Chapter Text
Although the station had long been closed, line 10 of the metro, as Chat knew, ran directly through the Croix Rouge. It was on this very line that he and Marinette now found themselves spontaneous passenger.
“Are you ok?” He questioned her, looking her up and down, his hands otherwise occupied with holding onto the train and his princess.
“I’m fine,” she said, the first words since the sack had been removed and thrown into the wind from the moving train. “Just a bit shaken up,” she continued. “Thank you for saving me,” she said with a faint smile even in her puffy-eyed state.
“Why did you reveal your identity,” she emphatically asked, her disposition changing to one of upset and anger as she punctuated the end of her question with a slap to the back of his head.
“I didn’t know what else to do, princess. I couldn’t bear to see you like that. They were going to hurt you . . .”
“Yeah, but now Hawkmoth and Mayura know who you are,” she said, worry in her voice.
“It will all be ok. I promise,” he reassured her, his eyes full of hope and promises of love and safety.
. . .
The Hawk-yura duo stood in silence in the cover of darkness within their lair. Neither had uttered a word to the other since the subway station.
Mayura finally broke the silence, de-transforming. She walked over to Hawkmoth and leaned on his chest, positioning her head below his chin.
Something broke within him, and he de-transformed, the shock, heartbreak, and betrayal settling in again. He wrapped his arms around her, seeking to gain comfort in comforting her.
“What are we going to do,” Nathalie whispered. After a moment, she continued, “Should we really keep Adrien in the middle of everything as we have unknowingly done all this time?” Tears started to flood out of her eyes. “What would Emilie want?” she asked.
Gabriel was silent, confusion still evident. She searched his eyes, hoping to find something to hold onto.
He finally spoke, “I don’t honestly know . . .” he trailed. Another moment passed before he continued, “but we need to think of what’s best for Emilie and for Adrien.”
. . .
After stopping to re-fuel Plagg, they wove their way around the city to ensure that they had lost the villains. Chat now landed on Marinette’s balcony. The sun had long set, and the moon was behind them.
It was just Marinette and her kitty in the night as they sat on the railing together. Not a single person was visible on the streets below.
“I love you, Marinette. I won’t let a thing happen to you,” he promised, a look of certainty on his face as he wordlessly reassured her that he would always be her safe haven. She leaned on her kitty’s arm, wrapping her arms around his limb.
After a few minutes, he leapt backwards off the railing, still holding onto his princess. He beckoned for her. She turned, and he picked her up into his arms. He opened the trapdoor into her bedroom with his foot and laid her down onto her bed as he lowered himself beside her and shut the door above them.
As their eyes slowly adjusted to the darker room, Chat nuzzled closer to her, holding her close. He longed to reveal his identity, to cast aside the barrier between them, the very mask that kept him from giving all of himself to his princess.
After a few moments of silence as he held her, he pulled away, sitting up and raising his clawed, leather-clad hand.
“But—” she said as Chat interrupted her.
“I know,” he said. “Don’t ask, don’t tell . . . but you are in even more danger now that Hawkmoth knows my identity,” he told her, concern apparent in his face. “I need to reveal my identity to you now so that I can always protect you. No one will suspect anything if you and I are seen together in public without my mask, and I can be ready to transform in an instant to keep them from touching you.”
She stayed silent, the moral battle within obvious to her kitty.
“Claws in,” he whispered, casting the room in a yellow-green glow as the costume faded away.
Shock covered her face the moment she saw him. She was speechless.
“Is . . . is this ok?” he asked. “I love you, Marinette . . . I know I’m probably not who you expected beneath the mask, but I hope you still feel the same about me.”
She then sat up and wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling him down to the bed with a giggle. He hugged her, relief pouring through his body.
“So . . . what do you think?” he asked her.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting this . . . but it didn’t matter to me who was beneath the mask. I love you for you, my precious kitty,” she whispered into his chest.