Work Text:
Sabine leaned back in the rocking chair in their bedroom, listening to the voices that carried to her through the window on the night breeze. It had been six months after her daughter had made her confession of love to the hero Cat Noir and the gentle rejection that followed when she had found out he had begun visiting Marinette on her balcony. Soon it became habit. It was now almost a year on and it showed no sign of stopping. Two or three times a week the lad would stop by for a chat with his “princess”, never knowing that the queen was listening in.
“And then, just as I was about to get the last layer basted on, I stuck my thumb pretty deep with a sewing pin and bled all over the satin! Pale pink satin! Can you believe it? I was so disgusted with myself I could have kicked something!”
Marinette’s voice was soft, but animated enough to hold her attention. Sabine couldn’t help but smile. Her daughter was so bubbly and at ease with Cat, despite the heartbreak he had dealt her, being true to her promise to stay friends. Of course, there were still her undisclosed feelings for Adrien Agreste, but the poor girl could barely string together a sentence around the boy.
But a mother noticed the little changes. While Marinette still blushed at the mention of Adrien, she also turned pink whenever a certain hero’s name came up in conversation. She could be ultra sensitive to any criticism of Cat Noir, defending him staunchly whenever someone questioned his status or usefulness as Ladybug’s partner. She had been especially harsh about it since the day Hawkmoth had gotten his hands on the other miraculous and threatened all of Paris. She had even snapped at a customer who had questioned if maybe it wouldn’t have been better if the cat miraculous had been taken instead of one of the others.
“Cat Noir is the best of the lot,” she’d said, harshly. “He has the most experience of all the other heroes and its Ladybug’s fault the other miraculous were stolen. Didn’t you see her? She was ready to give up! We’re all lucky that he didn’t give up on her!”
Sabine had also noticed Cat’s attention to her daughter. He was a sensitive soul, that boy. He asked her about her day, complimented her design projects, told her jokes that always made her laugh, and comforted her over her problems. That he felt comfortable enough around Marinette to open up as well added to her suspicions. Add to that the Cat Noir doll she cuddled with every night and the flowers that mysteriously appeared in the attic room after certain nighttime visits, and Sabine had her answer.
Cat Noir was falling for Marinette.
She sipped her tea and listened to their conversation through the window.
“It was a hard week, Princess,” Cat was saying. “My job kept me pretty busy, especially some early morning stuff, and it’s not like I can call in and say I was up all night fighting a living ferris wheel!” He sighed. “My… family is pretty strict and anything less than perfect is considered failure. I feel like I can’t breathe at home. That’s why I like to come here. You feel like fresh air and home, Marinette. It means the world to me.”
“It’s okay, Kitty. You’re special to me too. You’ll always have a home here with us. Always.”
Sabine shook her head sadly. “If I had my way. we would adopt that boy here and now. He needs a real family, someone who could appreciate him. Ah, but if we did, then he couldn’t date our little sweet and it’s clear he adores her.”
Tom came bustling into the room, getting ready for bed. She shushed him lightly, smiling at him and pointing up.
“At it again, are they,” he whispered with a grin.
She nodded, standing up to close the window. “Yes. It’s plain as plain he’s in love with Marinette and she clearly cares about him very much too.”
“You mean how she lit into Mr Bertrand the other day? That was worth seeing, let me tell you. He has always been one to parade his opinions around as if they were absolute truth. Time he was taken down a peg or two, if you ask me.”
“Not just that, dear. Have you noticed how much happier Marinette is after one of Cat’s visits? More relaxed and better rested?”
Her husband hummed an affirmative as he changed into his pajamas. “Yes, for all they seem to stay up until all hours, but if we try to stick our oar in she’ll just get upset.”
“Not to mention you scared that boy witless the last time he came over officially,” Sabine reminded him with a small smirk.
“I was akumatized. It’s not my fault Hawkmoth took advantage of my natural instinct to protect our girl from heartbreak.”
She patted him on the arm. “Of course not, Tom, but Cat has been coming for over a year now and neither of them seem willing to bring it up first. Marinette pining after Adrien was bad enough. She shouldn’t have to go through this again.”
He looked at her speculatively. “Are you suggesting we tip the scales in their favor?”
“Just a tiny bit?”
Tom’s excited grin filled his whole face. “Where do we start, Madame Matchmaker?”
———
“Ugh! You’re soaked, you crazy cat! Why did you come here in the middle of a storm,” Marinette demanded as she grabbed towels out of her vanity.
“S-s-sorry, Marinette,” he said, shivering with the cold rain that poured down outside and soaked his hair. “I j-just c-couldn’t stand the th-thought of not seeing you.” She wrapped a thick towel around his shoulders and used another one to rub his hair dry, careful of his cat ears.
“Things rough at home again?”
He shrugged as he toweled off. “No more than usual, I guess.” He sighed, his shoulders slumping uncharacteristically. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to lie. It’s really suffocating! I’m just so used to putting on a smile and telling everyone I’m fine. It’s what I’m expected to do. It’s kind of hard to admit when I’m not.”
Marinette felt a lump rise in her throat. Cat said he couldn’t tell her much without revealing himself, but it was clear he was torn between having the comfort of telling her and was afraid of what she would think of him if he did.
“Do you want to talk about it,” she asked softly, focusing on squeezing out the water that darkened his golden hair, distracting herself from the warmth under her hands and the way he smelled like spicy aftershave and a wild, spring storm.
He pulled her into a tight hug and she could feel him shaking with more than the soaking. “I… I can’t, but I really need some time with you, Princess.”
Marinette held him close, cuddling against his chest and willing her heart rate to slow down so he wouldn’t feel it racing. She walked a fine line with him these days. As much as she had grown to love him over the years, more than she ever thought possible while still having Adrien in her life, Tikki still warned against revealing herself to him until after Monarch had been defeated. It hurt her that she couldn’t share that with him, especially when she had found out how bad his home life really was. She wanted desperately to make everything right for him, but there were no ladybugs that could fix a broken family.
“It’s okay, Kitty. You know I’ll always be here for you,” she murmured soothingly.
“I love you, Cat,” she wanted to say. “I would do anything to bring that carefree smile back to your face. I want you to stay here with me forever and never go back to the place that makes you feel like you are never enough. You mean the world to me.”
“H-hey, do… do you want to play video games or a movie? Watch a movie, I mean,” she managed in a voice a bit higher than she liked. Why did she always turn into a mess around the guys she loved?
He gave her a final squeeze before slowly letting her go. She immediately missed the way she fit against him, her head tucked under his chin and her arms around his waist.
“A movie sounds great, Princess,” he said softly, more relaxed than when he first arrived. “What-“
Suddenly, a clap of thunder exploded right over their heads and the lights went out. Marinette squeaked and jumped in surprise, clinging to him as the rumble continued to echo around them. His arms closed around her protectively.
When the sound died away, she let out the breath she had been holding. “Sorry, Cat. I normally love storms, but not when it is that close.”
“I know the feeling, Mar-” He stopped and stood stiffly. He leaned forward and suddenly his cheek brushed hers. “Your mom’s coming up. I’m going to duck behind the trap door so she doesn’t see me.”
She nodded as he stepped away, wondering if his night vision could see the blush burning across her cheeks.
A crack of yellow light shone at the trapdoor. “Sweetie, are you okay?” Her mother peered into the room by the light of a candle. “Sorry about the lights.”
“It’s no problem, Maman. I’m fine.”
“Do you have enough candles in here? No telling how long it will be before the lights come back on. The internet connection is down as well.”
“I have some, yeah. I’ll probably just read or something.’
“Well, don’t strain your eyes too much and no sewing. Candles won’t be bright enough. You’d better take this one so you can find the others.” She passed her the pillar candle with a soft smile. “Do you want anything from the kitchen? I’d rather not have you coming down here in the dark.”
“Um, could you grab some of those chouquettes from the freezer for me? I feel like something sweet.”
Her mother looked down the stairs. “Did you hear that, Tom?”
There was a muffled sound from below and in a few seconds her mother handed her a small plastic bag.
“Thanks, Maman.”
“Love you, sweetie. We’ll be in our room if you need us.”
“Okay. Love you too. Goodnight.”
She breathed a sigh of relief as the trapdoor closed and her mother’s footsteps retreated down the stairs.
“Awe, Princess, you remembered,” Cat said with a smile, stepping into the circle of light cast by the candle.
“Of course I do! I remember all my close friend’s favorites.” She set the bag on the chaise and set about lighting candles around her room, creating a cozy, intimate feeling in the midst of the storm raging outside. “Could you grab some extra blankets and pillows from the closet? We can pull the chaise under the loft and make a little fort.”
“Sounds great. So you learned all your friends’ favorite treats?”
“Well, not all my friends. Just the ones I am super close to. Alya loves dark chocolate croissants, Nino likes shortbread with lemon curd centers or lemon custard eclairs, Adrien likes passionfruit macaroons, Luka’s favorite is chocolate ice cream with raspberry coulis. The others change their minds a lot so it isn’t worth trying to keep track of.” As she had talked to fill the silence, hoping to distract him from whatever negative emotions had driven him to seek refuge with her, she noticed that he looked fine until she mentioned Adrien and Luka. Then his normally mobile face turned still and sad. He helped her move the chaise under her loft bed while she hung some blankets around the space, creating a little tent that glowed rose in the candle light.
“What’s really wrong, Kitty? You feel so far away.” She took his hands and lead him into the little tent, settling them on the chaise. “Let me help, please.”
He wouldn’t look at her, instead staring at their hands clasped between them. “I appreciate it, Marinette. I really do. You’ll never know how much, but I’m not sure I can. I’m not sure you could understand what it is to not be loved. To be seen as an asset instead of a son. Your parents, your friends, everything around you just breathes love. You’re like love and happiness and home all wrapped up in human form and sent to spread it wherever you go. I wouldn’t want to bring anything dark and ugly into your life. You don’t deserve it and, knowing you, you would try to fix it and I don’t see how you could.”
She pulled him into a tight embrace, desperately trying to find the words to explain how much she cared for him, how much he meant to her. Would it be selfish of her to tell him how he had won her over with his kindness, gentleness, and laughter? How she would do anything to bring that smile back to his face, the smile that was the final shadow that eclipsed Adrien in her heart? How she wanted to hold him and fight for him and whisper words of love and worth and admiration until he believed them? Wouldn’t it be taking advantage of his pain to confess now?
Her heart racing and fingers buried deep in his hair, Marinette pulled back and let him see the tears in her eyes. “All you bring here that upsets me is how hurt you feel. The hurt isn’t you and, yeah, I really want to chew out your family for treating you like that, but you are my Kitty and I will never stop loving you. And if you don’t love me back, I understand, Cat. I just wanted to let you know. I know we’re best friends and I don’t want to lose that! You’ve been in love with Ladybug for ages and I’m just… just…“
Words failed then, her heart so full it choked her. It was pounding as hard as the rain on the roof over their heads. All they could do was stare at each other, tears rolling down her face as her heart sank at his silence. Then she realized she was still hold his face in her hands. Blushing furiously and trying to hold herself together, she let him go.
“Why do I always do this to myself,” her mind wailed. “Why do I sabotage every relationship like this? I’m sixteen! Why can’t I get myself together?!”
“I… I’m sorry,” she whispered and stood to leave the blanket fort they had made.
A strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto his lap. “Don’t,” he whispered hoarsely. “Don’t go because of me. Please. I just… I mean, I hoped… and we’ve gotten so close and I just didn’t think you felt the same.” A clawed hand gently caressed her cheeks, wiping away the tears she hadn’t been able to fight. “You took me by surprise, Marinette. You always do. And I never want to lose you.”
His voice was so tender and desperate, that she pulled him into a kiss. He seemed to come alive with it, pulling her closer and kissing her with an eagerness that filled her to overflowing like a champagne fountain. She let the feelings wash over her, erasing all her worries and doubts in the flood of new sensations.
When they finally pulled away to breathe, Cat’s eyes were shining.
“I want to show you who I am,” he whispered. “I’ve wanted to for so long.”
“I know, but I already know who you are.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “Y-you do?”
Marinette flicked the bell in the hollow of his throat. “You’re my Kitty, my hero who saves Paris. You are my best friend who I always thrash at video games. You’re a silly Cat who eats like its going out of style. You make me laugh, hold me when I’m sad, and the person who I trust more than anyone else. What else is there to know?”
“You don’t want to know my name?”
She tenderly stroked the edges of his mask. “It would be a nice bonus, and I hope you’ll be free to tell me one day, but I know your heart pretty well and that is what I fell in love with.”
Cat pulled her in a kissed her until her toes curled and she was reeling. “I love you, Marinette.”
She sighed and curled up next to him on the chaise.
“I love you too, Cat Noir.”
———
Sabine opened the trap door just a crack to see the two teens on the chaise in the impromptu blanket fort, sound asleep in each other’s arms. With all the stealth she could muster, she crept in and blew out the remaining candles before they turned into nothing but greasy puddles in their holders.
She eased the door shut behind her and tiptoed down the stairs.
“Well,” Tom whispered, eyes hopeful.
“They are curled up together on the chaise with the two most beautiful smiles I have ever seen,” she murmured. She held up her fist and her husband tapped it with his in the victory tradition of Ladybug and Cat Noir.
“Pound it!”
Tom yawned and stretched lightly before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Finally getting those two to admit their feelings was worth staying up so late, but let’s head to bed.” Then he frowned. “You don’t think he’ll -“
“No, dear. Cat Noir is too much of a gentleman to ever do anything inappropriate and they are both sound asleep.”
“Ah, good.”
They had both just gotten into bed and turned out the lights, when Tom bolted upright in the dark.
“Honey, when do I need to turn the power back on?"