17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chat Noir leapt over a metal disc, landed, and bent backwards to avoid another disc flying for his head. One hit him in the thigh, dropping him to his knee. He growled and swung his staff in a wide arc as he spun up to his feet, then snapped it in the opposite direction. Three ricocheted off his weapon with a bone-jarring impact that made his arms nearly go numb.

He did it, though. Two at one time had been his previous record.

Proud, he glanced at his father. The older man just stood against the far wall with his hands resting on his cane, lips a thin slash across his face, eyes hard and cold.

A disc slammed into Chat's forearm, knocking his staff from his grip. Another struck his lower back, nearly ripping a cry of pain from his gritted teeth. His kidney did not like that one bit. He might be peeing blood for the rest of the day.

"Focus," his father hissed.

Twisting out of the way of a disc, Chat flipped over a low one, and dove for his weapon. Just as his fingers curled around the silver rod, a training turret shot it further from him.

Then a disc rammed into his hip and sent him sprawling out on the floor.

His father tsked in annoyance.

oOoOo

Marinette followed the self defense teacher's instructions: dodge, groin kick, knee. She watched herself in the mirror as she effortlessly slid through the actions. This was definitely more aggressive and straight forward than she usually fought. Her instincts told her to leap away, create distance, and use her yo-yo. But maybe this was exactly what she needed. Chat knew all of her old moves, and his fight with that Bug Guy clearly showed he could do more.

"That's good," the teacher said in his deep voice. He turned to one of the assistants and gestured for him to come over. "Have her go through the movements with you."

The young man nodded, introduced himself as Jeremy, and shifted into a fighting stance. He slowly extended his fist, which she dodged and completed the routine in a heartbeat, careful to not actually make contact with him.

Her partner blinked.

The teacher had been about to walk away, but he turned to her. "Have you done this before?"

She shook her head.

"Is it okay if we make it harder?"

"Sure."

He had Jeremy move faster and deflect her two attacks, forcing her to work around his defense.

She did it with ease.

"Are you sure you haven't done this before?"

"I have older brothers."

They nodded in understanding.

"Let me see your punches."

The movements felt foreign and, therefore, a tad awkward.

"Put on some gloves," he said, then looked at Jeremy. "Get some pads and have her hit different combos." As he ran off, the teacher told her to not hold back. He wanted to gauge her strength.

While she was weaker without the kwami's magic, she was no wilting daisy. Her partner moved around, forcing her to follow him. With a flick of his hand, holding the pad in a specific position, she had to hit it with the correct punch: jab, cross, hook, uppercut. They moved faster and faster. He tried to trick her with the pads and where he would step next.

She didn't let up despite her breath coming in quick bursts and her arms turning to lead. Apparently, the suit definitely lent her endurance as well. They flowed around the space, using the other sparring partners as obstacles. Several times she had to jump out of the way of a kick or a wild swing.

"Good," the teacher remarked after she completed a lengthy combo without breaking stride. "You're quick and nimble. Working defensively would best suit you."

She wiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm. "I was kind of hoping I could work more offensively since that's a weakness of mine."

Watching her under bushy brows, he seemed to consider her words. Finally, he nodded. "Go work the heavy bags. I want to see it flying by the end of the week. Jeremey, make sure she has good form."

oOoOo

"Again," Hawk Moth commanded.

Chat picked himself off the floor, his hip protesting any and all actions, but he ignored it.

The turrets extended out from every wall in the large room, whining as they charged for the next volley of attacks. He moved to his staff and bent to pick it up.

"Leave it."

Chat paused, his hand hovering over the weapon. "But—"

"Consider it punishment for your failure."

Clenching his hand into a fist, he stood and waited for the blast of discs. If he knew his father at all, they would be even more relentless.

The first came straight at him, then one from every angle, forcing him to drop to his hands and knees. He rolled out of the way of another barrage. The constant flow had him, ducking, spinning, flipping, and leaping out of the way. There was no time to think, only to react.

He moved, weaving a complicated dance that served to trick the turrets. Several discs smashed into one another, sending them careening off to the sides. He snatched one out of the air and hurled it at a barrel while evading three more.

The disc crashed into the turret, denting the barrel and leaving it useless.

He smiled.

Not bothering to see what his father thought of the victory, he continued to dodge the discs, like a bull hunter taunting his prey.

That was how he needed to work, he realized.

He wasn't on the defensive. The turrets were. They were his prey.

oOoOo

Marinette peeled off her overshirt and dropped the sweaty cloth next to her bag. Her tank top clung to her, but there was nothing she could do about that. They must not like using the air conditioner because the room was sweltering.

"Your endurance is insane," Jeremy said, plopping down to the mat.

She drank most of her water bottle without stopping to take a breath. "I run a lot," she somewhat lied.

He climbed to his feet and waved to the bag he'd been holding for her. "Keep at it and you'll be kicking everyone's butt in here. You leaving?"

"No. I have the afternoon free, so I'm going to try the ground class."

"Cool. I have to go, but feel free to ask me to partner with you again."

She nodded, beaming. He'd given her his stamp of approval.

Walking to the front with a little pep to her step, she signed in for the class. A group of people sat around, waiting for it to start, some talking, but for the most part, they kept to themselves. There did seem to be a camaraderie between the girls. Several smiled at her in greeting.

They all filed in and partnered up. Hers was a guy, but that was fine. The extra weight would be a welcome challenge. He introduced himself and asked if it was her first time.

"Kind of. First time in a class."

His brows creased, but before he could ask anything else, the teacher demonstrated how to escape from the bottom while someone straddled him. It looked easy enough. Just buck your hips up, wait for them to land on their hands, then take out an arm and flip them over. Piece of cake.

Her partner sat on her hips, and she planted her feet, thrust her hips in the air, and...nothing. He didn't budge an inch.

She pursed her lips and tried again. Still nothing. The man was a boulder. No, a mountain.

"Don't just go up. Push me forward," he explained.

That time he rocked slightly.

What the?

She tried again and again with only minimal progress. Either he weighed a thousand pounds or she really needed to start doing some leg presses.

The teacher stopped beside them. "Let her go through the motion, then make it harder once she gets it down."

Her partner nodded and did as instructed.

Marinette performed the escape at least ten times, all the while internally grumbling that they had to go easy on her. This was proof enough, she needed to be here.

oOoOo

"Again," his father said.

Hands on knees, chest heaving, Chat looked up at him. "But I destroyed all of the turrets. And I have to meet Marinette."

Gabriel stepped forward and pulled apart his cane. A wicked sword slid out. He wielded the glinting blade in one hand and the wooden shaft in the other.

"Get your staff."

Chat sighed, picked up his weapon, and shifted into a fighting stance.

As expected, his father did not wait to attack. Gabriel leapt, slashing down with the sword. The blade slammed into Chat's staff, vibrating his arms like a struck gong.

His father lashed out with the shaft, aiming for his ribs, but Chat spun away and swung his staff in a low arc. Gabriel jumped clear and unleashed a barrage of strikes that made Chat dodge and parry so fast their weapons were a blur.

The sound of the fight filled the air, the sword's hiss, the staff's whoosh, huffs of breath, grunts of effort, clangs and sharp whacks as the weapons struck.

His father held nothing back, save for actually cutting Chat, though he wasn't above a small, indiscreet slice. He wanted Adrien to be harder, more vicious. The only time he'd been able to achieve that level of aggression had been with the bug scientist.

"You're holding back," Gabriel said without breaking off his attack.

"I'm not." Chat redoubled his offense to prove his point.

The sudden flurry didn't even make him flinch. "Fight me like you fought the scientist."

"I am."

"No." His father caught him in the solar plexus, nearly knocking the wind from Chat's lungs. "You see me as your father. You see Ladybug as your partner. Let all that go."

Chat dove out of the way and took a moment to catch his breath. In a flash, his father was on him again, not granting him even a second to recover.

"How did you defeat the turrets?" Gabriel asked as he swung his sword.

Dodging the blade, Chat muttered, "I thought of them as my prey."

"Who am I?"

He furrowed his brows. "My father."

A whack to the head had Chat seeing stars.

"Wrong."

He stumbled back, barely able to fend off the next attack.

"Who am I?"

Chat couldn't think. He struggled to stay upright.

"Who am I?!"

His father pressed him harder, pushing him back step by step. Several strikes landed, each one harder than the last. Pain zipped through him, as if lightning had struck him over and over.

"Prey!" he finally answered. The realization reinvigorated his muscles. His attacks picked up speed and gained power, knocking his father back several steps.

Gabriel smiled cruelly. "Who is Ladybug?"

"My prey," Chat said through gritted teeth.

"Good." Gabriel straightened and slid the sword back into the cane. Chat turned to leave, but his father said, "That girl, your roommate—"

"Marinette."

Gabriel nodded and walked to him. "I want to officially meet her."

"Why?" he asked cautiously.

"If she's going to be part of your life, then I think it's only appropriate we become acquainted."

Chat's brain had a hard time processing this oddity. His father didn't like spending time with anyone if he didn't have to. Adrien was inclined to believe that included him too. "Here?"

"No." He stopped in front of him and brushed something off Chat's shoulder. "I haven't had time to inspect the apartment. So we'll kill two birds with one stone."

He blinked. Who was this man?

"See if she's available in a week, after the fashion show."

He texted Marinette, and she responded right away. "She is."

Something flashed in his eyes. "Good. " Then he turned on his heel and strode to the window.

oOoOo

Marinette squealed in delight. Dinner with Mr. Agreste!

"My ears," Alya said through the phone.

"Sorry. What should I wear?" She'd been staring at her closet for ten minutes now.

"Something fashionable, I assume."

"Maybe one of my new designs?"

"Yeah, but don't brag. And leave your book in your room. This way he doesn't think you're just trying to hit him up for an internship."

"Hey, he was the one who asked about dinner." She sighed, body nearly collapsing into a boneless pile on the floor. "How amazing would it be if he did offer me one, though?"

"Very."

This time they both squealed.

Tikki just smiled at her.

"I should make a new one."

"Now?" Alya asked incredulously.

She plopped in her desk chair and threw open her design book. "Yeah. That way if I don't like it, there'll still be time to try again."

"Girl, you're crazy. But do your thing. Fill me in later, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun on your honeymoon!"

She ran to the store, picked up some fabric—when she got back, Adrien still wasn't home. He'd been gone all day—and got to work on bringing her design to life. She draped the fabric over her mannequin, marked and pinned where needed, then darted to her sewing machine. The smooth fabric slid beneath her fingers as she guided it under the needle. Her tongue poked out as she focused, needing everything to be perfect.

"Psst," a voice whispered in the room.

She jerked upright, thinking Adrien had finally come back from wherever he was, and turned off the machine. Spinning around with a smile, she found her room empty.

Her brows furrowed.

Something fell from one of the higher windows.

Marinette jumped back, grabbed her parasol, and wielded it like a bat. She must've forgotten to lock the window the last time she came through it as Ladybug.

Chat Noir stood from his crouched position, hands in the air. "Relax, Princess. It's just me." He chuckled softly at her fight stance.

She breathed out in relief and dropped the impromptu weapon.

Stepping to her side, he poked at the cloth sticking out of the sewing machine. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making a dress." Thinking about having a nice dinner with Adrien, even if it included his dad, made warmth blossom in her cheeks.

"Oh? What for? Another boyfriend already?" He picked up her design book and looked at the image she'd drawn there.

"No." She grabbed the book from him. "I'm having dinner with Adrien and his father in a week."

He eyed her as she hugged the book to her chest. "You don't have to be embarrassed. The design is great. And you will look pawsitively purrfect."

"I hope so."

"How could you not? You're beautiful, no matter what you're wearing."

She gave him a sidelong look and laughed. "You're funny. But thank you." Putting the book down, she asked, "Did you come here to see how I'm doing after the akuma attack?"

He leaned against her desk. "Yes."

"I'm okay, but you had me worried for a bit there. I thought..." She glanced away and crossed her arms. "I thought that maybe we weren't really friends after all."

He was suddenly before her, bending slightly to look her in the eyes. "We are friends, my only friend as a matter of fact. I just thought Ladybug would've gotten there right away. But then she didn't. And I couldn't let you fall under his spell."

As he stared at her, a weird feeling coiled low in her belly and her heart beat faster.

"Thank you," she breathed out, then strengthened her voice. "I realize it wasn't easy for you to take the fall like that, especially with what happened between you and Nathaniel—"

"Do not bring that up," he groaned.

"—and I appreciate it."

He leaned closer to her. "I would do it again for you."

"You'd kiss Nathaniel again for me?" she asked, smiling.

"On national TV."

He was so incredibly close to her, the air warmed between them. But then he pulled back and moved toward the window, leaving her slightly shaken.

Before he got too far, she said his name.

He stopped.

"I could use some help with the dress...if you don't mind staying longer."

Turning to her, his green eyes were surprisingly shy, even vulnerable. "I don't think I'll be much help."

"Just hold this for me so I can cut it." She grabbed a swath of fabric marked with dotted lines and put it in his hands. "You can hold still, correct?"

He froze in place better than a street artist imitating a statue.

A corner of his mouth lifted as she suppressed a laugh.

They worked together for several hours. He was quiet, respectful of her need to focus. The only time he cracked a joke was when she made a mistake and had to unravel a section of the garment. She'd been about to wad up the fabric and throw the whole thing out, but, instead, she had to wipe tears of laughter away. He'd hand her tools and fetch the correct colored thread and even model certain pieces of the dress. They made an excellent team.

And she made sure to tell him that.

A light pink dusted his cheeks below the black mask. "I just followed your lead."

"No, you anticipated my needs. You bolstered me." She held the completed dress in her arms. "Thank you."

He shifted on his feet. "I had fun. Maybe we can do it again sometime?"

"Yeah. And..if you ever need to talk, about anything, I'm all ears."

She desperately wanted him to confide in her about why he switched sides and what Hawk Moth had over him, but she realized she couldn't push it. He seemed to need a friend more than anything right now. And she would be that person for him. Besides, she preferred this path over trying to take his Miraculous. Though, that was still on the table.

Staring at her, he finally nodded. "Thank you."

He turned to leave, and she said, "Wait. Don't you want to see the finished project?"

"I will. I mean, yeah, I do."

"Okay. Close your eyes."

She darted behind the screen and checked to make sure he wasn't peeking.

He wasn't.

After throwing off her clothes and slipping into the long-sleeved black dress, she stepped out and said, "Ta da!"

He took her in.

"Look what we did!" She twirled and the skirt flared out. "It's perfect."

He didn't say a word.

She stopped and looked at him. "You don't like it?" She turned and inspected herself in the standing mirror to see what was wrong with the dress.

"No, it's just. You're just." He breathed out. "Amazing."

Cautiously glancing over her shoulder at him, she asked, "Really?"

He nodded, and she couldn't stop the blush from rising to her face.

"Thank you." Her gaze fell to her feet, and when she looked up again, he was gone.

She exhaled and sat on her chaise lounge, fanning herself. When had Chat ever made her feel so...weak?

"Tikki?"

The red kwami flew out of her drawer. "Yes?"

"I think I have a problem."

"Why? He trusts you and might even confide in you. You're one step closer to stopping Hawk Moth."

"I know, but, Tikki." She fell back on the cushions. "I think I like him."

"Really?" The kwami hovered over her.

"I used to think he was cocky and just a giant flirt. But, he keeps showing me that he's so much more." She groaned. "I can't be attracted to two guys at once."

Tikki nodded. "That is a problem."

AN - Yes. Yes, I will play up sexy marichat. Don't judge me. :P

You might've noticed I didn't get out another chapter this week. My little one has been sick. She's actually home from school today too, which is why I posted this early.

Thank you for all the comments again! They make me smile and laugh and even wiggle in joy. This has been the most enjoyable fic to write because of you all.

Also, welcome new readers! Thanks for favoriting and/or following. And, if you can't for whatever reason, that's cool. Thanks for reading!

Guess what? I'm going to visit my sister in May! I'm so excited. We'll get to do editing in person, which is always a blast. The wine involved adds to the hilarity of my flubs, of course.

Update: edited