What scares him most is the look she gets in her eyes.
It's not the only thing that scares him about Panthère, but it's certainly up there. She's hiding a storm, but she can't hide it from him. She's going to bring the world to it's knees one day, he's sure of it, and when she gets that look of ecstasy, of unadulterated euphoria as she activates her Cataclysm and tears down anything in their path, he almost can't wait to see it.
She turns to him, covered in the ashes of the wall she just destroyed on him command, and gives him the sweetest, most innocent smile he's seen her wear. Beautiful...
"What was that?" she tilts her head, and the terrifying joy is still there, the thrill of destruction.
"I said... beautiful. I'm in love with your carnage, my Predator," he tells her, blushing only a bit. She laughs, and hugs him.
"We need to go defeat the bad guy now, okay Red?"
Red Leopard (as he calls himself, although Tikki has informed him of the inaccuracy) nods, blushing slightly, and they run to the fight. It's a fantastic battle, he thinks. His Predator is beautiful, in her element as she fights for his sake. The smoke billows around her dark sheet of midnight hair, and enemy's blood stains her face, but not her smile. She really does scare him, as she pins the akuma down, ripping the young girl's necklace off with sharp claws, and throws it to him to purify.
"You plan on dealing with that, or just staring at me some more?" she tilts her head again, with that innocent smile. He nods, and purifies the akuma. In a flash of red light, the city- along with his Predator's face- is cleansed. The blood and ash are gone, but the violent delights in her eyes are left to remind him that the cat-girl is not someone to be messed with. A warning...
A warning that doesn't work, only adding to his thrill. "I love you."
"You do." She kisses his cheek, before biting it suddenly, and pulling away with a smirk. "But I don't love you quite yet."
He touches his cheek softly... "Thank you."
She salutes, cockiness filling out every motion, and leaps away before her ring times out.
...
The soft smiles the dreamy, tired boy gives are like beams of sunlight in Paris- rare, and beautiful. She knows it couldn't work- like Red says, she's a Predator. He definitely falls under the "prey" category. But she won't let him be hunted, because he's her territory. Hers. Nobody else may have him.
He looks up from his book, messy dark blond hair falling in his eyes, such a sweet, warm green. "Marinette, hey."
She bites her lip, looking at the seat across the library's table from him. "Is anyone sitting here?" she asks.
"No, by all means, sit down!" he smiles softly, a smile that's still a little reserved, but an honest smile nonetheless. "I mean... I like it, when we talk."
She rests her head in her hand, looking across the table at him. "Me too. You're... amazing. I think I could love you, if..." she leaves the sentence lying, unfinished.
"If?"
"If I was less messed up," she finishes, plainly.
He laughs slightly, shaking his head, and his curls bounce. "Don't worry about it, I'm messed up too... I fell in love with a girl who could eat me alive if she got the chance."
She bites her lip, and extends a hand across the table. "If you love her, she'll become your protector, not your predator."
He stares at her a moment, before taking her hand, and he doesn't smile, but his eyes glow.