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When Chat sees Marinette standing in the middle of the hallway, he swallows his brief panic and struts forward. His eyes shift to the window, taking in the cloud of dust and smoke before he offers her a breezy grin and feels a soothing rumble in his throat as he uses her nickname. Marinette jumps, and if the situation hadn't been so serious, he might have commented on how cute it was. He’s nervous, very nervous, but he hides it well. Ladybug isn’t here yet, but he’s so certain she will be. His Lady has never let him down before, but Marinette… Marinette is here and here is dangerous.
It isn’t until Marinette promises that she'll find somewhere safe inside to hide that he is able to relax. He knows well that she’ll be alright; she’s strong. Both inside and out and he’s seen the proof countless times: in the classroom, on the streets, and even in the middle of an akuma attack. With that thought in mind, he slips out the nearest window.
Somehow, Chat thinks, she always is; always comes out of these things alright. And for now, that's all that matters to him as he rushes to stall and tire the latest Akuma until Ladybug appears.
With a heavy sigh, Chat Noir lands next to Ladybug on one of the lower rooftops. He's tired, but satisfied, and turns to his partner with a relaxed grin. It takes barely a thought for him to raise his fist, ready to meet her's once the ever familiar wave of hearts starts to wash over the city, but the movement stalls halfway and his body freezes at the sight of the building across the street.
It's in shambles. Windows are shattered, floors caved in, and tiles scattered over the road. Destruction doesn't usually bother him, he knows it can all be fixed with a flick of his Lady's wrist, but that power goes so far. She's performed countless miracles, saved countless lives and healed them, but what if it didn't work this time? The thought makes something plummet from Chat's chest to his stomach and the world feels like it's crashing around him with it.
Marinette was in there...
He doesn't hear Ladybug call his name as he leaps off the roof and sprints toward the broken doorway. His claws dig into the rubble, tossing aside bits of rock and brick in a futile attempt to get inside. Chat barely registers the flash of light brushing over the building, he just knows that the door is suddenly there and he stumbles inside before the stone walls are even fully restored.
Inside, Chat is frantic. He doesn't know where Marinette hid, just that she promised she’d be on the first floor. The first floor that had been all but crushed under those above it. It feels like his chest is the thing that’s caving in and his feet slide against the polished floors as he scrambles through the lobby and sprints for the nearest hall.
“No…” he mumbles to himself and feels his eyes burn. “No… no, no, no. Please… not this.” He blinks the feeling away and looks down the two paths offered to him. Luck has never been his strong suit, and he knows Ladybug’s powers can fix most anything, but they're not infallible. What if Marinette was pinned? Close to death? What if every precious second was one more second against him and what if she was already--
He stops the thought before it can finish. He's not thinking clearly. He doesn't want to think right now.
“No,” he says aloud, his voice wavering in the attempt to sound firm and feels his throat tighten. This is his fault. All his fault. He didn’t help Marinette escape; didn’t help her somewhere safe. He’d just told her to hide inside a building near the akuma’s destruction zone.
How could he have been so stupid?
A door opening to his right jerks him from his thoughts and he spins on his heel. He only registers a flash of pink and black before he’s racing down the hall as fast as his sore legs will go. His muscles are screaming in a rush of fatigue and adrenaline, but he just doesn’t care .
“Princess!” He can’t stop himself in time and he almost knocks her to the floor. On reflex -- his blessed, wonderful cat-like reflexes -- allow him to catch them both with a shift of his knees and he lowers them to the floor.
Words are pouring from his lips faster than he can process what he’s saying, but he doesn’t care. It doesn’t matter. Marinette is here and alive and god, he can feel the movement of her chest as she breathes. She’s unharmed and he can’t begin to imagine how, but that’s just who Marinette is. Full of strength and surprises and more than she ever seems to give herself credit for.
Fingers card through his hair and he shudders in response. He can’t stop the shaking of his body as he presses closer and mumbles her name -- beautiful, wonderful Marinette’s name -- over and over again. His eyes and cheeks burn, soaking his mask and her shirt alike, but he can’t stop it. Fear, relief, pain, joy… There’s so much rushing through him right now it’s almost dizzying, but it all comes back to her.
Marinette. Small, warm, and so perfect in his arms. He can make out the aroma of something sharp and clean, crisp like the sea, and he vaguely remembers it from somewhere before, but it just doesn’t matter because dammit , he just wants to hold her and listen to the fluttering pulse in his ear.
“It’s okay, kitty…” Marinette’s voice is soft, soothing like the fingers moving through his hair. “I’m okay.”
Chat can’t stop saying her name over and over and over. It’s grounding; keeping him as sane as her embrace and why can’t he just stop shaking? She’s unhurt and alive and well, but the fact that she could have been another innocent victim makes him want to start sobbing all over again. The thought of losing her, especially from his own carelessness, is almost crippling and he begins to wonder just when he became so attached to his classmate without even realising it.
“Chat…” He hears the beep before Marinette can point it out, but he doesn’t care. He’s not sure he can handle walking away, not when he’s still so worked up. “Chat, your ring…”
The fact that Marinette knows what the beeping means is a brief, fleeting thought. He’s sure he must have mentioned it before, and really, who cares. The mask just doesn’t matter right now. What’s underneath, the face he hides, is just as upset as ‘Chat Noir’ and walking away will just lead to a bigger breakdown -- but he knows he wouldn’t be able to deny her if she pushed him away.
So he does something selfish and pleads.
“Marinette…” He tightens his grip on her waist but raises his gaze to meet hers. He must look a mess right now: eyes swollen and likely red under the deceitful cat-like appearance his mask offers him, he knows his cheeks are red and stained. He doesn’t even want to think about the expression he must be making: desperate, terrified, and weak . “Marinette, I… I can’t. I don’t--I can’t leave you. Not right now. I…”
It takes a moment but she starts to pull and Chat feels his heart begin to crumble. He fights between the urge to cling, to plead even more, and respect the wishes he thinks she has by letting go, but in a rush of warm, sweeping relief, she just adjusts her legs and hugs him back. Her face presses against his shoulder and he chokes out another half-sob in relief as frantic beeping fills the air and in a flash of green he’s just another boy in Paris again.
“Marinette…?” he calls gently and pulls away, just enough to rest his hands on her elbows. She hasn’t looked at him yet, and he feels a rush of gratitude for the respect she’s offering. If he doesn’t want her to see his face, she won’t look. How could he have been so careless to miss someone so caring for as long as he had.
He gives her elbows a soft squeeze, an assurance that it’s alright, and holds his breath as she begins to pull back.
If he’s honest with himself, part of Adrien has always known that, if anyone was to accept him for who he was -- the model, the student, the boy, the hero, the silly pun-maker, it would be Marinette. If not Ladybug, then Marinette. Kind and wonderful Marinette who stands up for the weak and strong alike and treats everyone as her equal. He sees the confusion, realization, and brief surprise on her face and it’s like watching the pages of a flip book.
“Adri--”
“Marinette…” His voice still shakes, but the tears have stopped and he reaches out to cup her cheek, to ground himself once more. The warmth of her body is a stark contrast against his fear-chilled hands, but it’s so real that he knows it can’t possibly be a dream. “Marinette… I’m so glad you’re safe. When I saw the building I…"
“I know.” She covers Adrien’s hand with her own and it’s so smooth and soft and the small gesture sends warmth shooting through his body. “I know, but… You protected me like you always do.”
Adrien’s thoughts pause as he frowns slightly and looks up. He’s only defended her a few times as Adrien, and even less as Chat. A mix of confusion and shame washes over him and it’s only fueled when she continues. “I was never in any danger.”
Red fills his vision and all the air rushes from his chest in a long, strangled exhale. Ladybug is kneeling before him in all her perfect beauty and he almost laughs at just how stupid he’s been. They’re so much alike -- so perfect in the same ways -- he wants to kick himself for not noticing. She’s stolen his heart twice and as foolish as he feels, it only fuels his belief that this wonderful, amazing girl is the love of his life.
“Of course,” he chokes and feels the tears start to return. “Of course… Only you -- my lady -- would be able to…”
Unable to finish, Adrien chokes back another sound as he falls forward, the rest of his energy seeping out of him, but he never feels the floor. Just the strong, comforting arms he’s been able to trust since they saw each other for the first time on the rooftops of Paris.
“I’m sorry for scaring you.” He almost wants to laugh. She’s apologising for nothing. He should be apologising to her. For not knowing, for not figuring it out, for being so oblivious to it all and being blind-sided to all the blessed parts of Ladybug that he loved so much when they were right in front of him -- or right behind him -- this whole time.
As Adrien closes his eyes against another flash, he feels Plagg wiggle his way out of his collar, followed by a high-pitched squeal of delight -- Marinette’s kwami, he guesses -- and a grunt followed by a soft thump.
“I didn’t even realise…”
“You’re safe.” Adrien cuts her off and Marinette relaxes against him. It feels good. It feels really good. “You--you’re safe.” Safe. Safe. Safe. Marinette -- his lady, his savior, his best friend, and his beloved and trusted partner -- is safe. “That’s all that matters… You’re safe, my princess.”
Marinette smiles in response, but as her mouth opens to speak, footsteps behind Adrien make him tense. They won’t be alone for long, and Marinette must realise this too, because she jumps up and immediately Adrien feels the happiness that’s been overflowing start to evaporate.
This is how the missions always end. A bump of the fist and the parting of ways. But he doesn’t want that, not this time, not for just a little longer, and without thinking, he’s suddenly grasping her hand tightly in a desperate attempt to communicate what he’s feeling.
Whether or not Marinette fully understands, he doesn’t know, but she responds by squeezing his hand with a gentle smile. “Come on, kitty.” Kitty. He’s still kitty. Her kitty. Still Chat, still Adrien, still both sides she seems to have accepted exactly as they are and he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to communicate what that means to him. “The bakery isn’t far… I’m sure there’s at least one batch of fresh cookies. We can sneak a plate up to my room and just…”
Marinette doesn’t finish, but he doesn’t need her too. For the first time in hours he smiles. Not a model’s smile, not the smile of a perfect boy, but a look he tries to throw everything he’s feeling into. It only takes her a moment to smile back and it’s enough to make his heart soar. It’s beautiful and comforting and so many things he’s always needed but has never been able to put to words.
The fall had been so natural, so normal, it felt like just another emotion that was always there, and maybe, he thinks, it was. But he doesn’t need to think about that here. Whatever the future holds can wait for just a little longer. For the promise of warm cookies and maybe a little milk, but all he cares about is that his lady, his Marinette, will be right there with him.
And for now, Marinette and cookies are the only things he needs.