Work Text:
As you promised me that I was more than all the miles combined
You must have had yourself a change of heart like
Halfway through the drive
Because your voice trailed off exactly as you passed my exit sign
Kept on drivin' straight and left our future to the right
Bounding across the rooftops, Chat Noir ran towards the patrol meeting spot knowing full well he was running late. He could see the red woman tapping her foot impatiently from two blocks away. His boots hit the tiles with a clatter and he dropped into an apologetic bow as she turned to face him with a smile that didn't touch her eyes.
“You lost track of time, Cat-boy?”
“Sorry, it was hard to get away from my family.” The lie was easy but she knew better, his eyes drifted back towards a familiar balcony.
“Talk to her. Even if it hurts. Even if you cry,” Scarabella slapped Chat's back, “you won't be the first person to cry, but you'd be the most entitled to it.”
Chat's eyes focused through the dark on the silhouette of pigtails against fairy lights. If he didn't know better he'd think she was looking back at him.
Now I am stuck between my anger and the blame that I can't face
And memories are somethin' even smoking weed does not replace
And I am terrified of weather 'cause I see you when it rains
Doc told me to travel, but there's COVID on the planes
Scarabella lay on the rooftop with him watching the clouds drift past. Their heads touched gently and her loose hair blew gently into his face as their bodies splayed out in different directions.
“It's been a month, Kitty.”
“I know. I'm not ready.”
“She asks about you. She remembers you bringing her home, keeps saying she needs to pay you back for saving her.”
“But I didn't. I lost her.”
Scarabella sighed and passed over the bag of snacks, “she's not completely gone. She still remembers your favourites from the bakery. I'm not saying I think you'll be able to bring her back. I'm saying that loving the version of her we have now is better than acting like she's dead. She's still here.”
And I love Vermont, but it's the season of the sticks
And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed
And it's half my fault, but I just like to play the victim
I'll drink alcohol 'til my friends come home for Christmas
Walking in the front door felt vulnerable and weird. Chat Noir didn't use front doors and knock politely, he slunk around on rooftops and jumped through windows. The manners that belonged to Adrien didn't fit right in the leather, but he powered through.
Sabine greeted him with a smile, pulling him into her arms and covering his cheeks with kisses, babbling in Mandarin her gratitude that he brought Marinette back to them. Tom clapped him on the shoulder with tears in his eyes and nodded up the stairs. Trying to feel normal, Chat stood in the middle of the stairwell and extended his baton to carry him upwards.
There was a telltale thump on the other side of the door when he knocked. Marinette answered with a red mark blooming on her forearm, messy hair, and a sheepish grin.
“Kitty! Oh my gosh, it's been ages, come in, do you want a snack? I just made tea, would you like a cup?”
“I'd love that, Marinette. I wanted to check in on you and see how you're settling back into life.”
Marinette hummed as she brought the teapot over to the peninsula bench, “It feels like a lot of my friends are looking at me odd, like there's something missing but they don't know what and it's only small. A few people have it harder, like it's not just uncanny valley for them, like a lot of who I was is gone in an instant and they refuse to tell me what it was,” Marinette handed Chat a Chinese tea cup, pouring herself a Royal Albert cup, “I just wish I understood what is missing.”
“Xie xie. Scarabella said you have details that don't make sense?” Chat enquired, sipping his tea.
“I keep giving her snacks when she passes by on patrol, like I want to feed you both and I know what you both like. And the cookies. I keep giving her cookies and macarons, and putting some in my bag just in case,” she rubbed at her forehead, “and I'm more surprised by you using the door than by you thanking me in Mandarin.”
Chat laughed and scratched the back of his neck, “I didn't know if you'd be okay with me just landing on you balcony, I thought the door would be more polite.”
“You looked more nervous than that brunch date. But that's one of those memories that is just in a bubble, I have no idea what the context was! I was convinced we were dating for days before Alya told me that you were in love with Ladybug,” Marinette threw her head back and laughed, oblivious to Chat's heart doing backflips across from her.
“How silly,” Chat smiled softly.
And I'll dream each night of some version of you
That I might not have, but I did not lose
Now you're tire tracks and one pair of shoes
And I'm split in half, but that'll have to do
The stars twinkled overhead as Scarabella landed beside Chat on the Eiffel Tower deck. She settled beside him, legs hanging over the ledge, dangling and kicking gently in the freedom. Chat Noir held up his fist and she bumped it.
“Thanks for evacuating her.”
“Thanks for the cover. She sends her love,” Scarabella handed over the paper bag of snacks, “don't eat all Tikki's cookies tonight, she might not be so nice this time.”
“She gave me a 10cm growth spurt last time, my legs still hurt!” Chat and Scarabella laughed, “it's getting easier. You were right, she's still here.”
~
So I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad
That I could cancel out the darkness I inherited from dad
No, I am no longer funny, 'cause I miss the way you laugh
You once called me forever, now you still can't call me back
Face contorted in rage, she threw the yoyo directly at his face. Chat leapt out of the way and watched the weapon embed in the brick wall behind where he was.
“You missed, Bugaboo.”
“You don't get to call me that anymore, traitor!”
“Careful, Bug, that temper will get you a pretty butterfly.”
“Stop playing with your food, Chat Noir, get me the earrings,” chirped the voice in his comms.
“Yes father,” Chat pounced as Ladybug recoiled her yoyo, catching her around the waist and scratching at her face as she desperately tried to push him off.
And I love Vermont, but it's the season of the sticks
And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed
And it's half my fault, but I just like to play the victim
I'll drink alcohol 'til my friends come home for Christmas
Between photo sets Adrien leaned against a tree in the park, chugging his water and ignoring the angry green eyes looking up at him from his pocket. Silencing Plagg didn't stop him trying to plead for Adrien to go back to Ladybug.
“Well look what the cat dragged in,” Marinette chirped, shocking Adrien. He began to cough with a mouthful, spraying water everywhere.
“Radient, carefree, dreamy, Adrien eau de toilette!” Alya laughed, patting him on the back, “long time no see, Sunshine.”
“Oh my gosh sorry, I am so sorry. How are you?” Adrien took a smaller sip of his water, “any news of the outside world?”
Marinette smiled forlornly, “everyone in class misses you. We're having a picnic here next Saturday if you could convince your father to let you out.”
“I'll see if I can, I'd really love to.”
Adrien and Marinette locked eyes for a moment, and Adrien noted how tired and sad she looked all of a sudden. Then her eyes flicked behind him and she lit up, standing up straight and waving. Adrien got up from the ground and greeted Nino and Luka awkwardly.
“Bro! Homeschooling does not suit you! You look pale and exhausted!” Nino wrapped Adrien in a hug tight, trying to shove months of love into a single moment.
Adrien nodded, “the frail withdrawn waif look they're going for with the makeup isn't doing me any favours.”
As if on cue Natalie called an end to the break and called for an outfit change and makeup retouch.
Adrien looked back to his friends to see Luka wrap an arm around Marinette and kiss her head, he kept his eyes on Adrien, brows furrowed.
And I'll dream each night of some version of you
That I might not have, but I did not lose
Now you're tire tracks and one pair of shoes
And I'm split in half, but that'll have to do
As Chat Noir, he learned that Luka and Marinette were dating. It surprised him that it hurt she didn't tell him herself when he saw her or even in her emails.
Ladybug couldn't fight him and an akuma at the same time, so more and more team members started showing up to support her. Carapace and Rena would try to talk to him when they faced off, attempting to remind him of the good fight. Ryuko would hurl insults like she hadn't been sitting on his couch sketching his profile an hour ago while their parents were in a meeting planning this very akuma, not that she knew. Viperion kept silent, never indicating what loop he was on, Chat knew it was never just the one loop. Bunnyx appeared once, she didn't even fully leave her Burrow, just her arm sprouted from a blue hole to pat his head with a faint “stay here, Kitten, don't fight today”.
He kept an eye on patrols, night-vision enabling him to keep enough distance to keep him hidden in shadows. That was when he saw Viperion kiss Ladybug goodnight.
In the next fight he snarled as Viperion jumped in to face him, “careful snake, you wouldn't want me telling Marinette you're just a playboy like your dad, do you? Not happy with Pink, you need Red too?”
Luka faltered then steeled himself against Chat's baton blows, “I think Ladybug and Marinette are more upset about you following in your father's footsteps, Adrien.”
~
Oh, that'll have to do
My other half was you
I hope this pain's just passin' through
But I doubt it
Marinette reached her arm out to stroke her own face but it crumbled under her touch and she recoiled in horror. She frantically kicked away from the cloud of her own remains dispersing around her. The surface tension broke, splashing about her as she emerged from the water with gasps and a racing heart.
A shadow crossed her hiding spot, calling to her with an anguished sing-song voice, “Marinette!”
She curled in between the beams further, making herself as small as possible, mentally pleading with her heart to calm, certain he could hear it as clearly as it pounded in her ears. She watched the white figure search further away through an overlap in the beams.
And I love Vermont, but it's the season of the sticks
And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed
And it's half my fault, but I just like to play the victim
I'll drink alcohol 'til my friends come home for Christmas
The crunch as his bell crumpled under her fist was satisfying, watching the akumitisation melt away was absolutely blissful. But the way he said her name, “Marinette?” That broke her heart.
She wrapped herself around him and he knew. She wasn't his Marinette, not his Ladybug. The world was his and the destruction was his, and she would fix it. But she wasn't his. She wouldn't be his.
Marinette threw the eraser in the air in Adrien's room and watched the ladybugs go spilling through the Burrow to fix Chat Blanc's world. And Bunnyx closed the portal before she could check it had been fixed, “spoilers, Mini Bug.”
“Is he okay? Is he safe?” Marinette sat on the roof tears streaming over her mask, “tell me he's not alone there still!”
“You saved him, you fixed it,” Bunnyx rubbed her teenage friend's back, “technically it never happened. Go see your Kitten, one day you'll be able to know, but this just wasn't the right time.”
And I'll dream each night of some version of you
That I might not have, but I did not lose
Now you're tire tracks and one pair of shoes
And I'm split in half, but that'll have to do
Marinette sat on her rooftop wrapped in a light blanket, a sudoku book in hand trying to calm her racing heart. A flash of ice blue eyes in the corner of her vision caused her to jump, but when she looked it was just the soft sky-blue of her Forget-Me-Not pot. In the distance she saw a black blur, bouncing around. She raised a hand and slapped her railing twice to get his attention.
Chat Noir landed on her balcony a few moments later with a bow and a grin, “up late, princess?”
“Bad dream. I wouldn't mind company if you're feeling social,” Marinette gestured to a bowl of fruit salad, “I went overboard on the things you can taste aspect of the anxiety routine.”
Hours later rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon and Marinette stirred from where they had fallen asleep cuddled in her chair. They had started talking about akumas and heroes and Chat exaggerating things Marinette already knew but couldn't say.
She tried to brush his hair from his face, but the angle of her arm wrapped around him and pinned against the chair had sent her hand to sleep so instead she just whapped him in the forehead.
“Wakey-wakey, kitty. Time to go back to your owner, I'm not allowed to adopt you,” Marinette giggled as his face scrunched.
Reluctantly Chat Noir peeled himself from their snuggle pile, stretching himself out to his full height. He helped Marinette to her feet and wrapped her in a heartfelt hug.
“Have a good day, Marinette, I'll see you later,” with a salute he leapt from the balcony.
Marinette's heart swam with warm feelings and she waved at her partner as he bounded into the distance. One day she would know who he was under that mask, but for now this was good.
Have to do