Sorry guys, it's been a minute. I've been focusing a lot on my career lately, but recently I got into the writing mood and decided to get this one out to you. I might make minor changes to it later, wording and all that, but for now here it is.
Also, I want to take a moment to appreciate all of you and the reception on this story. It makes me so happy to hear that you love this fic just as much as I do. I love you all!
Without further ado, enjoy ;)
Marinette hobbled back to the South Training Grounds. She had managed to reach the top of the post three times today, and she couldn't be more proud of herself. Surely, if she was well rested enough, she could do it again for her final test.
Chat walked beside her, equally as proud. She was overjoyed to hear that he was training her troop that day, although she wasn't sure how well that would go for her in this state. He teased her about it.
"I don't know Ladybug, it looks like you might have to sit out for our activities today."
Her eyes lit up with childish excitement. "Are we gonna play games?"
"You're gonna have to wait and see."
"So that means yes."
Chat had decided to do this on a whim, so she headed towards her tent while Chat went to find Nino and tell him he had the day off. They must have been out later than usual, because some soldiers were already up and mingling in the common spaces. Nobody gave her a second glance as she passed, so she wasn't too concerned.
She ducked into her tent and was met with Rhino, perched on the edge of his bed and staring right at her. Her other two roommates were asleep. She kept her head down and went to her bag next to her bed. His eyes continued to bore into the side of her head, making her extremely uncomfortable. Marinette busied herself with looking for her face paint so she could apply another layer, praying that he would leave soon.
"Where were you." It wasn't a question.
Her hands stopped in place before resuming their search. "Couldn't sleep." She hated when she was forced to talk; her male voice made her sound like a twelve-year old boy.
Rhino stood up, and she instinctively felt on guard. Ignore him. He just wanted to get a reaction out of her. That's what he does, and he wasn't going to get it. She located her face paint and closed her bag, but before she went to stand, she caught a glimpse of the front pocket.
The zipper was left undone, and that was something she would never do. The pit of her stomach dropped as she pressed her hand to the outside of the pocket. It was flat.
No. No, no, no, no.
Her heart now racing, she fumbled to feel inside, and it was empty.
"Looking for these?" Rhino held up her precious earrings in his grimy sausage fingers, a satisfied smirk on his face.
Marinette seethed. She clenched her fists tightly, using every ounce of self-restraint she possessed as she slowly rose to her feet. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she held out her hand. "Give them back," she said firmly.
He was obviously entertained by her anger, and his lips rose in a sneer. He rubbed them between his fingers, surely smearing his gross sweat all over them. He looked down at her with his typical air of superiority. "No, I don't think I will."
She bit down hard on the side of her cheek, drawing blood. "Give. Them. Back."
He tilted his head at her in a condescending manner. "Aww, she's upset."
Her heart dropped. She? No, this was not happening. Of all people, why did Rhino know who she was?! How did he find out?!
He stepped towards her as he continued to taunt her with the earrings. "What are you gonna do about it, Princess?"
Maybe it was because he stole her precious gift from Adrien, or maybe it was the use of the nickname that was reserved only for her friend, but Marinette snapped. With every ounce of strength she gained in her weeks training, she brought her foot up in a swift kick between Rhino's legs. He shouted and dropped the earrings, falling to his knees. They bounced across the ground, and she scrambled to grab them before booking it from the tent.
She had made it maybe two steps outside before Rhino grabbed her roughly by the hair and pulled. She cried out at the sharp pain radiating through her scalp and fumbled her hands behind her head, trying to pry his fingers off. She struggled to keep her fist closed around the earrings as she scratched at his arm. Rhino reached around her face and tore off her mask. He was yelling, still groaning and half doubled over from her kick. The commotion drew the attention of everyone nearby and even woke up the others. Nobody knew what was happening, but they all saw her face.
"You bitch! You attacked me!"
Marinette gripped his forearm with her free hand and dug her nails in as hard as she could, but he grabbed her wrist and twisted it, still holding painfully tight onto her hair. He had pulled it from its bun and held it right by her scalp. She was screaming at him to let go, her eyes searching the crowd of faces around her standing silently. Why aren't they doing anything?!
Rhino was shouting that she came after him, and the shock of a girl there must have stunned the soldiers. They probably weren't sure what to do.
"Rhino!" Chat yelled from her right, and she turned her head as much as she could toward him. He was sprinting to them with Nino on his heels. In seconds, they were there, and she heard Nino knee Rhino in the side followed by his grip loosening on her hair and arm. Chat pulled her away and pushed her behind him. "What the hell is going on?!" He was furious, and his eyes darted around at the surrounding soldiers before landing on Rhino. Nino had a firm grip on his arm and kept him from moving towards Chat or Marinette.
To her surprise, Rhino didn't perk up at Chat's presence. Instead, he sneered at him too. "What do you think? She kicked me in the nuts! I was defending myself!"
Again, Chat's eyes traveled to the bystanders. "And you all?" They glanced at each other uncomfortably as he stared them down. "Not one of you stepped in!"
One brave, or maybe dumb, soul spoke up. "Sir… she's not supposed to be here. Rhino caught her-"
"She's your troop member. Since when does she not belong here?!" Chat's voice was commanding, and despite the revolutionary leader defending her, she could feel the judgment from them all. She wasn't one of them anymore. Everyone was looking at her differently now.
The solider was speechless, but Rhino wasn't. "We're supposed to be an army. How can we be strong when we've got women in here messing it up!"
"What has she messed up? As far as I can tell she's outsmarted you in training ten times over, and she had the decency to tolerate your pompous ass for this long." He turned away to face Marinette. "Come on."
He pushed her to walk ahead of him, but before they could get very far, Rhino called out, "You're just bailing her out because you're sleeping with her!"
What?! She whipped around just in time to see Chat punch him in the face. A sickening crack sounded in the air as blood gushed from Rhino's nose. Chat grabbed his shirt and held his face inches from his own. "Don't bother training today." His voice was quiet, but everyone could hear him perfectly. "You're done." He pulled him a little closer. "And don't ever let me hear you say that shit again. Understand?"
Nino had grabbed both of Rhino's arms and had them twisted behind his back. He obviously wanted to retort, to fight back, but he had no choice but to nod. Chat released him, and Nino called for another troop leader to help him escort Rhino away. She didn't see where they went as Chat grabbed her wrist and led her back down the path. He let her go once they had exited the tents, but he never said a word. She shoved the earrings still clenched in her fist into her pocket, finally feeling like she could breathe again.
Neither of them spoke the whole walk to the Compound. She thought they were heading to the North, but he veered off to Alya's front door and firmly knocked. She answered, and her face fell when she saw Chat's angry expression and Marinette's tousled and loose hair. She looked between the two of them. "Did something happen?"
Marinette nodded her head, and Alya stepped back to let them inside. Thankfully Ella and Etta were with their father taking care of the horses, so the house was empty, and the three of them settled at the kitchen table.
Alya furrowed her eyebrows and reached across the table to Marinette's shoulder, pulling a loose lock from the rest of her hair. "Okay, spill."
"Start from the beginning, before I got there," Chat said, arms crossed over his chest.
That's right, Chat didn't know what had led up to the scene. All he saw was Rhino attacking her, screaming that she did it first, but he still defended her.
"I had just gotten back to my tent, and Rhino started questioning me on where I was, and then while I was looking in my bag I noticed he had been in there.
"I have this memento that I brought from home, a good luck charm, and he had it in his hand. He wouldn't give it back and was taunting me, asking what I was gonna do about it." She shot a concerned look at Chat. "He already knew I was a girl before everything else happened. I don't know how. I've been careful around him and he seemed oblivious until today."
"Did you attack him?"
As good as it felt in the moment, she was a little sheepish about it now. Technically, she was the one who started the fight. "Yeah. I kicked him between the legs and grabbed it from him and ran. He caught me and ripped off my mask, and that's when you showed up."
Marinette reached up and massaged the back of her scalp, which was still tender. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Alya asked.
"He had her by the hair and was twisting her arm when I got there." Chat's jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth with suppressed anger.
Alya's eyes widened, and she stood up in outrage. "That asshole! I'm gonna skin him alive as soon as I can get my hands on him." She gave Chat a demanding look. "Where is he?"
"It's okay, Nino has him." He motioned for her to sit back down, and she reluctantly complied. "But he's done with the army."
Marinette watched them, feeling honored that they were so upset on her behalf, but also guilty. She couldn't help but focus on the fact that she started the fight. Regardless of how much of a dick Rhino was, did she have to resort to violence? Even more, she hated how she wasn't able to free herself from Rhino on her own. Sure, she only had one hand because she was gripping her earrings in the other, but she felt weak.
That's the reason the soldiers wouldn't accept her, right? Because women were weak. She had worked so hard to show that wasn't true, but here she was feeling like she proved them right.
"This is my fault," she said, eyes on the table. "I'm the one that attacked first, not him. He was defending himself…"
"No," Chat said firmly. "You said it yourself. He was taunting you, and he stole something important to you. I don't blame you for finally putting him in his place." He held up his fist, where a new bruise was forming. "Even I couldn't resist it."
Right. She forgot Rhino had accused her and Chat of, well, having an affair. She refused to think about what it implied about the two of them and focused on what repercussions it could have. Chat was in a position of power, and he earned the respect of his soldiers through hard work and dedication to them. A rumor that he snuck a girl into the army to sleep with her would ruin him. Goddamn it. This was bad.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "So what happens now?"
Chat considered it for a moment. "For now, we're gonna get you a tent in the North. We'll have you finish up your training there-"
"No," she said without thinking.
He was taken aback. "No? Ladybug, it's not safe for you anymore. I can train you there-"
"That'll only make it worse."
"How?"
"Because they think we're sleeping together!"
Alya's jaw dropped. "What?!"
They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Nino entered the tiny house looking exhausted. "He's being held in the field for now. We tied him to one of the posts." He plopped down in a chair and stretched back. "What did I miss?"
Alya pretended to shrug. "Oh, not much, just the fact that everyone thinks you're sleeping together?!" She whipped around to look at Marinette and Chat, her face demanding an explanation.
Nino snapped his fingers. "That's right! How did Rhino find out?"
Alya was sure to combust any second now. She didn't know where to look, and she settled her accusing stare on them again. "It's true?!"
Chat's eyes were wide with bewilderment as he held up his hands defensively. "What? No! Of course not!" He turned to Nino. "Where on earth did you get that from?"
Now it was Nino's turn to be confused. "Wait, it isn't true?"
Marinette was ready to sink into the floor. This was not happening.
He looked between her and Chat. "Then how come-"
"We spend a lot of time together to train, but that's it," Marinette said quickly. She was sure her cheeks were burning red, and she had never been more thankful for her red face paint. Nino was definitely about to ask her about the sleeping-talking conversation, but that would just add to the confusion and make things even more complicated. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to Chat to talk about his private life right now.
Chat nodded his affirmation, and Nino seemed to be content with that answer. Alya, was not. "Can someone please tell me how this started? Or why everyone thinks you guys are together?"
Chat sighed loudly and leaned his elbows on the table, rubbing his eyes. Marinette could tell he was drained. "After I defended Ladybug and we were leaving, Rhino shouted that the only reason I did that was because I'm sleeping with her." He dropped his hands and gave a curt nod. "So I broke his nose."
Nino barked a laugh. "Hell yeah you did. You should've seen his shirt, man. He got it dyed red for free."
Alya waved her hands in front of her as she tried to understand. "Wait a minute, so that's it? That's not too bad. Nobody is actually gonna believe that guy, right?"
Marinette nodded her head side to side noncommittally. "It could go either way. Sometimes he's got a crowd around him, but other times you can tell people are sick of him. It honestly depends on the person."
"Okay, we can work with that. Let's just wait it out. If you have to, tell them you train together. As long as you haven't done anything to make them think otherwise, how bad can it be?"
Marinette and Chat seemed to have the same thought, and they looked at each other warily.
They were screwed.
"Any time Chat Noir trains in the South, he always eats lunch with her."
"One time, I saw them fall out of the woods together. They were laying on each other and stuff. I swear I saw them kiss."
"I heard from one of the Northern soldiers that he saw her leave his tent early in the morning. I've even seen her sneak out before, and some mornings she comes back right before everyone else gets up."
Marinette could not believe this was happening. Not only was she practically ostracized from the rest of the soldiers for being a woman, but she was also being accused of having an affair with their revolutionary leader. She couldn't be sure if Rhino had known the impacts his words would make, but it didn't matter, because they did. He was kicked out of the army and sent to a menial job in the Compound, supervised of course, but she couldn't help but think he had won.
Her reputation was ruined, Chat's reputation was ruined, and they had no clue how they were going to fix it. He, Nino, and Alya were on damage control. Alya quelled the rumors in the Compound, and Nino continued training his troop and shut down any talk of what happened, emphasizing that Rhino was angry and just wanted to stir things up.
Chat, well, he acted like nothing was wrong. Nobody was brave enough to approach him with the accusations, but if he heard anyone whispering behind his back, he purposefully approached them. He wouldn't confront them, but he would start a casual conversation, ask them about themselves and try to get to know them better. It's easier to spread rumors about people you don't know, so his tactic was to establish relationships with as many soldiers as possible and hopefully muddle the distorted view they now had of him.
Marinette agreed to move into the North Grounds for the time being. She had her own tent, which was nice. She didn't have to worry about her roommates waking up while she changed her clothes or her mask, and although she preferred having a place to herself, it felt empty. Isolated.
She didn't belong anywhere. Until things settled down, she would stay in this weird limbo. She was currently laying on her new bed, staring up at the canvas above her. Being alone with her thoughts made it so much worse. What if this never goes away? What if she has to leave the army? All of her hard work, all of her training, gone to waste. She wanted so desperately to keep going and see how far she could push herself, but how was she supposed to do that with everyone turned against her?
No, not everyone. She still had Alya, Nino, and most importantly, Chat. He would always be on her side, but it didn't stop her from worrying about what this might do to their friendship. Would it become awkward? Could they even train together anymore without getting looks? She loved it when they had lunch together or went on trips to the Compound, but now they couldn't do that without fear of what others may think.
God, everything was ruined. What a disaster.
"Knock, knock," Chat said, peering through the slit in the canvas.
She rolled her head to look at him. "Are you here to put me out of my misery?"
He chuckled and ducked inside. "I'm afraid not. Maybe next time."
Marinette sat up and brought her knees to her chest. "How are things out there?"
Chat walked over and took a seat on the bed in front of her. "Well," he gave her a hopeful look, "the good news is that a lot of people aren't sure if the rumor is true, so with a little extra help we can stop it here."
"And the bad news?" she asked apprehensively.
He pressed his lips together, then spoke slowly. "They think you're getting special treatment and don't deserve to be here."
She scoffed incredulously. All this time, the soldiers were none the wiser. What was different now? Nobody had a problem with her before, and after she started her extra training with Chat, she was on par with the rest of them. She fit in. Marinette couldn't believe everything she had worked towards could be snuffed out by one rumor.
Although… weren't they right?
She was getting special treatment. How many other soldiers got daily training sessions with Chat Noir? How many others had the luxury of waltzing into his tent unannounced, or even got a glimpse of the North Training Grounds? Her entire friendship with Chat was abnormal, especially since she's only a rookie soldier in the South. Out of the hundreds, maybe even thousands of soldiers here, what made her so special?
"Are they wrong?" she said suddenly, and Chat gave her a bewildered look.
"What?"
"Chat, why are you training me?" He continued to look at her in confusion. "There are so many soldiers here. What's so special about me?" Chat opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. She had been wondering this for so long, and now that she was saying it out loud, she couldn't stop the thoughts from rolling off her tongue. "Chat, we spend hours training. Every day. The reason we started was so I could catch up to everyone else, but I have already. Weeks ago. Why are you still investing so much time in me?"
Chat seemed taken aback by her words. He was silent for a moment, and then his eyes dropped to the floor. "Do you want to stop?"
"No!" She didn't mean for it to sound like she was regretting their time together, because that was far from the truth. In fact, she was terrified of losing it. Chat was her best friend. It was strange that she could call him that, considering the last person who donned that title had been her childhood friend from over a decade ago. She cared deeply for Adrien, but she also found herself feeling the same way about Chat Noir, more so after everything they went through in the last few weeks. A thought came to her mind, and a pang of fear struck through her. Apprehensively, she asked, "Do you think we should?"
He heaved a sigh, and for a moment she thought he was about to agree, but then he said, "I don't want to."
Marinette tried to hide the way her body relaxed in relief. "Me neither."
He looked at her, a hint of a smile on his face. "Then we won't."
She was about to let the conversation end there before she realized he hadn't answered her question. "But seriously, Chat." She tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Why do you train me?"
He mirrored her, considering the question. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure." That wasn't the answer she was looking for, but he wasn't done. He seemed to be trying to piece it together as he spoke. "I wasn't planning on our training going this long, at least not at first. I admired your dedication, and I wanted to help you, so I did." Suddenly, his gaze dropped. Something flickered on his face, and it reminded her of how he looked on the night he collapsed. "But to be honest, I think I needed a distraction."
A distraction? "From?"
He tilted his head up as he searched the ceiling. "Everything? When I first met you, I was about to send Squad D out on their mission, and I was afraid that…" he trailed off.
Her eyes softened. "It might go wrong?"
Chat flinched, almost imperceptibly, as if the words pained him, and nodded. She recalled how invested he seemed in their training sessions right off the bat. He was so ready to give up his time to her, and although part of that was most likely due to his generous nature, it made a lot more sense that he was trying to escape. After their argument, when they weren't talking, he had taken a sharp decline as he buried himself in his tent, alone with his thoughts. She could imagine that the anxiety of waiting, knowing that his men were out performing a life-threatening mission, could do just as much damage. If she were him, she would've wanted some kind of outlet too.
He continued. "But somehow, all of my worries were gone when we trained." He looked straight at her now, studying her face. "I don't know what it is, but I have so much fun when I'm with you. You make me feel like… the person I used to be." He gave her a gentle smile.
She couldn't control the way her heart fluttered in her chest. His expression was so soft, so sincere. Warmth crept up her neck and into her cheeks, and she resisted the urge to hide her face from him.
"T-The," she stopped to clear her throat. Why was she stuttering?! "The person you used to be?"
"Yeah. You know, before the whole world went to shit."
Like many times before, she found herself wondering what Chat's life had been before the revolution. Even further than that, what his life had been like before Emilie died, back when their country was peaceful.
You make me feel like the person I used to be. She could say the same thing about him. She remembered the first few weeks of her time training with Chat, before they got into their fight. All memory of her mission to find Adrien had faded from her mind as she was swept into the world of the revolution, of those mornings with him. He truly made her feel happy and free, something she hadn't felt since that fateful day ten years ago.
And all that time, he was feeling the same way.
A small smile made its way to her face. "I have a lot of fun with you too, Chat. More than I have in years." They looked at each other, content in that moment of silence. She couldn't help but think of how far they'd come.
Then, reality sunk in again, and her shoulders slumped. "But now I can barely go outside without getting looks." She shook her head to herself as she wished for things to be normal again. "Where am I supposed to go? I can't stay here forever."
His eyebrows furrowed. He appeared troubled as he contemplated her words. Then, an idea struck him, and he held out a gloved hand. "Come with me." She glanced between his hand and the slit in the canvas leading outside, doubtful. "Trust me." His eyes had an encouraging glint in them, and she found herself hesitantly placing her hand in his.
He gently pulled her from the bed, not letting go of her until they were outside. Again, her body betrayed her as a pink flush colored her cheeks. He didn't seem to notice as he led her through the woods, being sure to watch for any prying eyes. They walked to the edge of the North Training Grounds where they saw a handful of soldiers training. Chat motioned for her to walk along the edge, hidden behind the trees and just out of sight from them. If people thought they were sneaking around together before, they surely would now if anyone saw them.
He led her to their old clearing where they used to train. "Sorry Kitty, but I don't think a workout is gonna cheer me up." Kitty? Where did that come from?
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Don't worry, M'Lady," he emphasized the nickname, "we're not there yet."
To Marinette's surprise, they headed towards the treeline at the other end of the clearing. Her eyes widened behind her face paint. Is he taking me to…
Sure enough, the trees opened up, and before them was the large space with the apple tree. The last time she was here, Chat had been mourning the loss of Squad D. She could almost see him now, leaning against that tree with bloodied fists as he let out all of the pain and anguish he had been hiding below the surface. Her heart ached at the memory.
"Tada," he said from beside her, completely unaware of her thoughts.
Marinette pretended to look around as if it was her first time seeing this place. It wasn't hard; her eyes practically lit up as she surveyed the area again. "It's gorgeous, Chat." She approached the tree, reaching a hand up to touch one of the growing fruits. It wasn't ripe yet, but another couple of weeks and it would be ready to eat. A grin spread across her face as her eyes traveled higher into the tree, where luscious red apples hung, practically begging for her to climb up and pick them.
"This is where I come when I want to get away. It's my secret spot," Chat said. In her peripheral, she saw him move in front of her. She met his eyes, and they were filled with so much warmth. "But you're welcome to come here anytime you like."
Her heart swelled. This place was Chat's escape, his one place where he could be vulnerable, and he revealed it to her. Offered it to her. She was filled with so much gratitude, along with another emotion she could not identify, and without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him tightly. "Thanks for sharing it with me, Chat," she said against his chest.
She felt his arms wrap around her shoulders and squeeze. "Of course, M'Lady." She was about to pull away when she felt him rest his chin on her head. Her mind screamed at her about the rumors, about how hard they were trying to convince everyone there was nothing going on between her and Chat. If anyone saw them now…
But nobody would. This was their hiding spot, and it was just the two of them. Besides, she could hug Chat. He was her friend, and friends hug each other all the time.
And as his friend, she silently wished they could stay like that, just for a little while longer.
The next chapter is called "Bad Apple"