Whiplash• ML Oneshot (Pt. 1)
Prompt: “I’d kill for you” “Yeah, uh, let’s not”
Ship: Marichat/Ladynoir/a lil Adrienette
Description: An AU in which Marinette has fallen in love with Chat Noir, but she’s too afraid of rejection to admit it to herself. (lots of angst/a lil fluff)
Words: 2678 (2 parts)
Author’s notes: This ended up being way longer than I originally intended and it turned into a reveal fic (lovesquare drama lolol) {PS very lightly edited so pls dont attack me if there’s grammar mistakes!!}
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“You know, most people don’t like it when masked men break into their rooms steal things.” Marinette felt a coy smile tugging at her lips, as she stood at the top of her stairs, having caught Chat Noir in the act of stealing a freshly baked cookie off of the plate on her desk. The cat just grinned, and slipped the rest of the cookie into his mouth. Marinette shook her head, but she couldn’t hold back the smile that appeared on her face.
Just minutes before Chat had shown up, Marinette had been in a terrible mood. Her whole day couldn’t have been worse. Firstly, Marinette woke up late because of the late akuma attack the night before. She arrived to school late, again, with none of her homework completed. Then Alya had the brilliant idea for Marinette to ask Adrien out on a date. After almost a full thirty seconds of incoherent stuttering, Marinette finally spoke a sentence that remotely sounded like “Dinner with me, you are date...?” Adrien had chuckled softly, before looking down at his hands. Marinette should have seen this coming, but even now as she was watching a movie with Chat, she felt the tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. In a very un-Adrien-like move, he rejected her with no other explanation than ‘You’re one of my best friends Marinette. I don’t like you that way.’
Those words shattered her heart into thousands of little pieces. It didn’t seem at all like Adrien to reject her so bluntly with no regard to her feelings. So she did the only thing she could think to do: she laughed. And laughed. Laughed to cover up the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. And Adrien, who was always totally oblivious, believed her. Marinette hasn’t seen Adrien since, and she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to face him again.
Marinette snapped out of her thoughts, when Chat began to purr, as he nuzzled his face in Marinette’s neck affectionately. She smiled warmly at him, fighting to hold back the tears in her eyes. Chat was in a good mood, and she certainly didn’t want to ruin his night. She shifted her gaze from Chat up to her computer screen, which was playing some sci-fi movie with cat people. Kinda like Planet of the Apes, but not. Marinette chuckled at it. Even Chat’s favorite movie involved cats. It was fitting.
“You’re so purrrfect to snuggle up to, Marinette.” She loved the way her name left his mouth. She wanted him to say it again and again. Marinette let herself forget about Adrien for a moment, and enjoy this moment with Chat. These moments were rare, but so special.
But as Ladybug she had vowed to keep him safe. This... growing more attached to her partner, was wrong. What if he found out she was Ladybug? What if he was akumatized again? Then he would know who she was and could use that against her. Chat would never consciously try to hurt her, but what if he’s not thinking straight? Marinette stood for a moment, shocking Chat who stood up to meet her.
“Is something wrong, kitten?” She flinched at the once endearing nickname. Now it just filled her gut with fear. She had to stop this. Now.
“I’m sorry,” she paused, choking back tears for the umpteenth time that night. “I... have to go.” Marinette booked it down the stairs, leaving a stunned Chat Noir in her bedroom. She couldn’t force back the tears any longer, so she collapsed onto the stairs leading down to the bakery, sobs wracking her body. First Adrien, now Chat. Marinette started to believe she was incapable of requited love.
It was a fleeting thought, but Marinette had noticed it. Requited love. Chat Noir. The puns. The nighttime conversations under the stars. The movie nights. Him.
The realization hit her like a brick wall. All the air she had been gasping for left her body, and she was so shocked, she had stopped crying. She had fallen in love with Chat Noir. Marinette wanted to say it had happened on accident, but looking back, she realized it definitely was not an accident. Since that first night on her balcony, he had visited her often, and they grew close. He would let her vent about Adrien, and in return Chat would gush about Ladybug. Often times, Marinette would secretly blush due to the things he would say about her, but she promised herself that she wouldn’t fall for him. But the person he was around her, the way he truly cared about her opinions and feelings... She was frustrated she hadn’t seen it coming sooner. Then her mind drifted back to Adrien, and she realized her mistake. She had been so caught up with Adrien, that she hadn’t noticed the person right in front of her. She sighed, before willing herself to continue down the stairs. It doesn’t matter now. A personal relationship with Chat Noir is a disaster waiting to happen. Until Hawkmoth is defeated, she can’t take any risks. She doesn’t want anything to happen to the cat she loves.
