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This akuma was brutal! A vicious cyclone of anger ripped through the streets of Paris, tearing through buildings and sending the rubble sky high to be shredded and dropped like deadly confetti on those poor souls fleeing the carnage.
Adrien had been only a short way away, buying Christmas presents, when the akuma manifested and started destroying things. Within minutes, the city center was in ruins and he’d had to dodge his bodyguard’s insistent urging to retreat to an akuma shelter in order to hide and become Cat Noir. He spent fifteen long minutes doing triage, helping civilians to safety, hauling survivors from the wreckage, and keeping an eye out for the akuma and his partner along the way.
“When I finally get a hold of Monarch, I will personally kick his purple clad rear all the way into next week,” Cat thought, using his baton to knock a large chunk of concrete away from a mother fleeing with a baby in a stroller. “Come on, LB. Where are you?”
He caught a flash of raven hair across the street and his heart leapt at the thought of help from his partner, but then his mouth gaped wide in horror as a twisted metal beam came hurtling down on the unsuspecting form of…
“MARINETTE,” Cat screamed, hurling himself across the street, colliding with her and rolling in a controlled fall with her tucked tightly against his chest. They rolled to a stop in the doorway of an old department store, the stone outcropping protecting them temporarily from the falling debris. She tried to move, but he tightened his grip, shielding her with his own body in the midst of the roar of shattering masonry and the tinkling hiss of falling glass.
When there was a brief pause in the horrific noise, he jerked them both upright. Marinette swayed unsteadily, no doubt dizzy from the impact and the fall. Cat gripped her shoulders tightly and was suddenly transfixed by the dark bead of blood that rolled slowly down her cheek.
Something inside him cracked. Another jolt of adrenaline coursed through him like fire, making his heart pound sickeningly and his throat close on an angry roar. He forcefully pushed her into the building, all but dragging her down into the basement level before pushing her into a dark corner.
“Stay right here,” he growled hotly, his fists clenching and unclenching in barely constrained fury. “Don’t move from this spot until I come back for you! Is that clear?!”
Her eyes widened, looking as dark as sapphires in the dim light. “Cat, I-“
He didn’t let her finish. Pushing her against the wall, he forced her down into a sitting position on the floor. He leaned over her, a low growl rumbling in the back of his throat.
“Stay! I mean it!”
Her eyes flashed at him in the dark and he saw her jaw tighten stubbornly. “Fine,” she snapped. “Go do your job! I won’t get in your way!”
He jerked his head in affirmation and ran back to join the fight, hoping Ladybug would show up soon so they could defeat this akuma. Because, afterwards, he needed to have a long talk with his girlfriend.
——-
Marinette wasn’t in the shop basement!
Adrien had ducked behind a dumpster and fed Plagg before rushing back to the store only to find it restored, but empty.
He growled in frustration, slamming his fist into the old concrete wall, leaving behind a spiderweb of tiny cracks. What was wrong with her? This akuma had been deadly! What was she doing running around in the middle of it? He had wanted her safe. Needed her safe. What if that beam had hit her? Cat knew it would break him to his foundations if anything happened to Marinette, that he could easily lose control and that was something he couldn’t afford. The very thought of her getting hurt like that made him sick to his stomach as did the possibility of losing control over himself. If he was akumatized as Cat, there was no telling what damage he could do - that is if he didn’t just hand Monarch his ring on the spot.
Didn’t she see that? Couldn’t she understand what was at stake?
With narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw, he stomped out of the store and vaulted to the rooftops, thundering his way towards the bakery.
“When I find her, I’m going to… to… ugh! I’ll… shake her! Yes! I will shake some sense into her, so help me!”
He landed forcefully on her balcony, tore open the skylight, and landed on the floor beside a very startled Marinette.
“Cat! What are you-“
“What am I? What were you doing out there today, Marinette,” he snarled, baring his teeth at her and gripping her shoulders. “What on earth were you thinking?”
“I was out shopping for supplies for Christmas presents,” she said, rolling her shoulders, trying to free herself from his grip. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!”
He shook her. “We have been dealing with akumas for the last three years, Marinette! When a disaster level akuma strikes, everyone is to flee the scene as quickly as possible. True, a handful of civilians always get caught in the crossfire, but those civilians should never be my girlfriend!”
She tore herself from his grip, holding her upper arms where he had held her tightly. “Why? It wasn’t my fault that akuma struck in the same street as me and from your response time, you must have been close by too!” She glared at him intently, her tone and shoulders tense. “I don’t -“
“That’s right,” he snapped, gesticulating wildly. “You don’t! You don’t have a miraculous, Marinette! You had nothing to protect you from that metal beam that was falling straight towards your head! Did you even think about the risks you were taking? Huh?! Did you? Did you consider the lives that were at stake?!”
“I’m not stupid, Cat Noir,” she said tersely. “I had just spotted the beam when you tackled me! I wasn’t trying to get myself hurt and you know I’m not some crazed adrenaline junkie out for akuma pics!”
“There is still no excuse for you to be at ground zero for a dangerous akuma!” His breathing was quickening and his heart was pounding so hard he was trembling.
“I DIDN’T DO IT ON PURPOSE,” she yelled back, eyes flashing angrily and her hands balled into fists at her side.
“I NEVER SAID YOU DID!”
“YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE! AND WHAT ABOUT YOU?! DON’T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT KILLS ME EVERY TIME YOU TAKE THE HITS FOR LADYBUG?!”
“THAT’S MY JOB!”
“What is going on up here?” He whipped around to see Marinette’s mother poking her head up through the trap door, a look of startled concern on her face.
“Hero business, Ma’am. Go back downstairs.”
“I don’t think that’s -“
“I SAID GO BACK DOWN STAIRS,” he bellowed, his tail lashing behind him.
“I can handle this, Maman,” Marinette said through gritted teeth. “This is between me and Cat Noir.”
“If you’re sure, sweetheart,” Sabine said, worried eyes flicking back and forth between them like quicksilver. “but I will expect an explanation later.” Then the trapdoor closed behind her.
Crossing her arms, Marinette sent him such a baleful stare that he was pretty sure she could have burned holes straight through him and into the wall behind him if she so chose. “You have no right to yell at my Maman!”
Cat felt oddly torn. He was still angry, furious at her for putting herself in danger, terrified of what might have happened, what could happen if he wasn’t there to save her next time. But he was thrilled to see this new side of Marinette. He knew she could be brave and was always standing up for what was right, but seeing her stand her ground like this…
Acting on impulse, he took two steps forward, backing her against the pillar, and surged in to kiss her. Blood roared like mighty waters in his ears as the world fell away. Kissing Marinette was never like this. It burned, but hotter, deeper, and more desperately than ever before.
It burned and she froze.
Before, she had always melted into his kiss, but now she didn’t respond at all and he wanted her to… needed her to.
Then, very, very gently, she pushed him away.
“Are you done,” she asked calmly, but it was a deadly calm like that before a violent storm. The look in her eyes was hard, calculating, and still angry. How could she be so calm when she was giving him a look that could strip his pitiful soul bare and leave him exposed to the lightning in her eyes?
“Are. You. Done?” She repeated the words, enunciating each syllable with deliberate exactness.
He nodded, his hackles raised and shoulders hunched, waiting for the blow.
“Good.” She walked over to the chaise, as regal as a queen, and sat, holding a court of one and he was up for judgement. “What exactly happened just now, Cat Noir?”
He shivered at the tone in her voice. She only called him Cat Noir when she was serious about something, but the way she had said it just now was worse than a slap across the face. He tried to summon up his anger, indignation, and fear from moments before, but found himself empty of the first two, leaving only the fear behind. His insides felt like he had swallowed a block of ice. He was sure his cat ears were flat to his head he could feel his tail winding itself pitifully around his left ankle.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you, Marinette,” he murmured, ashamed now of his outburst. “I’m so-“ She interrupted him with a raised hand.
“Apologies later. Explanations. Now!”
He gulped nervously. “I was scared, Marinette.”
His answer took her by surprise. She titled her head, and raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Scared? Of what?”
He looked from her to the empty space beside her on the pink cushion. She sighed and patted it, her way of saying he could sit with her.
“Yeah,” he groaned, sagging down beside her on the chaise. “I saw that beam heading towards you, all that debris raining down on us, the blood running down your cheek, and something inside me just… cracked! I was torn in two, with part of me yelling at myself that I needed to keep you safe no matter what and the other part yelling that Ladybug needed my help and I had to get back to the fight as soon as possible… I couldn’t deal with it, Marinette! All through the fight, I kept seeing you in my head, bleeding and hurt or worse! And then, when you weren’t in that basement… I just broke! I don’t even remember coming here, just landing in your room and yelling at you! But I shouldn’t have! It wasn’t your fault you got caught up in the akuma fight! I was just so scared that you could get hurt and I would never get to see you or hold you again, to kiss you or smell your hair or watch the stars with you! It… it was too much for me! To be honest, I’m surprised I haven’t been akumatized over this!”
By the time he had gotten it all out, his eyes burned with tears and his throat was choked with a lump as big as his fist. Marinette pulled him into a hug and held him while he cried. She rubbed his back and scratched behind his cat ears, not saying anything, just being a warm comforting presence which he so desperately needed.
“Feeling better now,” she asked softly when the sobs had faded to nothing against her shoulder.
“Yeah,” he mumbled, his words thick from crying.
“Good.” She took a long, deep breath and let it out just as slowly before speaking again. “Cat, you know I care about you and I would never do anything intentionally to hurt you, right?”
He nodded, rubbing his eyes on his wrist.
“Well, you and I both know that there will be times when I get caught up in akuma attacks. I never want to do it,” she added quickly when she saw he was about to object, “but sometimes it happens that way. We’re all human and we all make mistakes. I’m sure I will end up in attacks in the future, but I promise I will always do my best to stay safe for you and I won’t take any risks I don’t feel are absolutely necessary, okay?”
He nodded again and sniffled. “Are you still mad at me, princess?”
She paused and closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose in irritation. “I’m not going to lie, Kitty, but I am. Yeah. You barge into my home… my room with out so much as a ‘by your leave’, let alone knocking, you yell at me as if I was to blame for being stuck in the middle of all that mess, you screamed at my maman who, even when she was akumatized, was the sweetest, most honorable person you will ever meet, and that’s not even the worst part.”
He all but cowered before her as she rattled off all the ways he had hurt her. It felt like she was carving his heart from his chest one slice at a time.
“No, don’t hide from me,” she said and her tone held something aside from exhaustion and anger. She grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. Her eyes had softened and there were tears welling at the corners.
“The worst part is that you didn’t take my feelings into account.”
“Marinette, please, don’t… don’t leave me,” he sobbed, throwing his arms around her middle and burying his face in her stomach. “I’m so sorry!”
“What?!” That single word turned his world on its head. He looked up at her, clearly as confused and startled as she was.
“You… you don’t think I ruined things between us,” he croaked, eyes full of tears. “You aren’t just going to… to leave?”
“Oh, Kitty! Of course not!” She pulled him into a fierce hug and buried her face in his hair. A surge of relief swept through him like a flood, cooling the last of his anger, but warming his heart a dozen times over.
“B-b-but… I was angry at you,” he stammered in shock. “You were angry at me. We were yelling! I hurt you and let you down! Why… why on earth would you want to stay with someone like that?”
She sighed, her warm breath playing through his hair. “Kitty, anger is part of being human. It is part of our relationships. Your feelings are valid. I never questioned your right to feel angry or scared that I was in danger. I never would. I was just angry with how you dealt with it.” Gently, her fingers began to card through his hair, her nails occasionally grazing his scalp. “I have trouble with anger too. I struggle with being kind to some people, being patient instead of just letting loose on them. But, while being angry at someone who hurt you is normal, it doesn’t mean you stop loving them.”
He whipped up to stare at her, wide eyed and cheeks aflame. His heart took off like a racehorse, thundering in his chest with so many emotions that he could just barely recognize the edges of them.
“You… you love me,” he whispered, his tongue suddenly feeling thick and slow, his mind stupid, over this revelation.
Marinette’s eyes widened, her pupils constricting to pinpricks in visible panic. “What?! N-no, I m-meant gove in the leneral sense! I mean, love in the general sense! C-cause, really, it would be silly to say something like that wh-when we have only… and when you still have Ladybug and there is B-b-buttercup, but he doesn’t see me as more than a friend and you probably want to keep your options open, of course you do, being a handsome superhero and all and I’m just… so let’s just forget-“
It was his turn to grab her jaw, forcing her to look him in the eyes as the blush grew darker and darker across her face. “I love you too, Marinette.”
He heard her breath hitch in her chest, her lips trembling against his fingers. Those bluebell eyes stared up at him in wonder. “You… you do?”
“Mmm hmm.” He nodded, blood pounding hard, hot, and fast through his veins like liquid fire as his fingers curled to stroke her rosy cheek with his knuckles. “You’ve had a special place in my life for a long time now, Princess. Longer than you know. Then you offered me the chance to come and talk when I needed it and we became more than friends, but less than lovers, and I didn’t know what to do or say, just that I couldn’t bear to lose you.” He leaned in, pressing his forehead against hers. “Then we kissed.”
This time she did melt into the kiss, pouring everything she was feeling into him through the contact. It was sweet and burning, launching a host of fireworks in his chest. She clung to him, swaying slightly, and he gladly shifted his hands to her waist to pull her closer.
“I can’t lose you, Marinette,” he whispered, barely audible over the pounding of his heart. “With the power of destruction at my beck and call, I can’t afford to lose you. Paris needs me, Ladybug needs me, but I need you. Promise me you’ll be more careful!”
“I already said I would, silly kitty,” she murmured. “As long as you always come back to me.”
He smiled hopefully as her breath played over his face. “And you forgive me for yelling at you?”
“Of course. Isn’t that what princesses are supposed to do?” A slight smirk tugged at her mouth and he didn’t suppress the desire to kiss her.
“I need to be going,” he sighed with true regret. “I left someone waiting for me. He isn’t going to be happy with me for being so late.”
She cupped his jaw, tracing the edge of his mask with delicate fingers. “I wish…” She paused, but he knew her feelings all too well. He, too, wished that he could shed his mask for her, to shout aloud for all the world to hear that Adrien Agreste was in love with this most amazing girl… wanted nothing more than to lift her up for everyone to see just how beautiful, smart, talented, and wonderful she really was.
“And if Father doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack,” he thought grimly.
“Someday, Marinette,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Someday Monarch will be gone and I can take off this mask and be yours and yours alone.”
Her cheeks flushed and she bit her lip. “B-but… what about Ladybug?”
“She is my partner. She has made that clear, but the way I felt about her before is nothing compared to how I feel about you now.”
Her smile was bright enough to dim the Milky Way before she kissed him soundly.
“Ahem.” The soft clearing of the throat was enough to make them jump apart, leading Marinette to fall backwards over her chaise and Cat to crash against her loft steps hard enough to leave a bruise if he wasn’t suited up. They both turned to see Sabine peering at them once more from the trapdoor, one eye brow raised ironically and wearing the most mischievous smirk Cat had ever seen on anyone other than his kwami.
“Excuse me, Cat Noir,” she said softly, but then, the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. If anything, her smirk grew wider. “But this is mother’s business. I believe we need to have a talk about your intentions for my daughter.”