The Hazards of Being In Love CH5
CH1 - Ao3 - FF.net - CH4
Summary: Chat Noir and Ladybug have been enemies since the day they first set foot to the city’s streets. Meanwhile, Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng just might be the happiest couple in Paris.
Did I promise Marichat? Here you go!
Marinette would be lying if she said she wasn’t entirely confused after the battle with the water-based akuma. She never got his name, but he was significantly less powerful than others she had faced, and she wasn’t sure why. Maybe Hawkmoth was testing something, practicing for a stronger akuma. It made her nervous After the battle, she told the bewildered, upset man that everything would be okay and then left it to the professionals who had been dealing with akuma victims for years.
Marinette wasn’t sure what to make of the strange magic that kept sparking up between her and Chat Noir. She’d say it was weird, but that was an understatement. It was… distracting. Since a few months after everything began, there’d always been that clashing magic between the two of them, but it’d always been small until recently. The fight with the water akuma was the first time they weren’t fighting and the magic crackled down her back. Even more unusual, it was new that it occurred outside costume. Sometimes she would see it on her fingertips and drop her pen in shock.
It wasn’t the first side effect of being Ladybug, but it was the most troubling.
A few weeks had passed since that particular akuma. There’d been scattered akuma attacks and Ladybug had been fortunate to not see Chat Noir during them. Maybe he was avoiding her. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Adrien too much either. But that wasn’t awfully unusual this time of the year, considering his constant photoshoots and events to attend.
Tikki hadn’t been any help regarding the magic. She claimed she didn’t know what it was any more than Marinette did, though the fashion designer was certain that Tikki knew a bit more than she was letting on. It wasn’t really worth pursuing, though. It didn’t do any harm except to feel a bit funny, but it did give her a shock every time it showed up.
One day, after she’d gotten ice cream with Alya who was finally back from London, she sat down at her desk. Magic immediately cracked up her leg. Uncomfortable, she crossed her leg and decided with a huff that maybe it was time to talk to Tikki about it again.
“Tikki,” she tried. The kwami side-eyed her charge as she nibbled on a cookie. She didn’t respond immediately, electing to finish the cookie first. Marinette knew they had a bond, and so she was fairly confident that Tikki knew exactly what was weighing on her mind.
Cookie having been nibbled away as slowly as Tikki could manage, the kwami finally spoke. While she was waiting, Marinette had begun to impatiently bounce her leg and tap her pen on the desk, but Tikki was never bothered by that sort of thing. In fact, Marinette wasn’t even sure she noticed. Bond or no, she wasn’t a mind-reader. Tikki spoke softly, calming like always. Sometimes it was that voice that helped Marinette fall to sleep.
“I really don’t know anything about it, Marinette,” she assured. “I think maybe if you and Chat Noir spoke about it -- ” Marinette scoffed, purposely, loudly. “ -- then we’d gain some insight.” The kwami finished her explanation with a soft smile. Tikki was always so calm and thoughtful. Marinette knew that she wasn’t happy that Chat Noir and Ladybug weren’t partners, or whatever, but she at least tried to be sympathetic most of the time. Sometimes less than others. Marinette had gotten quiet sighs, but she’d also gotten yelled at.
It usually made Marinette feel guilty. She didn’t talk to Tikki about it, though she was sure the kwami knew. Tikki was missing a lot of pieces. She didn’t know why Marinette felt guilty, and it was because she felt like she was betraying the kwami, who she should be putting all her trust into.
Then there was a rap on the window above her bed.
This had never happened before so Marinette, startled, jumped and fell out of her chair. She landed awkwardly on the ground with a soft groan, one leg still half on her chair. Meanwhile, Tikki’s eyes widened until they were huge like the moon, and she flew away, diving under the desk to hide. Marinette looked at her, then looked back at the window, feeling apprehensive. She had a feeling about who was out there, but it didn’t make any sense.
Another couple of taps. By then, Marinette was already climbing up the stairs that led to her bed and saw a dark figure retreat from the window. She couldn’t help letting out a heavy breath, looking down at Tikki, who shrugged as she hesitantly climbed outside. The chilly night air bit at her skin as she pulled herself onto the balcony, so she pulled the ends of her cardigan close together, eyes immediately locking on the figure who stood at the end of her balcony.
Her heart skipped over a beat.
His ears were so flat to his head that she could barely see them, his tail swayed lazily in the breeze that had moved through the city’s streets. He didn’t seem to have an aggressive stance (in fact, was he posing?), but Marinette reminded herself to be wary. This was unusual. This had never happened before.
She met his green eyes. They were soft.
“Marinette,” he said. He said it with such familiarity, such relief, like he hadn’t really been confident she’d come out.
A small part of her relaxed, just a bit, at the tone his voice took. It sounded like… no. But it did sound like him.
For a moment she debated how to act, especially because she knew Tikki would be listening in. Chat Noir was her enemy, and especially as a civilian right now, she wouldn’t want to seem comfortable or tease him the way she did as Ladybug. But she wouldn’t want to seem uncomfortable, either, because Chat Noir was known for protecting civilians, sometimes. Tikki wanted him and Ladybug to work together, and with Tikki listening in, maybe that was something that should come up in the conversation.
He may be her enemy, she decided, but there was someone under that mask. Maybe she could talk about that a bit. Learn something.
Marinette thought on it for a few minutes longer, watching him uneasily. She wondered why he came here, and what he was here for. Of all the places to visit, she wouldn’t expect him to hop on her balcony and tap on her door in the middle of the night! Plus, if Chat Noir really wanted to talk to Marinette, was there something wrong with approaching her broad daylight as a civilian? Maybe it had something to do with holding the black cat miraculous.
“Chat Noir,” she finally settled on as a response, attempting to carefully think through her words and the conversation it would lead to. She decided to brace herself and act coldly, channeling how she’d seen others act around him. There was a lot of stiffness around Chat Noir, a lot of distrust. “What are you doing here?”
He regarded her carefully and then gazed out over the city’s lights, completely at ease. Feeling relatively calm herself, especially after seeing his ease, Marinette followed, her eyes landing on the Eiffel Tower as they often did. The architecture masterpiece was lit up bright; clouds that floated just above it were illuminated. Marinette drew her eyes over them, thinking of the delicate brushstrokes that might go into their gentle curves. Her thoughts quickly trailed to what kind of outfits might be created with inspiration from clouds, and then, somehow, to the akuma Stormy Weather…
“I love Paris,” Chat Noir finally said. She blinked, halfway through the creation of a new dress that would suit Alya perfectly.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t work so hard to destroy it,” Marinette remarked after a heartbeat, her thoughts turning back to studying the clouds. She’d never really drawn clouds, most of her art was focused on anatomy. She wondered if it’d be particularly hard.
“My goal isn’t to destroy Paris,” he replied with a sigh. She almost laughed at the irony. His special move was literally Cataclysm, he destroyed anything with a touch. He could destroy Paris, if he wanted, if he had enough cheese.
“Then why don’t you work with Ladybug?” she countered. “All the akumas seem pretty unconcerned about the damage they create, or the lives that are put at risk. If your goal isn’t to destroy Paris, and I’ve seen you rescue citizens so I believe you, I’m not really sure what you’re doing fighting against Ladybug.”
Chat Noir didn’t respond immediately, walking towards the railing on her balcony. He leaned over it, peering down at the street. She crossed her arms, glancing towards her balcony door. She noticed Tikki’s red blobbish shape there, but the kwami quickly flew away. Chat Noir was straightening up.
“See a mouse?” she pried.
“No,” he mumbled. “I heard something, but it must have just been a stray cat. Or maybe someone is listening to us.”
Marinette was put off a bit by his comment but she decided to dismiss it. She wasn’t about to say anything that might give her away, anyway. He was at risk if someone was listening, not her.
“So? Why do you help Hawkmoth?”
A pause.
“Papillon he may be, but he’s this cat’s father,” Chat Noir admitted, sighing. “I have to. What other choice do I have? I don’t want to cause needless destruction. I’m just trying to get Ladybug’s miraculous. I don’t want to hurt her, really, or anyone.”
Marinette didn’t respond immediately, turning what he said over in her head. Lost in thought, the sometimes-superhero fiddled with the earrings that sat on her lobes, fingering them delicately. She ran her thumb over their smooth curve, carefully felt the coolness of the back. Sighing, she moved to push her hair behind her ear, only for Chat Noir to beat her to it: for whatever possessed him, she felt the cold of a black claw tucking her hair behind her ear.
“You have nice earrings,” he commented, his finger lingering longer than necessary.
She smirked up at him, not particularly worried but feeling her breath catch. “Thanks. I like them a lot.”
“Hm.”
“Now,” she mused, pushing his hand away. “What if I were to find out your identity, kitty? What then? Now I know that whoever you are, Hawkmoth won’t be far behind.”
He chuckled, low in his throat.
“Princess, you’ll never know my identity,” Chat Noir promised, a smirk still playing on his lips. She found herself unwittingly matching it, thinking of the irony.
Marinette remembered what Tikki said about them being meant to work together and wondered if there was something more than that as she felt drawn to him in the moment. She had thought of that often, when she felt compelled in battle to focus on him instead of the akuma, when they bantered back and forth, and even when she wasn’t paying too much attention to him, yet somehow remained conscious of his whereabouts.
On some magical, spiritual level, Chat Noir was her other half. She was creation, and he was destruction; if she was the sun, then he was the moon.
Marinette thought about Adrien and the way his kisses felt so warm and so like home, and she wondered for just a brief moment if it would be much different to kiss Chat Noir. Her cheeks flamed up immediately, so Marinette flattened down her clothes self-consciously, clearing her throat.
“You-you never told me why you stopped by,” she mumbled, looking anywhere but him. Did he know how flustered she was feeling? Was he aware of her the way she was aware of him, even if she wasn’t wearing the mask right now?
He seemed curious. She could tell this without looking.
“I just felt like it,” he said, and she knew he was lying. She knew it in the crack of his knuckles and roll of his shoulders as he straightened up. She noticed a spark of green magic around those knuckles and felt it on hers. She hurried to hide her hands behind her back, cheeks flaring even more. They were talking! Wasn’t that enough for whatever god decided to make magic dance across her skin?
His lie was not worth pursuing. She felt completely and entirely perplexed, because Chat Noir had never shown up on her balcony at midnight before, but if a cat didn’t want to share, then a cat wouldn’t share.
Marinette waited as he moved towards the railing slowly, painfully. She could see in his somber movements forward that he was not quite ready to go, that he was hesitating. There was something else. Narrowing her eyes, she breathed out. There was a reason this alley-cat came to her balcony at midnight, it wasn’t just for funsies, and she knew it.
“I had a really weird day today. Something went… wrong. Maybe you’ve noticed. There’s been a lot of magic sparking between myself and Ladybug. So, I have to tell a close friend of mine about… it,” he said, turning around to face her again. She breathed out, and could just barely feel his warm breath on her cold nose. “It’s something I’ve kept from him for 3 years. But I have to tell him.”
“You have to?” she asked, not sure what else to say, but she thought of Tikki.
“I think it’s time,” he muttered, leaning in just a bit closer. He stopped unbearably close. Marinette’s heart was not thrumming in her chest, it was not steady. She felt erratic, heart pounding wildly out of control. She couldn’t remember how to breathe. He was so close, too close. He smelled good, kind of sweet. There were undertones of camembert.
She reminded herself that she couldn’t kiss Chat Noir, not on her balcony at midnight. Gaining some semblance of control, she pressed one finger to his nose and pushed him away.
“Then-then tell him,” she sighed, thinking of Tikki again. “If he’s so close to you, after 3 years, should you really have secrets anyway?”
He regarded her carefully, before settling on an, “Okay. Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Princess.”
Her heart jumped at the nickname, but he paid no mind. Adrien called her that a lot. Chat Noir turned away with a wink and disappeared swiftly into the night. She didn’t watch him go.
Instead, Marinette turned back to her room and hopped in, landing softly on her bed. Tikki floated up to her, and their eyes met in the darkness of Marinette’s room. Tikki’s were narrowed with concern, but the kwami refrained from saying anything that might be considered ‘not what Marinette needs right now’.
Marinette was the first to speak after a somewhat extended and definitely awkward silence.
“That was… interesting,” she managed.
“I feel like I understand a little bit more about Chat Noir now,” the kwami hummed in return. “Though his last couple of words were a bit perplexing, I don’t think it would be very hard to get him to work with you at all. Maybe if you could talk to him as Ladybug... ”
Marinette studied the kwami, thinking about what Chat Noir had said, but also thinking about the next step in trying to put a stop to akumas. For three years, she’s worked alone in countering them, occasionally coming close to getting Chat’s miraculous. Tikki had mentioned before that Hawkmoth’s kwami wasn’t meant to be where he was.
However, she vaguely remembered a comment about Chat Noir’s miraculous being in both the wrong and the right hands.
Marinette took a deep breath and pulled out her courage from the deepest part of her soul, the kind she kept stored for particularly tough conversations or battles. This was about to be one of those. She opened her arms, invitingly, and Tikki smiled, flying to her charge with no idea of what she was about to say. Cradling her little friend, Marinette started to talk.
“Tikki... there’s something I need to tell you.”
