Chapter Text
"Thank you so much, Marinette, dear! You can't imagine just how badly we needed this week away!"
Marinette knew that she was literally the worst at saying no to anyone who needed a hand-- and this was exactly one of those cases. She stood in her bedroom alongside a middle-aged couple who lived a few blocks away, and in between them was a crate that rattled back and forth every few minutes, a wild growl emanating from the pastel pink box. Marinette grimaced down at the box, before her eyes flickered up to the sweet pair of lovebirds, cracking a nervous grin that she hoped looked at least semi-believable. The plump, graying woman and the tall, balding gentleman before her simply smiled back, practically glowing with excitement.
"Oh, no worries! You know I love to help!" she squeaked out through pressed teeth. They hadn't even left yet and she was regretting her life decisions. Another rattle from the crate had her flinching back from it, swallowing audibly. Thankfully, the couple before her didn't notice. The woman hoisted up a bag with a big pink paw print on the front up from the floor, shifting its weight in between her palms.
"Alright, this is his food, we feed him twice a day. Change his litter at least every two days, or he might have an accident; he's very high stress, our little sweet." Marinette just kept smiling, nodding to show she was paying attention, "He might be a bit nervous for a short while; he's never been out of the apartment, you see... I'm sure this change of environment will do him good for a short while." Another feral growl from the crate, "It's a shame you can't stay at our place, but we understand. A girl your age is too young to be staying by herself, even if it would only be for a week. We are just so glad that your parents were okay with him staying here!"
"Yeah, me too." Marinette chuckled out awkwardly as she took the heavy food from the older woman-geez, how much did this bloody animal eat?!- before hauling the food over to her desk, leaning it up against the wall with an 'oof'. When she turned back, the gentleman was flicking through some paper bills, wetting his thumb to rub the money apart to help him count.
"This is the first part of your payment. We will give you the rest when we return to pick our boy up."
"Oh, thank you!" Marinette flushed, quickly taking the money from the man with a blush and a smile, "Oh, b-but isn't this a bit much?"
"Oh nonsense, dear! You are really helping us out of quite the pickle! Besides, a sweet young thing needs some extra money to splurge, no?" the woman chuckled out heartily, and the man just smiled, his eyes crinkling up joyfully, "We know you will take very good care of our boy... Oh, yes! Before we leave!" the woman reached one soft, chubby hand into the purse that hung over her shoulder, and Marinette remained quiet as she rummaged through it, tongue poking out in concentration, until she finally found what she was looking for, "This will help him relax, and if you use it often, I'm sure you two will become fast friends!" a small bottle was placed in Marinette's hands, and before she could even look down at it, she was wrapped up in a warm hug.
"You will do fine, my dear! Have fun with our angel, we will contact you once we're on our way home. Tata!" and with that, they were heading down her trap door, said door slamming quickly behind them. Marinette stood for a few solid minutes in silence, one hand holding a pile of money, the other hand wrapped around the little black bottle that had been left with her. It was only when the crate rattled that she was broken out of her trance, and she flinched away as another loud snarl erupted into the silence. Marinette shoved the money into her back pocket, and nervously crouched down to peer into the door of the crate. She was met with large green eyes and bared teeth.
"Well, little Chat, looks like we're going to be good friends." she giggled nervously, before jerking back as the black cat spat angrily at her.
It was going to be a long week.
---
Marinette's first evening with the cat, who had of course been named Chat Noir after the parisian black-clad hero, had not gone over all too well. He had kept her up all night skulking around and yowling, and when she seemed to have finally fallen asleep.... She was lurched out of her rest by a force landing sharply on her stomach, winding her.
"Goddamnit, Chat! Do you even know what time it is?!" she whined out after she'd finally caught her breath. Chat looked up at her with wide eyes, before darting down from the loft to hide out somewhere on her bedroom floor. Marinette pushed her sleep tousled hair from her face, before reaching around for her phone, wincing in the light as she flicked it on. She let out a strangled yelp, before throwing herself from the bed, nearly killing herself on the ladder down, and proceeded to dart into the bathroom. Tikki, who had up until now been resting, peered out from under Marinette's pillow, rubbing her large eyes.
"...Don't tell me you forgot to set your alarm again?" the little kwami mumbled out, floating out from under the pillow and yawning widely. Chat Noir had also proven quite successful at keeping the little red being awake as well, as the minute he'd laid eyes on her he'd been trying to eat her whole. Tikki pinched her little face together, peering around to make sure that the cat wasn't in eyesight, before floating over to Marinette's bathroom counter top, splashing her tiny face with some sink water while Marinette furiously brushed her hair in an attempt to tame it into her usual twin pigtails.
"It's all Chat's fault! He kept me up so late with all that noise, I totally forgot to turn it on!" Marinette flustered out. She was far too tired for this, "That damn cat, how dare he keep me up all night!"
Tikki couldn't help but snicker. If the actual Chat Noir had heard that, she was certain he would be very happy about it.
"Ah shoot, I gotta feed him! Gimme a sec, Tikki, I'm almost ready!" Marinette flung herself back out of her bathroom, and Tikki floated on out behind her, quietly nestling herself into Marinette's purse while the midnight haired girl tried to coax Chat out from under her desk with a blush pink food bowl, labelled 'Chat Noir' in glittery, magenta letters. When she figured he wouldn't come out for her, Marinette left the bowl next to her computer chair, and with one last rush about to ensure she had everything for the day, yanked her purse off her chaise lounge and darted down the stairs, her trap door slamming shut behind her.
---
She barely made it in time for class, slamming the door open just as the bell went off and startling the students that sat in the first few rows of the classroom. After a muffled apology coated with embarrassment, (Adrien had jumped with more surprise than the others and had been staring at her with those wide, beautiful green eyes of his) Marinette tucked her burning face into her collar as she took her seat. Alya glanced over to her, cracking a smile.
"Hey girl, nice to see you get here exactly on time today. What's the excuse this time?" the redhead whispered as she leaned over, taking in Marinette's ruffled clothes and her glassy, fatigue heavy eyes. Marinette simply glanced over to her friend, her lip in a tired pout and her face still hot from making a blatant scene in front of her classmates (or more pointedly, Adrien).
"I'm pet sitting." she mumbled out at a volume just high enough for Alya to hear without interrupting the lesson. Marinette didn't even know what her professor was talking about- and she had a feeling it would be like that all day long, "This nice couple from a few blocks down who frequent the bakery needed a last minute pet sitter and I volunteered." Alya groaned and rolled her eyes, and Marinette huffed, dropping her chin down onto the desk in front of her. Alya didn't even need to tell her that she got roped into things far too easily, Marinette knew. She knew all too well.
After some hushed whispers in between herself and her friend, Marinette decided the only thing she'd possibly be able to do while this tired was scribble some designs and feign paying attention. As she reached down into her purse, her hand paused. Alongside a sleeping Tikki (the poor thing needed the rest) and her assorted pencils, the black spray bottle that Chat's owner had left with her was seated. She pulled it out curiously, only now having the thought to look at it and figure out what it was. On one side of the bottle, she read a single word written in glittery pink permanent maker: Silvervine.
---
"Silvervine? You mean you've never heard of it?" Alya asked, her eyebrows quirking curiously. It was lunch time, and Alya, figuring her poor tired friend needed some spoiling, had brought her out to their favourite cafe, treating her to a latte macchiato and a scone. Marinette shook her head, from side to side, her pigtails bouncing at the motion.
"Should I? My family has never owned a cat, as far as I can remember at least." Marinette shrugged out, taking a sip of her macchiato and daintily returning the cup to the table, her hands wrapped around the porcelain and stealing the heat away. It was a cold day, and therefore a perfect day for a warm beverage. She was just hoping that the caffeine would perk her up enough to help her get through the rest of the school day.
"It's like catnip, but like, hardcore." Alya explained. Marinette quirked her head, "Like, you've seen what catnip does, right?" of course she had, Alya and her spent hours at a time sending each other stupid cat videos, "Well think of that, but like, twenty times stronger. It just chills them out and makes them crazy affectionate and needy. When we had our cat, we used to give him that stuff all the time." Marinette looked down at her cup, her lips quirking upwards in one corner as she pondered. She knew every cat responded to catnip differently, would this silvervine stuff be the same? Hopefully the reaction she got out of mini Chat Noir would be a relatively positive one.
"So what, I just spray this stuff all over and the cat will chill out? Am I supposed to use it like an air freshener? A perfume?" she took a bite out of her scone, munching quietly as she watched Alya take enormous gulps of her mocha. Alya wasn't one to take things nice and slow. Everything had to be done then and there.
"Presumably, yes. If his owner recommended it, it should work that way." Alya nodded her head sharply in response, before tossing back the remains of her mocha, "You'll have to give it a go when you get home. Try spraying it on your chair, or your clothes or something," Alya motioned for Marinette to pack up her scone, and she obeyed quietly, slipping the pastry into her purse (that way Tikki could have some if she was awake enough). Alya stood abruptly, and Marinette followed suit after chugging down the last of her macchiato, "For now though, we gotta get heading, or you're going to be late for chemistry, which means less time sitting with Adrien." Alya snickered out loud at how Marinette's face instantly lit up like a light bulb, and the two took off out of the cafe and back to class.
---
Marinette returned home in a pleasant mood. She'd been able to actually communicate with Adrien during her chemistry class, the only class she'd apparently been completely awake for, and she'd only fumbled and stuttered like, 6 times. He'd been quite patient with her nearly messing up the project that they'd been working on, and had even laughed at one of her jokes. Her brain felt like it was floating on a happy Adrien love cloud. Not even the devil cat currently residing in her room could spoil that feeling. She kissed her maman as she stepped through the door into the sweet smelling bakery, and called a greeting to her papa as she skipped past the kitchen. Finding her way up the ladder to her trap door, she hummed a little tune as she peeked her head in.
Peering into her room, finding it ominously quiet, "Chat Noiiiir," she cooed out, closing her trap door behind her as she got down onto her knees, peering underneath all of her stuff in an attempt to find the cat. He wasn't easy to miss, despite his black fur. He was seated exactly where Marinette had left him several hours ago, and when Marinette neared him, he folded his ears back and hissed. Marinette couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Yes hello, missed you too." she replied sarcastically to the cat, who didn't take his eyes off of her as she stood back up. His food bowl was empty, so at least she knew that he had moved out from under her desk at some point during the day. Marinette dropped her purse back onto her chaise lounge, sitting alongside it and popping open the clasp. Tikki's little red forehead appeared before her, and she smiled down at her little friend.
"Are you going to try the kitty befriending spray?" Tikki asked curiously, holding up the little black bottle and peering over to the cat, who'd instantly honed in on the kwami's location and was staring with those sharp green eyes.
"Well it wouldn't hurt, would it? Before I start my homework, anyways..... Yeah, let's give it a go." Marinette picked up the bottle, and sprayed the silvervine along her upper arms, hands, and wrists, rubbing the condensation into her skin. She then looked over at Chat's curled up form, and got back down onto her knees, carefully scooting over to him. He flinched when she came closer, but didn't budge otherwise. His eyes kept flickering between her and Tikki, who'd hovered out of the purse to watch curiously over Marinette's shoulder. She sat for a moment, leaving a few feet between her and the growling cat, before carefully, slowly holding out her wrists. The last thing she wanted to was to lose a hand to this beast of a cat.
The room was silent and still for what seemed like ages, the only sounds being from the ticking clock on the wall and the sound of cat Chat Noir growling and huffing angrily from underneath the desk.
And just like that, it all seemed to work instantaneously. His huffing turned into snuffing, and he focused in on Marinette's wrists, cautiously crawling forward on his belly until his cold, wet little nose pressed up against her wrist. Marinette shuddered at the sudden chill that reverberated up her spine, but held still. This was, after all, a very sudden and very big turn of events for her and her fuzzy roommate. The cat kept snuffing, before he gently began rubbing up against her palms, and Marinette smiled. Taking that as a sign that she was given the okay to snuggle him, Marinette carefully turned her palm under the cat's chin, tickling his silky neck as he jutted her chin out at her. He was softer than she'd imagined, probably because his hair had been all puffy and angry since she'd released him from his crate the evening prior. The big cat scooted closer and closer, his little pink tongue poking out to drag roughly against her upper forearm. It tickled like crazy, and Marinette felt her smile split wider across her face.
"Well, if I had known that's how easy it would be to make friends I would have tried this last night," Marinette chuckled, the big black cat affectionately pressing his face up into her hands, a puddle of drool now accumulating on his jet black chin. Marinette continued to cuddle the cat for a good 15 minutes, before he left her to go skulk around somewhere in her room, and she was able to actually get some homework done before dinner. After dinner she wouldn't have time, after all.
It was patrol night.
---
At exactly 10 o'clock, Ladybug landed on a rooftop that had been chosen as their designated meet-up place. Chat Noir had spent weeks trying to persuade her into doing all of their patrols together, as opposed to just the one once a week, and she'd finally given in. She could only say no so many times to her partner, after all, and he'd been very insistent on it. She folded her arms across her chest, peering up and around at the night sky around her, expecting at any time that her leather clothed companion would come into view. She was so, so tired, and was more than ready to get this done and over with, so she could attempt to sleep.
Patrol time was usually one of her favourite times of the day, and she'd found once she and Chat had had more time to spend with each other, it had become even better. She already relied on him as a partner, but for the past few weeks since co-patrol began, she'd began learning more and more about the boy behind the mask. For example, he was an only child, had been home schooled all of his life, didn't have a mother in his life (as far as she was aware, she didn't want to delve too deep into such a touchy category), and he loved the colour blue (although he'd told her that the last one was because it reminded him of her eyes, which she had rolled dramatically in response). It was enough that he didn't reveal too much to her, and at the same time didn't keep her away at an arms reach. It made him more.... human, which Marinette sometimes forgot that he was. They were usually so wrapped up in fighting akuma that she tended to forget that under that mask there was a boy who was sensitive, friendly, and very very cheeky.
Marinette was unfocused and dazed in her thoughts, but she honestly shouldn't have been surprised when she felt two hands land on her shoulders.
She had been though. Curse that damned tired foggy brain of hers.
With a yelp she grabbed one of the hands and was ready to flip the owner right off the roof, when Chat's voice bubbled into her ear, "Whoa, whoa, My Lady! It's just me!" she instantly relaxed, letting go of his wrist and turning to him, giving him a 'look' that said she wasn't exactly pleased he'd snuck up on her, but she wasn't irritated either. Chat Noir gave a chuckle, running a hand through his blond hair, "Just thought I'd have a bit of fun!" he teased, his cocky smile stretching across his lips. Ladybug couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Sorry Chat, I'm a little jumpy. Lack of sleep does that to me." she shrugged out. Chat Noir quirked a brow at her from under his mask.
"Not enough rest, bugaboo? Want to tell your favourite kitty all about it?" Chat leaned one of his elbows upon her shoulder, peering down into her blue eyes. She pushed him off lightly, and pressed his face away with a finger. If there was one thing Chat Noir didn't understand, it was personal space. He was just lucky that he was kind of cute.
"I don't think you'd be interested, to be perfectly honest. Despite the fact that I run from rooftop to rooftop on a semi regular occasion, I have a rather boring life behind the mask."
"Come now, Ladybug," Chat Noir cooed out, placing his fists down to press against his hips, and he shifted his weight to jut one of said hips out towards her, "You're my world, my sun, my moon! I want to know every little thing about you and your life, as boring as it may or may not be. Although if it is about My Lady, then I'm pawsitive that there is absolutely nothing I will find boring." she snorted, but couldn't help but smile as he beamed.
"I was kept up all night by a certain kitty cat," Ladybug replied, rolling her eyes once more as Chat Noir perked up, "and not the kitty cat you're thinking of there, Chaton. A big old brute of a cat I'm pet sitting." she ignored how Chat's posture temporarily deflated, and continued on through, "He just wouldn't stop crying all night, and whenever I tried to go near him he would start spitting and swiping at me," Ladybug made a little swatting gesture, mimicking the angry cat that was probably skulking about her room at this exact moment, "It wasn't until I used this spray stuff earlier that he stopped being a spazz. Looks like I don't have talents with taming cats." she snorted the last part, and glanced up at him as he chuckled in response.
"Mais non, My Lady, I don't think that is true at all." he caught her wrist in his fingers, and gently brought her hand up to press a gentle kiss to her knuckles, "I do believe that cat just has terrible taste. If I were him, I would be putty in your hands. Not that I'm not, already." he winked and kissed her hand again, longer this time. Ladybug, for the third time already in the past 6 minutes, rolled her eyes. She peered up and away from him, taking in the starry night around them with a tired sigh.
"Yeah, okay Chaton. Let's just get this patrol done sooner rather than later, alright? As much as I adore spending time with you, this ladybug needs her beauty rest." certain that that would be enough to appease the flirty boy, Ladybug finally went to pull her hand away, and found resistance. She turned back down to look at Chat Noir, whose eyes were focused down on her hand. Great, he was going to be a cheeky boy tonight? "Chat." she stated. His leather cat ears gave a twitch, but besides that, he didn't move an inch. "...Chat." she repeated. He knew very well that she was tired, had he forgotten that when she was usually this tired that she was a little testier than normal? Even if she'd had a relatively good day, a girl gets cranky when she's sleepy. Marinette wiggled her fingers against his nose, "Chat, come on." The kitty in question did not budge, and Ladybug felt a surge of irritation pulse through her, "Chat, that's enough joking around. Let's go." Ladybug took a step away from him, and then came to yet another sudden halt. The red-clad heroine turned her head sharply to give Chat Noir a pointed look.
He didn't move a muscle.
Even through the fabric of her superhero costume, Ladybug could feel Chat Noir's breath against the top of her hand. Ladybug's brows knitted together in concern, ".....Chat?" she asked, more tentative than before. Something wasn't right. This was Chat Noir. He was never this still. He was never this quiet. This was weirding her out like crazy, and she couldn't help the nervous shudder that crawled along her skin as his breath became heavier against her hand, and she could hear how deeply he was inhaling. Was he having trouble breathing? An asthma attack or something? It couldn't be, he'd been perfectly, completely fine up until a moment ago. Was it an akuma? Had he been possessed, turned evil as he had been a few times before during their escapades? Ladybug's tired senses kicked into overdrive and she attempted focus as her eyes darted around, searching for an apparently invisible opponent that may or may not have been lurking about.
And then she felt it.
His tongue languidly dragged across the top of her hand, and the heat and the moisture had her breath catching in her throat. And then he was turning her hand in his, trapping her upper arm in both of his palms as he puffed his hot breath against her wrist, before he began licking. Ladybug was frozen in shock, until ChatNoir began using his teeth, and then realization struck her.
Oh.
My.
God.
No.
"Chat you've gotta be kidding me," she gasped out, pulling against him and using her free hand in an attempt to push his head away. Quick as lightning he caught her other wrist, one in each of his leathery palms, and as his eyes turned up to her, Ladybug was sure her heart had stopped. His pupils were dilated, his face was flushed, and he looked positively.... For lack of a better word, predatorial. She began stumbling backwards and trying to yank her wrists out of his grip, but ChatNoir followed eagerly, eyes not leaving hers for even a second. She kept stepping back until she felt her head bump up against a rather inconveniently placed chimney, and she cursed, before glancing back to the boy before her. She gave a dry, loud swallow as Chat closed the space in between them, his chest pressing up against her rib cage and one hip trapping one of her thighs against the wall. She knew that Chat had a hard time with personal space, but there was literally no more space to be personal at this point, and Ladybug felt her heart flutter in a panic. The strange silence was deafening as he pressed one of her wrists up against the chimney and continued to lick, nibbling at her wrists in a way that gave Ladybug shivers.
She couldn't believe this. Yes, she understood he went gallivanting around as a cat boy, and yes, she knew his senses were heightened when he was in the suit (he had mentioned it more than once and they'd had to rely on it during several akuma attacks in the past year or so), but was he that much like a cat that he got drunk off of some goddamn silvervine?! Ladybug let out a yelp as Chat gave a particularly sharp nip, before he began lapping again with that far too hot tongue of his.
Ladybug was frozen in the spot. She wasn't sure what to do, after all she knew it kind of wasn't his fault? She hadn't expected something that worked on drugging cats would work on the biggest cat she knew. And from what she could tell, Chat wasn't even in there right now, as he was literally incoherent to all of her pleas. She was starting to feel nauseous, but it wasn't because she was disgusted with him, no... It was had to explain, but even though she didn't think she could see Chat Noir in a romantic way , she didn't mind the affections he was currently coating her in. Her heart belonged to Adrien, anyone could tell you that, but there was something about Chat Noir's charm and flirting that sometimes got to the girl, as much as she refused to admit to herself. And let's face it, the boy was surprisingly talented with his mouth. It was sending guilty shudders throughout her entire body, and she nibbled at her bottom lip as Chat nipped a particularly sensitive spot at the base of her palm. She couldn't control the whimper that escaped her lips, and the head directly next to hers that was so eagerly attacking her wrist came to a halt once more. Ladybug trembled, pressing her wrists against his palms to see if he'd come to his senses. It was quite evident he hadn't.
She was met instead with the most bizarre sound she'd ever heard come out of another human being.
It was almost like a hum, but it was deeper, and it reverberated up from Chat Noir's chest and into his throat. The vibrations rattled her chest, and she couldn't help the heat that crawled up her face to her ears.... And the heat that seemed to sink down into her hips. He was purring. Purring. Chat Noir. Ladybug was pulled from this bizarre thought process as Chat's mouth attached itself to her wrist once more, but this time he was suckling. Hard. She took in a sharp inhale as the sensation went straight to her core, and she cursed under her breath at her body's almost instantaneous reaction. She was moaning, why was she moaning?! It felt so good that she was losing herself along with him in his drunken stupor. Who would have known that Ladybug had such sensitive little wrists? He lazily dragged his mouth off of one wrist to give affection to the other, which had been, up until this point, left rather lonely in his tight grip.
"Chat.... Wait.... S-slow down..." she managed out through trembling lips. The boy was doing nothing but licking and suckling at her wrists, and it was all Ladybug could handle. Her knees felt weak below her and her body was trembling more then it ought to have. Even through that constant, pulsating rumble that was rattling her heart in her rib cage, Ladybug could feel Chat Noir's own heart beat, quick and unevenly paced, and it was enough to keep her thought process from going anywhere but in dirty places that she figured she'd never have to worry about with Chat Noir. Every lick, she imagined his mouth traveling down her body, every bite had her gasping for breath, and every hard, long suck had her wishing his mouth was about a foot and a half lower... She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip once more.
No. No no Marinette, now was not the time to be thinking that way. He was her friend, her very best next to Alya, and she knew that he would be hurt if he knew what he was doing without her complete consent. Chat Noir was, after all, a gentleman at heart. That was enough for Ladybug to make her decision. With a push much much harder than before she lurched forwards, enough to push Chat's hot body away and to jolt him out of his haze, at least by a small amount. The cat boy looked like he'd been woken from a trance, blinking slowly and stupidly for a moment or two as Ladybug pulled the wrists that were tingling furiously up against her chest, trying to still her frantic heart. His purring had stopped all too quickly, and for a few minutes there was only the sounds of their harsh breathing, and Ladybug's own heartbeat pounding in her all too hot ears.
"My.... My Lady?" Ladybug's eyes flickered to the boy's face for the first time since they'd separated. Chat Noir's face was terribly flushed, and his lips were looking swollen and moist from all of the affections he'd been given her wrist. Ladybug looked up at him, and she watched as realization dawned on his face. He went pale all too quickly, and that cocky, quirky kitty of hers was in a flustered panic, "L-Ladybug, did I just?!? Oh my god. Oh my god I am so..." He covered his mouth, and Ladybug winced. The boy before her was quickly falling apart, and she didn't know what to do. Tell him off? Yell at him? Tell him it was all good, just an accident? As much bravado as he put out, Ladybug was more than aware at how sensitive this boy was. She knew it wasn't his fault, he'd literally had no idea what he was doing up until this point of time, evidently. And the last thing she wanted was for this boy to have a mental breakdown on a rooftop. That wouldn't go over too well.
"Chat." she stated, and the boy looked up. Her stomach knotted. He was trembling now, and he kept looking from her wrists to her face, "Chat, it's okay. I'm not mad." it was true, and while she didn't know what exactly she was feeling at that exact moment, it definitely wasn't anger, "I-I'm going to call off patrol for tonight, okay?" he looked like he was about to cry, "Chat it's okay."
"B-But Ladybug, I--"
"It was an accident, Chaton." she forced on a smile, and while it definitely wasn't one hundred percent genuine, it eased the boy a little bit, "I'm just a little ah..... I'm just a little surprised, okay? Not mad."
"Not mad?"
At this point he was looking more like a kicked puppy then a crime fighting cat. Ladybug's heart ached as she smiled at him, "Not mad, Chaton." Chat Noir swallowed, licking his swollen lips as he looked away from her, probably trying to urge down the tears that Marinette could evidently see in his eyes. "I will see you in two days, okay Chat? Just don't think about this too much. It was an accident." he nodded, but she wasn't sure if he was listening. Carefully, she reached out and took his hand, and he flinched, looking up to her. "Chat, it's okay. We're okay." Instinctively, she reached up on her tippy toes to gently press a kiss to his forehead. It was quick and chaste, something her maman did for her when she was feeling panicky. Something Alya did for her whenever she messed up around Adrien. It was a trust thing, and Chat Noir seemed to sense this as he relaxed visibly.
"Go home and rest, Chat." she smiled at him, and he smiled back, but if felt sad. It hurt to see him hurting, but it looked like it was going to be a tender wound for him for the next while. She let go of him and turned away, and with a final glance at him over her shoulder, she darted off into the night.
---
It was only when Marinette was in the safety of her bedroom and no longer in her costume that she felt the weight of the situation burden itself upon her shoulders. She slumped onto her bed, Tikki flittering above her, "Wanna talk about it?" the little kwami asked. Marinette nodded numbly, but she continued to lay there for a short while more in the nearly complete silence of her room. Her eyes were fixed on the stars gleaming down at her through the window door that led out to her balcony. It had all happened so fast, far too fast. Her brain was working out the situation bit by bit.
Chat had gotten 'drunk' on the silvervine on her wrists. Chat had pinned her up against a chimney and had done his very best to thoroughly make out with said wrists. Marinette had been for the first time in all of her teenage years, extremely turned on by the actions of said Chat. Chat liked her. She liked Adrien, but did she like Chat? As a friend or? He had been on the verge of tears when he realized what he'd done. He nearly cried because he hadn't known what he was doing. Marinette never wanted to see that look on his face again. "Tikki....." Marinette groaned, pressing her palms against her eyelids, "What am I going to do?" this wasn't something she thought she'd ever have to talk about with her little kwami, with Chat Noir, with anyone. Tikki landed on her chest, watching her chosen one scrunch her face up from under her palms.
"Well...." Tikki began, looking down at her tiny red feet, "How did you feel?" it was the simplest question, but the hardest to answer. Marinette groaned and dropped her arms to her sides. Her wrists felt hot and almost swollen, but Marinette didn't want to look at them at this exact moment. She had to focus. How did she feel.... What did she feel exactly?
"... I was surprised at first, I guess.... A little scared.... But then... It felt so good and," Marinette swallowed, her fingers finding her wrists and running her fingers along each forearm, "It felt like I was being cherished. Like I was being praised like a goddess." it was the only way she could possibly explain it. Tikki sat on her chest, rising and falling with each breath, "I-it's hard to explain. It's like.... All of his feelings that he had for me were all pinpointed and focused, and he lost himself. It was overwhelming." Marinette breathed out a heavy sigh she hadn't realized she was holding in, "And... Well...." Tikki quirked her head, "If he had been himself.... If he'd been aware... I... I'm not sure if I'd have wanted him to stop." Marinette's face burned hot at the confession, and she rolled to her side, covering her face once more. Tikki was quick enough to flit up and off her before she got crushed. The little kwami was quiet, gently reaching down to pet Marinette's midnight blue hair. Marinette sighed again, peering down at her wrists and flushing. They were covered in bite marks and hickeys, dark and very, very obvious. Marinette groaned. She couldn't possibly go to school with her wrists looking like this. Alya would have an aneurysm and she'd NEVER hear the end of it from Chloe. That girl already made her life hard enough as it was, the last thing she needed was for her to be bouncing around the school spreading rumours. "What should I do, Tikki? You've been around nearly 5000 years, what would the other ladybugs have done?"
Tikki stopped patting Marinette's head, "Marinette, you are not the other ladybugs. They all had their own love problems... Most of them, however, didn't involve cat drugs," Marinette snorted, but didn't move besides that, fixated on the love bites across her skin, "I think you should let Chat Noir know how you feel." Marinette did look at her kwami then, curiousity across her face, "You like him Marinette. Don't deny it." Marinette opened her mouth to do just that, but snapped it shut, glaring at the little red bug, "You can keep telling yourself your heart belongs only to Adrien, but I know that's not entirely the truth. Chat Noir is someone you can be open with, he cares for you more than anyone, he would never do anything to purposely hurt you, and you would never do anything to hurt him. You care about him too much."
"Tikki, Chat Noir is one of my best friends. It's.... It's different." Marinette looked away again, focusing once more on her wrists. If she hadn't stopped him, how far would she had let him go? She absentmindedly traced a very prominent teeth impression, like a crescent moon, back and forth.
"Well whatever you're deciding on what to say or do, you have two days to do it. You can't leave the poor boy hanging like this." Tikki was right, and Marinette agreed wholeheartedly. She felt the weight on her bed shift, and she peered down to see the black cat standing at her feet, his big green eyes watching her curiously, before he curled up in the far corner, eyeing Tikki silently. Tikki sighed, "We should get to sleep. You're gonna have a long day tomorrow." Marinette simply nodded, and whispered goodnight to Tikki as she slipped under Marinette's pillow, hiding herself away from the glowing eyes of the cat at the end of the bed. Marinette rolled back onto her back, pulling up a blanket and staring up at the ceiling with tired eyes.
She already knew that she wasn't going to be sleeping tonight.