At least two more chapters to go and this story is already 43 pages in my word document... Sheesh.
Aneki Okumura... You are the reason for about 800+ extra words... I hope you are happy.
Avatar NIX... More FLUFF! This whole dam story is one giant fluff basket. We do get a touch of seriousness in this one though. You also get the answer to your question!
Q-A the Authoress... He is up in Marinettes bed and in the show it is a loft style. Basically she was on ground level of her room and couldn't see Chat period. She threw the blanket over him to keep him warm and as an extra measure of protecting his identity.
Between akuma attacks and the stresses of everyday life Chat starts to see who the real person is behind a girl named Marinette.
I own nothing... Except my imagination.
The Cats Shield (Part 5)
(WEDNESDAY)
Adrien had made it back to his home very late or super early depending on how you looked at it. Marinette had fallen asleep hours ago and Adrien had as well happily curled around her on her little couch. Plagg had finally managed to awaken him in time to return to his own home before the miraculous ran out. With Natalie and his father still away no one noticed his activities as far as he could tell since there were no messages from Natalie or his father other than the basic here is your schedule kind of thing. Wandering through the dining room on his way to the kitchen he stumbled across a plate of food long gone cold. Next to it was a note addressed to him. Ever curious Adrien opened the paper.
"Young Master, I have seen that you have now missed several meals and realize that you have not returned home although it is far later than what you should be out at. I have not alerted anyone yet, but this cannot continue. Please be present at breakfast tomorrow."
Adrien winced it would seem that someone had finally noticed his absence and of all people it was the cook. Throwing the food away in the kitchen Adrien dropped he plates into the sink and collected what he had come down for in the first place. Returning to his room with some cheese Adrien handed it over to his gluttonous kwami then set his alarm for the next morning. Adrien forced himself to eat breakfast the next morning under the watchful gaze of the chef then obediently allowed the gorilla to take him to school.
"I'll be home for dinner. I already promised my friends that I would have lunch with them." Adrien lied as he stepped from the confines of the car. The gorilla simply nodded and watched as Adrien walked up the front steps before driving away. The stairs were unusually quiet this morning something that set Adrien on edge immediately. Nino was also absent which usually meant that there was some kind of trouble about to go down since Adrien knew he wasn't late. Considering the silence of the area around him Adrien was more inclined to believe that trouble wasnt far away. The only question now was whether this trouble required Chat Noirs presence or not. His phone rang as he climbed the stairs and all he saw was the text
"Clo gone loco. Help needed b4 things get ugly." _Nino
Adrien ran forwards his ears picking up the heated fight as he made it inside the courtyard.
"Defending your new boyfriend Marinette?" Chloe spat as she glared at Wes and Marinette who was standing just behind him. It was obvious that Chloe had been picking on Wes again and Marinette decided to become involved.
"He is not my boyfriend Chloe." Marinette snapped and Adrien felt a rush of warmth at her words although Wes's face crumpled.
Seeing his face fall though Chloe pounced sensing his weakness. "What's the matter Wes? Marinette turn you down? You know she's only defending you out of pity."
Wes's face turned red. "I haven't given her an opportunity to turn me down." Wes ground out and Chloe snorted waving a hand at him.
"Its probably a good thing. After all your even more useless than her and that's saying something." Chloe snarked and the crowd around them shifted uneasily as suddenly Wes seemed to snap.
"Shut up Chloe." Wes hissed and Chloe managed to look surprised.
"Excuse me? Who do you think your talking to?!" Chloe demanded
Wes stood fully upright the fury he was feeling practically palpable in the air. "I think I'm talking to a nobody." Wes growled cutting Chloe off and Adrien freeze in his tracks. "After all you would be nothing if your father wasn't the mayor."
"Excuse ME?!" Chloe nearly shrieked her hands forming into claws.
Even Marinette looked a little surprised and Wes glared at Chloe. He was chaffing from the not her boyfriend comment on Marinettes part and it was Chloes fault. However he felt quite a bit of satisfaction seeing Chloes face contort in fury over his words.
"You heard me." Wes stated somehow keeping his voice icily calm. "Everyone here knows you as the mayors daughter or the spoiled brat. Nothing more. Plus with the way you act it will never be anything more. Sooner or later someone else will be voted into office and then you will be no one. So what will you do then Chloe?"
Chloe snarled taking a step forward and Marinette suddenly inserted herself between them blocking Chloe from her target. Chloes hand raised clearly ready to strike Marinette out of the way and Marinette half crouched ready to block if necessary. At that moment Adrien decided to step in. He could see from the look on Marinette face that she was in no mood to be nice and having witnessed Marinette take down a man twice her size Adrien knew Chloe didn't stand a chance. Before Chloes hand could even start its decent Adrien stepped out into the line of fire and grabbed her by the wrist snapping "That is enough Chloe."
Chloe whirled yanking her hand from his grasp fury in her eyes but as soon as she saw his face a look of self-pity overcame her features.
"Adrikins they are picking on me!" she sobbed fake tears welling in her eyes as she burrowed her face against his shirt and throwing her arms around him.
Adrien went stiff at the embrace and he glanced up to see a look of exasperation on Marinette face and disgust on Wes's. Feeling rather annoyed himself Adrien peeled Chloe off him while trying to keep the annoyance off his own face.
"You are lying Chloe, I heard everything." Adrien stated
Chloe gasped one hand fluttering to her mouth. "But Adriekins They were being so very rude and hurtful…"
"Chloe. That is enough." Adrien snapped once more his patience at a sudden end.
Chloe went silent and looked between him, Wes, and Marinette. "You're going to defend them?" She demanded and Adrien took a step back putting him almost at Marinettes side. It felt right for him to stand there and for a moment he could even see himself taking her hand in his.
"Yes" Adrien answered simply, managing to ignore the sweet temptation of Marinettes hand that was hanging so very close.
Chloe practically had stem coming out of her ears. "FINE!" she screamed then shoved her way out of the circle of people that had formed around them.
The air went still as everyone watched Chloe storm off then Nino whispered "Dude…" breaking the silence.
"Alright people nothing to see here move along!" Alya called in the next second breaking people up and even shoving at one or two others to get them moving. Once everyone scattered Alya pounced on Marinette. "Girl what were you thinking? You looked ready to take Chloe apart!"
Marinette flushed a deep red as Adrien turned his attention to Wes. "Stupid question, but are you ok Wes?"
Wes's head jerked up and he stared into Adriens green eyes seeming to search them for something. Then all at once he sighed. "I'll let you know in a minute." He grumbled so low that Adrien realized that he wasn't actually meant to hear it. Reaching out Wes tapped Marinette on the shoulder. "Marinette may I talk to you for a second? In private?"
Marinette looked confused but she nodded and Adrien felt that slight prick of jealousy start to bubble in his gut as Wes led Marinette off a few feet away. Normal people wouldn't be able to over hear the words passing between them but Adrien wasn't normal and he was totally focused on the sounds of their voices.
"Marinette I wanted to thank you for helping me with Chloe." Wes began and Adrien watched as Marinette raised a hand to stop him from continuing onwards.
"Wes… I like someone else…" Marinette said her voice ever so gentle. Her gaze flicking up to where Adrien stood. "Yesterday you asked me out and I really am flattered but… I'm sorry."
Wes crumpled a little in on himself and Marinette reached out patting him on the arm. "I would like to remain friends though. We all want to be your friend. Well… maybe not everyone… but Alya, Nino, and Adrien are certainly here for you."
Wes looked up at her and nodded once seeming to accept his status. "Do you mind still helping with the costumes? You really are very good at it."
Marinette smiled and nodded "Sure I'd love to!" She answered and suddenly Ninos voice broke in ruining Adriens concentration.
"Dude if you stair any harder at them they might actually catch fire." Nino commented with a grin.
Adrien felt himself blush. "I wasn't staring I was lost in thought… I mean… uh… Chloe seemed rather more upset than usual huh?"
Alya snorted "She used to get like this all the time before you started coming here but usually Sabrina is here to curb the worst of her crappy attitude. These days you just don't have to deal with it because you are her precious Adrikins."
Alya actually managed to get the pitch exactly right as she said Chloes disgusting pet name for him and Adrien grimaced.
"Please for the love of the Ladyblog don't do that." Adrien managed and Alya cackled as Marinette asked "Do what?"
"Nothing!" Adrien yelped before Alya could try her mimicry again "Shouldn't we be heading to class?"
As a group they decided they should in fact head to class and from there the day actually ran rather smoothly. Chloe was peacefully absent and everyone figured she must have gone home when she stormed off. Lunch finally rolled around and Marinette invited everyone to her house for the break since she could see Adrien had no lunch and he hadn't mentioned returning home for the meal.
Wes was the only one to decline saying "I actually wanted to finish something up with a mask I've been working on since the club isn't meeting tonight."
Marinette smiled. "That's ok. I actually had some stuff I need to get don't this afternoon anyways."
"Maybe tomorrow with your help we can finally get them done." Wes sighed then turned to Adrien "Can I talk to you for a second Adrien?"
Adrien nodded feeling a touch confused but followed him as Marinette said "We will wait for you by the school entrance Adrien!"
Adrien decided he liked hearing Marinette calling his name. She hadn't even stuttered that last time! Wrenching his attention away from Marinette retreating back Adrien looked up at Wes as they stopped and he turned to face him. "Everything ok Wes?" Adrien asked.
"For the most part yeah. Chloe apparently has it out for me now though." Wes answered truthfully. "Listen, I wanted to ask you… Do you like Marinette?"
Adriens heart stopped and suddenly he felt his cheeks flush. "S-she is a good friend of course I l-like her!"
Wes rolled his eyes at Adrien answer. "Obviously. Let me rephrase that. Do you want to date Marinette?"
Adriens jaw dropped and he wasn't sure how he wanted to respond. Part of him wanted to snap it was none of Wes's business while another part wanted to reverently deny it after all he loved Ladybug! Still another piece of him wanted to crawl into a hole and never want to answer that question. In a way he sort of took the third way out.
"S-she said she like someone!" Adrien said instead of giving an answer feeling heat flush his cheeks.
Wes face palmed. "You're kidding me you cannot be that dense…"
Adrien blinked at him not understanding. "What do you mean? Marinette has said before that she likes someone. I don't know who it is."
Wes lifted his face from is hands as he let out a bark of laughter. "Wow… ok so you are… Alright Adrien let me try again. Regardless of fact that Marinette likes someone, would you want to date her?"
Adrien didn't know where Wes's question had come from and once more he felt his inner thoughts go to war as his emotions tumbled all over the place. Outwardly he remained calm and silent taking on the appearance of deep thought as he managed to say "I've never thought about it."
Wes sighed and patted Adrien on the shoulder. "Maybe you should." Was all Wes said and before Adrien could ask why he turned and walked away.
Wes snickered to himself as he made his way to the studio and let himself in. He was bummed that Marinette turned him down and annoyed at Chloes attitude but Adriens total obliviousness made up for it really. They would make a cute couple Wes decided and wondered if Adrien would figure his own feelings out. Moving past one of the racks he noticed some cloth on the floor and stooped to pick it up only to freeze. The cloth was part of one of the costumes that was completed and hanging. Looking to the rack Wes hands started to shake. The costumes were in shambles. They had been slashed apart and what looked like paint had been splashed on most of them.
"Oh. You weren't supposed to find this till later." A snobby voice hissed. "I wanted to get your reaction on tape."
Wes turned already knowing who it was. "What in the hell have you done Chloe?" He demanded his voice dangerously soft.
Chloe flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "I am punishing you. You are already at the bottom of the social feeding pool and you need a good lesson as to why you should never mess with me. Everyone in your little club will know this came about because of you and I wouldn't be surprised if you got kicked out. Not that it should matter since I'm sure you were a horrible actor anyways." From behind her back she pulled a torn apart mask. The very one he had come to finish and tossed it at his feet. "This should teach you to mind your own business and do as I say. Otherwise I'm sure I could get you thrown out of school if that's what you would prefer."
Wes remained silent not trusting himself to speak and instead stared down at the destroyed mask. She had torn the colorful cloth from its pins leaving the mask white once more and the bottom part that was to cover the lower face was sheared off in jagged clumps leaving it reminiscent of a masquerade type mask. Taking his silence as acquiescence Chloe sauntered past him and slipped out the door slamming it closed.
Wes dropped to his knees lifting the torn mask into his hands fury pounding through his blood. All his hard work, all Marinettes and his clubs hard work was shredded at the hands of a vapid stupid girl. Tears pooled in his eyes as he noticed the vibrant purple butterfly flutter towards him. As it landed on the mask it vanished and all at once a rich smooth voice echoed in his mind.
"Hello dear boy I am Hawkmoth and I can feel your fury. What is it you desire?" Hawkmoth asked.
"I want to teach Chloe a lesson. She has gone too far this time." Wes whispered his voice choked up
Hawkmoth chuckled "Very well then Doppelganger. I shall help you and in return you must take Ladybugs and Chat Noirs miraculous."
"Deal" Doppelganger whispered then stood placing the mask to his face and letting the darkness envelope him.
A moment later the room stood empty and silent once more.
… … … … … … … … … …
Adrien thought about Wes's question for the rest of the day and was completely distracted as a result. In fact he only realized Wes hadn't come back after lunch when Alya noted his absence. Adriens interest had been piqued but he made the mistake of looking up into Marinetts very blue eyes and decided he wasn't up to finding Wes after all. Instead he went to fencing classes and after having his butt handed to him by the teacher Adrien forced himself to pay better attention. Dinner was boring and rather tasteless but with the cook practically hovering over his shoulder Adrien hadn't had a choice in the matter. Like always the meal didn't fill him up totally and he was still hungry as he went to his room flopping over his couch in exasperation.
"What is wrong with me Plagg?" Adrien griped
Plagg flew from his hiding spot to land on his knee.
"Besides the fact that you are an idiot?" Plagg asked burping
Adrien shot his kwami a glare. "I am not! I'm just confused… I mean I love Ladybug but I think I'm starting to like Marinette! I mean I could totally imagine her holding my hand and walking to class. Her cooking is the best and she is so warm and solid when she hugs me."
"Uh huh too bad there not one and the same huh?" Plagg said a wide toothed grin on his face.
Suddenly Adrien shot up sending Plagg tumbling off his knee and for a second Plagg thought he may have made a mistake.
"They aren't the same…" He whispered looking lost in thought as Plagg flew up to hover before him.
"What isn't the same?" Plagg asked too curious for his own good.
"My… my feelings for Ladybug and Marinette…" Adrien answered as realization washed through him. He did love Ladybug in fact he idolized her and that was part of the problem, besides the fact that Ladybug didn't feel the same about him. Marinette on the other hand, he didn't love her just yet but a good chunk of his heart definitely felt something for her. She was sweet and kind and she seemed to like both sides of him. After all Marinette didn't judge him and she was real, someone he could relate to and really talk to. With a touch of surprise Adrien realized he wanted to go see her.
Seeming to read his mind Plagg sighed "I want more cheese for this and if you fall asleep there again I wont wake you up. I'll just let you get caught."
Adrien took the warning to heart and after making sure no one would miss him if he left Adrien changed into Chat leaping to the rooftops. Chat found Marinette on her balcony drawing in the light spilling from her room.
"I didn't know you had night vision Princess." Chat said as he slipped from the darkness.
"Chat?!" Marinette yelped jumping to her feet.
Chat chuckled "Sorry Princess I didn't mean to scare you."
Marinette shook her head. "No its ok. I was hoping you would stop by. Have you eaten yet?"
Chats mouth watered and his stomach growled answering her question before his voice could. Marinette giggled "I'll take that as a no. Come on in then and lets get you something to eat."
Her house was as warm as ever and her parents were welcoming regardless of the fact he had come in through the window instead of the door.
"I see what they say about feeding stray cats is true!" Tom chuckled as Sabine elbowed him in the ribs.
"Welcome back Chat. Are you doing well today?" Sabine asked moving to wrap him in a hug.
Chat was ready for the hug this time and he returned it feeling warm through to his very bones. Marinette smiled at the interaction as she got Chat a plate. Chat had seemed a little down lately and she was glad that she and her family could bring some cheer into his life.
"Hey Chat after you eat would you like to play some video games?" Marinette asked putting the plate in the microwave to heat.
Chat perked up stepping away from her mom "Sure!"
Marinette ate some ice cream as Chat ate a real dinner then the two of them retired to her room since her parents went to bed early.
"Don't stay up too late Marinette. You have school in the morning and I'm assuming you do as well Chat?" Sabine asked
"I don't have school till late tomorrow actually." Chat answered remembering the early morning photo shoot his father had scheduled.
"Even still you kids need your rest. Bedtime is midnight at the latest you hear me?" Sabine said her hands resting on her hips and leaving nothing up for discussion.
"Yes mam" Chat agreed as Marinette snickered then said "Night mama, papa!"
She pulled Chat up into her room and closed the door behind them before turning on the computer. Handing Chat a controller she sat down in her chair as he pulled up her futons stool.
They played laughing together for a long while until Marinette finally found the courage to ask "Chat are you homeless?"
Chat froze and his character onscreen died to a comedic fanfare. "Homeless?" he asked turning to stare at her.
Marinette blushed "It was something your Plagg said. I was just going to tell you that if you needed a place to stay you can stay here."
"Plagg?" Chat muttered then suddenly he sighed running a clawed hand through his messy hair. "My… parents just are not around very much… its why I am around more than Ladybug. I just, sorta have more time to kill and no one waiting for me to come back. Thank you for the offer but I really do have a quiet empty house to go back to Marinette."
Marinette watched his face as he said this and her heart wanted to break for him. He described his home as quiet and empty. Actually he hadn't even called it home Chat had simply said house. Biting her lip Marinette reached out to him.
"If you ever want a place to come home to… just let me know ok?" Marinette asked and Chat smiled at her before wrapping her in a tight hug.
"Thank you Marinette." Chat breathed taking a deep breath. Her scent flooded his nose and something about seemed familiar but he was distracted by Plagg hissing in the back of his mind.
"Something is nearby Adrien." Plagg hissed not wanting to break up his kittens happy moment but needing to. He sensed something nearby and he wasn't sure what it was.
Knowing Plagg wouldn't interrupt unless it was absolutely necessary Chat patted Marinette gently on her back before pulling away. "Thank you again Princess. I'll figure out a way to repay you for your kindness somehow."
Marinette smiled at him. "Just believe in yourself Chat. That is more than enough for me."
Chat gaped at her even as his cheeks flushed. "R-right… Well I need to head out Princess. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."
Marinette nodded "If you want to drop by I don't mind." Then waved to him as he climbed out her window.
Jumping a few building over Chat paused "Ok Plagg what did you sense?"
"It almost felt like an akuma but I'm not sure Adrien. All I know is that what ever it was its moved off." Plagg answered
"Should I call Ladybug?" Chat asked checking the time.
"If you want." Plagg responded "I cant sense the thing anymore and since there doesn't seem to be any trouble I'd suggest going home and getting some sleep."
Chat nodded "I'll swing across the city real quick to see if we can pick anything up. If we don't then I'll go home."
"What ever you want kid." Plagg said as Chat leaped across the rooftops once more.
Whew...Yeah I akumasized Wes. He's going to be a fun one. *grins*