Marinette sat with her legs pulled up to her chest in the chair on her balcony. The air felt nice and it made her feel like she wasn't so trapped. While it helped to tell her parents, it had yet to change anything, although they told her Gabriel Agreste had called them personally and told them he was handling it at Adrien's request and because the whole thing started during one of his photo shoots. Marinette still felt trapped.
Tikki nuzzled her cheek trying to offer some comfort but she hadn't needed to be Ladybug for a few days now and with Chat's frequent visits and Ethan, she didn't know when she would transform. She didn't really have the heart to be Ladybug right now anyway.
"Princess..." Chat's striking green eyes were weighted with concern as he perched on the edge of her balcony. For just the smallest fraction of a second, fear that it was Ethan and not Chat froze her. it was just the tiniest of seconds because of course this was her Chat.
Tikki took cover in Marinette's bag and hoped that Chat would be able to help her. As much as the little Kwami wanted to help, this was a human problem.
"Marinette..." Chat slid off the edge of the balcony and stood there, waiting for her to call him over.
"What are you doing?" She asked him.
"What do you mean, Princess?" He asked her.
"You're just standing there. Why?" She demanded. Chat sighed and straightened up.
"May I sit with you?" He asked her.
"Of course!" She exclaimed, surprised. Chat didn't ask permission to sit with her. He knocked on her door if she was inside but he'd never asked to sit with her before.
"Why would you have to ask me?" she asks as he makes his way over and sits in the chair she'd brought out for him.
"You've been crying." He noted wiping a lingering tear from her cheek.
"No...I just..." she shook herself "why did you ask to sit with me?"
"because I don't want you to feel like you have deal with me." he said seriously.
"Deal with you?" she gaped at him "you're my best friend, I love having you around."
"Really?" he asked her "and you wouldn't just say that because you feel bad for me or because you didn't want to hurt my feelings?" he scrutinized her face, watched for a reaction. It wasn't the one he was expecting. Her usual smile turned into a scowl, a fresh wave of tears spilled over her cheeks.
"No." She snapped at him shaking her head "Ethan is affecting everything else right now." She suppressed a sob "I can't even help in the bakery because he just shows up and I can't walk to school alone because I'm afraid he'll see me... I can't even enjoy time with this guy I have the biggest crush on because he thinks this is his fault!" Marinette ranted. "but this..." she gestured to herself and Chat "this is not going to change." Her shoulders trembled and she shook her head "it can't change." She whimpered "we can't change, not now."
Chat's heart broke. Marinette was so strong and kind and loving and had comforted him the days his father wasn't there to. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her with all the strength Plagg gave him.
"We won't." Chat said, "we won't change." He let her cry, although he could tell by the way she sobbed in bursts that she was trying really hard not to. He pretended he didn't know.
"I'm never going to leave you, Marinette." He promised her. She would never know but, it was a promise as both Adrien and Chat Noir.
After several moments, Marinette calmed down and Chat sank into the other chair and he watched her. He tried to put on his usual persona but he didn't want to overwhelm her.
"So..." he said, "want to finish our conversation from before?" he watched her for signs she didn't want to but rather than distress or exhaustion she smiled this small smile. Chat had never seen this smile before. He liked it, he liked it a lot.
"The blonde guy you saw take me to school..." she sighed "his name is Adrien Agreste."
"Model, right?" Chat asked. Marinette nodded.
"he's not bothering you, right?" Chat's words carried more weight than she could ever guess.
"Of course not." Marinette giggled at her kitty's protectiveness. "he's been so great about everything, he's so kind and caring." She sighed, her eyes got all dreamy.
"You really think that?" He asked trying to remember he was Chat Noir right now.
"yeah, he's been helping and today I kind of lost it at school." She frowned at herself.
"Lost it?" Chat pressed.
Marinette nodded. "I don't know, he just asked if I was okay and I've been telling everyone I'm okay and I've been okay... or at least I thought I was."
"The stress probably caught up with you all at once." Chat suggested.
Marinette shrugged "It just felt like I couldn't say it even one more time and then Ethan texted me and..." Marinette shook her head "I just couldn't."
"It's okay for this to bother you." Chat stroked her hand. she shook her head.
"No, it's not. Adrien must deal with this all the time from hundreds of people." Marinette grabbed her head as if she thought she could hold herself together that way.
"and I can't even deal with one and he's so calm about everything and and..." she couldn't think straight "and I don't even help him because I'm just as bad as Ethan."
"what!" Chat shook his head "no, you're nothing like Ethan."
"I am, I have a crush and I practically Chase him around and I know his schedule all because I'm too chicken to actually ask him out." She sighed, it felt good to finally get it off her chest.
"Princess?" Chat asked. She looked to him, stress and sadness weighing her eyes down.
"Who are we talking about?" he kept stroking her hand.
"The boy who's helping me." she sighed "Adrien Agreste."
"Adrien?" Chat exclaimed "really?"
Marinette nodded, she wasn't really in the mood for Chat's teasing but she also kind of wanted him to to prove to her that they haven't changed.
"He used my phone today." Marinette went on. "to text Ethan back and make him stop texting me." She held her phone up "it somewhat worked... he hasn't texted me but..."
"But..." Chat prompted.
"I took his phone by accident before." Guilt made her hide her face in her knees.
"well if it was an accident..." Chat started but Marinette shook her head "I went into his locker and I took it." Her shoulders started to shake and her voice grew thick.
"but why?" Chat asked surprised. That didn't seem like Marinette, he noticed the pictures of him on her wall of course but he always figured it was more about the clothes than him. He knew she was a huge fan of his father.
"I was trying to call him one day because I thought asking him out over the phone would be easier but I got his voicemail and I thought I hung up and I was talking to Alya about how to ask him out and I was being sarcastic but I said some pretty weird stuff and I was afraid he'd think I was a total creeper if he heard it..." Marinette squeezed her legs to her chest "just like Ethan and... and now he felt so guilty about using my phone and I've wanted to tell him but I just get so nervous around him, I can barely say Hi half the time and I just don't know how I would tell him."
Chat Noir kept stroking Marinette hand's as he took in her words. She must be talking about the time I'd lost my phone, she must have slipped it back into my bag at school.
"Did you go through his phone at all?" He asked trying not to get upset, after all, why would Chat Noir be upset, he was supposed to be her friend first.
"Of course not!" she exclaimed "I just wanted to delete my voicemail."
"I see." Adrien thought maybe he should be angry at her but she was so racked with guilt over it and he did use her phone the second it was left alone... and he did give his word never to tell Adrien what she was saying and while he would never tell Adrien he also didn't mention that Adrien would hear... he also hung out in her room even when she wasn't home sometimes.
"I'm sure he'll forgive you." Chat said, "but you've got to tell him."
"He's going to think I'm a complete stalker." Marinette whimpered "I just don't know how to talk to him."
"Well..." Chat rubbed the spaces between her knuckles as he held her hand. "why don't you start with 'can I talk to you someplace privately' or 'let me take you out for a milkshake."
"a milkshake?" Marinette coughed out a rough laugh.
"Guys love milkshakes." Chat winked at her "and then tell him exactly what you told me."
Marinette looked up at Chat, tears streaked down her face and her eyes all red and puffy.
"You think that'll work?" she asked him.
Chat held his arms out "worked on me, I'm not mad at you."
"but he might just say that now because he feels guilty about the whole Ethan thing." Marinette tried to work out the ways and times she could tell him.
"Marinette." He said and for a second, Marinette swore it was Adrien's voice.
"The sooner you tell him the better." Chat smiled at her and Marinette found herself smiling back.
"You make a really good best friend, Chat." She reached out and scratched his under his chin. She smiled when he started to purr.
"You would make a really good cat mom." Chat Noir melted into her hand. How Marinette ended up comforting him when he came to help her, he had no idea... but she didn't want anything to change.
Anything for my Princess.
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For all you MariChat lovers XD
Also... with everything else going on is it okay that Chat Noir uses his alter ego to get close to Marinette and ask her questions she wouldn't tell him as Adrien, or is it sweet he puts forth the effort to make it easier on her to talk to him by speaking to her as Chat Noir????