I am always a slut for MariChat. *Sigh*
7-Eternity
In the moment he'd turned around all she could see was a broken boy without a family for Christmas and she knew she would never forgive herself if he had to spent tonight alone.
She wasn't entirely sure how it happened. Somewhere amid the midnight visits, hot chocolates with tiny pink marshmallows and stargazing, she, as Marinette had formed the most unlikely of friendships with Chat Noir. She didn't mind him this way, he seemed more relaxed with Marinette than Ladybug and his causal touches held less weight, they somehow felt both less and more affectionate than the contact they shared as Ladybug and Chat. His flirtations felt less serious when he was around Marinette and when his attempts to impress fell flat he was more amused than frustrated by her rejection.
Their friendship never existed in the daytime, he always came and left cloaked in darkness, but even when he left, and returned to his loveless civilian lifestyle, Adrien could still feel the warmth that was Marinette.
She had been surprised when he'd dropped down behind her silently, grabbing her waist in jest. It was only a few nights before Christmas Eve; she had expected him to be spending the night with his family. Only, when she'd asked, his eyes had turned hard and cold as he told her his father was away and wouldn't be back until the New Year. "Well then," she had told him, "You'll have to visit me every night leading up to the New Year, since you won't have anything else to do." She spoke teasingly but the dullness had vanished from his eyes, replaced with their regular spark and an unspoken, "Thank-You."
Christmas Eve arrived and she was sitting on her balcony with Chat Noir by her side, sharing a mug of hot chocolate. She usually bought two, but even though he said he would be back every night, she hadn't been entirely sure that he would. Surely, even as a civilian, he had somewhere to be? She hadn't questioned it, afraid that his eyes would turn dark again and that he'd become distant, which would then lead to her spending the rest of their time together trying to make it up to him. She had suspected for a while that his regular life wasn't easy that unlike her, his parents didn't love him as they should, and his presence on the iron chair on her roof on Christmas Eve confirmed her suspicions.
"Maaaaaarrrrrriiiii are you listening?" He poked her cheek with his claw and her eyes snapped back into focus.
"What?"
He pouted and leant back against the wall. "I knew you weren't."
"What did you say?"
He shook his head.
"Tell me." She poked his shoulder.
"I don't want to." He said childishly. He lifted the mug to his lips not taking his eyes off her as he drank. "You should apologise to me for not paying attention."
Marinette clicked her tongue and took the drink from his hands. "No." She smirked into the mug as he adopted a pained expression.
"You wound me Princess."
"Yeah, yeah." She tilted her head back to look at the sky. It was a blank canvas, you weren't really able to see the stars in Paris anyway, what with all the lights, but the dark clouds that had been present all week seemed reluctant to leave. "Do you think it will rain again?"
He followed her gaze. "Maybe. It has been raining all week."
The icy wind blew into their faces and they both shivered.
"Man, it's too cold for you to be out here. You should go inside." Chat stood and Marinette felt panic ignite in her gut. He was returning to-as far as she knew-an empty house. His mouth was set in a hard line and she knew he was upset that his visit was over so soon. He didn't want to leave.
"Wait."
He opened one eye mid-stretch to look at her. "What?"
"Do you…" She faltered. So far, their Marinette/Chat relationship had been confined to her rooftop and the night. What if he didn't want to take it any further? She glanced up. He'd stopped stretching and his hands were at his sides, eyes dull and subdued, the panic in her stomach flared. He can only say no. "Do you want to come inside?" She gestured to the hatch on the floor of the terrace.
His mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "No. It's okay."
She bit her lip and stood up. "Are you sure?"
"Don't worry about it. I don't want to invade your room as well as your roof." His words were playful but his eyes continued to betray him and he turned so she couldn't see his expression.
He did want to go inside. It was the first Christmas since his mother died that he hadn't spent either alone in his room or surrounded by people who didn't even speak to him. He wanted to stay on the rooftop forever, but the time always flew past too quickly when they were together. He wanted an eternity on the roof of a house that belonged to a girl who didn't know his name. He wanted to stay on the terrace with exactly half of the people who knew his true personality-the other half being Ladybug-and who didn't treat him differently because of it. He wanted to stay. His ring beeped.
"That's my cue to leave." He lifted himself onto the railing and turned to face Marinette. He didn't see her as she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, causing him to nearly lose his footing.
"What-"
"I know you have to go to recharge or whatever you said the beeping meant, but… Please… come straight back."
"Marin-"
"I'll bake some cookies and make more hot chocolate." Her arms tightened around him and he lowered himself back onto the terrace, worried he'd tumble off, taking her with him. "We can watch movies until the morning." She pulled back but didn't release him and he found himself staring into her blue eyes, bright and piercing in the dark, full of promise and warmth.
He bit his lip and she pressed her face into his shoulder, avoiding the cool metal of his bell. He lifted his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders, she was warm despite the night air and suddenly he worried that he might not let go.
"I don't want you to be alone." Her words were muffled and he wasn't sure if they were meant for him to hear but his hearing was perfect and other than their breathing and the rolling thunder in the distance, there was no other sound. He heard her. She felt awkwardness bubbling up in her at that moment, but she pushed it down with a vicious maternal instinct. In the moment he'd turned around all she could see was a broken boy without a family for Christmas and she knew she would never forgive herself if he had to spent tonight alone.
She felt his hand gently tugging her head back and when she looked up her breath caught in her throat. He was looking down at her with burning eyes that could melt iron and his lopsided smile had returned. He leaned in and for a dizzying moment she thought he would kiss her, but he didn't, instead resting his forehead against hers. Something brushed her hands and with a jolt she realized he had loosely laced their fingers together.
"When you put it like that, how can I refuse?" He winked at her before pulling away. His ring beeped more urgently. "I'll come back." He stepped backwards up onto the railing and kissed her fingers before leaving.
When he returned, he was surprised to find the window not only unlocked but also wide open even though the lights had been switched off. He slipped through the open frame and his feet touched the carpet silently. He could see the dim outline of Marinette on the other side of the room, though he wasn't quite sure what part of her he was looking at.
"Damn it."
"What are you doing?"
The shadow jerked and a soft thump echoed through the otherwise quiet room before fairy lights lit up the room with a soft yellow glow. Marinette crawled out from under her desk, rubbing her head.
"You seriously need to stop doing that."
"What? Being ridiculously handsome?" He posed and winked at her.
She rolled her eyes and turned on her computer. "Seriously? I thought we were past that."
"You don't like my flirtations?"
"No." She angled the computer screen away from him and he inched closer. "Stay!" She commanded, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"Why not?" He stepped closer, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of whatever it was she didn't want him to see.
"Chat."
"Princess?"
She scowled at him and he laughed. "You're so cute when you're angry."
Clicking her tongue she faced the computer screen towards the bed. "I'm really not."
"Not cute? I beg to differ." That smug asshole. She thought glaring at him.
She picked up the blanket from the floor and tossed it over his shoulders. "You can pick the first movie okay?"
"I want to watch anime."
"Ani-" She stared at him before bursting into a fit of hysterical laughter.
"Don't laugh." His ears were pink with embarrassment.
"Sorry. Whatever you want."
She gestured towards the bed where pillows had been propped up against the wall making it look like a couch. He hesitated. Wasn't that her bed? Sitting on a girl's bed was very… intimate. He glanced over at her; she was humming a song quietly while she browsed her library for something to watch, she didn't appear to be worried about him being in her room, or sitting on her bed. What's the worse that could happen? An image of Marinette, face pink, lips swollen and dark hair spread out on the pillow under her like a fan, swam before his eyes and he started in surprise before pushing it firmly out of his mind.
Marinette was staring at him; he had been standing still for too long.
"I was uh, thinking I should close the window."
Her eyes darted to the open window and back to his face, she clearly didn't believe him but she nodded and turned back to her computer screen. After shutting the window he spotted a familiar looking sketchbook on her desk.
"Can I look at this?" He asked her tapping a finger on the cover. She glanced over at the book and then shook her head.
"They're really not that interesting. How about Inuyasha?" Her lips curved into a mischievous smile.
"I'm not really a dog person." He joked, smiling as she giggled. "But sure. Also," He pointed a finger at her. "Don't change the topic. Can I look?"
She bit her lip. "I'm going to change into my pajamas." His eyes followed her as she opened a door adjourning her room. He'd expected a closet or something, but instead she stepped into a small en suite, the door clicking softly behind her.
Chat sighed and left the notebook untouched. Instead he climbed into Marinette's bed and tried to absorb as much detail about her room as possible. Who knew when he'd be allowed to look at such an intimate part of her life again? She'd arranged treats from downstairs on a plate and more hot chocolate sat on the coffee table near the bed and he picked one up, chuckling when a tiny pink marshmallow floated to the top.
If you asked him later, he wouldn't be able to tell you what colour her walls were or where her desk sat in relation to the bed, but he would be able to tell you about how she had a stack of magazines shoved under her desk with bits cut out and glued together and the way that they seemed to be in an order, but he couldn't tell you what kind. He'd tell you about the sewing machine on other side of the desk, midway through a piece of red and black material that shone under the dim fairy lights. He'd tell you how she had four pictures in frames on the desk, one of her and Alya, one of her parents, one of her classmates after their last day in middle school, and one of her, Kim, Alix and himself as Adrien after they'd finished in first place in Paris-wide relay race. He'd tell you that her room smelt like melted butter, sugar, peaches and Marinette's perfume that he could never quite name even though his senses were nearly perfect. He'd tell you that she had a white beanbag in the corner with an open book lying innocently in the middle of the indentation and he'd tell you that a mug of cold, forgotten tea sat beside it. But he wouldn't tell you how much it made him crave human interaction.
And he definitely wouldn't tell you how warm the room felt or how much it felt like home.
The bathroom door opened and Marinette crept out.
"Chat?"
"What?" He whispered back.
She walked over to him and his stomach flipped when he saw she'd taken out her twin tails. She'd grown her hair longer since she'd started high school; it now hung just below her shoulders in subtle waves. She walked over to the bed, crawled into it beside him and pressed play on the laptop,
"I was worried you had left."
"Nope. You offered and now you're stuck with me for the night."
"I don't mind that much."
He draped the blanket over their heads and she shuffled closer to him, it was warmer inside than on the roof top, but Marinette hadn't wanted to wake her parents by touching the heaters so they had to stick with blankets.
"Why are we watching the movies? The movies suck." Chat complained. Marinette brushed the crumbs off her fingers absently.
"I said movie, you said anime." She made a small gesture with her fingers, linking the two of them together. "Compromise."
He clicked his tongue at her and she giggled, recognizing her default method of letting him know she was displeased. Then she made eye contact and she titled her head in confusion.
"What?"
"You have a um-" He ran his finger over the corner of his mouth and she flushed and repeated the motion, wiping away the faint trace of icing sugar the pastry had left behind.
"You should have told me earlier." She hissed, shoving him.
"I was trying to decide if I should lick it off or not."
"Ew!"
He stuck his tongue out and wiggled it at her threateningly. She giggled and moved away from him but his hand reached out and snatched at the blanket encasing them, trapping her. "I have you now Princess." He said, voice low in an imitation of an evil-villain.
"Oh my god." She rolled her eyes.
"No, you're supposed to say;" He made his voice high-pitched. "Oh no! Prince Chat! Save me!"
She pushed him again but this time lost her balance and ended up with her face against his chest. "I do not sound like that."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because-"
"And aren't you supposed to be a knight?"
He paused. "Well, yes. Can't I be both?"
"No. No you can't."
"Why not? Princesses have knights in shining armor. It's a thing."
Suddenly she sat up, putting distance between them. "Oh my gosh I nearly forgot!" She tried to stand, but their entangled legs made it difficult and she slipped backwards off the bed, landed on the floor.
Chat made a strangled sound as she slipped through his grasp but it quickly turned to laughter when he saw that she was okay.
"Shut up!" She huffed. "My parents will hear you."
"Sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all. "But… That was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time." He choked out the words through his laughte, she stood and stuck her tongue out at him, straightening her shirt.
"Stop it."
"I really can't."
"I won't give you your present." She threatened. At this he sobered up immediately. She had gotten him a gift?
"You got me a present?" He asked dubiously. "Why?"
She scratched the back of her neck, something, he noticed, that he did when he was nervous. "Well we are friends right?"
"Yeah." The word nearly didn't come out.
She reached under the bed and bought out a box wrapped in black paper tied with gold ribbon. "If you don't like it you can give it back." She said, offering him the gift. He didn't take it. He was mortified. He hadn't gotten her anything. He hadn't even thought about it. And yet here she was, giving him the most elegantly wrapped, most personal gift he had received since, since… Since his last real Christmas.
"I didn't get you anything." He hung his head, embarrassed.
"Huh? Oh, that's okay. I wasn't expecting anything, but I really wanted to give you this." She forced the box into his unwilling hands. "Please open it."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be stupid Chat, it's a present, not the last life preserver on a sinking boat."
He looked up at her. Her eyes were bright and expectant. She was happy. To be giving a gift. To him. His stupid, forgetful self. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed.
"Oh my god. You're such a drama queen." But she returned the hug for a moment before pulling away. "Open it."
He obliged and pulled the ribbon away, lifting the tape carefully with one finger, in an attempt to not rip the paper.
He lifted the lid and bit his lip at what was inside. It was a black beanie that had been obviously knitted by Marinette herself. He lifted it out of the box and when he spotted the top he let out a bark of laughter, she'd sown cat ears to the top of it, the spot where the inside of the ears would be were gold and he ran his fingers along every surface, silently searching. He found it on the underside of one of the ears; cursive writing in a beautiful deep green colour that he suspected was chosen for his eyes. Her signature. Marinette. He felt something catch in his throat and he traced over her name before looking up at her.
She was watching him intently, suddenly very worried that he would laugh at her again but he didn't.
"Marinette." He said, his voice was thick and she hoped he wouldn't cry. She didn't think she would be able to stop herself from holding onto him if he did. "Thank you."
"You like it?"
"I do. I love it."
She smiled in relief and for a second he was worried her face would break, then he was worried about the strange pinching sensation he felt in his chest.
"You made this." It wasn't a question.
"Yes! That's why I didn't want you to look at my designs." She laughed at herself and moved to clear away the paper. "You missed the scarf!"
"Huh?" He peered into the box that she had thrust under his nose and saw that she was right; he'd neglected to check that it was empty. She pulled out a black and green scarf and wrapped it around his neck before taking the beanie out of his hands and pushing it onto his head.
"Aw." She clapped her hands together. "You're so cute Chat!"
He grinned and grabbed her again, pulling her to him and they toppled backwards on the bed, limbs tangled once again.
"Thank you."
It was sometime during the second movie that Chat had to enter the bathroom to recharge Plagg. He'd only ever been in one other girl's bathroom before and that was Chloe's when they were 12. The differences between the two were immeasurable. Other than the obvious fact that Marinette didn't have her countertop caked in make-up powder, by comparison Marinette's bathroom, like her bedroom, felt real, lived in. Marinette used pink towels as opposed to the enormous white Egyptian cotton ones in Chloe's bathroom and she had a small succulent sitting in a pot beside the sink instead of a maid waiting to clean up after her. He left the room quietly and found Marinette lying on her side, eyes half-closed.
"Hey?" He brushed her hair out of her face. "Mari?"
"I'm awake."
"Are you sure?" He laughed as she sat up groggily, rubbing her eye with the back of her hand.
"Yes. Come." She opened her arms invitingly and he didn't hesitate.
During the third movie, Marinette found herself wrapped securely in Chat's arms. For reasons unknown to her, he'd decided they would watch a horror film but every time something remotely frightening appeared on the screen, he'd jump and his arms would flex around her, nearly crushing her.
She laughed as Chat's tail wrapped around her stomach and he buried his face in the back of her neck when the protagonist was dismembered.
"Are you a scaredy cat?"
He clicked his tongue. "No. I'm not." In truth he was. He'd been hoping that the movie would scare her and that she'd jump and be afraid and that he could tease he about being frightened and maybe he could hold her a little under the pretext of comfort. Unfortunately had backfired to the point where it was embarrassing.
"Do you want to watch something else?"
"No."
She reached behind her and ran her hand through his hair. "Too bad. This movie sucks. I'm changing it."
"They're in love!" He cooed at the screen, dewy-eyed.
"Oh my god Chat."
"It's so beautiful." He sighed and snuggled closer to Marinette who was rolling her eyes at him.
They were halfway through the fourth movie and Marinette began to feel fatigue set in. Her limbs felt like lead, her eyes were drooping and she was leaning heavily on Chat.
"Mari? Are you sleepy?" He nudged her head with his nose.
"No."
"I can go."
"No."
"Are you sure?"
She pulled the blanket tightly around her. No way would she let him leave, she was used to staying up late for homework and late-night Akuma attacks. She could do it again for Chat. She moved closer and without hesitation his arm went around her shoulders.
"Of course."
They didn't watch a fifth movie, Marinette couldn't get up and when her computer went to sleep, she didn't bother to turn it off properly. At some point they'd ended up lying down instead of sitting up, Marinette's head on Chat's arm and his leg draped over hers. Chat had been quick to point out that he made an excellent big spoon, and she'd been too tired to protest. Her head tucked neatly into the spot where his arm met his torso, his fingers sifted through her hair while she lazily traced patterns on his bicep. His breath warmed the back of her neck, and she ignored the familiar feeling settling in her stomach. They stayed like that for a while until Marinette noticed his chest was quivering, she was about to turn around to comfort him, to tell him not to cry but she hesitated for a moment, her lips turning upwards into a curious smile.
"Chat?"
"Mm?"
"Are you… purring?"
The vibrations stopped. "I uh…" She rolled over and looked up at him in surprise.
"Were you?"
His cheeks flushed and he looked sheepish, like he'd been caught doing something embarrassing. "It happens… sometimes..."
She reached up sleepily and patted his cheek insistently. "Do it again."
"What?"
"Again."
"I can't do it on command." He took her hand in his and bought it to his chest, her fingers splayed out over his suit and she could feel his steady heart beat under her fingertips. "You're very sleepy Princess."
"Don't go." Her voice was plaintive and the request was so simple but he couldn't fathom why she was asking him to stay. "Stay."
She knew she would be terribly embarrassed by her behavior in the morning, or later in the morning when she woke up, but she couldn't let him leave now. Not now.
"Is it okay?"
"Stay."
She tucked her head under his chin and wriggled until she was comfortable, fingers curled on either side of his bell. He waited until she stopped moving to wrap his arms around her again; he'd definitely have to get her a Christmas gift.
The two of them lay in darkness, surrounded by blankets and each other in total silence until he started purring again.
This turned out long…. Oops.
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8-Gateway
