9. Chapter 9

… only to be awakened less than 6 hours later by a frantic buzz filling her dawn-streaked room.

‘It had to be Alya’ was her first thought.

Well perhaps more like her second thought, her first though contained much more harsh language.

“Please make it stop.” Tikki whispered drowsily from her spot atop the cat pillow. Marinette had mentally counted about 7 separate vibrations at this point and with a groan at the way her back popped as she rose, the sleepy teen reluctantly stirred.

She wrapped the blanket around her shoulder in an attempt to retain some of her former comfy-ness, hobbling down the ladder like structure that led to the main floor of her room in order to retrieve her violently shaking device.

‘Somebody better be dying.’

Marinette yanked her phone from the desk, smoothly lying down on the chaise in her half-awake state. She arranged the blanket in a comfortable swaddle around her form, blinking up at the round window hanging above her. Although it wasn’t by choice, there was still something so magical about rising with the sun she thought idly, taking a moment to enjoy the early morning quiet before yet another buzz drew her attention once more.

To her surprise it wasn’t Alya.

 Marinette watched with a grim fascination as Chat Noir proceeded to blow up her inbox, suddenly much more awake than she was a few minutes ago. She scrolled quickly to the top in order to read his messages from the beginning, the first on being from around 15 minutes ago.

[ Akuma at Versailles ] (read 6:19 am)

[ oh god ]

[ shit ]

[ im so sorry I feel asleep early and I didn’t see this message ]

[ I just woke up ]

[ are you alright? ]

[ ladybug??? ]

[ LADYBUG PLEASE ANSWER IF YOURE OK ]

[ FJCK ]

[ IM SERIOUS PLEASE PLEASE ANSWER ]

The texts went on and on, getting progressively more frantic. A peculiar heat curled it’s way around her ribcage, and she couldn’t fight back an ironic smile as the messages continued to pour in. ‘He’s genuinely concerned,’ Marinette realized with another clench to her gut.

She stared down the wall of text, giggling to herself before deciding to end his misery. Her hands snaked out from their blanketed cocoon in order to interrupt his unending stream of worried exclamations.

[ Chat, I’m fine. ]

The tiny 3 dots stopped bouncing on his side of the screen, indicating he had stopped typing.

[ Maybe a bit pissed you decided to wake me up before 7… ]

She couldn’t help but tease.

[ but other than that im alright *eye roll emoji* ]

His response was immediate.

[ You had me worried... im so sorry ]

[ are you hurt? ]

Marinette tensed up at the serious concern of his reply, unsure how to respond to this new side of her partner. She chewed on the tip of her nail, taking a moment to stew on the new information she had just been handed.

 He had always been protective, she realized slowly.

Always jumping to put himself right in the line of fire, Chat usually came out more worse for wear out of the two heroes. Ladybug had just assumed it was part of his reckless nature, perhaps an attempt to show off.  But now, when she thought back to incidents like their fight with Timebreaker, Marinette saw a clear pattern, one in which Chat was always the one to take the hit for her.

The moment of clarity sent her head spinning, Marinette realizing for the first time just how much Chat Noir genuinely…

‘Cared’ seemed like the wrong word.

People who cared for you would ask about your day, would be sure to hold doors and smile and pat your back when things got tough. Alya cared for her. Nino cared for her. Marinette’s friends and family and teachers and neighbors cared for her.

Throwing yourself into imminent danger time and time again. Running yourself ragged but still keeping up a pleasant face… that went beyond care. Those where the actions of someone who felt something deeper, something rawer than just friendly attachment.

‘Love’

The word came unbidden to her mind, causing a wave of unlikely heat to roll down her entire body. Marinette pushed the blanket surrounding her to the floor, the weight it oppressive amidst the new flood of emotion she was desperately trying to process. The four-letter word continued to bounce its way around her skull, flashing like lighting behind Marinette’s eyes as she forced them back down to the phone in her slightly shaking hands.

[ are you hurt? ]

Marinette swallowed the lump in her throat, fingers hovering over the keyboard. ‘Im fine’ she began to type... backspacing almost immediately with a shake of her head. Something about his honest concern made her want to give an honest answer.

[ A little banged up but nothing too bad… ]

Marinette hit send, folding her knees up under her with a held breath as Chat immediately open the message. She watched the typing icon pop up once more, pulsing on and off for the next 50 seconds. His hesitance made her nervous.

When his reply came, it was shorter than the pause would have suggested.

[ Where are you? ]

Well, whatever she was expecting, it certainly wasn’t that. Marinette continued to reply truthfully, confusion mingling with anticipation deep in her gut as she cautiously answered

[ In my bedroom ]

[ Why? ]

[ I need to see you  ]

[ ??? ]

[ The fact that you’re admitting to being injured at all lets me know its worse than you’re letting on ]

[ and I need to assess the damage for myself ]

[ seriously Chat, im fine! ]

[ I wasn’t there for you last night, let me be there for you now ]

The sincerity of his words hit her like a freight train, causing another sharp swoop in her belly. The sensation had happened a lot lately, at least in regards to one person in particular. Marinette straightened up on her lounge, bluish black hair falling in front of her face as she mulled over this turn of events. ‘It seemed there would be no way of assuaging his fears over the phone’ she realized, heaving a conflicted sigh as she typed out a quick “Alright.”

[ I can be at Notre Dame in 5 minutes ]

[ ill wait in the usual spot ]

[ Ill be there in 10… ]

Marinette clicked her phone off slowly, body tingling but mind numb.

Or perhaps it was her mind that was tingling and her body that was numb. It was hard to tell through the maelstrom of conflicting emotions swirling around her head.

Forcing the thoughts down, she gathered her blanket, heaving it blindly up into her lofted bed. This earned her a muffled cry from the previously asleep Kwami.

“Sorry Tikki, but this is your wakeup call.” The teen crooned over her shoulder, parting her hair into it’s trademark pigtails. Or, that is, Ladybug’s trademark pigtails. Marinette had retired the style from her everyday ensemble years ago, now either letting her locks hang freely or arranging them into a stylish French braid, but the functionality of pigtails was still her best bet when it came to crime-fighting.

Marinette re-examined her face with a sigh. The hours of rest had done little to dull the purple hue of her left eye and she knew the mask would only cover so much. Never-the-less, she smeared some concealer careful over the tender flesh, dulling the effect but not erasing the damage.

Chat wouldn’t be pleased.

She steeled herself for the inevitable lecture ahead of her, calling out for Tikki to transform her before Ladybug slipped her way out of the skylight.

Adrien was pissed.

Stomping his way around the stone gargoyles that flanked the edge of the building upon which he now stood, he mentally kicked himself for about the eighth time since he woke up this morning.

Despite the fact he was free to sleep in for as long as he desired, Adrien’s eyes still snapped open at their usual 6 am, a fact he cursed until he spotted the flashing of his phone’s notification banner. His stomach dropped to his knees in a way that was completely different form the other times he had received a text from Ladybug.

She had needed him, and Adrien had slept through her message.

Immediate panic worked its way up to his throat. Adrien paced around his still-dark room heart hammering as he sent her reply after reply, only to be met with an empty screen. He had to find her, to see if she was ok.

Chat was already suited up, one foot out the window when she finally responded. Relief flooded the boy as he dropped to the floor. ‘Ladybug was alright’ he thought heart still hammering as he sent her another apology.

The feeling didn't last long though. A minute later she responded to his inquiry of her well being, her answer the one he had been dreading. Adrien’s face hardened at the text, ribs squeezing like a vice around his heart.

[ A little banged up but nothing too bad… ]

The words rattled around in his head as he continued his frantic pace atop Notre Dame. His Lady was hurt. She was hurt because he couldn’t be bothered to wake up when she needed his help. Chat scuffed his foot against the stone beneath him, growling at no one in particular as his fists balled up in frustration. The loathing he felt…

“Well Good Morning Sunshine.”

Chat pivoted at the familiar voice, watching Ladybug descend from the nearest tower with a crooked smile. He didn’t register the expression, instead focusing on the way she gingerly lowered herself down, favoring her left foot when she landed a few yards from him. He had yet to see her face.

“I didn’t think it was possible for you to be awake this early, aren’t cats supposed to be nocturnal?” Ladybug grinned at him, remaining planted where she was.

Her tone was light, too sweet for the situation. Chat knew she was avoiding the subject, trying to gloss over his mistake with her usual kindness. He didn’t deserve to be let off that easy. When he approached her, about to launch into a long winded apology, the words died in his throat with a disgusted fizzle

 For the first time since her arrival, Chat was close enough to notice the discoloration under the right eyehole of her mask.  A dangerous concoction of anger, concern, and self-hatred flared up in the pit of his stomach, expression growing stormy as his hand reached out to tilt her head.  ‘This is my fault’, he thought miserably, examining her black eye with frustrated breaths of air puffing out of his clenched teeth.

“Alright before you say anything, let me just-“

“I did this.” Chat cut her off with a low whisper, fingers stroking the edge of her mask. Ladybug rolled her eyes, forcing a laugh that only made Adrien’s guilt multiply before continuing in her infuriatingly casual tone.

“You most certainly did not.” She scolded gently, “An akuma did and you know that.”

“I should have been there.”

“To do what? Block the fist?” Ladybug shook her head, still trapped under his touch. “It’s nothing. I was careless and it landed a cheap shot. It really doesn’t even hurt that much.”

‘That’s a lie’ Chat thought dejectedly, still glaring at the mottled skin that marred the blue of his Lady’s eye. He had been a model long enough to realize when someone was wearing makeup, and the fact Ladybug had tried to downplay just how bad the injury was only sent another wave of revulsion over him.

“Stop saying it’s nothing!” he began, sounding more bitter than he intended. “You’re injured. You got injured while I was at home sleeping.” Chat dropped her chin, turning away to knead at the edge of his temples. “This wouldn’t have happened if I had just been there."

“I hope you’re not implying I can’t take care of myself…” she said from behind him, an edge of warning creeping into her tone.

“You know that’s not what I meant, so stop trying to change the subject!”

“So what is the subject exactly??”

“The subject is that you’re hurt, Ladybug!” The two where eye to eye now, arms crossed and stances defiant. “You’ve got a black eyes and a bum leg, yet all you want to do is stand there and cover it up with cheap concealer and cheaper excuses.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed, head cocking sideways at his remark. Chat stood firm.

‘Where in the world does he get off lecturing me?’ she thought icily, not liking the way Chat was eyeing her like a disappointed parent. After a brief stare down, Ladybug released the breath she was holding through her nose, the air escaping with an annoyed hiss.

“Whatever Chat,” she said, tuning as she grasped at her yo-yo, “You cant stay mad at me forever so when you decide to stop behaving like a child, you know how to reach me.”

She toed the edge of the church, wind whipping at her body as she looked over her shoulder at him.

“At least I promise to answer.”

Regretting her decision to come in the first place, Ladybug readied her leap, only to lock up in place when she felt a hand close around her wrist from behind.

“Ladybug.”

Something in his tone made her pause, body still poised to exit but mind drawn to the pleading sound evident in his voice. Marinette forced herself to relax, shoulder sliding downward as she turned to face him once again.

Despite the brevity of the situation, she almost wanted to smile at his adorably down-trodden expression. Chat’s leather ears drooped, belted tail hanging limply as he looked at her with the very picture of kitten eyes.

“I’m not mad at you,” he began softly, still clutching at her hand as he cautiously threaded their fingers together. Marinette’s heart fluttered of its own accord. “I’m pissed at myself.” 

He took a moment, trying to accurately formulate his next words.

“ I asked you to come here because I was worried about you,but it wasn’t because I don’t think you’re capable of protecting yourself.” Here he gave a tentative smile, one that turned her legs to liquid.

“I mean you’re the all-powerful Ladybug.” Chat said, regaining a bit of his former cheer as he heard her chuckle softly. “I know you could handle anything by yourself…”

He trailed off, squeezing her hands just a smidge tighter before continuing in voice so sweetly sincere Marinette felt the need to look up and confirm it was in fact, Chat Noir who uttered the words.

“…but that doesn’t mean you should have to go at it alone.”

Her lips were on his before she had even made the decision to kiss him.