39
Marichat
Angst

"I had a dream last night…", he finally murmured, lifting his head from her shoulder. She stopped scratching the back of his head but let her fingers stay tangled into his blonde locks, looking at him in surprise.

"A dream?", she carefully asked, slowly changing her position from lying on her back to shifting her weight, now turning to him. She was surprised to find his cheeks wet, "Chat? Chat, please, please don't cry. I'm here for you, what do you need?"

He sniffled and buried his face in the fabric of her shirt, not wanting to show her he was crying. But her warmth was soothing, her voice was smooth and her presence so calming he felt so safe… Much safer than yesterday, waking up in his lonely bed, in his room that was too big for only him, in the cold house he had grown to live in.

"… I-… I need to talk…"

"About the dream?", she asked quietly, her fingers beginning to work through his silky, tousled hair again. He nodded against her shoulder, pulling his knees up to curl up against her above the blanket while she laid beneath it. He had asked her to do it like this, too much of a shy gentleman to ask for the warmth he needed but still wanting to cuddle.

He sighed, his arm around her waist tightening.

"I-… I dreamt-… It was a fight…"

"Against an Akuma?", Marinette tried to help him along but he shook his head, terrified of the memories that came flooding back in.

"N-No, I-… I fought with Ladybug… We h-had a disagreement over-… Over our secret identities…", because he rubbed his forehead on her shoulder to calm down again he didn't even notice her stiffening.

"Oh-…", she finally responded, whispering, her voice shaky, "So that's why you came here…"

He nodded briefly, not answering.

"And-… And what did she say?"

Chat shrugged, his eyes flickering open to meet her gaze only to close them again.

"She said she wanted to keep them a secret… She always says that…"

Marinette gave a nervous little chuckle, now shrugging as well.

"It-… It must be safer that way-… I-If she says so? I-I mean it's Ladybug, so-…"

He groaned, nodding.

"Yeah, it is safer.", he admitted but then he shook his head, "I just want her to take me seriously once!"

At this, Marinette flinched and turned her head to him, glaring down at him.

"She does take you seriously! You're her partner, of course she takes you seriously!"

Chat remained silent for a while, kneading the blanket on her side with his free hand while his arm over her waist only tightened. He breathed through and nodded, nestling closer to her.

"I know I'm her partner… And I know I-…", he sniffled, "… But I wanna be more… I just wanna be with her and-… I wanna-…"

Marinette froze as he deeply breathed in, propping himself up to look down to her.

"I wanna know who she is to be with her at any time. I wanna hug her and know that she isn't-… Isn't just a mask…"

"U-Uh h-how did the dream end?", she quickly asked, nervousness evident in her voice. He shot her a quizzical gaze and she shrugged, her expression softening, "I just-… The dream was the thing that led you here and-… The other discussion is a topic between-… You and her, don't you think?"

He slowly nodded, losing all his tension as he dropped down to her again, resting his head on her shoulder.

"… I-… I got mad… And I called up cataclysm…", she gasped but he continued, fearing he wouldn't be able to finish if he stopped now, "… And then I-… I-…"

Silence weighed down on them like a heavy blanket and Chat didn't dare opening his eyes again, fearing she would be as shocked as he was. But he felt a gentle hand on his jaw, and then warm lips against his forehead. Before he could react in any way she murmured against his skin.

"… It'll be okay… It'll be okay, Chat… Just relax now…"

And while his shoulders lost all tension for him to slip into a finally calm sleep she laid awake, brushing through his hair, remaining sleepless until the morning dawned.