Seven Seconds

Just Close Your Eyes

And for a moment, neither of them moved. Then Chat Noir opened his hand, letting the disintegrated remains of the akuma fall to the floor. "Are you okay, Marinette?" he asked desperately.

She could only look at him, her gaze moving between his eyes and his hand.

"Marinette?" he tried again, kneeling down in front of her. His heart broke seeing her tear stained face.

After a few more seconds of silence, she finally spoke. "How... how did you know that would work?"

Chat Noir shrugged. "I didn't," he whispered.

Marinette blinked at him. "You shouldn't have done that. You could have been akumatized."

"I had to protect you."

Exhausted by all the crying, she didn't have the strength to argue back. So she just nodded her head.

"It's okay," he continued. "You're safe now, and I won't let anything happen to you."

Marinette nodded again, overcome with gratitude. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for saving me."

Reaching over, he wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'll always be there if you need me."

The faintest bit of a smile crossed her lips. Then she surprised herself by moving forward and hugging him. He was equally surprised, but very happy to hug her back.

And she just held onto him. Unable to hold it in, the tears started up again. So she cried into his chest. She knew that she should stop, but she couldn't let go. It was too nice holding onto him.

He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he held on tighter once he realized that she was crying.

They stayed there until the ring on Chat Noir's hand began beeping. Marinette finally pulled back and wiped her eyes. "You have to go," she said, obviously disappointed.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "I'm not going to leave you here alone. You're still upset. Shadow Moth might try to akumatize you again."

She looked down. That thought hadn't even occurred to her. Chat Noir was right; she was still in danger. And if she got akumatized, Shadow Moth would get her earrings and the Miracle Box. Then it would be game over.

The fear in her mind must have shown on her face because Chat Noir kept speaking. "I'm not going to leave you," he repeated. "I'll stay here as long as you need me to."

"But... you're running out of time. You're going to detransform into a regular person soon."

He nodded. "You're right, I will. But I'll recharge so I can transform again."

Thinking of no other possibility, Marinette agreed. "Okay, you stay here and detransform. I'll be inside my room until you're ready."

"No, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

She tilted her head. "Then what are we going to do?"

A pause. "Just... close your eyes."

That was unexpected. "You trust me enough not to look?" Marinette asked quietly.

"Yes," he replied, even more quietly.

And something happened. A moment passed between them. A moment of complete understanding and trust.

Marinette nodded. "Okay."

"Okay. Uh, is it alright if we go inside? You know, to make sure no one sees me?"

"Yeah, that... that should be fine."

His ring beeped again as he pulled her up to her feet. Then she moved over to the hatch and kneeled down.