2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Adrien flipped open one of Marinette's boxes as he helped her unpack and tensed. It was full of bras and panties. From sturdy, functional-looking ones to flimsy, lacy ones. An image of her in the red pair popped in his head, and he groaned.

"You okay?" she asked. Light streamed in through the windows, lending her dark hair a bluish tint and making her skin glow.

Marinette wearing that red pair really would look— No. He flinched and knocked over the box, spilling the contents across the floor.

Time stretched as he watched realization hit her. Marinette's eyes grew wide, lips parting in surprise, cheeks reddening. Warmth filled his, and, soon, they were two blushing statues.

He must've looked like a creeper going through her underwear. And he shouldn't have thought of her in that way. She was Marinette, his kind and compassionate friend. His gaze flicked down to her long, lean body, the lacy underwear set replacing her clothes, and he gulped. Why had he never seen how attractive she was before? He'd always thought she was pretty, but now…

Time snapped back into place when she laughed, a full, boisterous one that eased the dread consuming him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't read the label on the box. Sorry."

She waved away his concern and knelt to pick up the clothes. "It's not like you don't have any yourself. Unless you don't wear underwear." She twitched. "Not that it's any of my business."

Her furtive glance at him had his insides sparking. What was wrong with him?

He stood and moved to a box across the room while forcing his mind on other things, like school exams and Chinese lessons and...having to hurt Ladybug. That did the trick.

Making sure the label said nothing personal, he opened it and pulled out her books, mostly about design and sewing.

When they were done unloading everything, he stood next to her in the doorway and looked at the space. "It feels like it's missing something."

"I didn't bring the rug and I got new sheets." She shrugged. "It's definitely not as pink."

There was still her dark pink chair and desk organizer and her lighter chaise lounge, though. "We can paint the walls to make it feel more like home for you."

She giggled. "I can't believe you remember my room so clearly."

He suppressed a grimace. He needed to remember that Adrien hadn't been in her room as often as Chat had. Her radiant smile made his knees weaken. Get a grip, Adrien. "If you need my help with anything else, just let me know."

She nodded, and they turned to leave at the same time. Their shoulders bumped into one another, then against the door frame, trapping them.

Oof, they breathed out in unison.

He almost laughed at the absurdity, but then she winced, and he remembered her injuries.

"I'm sorry," he said earnestly.

"It's okay." She rolled her shoulder. "It's a lot better than it was a couple days ago."

Looking up at him with those clear, blue eyes, she added, "Come on. Unpacking all day has made me starving. I could eat an all-you-can-eat buffet out of business right now." Her chuckle sent his insides sparking again.

He backed up and let her go out first. The image of her in the lacy red underwear popped in his head again, and he smothered it with things like quizzes, traffic, spoiled milk, no battery power…

oOoOo

Marinette tried not to stuff the entire slice of pizza into her mouth as they watched TV in the living room. He had mentioned a little Italian restaurant down the street and even went to pick up the food for them. He was so sweet...and absolutely adorable.

When he'd accidentally knocked over her box of underwear and sat there, staring wide-eyed at her like a kid who'd got caught having broken something, she'd been unable to contain her laughter.

She smiled at the memory.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing." She took another bite of her pizza.

He groaned. "You're not going to let me live it down, are you?"

"I'm sure one day I'll forget it happened." She would never forget. The image was an indelible mark on her mind, and one she'd cherish forever.

He bumped his knee against hers, and she almost dropped her pizza.

"Your face says you're lying," he said, not noticing her mini stroke.

"My face says I'm trying to watch the show." She trained her gaze on the screen, unable to pay it any attention with Adrien sitting next to her on his comfy couch.

They grew quiet, eating in peaceful silence. The TV might as well have not existed. An alien invasion would go unnoticed with him so close to her. She glanced at him only occasionally, which was a massive compromise. Eighty percent of her had vehemently argued to just stare at him. There was a hint of blond scruff along his chin and his hair hung more freely around his face. She liked this more relaxed version of him. Granted, she liked every version of him.

A Breaking News report blared, jerking her attention off of Adrien.

The newswoman stared into the camera. "An akumatized woman is currently rampaging through the streets, turning people into cats with what appears to be a cane, and stashing the victims in her bag. Ladybug has not yet been sighted, and, thankfully, neither has the now-villainous Chat Noir. Please stay indoors and…"

Marinette and Adrien bolted to their feet at the same time. They looked at each other with surprise.

"I just remembered I have to meet my father to confirm my schedule for this week," he said, glancing at the TV.

Her gaze bounced in the same direction. "Um, yeah. I need to get to the bakery anyway. I promised my parents I'd be back around this time." Shaky footage showed the supervillain: an older woman with wild hair and a cane that shot out bright blasts. She cackled and picked up another cat.

His brows lowered. "You shouldn't be going out right now."

"I could say the same about you."

"But I'm not going near there."

She crossed her arms. "And neither am I."

They stood, two guards on sentry duty, staring each other down...until an explosion pulled their attention back to the news. She made sure to catch the location.

He sighed and gestured to the door. "Let's go."

Marinette quickly turned off the TV, then longingly looked at the food. Her stomach grumbled in protest at leaving it behind.

"We'll clean up later," he said, mistaking her expression.

She nodded and darted out the apartment with him. The ride down the elevator was torturous. She tapped her foot and stared at the red numbers ticking away as they descended. His cologne, warm and understated, teased her memory. She'd smelled it somewhere before, but she couldn't place it.

He cleared his throat. "I had fun today."

"Me too. Thanks for asking me to move in,"

"Thanks for accepting."

Her poor little heart wouldn't stop tripping over itself around him. Maybe she should ask him to have a defibrillator installed, just in case.

The elevator dinged, and they were soon out on the mostly-abandoned street. It seemed everyone was heeding the news' advice. The lack of bystanders certainly made her job easier, but it also made her wonder if the people were losing their faith in her.

He paused before walking away. "Be careful, Marinette. I don't like seeing you hurt."

Then he turned and left her standing there with a dopey grin and liquid bones.

"Marinette, the akuma," Tikki reminded her from inside her pocket.

The Kwami's words jolted her back to life, and she ran behind a tree to transform.

Throwing her yo-yo, she propelled herself to the rooftop, then ran toward the akumatized old woman was.

"I'm surprised Chat is not already there," she said.

Tikki murmured an agreement. What are you going to do now that he's willing to hurt you?

"Defend myself. He won't find me so vulnerable this time."

She jumped from rooftop to rooftop until she reached the source of the disturbance. A line of empty police cars sat with their lights on and doors open. Items people had been carrying littered the sidewalks. The street was a ghost town.

"No one will take my babies from me again," the woman shrieked.

Off to the side, a small child cried, twisting Ladybug's heart.

The supervillain stalked toward the boy. "I just need a few more to replace the ones that were taken from me."

Marinette stepped to the ledge and swung her yo-yo, getting ready to distract the woman.

"Took you long enough to get here," Chat said from behind her.

She grimaced. The woman was getting closer to discovering the boy's hiding spot, but Marinette couldn't leave herself exposed to Chat.

Spinning around, she faked a throw at him and leapt off the building while he deflected air. Her yo-yo caught a tree, and she sailed right into the woman's back, kicking her away from the boy.

Ladybug scooped up the child and leapt on top of a car, then to a second-floor balcony. "Stay here and be very quiet, okay? I'll come back for you."

She smiled and ruffled his hair.

His tear-stained face relaxed, only for it to tense up again. He gasped and pointed to the side.

Chat's staff sped in her direction.

She ducked. The weapon swept overhead close enough to flutter her hair.

"Can't you see I'm saving a little boy?" She shook her fist at him.

He lounged on the balcony railing next to them, lazily swinging his tail off the edge. "There would be no need to save anyone if you'd give me your Miraculous."

"Never."

He stood, balanced perfectly atop the ironwork, and looked at her as if he didn't understand her at all. "Why are you being so selfish?"

Her mouth fell open. Her? Selfish?

"Do you crave the attention that much you'd keep these poor people at constant risk of being akumatized and terrorized by those who get turned?"

His words stabbed at her, making her doubt herself.

Don't listen to him, Marinette, Tikki said.

She shook her head, jumped off the balcony, and ran in search of the old woman. Where was she? Surely one kick wasn't enough to take her down.

"You're not escaping so easily this time," Chat said from behind, as if falling off a tall building was easy.

Yo-yo in hand, she faced him. "And you won't find such an easy target this time."

He smiled, bringing up so many memories of them working together and watching out for each other. Her insides knotted into jagged boulders.

Breathe. Just breathe.

He slammed one end of his staff on the ground and catapulted himself up in the air. His weapon came straight down at her, and she darted out of the way, sliding into a fighting stance. She would not run anymore.

Twisting mid-air, he changed the angle of attack and landed, swinging at her. She ducked and skirted around him, striking at his legs over and over while evading his own assault on her. Capturing him was like trying to collect water with a sieve.

They flowed around one another, a cyclone of limbs and weapons, lashing out, blocking, and counter striking. She sucked in air, willing her body to keep up with his.

"I'm holding back, Bugaboo," he crooned.

She tried to move back to create enough space to use her weapon more effectively and to catch her breath. But he kept closing the distance between them. He knew her strengths and weaknesses. He knew exactly how she'd fight.

There was no way she could win like this.

Glancing to the side, she let him think she was going to run.

He shifted his weight.

Then she leapt at him, catching his arm and sweeping him over her toward the ground. While on his way down, she snatched the staff from his slackened grasp and flung it to the side. He landed hard on his back with a grunt.

"Not good enough," he said not so smoothly.

She stepped back, not breaking her fighting stance, and waited for him to figure out what she'd done.

Spinning up to a crouched position, he reached for his staff at his lower back. Except it wasn't there. His gaze leveled on her. "Where is it?"

As innocently as she could, she asked, "Have you lost your weapon?"

Brows lowering into a straight line, he grumbled that he didn't need it to take her down, then prowled toward her.

"Kitty!" the akumatized woman screeched, looking straight at Chat. Her bag was now full and churning from all of the cats inside. She glanced at it, then back to him. "I have room for one more."

She pointed her cane at him and fired.

Ladybug didn't think. She threw herself in front of Chat, twirling her yo-yo fast enough to repel the magic. The woman kept shooting at him with a single-minded determination that impressed her.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Chat asked. "I'm not your partner anymore."

"I don't see you stopping me," she said while still spinning her yo-yo to shield him.

"Only because I'd rather not get turned into an actual cat. It'd be a—"

He snapped his mouth shut, but she still heard the pun: it'd be a catastrophe.

Deep down, he was still her Chat. She'd just have to scoop him out of his litter box of troubles. In her mind, she snorted at the puns. He'd rubbed off on her over the years, but she'd never admit it to him.

"Your staff is over there." She nodded to the side. "We're going to get it, so you can protect yourself while I de-evilize her. Understand?"

He gave a sharp nod.

They began their slow advancement toward his weapon, and the woman shrieked, "Kitty, no. Come back here. Let mama take care of you."

He shuddered from behind her, and Ladybug snickered.

Ten steps and Chat was finally close enough to grab his weapon. His staff was a blur as he spun it around and around. "Go," he told her.

Nodding in approval, she sprung away, out of sight. She should take her time, let him sweat it out. After all, he deserved it for knocking her off the building.

She just didn't have it in her to torture him like that, though.

"Lucky charm!" she said, tossing her yo-yo in the air.

A red and black polka dotted megaphone fell into her waiting arms. She shrugged and searched for the items that would help defeat the supervillain. A discarded hand mirror on the sidewalk and a crate of kittens sitting on a balcony stood out to her. She could work with that.

Dropping to the ground, and careful to avoid notice, she snatched up the mirror, then darted to the balcony with the crate. She turned on the megaphone and placed it near the mewing kittens.

The woman's head whipped in her direction, but she still shot at Chat.

Ladybug placed the megaphone to her lips. "Free kittens. Come get them before they're taken to the pound."

This time, the woman looked from Chat to the kittens.

Apparently, she needed a little more incentive. Ladybug grabbed the crate's handle and said, "Okay, I guess I have to take them to the pound since no one wants them." She sighed dramatically.

"No! Don't take my babies!" The old woman aimed at Ladybug and shot.

Marinette lifted the handheld mirror. The magic hit it with a thump, bouncing off the surface to zip straight back to the old woman.

In a poof, she turned into a plump cat and her cane clattered to the ground. Ladybug flung herself at it and landed on the wooden shaft, breaking it in half.

The little akuma flew out and she quickly transformed it back into a white butterfly. Tikki's magic returned everything back to normal, including all of the people.

That was certainly easier than the last one. Now, if every akumatized person developed a fascination for Chat, forcing him to fight with her, life would be grand.

Smiling, she turned to look for her tomcat, but he was gone. Her Miraculous beeped, and she sighed. She'd hoped there would've been enough time to talk to him afterwards, maybe try to understand why he thought it would be better for everyone if there were no Miraculouses. It was the only way she could poke holes in his logic enough to bring him back.

oOoOo

Chat watched Ladybug retrieve the boy from the balcony and deliver him to the police before zipping away. He considered following her to discover exactly who she was—it would be far easier to take her Miraculous when she wasn't transformed—yet he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

He figured she'd saved him, so he owed her one. But only one.

AN - Thank you so much for commenting, favoriting, and following! I'm really happy there are people out there who are enjoying the story. If I ever get a fact wrong, feel free to let me know. I've never been to France, let alone Europe, so I'm bound to get some things wrong.

Major bear hugs for my sweet sister. Thanks for helping with the chapter!

One more thing. My little one is out of school all of next week, so I doubt I'll have enough time to write another chapter until after Thanksgiving.

Thanks again!

Update: another one edited!