Happy indoor Easter! Hope every one is staying safe and sane in these very odd times.
Guest... (Pulled from the second chapter.) Her once shared office was on the second floor and had a single useless window that offered no view except the bricks of the building next to them. There were two desks in the room that were side by side and they covered almost the entire length of one wall. A bookcase and a fold down cot covered the other side while maps and shelves covered the third. It was a cozy cute space that fit two people nicely.
As for the Rose and Julika ship... I don't care what they say... in the cartoon they hold hands, kiss cheeks, and blush at each other when acting cute... That's waaay more than friendship.
TealSunsetsOpenSkies... I'm happy you have enjoyed the whole thing so far! Hopefully I keep impressing you!
Chat-and-ladybug... Merry, happy, crazy holidays to you too! Read on to find the answer to your question!
(Slow Burn Detective AU!) Marinette is used to working alone on the streets of Paris as she strives to take down the Hawkmoth gang. When the thief Chat Noir comes crashing into her life things are bound to get magical, especially when co-detective Adrien returns to Paris and seems to want to be her new partner. Will their fated partnership end in a capture or a kiss?
Seeking Truths
Fu was waiting for the two of them with cups of tea when they arrived. Marinette accepted the tea with a sigh, drinking the brew down swiftly and shivering a little as heat seemed to pool within her gut as the tea settled there.
"What in the world is in that stuff?" Marinette asked as Adrien drank his tea a little more slowly.
"Rare herbs that only grew in a few small pockets in China. Luckily I have a knack for growing them, else my stores would have run out a long time ago." Fu answered, setting his own cup down.
"Would I be able to grow them?" Marinette asked, knowing that if she had a supply of these 'rare' herbs she wouldn't have to hunt Fu down every time she needed a pick-me-up.
Fu nodded thoughtfully, "You might be the best at growing these herbs since they require a miraculous user's energy to flourish. Your healing energies might even make them more potent. I will have to teach you how to properly use the herbs however. Like any supplement this herb can become addicting and will hinder your energies if used too much."
"That's… good to know Fu. I guess this means that the tea should only be used when we're completely drained or in an emergency." Marinette murmured as she stared into the cup, her mind mulling over Fu's words.
Suddenly she froze as her mind locked onto a specific thing he'd just said. "Wait… these herbs require a miraculous user's energy to grow? There's another miraculous here in the city?"
Fu nodded again, "Of course, my brothers to be specific. Do not fret Marinette, the miraculous isn't being used actively."
Marinette and Adrien glanced at each other, silently asking if the other had known. Confusion was clear on Adrien's features and Marinette shook her head in answer to his silent question. Since Fu had said nothing else Marinette turned her attention back to him, "I… didn't know you had a brother."
Strangely enough Fu looked sad at the mention of his brother, "I do, but his is a story for a different time. For now we need to focus on the future rather than the past. How are you feeling today?"
"I don't really like jumping conversations Fu, but I am feeling fine today. I feel rested and ready to go." Marinette finally grumbled, rolling her shoulders as she mentally poked at the warmth filtering through her core. It bothered Marinette a little that Fu wasn't willing to explain himself even when he seemed to hold all the cards. It seemed like every time she found out something new about the miraculous, it was either bad news, or the information was useless to help her out.
"I know Marinette but I am not yet ready to tell that story. When the time arrives I will share." Fu replied in turn. "How long did you sleep?"
Marinette sighed, hearing the finality in Fu's tone even as a flash of guilt stabbed through her. Fu had been very open and helpful towards not only her but Adrien. Not to mention that he was keeping Chat Noir's identity a secret as well as her newfound powers. Fu wasn't the kind of man to betray those around him for power and there really wasn't a reason for her to be pushy about his past. If Fu had important information about the stones he would tell her.
"I slept longer than 12 hours." Marinette murmured morosely, her hand drifting to the stone in her hidden pocket. "Also… I had a dream. Or actually it was a kind of a memory. I mean I remembered something… from the day Tiki died."
Fu's face softened as Adrien wrapped an arm around Marinette. "What did you remember?"
Tears tried to bead in Marinette's eyes but she forced the sadness back down as she pulled the stone from her hidden pocket. "Tiki had possession of this miraculous stone when she was killed."
Adrien and Fu sucked in a harsh breath but Marinette continued before either of them could say anything. "At the time I didn't know what a miraculous was. Even if I had, I doubt by the time I awakened in the hospital the stone would have still been with her. She told me to take it from her after she had died but obviously that didn't happen. Someone else took the stone from her body and yet somehow the stone came back to me. Fu… I think Tiki is in the stone… or maybe has a connection to it. I… saw her in my dream. It was her but she was different. She spoke to me… Am I going crazy or is there a way to tell?"
Holding the stone up, the ruby red color seemed to glimmer in the light while the black areas seemed to suck the light in. The colors no longer looked like a thin sheet of veneer on the stone. Instead, the colors were deeper and seemed to be almost translucent, like cut gems would be. For a moment, Fu hesitated, before coming forward and taking the stone from Marinette. The stone shimmered with pink light as Fu cradled it in his palms and he took a small step back, his eyes drifting closed. Adrien hugged her to him and Marinette leaned against him with a sigh, happy he was here with her. He understood. Adrien had lost Tiki as well and while his awakening as Chat Noir had been far more sudden, Plagg had explained some of the crazy things his stone had done while activating.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you awoke." Adrien murmured, knowing what it was like to have nightmares based on what you lived through. Even now he sometimes awoke from nightmares of the night when he'd become Chat Noir. They were never pleasant, but at least he had Plagg to talk to if the burden ever became too much. Adrien had a feeling that Marinette couldn't claim the same. People would either think her crazy or they would pity her, baby her, and Adrien knew that would only piss Marinette off. Many people had a bad habit of pitying those who'd had a bad experience and had nightmares because of it. Seeing that pity in other peoples eyes was often worse than any other alternative so most of the time it was simply easier to remain silent. Adrien had a feeling that Marinette would rather be seen as crazy than pitied and he understood because he felt the same.
Marinette chuckled, her voice a little thick. "You had work. You couldn't have stayed even though I know you wanted to. By the way, you are a chicken. You couldn't even take my pants off?"
A blush seared its way across Adrien's cheekbones, "I-I…I've never…" He growled softly, then realizing she was teasing him, a small grin made his lips twitch. "Princess are you giving me purrrmission to take off your clothes?"
It was Marinette's turn to blush and stutter even as a tiny voice groaned "Gods you two are insufferable. Just go suck face already. I'm going to see what's taking Fu so long"
"Plagg!" Adrien snarled softly as Plagg phased through his jacket and into the open air.
The small cat creature yawned, then flew over to where Fu still stood holding the softly glowing pink stone. Without a word he floated down into Fu's hand and placed his paws against the stone. The stone flashed on contact and Marinette suddenly felt like a string had just been plucked in her very soul. A pure note without sound vibrated through her making her gasp even as Adrien suddenly gripped at his chest. They were on their feet and at Fu's side faster than they could process the sensations. Adrien snatched Plagg away while Marinette grabbed her stone and there was a moment of tense silence before Fu opened his eyes. Fu opened his eyes slowly, blinking in confusion as he saw the two of them standing so close to him. Marinette and Adrien were both panting softly while Plagg struggled in Adrien's grip.
With a hiss Plagg sunk his teeth into Adrien's hand, making him yelp and release him. "What was that for?" Plagg hissed, floating up and out of Adrien's reach.
"I think I should be asking you that!" Adrien snarled back, "What the hell were you two doing?"
"Seeking answers." Fu replied quietly, meeting Marinette's eyes. For a brief second Marinette swore she saw something ancient shift through Fu's gaze until Plagg broke the moment.
"You were taking forever. I figured you needed a boost. You are getting quite old you know." Plagg snarked, still miffed at being grabbed.
"I was going slow on purpose Plagg." Fu sighed, "The energies and bonds shared between the stones is a balance and since the stone hasn't fully matured those bonds are fragile. Obviously what you tried didn't work and shocked the two of them into a physical reaction. I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable Marinette."
Marinette shivered, "I-it's fine, did you… talk to her or see her at least?"
"No. There is something there, but I cannot sense Tiki's spirit specifically. It might be that she is weak from reaching out to you or you may have been in an altered state of consciousness last night from overusing your powers. Either way you are not crazy." Fu said finally, "Plagg did you sense anything when you intruded?"
With a huff Plagg crossed his paws and floated down to Adrien's shoulder, "I did not intrude. I was invited! Tiki… She's here, but not… I don't know how to explain it, but if Marinette were to die right now there's a better shot of her becoming a miraculous user rather than becoming like me. Dunno the chances but they are far higher than simply turning out dead."
"Well that's better than nothing I suppose…" Marinette muttered, glancing at Adrien who looked far more concerned than Marinette felt. "What?! I'm not planning on dying anytime soon! I just got my badge back so we all know I'm going to be stuck on desk duty for the rest of my life. A paper cut will probably be the worst thing to happen to me on the job for the next few months."
Adrin did not look mollified in the least, and the only reason he didn't have a snappy comeback was because Plagg distracted him. Feeling ignored, Plagg hissed something under his breath into Adrien's ear and Adrien snapped back just as softly, before Marinette could demand to know what they were arguing about Fu broke in.
"You could go private." Fu mused, making Marinette glare at him.
"I've already had this conversation with you before and oddly enough I had a similar conversation with Gabriel just this morning…" Marinette retorted, "I don't want to go private. One day, maybe, but I like my job. I can do more good right where I am. Unless I get fired, I am not looking into becoming a private investigator of any sorts."
Fu held his hands up, clearly not wanting to contradict Marinette, and she growled a little since she was sort of in the mood for an argument now. Instead of continuing the conversation she shoved the stone away into its normal pocket. Closing her eyes Marinette took a breath, trying to settle herself since she knew she was being a bit witchy for no reason. It was just... that odd vibration or note still rang within her very bones making the energy she used to heal pulse uncomfortably beneath her skin. It was akin to the sensation of having a muscle twitch under the skin, annoying but not painful. Mentally poking at her power to see if she could get it to stop she flinched as it swelled within her core sending tingles running down to the tips of her fingers.
"Marinette?" Fu questioned softly, alarm in his tone.
"What?" Marinette demanded opening her eyes and realizing those tingles of power shooting down her arms were having a visible reaction, on top of making her all tingly. "Oh hell…"
Her arms were glowing. The whole arm wasn't encased with light, far from it. Instead the glow seemed to follow her veins as it trailed and branched across her skin looking a bit like tree limbs before it tangled into a single point at her fingertips. It was a soft pink glow that pulsed brighter with every tingle she felt running down her limbs.
"That's new." Plagg stated, his heated conversation with Adrien coming to a halt in lieu of this new development.
"Yeah, and not very good!" Marinette snarled the glow pulsing brighter with her temper. "Why in the hell am I GLOWING?! I'm not even using my abilities! I'm not even trying!"
"Calm Marinette." Fu schooled, "Your power does not control you. Pull the glow back inside."
With a growl of utter frustration Marinette focused on pulling the glow back inside her, reigning in those pulses of energy until she no longer looked as if she could fire lighting from her fingertips. Slowly the glow dulled and faded as she concentrated and it was a relief when the glow vanished entirely. The only problem was even though the glow was gone the pulses of energy surging through her hadn't died off. Understanding that they probably weren't going to go away without some help Marinette gritted her teeth and asked, "Can I see Mime? Maybe fix him the rest of the way? Whatever you did with the stone made my energy feel all wonky. I really can't afford to let my concentration slip and start glowing in the real world."
Fu's eyebrows furrowed, "Is your power under command? Even healing can cause damage if it runs out of control."
"It's in control but it needs an outlet. I mean it might settle on its own but right now it wants out." Marinette admitted, hoping that Fu wasn't about to tell her to just suck it up and ride the sensation out. For some reason she felt the need to try and heal Mime now. She felt like if she didn't she would miss some important window and he might not come back at all. "I promise I won't exhaust myself. I have to work tomorrow and I promised Adrien that we could get food when we leave here. Can't do either of those if I am unconscious."
"It is alright Marinette, I do not believe you will overreach yourself this time. Mime is this way." Fu said with a shake of his head. Moving past Marinette, Fu opened the door. "Are you coming as well Adrien?"
"No, he is staying with me. We need to finish our discussion about not grabbing me randomly for no reason." Plagg hissed.
"I am not apologising to you, you ungrateful little furball. Whatever you were up to made me horribly uncomfortable and is making Marinette's powers go haywire!" Adrien snapped pulling Plagg's attention back to him.
"Yeah because I was getting somewhere!" Plagg snarled.
Marinette rolled her eyes, and even though the argument promised to be fascinating she knew she had to go see Mime before her powers decided to tank on her. Flashing Adrien a smile Marinette walked out and Fu let the door swing shut behind them.
"Mime is in one of the critical care rooms. As you know this isn't a hospital but we do have enough equipment to rival one depending on the injury." Fu chuckled
Marinette nodded "When it comes to gunshots or stab wounds you are probably better equipped. How did Mime do overnight?"
Fu rubbed at his chin as he turned down another corridor and waved briefly at a woman in scrubs who was going into a different room. She waved back, barely glancing at Marinette before vanishing through the doorway.
"He did as expected. Wheezing but his vitals are steady. We have done a few scans of his brain but the results won't be back till tomorrow. I suspect Mime will sleep for a few days and probably wake very confused. We contacted his daughter. She is quite worried about him so one of our people is going to bring her here later this evening. Is there a message I should pass along?"
Marinette winced. She hadn't really thought of Mylene, much less about contacting her, and the guilt made her shift uncomfortably as Fu stopped at a seemingly random door. As always Fu picked up on her sudden silence.
"Marinette, it is not always your job to keep others in the loop. You were exhausted but I am sure you would have thought to contact Mylene later today at the very least. Would you have rather contacted her yourself?" Fu asked, his tone gentle.
Marinette sighed, "No… Thank you for contacting her. I'm not sure I would have known what to say anyways… I mean I'm going to see if I can patch him up the rest of the way now so telling her he'd been badly injured would have stressed her out needlessly."
Fu glanced up at Marinette who was nibbling at her lip. "Nervous Marinette?"
"A little." Marinette admitted before pushing open the door and walking in. "I'll get over it though."
Fu followed her in, moving to the side to check a beeping machine as Marinette approached Mime. He lay in the bed under a simple white blanket looking pale and wane. An oxygen mask covered his face and an IV line snaked out from under the blanket leading up to a clear bag full of fluid that was probably a mix of saline and medicines. Instinctively Marinette knew that Mime wouldn't suddenly wake; but she still wanted to reach out and try to shake him, or call his name. Instead she took a steading breath then pulled the blanket down off his chest. A hospital-like gown covered him, allowing easy access for the monitoring lines stuck to his chest. Marinette was careful not to upset them as she slipped her hands under the gown and made contact with his skin. Truthfully she didn't need skin to skin contact, but it made the healing process easier. She had noticed the difference when she had worn gloves to heal some of the other Whisperers. The gloves had blocked the slight glow she seemed to produce when she healed but it also seemed to block her powers a little bit too. Since she didn't have to worry about freaking people out by randomly glowing, she didn't have to worry about gloves or any interference they might cause.
Energy fizzed beneath her skin, and upon contact it surged from her palms into Mime's chest before she could even think of directing it. Understanding that she needed control in order to heal Mime properly, Marinette snapped the lid shut on her power, feeling it buck as it surged against her mental restraints. Even though it was almost painful to hold her power in, Marinette did so until she was able to breathe steady. Like Fu had told her, healing too much at once or healing too fast could cause irreversible damage; especially since she wasn't totally positive as to how her healing abilities even functioned. As of yet they didn't know if she was simply reversing the damage done, or if she was speeding up the healing process. It was also possible that it was a mix of both. Simply reversing the damage would be the best outcome because it would just be restoring the damaged areas back to the way they had been. If she was speeding up the healing process in Mime's body though, that was where things became a little more dangerous. She would have to manipulate her power delicately to ensure she didn't cause scar tissue to grow within his lungs as she healed them. Doing so could permanently reduce Mime's air flow and cause far more problems than a lung infection. That's why she needed all the control she could muster.
Finally back in charge Marinette slowly opened the lid on her power, allowing it to unfold across Mime like a blanket. As it seeped through Mime's injured body her power allowed her to see what was wrong and where. The damage wasn't as bad as Marinette had feared; clearly her previous healing had done more than she had thought, but there were a few issues that Marinette knew could cause complications down the road. Knowing she didn't have a whole lot of time or energy to waste, Marinette went to work.
The worst was Mime's lungs; she could already feel the heat and inflammation in them as the organ struggled to expel the clotted blood that had settled there. Focusing her power Marinette burned the blood off and pulled the excess heat from the inflamed tissues. Several other injured areas pricked at her consciousness, her abilities straining as they tried to rush off and fix everything at once. Knowing she couldn't handle healing everything without burning out again, Marinette pulled her power back under her command. It took longer than she expected to heal Mime's lungs, and her power had stopped bucking at her control by the time she was satisfied. Doing a mental check on herself, Marinette realized that some of her power had still 'leaked' as she had healed and now she was getting close to wearing herself out again. Even though her powers had seemed restored only a little while ago, that had apparently not been the case. Instead it was like her powers had hit a sugar high with whatever Plagg and Fu had done, but now they were starting to suffer a collapse. Mentally wincing and glad she hadn't let her healing ability run rampant, Marinette came out of her healing trance only to find Fu gazing at her with concern. Adrien must have come in at some point as well because he stood nearby with a matching concerned look on his face too.
"I didn't over reach myself." Marinette quickly stated as she pulled her hands away from Mime and covered him back up properly.
"You were working there for a while Marinette. We were just starting to get a tad worried." Adrien placated before Fu could say anything.
Marinette turned to him and felt the slightest hint of dizziness. Maybe she had pushed herself a tad…or maybe because she had done something so delicate it had used more power than she had anticipated.
"You have done very well Marinette." Fu said coming forward to cup his hands around Marinette's. "Your abilities will continue to grow and you will figure out better ways to heal while conserving your strength. The good news is Mime will wake with no lingering long term effects of having his throat essentially slashed open. His other minor wounds can finish healing on their own. We will tell his daughter he sleeps because of a concussion and that we are monitoring him closely. Would you like to know when Mime wakes?"
A warm glow filled Marinette at Fu's praise, "Yes please. Mime won't be able to go back to the Hawkmoth gang. I need to know what he plans to do. Mime doesn't strike me as the sort of person to not have a contingency plan in place. He's the one who was warning other members to start taking cover so that might have been the reason for this attempted murder. Also… I will have to see if he remembers me healing him at the Zone. For a brief moment I… well... we connected mentally... when I was healing him that is. I've only ever connected like that with the two Akuma victims though and they were technically dead. Their souls were just trapped or something in the Akuma bodies. You don't… you don't think I was too late do you?"
Fu squeezed her hands comfortingly, "I do not know Marinette. Your powers are new to this world and have yet to follow any sort of pattern. It may be that you connected with Mime because he was on the verge of death or it may have been because you were pouring your life force into him to keep him bound to this existence. All we can do is watch and wait. His body is mostly healed, now we must see if his mind follows. If it does not we will leave the choice of what to do to his daughter."
Marinette sighed letting some of the tension in her body go, "Alright Fu… Thank you. When Mime does awaken… let me know if he starts asking weird questions?"
"I will." Fu said warmly and released her hands.
"Do you think Mime will be a problem?" Adrien asked, moving to Marinette's side and wrapping an arm around her.
Marinette was glad for the contact and she leaned into him even as she shook her head, "No, but he might ask some hard to answer questions. Even if he doesn't remember me healing him, he will be wondering how his throat got healed so fast. We should come up with something over lunch."
"Excellent!" Adrien crowed, rubbing his hands together. "I am starving!"
As if wanting to echo his sentiment Marinette's stomach growled and Fu chuckled, "Go eat you two, and rest. I will let you know when Mime wakes or if there are any further issues."
"Thanks Fu. See you later." Marinette said with Adrien echoing her as he led her out the door.
Waiting until they were back outside the building Adrien finally spoke in a slightly worried tone. "So do you still want to go eat or are you wiped out? I won't tell on you if you just want to go home and crash. We can always talk later."
He was trying to take care of her, Marinette realized, and it made her heart swell with gratitude and love. "I'm not in danger of collapsing or anything. Just a bit tired, like I had a long day of complicated paperwork or something."
Adrien looked as if he didn't quite believe her and she turned into him forcing him to either stop or run her over. "W-what?"
With a sly grin Marinette went up onto her tiptoes and brushed the lightest of kisses along the edge of his jaw. "I promise I am ok Adrien, I just need some food…"
His arms went around her, cuddling her close, no words needing to be said as relief trickled through him. Even though he'd had more contact with Marinette in the past two days than he'd had in the previous week, Adrein felt almost starved for her attention. He'd spent nearly a lifetime isolated from other people, following in his father's footsteps when it came to being held, being touched. Adrien remembered that it hadn't always been like that, that once upon a time both his mother and father had held him close. Through his teen years Gabriel had kept him mostly cut off from other people by sending him away to boarding school, and while he'd had girlfriends and bed partners as he got older, he'd never connected with them. It had come as a shock when Adrien understood he was touch starved, and he'd had never realized it until Marinette had put her hands on him. Something had awakened in him after that and the closer they became, the deeper their bond grew… It was like she was a flame in the darkness and he was a moth attracted to her light. With her acceptance of him being Chat Noir, Adrien knew he would do anything to remain next to her and bask in her presence.
Slowly Marinette ran a hand through his hair marveling at the silkyness of the strands. "Adrien… Are you ok?"
Adrien cringed, "Y-yeah why?"
Marinette pulled back so she could look him in the eye and ever so gently she ran a finger across his cheek. "You have that bruised look in your eye… Like you've been kicked and can't figure out why."
Puffing out a breath Adrien cuddled Marinette close again pressing his face into her hair. "I just missed you Marinette and I worry… I don't know where all this Hawkmoth stuff is taking us and with Mime still out and your stone activating… I just worry."
Returning the hug Marinette relaxed in his arms. She didn't think Adrien was being totally honest with her but sometimes there were things that needed time before you could talk about them. At this point they had connected on a far deeper level than a simple friendship, deeper even than the 'starting a relationship' stage. The miraculous stones had helped in a way initially, since it had forced Adrien to hang about her so much, but now their lives seemed to be entwining deeper with each other every day that passed. Once upon a time that thought would have terrified her, leaving her a mess of nerves and blubbering words, but now all Marinette felt was satisfaction. "Tiki always told me that we can't change the past. We just have to move forward."
"And hope for the best." Adrien finished, "Right… so moving forwards… Where do you want to go eat?"
Marinette sighed, but it wasn't a put upon sigh or even an angry one. It was a sigh of understanding and a touch of worry all wrapped up in one. "Mmmm, better idea. We grab take out and eat on my balcony. Do you have time for that? I know we were at Fu's for longer than we originally planned."
Adrien shrugged, grateful that she had let the conversation drop, "I really don't care. I've already pissed Roger off once today so he shouldn't come circling around again till later in the afternoon. Let's grab some sandwiches or something and then… I think I like the idea of a picnic in the sun on your balcony."
Marinette's smile was infectious, making Adrien grin as well and the two of them stopped by a quick sandwich shop before arriving home.
The building was silent since most people were either at work or enjoying late lunches but Marinette and Adrien didn't relax until they walked into Marinette's flat. Adrien took the bags up the stairs onto the balcony while Marinette grabbed plates, drinks, and napkins. Adrien ducked back inside to take even those things merely stating she needed both hands to climb since she was unusually clumsy when not in a battle to the death. Marinette chucked the pillow she had grabbed for Plagg at him before climbing out onto the balcony to finally eat. Since they were both starved the first few minutes of their picnic were spent in silence as they devoured most of their sandwiches. As they started to slow down with their lunches Marinette decided to break the comfortable silence.
"So what did you do to piss Roger off?" Marinette asked as she settled a little comfortably in the sun. "He looked ready to cry when I ran into him in the stairwell."
Adrien huffed out a breath, "Roger is an idiot. Those papers I was reading when you walked in on me…"
"When you were sleeping you mean..." Marinette interrupted.
Adrien growled, "I was not sleeping! I was overcome with exasperation from having to deal with that idiot. Honestly I have no idea how you dealt with him for so long… Anyways, those papers I had were from a case file that he just so happened to confuse with something on the Hawkmoth case. He has no idea where the papers go now and he just decided to leave it up to me whether to throw the papers out or not. I'll have to show them to you because I don't have a bloody clue where they go. I uh… might have been a bit snappy at him for it though. Did he say something to you?"
Marinette shook her head and swallowed the bite of sandwich she had taken. "No but uh… My senses sorta spiked? When I was in the stairwell… It was just my sense of smell but I forgot to mention it earlier."
Adrien winced, "Roger does not smell pleasant most of the time. How bad was it?"
Marinette took a sip of her drink, thinking back to the moment, "Is it possible to smell emotions on people?"
"I-I don't know…" Adrien murmured thoughtfully before taking another bite of his food.
"Course it is. How do you think I'm so good at discerning how your father feels?" Plagg interrupted from his sprawled position on a pillow in the sun. "The real question is were you able to get a lock on what emotion you sniffed out?"
"Fear." Marinette whispered, realizing she was going to remember that acridic scent for a long time.
Adrien's eyebrows furrowed and even Plagg rolled over to stare up at her. "What would Roger have to fear at the office?" Adrien asked gently rather than questioning her assumption.
"That's exactly what I was wondering…" Marinette grumped "The scent didn't make a whole lot of sense but before I could question him and get a better idea the spike wore off. Has Roger been any better or acting weirder than normal?"
"No." Adrien glowered, "The only reason he left me alone even though I was pissing him off was because he was called out for a meeting with someone. Hopefully my Father will decide that my punishment has been served soon and I can work with someone different."
Marinette winced, "Right… You know I was in a meeting with your father before I came to scare you."
"Yeah. He returned your badge." Adrien agreed, "And you didn't scare me!"
Marinette rolled her eyes but she didn't argue the point since she didn't want to be derailed from what she needed to warn him about. "Gabriel had some questions for me when he called me into his office… I might have pissed him off and threatened to back you if you ever decided to leave."
Adrien gaped at her, his sandwich forgotten halfway to his mouth. "You… you what?"
Thinking that Adrien might be upset Marinette tried to explain, "Gabriel was being an idiot and asking all these weird questions! He even jumped subjects like three times! Wanting to know your whereabouts last night during the Hawkmoth attack, trying to make you out to be some irresponsible punk running around and it pissed me off! I may have told him that you were not a child and to quit treating you like one… Oh and I may have said I've been keeping my distance from you so that I don't cause friction between you and Roger. I-I didn't know how else to explain our uh… separation the past few days."
Adrien blinked as he processed Marinette's words when burst out laughing, "You… you're perfect Marinette! You corrected my father… No wonder he returned your badge! That probably means he's going to want to see me as soon as I get back in. Thanks for the warning! This way I can corroborate with you if he starts fishing."
Marinette frowned, Adrien didn't sound all that surprised that Gabriel had asked what he did and the idea was a little disturbing. "He's done this before. Tried to undermine you in the eyes of those who have allied with you."
"Finally someone else who gets it!" Plagg cheered before popping a piece of cheese into his mouth.
"Plagg!" Adrien admonished before turning back to Marinette. "He… My father is just strict… He doesn't seem to realize I've grown up."
"I see that." Marinette remarked dryly, "He is trying to keep tabs on you at all times… It's a little creepy to be honest. I may have advised him to talk to you about having a different partner. I'd suggest Damocles if he asks for your opinion."
Snorting, Adrien took a bite and spoke around the food in his mouth, "You just don't want to be stuck in his nest organizing."
"Caught me~" Marinette sang playfully before taking another bit of her food.
Swallowing Adrien stuck his tongue out at Marinette, but deep inside he knew that Damocles was actually an excellent suggestion. Rolling the idea around in his mind he spoke out loud. "I don't think I would mind working with Damocles, but until my father reassigns the Hawkmoth case back to you, I'm not going anywhere. I'll deal with Roger as needed till then."
Marinette froze at his words, the last few bites of sandwich forgotten as she mulled his words over. "I-I may not get the case back, Adrien. At least not fully. I still need to go through and add the Akuma report to it. Once I do that and tie some other stuff in... Gabriel will probably assign a whole team to the Hawkmoth case, not just me."
"You could just omit the Akuma." Adrien murmured "We don't know why Hawkmoth is making them or how really. You said yourself that including them into the Hawkmoth case would be the same as opening Pandora's box. Are you really ready for that?"
"Gabriel knows about the Akuma." Marinette mumbled guiltily.
"What?! Why? How did that happen? Why didn't you tell me?" Adrien demanded, a little surprised and hurt.
Marinette winced, "When Chloe got kidnapped a page from my Akuma file got mixed in and Gabriel saw it. He didn't read too far into it thankfully, but he demanded a report on them. He knows they exist but I didn't put in my report that they were being created by someone in the Hawkmoth gang. I didn't tell you because at the time I didn't know you were Chat and I was trying to keep you, Adrien, out of all the Akuma stuff. I didn't think you and Chat would mix very well… Actually I think that was more miraculous magic working because I honestly couldn't think of putting you two together..."
"It was." Plagg confirmed while stretching out.
Adrien on the other hand growled, clearly unhappy about being out of that loop. "Alrighty then… Anything else you haven't told me because you didn't know about my Chat side?"
"Well… As you know I have the Chat Noir case file." Marinette started, pausing until Adrien nodded encouraging her to continue. "Gabriel has asked me for updates and well… I have a plan that might make Chat Noir seem like a scapegoat that the gang uses when things go south for them or when someone needs a figurehead to blame."
Adrien's brow furrowed, "How?"
Marinette smiled, "Welp, It's a good thing you shadowed the Hawkmoth Gang so closely because I have been able to track some of your movements by the accidents you caused within the gangs shipments and so on. Multiple times there have been reports on you in different locations on the same day but so far apart that it would be impossible for you to be in both locations. Also with how varied your crimes are it's easy for me to blur some facts and make it seem like it's not a single person at all."
"That will tie Chat Noir into the Hawkmoth gang too." Adrien muttered, understanding why his father might assign more people to the case. It was becoming large enough to be a conspiracy and his father hated conspiracies.
"It will but it might also make you less of a target for police here since I know you can't help the cat costume. If I can prove that the person called Chat Noir isn't the same as the one Hawkmoth keeps using… I won't have to pretend to try and arrest you. Plus there have been several people in the past who have used the Chat Noir name. Either you need a new name or I need to clear you specifically of wrongdoing. " Marinette admitted. "Right now I just need some information from you to make sure that times and places don't connect Adrien to anything."
Brows furrowing Adrien finally sighed, "Yeah… I can help you with that. When would you like to start?"
"After Mime wakes up. If he wakes up." Marinette mumbled the energy seeming to drain out of her at the thought of him.
"He will wake up Marinette. I know you are worried because you connected with him mentally but you might just be able to do that with anyone you heal." Adrien gently admonished.
They didn't know the full extent of Marinette's abilities yet, something Adrien knew was driving her crazy. Unfortunately, the only way to figure them out was to use them and Adrien was grateful that Fu had taken Marinette under his wing for that stuff. Adrien had figured out his abilities on his own, and while it had been difficult, there was the added security that only he knew what his abilities were. Marinette's abilities so far hinged on healing people and so the only way she could practice was if she revealed herself to some extent. At this point her abilities were a known factor amongst some of the Whisperers, even though none of them actually knew who the person behind the power was. Mime could reveal that little fact and if it got out it wouldn't take long for people to either come flocking to her door to be miraculously healed, or for someone like Hawkmoth to suspect she had a Miraculous stone. Like Chat's powers her abilities were painting a silent but dangerous target on her back. Right on top of the other targets she had acquired in her line of work.
Even as these thoughts crossed Adriens mind, something between a growl and a moan slipped from Marinette as she raked her fingers through her hair. "I didn't connect with you when I healed you though and… and… I don't even know if I want him to wake up! I mean I do! Because you know Mime is a good guy and Mylene will be devastated if he doesn't but on the other hand what if he wakes up and he remembers? What if he totally flips out and tells the world and then... then I'll be put on the news as a freak and probably fired…"
"WHOA… whoa Marinette!" Adrien yelped, grabbing her hands as they flailed. "Easy… easy… There is no reason to freak out ok?!"
"But!" Marinette tried and Adrien pulled her into his lap cuddling her close.
"Look, I have an idea. I'll come in with you as Chat. Not to scare him or anything." Adrien quickly clarified as he felt Marinette stiffen in his arms and knew she was going to protest. "I can act as interference Marinette. Mime was at least halfway gone when you started to heal him and I'm pretty sure he saw me since I was practically hovering over you. Since I'm the one that brought him in you know Fu will corroborate with us. We can just say I did it. After all, Mime knows Chat isn't fully human, what's a bit of Magic to add to the mix? If he pushes we can just say I needed your help for energy or something which would explain your presence. Though… It might not even be an issue Marinette. Let's see if he even remembers."
With a yawn Marinette slumped in Adriens arms her outburst seeming to have worn her out. "Alright. I just…"
"You are just a worry wart and seem to have a bad habit of spiraling into some out-of-this-world worse case scenario… It's kind of cute." Adrien huffed, amusement in his tone even as Marinette pulled away so she could glare at him. What went unsaid was that if Mime woke up and started causing trouble Adrien didn't think Marinette would really have to worry. Fu and the other Whisperers would make Mime disappear long before he became a danger to Marinette.
"Oh bite me." Marinette grouched.
With a grin Adrien nipped at the top edge of her ear making her yelp and jolt from his arms. Laughing Adrien gathered his trash, ducking as a red faced Marinette pelted him with her wrappers. Her cheeks were still dusted with pink as she said goodby to him at her door, and before he could open it to leave she brazenly reached up to pull him down into a kiss. It was a bone meltingly deep kiss that had them both panting for air as they separated and before Adrien could kiss her again Marinette skipped backwards.
"Now, now…" Marinette tutted "You need to go back to work. I however am going to bed."
Adrien's mouth went dry, "That's just mean."
Marinette's smile made his toes curl, "Punishment for a nippy kitty. Now shoo."
A whine slipped from Adrien but Marinette was right, he had been away to 'Lunch' for far too long. He needed to get back into work. Tossing a glare in her direction Adrien opened the door schooling his features into an indifferent mask. Before he could step all the way out Marinette curled her fingers over his shoulders pinning him in place as she whispered, "I'll keep your side of the bed warm if you want to join me later. We can... snuggle."
Adrien heard the hesitation, understood that she wasn't yet ready to offer all of herself to him. It didn't matter to Adrien though. She was offering him a spot back in her bed, back into a comfort zone that he knew she'd allowed very few to enter.
"I would love that Marinette. I sleep better next to you." Adrien managed and it took everything in his power to not turn around and crush her to him.
"Me too." Marinette admitted before letting him go. He seemed frozen on her doorstep, his back to her still and feeling the slightest bit guilty; Marinette gently shoved him forward so she could close the door behind him.
She heard a breathy sigh and then slow footsteps as Adrien made his way back to work. Echoing his sigh but feeling far lighter than she had in days, Marinette stretched her arms out behind her, cracking her lower back as she did. Her bed was calling to her and she hoped that Adrien would follow through on his agreement when he got off from work. Nervous yet satisfied at the end result, Marinette changed into comfortable pajamas and settled into her bed for a nice long nap.
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