Chapter 8: Nightmares

"They have to wake up. I don't care. Check out is in 30 minutes guys, I'm going in." Alya muttered from behind their closed door.

BANG

They were woken up by a loud knock at the door and the jolting of the knob. Alya entered unannounced holding two coffees.

"Two coffees for the hero's of Paris" she sang until she caught a glimpse of the two hero's snuggled up like a married couple in one of the beds together. Ladybug lay completely on top of Chat and he had both arms wrapped around her.

"Okay just partners my ass." She set the coffees down with a grunt. "We're talking about this later, bug" she continued closing the door behind her.

Facing the gang in the hall she clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Yep. Something is going on." She laughed

The group laughed together assuming she didn't open the door to two hero's sleeping separately.

"We all saw it coming" Kagami giggled

"I guess so" Luka sighed

"Saw what coming?" Rose opened her door with Juleka

"Ladynoir sharing a bed and looking very comfortable" Alya laughed

"How romantic!" Rose squealed"

Marinette's POV:

Alya left seeming upset, but Marinette was too comfortable to wake up fully. A loud hum filled the air-conditioned room. She breathed in the scent of fresh hotel linens and something else warm and familiar above her head. Chat had been breathing deeply, still asleep and his breathe tickled her forehead. She drifted back to sleep feeling like nothing could interrupt her bliss.

"You're not even listening to me" Chat Blanc spoke softly with a voice so icy it chilled her to her core.

"I-" she choked but before she could manage to get anything out he interrupted her. His chest heaved in and out and his eyes panicked.

"The truth is you don't love me anymore! So, I might as well destroy you, me, our memories, EVERYTHING" he screamed into the air as if everything inside him was breaking. Her eyes filled with tears as she dug her fingers into her palm. She felt herself going numb from the neck down and she grew nauseous with fear. His eyes fell on her as they widened with madness and tears. His hand raised towards the sky with a massive orb of light, threatening to do as he said. His other hand however, clutched the one that held the source of power. Part of him was fighting back. Her heart broke and she began to panic.

"CHAT NO!" she screamed.

Adrien's POV:

Adrien awoke to Ladybug breathing rapidly. She felt cold and he could tell something was wrong.

"no. NO. no" tears ran down her face. He grew concerned and began to pat her softly on her forehead.

"it's ok love, I'm here" he comforted her.

"I-…. CHAT NO!" she shrieked, and the crying intensified. Adrien's chest sunk. He didn't like seeing her like this and he certainly didn't like whatever she was dreaming about.

"My lady! Hey! Hey!" he spoke softly rubbing her arms. Was she…? Scared of him? Her face was clammed with sweat, and she seemed frozen with panic. He tried to comfort her by hugging her close, but it failed. She pushed him away and began shaking. Unsure of what to do, he grabbed her shoulders and jostled her around a little.

"My lady! Hi! Please wake up! He kept shaking her, searching her face for any sign of return. Slowly but surely her eyes fluttered open. First, she seemed shocked to see him and he was sure he saw fear behind her wide eyes but then, she seemed relieved. He had been hovering over her as he shook her awake and she reached up and around his neck, yanking him towards her.

"Oh, chaton you're here. Thank god it's you." She breathed into his neck.

Marinette's POV:

She sighed into him as if he were a weighted blanket saving her from a panic attack. She hadn't had a Chat Blanc nightmare in months. Why was this happening now? She looked at the crook of his neck. There were two freckles. Her breathing eased up. He was Chat Noir, not Chat Blanc. Embarrassed about what had just happened and realizing how strange her behavior must've been, she released him a little.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out." She tried not to meet his searching eyes.

"My lady is there something you need to tell me?" his finger glided against her chin gently. She didn't respond. "Are you scared of me?" he finished. She looked up at him at last and broke into a million pieces. She hated what she was hiding. She hated that it wasn't even real anymore, and she hated that he didn't do anything wrong but in such a Chat like way, he seemed guilty. And now he mistook her nightmare for fear of him. He seemed to get more and more uncomfortable with being close to her. She felt him wanting to escape. He shifted away from her and sat up; his arms crossed slouching at the end of the bed. She still couldn't form any words.

"If you don't want to talk, I get it. But I thought- I thought you wanted to stop hiding things from each other" he spoke sternly.

She leaned up and gathered herself. She couldn't lose him over this.

"I want to. But I don't think I can bear it yet. But Chat. There's one thing I can tell you and that's that I'm not scared of you. In fact, I only really feel safe with you and that's why the nightmare I had was so" He started getting up from the bed. "Please don't go. Please" her voice quivered. She wanted him to stay desperately. She began fidgeting with her fingers, grabbing her knuckles and twisting as she struggled to finish her sentence. He was who she feared in her dream, but he was also the one she so desperately wanted to help and who she desperately wanted to come back to her.

He turned to face her, sitting back down, and looked down at her hands. "No baby, don't do that" he leaned down and kissed her hands. She warmed at his touch and melted at his little pet name. He reached his arms around her and tucked her into his chest, sitting up with her as she leaned into him and sobbed.

"Hey its ok. You don't have to talk now. I'm here. You're safe" he whispered into her hair. She felt the weight of his words as he took her fears away. She was safe.