Thank you all so much for reading the first chapter and for following the story, here's the next one!
Summary: After a traumatic experience, Marinette's smile fades into the darkness. In order to help her, Adrien visits her in the day and at night, he visits as Chat Noir. Can he bring her smile back? or will she succumb to an akuma?
Rated M for implied Rape
After her friends left, Marinette sat by her desk and tried drawing. The sling that Elijah had brought her was useful, it made her movements limited. It was handy, especially when she needed to put ice on the arm.
Drawing wasn't as difficult as she thought, seeing as she normally uses her right hand anyway. But what she was drawing didn't occur to her until it was finished.
Unlike her previous sketches of clothes, faces, nature, and fun colors, this one was dark and full of shading. Marinette didn't even know what it was until she tilted her sketch pad to a portrait angle. She froze, wide eyed.
The drawing was on the streets of Paris, you could see the bakery sign on the corner of the sheet of paper. This was the last thing I saw before... Marinette gripped her pencil to the point where it snapped, her knuckles turning white and her blood ran cold.
She knew that she wouldn't be able to distract herself anymore, now that her friends were gone, she couldn't help but remember. Tikki nudged her hand, "Mari, let's go downstairs. Maybe some food can help"
Marinette forced a smile, the same smile that she gave her parents, her doctor, and even her friends. "Sure Tikki"
During dinner, Sabine mentioned to Marinette that there would be a visitor coming today, but she was only half paying attention to the conversation and half trying to scoop her food on her spoon. Eventually, Marinette had to use chopsticks instead, which was way easier to use with only one hand.
She had to shake it off, she was with her family. "We're going to the hospital tomorrow after lunch" Tom nodded as they started cleaning up, "It's a good thing Elijah already took your measurements. That way, the cast would be ready on tomorrow as well"
"Mari, don't fall asleep okay?" Marinette slumped as she climbed up her hatch, "Yeah, yeah" she shouted back before collapsing on her chaise. "Marinette, your mom said not to sleep" Tikki reminded, but today was very eventful that made Marinette tire just by thinking of it.
Well, better that memory than... Her body shivered again, trying to block the images in her head, Marinette closed her eyes and laid down on the chaise, the side effect of her medicine taking effect. "Marine-..." Tikki stopped as she saw the bags underneath her companion's eyes, the cold sweat dripping from her forehead, and how she clutched the side of her head.
"Plagg, get here soon" Tikki mumbled before burying herself beside Marinette's sleeping figure.
It was dark, the scene played once more as Marinette and Tikki walked down the street in the winter air. Everything was the same, from the shivering air and the conversations with her kwami, except that Marinette transformed into Ladybug, but even as Ladybug, she couldn't do anything.
Her yo-yo had failed her, her jumps weren't as high and she couldn't fight back.
The shadow grabbed her hair, covered her mouth and dragged her to the alley, she couldn't move. Her body was frozen stiff as the shadow ripped up her clothes and molested her, she tried to scream, but the minute she opened her mouth, the shadow slammed her body against the dumpster, stunning her in the process.
She watched as the shadow repeated the same act as the night before. Marinette wanted to scream, but no sound came. She wanted to call someone to save her, to call her partner, the only one that could possibly save her. Chat Noir.
Chat Noir waited for his partner to respond, he waited an hour before he finally gave up. With a sigh, he jumped out the window and headed towards Marinette's house.
As he turned the corner, he saw a flower shop. "You're supposed to give flowers when visiting an injured person right?" "Not really" Chat eyed the shop, "I'm going to buy her flowers" He could hear Plagg sigh in defeat at the back of his head.
After paying, even though the lady insisted that he didn't have to but he still did, he clutched the bouquet as he approached the bakery. He couldn't help but stop at the alley, the dark area was now taped "Closed off area" by the police in order to check out the crime scene.
Even though Chat wanted to help with the search, the chief of police stopped him, saying "It's the least we can do since you and Ladybug save Paris all the time, you deserve a rest" with that, Chat left the station.
Upon nearing the bakery, he saw that the closed sign was turned but the lights were on, they're probably waiting for me, he rang the doorbell. Tom opened the door and hugged him again, "Chat Noir! Thank you again for everything." "Hello Tom, may I go see Marinette?"
The large man nodded, "Of course, are those for her?" he pointed to the bouquet "Yes, sir- I mean Tom"
The two were greeted by Sabine, "Oh Chat. I'm really glad you came over, Mari should be upstairs." Chat gave her a small smile "Thank you" Chat ascended the small staircase and knocked on the hatch, no answer.
When he looked back at Tom and Sabine, the two gestured him to go in. "Alright" he muttered before opening the hatch, he spotted her on the chaise. "Mari- oh..." he quietly closed the hatch and sat by her side. "Chat... Chat"
He almost jumped when she called his name, but his heart broke when he saw her, tears streaming down her face, her body covered in sweat, she clutched the pillow by her side as she cried out. "Help me... please... Cha-Chat!"
Chat Noir cradled her head on his lap, wiping the tears on her face as he tried to console her "Princess, shhh... it's okay. I'm right here." Mari struggled in his arms, her working hand accidentally punched him on the nose, causing him to yelp out in pain.
His yelp was loud enough to wake her, but as soon as she realized that it was Chat Noir, she quickly got off him. "WHA-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" She shouted.
Meanwhile, Chat was trying to stop his nose from bleeding. "Meoouch Princess, is that a way to greet your knight in skin tight leather?" he tilted his head forward, blocking the flow of blood from coming out.
"Are you bleeding?" she pulled his chin to face her, "No?" she glared at his response. Marinette quickly jumped off her chaise and grabbed a tissue box, "How did you even get up here!?" she handed him the box, Chat quickly started wiping his nose.
"You're parents let me in through the front door and to answer your first question," Marinette sat beside him as he continued, "I came to check up on you"
When it stopped bleeding, the two were presented with an uncomfortable silence. "Hey, we're not getting any younger here" Plagg nagged but she beat him to it. "Thank you Chat, for bringing me home last night"
Chat then noticed how her tired she looked, if he wasn't there, he was sure that she would fall back to sleep to escape from reality. But her dreams weren't a safe haven either.
"Are you okay?" he asked for the second time that day, but not that she knew anyway. Marinette hesitated, she knew that she could trust Chat with anything, but she didn't want to burden him. "I'm fine, just a broken arm"
Chat's mouth formed into a frown, "Princess, you're anything but fine" she bit her lip "I am fine, Chat". He shook his head, "No, you're not."
She sighed in defeat. Marinette knew that her partner cared, "I... I don't want to burden you with these things" Chat faced her and took her hand in his, "I'll listen to you, you wont burden me." He chuckled, "And besides, what am i going to do with these?"
He pulled out the bouquet from behind him and gave them to her, Marinette's eyes widened and she finally made a small smile. Not the forced one that she had all day, nope, a real smile. "Wow"
Chat Noir smiled, he was happy that she finally smiled, no matter how small it was. "What are these?" he simply stated as she held the bouquet closer to her face "Alstroemeria and Hyacinth flowers"
Chat was lucky that Marinette didn't know much about the meanings behind flowers, if she did, then she would have known that these White Alstroemeria meant on how much he wanted to express his concern for her, while the Purple Hyacinth meant that he was asking her forgiveness.
No matter what Tom, Sabine, or Plagg said, he can't forgive himself. He couldn't forgive himself for what was happening to her. Knowing Marinette, she would immediately tell him that it wasn't his fault. She was too caring, too kind, she would never blame him.
"They're beautiful, thank you!" before she could stand and put it in a vase, Chat's hand stopped her. Marinette looked at him, "I want you to know that I'm here if you need anything or if you want someone to talk to" she was surprised to say the least.
Chat wasn't usually this caring in front of Ladybug. Marinette gave him a nod, placing the bouquet beside them on the chaise, and frowned, "It's just-I could..." She struggled, Chat knew that it wasn't an easy subject to talk about, but she shouldn't bottle it up forever. "Don't hold anything back"
He gave her a reassuring smile before she carried on, giving a not-so detailed explanation about her dreams that feel real to the touch, and about her memories that she can't shake off. Chat listened as she poured her heart out, her eyes filled with tears as she recalled those memories.
"At first, I thought that it was normal for a person to walk around in the street... but when I ran, he followed" Chat resisted the urge to question her while she was talking, "He grabbed and dragged me into the alley, it was dark so I couldn't see him"
Her voice croaked, Chat could imagine the look of fear in her eyes, "Then he-he..." Marinette's body shook once more, but this time, Chat was there to offer her comfort. He gently took both of her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.
"He ripped my clothes, when I tried to scream, he pushed me into the dumpster." She didn't realize that Chat had been staring at her broken arm, a grim expression on his face. "He started touching me and forced me." Marinette also didn't realize that she started crying.
By the time she noticed, Chat had already wiped them for her. She exhaled, she had never told anyone the full story yet. Not to her parents or her friends, but Chat made her feel safe. He helped her let everything out. Using her good arm, she reached and gave Chat a hug.
"Feel better?" she nodded against his chest, "Much better. Thank you." Chat wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, her body still shook and her tears fell. "Have you told anyone about this?"
Marinette shook her head, "No. Alya is already worried enough as it is; Nino and Adrien, I don't want to burden them", "Your Parents?" "I can't... I wont be able to, but maybe some day" Chat nodded in understanding.
He could feel her slowly dozing off, "Princess?" "Hm?" she lifted her face, not noticing the distance between the two. Chat's eyes widened, he cleared his throat and smiled, "Let's get you to bed, you must be tired"
By the time she knew what was happening, Chat had her in his arms, bridal style. "Woah! Chat, you don't have to carry me to bed" he smiled as he watched her squirm, "No, It's okay." Marinette panicked, "Chat! Put me down!"
Chat couldn't help but think how cute she was, "Nope, You're injured" She smacked his chest and glared at him, "The only thing injured is my arm, not my legs" he finally let out a laugh, "Too late".
Mari semi-crossed her arms and raised a brow at him as he carried her up the small stairs to her bed. Chat sat across her, a smirk on his face. "You are not charming" he fake gasped, "Princess! I'm A-paw-led!" Marinette groaned, "Noooooo" and to think, she thought that maybe, just maybe, Chat wouldn't say another pun today.
She caught herself yawning, the medicine kicking in again, "Looks like you need to sleep" the thought of sleeping frightened her, she grabbed Chat's hand. Chat frowned at the coldness of her hand, "I don't want to sleep. I'll dream about it again" "Princess. Don't be afraid, I'll be here when you sleep"
He watched as she eased down into her pillow, making sure that her injured arm was on a smaller pillow, but her good hand refused to let go of his. "Y-you promise?" Chat smiled, She's just like a kid, "Yeah, I'll be right here" he gently removed the strands of hair off her face and watched as she slowly gave in to sleep.
"Chat" she whispered, "Yes Mari?" her lips formed a small smile "Thank you"
Chat Noir waited until she was asleep before he started moving again. He waited a few more minutes to make sure that she didn't have another nightmare, before he descended down the stairs, he kissed her hand "Goodnight Princess. I'm so sorry."
He noticed her drawing on the desk, he knew that spot all too well. Chat looked back at her with a frown on his face, "I swear to you Mari, I'll find him". He grabbed the bouquet and headed down the hatch to the living room.
Honestly, he was surprised to see Tom and Sabine still up. The two smiled at him, "How did it go? We heard her shouting" Chat sat on a chair, "She had a nightmare then she shouted at me" they frowned at him mentioning the nightmare, Sabine held her tea close to her "Did she talk to you?"
He nodded, "I'm sorry but she should be the one to tell you, not me" they understood that. "What did the doctor say?" Tom pulled out a file, "Elijah said that she has a closed fracture at the humerus area (Upper arm), he can't tell how bad the condition is but we scheduled an appointment to have an x-ray and casting done tomorrow."
"Elijah didn't want to tell Mari this but he needs her to tell him what happened in order to get into a conclusion to what caused it" Chat shook his head, he knew that Marinette wouldn't say it to others as easily as she did to him, "I could do it, but I need to ask Marinette first"
The couple contemplated together before agreeing, "Alright. Will you be free tomorrow after lunch?".
No, he wasn't. Both Alya and Nino would be expecting him to go with them tomorrow, "How about tomorrow morning? Is he passing by here?" Sabine nodded, "Yes. He'll be checking up on her before her school starts" Chat gave a small smile, "That's good. Where could we put this?"
Sabine took the bouquet from him and shuffled around for a vase.
"Oh, here are your snacks. I added some cheese bread in there." She handed him a container of cookies and cheese bread, Chat sat speechless, "Are you sure?" Tom smiled "It's the least we could do for everything that you've done"
Chat felt his heart ache, they didn't blame him for anything. No. It's my fault.
Sabine watched as the boy frowned, she gave Tom a worried look. She knew what he was thinking, he was beating himself up. "Would you like to stay over?" Both Chat and Tom looked at her in shock, but Tom smiled "You could sleep on the couch or Mari's chaise"
Chat stared at the two, "I-I... I don't know what to say" Tom stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder "If you need anything, just tell us." Sabine gave Chat a hug "You're welcome to stay over anytime"
"I could but I should ask Mari, I don't want to give her a headache." the couple laughed, small laughs on their faces as Chat headed back up Mari's room with the vase of flowers in his hands.
Chat turned off the lights, using his night vision, he could still move around in the room. He climbed up the small stairs, a sad smile on his lips as placed the vase on the shelf that Marinette had beside her bed.
He leaned against the wall and took her good hand in his, his eyes slowly drooping, So much for asking her permission. "Plagg, claws in" he released his transformation, Plagg eyed him carefully, "Are you sure?" Adrien nodded his head "She can't see me"
Plagg looked up to the balcony window, the skies were cloudy, so no light came in through the window above the bed. "You can eat the cheese bread" Adrien shuffled until his head hit a pillow, "Plagg, wake me up before 4" his kwami nodded "Sure, you go rest"
When Plagg was sure that Adrien was asleep, the little kwami whispered "Tikki?" even with his night vision, he didn't expect to be tackled once more. "Thank you again for coming"
Tikki knew that even if Chat didn't come, he would have come anyway. One thing that he didn't count however, was Tikki being able to see who Chat was. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was, "He doesn't know" Plagg reassured her, "I wont tell Mari either"
The two kwami's smiled at their two idiots, they've been chasing after each other for 4 years. Now that it was their senior year, they were still blind to each other's alternate egos. Although Marinette could talk to Adrien more frequently and Chat Noir was slowly getting closer, they made no progress.
"They remind me of them" Plagg nodded, "Heart breakingly alike"
The two were in their own little world when Marinette woke up, she noticed that she didn't have another nightmare, she also noticed that a hand held hers. She heard someone breathing, Is Chat still here? She removed her hand and used it to find him.
When she felt the fabric of his clothes, she realized that Chat had released his transformation. She pulled back, the commotion caused Adrien to open his eyes. He blinked a couple of times and realized that he didn't have her hand.
"Princess?" he slowly sat up, "Chat?" Marinette quietly called out. The two kwami's quickly shut their mouth when they heard the two. "What's wrong? Did you have another nightmare?" she heard his worried tone. She was happy that he was worried about her.
"No, no. I'm fine Chat" he sighed in relief, "So what is it?" "You're still here" Adrien smiled, "I didn't want you to wake up all alone, just in case you had a nightmare" Marinette didn't know what to say, it was a different side of Chat that she had never seen as Ladybug.
"Why did you release your transformation?" Adrien froze, "How do you know that Princess?" "I felt your clothes" Adrien smirked, "You felt my clothes? Oh dear, was my Princess going to touch my abs whilst I was in my skin tight suit?" he teased.
Marinette was glad that the lights were off and that he didn't have his night vision because she blushed, "Chat! Seriously?!" Adrien let out a laugh before laying back down beside her, "Don't worry Princess, I'll be gone before the sun rises... We need to rest for now, you have a long day tomorrow"
His hand found hers once more, the two could feel their eyes drop.
"That was a close one" Tikki whacked the kwami, "Shush! You'll wake them up!"
I hope you enjoyed this!