A Few Notes

Foxes and Miracle Boxes

It was a strange thing, to have your superhero identity revealed to your partner. Marinette, as with almost all things, was completely conflicted. She felt a rising joy one moment and then was turned fearful the next. Chat Noir knew who she was.

Chat Noir knew who she was.

The uplift of one weight had added another. If Chat were to ever be possessed in battle again, he could easily spill this secret, letting Hawkmoth know just who to stalk, to target, to prey upon. She had encountered some of the hardest battles of her life while still wearing the mask... how could she ever withstand such forces without it? Her enemies would come gunning for her relentlessly; Marinette was chilled by the thought.

She had made it back to Francois-Dupont alone, as Chat had little time left on his transformation. A few cookies had Tikki ready to go.

Marinette walked casually through the front doors, attempting to be inconspicuous. To her luck, everyone seemed to be gathered in the hall before the locker rooms, even Principal Damocles. She melted into the crowd, wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Luka, calm down!" Ms. Bustier exclaimed, attempting to soothe the irate boy, "You'll become akumatized again!"

He ignored her, pointing a shaking finger at Lila, who stood with them at the center of the crowd.

"It was you. You stole my sister's phone!"

The students gasped.

Lila backed away, pleading with her peers. "He doesn't have any proof. How could you all believe him? He's an outsider!"

"Who needs proof when you have three witnesses?" Luka growled in reply, gesturing to his sister and her friend. "Juleka, Rose, and I all saw you trying to sneak her phone back into the lockers. Stop lying, you've been caught!" He turned to the crowd. "See how easily she lies straight to your faces? Makes me wonder what else she's lied about."

Marinette laughed outright, amazed at the sight of so many of her peers nodding along. It seemed everyone was finally waking up.

Principal Damocles strode forward, his face grave and decisive. He clamped a large hand on Lila's shoulder.

"I'll see you in my office."

Lila burst into a round of crocodile tears as she was led down the hallway.

As the surrounding teachers began telling the students to disperse and return to class, Marinette weaved through the gathering and towards the sight of her classmates. Luka still appeared distressed, seeming to be searching for someone. His expression cleared somewhat when he spotted her.

"Marinette!" the boy called, bounding toward her. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

She gave him a soft smile. "Here I am."

Luka's eyes remained downcast as he said, "I am so, so sorry. I have no idea why I believed some girl over you."

Marinette shook her head and reached for his hand. "You were caught up in the moment and the stress carried over. Besides, I haven't been very fair to you either. You deserve a concrete answer about how I feel, but even now I just can't tell you yet. So I forgive you, and I'm sorry too."

"It's okay! I know you're stressed out about a lot of things-"

"But I do need to make a decision sometime," Marinette sighed. "I just don't want to hurt anyone. Also, Luka?"

"...Yes?"

"You need to talk about yourself more often. I need to know how you feel, too. Share, vent, complain... let's find a balance, alright?"

Finally smiling again, Luka nodded.

When Marinette and her classmates all filed back into Ms. Bustier's classroom, Adrien had also appeared. He looked at her with the largest, uncanny grin Marinette had ever seen. She had no idea why he was so happy but was glad nonetheless.

Hours passed until nightfall, when a certain cat began to tap at her bedroom window. Marinette squeaked, allowing him in through her trap door despite her better judgement.

"Chat," she whispered, her heart speeding up with the knowledge of all her now-spilled secrets, "Don't you have a home?"

"Well, sure," he answered quietly, "I have a house." Then Chat smirked, his eyes brightening. "But I like yours better, M'lady."

Marinette colored instantly. There she was, totally unmasked, and he still had the nerve to be cheeky. "You're incorrigible, " she declared.

"You adore me."

She merely hummed in reply.

Chat started to fidget with his Miraculous ring, wishing he could yank it right off and show Marinette who he was. If only she would let him.

They both sat on Marinette's bed, silent for a moment. A few years of constant struggle and secrets stretched between them, like a hundred knotted cords, binding them together forever. Marinette gulped, realizing there still were a few secrets to tell.

"Have you ever seen the Miracle Box?" she finally asked.

"The one with all the Miraculous jewels in it?"

"Yeah, it's more of a... sphere now."

Chat furrowed his brow. "Huh?"
Marinette hopped from her bed and opened up her closet, rummaging around and throwing about bolts of unused fabric. Eventually, she came back out with her version of the Miracle Box.

"I'm the Guardian now," she announced with a sigh. Looking up, Marinette had to hold back a sudden laugh at the comical look on Chat Noir's face. He was completely flabbergasted.

"Wha- but Master Fu-"

Oh. Another secret, one she didn't mean to keep for so long. "He's gone, kitty. He gave the title to me and his memories are wiped." She started to choke up. "I haven't seen him in months."

Chat lept from the bed, taking Marinette's face in his hands. "All this, for that long?"

She looked into his eyes and nodded. Then, Marinette had to quickly move the Miracle Box to make way for a sudden hug. She snuggled into Chat Noir's shoulder and let the tension release.

"Okay," he murmured, "Okay. This is alright. We can share the burden together, can't we? I mean, we're partners."

Marinette softly pulled away, her mind running full speed into a tangent. "I don't know. Master Fu gave the Box to me and the title, and he trained me for all this time with the power-up potions and the ancient books and the rules but, if I'm the Guardian now that means... I get to make the rules."

Blinking slowly, Chat attempted to process her words in order.

"Chat Noir?"

"Hmm?" he mumbled, still preoccupied.

Marinette was resolute at last. "I want to know who you are."