Chapter Twenty-Five: No Help At All
What was that noise? Something was intruding, and her exhausted brain did not like it. When she realized she was enveloped in a pair of warm arms, she knew Adrien was snug around her. The room was still dark, so it..was still early morning? Or had she…slept all day into the night? No, his father wouldn't have allowed her to do that.
The second thing she realized was her body…was sore. Very sore, and her neck was stiff. When she moved it a little, it actually stung, a lot, like a giant knotted bruise. Adrien's face was pressed against the back of her head, and his arms held her naked body against his…so what had woken her?
Soft tapping on her door. Oh. She tried to peel herself from his grasp, but he only tightened his grip, and he made a displeased noise that might have been a growl in his chest, but he didn't wake. It made her smile, but it was kind of inconvenient. How was she supposed to get up? What if she needed to pee? She didn't want to wake him every time she needed to rise from the bed.
She rubbed his arms gently, soothing, slowly, and his grip began to relax, allowing her to carefully retract herself from his body, but his face contorted a fraction before it fell back into peaceful lines and he shifted a little to sprawl out more, rolling onto his back. His body curved a bit, and his head tucked a little, his hands coming up to rest on his chest, palms up. She frowned, tilting her head.
Marinette's eyes widened, and she threw her hands over her mouth to stifle a giggle that threatened to erupt free. If he had the tail and ears, he'd look like a lazy cat lounging! Oh, God! She needed a picture of this…the tapping…and she stirred again. Okay, another time! She'd catch it again…hopefully. It was too precious!
Walking…was surprisingly difficult, and when she reached the door, she whispered as low as she could so she wouldn't wake him. "Who is it?"
"It's Chloe, I'm sorry to wake you," she breathed. "Can I come in?"
The bluenette opened her mouth, but snapped it shut, looking down at her body. She was naked! "O-one second, I need to get dressed, don't go anywhere."
She quickly grabbed a pair of clothes from her nearby suitcase, tossing them on, despite the frantic screaming of her sore muscles, and popped the door open slowly. "Move back a little, Adrien is still sleeping and I don't want to wake him too," she murmured, and the blonde allowed her to enter the hallway, closing the door. "What's up?"
"I, uh, was wondering if you wanted to hit the gym with me?"
Marinette quirked a brow. It wasn't abnormal for the blonde to want to hang with her these days, but… "What time is it?"
"About 4:15," she murmured, staring at the floor.
Holy cow! She couldn't have been sleeping any longer than an hour! She opened her mouth to quickly decline…but her heart made her stop. Something was wrong. Something was…really wrong here. Chloe wouldn't look at her, and the normally strong woman looked deflated.
Her entire demeanor was slumped, and the short time Mari had been in the hall, Chloe's bright gaze had been glued to the floor. There was no playful comments on Adrien being asleep in her room, no blunt advances on her apparent need to get dressed before opening the door…and even now…no need to fill the awkward silence. It wasn't like Chloe at all. She was a woman in charge with always something to say…something strong and someone with a will of pure Miraculous power.
"Sure, but I might need to borrow something to work out in? I don't think any of my stuff is suited for that," she tried gently.
She blonde smiled a little, and it was a fraction of the normal confidence. Marinette's heart splintered. What was wrong? She wanted desperately to ask, but it didn't seem like the appropriate time to bring it up. The middle of the hallway was not private enough, and plus, the woman had come to her already, so maybe she just needed a little time to get around to it….bring it up on her own.
"I'm sure I have something that might fit you," she offered half-heartedly. "You might want to leave him a note where he'll see it though," she said. "He seems cranky about you these days and I'd hate to see his reaction if he wakes up and thinks you've been kidnapped."
The bluenette almost laughed, but then her eyes widened and she licked her lips. 'Y-yeah, good idea! Thanks!"
***One set of borrowed clothes later***
Marinette was still so sore, but stretching was helping, and she pulled her hair up, piling it into a messy bun, getting it off her neck.
"What is that?" Chloe touched the back of her neck, and she winced. "It's' a bandage, what happened?"
Marinette frowned for a minute before she flushed brightly. Oh, Adrien must have…put something over it when she fell asleep. "N-Nothing!"
"Geez, it definitely isn't nothing, I can see a bruise poking out from the edges. Did someone hit you in the back of the neck?"
She was starting to sound angry, and Mari spun to face her, face bright. "N-no, I swear, nothing like that!" At least the blonde had some fire in her eyes now that she was defending the bluenette. "D-did you want to r-run?"
Chloe narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but rubbed her hands over the stomach of her gray hoodie. She'd refused to change into something lighter, or even short sleeved. "I'm not sure," she murmured, looking off at all the equipment.
Marinette spun slowly, staring at the huge room, eyeing everything. There was ample space off to the far left with nothing but mats on the floor, and she frowned, padding towards it. "What's this?" When she got closer she raised her brows, staring at the fencing equipment she hadn't seen. There were staves and bokken, too. "Whoa, that's one way to work-out," she breathed. "I guess Adrien's dad wouldn't want him to miss a fencing lesson abroad," she teased. She noticed that there were boxing gloves in a pile near the corner, too.
Chloe nodded beside her, snorting. "I forget that he knows how to fight. I mean, I know that he can fight…but I meant…I forget that he's good at it and not just a pretty face," she said.
"Yeah," she agreed. If only the blonde knew the extent of Adrien's fighting skills. He was far more adept than people gave him credit for. He'd been defending Paris for years from all manner of evil.
She felt Chloe shifting. "You spar?"
Mari's eyes widened. "Y-you want to fight?"
"I think it would be good, yeah," she whispered hoarsely, eyes wider than they should have been, and there was something scary about that look. Something haunting that made Marinette reach for the blonde.
"Is…everything okay?" She touched Chloe's shoulder, and she jerked away as if she'd been struck.
"I'm fine!" She shook her head, blinking. "I'm fine," she repeated evenly. "I just think sparring would be a good way to refresh the self-defense skills and get our work-out in. You were attacked at the club," she pointed out.
The bluenette flinched, and Chloe grimaced. "Right, I guess so…" She knew that wasn't the reason…well not the whole reason, but she was going to drop it…for now. "Did you have a weapon in mind?"
The blonde reached into her hoodie's front pocket, deftly pulling out her yo-yo, holding it up. She flicked it down and it seemed to bounce up just as fast without much prompt. "Wanted to keep practicing with this…"
Marinette tilted her head. "O-Okay, so, since you're playing with that…I'll counter with a weapon I've seen used against it," she grinned, trying to be encouraging. "I've studied a lot of the hero footage," she explained, trying to be somewhat vague as she retrieved a bo staff from the wall. She spun it between her fingers easily, having played with Chaton's baton on several occasions during patrol. It was longer than that of course, but she could make due. "I'll be Chat Noir," she teased. "I'm assuming you'll be Queen Bee?"
Chloe flushed brightly at the mention of Chat's name, and Marinette's eyes widened. She had to remember the feline had toyed with her that very night, and she grinned. "S-sure," she grunted. She kicked her shoes off, tossing them off the side of the mat, sliding her feet shoulder width apart. It was a good thing Chloe had gone with the black Capri-style yoga pants instead of the sweats, or sparring might get tricky. Tripping on your loose pants would be humiliating. She began spinning the yo-yo almost lazily.
Marinette also donned a pair of the same Capri-style yoga pants, but hers were navy, but both pair were 'athletic' and skin tight. She wore just a sports bra though that she'd borrowed from Chloe, and her breasts felt a little suffocated in the black fabric. If she was going to work out, she wanted to be comfortable…and not overheat. Mari kicked off her shoes, too, rotating her neck, parting her hands across the weapon, holding it in front of her.
"Disarm, or tap out?"
The blonde really thought about it. "I'm not sure…"
"How stubborn are you feeling?" Her eyes hardened, and Marinette laughed softly. "Tap out it is." She looked around. The mat was huge. At least 100 feet by 100. The gym itself was twice that, with the regular equipment taking up the other half. "Rules are…no leaving the mat. No direct hits. We can only do sweeping or tripping moves, disarms, locks, and pins. Avoid scratching if possible, pinching, and biting."
"No hitting at all?" Chloe frowned.
Marinette raised her brows. "What did you have in mind?"
"Palm thrusts in the bends of the elbows and forearms or kicks in the back of the knees?"
Those were both areas used to subdue and disarm so she nodded. "Yeah, that's fine, but no body shots or face shots."
"Can we grab another weapon if we're disarmed," she teased.
"One spare weapon if you can reach one, not the rapiers," she countered playfully.
Chloe actually grinned, the defeated look slowly disappearing. "On my mark?"
Marinette opened her mouth to agree, but the blonde surged forward. Her yo-yo flung outwards, and it caught her foot with Chloe's surprise attack, but before the blonde could pull, Marinette regained her senses.
The bluenette spun the end of her staff down and under the string, slinging it upwards, pulling Chloe forward before she could yank her off her feet. Queen Bee stumbled forward enough to slack the line, and 'Chat' jumped in a spinning arc, twirling her foot to unlock the string from her joint, landing deftly nearby. She spun the bo staff dramatically now, grinning wide, using it as her shield.
"Nice try."
"Wow, you really have studied the footage. That was amazing!" Chloe's eyes were filling with more fire, and Marinette was glad she was ignoring the soreness rippling through her body. Some of it was even fading. This was worth it. Seeing the blonde regaining some of herself was worth all of the pain she could bear.
"Yeah, well, fighting with Ladybug for so long has taught me some tricks," she teased. "Can't fool this alley cat."
"Yeah, but this Bee has more than enough venom to bring you down," she countered, giggling as she rushed towards the spinning barrier. Chloe ducked to the right, and faux Noir endeavored to sweep her legs from beneath her, but the crafty woman anticipated the move, leaping upwards in an agile aerial cartwheel.
Now that the shield wasn't in the way, her hands clasped the bluenette's shoulders as she went over her head, and yanked, twisting her body. Bee took her to the ground, tumbling, pinning her to the mat, with the staff between their chests.
"Give it up Noir, you can't beat the Bee," she teased.
Marinette threw her head back and laughed. "Didn't you know?"
Chloe frowned. "Know what?"
"Cat's don't like to obey," she crowed boisterously, arching her back and throwing the girl off. When Mari tried to leap frog to her feet, the yo-yo snared her ankle, pulling her back down. She slammed to her stomach, and when she attempted to break her fall, the staff spun from her grasp.
She grunted with a little pain, gasping, but she rolled in time to avoid Chloe's body pinning her down. She kept rolling and blindly got up, the world spinning. She heard the string and did a sideways handspring in reflex, unable to tell where Chloe was aiming in her dizziness.
Faux Chat stumbled, but when she regained her bearings, Chloe was rushing her again, flinging the weapon once more. The bluenette took a side-step so it went by her side, assuming it was aimed for her arm, and lurched forward, diving by the blonde, snatching up the staff as she rolled by.
"You're fast," Chloe chortled, and Marinette snickered.
"Not bad yourself, Bee!"
Little did they know, an audience was gathering.
***POV Change***
Adrien had several moments of panic as he woke, unable to feel the warmth of Mari's body. His emerald orbs shot wide open, and sure enough, she wasn't anywhere in the bed. Soft light was filtering in through the window, which meant it was still very early in the morning and he strained to listen. There was no sound in the room. It wasn't like her to wake before him, and by all means, she should still be passed out. He reached to the bedside table and glared at the clock. 5:17. Shit. Where could she be?
He threw the covers back, heart hammering loudly as he strode towards the door, taking a deep breath as he noticed the note, right at eye level on the barrier.
Don't panic! I wasn't kidnapped! He let out a strained chuckle.
Chloe was lonely. We went to the gym.
You can join us if you wake up before I'm back.
Love,
Princess Marinette :P
He laughed again and shook his head, feeling some of the tension leave his body. He was surprised she could even stand, let alone make it through a round at the gym. Then again, she fought akumas on a regular basis, so maybe it wasn't that surprising. She could probably push through a lot if she needed to.
He took another steadying breath and grabbed his phone and key, exiting. He padded to his own room and popped inside, grabbing his gym bag. "Time to hop in guys, we've been apart long enough."
Plagg grumbled something unintelligible, but Adrien heard a smacking sound, followed by an 'ow.' Tikki appeared first with a smile. "Morning," she cooed, fluttering inside the open pocket he offered.
"Morning," he replied, smiling.
Plagg showed up a moment later, grunting before he joined the crimson kwami, and Adrien zipped up the pocket most of the way. The model left his room and headed towards the gym, which was at the basement level. It took up the entire floor, really…because it had a sparring section. Most of the models didn't use it because they weren't trained. Adrien was lucky if he got time there.
He heard a fight as he neared though and he picked up the pace, finding that several people were already nearby watching two people duke it out. Andrew, Gustave, Ivanka, Yolanda, and Luka stood watching….but who…
His brows shot up as he caught sight of the 'battle'. The pair seemed so engrossed they …weren't aware they had spectators.
"Oh, Bee, you promised me some of that venom, but all I'm getting is your sweet honey," Marinette teased the blonde, and he blinked. What was that flirty tone? She was spinning the staff and grinning like…an idiot.
Chloe scoffed, tossing some of the tendrils from her ponytail back over her shoulder. "Don't try to woo me with your silken words alley cat! You will surrender!" She lunged forward, spinning a yo-yo in a wide arc over her head, and Marinette flipped out of the way, spinning the pole to sweep her feet from beneath her.
"Alley cat?" He couldn't help but say it out loud, but his voice was low.
Gustave started a little, blinking, and looked at him. "Oh, hey," he whispered, nodding. He smiled. "Yeah, Mari is Chat Noir as far as we can tell and Chloe is playing her old heroine part, Queen Bee. It…it's amazing. I didn't know they were so great at fighting…it's exhilarating to watch," he admitted.
Oh. He blushed a little. It explained the staff. "Yeah, they look like they're having fun, but they also look exhausted. Who's winning the fight?" He set his bag down slowly.
"Neither. Each time it looks like one has the upper hand, the other manages to outmaneuver them. They are very skilled. They've been at it for at least forty-five minutes."
Okay, that was too long on such little sleep. Chloe couldn't have slept long either, if at all. He frowned. They needed to go sleep some more before the shoot or they would be dead on their feet. They left in three hours.
He strolled forward slowly, stopping at the edge of the mat. "You two need to rest," he hollered, and they faltered mid fight. They noticed the group of people, and both of the girls stiffened in embarrassment.
A chorus of boos called out from behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder glowering at the other models. They still booed, but he rolled his eyes.
"When one of us wins," Chloe growled, her body still tense.
"No, now," he commanded.
More boos, and he clenched his fists.
Marinette groaned. "I did promise we'd spar until someone won," she admitted.
Adrien's mouth hardened as the group behind him broke into cheers, and the girls engaged again. "What decides the winner? Disarming?"
"Tap out," Marinette called loudly as she gasped, dodging an attempt to pull her staff free.
He sighed. No wonder nobody had won yet. They were both too stubborn to give up. "Please tell me that you guys aren't hitting each other!"
"No rapiers! Only locks, pins, sweeping moves," Chloe bit out. "Palm thrusts for disarming, or kicking in the..!" She tumbled over the mat, growling her frustration as Marinette chased her.
"Back of the knee?" He could guess. It seemed to be an overall theme. No real harm. At least they'd used common sense.
"YEAH!"
Hm. He could speed up the process. "Okay, fine, but I'm adding an amendment to the game. If you are pinned for 30 seconds, you lose, deal? You both are too stubborn to keep the rules as they stand."
"Mari?" Chloe snarled, jumping over the staff.
"Fine—by—me—"
Good. He smirked mischievously, went to retrieve his bag and crossed by the far wall, around the entire mat to the equipment.
He dropped his stuff and pulled two wooden swords from their slots, walking barefoot onto the mat with a grace normal people don't possess. "Hey, Bee, Chat," he whistled, crouching low, holding one high and horizontal over his head, the other facing downwards in front of his chest. They both turned, eyes widening at his stance and appearance. "I'm tired of my minions failing miserably. Surrender your Miraculous," he said, smirking darkly. "Or I will take them myself."
"H-Hawk Moth," Bee hissed in mock anger, eyes narrowing. "You finally showed your face!" He had to stop his smile at her immediate act to his ploy. She was quick to allow him to play.
He bowed his head a bit. "You might want reconsider your 'no hitting' rule for me though ladies, I'd love to see what you've got, but of course, I won't hit back. I will adhere to the pinning and sweeping one." He could block without hurting them and still keep to the original rule they'd set. With that, he lunged, laughing maniacally.
***Photo Shoot***
Gustave was still gushing.
"You are my God," he murmured, in awe. "The ripple of those muscles as you fought," he whispered quivering, and Adrien actually blushed this time, shaking his head.
"I'm still taken, Gustave. I'm also really…really not interested in men."
"Oh, yes, and Mari," he moaned softly. "Her and Chloe could be my Goddesses. For them I would almost consider splitting my attention," he teased.
The blonde snorted, shaking his head. "I still say you cheated," Chloe complained, hugging herself under the trendy burnt orange leather jacket she was sporting. "How is it your fat ass can pin both of us at once," she complained again, and he snickered.
"Just lucky I guess," he retorted. He'd disarmed his mate and tied them up with Chloe's weapon. To be honest, if Mari had had more sleep, it probably wouldn't have worked quite as well, she was sluggish on the response, but he got them down and pinned within twenty-five minutes. He'd managed to get them to sleep another two hours before the shoot. It was better than nothing.
"That didn't seem like a standard yo-yo," Marinette commented as she sidled up to the small group. "It seemed to spring a little like Ladybug's."
Chloe pursed her lips and shrugged. "Regular yo-yos weren't doing a great job when I first started practicing. It's an auto-return yo-yo. Or, reflex-return yo-yo. Whatever you want to call it. It does spring back a little like hers so I have a better handle over it."
Adrien smiled, impressed. "You always were more intelligent than most people gave you credit for Chlo," he murmured, pulling her forward gently and kissing her forehead. "You're also a little scary with that thing," he teased.
She snorted, giving his gut a shot, and he made an exaggerated sound. "Better remember that for next time Agreste!" She stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms, lifting her chin defiantly, and Adrien chuckled.
"You're up, Adrien, I need you and Luka for some of the men's line," Jacques called.
"That's my cue to go get dressed," Marinette grumbled, giving him a quick peck. "Good luck!"
He smiled, returning the gesture. "You too."
***POV Change***
They were modeling actual clothes today, which helped. Not that lingerie wasn't…a type of clothing, but she had small scratch marks on her hips now and bruise marks on her butt cheeks from him slamming into her so forcefully.
Her cheeks flared a bright shade of crimson. "He got a bit aggressive," she whispered to Tikki as she stared into the vanity, holding up another mirror behind her neck trying to see the mark on her neck.
The crimson being took the handheld from her and clung to it gently to assist the bluenette. "He did," she agreed as Marinette began peeling the bandage back. "However, despite his lack of control, he managed to stop when you told him to, and I was impressed by that. Being as young and unfamiliar with that situation as he is according to Plagg, I wouldn't have expected him to be able to hit the skids so quickly."
She could see the perfect outline of his teeth across the skin of her neck…and the flesh was a little puffy and swollen, but it was very bruised, purple, black…green. Not light either, dark purple and black and green. Her eyes widened. She could count the number of teeth in his mouth.
"Unfamiliar? Why did he bite me?" Not that it didn't feel great at the time, it was just…such an odd place to bite her. The back of the neck? The shoulder would have been fine…and it would have made more sense…and would be more easily accessible rather than turning his head at that weird angle.
Tikki snickered. "Marinette, he hasn't been with anybody but you. Not for a kiss, or any other intimacy, and don't you know anything about animals?"
Her eyes widened in the vanity as she stared at her kwami. Seriously? Adrien hadn't even…kissed another girl? She felt an immediate flash of guilt about Luka now, and pushed her gaze to the vanity table. "Animals," she grunted, feeling immediately deflated.
Tikki sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mari, I didn't mean…to make you feel bad about yourself."
She shook her head, biting on her lower lip firmly. She wasn't going to cry. "Animals?" She tried to keep her voice stern and steer the conversation away. She wasn't going to talk about it.
She heard Tikki's hesitation like a tangible force even without looking, and knew the kwami wanted to keep reassuring her, but she answered anyway. "Toms often bite the back of their queen's necks during mating to hold them down. Though, it's theorized by some that the bite may also help induce the ovulation process," she commented softly, "since cats are induced ovulators," she said.
Marinette's eyes widened. "Uh…"
Tikki giggled. "Don't worry, Adrien wasn't actively trying to make you ovulate, he was just running on his animal instinct since you made him lose…his mind," she teased. "You literally drove out his rational thought and left nothing but his animal drive with your lustful pleading, the smell of your pheromones, and the feel of your body near him. The man can only handle so much with his level of…" She frowned, trailing off again.
"Yeah, I got it," she muttered bitterly, putting the bandage back in place and letting her hair fall back down over it. "Just lie low and I'll be back," she ordered brusquely and went out the door of the dressing room before Tikki could offer another reply. She didn't need any other reasons to suddenly feel like crap about herself. She should have controlled herself better. After all, apparently it was hard for Adrien and he'd managed, and she let one stupid weak moment get the better of her.
And…there was definitely something eating away at Chloe, and the woman wouldn't tell her what it is, and she couldn't figure out how to help her or pry it free from her lips. She was just…useless. She couldn't be any help at all. The spar had brought the blonde to life, but as soon as they'd left for the shoot, she'd noticed that defeated look sneaking back in.
She hung her head, moving towards Lila for her first shoot.
AUTHOR NOTES REVIEWS:
Trying414, I'm very glad you enjoyed it!
Emjrabbitwolf, yeah, well…it was an easy chapter to do..as…a lot of those things are my own personal…preferences *blushes and grins* I'm…a bite fetish person myself (as in, I LOVE…when I get a nice set of teeth in my flesh *squirms*…I may or may not…have a few marks at the moment) There are definitely conversations coming…they just don't seem to have a lot of time in the last two days to do it between romping and work, but it's coming! Yes, Adrien has a 'mate' mentality, as in life partner, not 'mate' for the season with Marinette, so she better be prepared! I'm glad you liked that I incorporated the natural animal behavior in there with the biting/nesting behaviors but also made them into normal human behaviors (concern etc) I tried to make it seem like natural thought flow and not just 'instinct'. I'm glad it worked, and I'm glad you enjoyed!
NazaKaos, Yeah…we'll see, next chapter…how people are going to react to those sounds…they were a bit distracted this chapter to get around to that. Also, yes, still plenty of ground to cover…and lots of smutty stuff to be had!