had walked in to see him with her jacket in his hands but Adrien didn't seem as if he were trying to stir up any trouble.
"Parkour huh? Know any good places to run through?" He asked instead and Marinette nodded relaxing as they spoke of nonsensical things.
"I know a few, I could even show you at some point if you would like."
Adrien nodded eagerly "Yeah that sounds like a fun time! Its better than getting dragged out by Chloe again."
Marinette snorted deciding silence was the best option when it came to a comment like that. They lapsed into silence again with Marinette sipping on her tea feeling slightly better about Adrien. He was still the kind hearted person she had once knew in college. He was just better built now and clearly had more life experience under his belt.
"Whats up with your jacket?" Adrien blurted out and Marinette coughed on a sip of tea realizing he still held it.
"I-It… Um… Its, well, my weapon." She said finally, after being unable to make up any kind of believable excuse. Adrien stared at her making sure to look confused. Her weapon indeed, he still had bruises from her weapon, granted they were faded into practically nothing now due to his high healing factor but still. She had bruised him! With a sigh at his cutely confused face Marinette began to explain.
"When I first started working here they had a rule against rookies carrying guns. I guess firearms were still something the public wasn't approving of since those last violent attacks. Either that or they didn't trust us not to shoot ourselves or another person. I used to carry a taser and throwing knives but ammunition is finite when it comes to that kind of stuff. Plus while I can fight hand to hand back then I liked attacking from a distance better. When I was partnered with Tiki she told me about a weapon called a Manriki she had run up against when she was in Japan and encouraged me to give it a try." Seeing the truly confused look on Adriens face she held out a hand for the jacket and he complied scooting closer so he could see what she was doing. Reaching into the cuff of the jacket she pulled the end of the weight and about a foot of chain from the arm before handing the weight over to him to feel.
Adrien gave a low whistle impressed, the ball was solid and so was the chain. Seeing it up close and personal he was no longer wondering how the small weight managed to bruise him "So it's like a ball and chain?"
Marinette nodded a surge of satisfaction going through her at her ability to wield such a tricky weapon "I trained nonstop for a year before I was any good at wielding it and from there I was able to start lengthening the chain. I can hit a target at almost 25 feet, tie them up, or knock a person out these days. Tiki and I created a recoiling mechanism in my jacket so I don't have to gather it up each time. That's why the sleeves are stiff although it also gives my arms added protection in fights."
"Remind me not to piss you off." Adrien chuckled and Marinette froze surprised at herself. Here she was having a normal conversation with Adrien, who even with her gut telling her to trust him was in all honesty was a complete stranger. It was a dangerous habit for her to fall into, since without even thinking had revealed the secrets of her jacket to him. Usually anyone who managed to handle her jacket and asked was simply told the bars were for protection in fights. Marinette was known to get up close and personal when getting into fights so it was a believable half-truth. Other than Tiki and her boss since he demanded a demonstration of her skills, almost no one else in the precinct knew about her full capabilities. She hadn't shown her previous partners because she hadn't trusted them to not get in her way and she wondered what that meant for Adrien. Why did she subconsciously trust him? Could she trust him?
"Marinette are you ok?" Adrien asked his cat like instincts feeling the subtle shift in her mood.
She blinked at him. "I… I don't share my secrets with many people." She answered her honesty surprising him even as she winced thinking how wrong that sounded.
"I won't share your secrets." Adrien whispered his voice holding a startling seriousness and Marinette felt a blush start in her cheeks.
In the next second, the moment was shattered as a voice warbled "Adrikins!" from outside the office.
Adrien bolted off his seat saying "Oh gods not again" causing Marinette to laugh out loud
Adrien flushed realizing he had said those words aloud even as he looked around the office for a place to hide. Marinette watched him amused. She had noticed that Chloe pounced on him a lot and she felt a touch sorry for Adrien since he really didn't seem to appreciate Chloe's charms unlike other men. Then again it did mean that Chloe wasn't bothering her either so Marinette had welcomed the change. Seeing the panicked look on his face as Chloes footsteps hurried towards them Marinette said jokingly "You could hide under the desk." then squeaked in shock as he shifted her chair back to look into the space.
"Adrikins?" Chloes voice called again just outside the door and Adrien bolted into the space shifting her chair so Marinette blocked most of his body. Reacting instinctively she slung her jacket up so it blocked the space her body didn't then watched as Chloe stepped past her door into her office.
Perfect hair, perfect make up, and perfect tan made Chloe a stunning woman. Combine that with a strapless top and a pair of tiny jean shorts Marinette wouldn't wear even as a belt and you had a female that most men literally panted over. A high heeled sandal tapped the ground impatiently and Chloe scanned the room her gaze finally settling on Marinette when she ran out of things to look at.
"They said my Adriekins was in here but I can see that they were mistaken. Aren't we a little old for pigtails?" Chloe remarked snarkly as she looked Marinette up and down.
Marinette resisted the impulse to raise a hand to her hair and instead replied. "Has anyone ever told you that your shorts would make a better belt? Actually I think I have a belt that covers more if you would like to cover up."
A small snort escaped the confines of her desk as Chloes eyes went livid. "I heard you lost yourself another partner. Its probably a good thing too since you got your first partner killed and all."
Marinette felt herself go cold and before she thought about it she was on her feet and inches from Chloes face. "Get Out." She snarled and Chloe went a little pale beneath her tan.
"I was just looking for my boyfriend." Chloe said backing up, sensing the danger Marinette suddenly represented "I would say tell Adriekins I was looking for him but there is no way he would ever talk to a loser like you."
Thankfully she was out of her office otherwise Marinette just might have bodily thrown her out. As it was she slammed the office door in her makeup caked face the hinges screeching the whole way. Without thinking she threw the lock and dropped to her knees desperately trying to control her breathing as fury raced through her veins. She despised Chloe, had ever since she had to deal with her in College. Just because her father was the mayor she seemed to think she could do anything she wanted. Tiki had put Chloe in her place several times even arresting her under intoxication twice. Since Marinette was Tikis partner Chloe hated her although Marinette did nothing to fawn over Chloe.
Breathing controlled for the moment she was startled when movement caught her eye next to her desk. Marinette had forgotten about Adrien and when he came crawling out from under her desk her brain warred between embarrassment, fury, and hilarity over the fact that he had actually hid under her desk to avoid Chloe. He stayed on the floor by her desk sitting cross legged as he waited for her to compose herself and after a few minutes, before her legs could go to sleep Marinette stood. Adrien stood as well but only long enough to take a step back to fall into her spare chair once more.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as Marinette sat back down in her chair and switched the desk lights on.
"Not really." Marinette answered her voice cold as she pulled out some of the paperwork she needed to get done that morning. She half expected him to leave, or demand an explanation. He did neither simply sitting back in such a way that made Marinette not mind his presence. For some reason he stayed as she filled out sheets and checked boxes never once making a nuisance of himself. Once or twice he asked intelligent questions and she showed him how to fill out a few forms she knew he would have to do on his own one day soon. In between papers he mentioned that he was trying to enroll as a detective in her precinct though his father was apparently having kittens over the whole thing. She had snorted at the cat remark thinking of Chat Noir briefly and felt something hard start to loosen in her chest. Taking the snort as encouragement he had begun telling her absolutely horrid jokes each time she finished a paper until she finally buried her head in her arms laughing. When she finally caught her breath she looked at her watch and realized she had worked through lunch yet again. Closing the file before her she eyed Adrien who looked as if he were gearing up for another round of bad jokes.
"Would you like to get some lunch?" She asked not quite willing to part company with him yet.
Adrien grinned and shot to his feet offering his hand as she started to get up. "Why princess I thought you would never ask." He practically purred and Marinette felt her face flush.
They went out to lunch after Marinette dropped her papers off at their appropriate destinations and Adrien tried to pay for lunch. Marinette brushed him off and instead told him about several good places to eat in their area. They had just finished when Adriens phone rang and all the happiness instantly leached from his face. Excusing himself he took the call and when he came back to the table he was like a totally different person. He was stiff, stone faced, and overly formal as he apologized for needing to leave. Remembering what he had done for her earlier in the day Marinette decided to return the favor. Standing Marinette took a step forward and gently punched him in the shoulder. Adrien jumped startled by the action and his stone face shattered as he blinked at her in confusion while rubbing his arm.
"What was that for?" he demanded rubbing at the spot even though it hadn't actually hurt.
"You get this look sometimes and close yourself off from every one. I was waking you up." Marinette answered with a shrug. It had been something she had noticed about him from a distance even in college, and for some reason this time the thought of him wearing that face around her annoyed Marinette.
"A look?" Adrien asked wondering when she'd had the time to observe him so closely.
Marinettes face gained a wry smile, understanding that he was asking when she had observed him so closely. "I… we were classmates. I-in any case whenever you used to get that look it meant you were stressing out. Nino would have to shock you out of it back then."
Adrien blinked at her stunned that she remembered him so well. In truth he had vague memories of her from his college days but mostly she was a background figure that he had never truly noticed. Adrien was discovering the error of his ways only now and he wanted to make up for it.
"Thank you Marinette. Feel free to wake me up any time you feel like it." Adrien finally managed and was thrilled when Marinette blushed, nodding her head before escaping to go pay her bill.
With a slight smile and a shake of his head Adrien decided to make himself scarce, knowing deep within him that he was already sunk.
Marinette made her way back to the precinct alone, Adrien had already left by the time she made it back to the outdoor table which was probably a good thing since the sneaky bastered had indeed paid for her half of the bill.
"It wasn't a date." Marinette muttered to herself as she returned to her office to continue her slog through paperwork. There were no more interruptions to her day and she was able to clock out early having decided to make herself tacos for dinner.
The sun set as she ate dinner and climbed back into her loft to look over the Chat Noir case again. Meeting him a few nights before had given her a strange yet valuable insight into the case. He saw himself as a monster which was sad in Marinette view but considering the fact he had real cat ears and a tail gave her pause. He also apparently had ridiculous strength and speed if his last blow that sent her flying across the room was anything to go by. What surprised her was the fact that he'd had the ability to crush her at any moment but he had held back. Marinette wondered why and she would have gone hunting after him the past few nights if her injured side hadn't hampered her movement so badly. Instead she had confined herself to paperwork and Marinette felt she was making decent headway into the case. Spreading the files papers out across her floor of her loft she pulled out her handwritten notes before slowly reorganizing the whole thing.
Marinette didn't know how long she had been at it when her phone rang but when she moved to answer it her bruised side protested the movement having gotten stiff from staying in one position for too long.
"Marinette." She said by way of answer squeezing the phone between her ear and shoulder.
"Oh my gosh girl where are you?" Alya asked jumping right in.
"I'm at home" Marinette said climbing to her feet. Alya had her excited reporters voice on and that usually meant Marinette would soon be involved in some chase or other crazy activity. Slowly she stretched and determining that she could make a run if needed asked "What's happening?"
"You have the Chat Noir case right?" Alya demanded
Marinettes pulse skyrocketed as she switched to a small headset so she wouldn't be constantly dropping her phone. "Yes I do what's going on?" Marinette asked as she swiftly started gathering her gear.
Slipping into a formfitting tank over a sports bra with tight but flexible jeans Marinette snapped her belt into place that had her handcuffs, pepper spray, and a nightstick that she rarely ever used. Tiki had been the close combat fighter while she dealt with distance. However since Chat seemed to be a close contact fighter it would be stupid to not bring it.
"Well the chatter says Chat Noir broke into some science tech building and is now running from the cops as we speak." Alya answered "Supposedly he killed the guard and now they are actually trying to catch him. Get this he is running across the rooftops!"
Marinettes blood ran cold as she flung on her jacket and headed for the door. "Yeah that's him." She muttered although killing the guard didn't seem right to her. "Where is he Alya?"
There was a short pause on the line. "You're not going after him are you?"
"I can catch him on the rooftops. Or force him back to street level so the other guys can do their jobs for once. Plus if I stay on the roofs I can get in trouble for running in the field." Marinette answered as she locked her door and headed down stairs.
"Nuhuh girl. You have been working yourself crazy lately. The last thing you need to be doing is running across rooftops in the dead of night." Alya snapped and Marinette snorted
"Its not the dead of night and I like running so can we please get on with this?"
"Marinette he killed someone!" Alya cried
'15 people actually.' Marinette thought to herself though she knew better than to say it out loud.
"I've caught killers before Alya and besides you wouldn't have called if you didn't think I could go after him so which way?" Marinette sighed
The line went silent again and Marinette knew she had caught her. "Is Nino going to guide me or do I need to turn on my own police band?" she asked
Alya cursed "Fine but you're coming out with us tomorrow to get your party on."
"Wait what?" Marinette cried as her feet hit the sidewalk causing a few people to stare at her.
"You heard me girl, Nino will guide you and for the record I blame Tiki. Also I get first scoop if you catch him got it?"
Marinette groaned even as the Tiki remark made her heart ache. She and Tiki had partnered up with Alya and Nino a few times when they had to catch a particularly slippery criminal. It had been an impromptu combination on Marinettes part when she had been separated from Tiki when they first started working together. She had tried to call Alya for help and had gotten Nino since he had her phone. Since she wasn't in a safe place and couldn't find her partner he had pulled several maps on his computer and guided her back to a safer area, then to Tiki later. Since then they had gotten their team work really tempered out and before Tiki had died they had often joked that Nino and Alya should be paid for their services. Nino would guide them as Alya listened to the broadband or did searches while she and Tiki did the leg work. Alya would get the first scoop when the criminal was captured and with exception of the criminal everyone went home happy. They had done a solo run twice when she was with her other terrible partners so she could catch the people she was tracking although her partners had no idea about it. Still though, her partners had been quite annoyed and shocked to have her show up, criminal in tow all alone both times. When questioned, Marinette had deflected or referenced her whisperers. What they were doing wasn't exactly sanctioned by the precinct so they all kept their mouths shut.
"You at home?" Nino asked the clicking of keys echoing in the background.
"Yep!" Marinette replied. "And as Tiki used to say, Spots On people! We have a cat to catch."
