When Marinette could think clearly again, she turned to Adrien, glowering.
"That's not fair! You cheated!" she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, though amusement was apparent in her voice. He struck a pose, attempting to convey his awesomeness.
"You're just jealous that I'm the best, Milady," he teased.
"I demand a rematch," she grumbled, tossing her control to the side. "What was that, anyway?"
Adrien leaned in close to her, and it took every ounce of her self control to hold his gaze as he whispered, "A distraction." She shivered as he lingered a moment, then backed away. She snapped back to reality, a spark of determination flitting over her face. Two could play this game. She put on a seductive look, before she leaned forward into his personal space, causing him to scoot away from her slightly in shock. Evidently, he had not been expecting that.
"Well then, let's hope it's not contagious," she said softly through half-lidded eyes, lightly running her fingers up his shoulder and through the brown locks at the nape of his neck. She heard his sharp intake of breath at her touch, his body quivering. "I'd hate for you to get…distracted. You'd have to relinquish your title." She drew nearer still, so close their noses were almost touching. "You are the best…after all." She could feel his breath on her face, which had become slightly ragged and his eyes closed as he swallowed hard. She laughed softly; inwardly, she was surprised at the effect she was having on him. He moved slowly toward her and…"Gotcha," she whispered, flicking him on the nose as she drew back, smirking at him as his eyes opened, startled.
"Meow-ch, Milady," he complained, rubbing his nose. He'd tried for some weak bravado, though she could tell he was still shaken. She was having a hard time containing her giggles as she watched him, dismay coloring his expression.
"You should see your face!"
He scowled. "It's not funny," he protested, his ears turning red, but that just made her burst out laughing…just as Tom and Sabine joined them. Tom's booming laugh told the younger couple they'd seen everything. Marinette's laughter caught in her throat.
Oh crap. Her face quickly became the same shade as her super suit. A sideways glance at Adrien told her that he wasn't any better off than she was. She clapped a hand to her forehead, simultaneously covering her eyes. A cat-astrophe if there ever was one.
"Oh, she got you good, Son," Tom said through his chuckles while Sabine just smirked at them knowingly. "Our Lucky Bug always gives as good as she gets. And you should never get in her way while she's gaming." Tom's eyes sparkled as he added in a stage-whisper, "I've tried it, and let me tell you, it was a huge mistake!"
Adrien finally found his voice. "Yeah…I noticed," he said deadpanned, shooting Marinette another disgruntled look. This time, she returned it. It had been fun to tease him a little, but she never, ever would have done it had she known her parents were in the room.
"Why don't you two come chop some fruit for dinner?" Sabine asked from the kitchen. "With everyone's help, it should be ready in no time."
The two young adults silently did as bidden as Tom and Sabine began on soup and croque monsieur's. They worked in silence as they crafted their fruit salad, neither noticing the other peering at them out of the corner of their eyes.
Marinette's mind was whirling in the relative silence. Had he…tried to kiss her? He definitely didn't seem like he was playing at that point.
Now that she thought on it, the relationship between the two of them felt odd over the last few weeks since they'd discovered each other again. There were times that they were bold with each other, acting by feel in response to what the other seemed to need in that moment, or what seemed right- the first evening he'd come to her place as she stroked his hair, eliciting his loud purrs, came to mind. Or like when the akuma had nearly gotten her that night at the Tower. Or when his memory of his mother's disappearance returned, reducing him to tears.
Other times, though, they were skittish and shy, as though they weren't quite sure where the boundaries should be, each hyperaware of what the other could be thinking. Memories of earlier when he'd asked her permission as he attempted to work the knots out of her shoulders, or when they had tried to cuddle together on the sofa the first night he'd stayed over pushed into her mind. It only made sense, she supposed. He remembered very little of their partnership, even now that his memories were reappearing, and she hadn't wanted to push. His loss of memory could have changed his feelings for her, she thought, especially if he knew what their relationship had been like before. She hadn't wanted to open herself up to him to realize he didn't love her the same anymore; she didn't think she could stand it.
Was there a chance he was still the exact same Kitty she'd always known? The one who was still madly in love with her? She had evidence that pointed that way, but she didn't want to let herself believe it. She didn't deserve it, anyway. She'd pushed him away. She'd rejected him. He'd trusted her, counted on her, to keep him and Paris safe, and she'd failed. She didn't deserve to have him love her. Not after all that. She'd done horribly without him in his absence. Maybe if he hadn't left, everything wouldn't be so messed up.
She knew that his deserting her had been through no fault of his own. She instantly felt terrible for blaming him. He couldn't help what had happened to him. He was just doing his job, fulfilling his responsibilities. But she'd needed him and he hadn't been there.
Then again, it wasn't his fault her powers were broken. It was hers. Somehow. And now Lila might know her secret. She sighed. Those people on the news were right. She should just give it up and-
Her dark thoughts halted abruptly as she felt a gentle nudge to her shoulder. She sighed again, startled at just how far her negative spiral had taken her, and a little annoyed that she never could hide anything from her Chaton.
"You alright?" he whispered, looking at her in concern from behind his oval-shaped glasses. She nodded, not meeting his eyes. He nudged her again, his eyes blazing. "Don't shut me out, Mari. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."
Adrien was getting worried. As they continued to silently cut up the fruit, he could see the sparkle in Marientte's eyes diminishing, her shoulders becoming tense again. She was going to have to find solitude soon, or she'd probably try to run again. As he spoke to her, instead of reassuring her, her eyes filled with tears. It was then he knew he'd need to get her out of there. Fast.
"We're done. We're going for a walk before dinner," he announced a little hurriedly, dumping the last couple of berries into the bowl and grabbing Marinette by the hand as he led her from the room. "We'll be back in a bit. Don't wait for dinner on our account, though." Tom looked startled, but Sabine smiled.
"Have fun, dears. We'll save some food for you," she said, shooing them out the door. Adrien recognized a flicker of concern in the older woman's eyes as she glanced at the girl behind him. Sabine was completely aware of what was going on, it seemed. It looked like Marinette had been right; her mother's sixth sense told her everything.
Adrien didn't need to be told twice. He fled, Marinette close on his heels. Out the door, down the stairs, and into the park across the street they ran. They had barely found a spot under a tall tree before Marinette fell to her knees, hiding her face in her hands. He pulled her to him, keeping silent as she unleashed her feelings, letting hot tears drip down her face and onto his sweater. He didn't mind; he was content to wait her out. As he ran a hand up and down her back soothingly, he was startled to realize his comforting purr was rumbling through him, even without the suit on. She didn't seem to find this odd, but maybe she'd not noticed, he thought. After a while, she calmed slightly, though she didn't move an inch.
"Thank you," she whispered into his neck, sighing heavily. Her head was resting on his shoulder as he pulled away slightly to examine her. She looked exhausted.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly as his purr died away. He frowned when she shook her head.
"Milady-"
"Please," she pleaded. "No."
He sighed. "Mari, I don't want to push you on this. But it's hurting you to keep…whatever it is, locked up like you have been." He paused, considering what to do. "You trust me, right?" he asked, peeking at her through his hair.
She nodded immediately. "With my life," she whispered.
"Then why won't you let me help you? We're partners! I need you, and you need me! That's never going to change!" he said softly, though his tone betrayed his frustration. She said nothing. He sighed again. "Please. Trust me with this. Maybe I can help. And if I can't help, at least I'll be able to understand what's causing this and be there for you."
He observed her, trying to gage her reaction. She seemed to be considering him, though he could see the tension building as she rubbed at her forehead absently. He hadn't wanted to stress her out more. He backpedaled.
"Why don't we make a deal?" he asked finally. She looked up at him in confusion as his eyes blazed determinedly. "You tell me on your own terms…unless it becomes a pain point for you again. The next time this happens, where it's putting you at risk for akumas, I will not move from this spot until we talk about this. Paris can't afford to have you become a victim for Hawkmoth. And I can't afford it, either." He looked down at the top of her head, twisting his ring around his finger nervously behind her back. "It would destroy me if I ever had to fight you, Milady. If I had to hurt you to save everyone else."
As he realized what he'd just said, he was startled. He knew what he'd said was true, his feelings were plain as day. Yet, he knew they'd only been friends for a few weeks in his memory. The ones from before still sort of felt like a dream, really. But yet he knew with everything he was that he'd never be able to take out Ladybug.
He shook himself out of his thoughts, realizing she hadn't answered him.
"Please. You need to work through this so that never happens. And you need me- or someone- to help you. You know you do, otherwise you'd have this handled already," he continued. She still didn't acknowledge him, apparently lost in thought, though shivering slightly in the autumn air. He sighed and checked the time.
"Are you ready go back?" he asked. "Dinner is probably ready by now." When she nodded, he looked at her seriously. "And…you'll let me in next time?"
She hesitated, then nodded. "Ok. We'll talk next time." His eyes widened. He'd expected her to protest, if he was being honest.
"Promise?"
"Promise," she answered, though looking nervous at the thought.
Good enough, he thought. For now.
He stood, carefully helping her to her feet. He watched her for a moment; she was still looking nervous and her shoulders slumped miserably. He hated seeing her like this, all shine or sparkle missing from her countenance. Without thinking, he wrapped her tightly in his arms, hoping to convey that she would be safe and protected there, with him. She sank into his embrace gratefully.
"Everything will be alright," he reassured her. "It doesn't matter what happens. I would never intentionally leave you. You know that, right Bugaboo?" She met his eyes and he could see disbelief flickering in her blue depths. "Never," he said again, willing her to hear his heart through his words, for his own eyes to convey truth to her.
"You say that now," she said softly. "But-"
He shook his head, cutting her off by pulling her closer, her head tucked under his chin. He longed to drop a soft kiss in her hair, but he held himself back. Now was not the time. "'But' nothing. I'm not just saying things to hear the sound of my purr-fect voice, Milady," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm making you a promise. And I don't break promises. Especially not to someone I- I care about."
She looked up at him in surprise, but then buried herself again in his arms with a small smile. "Thanks, Kitty." She sighed. "I suppose we should go eat now."
"Finally!" Plagg squeaked from Adrien's pocket. "I'm starving! Let's go!"
Adrien and Marinette both laughed. Adrien took his partner by the hand, and together they walked slowly back to her parents' place.
The rest of their evening was rather uneventful, thankfully. Once they made their way back to the apartment, they found that Marinette's parents, despite what they'd said, had not had dinner without them. The Miraculous duo sat side by side, fingers intertwined under the table (it was lucky Adrien was ambidextrous, probably thanks to fencing) as they ate their sandwiches and soup quietly, enjoying the stories Tom was telling about his school days.
Sabine invited Marinette to stay for a movie night afterwards, but the girl declined.
"Thanks Maman, but I think I'm going to go home and go to bed," she said. "Maybe another night?"
"Oh. Alright dear," she relented.
"I can see her out," Adrien spoke up, flushing slightly as Sabine fixed him with a knowing look. He nervously pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, but followed Marinette out the door to the apartment and down the stairs to the street where she turned to face him.
"Do you…want me to come over tonight?" he asked quietly. She met his eyes, a hopeful sheen showing through.
"If…if you want to," she said shyly, before determination flashed through her eyes. "You will always have a place with me. You know that, right Chaton?"
He smiled at her, pulling her into a hug. "Thanks Bugaboo." He stared down at her before leaning down to peck her on the cheek. "I'll be over in a while, ok? Just long enough that it won't look suspicious."
"Ok," she smiled, waving to him as she turned toward a nearby alleyway to transform just as a cold rain started to fall before swinging away.
A little while later, Marinette looked up from the book she was reading to a soft tapping on her balcony window. Seeing her Chaton standing there in the downpour, she smiled softly, letting him in. He jumped into her living room on all fours, and she caught a devious grin on his face.
"Chat," she warned, "don't you da-"
She cut herself off with a shriek as he shook the water from his hair and body, simultaneously spraying her with it. "Ugh!" she growled in annoyance as she wiped her face. "Do you have to do things like that? You're not a real cat!" He just smirked at her.
"You know you love me," he said, putting a soaking wet arm around her, which she hurriedly shrugged off, her face flushing crimson.
"Whatever, Kitty," she said, flicking the bell at his throat. He pouted playfully, transforming back into himself, now dry and in his sleepwear, his glasses and brown contacts noticeably absent.
"So? What's the plan for tonight?" he asked, sprawling out on the sofa as she smiled fondly at him. She never could get enough of his natural eyes. They were so vibrant and beautiful. She immediately curled into him and he draped an arm over her.
"Sleeping," she replied happily, resting her head on his chest before the pair of them quickly fell asleep.
An hour or two later, Adrien woke with a start. It took a few moments to remember where he was, but his musings were abruptly cut off as a flash from the window illuminated the room.
"Oh no," he groaned softly, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Why did this have to happen now? A loud clap of thunder startled him, and his arms tightened reflexively around the girl lying on his chest. She stirred sleepily.
"Adrien?" she mumbled, "What's wrong?" He shook his head, trembling slightly.
"I-it's nothing Mari. G-go back to sleep," he said, pulling her closer when another clap of thunder sounded outside. More fully awake now, she sat up to study him.
"Kitty? I didn't know you were afraid of thunder," she said, looking confused. "We fought weather akumas before, and you didn't seem to have any problems then…"
He tried to give her a casual deadpan look, but it fell flat as he shivered. "Th-thanks Mari," he said sarcastically. "I don't know why it scares me so much; logically, I know it can't hurt me here, but…there must be something I don't remember. That stretch this summer with all the thunderstorms was brutal. I didn't sleep much for, like, two weeks. It was terrible."
Marinette looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but seeing that he had buried his face in her sofa pillows and curled up into a ball with his knees pressed to his chest, decided to set them aside for now.
"Wait here," she said, moving to get up. Adrien shook his head, quickly standing to follow, all the while clinging to her hand. He felt like a baby, but he really didn't want to be left alone at the moment.
"I'm coming with you," he said. She shrugged, allowing him to walk with her as she pulled her huge comforter from her bed, wrapping it tightly around his shoulders. Then, she grabbed her laptop computer and a set of earphones, carrying them with them to the sofa.
"What do you want to watch? The sound of the movie will help drown out the thunder," she explained. He shivered again as another rumble of thunder sounded, louder this time.
"D-doesn't matter. Something loud. Anything." He looked at her, attempting to hand her one of his earbuds. "Don't you want to watch, too?" She shook her head.
"I don't have a sound splitter, and it's more important for you to be able to relax right now." She turned the volume up as loud as it would go. "Besides, I can just put on a movie I've seen before. It's alright, Minou, I don't mind," she tried to reassure him. He wasn't convinced. She settled him on the couch with his head in her lap, setting her laptop on the coffee table and beginning to card her fingers through his hair comfortingly as the movie began.
Unfortunately, the next BANG! of thunder outside was the loudest yet, sounding more like a gunshot than anything else. The headphones didn't help much to dampen the sound, and the vibration could be felt in the floor and sofa underneath them. Adrien tried his hardest to control his body's reaction, but he couldn't quite help how quickly he moved, ending up curled up in Marinette's lap like a real cat in hiding, the comforter pulled tightly over his head. He'd accidentally pulled the earphones out of his ears when he moved, and, to his consternation, he was trembling again. It was then he heard Marinette laugh breathlessly.
"Adrien…can't…breathe," she gasped softly, though he could still hear the quiet laughter in her voice. He quickly climbed off her, blushing fiercely as he peeked out from under the blanket.
"Sorry! Sorry, I-" Marinette cut him off, running a soft hand down his cheek. He leaned into her touch, still feeling ridiculous.
"Don't worry," she said kindly, taking his hand. "It's ok to be afraid."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Who's ever heard of a grown man, a superhero for that matter, being afraid of thunder?"
It was then he noticed Plagg, who had floated over and perched on top of Marinette's head.
"Kid, if you could remember why, you'd cut yourself some slack," he said heavily.
Adrien frowned. "What do you mean, Plagg? What happened?" Marinette asked.
Plagg sighed. "A few years ago, you got in a fight with your dad. It was bad enough you were sure you would never move back to the mansion. You were so angry, you transformed and ran off. You didn't have any idea where you could go since you didn't know many people, so you resolved to live as Chat Noir out on the rooftops until you figured things out." Plagg rung his tiny paws, his luminous eyes glowing in the darkness. "That night, there was a terrible storm. You nearly got hit by lightning four times that night, before you finally found somewhere closer to the ground to take shelter."
Plagg gave a small smile as he recounted the next part of the story. "You were soaked to the bone. You jumped to the ground, in the middle of the night, in front of someone just starting their very early work day. Upon realizing who you were and that you were freezing and half scared out of your mind, the baker brought you in, sat you by the oven to dry, and fed you breakfast," he said. "Spots' parents have been bringing in strays long before they took Jean Luc in," he added, smirking at the nonplussed looks on their faces.
"After you'd recovered to a degree, you decided to go back home. But you made sure to buy your own apartment after that incident so you had somewhere else to go if things ever blew up with your father again. You couldn't bring yourself to leave your only family," Plagg explained, sounding annoyed at his attitude towards his father. "Not that he deserves it."
Adrien flinched as thunder rumbled again, burrowing into Marinette's side. Thankfully, it wasn't as loud as before. "That probably explains why the bakery drew my attention, that first day when I woke up with no memories," he said thoughtfully. "I thought it was just because I was hungry," he admitted with a sheepish smile. "Then again, I remember having a massive headache when I woke up, so it's a wonder I could even think at all at that point."
Marinette was looking indignant. "Kitty, why didn't you tell me?" she said. "You can't just wander the streets alone like that! I could have done something-"
Adrien shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't remember any of this, Mari, so I can't really explain what I was thinking. Probably that I didn't want to worry you or something." He faltered at the look she was giving him. "I promise I'll let you help from now on though, ok?" he said, squeezing her hand. Her face softened a fraction.
"Good," she said. "You're part of our family now, Minou. Don't ever forget that." She pretended not to notice the way his eyes brightened with tears as she gently guided him back to their previous position and handed him back the earphones. He gratefully stuck them back in his ears as Marinette restarted the movie.
As he focused in on the sensation of her hands in his hair and the movie, he slowly released the tension from his muscles. His quiet purr sounded through the room. He noticed Marinette's movements stuttering, then her hands stilled. He carefully looked up to see she had fallen asleep again. He took off one of his headphones, listening experimentally for a moment. The thunder was gone. He breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the laptop, setting the earphones on top, and relaxing into his partner. It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep, too.