Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir ch 4: Evillustrator
Marinette was still fuming from her encounter with Chloe when she landed in her room and detransformed.
“Ugh! Tikki, why does Chloe always have to be so. . . Ugh! Chloe!” she said as she flopped onto her chaise.
When there was no reply, she sat up and turned to where she had last seen Tikki, only to find the Akuma from earlier in the library.
“It’s you! The one terrorizing Chloe!” She scrambled back. “What are you doing here?”
“I . . . just wanted to see you.”
“O-kay, but why did you attack Chloe?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Because Chloe is cruel and selfish!”
“Can’t argue with that,” Marinette admitted. She took a breath. “Are you- going to hurt me?”
“You? You’re Marinette.” He looked at her with an adoring smile on his face. “You’re beautiful and sweet and- perfect and- I could never hurt you!”
“Wow. That’s, uh, very, um, flattering, uh. . . Thank you?” she stuttered as she remembered that morning, in class. Nathaniel must have been akumatized. He really was in love with her.
“So, I just came by to ask you if, uh, well . . . It’s my birthday today and, uh, would you want to come to my party.”
“Oh, um, actually, it’s not really the best night, see, I’ve got a presentation to work on,” she gestured to her folder on the desk. “ And I have to. . . call my . . . friend so we can . . . meet and . . .” she trailed off, making her hand into a makeshift phone and holding it to her ear.
“Oh, no, please, Marinette, it’ll just be you and me!” He drew on a tablet she hadn’t noticed and a card appeared in his hand. He knelt and held it out to her, and she gasped as she took it.
“Oh, my gosh, that’s . . . me!”
She thought about it. She didn’t really want to go on a date with a supervillain, but if she could figure out where his Akuma was, she could defeat him faster. There was another problem though: how could she guarantee her safety if she enraged him? She needed Chat watching over her.
Which left Chloe unprotected. But still. Maybe.
Deciding it was her best chance, she said, “Love it! So much that I will absolutely be at your party!”
“On one condition,” she deadpanned.
“Anything for you, Marinette.”
“You can’t hurt Chloe anymore.” She held her hand to her forehead, “I simply cannot bear violence.”
He drew on his tablet and a jetpack appeared on his back. “Meet me on the left bank, next to Notre Dame at sunset.” He told her, and left through the window, not bothering to fix the hole he left there.
Tikki came out and sat on Marinette’s shoulder. “What the hell, Tikki! He just professed his love to me and acted like he didn’t just ruin my window! And he can make the things he draws come to life, but he didn’t bother to fix something he broke!”
Tikki sighed. “He’s an Akuma, Marinette, he’s not in his right mind.”
“I’m not saying it’s alright, just that he can’t help it,” she amended when Marinette shot her a glare.
“I know, Tikki, it’s just really inconvenient,” Marinette sighed. “I have to call Chat. Do you mind if I transform for a few minutes?”
“SPOTS ON!” She climbed onto her balcony and leaped over a few roofs so Chat wouldn’t recognize where she was.
Pressing the button in the middle of her yoyo, she opened it and called Chat. He picked up after a few seconds.
“Hey, Lovebug, what’s up?”
She cut to the chase, “I need you to watch over a girl for me tonight.”
“I’m going on a very important secret mission.”
He sighed. “Alright, who is it?”
She sent him a picture of herself. “Her name’s Marinette. Cute, right?”
His face softened and he whispered, “Yeah.”
“She’s going on a fake date with the Akuma. He’s in love with her.”
“What? That’s too dangerous! She could get hurt!”
“That’s why you’ll be there. Marinette is going to take his pencil away. I’ll need you to capture the Akuma and when you see me next, I’ll purify it,” she explained. “Can I trust you?”
“Yeah, I can do that,” he grumbled.
“Great! I’ll send you the address.”
She hung up and then typed in her address before hitting send and leaping back to her balcony.
She made her way merrily down the stairs and opened the door to see- Sabrina? What was she doing here? The project! She had completely forgotten!
“Um, hi, Sabrina,” she said hesitantly. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to work on the project.” She leaned forward. “Did you forget?” she singsonged.
“Um, nope. I was totally gonna call you,” Marinette laughed nervously.
“Great! Let’s go get started,” Sabrina chirped.
“I, um, actually there’s something really important I have to do tonight. I can’t work on it tonight. But we can meet up tomorrow.”
“What is this really important thing?”
“You know who else uses that excuse?”
“Chloe! I’m beginning to see how much you two have in common!”
The angry redhead stormed away and Marinette let out a sigh, sagging against the doorframe.
“I thought I’d have to rescue you from her claws,” a voice said from her right.
“Chat!” Marinette jumped and started falling. She closed her eyes and braced for an impact that never came. Instead, she felt a warm hand close over hers and pull her upright.
Opening her eyes, she saw Chat smirk at her. “Falling for me already, huh, Purrincess?”
Marinette blushed so furiously, she was sure her face was bright red. “U-um . . .”
“I hear we’ll be working together.” He bent and kissed her hand.
“Uh, y-yeah.” How was he so smooth?
He interpreted her stuttering as fear of the idea of facing a supervillain. “Don’t worry, M’lady, I’ll be there the whole time. I won’t let him hurt you.”
“Thanks, Kitty,” She smiled softly. He was so thoughtful. He would never have left that big hole in her window. Or made it in the first place.
“Did . . . you just call me Kitty?”
“Uh, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have called you that! I-”
“No! No it’s fine! I liked it,” he smiled at her. “Chat Noir feels really formal. You can just call me Chat or Kitty. Okay?” he reassured her.
“Okay, Kitty,” she smiled right back at him.
“S-so,” he stuttered, but just for one second. “Where are we meeting for your . . . date?” He spat the last word like it was poison.
“Oh. Is the Kitty jealous?” it was too much to hope for, but Marinette couldn’t resist leaning in to hear his answer.
“Maybe just a little bit,” he said under his breath, making Marinette’s heart skip a beat.
She couldn’t help but gape at him. “What?”
"Um, I said . . . I just don’t want you getting hurt . . . ?”
“No. You said you were jealous,” she grinned.
His face turned bright red.
“Are you okay?!” She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and he flushed even more. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She insisted, moving her hand to his cheek.
“Uh, y-yep, just f-fine.”
“Do you want anything before we go? We still have a few hours until we have to leave.”
What if he really was sick? Not only would they be unable to defeat Nathaniel, but she would also spend every waking moment worrying about him.
“Could I have something to drink?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck.
“Of course! Follow me.” Marinette turned and walked back up the stairs to the kitchen. Chat shut the door behind him and followed her up the stairs.
“Have a seat,” Marinette offered, gesturing to a chair. “What do you want to drink? Water, orange juice, tea, milk?”
“Water is fine,” he said as he pulled out a chair.
She gave him his water then danced around the kitchen for a while, coming up with a tray of pastries for them to share and a mug of tea for herself.
They smiled at each other for a while before looking away and blushing.
“Remember, M’lady, just get the pen away from him. I’ll keep you safe,” Chat said as he leaped to Notre Dame.
“I know, Kitty. I’ll be fine,” she responded, more for his benefit than hers. She was certain her plan wouldn’t fail.
“I’m sure you will be. I’m just worried.” His brows furrowed. “What if something goes wrong? What if he gets mad and I can’t get there soon enough? I couldn’t live with myself if I couldn’t save you.”
They stopped on a roof near the river and Chat hugged Marinette tighter.
“Look at me.” When he didn’t, Marinette tilted his face toward hers. “I know I’ll be fine. Do you know why?”
“Because I have you to watch over me.” Marinette put her hand over his heart. “And I know you would never let anyone hurt me.” She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. “Besides, I’m stronger than I look.”
Chat smiled weakly at her and you could tell he was trying very hard to keep it from slipping. “Thanks, Purrincess.”
“Why don’t you come to my house tomorrow and we’ll get ice cream?”
“But I said I’d pay first.”
“Why don’t we decide tomorrow?”
“Sure, but I’m still paying.”
“Don’t we have to be somewhere?” Marinette deflected.
“Oh, right.” Chat’s face turned grim again and all the comfort from their banter melted away. He leaped to the ground behind Notre Dame and Marinette walked to the edge of the river with Chat keeping watch from the shadows.
“Hey, I hope I’m not late,” Marinette said to get the villain’s attention.
“Not at all, You’re right on time.” He sat on a bench and patted the spot next to him. Marinette complied and he started to draw something. A bouquet of red roses appeared in his hand.
When he gave them to her, she tried to pretend Chat was the gifter.
“They’re lovely,” she said, giving them a sniff. “You’re very good at drawing. I actually draw a little too. I’m not as good as you, of course.”
“I’m sure you’re a wonderful artist.”
“Well, can I draw you something for your birthday?”
“Sure.” He started to hand her the pencil, but Chat Noir shifted behind them and Evilustrator must have seen his movement because he kept his grip on the pencil and asked her to give it back.
“N-no, I’m keeping it!” She snatched it and backed away.
“Marinette, you’re working with him? I’m so stupid. I actually thought you liked me, but you’re just like Chloe! Teasing me. Mocking me. Leading me on.”
Marinette snapped his pencil. “Why does everyone keep comparing me to Chloe today?!”
An Akuma flew out of the pencil and Chat leaped down to catch it in a jar he had brought. He turned to Marinette who was still seething from Evilustrator’s comment.
“If it helps,” he said, setting his hand on her shoulder, “I don’t think you’re like Chloe.”
Marinette’s face softened and she hugged him. “Thanks, Kitty, that means the world to me.”
Yay! The first Marichat chapter is out! The last chapter doesn't count. I tallied up all the chapters of each ship I already have outlined. I'm not sure if anyone's interested so if you want to see how many of each so far, then comment and I'll make a post. Thank you to my wonderful beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!
