Okay so… I was so excited that I kind of wrote this whole 3k chapter in one day. On my phone. In one sitting.
Hehe.
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"Chat seemed… off," Marinette said, one bright pink flash later and transforming back. She dug through her purse and grabbed a bag of cookies, handing one to an exhausted Tikki. "He was really distracted in battle today."
The fight itself hadn't been particularly hard - the victim had been a florist upset about his ruined tulips because of the storm, but it was nothing compared to the more dangerous Akumas. Still, throughout the whole battle, Chat wasn't himself. He was twitching every muscle, and his tail had been lashing angrily. He even wore a jacket over his suit, which she found quite strange because she remembers the one time he told her how wearing more than two layers made him feel uncomfortable.
"It's the nature of Chat Noir," Tikki finally answered, having inhaled her cookie and now quickly starting on a second. "It may seem silly, but it's incredibly unlucky for them - I remember how all the previous Chats had the same problem. It's not in their nature to like rain, Marinette. Just as we Ladybugs will slow down and become very tired in the winter, Chat right now is helpless because of this weather."
Marinette would have laughed if not for the fact that she saw firsthand how affected Chat really was. He had been so twitchy and unfocused during the Akuma attack - he had been somewhat helpful, yes, but he had also been clumsy and careless at times. His eyes were hazy and his tail never stopped lashing in aggravation.
Marinette frowned and looked out the window of the empty fast food restaurant she had dashed into, and frowned even more when she saw the consistent pitter pattering of the rain. "Poor Chat," she muttered. "But I don't know if I can deal with Akumas on my own."
"You can't," Tikki confirmed. "It's a balance. Neither of you can work without the other."
At Marinette's crestfallen expression, the kwami softened, and she flew up to press a sweet kiss on her cheek. "Cheer up, bug. You'll figure it out, I know you will."
Marinette smiled at the tiny god, and sighed good-naturedly. "I guess I will, huh?"
After a quick clean up and a "spots on!", Ladybug was swinging through the streets of a very damp Paris and heading back to the place she had promised to meet Chat.
She eventually caught sight of a huddled mass underneath the balcony of a nearby shop, and she landed with a quiet splash. Chat Noir jumped, his eyes darting to her in a frenzy, his pupils more slit than normal and his claws practically digging into the sleeves of his jacket.
"Ladybug," he said, and his voice was croaky, as if he hadn't spoken for the last five years and was using it for the first time.
Ladybug raised a hand, stopping him from speaking again, her eyes sympathetic and her expression more so. "Chat, it's okay. My kwami explained. The… rain, right?"
He smiled weakly, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw his claws twitch and grab on to the jacket. Her mind raced, and suddenly, she had the spark of an idea…
"Apparently it affected all of the Chat Noirs before me," Chat snorted, and he jumped at the distant rumble of thunder. "I'm sorry, my Lady. But my kwami told me I wouldn't be helpful with Akumas right now, and even with this jacket I could barely concentrate…" His shoulders slumped, and suddenly, his eyes averted.
Ladybug's heart broke a little at that - the situation, when looked at from an outside point of view, was comical. After all, it was like one of this cat videos on YouTube; hilarious and ridiculous because simple rain had caused such a reaction. But standing here, watching her partner look so crestfallen, Ladybug could only feel her chest ache for the boy in front of her. See, it was like that with Chat; he sought out approval and affection with the smallest things. She sees how happy it makes him when he can help the citizens of Paris, to help her.
Secretly, Ladybug thinks that underneath that mask, there was just a lonely boy who was never really loved before.
"Oh, kitty," she sighed, and she reached out to scratch underneath his chin. His ears underneath the hood pricked up at the gesture, and the smallest of purrs erupted from his chest. "It's okay. You know…"
She glanced at his attire once more. The blue of the jacket looked good on him, but she couldn't help but notice how big the jacket was. It definitely didn't belong to him. Maybe if she convinced him to visit her tonight on her balcony, she could measure out the correct waist and shoulders, and even add some Chat-esque details to it -
"Buginette?"
Ladybug grinned and admittedly, it was a little flirtatious of her to jingle the bell underneath his chin. "Oh, chaton, I have a solution. You remember Marinette?"
His eyes seemed to light up at that. "Of course! The fair princess helped me with the Evillustrator. What about her?"
She felt herself become a little flattered at the fair princess part. "Well, she's a good friend of mine, and she's actually a designer."
"I know!" Chat beamed, and his aggravation from the rain seemed to temporarily disperse for the moment. "She's amazing, isn't she? I've seen some of her designs!"
Ladybug's cheeks were heating up just the tiniest bit, and she cleared her throat. Her kitty liked her ideas - her heart fluttered a little at the idea, and vaguely at the back of her mind, Marinette was furiously screaming Adrien at her. Adrien, Adrien, Adrien. "I-I, yes, of course. Why don't I ask her to make a coat for you? Uh, a specialized coat, of course." She reached up and fondled one cat ear fondly, his purr growing and rumbling in his chest.
"I wouldn't want to bother her - "
"Nonsense," Ladybug cut him off, and distantly, she could hear the bell for class starting once more. "Now, this bug's gotta dash, kitty. Go visit Marinette tonight on her balcony - do you remember where she lives?"
He blinked his eyes innocently and nodded. (Cute, she thought.) (Oh, god.)
"Okay, then. See you next time, Chat!" And with a swing of her yo-yo, she was bounding away and trying to find a good hiding spot to detransform and head back to class.
"That was nice of you to offer to make him a coat, Marinette!" Tikki said once she was safely nestled in Marinette's purse and nibbling on a cookie. "I'm sure he'd appreciate it."
"I feel so bad for him, Tikki," Marinette replied, racing towards her classroom, nearly slipping a few times from wet shoe prints of previous students who had walked there. "It's not his fault for being so scared of the rain. When I looked at him under the balcony, I…"
Felt my heart break.
It went unsaid, but they both understood. Tikki gave Marinette a smile that was more wise than mirthful. "I'm proud of you."
Marinette didn't answer, and she flung herself into class, ready to apologize and ramble about some half-baked (a little voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Chat snorted at the pun) excuse about why she just suddenly ditched class.
That was the plan, anyway, until she rammed into someone and due to her force and strength - being a superhero builds up quite the amount of muscle - they toppled over in a heap with a loud thud.
There were gasps around them and vaguely she could hear Chloe scoff and say something like, "how clumsy," but she was too busy trying to apologize and sit up.
"I'm so, so, sorry!" She babbled, scrambling up. "I didn't mean to, I swear, I wasn't looking where I was going and - "
"It's okay, ma-ma-ma-Marinette."
Marinette stopped at the familiar joke, one she had heard only a week ago. Peach lips were pulled up into a smile and electric blue eyes were sparkling with amusement.
"Luka?" She didn't even realize the name had left her mouth until he smiled further. "Eep!" She suddenly squealed, and reached down, her face blown red. He grinned and his hand wrapped around her own, and she pulled him up off the ground.
"I'm really sorry," Marinette repeated, but softer this time. His hand squeezed hers gently for a second, and her face ran hotter - the hand-holding seemed like a common thing between them, seeing as it's happened multiple times already.
"It's okay," he said kindly, and his smile calmed down into something more gentle.
"I see you've already met," Mme. Bustier suddenly said in a rather dry tone. Marinette squeaked and practically ripped her hand out of Luka's hold, cradling it to her chest before racing to her seat with her head down.
"Girl, what happened?" Alya whispered from beside her.
Marinette bit her lip and shook her head rapidly, refusing to answer as she kept her head down.
"Assuming most of you already know, this is monsieur Luka Couffaine. He's Juleka's older brother - and, if you haven't already figured it out, will be continuing the rest of his school year here in our class. Monsieur Couffaine, why don't you go take a seat beside Ni - " Mme. Bustier paused and laid her hands on her hips, her brows furrowing. "Nino, where is Adrien?"
Nino looked distinctly uncomfortable at this question, obviously not wanting to get his best friend in trouble but also not able to come up with a believable lie right on the spot. "Er… I don't know, madame."
She huffed. "Honestly, with all of you so eager to leave during an Akuma attack, it's no wonder how more of you haven't - "
"I'm here!" And the culprit himself sprinted into the classroom, not a hair out of place and a sheepish smile on his lips. "Sorry, madame."
"Hmph," Mme. Bustier sniffed. "Monsieur Agreste, show our newest classmate to his seat beside you, please."
Adrien looked surprised at this, but he quickly accommodated and shuffled forward. There was a surprisingly shy smile on his face as he greeted Luka. "Hi, I'm - "
"The one who rocked at our concert," Luka interrupted. "I remember."
To everyone's surprise, Adrien went a slight pink at this.
He only laughed nervously (nervously?) before leading Luka to the front bench.
"New stone for compass Marinette, I say," Alya said in a sing song voice beside Marinette.
She quickly shook her head - that was ridiculous. She didn't like anyone but Adrien, because Adrien was perfect and handsome and kind. She could imagine a future with him; pianist hands holding her own, green eyes gazing at her with fondness, and his gentle laughter in the air.
Marinette bit her lip and felt her cheeks go red as she glanced under her bangs and caught the eye of an approaching Luka, who smiled at her before sitting down right beside Adrien.
And all of a sudden, she wasn't so sure about that future - because it was now becoming a disoriented mixture of not just two, but three people. Puns mixed with guitar strings filled the air. She saw a calm smile but also a large, toothy grin, ready to call her yet another ridiculous nickname. Wild blond hair and flaming blue tips filled her vision.
Marinette slumped into her seat, and her head was swimming, because she was trying to mash three guys into one future.
(Don't even get her started on the Chat thing - let her deny it for just a little longer.)
(Or not.)
(She's doomed.)
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Marinette spent the rest of the school day avoiding the heck out of Luka and Adrien. Adrien wasn't that hard - he still seemed quite out of it and was hardly paying attention to what was going on around him. Luka, however, was more difficult, because he seemed insistent on talking to her.
Marinette wasn't sure that her head (or heart) could deal with that at the moment, so she merely ducked and dodged until she was sprinting through the rain again to the bakery.
"I need to bring an umbrella," Marinette sighed to herself, before going inside and relishing the warmth and smell of freshly baked pastries.
After greeting her parents - and sneaking a cookie or two to shove into her purse - Marinette climbed up into her bedroom, collapsing on her chaise and listening for a few moments to the rhythmic pattern of the rain splashing outside.
Speaking of rain…
Now was the time to start thinking about Chat's coat. Thoughts of her love life would have to take the back seat for the moment, because she was more concerned with her kitty and how she could help him.
Wait. Wasn't he going to come visit her soon?
Her head shot up, and her eyes bulged at the huge amount of her… well, her Adrien shrine that was all around her. Moving quicker than lightning (again, there came another Chat like snicker from the back of her head), she raced around and tore down her posters, practically ripped off the giant planner of Adrien's schedule and hid it under her chaise, and changed the background of her computer to a picture of her and Alya.
She came upon the last picture of Adrien - a framed one that she had gotten a few months ago from Alya as a gag gift, but one she had nevertheless enjoyed. She picked it up and stared at it, feeling the familiar swell of her heart and the gush of affection.
"Tikki, am I bad person?" Marinette asked out loud.
Tikki flew up to her to look at the picture of Adrien with her. "It's okay to like more than one person, Marinette."
Marinette sighed before tucking the picture into one of her drawers.
Right as she put it away, there were three rapid knocks on the door above her bed. She shared a look with Tikki, who gave her pat on the cheek before zipping away, presumably to hide.
"Chat Noir!" Marinette greeted, and she opened the door to have Chat practically pounce onto her bed. He was drenched - well, half-way drenched; his legs and boots were wet but the jacket he was wearing apparently kept the rest of him relatively dry.
"Sorry, princess," Chat muttered, wincing as he looked around at her ruined bedsheets.
She sighed, before granting him a smile. "It's okay. Come down, I'll go get you a towel, then we can start measuring. C'mon, kitty."
She slid down the ladder with ease before dashing to her bathroom, already fumbling for two towels, a large one and a smaller one.
Marinette tossed them to a still very damp Chat Noir, who eagerly caught them and started vigorously rubbing himself dry.
"Ladybug already told you I was coming, huh?" Chat said, his voice slightly muffled as he furiously scrubbed his blond locks with the smaller towel (despite the fact that his hair wasn't that wet).
She giggled when he pulled it away to reveal his hair, which was now a lot more wild than usual and even a little on the frizzy side. He sent a sheepish grin. "She contacted me at school, yeah. Um, something about a rain problem?"
His face turned sour, and he sighed. He gently handed her back the now moist towels and smiled at her, but really, it was more of a grimace than anything. "Yeah. Some hero of Paris, huh?" He chuckled bitterly.
Marinette stared at him, and she tossed the towels over her shoulder, as she couldn't care less where they ended up. She stood up from where she was sitting on her stool and walked up to the hero - her partner, her best friend, (her maybe-crush?) - and stared up at him.
And she smiled. "Yes. I see the best hero of Paris here." She said in her most sincere tone, and reached down to flick his bell a little. She beamed as it jingled lightly. "I know this rain thing sucks, but I'm here to help."
Marinette looked up to see stunned green eyes staring at her, and her smile melted to become softer and more affectionate. "I've got you, kitty." She turned and marched over to her desk, and grabbed her measuring tape along with a clipboard and pen.
"Alright! Chat, can you stretch out your arms?"
"Princess…" He breathed in slight awe as she went around him and started taking note of his shoulders. He cleared his throat. "You've got it wrong."
"Hm?" She said, a little distracted as she squinted at the number before scribbling it down.
"I'm not the best hero of Paris. Ladybug is." And even though she couldn't see it, she knew he had his grin on his face, and she felt an anchor on her chest lighten. It felt good to have Chat smile again, or smile earnestly, at least.
"Maybe," she chided softly.
"I don't know what I'd do without her." His tone was different this time - more genuine, more adoring, and her heart thumped wildly. She swallowed hard.
"You… really like her, don't you?" Her voice was a little shaky, a little unsure. How could one person adore her so much? What if he only liked her for the spots, and not for the girl underneath them?
Chat sighed, oblivious to her thoughts. His ears flattened back against his head. "My Lady doesn't tolerate such feelings." He looked at her over his shoulder, and sent her a small smile. "To her, I'm a mere bumbling fool."
She walked back over to the front of him and tried to focus on measuring his arm length. But she couldn't - and she laid her hand on his chest, to motion a pause, before quietly saying, "or maybe she's just scared that you won't like what's underneath that mask."
They were silent for a moment, and in those seconds, Marinette began to panic. She said to much, she shouldn't have opened her mouth -
"Well, if that's so, then my Lady is the fool in this scenario." Chat rumbled from a purr. When Marinette looked up slightly, he was gazing in the distance, a dreamy look on his face. His emotions were written all over him. "Spots or no spots, she's the girl I fell in love with."
He turned his grin to her, and something in his gaze made her heart skip a beat. Oh no. "That makes this unlucky cat the luckiest in the world."
And she couldn't help it - a laugh bubbled in her throat, and she gazed at him fondly, her chest warm and her mind whirling. How could she have missed this? This Chat who was gentle, and warm, and loving; Chat, who always had her back, and always put himself on the line to save her (despite her hating it when he did that). Chat who was… in love with her. Even beyond the mask.
"I'm sure she knows how lucky she is to have you too," Marinette said, and it was said a little too softly. Almost too adoring.
His eyes looked at her in slight confusion, before he grinned. "Well of course she is, purrincess! I mean, anybody would be lucky in the presence of this handsome cat."
Marinette laughed and took the bait, relieved that he had chosen to ignore her moment of weakness. It was only an hour later that she was sending him off again, his smile tightening slightly but his eyes determined as he slipped on the blue coat once more.
"I forgot to ask, but who lent you the coat? It's too big to be yours," she asked curiously, watching as he reached for the door.
"Oh." He flashed her a sharp canined grin, and winked. "A friend of mine lent me it." And with a two clawed salute, he was off in the rain, his baton extending and supporting him as he leapt building to building.
Soon, he was lost to the grey horizon, and Marinette couldn't see him anymore.
There were several seconds of silence, when the only noises were the gentleness of the rain outside and her own, thudding heartbeat ringing in her ears as she looked out the window and at where Chat had disappeared. "Tikki?" She finally called.
The kwami flew up to sit on her Chosen's shoulder.
"You said it's possible to like more than one person."
Tikki tittered in amusement, and she smiled up at Marinette. "I did."
Marinette unknowingly let out a small, dreamy sigh before tearing her gaze away from the window.
"Well. I guess it's true."
It wasn't quite… a crush, or an infatuation - not yet. But the spark was lit and it flickered in interest, warming her heart and chest with thoughts of purrs and terrible puns that she still laughed at.
"That cat's bad luck is rubbing off on me," she couldn't help but giggle.
She couldn't find it in herself to mind.
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Next chapter features Adrien and his slow interest in Luka and Marinette. (aka if you're craving Luka right now I'm sorry, but next chapter will have him a lot.)
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