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Marinette was moments away from drifting to sleep when a loud noise banged on the window right above her. She sat bolt upright in bed, her superhero instincts kicking in, a plan forming in her brain from just that one noise. She was about to transform before she heard the noise again, much quieter this time. It was more of a light knock compared to the loud crash.
She looked up through the window to see a set of familiar green eyes in the darkness. She exhaled in relief. She opened the window right above her, a tinge of annoyance in the movement. Wasn’t it like, eleven at night?
Once the latch was unlocked, Chat Noir slid inside gracefully, swiftly locking the opening behind him. Marinette yawned, about to ask what the hell he was doing at her house, but then she heard quiet sniffling.
“Um… Chat Noir? What are you doing here?” She asked cautiously, leaning over to turn on a lamp next to her bed.
Chat Noir’s words were broken and shaky. “I-I’m okay. Really, I just wanted to check up on you…” He trailed off at the end, tears filling his eyes again as he burst out crying.
His face was illuminated by the warm light of the lamp, his tears made visible by the soft orange glow. He looked like a complete mess, gasping for breath in between tears. Marinette felt a wave of sympathy wash over her.
She opened up her arms and he fell in almost immediately, weeping and clutching her shirt. She didn’t know how to comfort him. She had never seen this side of him before, not as Ladybug, and especially not when she was Marinette. She settled for running her fingers through his hair, gently scratching his scalp with her nails. He cried for maybe ten minutes before inhaling shakily and leaning back. He took deep breaths, presumably to calm himself down, and Marinette copied him.
But her brain was on fire. Why was he here? Why was he crying? Did a villain show up? Was it a civilian problem? She couldn’t just ask him, could she?
“Do… Do you need to talk?” She immediately cringed at herself for the awkward question.
To her surprise, Chat Noir just solemnly nodded. The silence lasted for a few moments longer.
“I had a fight with my dad.” He stated simply, his voice still shaky and a little rough.
“Oh!” Marinette yelped, taken off guard by his compliance with her questioning. “Why?”
“He was angry at me for not obeying some stupid rule he made. I guess it got a little heated.” He laughed dryly, zero amusement present in his tone.
Marinette couldn’t say anything in time before he spoke again.
“He hit me.”
It felt like he had slammed her with a truck.
“He… he what?” Marinette asked, terror flooding her senses as her thoughts screeched to a halt.
“He slapped me.” Chat Noir whispered, gesturing to his cheek, where she could make out an angry red mark left behind.
Anger was prominent in the back of the girl’s mind, but her worry was first and foremost. Acting on instinct, she gently pushed the blonde down onto her bed, pulling her blanket back up over the two. They both lay on their sides, facing each other.
“I’m scared, Marinette.” Chat Noir whispered into the blanket. “I’m so scared.”
“Of him?” She couldn’t help but ask.
Chat Noir shrugged, the blanket scrunching up around his shoulders. “I guess?” He sighed. “I don’t know how much I can say without revealing my identity or whatever.” His voice was still rough, but he was calming down.
“You can tell me if you want.” The words left Marinette’s mouth before she could stop herself. Of course he couldn’t! What if he took her up on the offer? What if Hawkmoth akumatized her?
To her surprise and relief, Chat Noir shook his head. “No, I couldn’t do that. I’d be betraying Ladybug’s trust.” He sighed again. “I… can’t do much in my personal life. My father is really protective of me. He homeschooled me for a really, really long time.”
“What about your mom?” Marinette found herself asking.
He gave her a solemn look. “My mom is dead.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” She frantically apologized.
“It’s okay, you didn’t know.” The blonde said with a small shrug. “I got to go to school recently. A real school. Whenever we fight, he threatens to pull me out and homeschool me again. I don’t-” He cut himself off to take a deep breath. “I can’t go back. I just… can’t.”
Marinette was reminded of a certain other blonde in her life. “You remind me of someone.”
Chat Noir’s ears perked up. “Oh yeah?”
Marinette nodded, rolling over onto her back. “Mhm. A friend of mine, Adrien Agreste. He… doesn’t have the greatest father either. He was also homeschooled but got to go to school recently.”
“Wow.” Chat Noir exhaled, also rolling onto his back. “Do you think my dad saw Adrien’s life and said ‘Yes, I want that for my child.’?” He chuckled dryly. “That would be funny. I want to meet Adrien.”
Marinette quietly laughed. “I’d assumed you already met, though.”
“Nope. Well, only in passing, or when I have to get him out of the way of an akuma.” He paused. “Jeez, what’s up with all the akumas lately? Like, it’s been so calm for these last few months, and now I can barely sleep cause I’m on patrol so often.”
“Um, a classmate of mine- Chloe Bourgeois, has been in a fit again.”
Chat Noir groaned loudly. “Chloe! Of course. She can never seem to mind her own goddamn business.” He threw an arm over face, covering his eyes.
Marinette blinked a few times. “Do… Do you know Chloe?” She asked, trying to play dumb.
“Yeah, she’s been the cause of more than one, nah, more than ten villains we’ve had to deal with.” He said, moving both hands to massage his temples. He didn’t speak for a few seconds before lowering his hands to rest on his stomach. “I actually know Chloe in real life. She never bullied me, but she hasn’t been too nice as of late.”
“Oh, were you two close?” Marinette questioned.
Chat Noir shook his head. “No, not really. Our parents just knew each other, so they would have us play together as kids.” He gave a small smile. “Actually, I remember her talking about Adrien when we were young. Too bad I left before I could play with him.”
Marinette also smiled. “I think he would’ve wanted to be your friend.” She said, and she meant it.
Chat Noir smiled, more genuine this time. “I would have liked that.”
A few minutes passed by, the topic shifting to Marinette and her dreams of being a fashion designer. She eagerly talked about her designs and ideas, and he listened intently. He eventually sat up and stretched a little.
“I should… go home.” He mumbled, his smile faltering a little.
“No!” Marinette exclaimed, grabbing Chat Noir’s arm. She didn’t want to send him back to that place. “Please, stay the night. Maybe even the morning. Just don’t go back there.” She pleaded.
Chat Noir looked at her with genuine surprise. It dawned on Marinette that he had probably never heard those words before.
“Oh, um… okay.” He said slowly. “Could I take a shower, by any chance? I just… feel really gross right now.”
The girl got out of bed and led him downstairs. “Do you need any clean clothes?” She asked quietly. “I mean, I don’t think we’re the same size, but I could probably find some baggy stuff I own.”
Chat Noir was at least a head taller than her, and she felt small in comparison. She wasn’t Ladybug right now, she was just a tiny highschooler walking next to a superhero.
He shook his head. It was hard to see in the dark, but his green eyes seemed to be glowing. “No, it’s okay. I’m just going to put my regular clothes back on again.” He looked back at her, and with his night-vision, he must have seen her confused expression. “It’s not a clothes thing. It’s a skin thing. My skin feels gross. I’m going to detransform, shower, put my civilian clothes back on, and retransform.” He explained.
Marinette nodded as she opened the bathroom door. “Come back to my room once you’re ready.” She whispered. They were closer to her parents’ room now, and she didn’t want to wake them up and bother them. Chat Noir nodded knowingly. He quietly closed the door behind him, and she heard the lock click into place.
Marinette began to walk away. “Oh, wait!” Chat Noir said a bit too loudly, flinching at the sound as he opened the door. The girl turned around. “This will sound weird, but could you get some cheese and put it outside of the door? It’s important.” She just nodded, not asking any questions.
She continued walking away, only pausing when she heard and saw the bright green light from his detransformation. She took a deep breath, fully accepting what she had done, and walked into the kitchen.
She grabbed some camembert on a whim, placed it outside of the bathroom door. Chat Noir loved the pastries here, that was a fact she knew very well. She grabbed a few croissants, cookies, and other treats before heading back up to her room.
“He’s really similar to Adrien, isn’t he?” Tikki asked, zipping out of her little nook to float next to her holder. Marinette had honestly forgotten she was here.
“I guess, but I don’t think they’re the same.” The girl sighed, coming down from the little shock. “I mean, Gabriel isn’t the best parent, but he wouldn’t hit Adrien. There’s no way.” She shook her head and shrugged, placing the treats on her table.
While she waited for Chat Noir to be done showering, she made her bed and cleaned up her room a little bit. He quickly showed, lighting up when Marinette told him she had gotten him some food.
He ate as if he hadn’t in weeks. Marinette’s heart dropped when she questioned if he really hadn’t. From what he had heard about his father, it was in the realm of possibility for him to be starving his own son.
“Um, just curious, why did you need the cheese?” She asked, wondering what excuse he would make up.
He was surprisingly smooth about it. “It’s a really, really weird tradition my father made me do. Every time before we shower, we have to eat a piece of cheese. I’ve been doing it since I was little, I guess it’s just part of my routine.” He explained, shrugging.
Marinette was impressed. She knew the cheese was for his Kwamii, but if she didn’t know that, that story sounded believable.
He offered her food constantly, but she kept turning it down. She had gotten more than enough food today. He might not have eaten at all.
He eventually finished, thanking her profusely for the snacks. She appreciated it, but it was getting around one in the morning. “Hey, let’s go to bed. I’m tired, and I want to make sure you sleep tonight.”
Chat Noir nodded, checking the time on his staff. His eyes slightly widened when he saw. He stood up and walked over to her couch.
“No!” Marinette yelped before collecting herself. Chat Noir turned around, seemingly unstartled. “Um, I mean, come sleep in my bed. It’s softer and there’s a lot more room.”
The blonde blushed, but surprisingly didn’t argue. Maybe he was just too tired. Marinette climbed up the ladder to get into her bed, beconing him to follow.
He simply jumped up from the floor, landing crouched on her matress. She blushed. She forgot he could just… do that.
They both layed down under the covers they same way they did a few hours ago, on their sides, facing each other. Chat Noir looked like he was in heaven. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
They layed there for a few minutes, and then a deep rumble sounded throughout the room. Marinette didn’t even open her eyes. “Are you purring?”
“Absolutely not.”
She laughed at that.
That was her partner.