Treehouse

Friends

Patrol had just ended, and for what felt like the millionth time that week, Marinette burst into tears while laying on her bed. She felt so alone, so broken, as if nothing and nobody could heal this burning pain in her heart. Not even the kwamis, who loved her so much, could fill the gap. "I can't do this anymore, Tikki," she whimpered through shaky breaths.
Tikki knew the anguish her holder felt were ay beyond the comfort of words, nor anything she or the other kwamis could give. After all, it's been a big cycle of patrol and cooping up in her room for Marinette - that and the days where she's supposed to be at school. She looked at her sadly, sitting on the cat plush's head. "I'm really sorry Marinette, but you know we can't just vie up on everything. Is there anything... we can do to help?"
The girl shook her head, letting the tears stream down her cheeks, staining her pillow with puddles of liquid. "No," she whispered, sitting up and wrapping herself up in a blanket. She walked out onto the balcony and looked out at the bustling city. Her mind was blank for awhile, and then a thought flashed through her mind. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the railing.
The kwami followed Marinette up until the sunroof only, she knew she needed the space. She completely disappeared back into the room though, when, from a distance, she could see the city's black cat vigilante. Soon enough, there was thud on the roof behind Marinette's balcony, followed with a clear of a throat. "Feline alright, purr-incess?"
She jumped at the familiar voice, gasping as she spun around immediately, her eyes bloodshot. She quickly wiped her tears with the blanket and pressed her lips together in a tight line. "Yeah, no, I'm fine," she muttered, looking at the ground. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be... I don't know, doing something heroic?"
"I think it's pretty heroic to come check on a damsel in distress," he replied and hopped onto the nearest railing, perching on it like a cat. He took her lie earlier as a sign of not wishing to talk about her situation, so he instead looked out to the sky. "It's a nice night tonight, isn't it?"
She looked at him a bit annoyed at first, but then sighed as she realized he only had good intentions, and it wasn't fair for her to get upset at him. "I guess," she shrugged, wrapping the blanket around herself tighter. "And for your information, I'm not in distress. I'm just... I just finished chopping onions. For dinner."
"Oh, I see." He looked at her with a hint of skepticism, a small smirk on his lips. "You must be having french onion soup for dinner, then?" He giggled.
She took a deep breath and glanced at him, her eyes meeting his for a fraction of a second before she turned away again. "I'm not in the mood for puns, or jokes. I'm sorry. If you're looking for an outlet of your humor, go... I dunno, talk to yourself in the mirror or something." she said, burying her face in her arms.
He opened his mouth to speak, before looking away, ears drooping. "That's not it at all... I just thought I could cheer you up," he said, softly, picking at the paint on the railing. "You know we're... fur-riends, right? You can totally rely on me."
She paused and bit down on her lower lip, her eyes closing tighter. She felt as if something inside her was squeezing her, and she wanted to tell him so badly, she needed to tell him, but she couldn't. She swallowed the urge and responded a little bit coldly, "how are we friends when I don't even know who you really are? When you don't know who I really am?"
He looked at her bewildered, blinking. "Um- I mean-" he scratched his cheek, "I've... saved you a couple times, you have I, how's that not proof we're friends?" He shrugged.
"That's your responsibility as a superhero, isn't it? We- you've saved Chloe Bourgeois a number of times, and that doesn't necessarily mean you're friends with her. Or, I don't know, how about that one guy that you got jealous of, the one that had the huge crush on Ladybug? Saving someone doesn't make them your friend," she said, looking out over the rest of Paris, her eyes fixed on the sunset.
He winced, that one stung. He sat on the railing, a knee brought up to his chest where he rested his chin on. "Yeah, you're right. But what about that one time I took you out on this nice roof when we were both feeling blue? That's not my responsibility as a hero, right?"
She paused, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. She hated that he looked so innocent, so sweet, and she wasn't allowed anything, not to tell him anything, not to be anything with him, it was all too much pressure. She wanted to give up her earrings, if she was being honest, but that would hurt him too. "I guess not," she sighed, leaning her cheek on her arm. "I'm sorry for being so cold. I have... a number of personal problems, I guess. I can't explain them or it might just end up hurting someone. Or a lot of people. Or myself."
"They sound heavy, huh?" He looked at her with a small frown, swinging his other leg while he gently played with the leaves of her plants. "Someone I know seems to be going through a lot as well... and it's a little painful she's pushing me away because of it." He sighed. "Um, not to overstep anything but you know it wouldn't hurt to rely on others, right? You're ending up hurting yourself and those close to you if you keep at this rate, you know."
She laughed dryly, and shook her head. "How are you supposed to know exactly who you can tell and what you can tell them? Sure, there may be people who are trustworthy, but maybe they've been told lots of secrets for that reason, and yours may just be big enough to push them over the edge and spill it. Or maybe they claim to be trustworthy and then, bam, right when you think you're safe, you're not!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air, and then groaning and falling back on her chair, hugging her knees to her chest.
He narrowed his eyes at her, completely finding her outburst out of character, but also extremely wrong. With a huff, he stood up on his feet and he held his hands out to her. "Okay, then if you're really adamant about not telling anyone, then there should also be days where you don't have to worry about it yourself. I know a nice getaway place?"
She looked at him confusedly and pressed her lips together, wondering if she was able to trust him. She then chewed at it and then sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, okay, show me your getaway place... thank you," she muttered the last part, still looking up at him.
"Alright, come," he smiled sheepishly and he pulled her by the ends of her blanket, carrying her bridal style. Taking his baton, he leapt off her balcony, bringing her somewhere on the outskirts of the city, the bright of the night softly dimming as they approached an elevated area. They reached an empty area, a few abandoned buildings, as well as a tree that seemingly grew out of the cement. It was fairly large, able to handle a small house on its own. He brought her down the flooring right outside. "Wait here, alright?" He grinned, disappearing somewhere inside.
She sat on the cement right outside, looking around at her surroundings. Mostly at the tree, though. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and how could something that grand have grown out of the cement? How could it have pushed through when all of life depended on a tiny crack in the cement? She didn't know, but waited patiently for the cat, closing her eyes and listening to the song played by the crickets.
It wasn't long before the soft buzzing of fairy lights hummed throughout the place, accompanying the humming of the crickets. Chat comes out at the balcony at the top, hands cupped at the sides of his mouth. "Marinette!! Come!!!"
She opened her eyes and looked at the sight before her, blinking rapidly as she saw how magical it looked all lit up. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her lips and she nodded, standing up slowly and making her way up to the ladder at the base of the tree. She climbed up, and reached the entrance, a small wooden door that looked like it had been carved from the tree itself. She opened it and climbed inside, her eyes darting around the small house to see the beautiful lights, as well as a few old, old posters that looked like theyd been ruined from years of being rained on and stormed on, a matted old rug, and an old sleeping bag. She scrunched her nose up at the ruined belongings but decided not to focus on them and went onto the balcony next to Chat. "It's... beautiful," she said softly.
"I know, right?" He smiled, brushing aside a few overgrown branches that curtained the door to the balcony, making way for her. "The view from outside's much more beautiful. Come?"
She looked out over the balcony and took a deep breath. "Yeah, okay," she said, holding out her hand for him to guide her, her eyes meeting his and her lips curling up once again.
He gently took her hand in his. "Alright, watch your step. Few of the boards are rotten," he said, helping her make her way past the threshold, letting her walk ahead of him as he fixed the blanket that draped over her shoulders. Even though he's already been in this place quite a couple of times, it never failed ot amaze him how beautiful the city looked from here. Apart from the skyline, there was the array of stars, strategically placed, provided by the lights from the buildings. It was a shame the stars couldn't be seen because of the light pollution, but it was beautiful nonetheless. A soft breeze blew, and he smiled, looking at the blunette next to him. "So?"
Her eyes widened as she looked out over the city from where she stood. Her breath caught in her throat and she looked at him. "How did you even find this place?" she whispered, unconsciously squeezing his hand tightly.
"Eh," he shrugged, turning back to the city. "Went out on a tantrum once, sprinted far from the city, found this place." He chuckled drily. "It's nice getting lost and just wandering around sometimes. Helps you find better things than what you were originally looking for."
She nodded, turning back to the sky, and then suddenly she didn't feel so weighed down with things. That was, until she realized she didn't feel weighed down. She grimaced, and leaned her head on his arm. "I want to get lost, and I don't want to remember anymore," she whispered, shaking her head. "Sometimes, I wonder if it was better that... that I never took on this burden in the first place."
He pressed his lips to a tight line, letting a momentary silence fall between them. The soft buzz of the lights, the hums of the crickets, the faroff sounds of cars from the city, it helped fill the silence. Then he spoke up. "It's alright. You can get lost - for hours, for days-" he looked at her and grinned. "I'll always come looking for you. If you want. That's what friends are for, right?"
Her bluebell eyes sparkled with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. A rush of emotion ran through her, and she immediately pulled him in for a hug, burying her face into his leatherclad shoulder. She let out quiet sobs, and nodded. "Yes... thank you," she muttered through tears, finally feeling as though she'd found some fraction of a home.
He gasped, a nice surprise, before he hugged her back, just as tightly. "You know I'd always be here fur you," he softly chuckled, stroking her hair and not saying anymore, just letting her feel his company.
She laughed dryly, continuing to hug him. "I know, mon chaton," she whispered, "I know..." she relaxed a little, her sobs turning to light gasps and heaves of her chest every little while. She felt his heart beating against her own and sighed, waves of comfort crashing over her.
He stayed silent for a bit, before finally feeling the muscles in his calf cramp up a bit with the whole standing up. "Say, you don't mind if I detransform somewhere behind to steal some of my kwami's cheese? I found perfectly fine crackers in the drawers inside and figured you'd want to snack some." He looked at her, pulling away a little. "Since I took you away from your onion soup." He giggled.
She bit her lip softly and then smiled, nodding. "Yeah, that's fine," she laughed a little and turned back to the balcony, closing her eyes.
"Alright, I'll be a second," he said, and disappeared inside the house. Just as he said, it barely took him a second (nevermind the sounds of protest overheard from his kwami), and comes back with a wheel of camembert, as well as the crackers he found earlier. "Here you are," he said, returning beside her.
She smiled a little and took a cracker, coating it with cheese before taking a bite. "It's delicious," she said softly and tried to hide the fact that she could already see Plagg's disapprovement, she couldn't let on that she knew about his kwami, after all. "So... what's a kwami?" she asked, pretending to be clueless. At least this way they could talk a little more freely.
"Oh, um," he spoke, somehow taken aback - he'd forgotten not everyone knew about their existence. He spread cheese over a cracker and handed one to her. "Well.. they're like..... a bug..? Mouse? Flying creature?" He pinched his index and thumb in the air, leaving ample space for a kwami's height. "They're this small. And they're gods."
She smiled watching him struggle to explain them, and then giggled. "I'm kidding, I was Multimouse, remember?" she scrunched up her nose and leaned forward, flicking his forehead. "But that's a beautiful explanation. I thought my kwami was a 'bugmouse' when I first saw it too," she laughed.
"Well, you just made my explanation into a single creature, so there's not much difference," he laughed, spreading cheese on his own cracker too. "But wow, how'd it feel? Being Multimouse? And... hiding in a kwami's mouth?" He giggled.
She blinked and laughed a little. "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you I've been through worse, would you?" she snickered, shaking her head. Oh, how she wished she could just tell him who she was then and there, but it was for his own safety he didn't know, of course. She had to keep him safe, if nobody else.
"Unless you've been swallowed by a miraculous hungry creature, I don't think there'd be anything worse," he laughed and took a bite, and then raised an eyebrow looking at her challengingly. "But lay it out, who knows. What's worse than being inside Longg's mouth?"
She bit her lip and laughed a little, shaking her head. She wanted to top it, but sadly, all of it had happened as Ladybug. "Well, I'm sorry, that's classified information, but I can tell you it was most definitely worse than being inside Longg's mouth," she giggled.
He looked at her skeptically, before shrugging. "Then my disgust and wonder will be kept classified as well," he laughed and leaned on the wall, looking up. His mouth gaped a little, and he pointed at a branch. "Look, there's a nest."
She looked up at the branch and smiled. "Mhm, just don't give into your catlike intuition and try killing them, okay?" she teased, chuckling to herself.
"I wasn't planning on it, but now I might. The eggs might make for a good breakfast," he said smugly, chuckling a little.
She gasped and put her hand to her chest in shock. "You will not touch the poor baby birdie's nest, okay?? Those are my babies now," she pouted, crossing her arms.
"Oh, really now?" He looked at her tauntingly, beginning to get back up on his feet. He dusted himself free from the cracker bits, climbing up halfway the trunk. "How're you gonna stop me though?" He looked back at her, climbing up still.
She scrambled to her feet and glared at him. "Chat Noir, get your tail back here this instant," she said, her eyes narrowed. "If you hurt those birds, I'll- I'll- um- I'll leave this place and go back to being all sad on my own balcony, and you'll be banned."
"Hey, if you can't stop me from climbing this tree, you can't stop me from coming to your balcony. As Chat, or as someone else," he winked, giggling as he reached the branch, perching up the thick end that attached to the tree.
She pressed her lips together in a tight line. "Do I have to call Ladybug?" she taunted, raising an eyebrow, her hands on her hips.
His mouth gaped a little bit, and he lowered his gaze back to the nest. "No, there's- there's no need. I'm only going to.." he reached his hand out to the nest, awkwardly petting the eggs. He looked down to her. "Pet them? See? Their mother's not around so I'm only brooding in place of it," he giggled nervously.
She looked at him shocked and blinked a few times. "You.... you're petting the eggs?' she tilted her head and cleared her throat. "Alright then. Good luck with that, I hear mama birds have reeeally good instincts," she snickered, and suddenly there was a loud squawk and feathers flapping. "CHAT WATCH OUT!!" Mari called, seeing the bird diving for him.
He suddenly flinched back, looking up and seeing the bird right in front of his face. "NO! WAIT-!" He jerked back onto the trunk, but the material of his suit barely provided hold and he slipped, falling back onto the balcony, the wood nearly giving way. He yelped, turning onto his knees and covering his head, the bird still attacking him. "I'msorryforeverythingpleaseIpromiseI'llneverpeteggsagain!!!"
She watched the whole scene in horror, covering her mouth with her hand. She looked around and grabbed an old broom and started trying to swat the bird away, finally getting her away from the poor (and stupid) cat. She sighed in relief when the mama bird went back to her nest. "Have you learned your lesson??" she asked.
He looked up to her, frowning with a glare. "What, I had good intentions! As if I would actually steal her eggs. We have... we have A-grade eggs at home, you know!" He huffed, sitting up and groaning a little bit, rubbing his backside. It took the brunt of the fall after all.
She couldn't help but laugh a little, shaking her head. "You're a big old baby," she sighed, kneeling next to him. "You know that, right?" she cocked an eyebrow, ruffling his hair.
He moved his head, pretending that hair ruffle didn't do ticklish things to him at all, a soft giggle escaping him. "Yeah, yeah. No big old baby could look as good as I do though, so I'll gladly take it," he flexed his biceps, kissing it.
She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand back, looking at him with a loving gaze. "Mmmhm," she laughed a little, sitting criss cross, and then yawned, looking at her watch. "Whoa, it's almost midnight," she said softly. "Can you take me home, please?" she asked.
His brows arched, surprised himself. And then he pretended to act all hesitant. "I don't know... you said the wrong magic word." He crossed his arms and leaned closer to her. "Say it."
She blinked and looked at him, clenching her jaw. No. He was not about to do this to her as Marinette too. No. Way. "Please," she repeated, looking at him dead set. She was NOT making a cat pun.
His ears drooped and he let of his arms, only to clasp both his hands together in a pleading look. And he flashed his best baby doll eyes too. "Pretty pur-leaseee?"
She slapped her hands to her eyes, shaking her head rapidly. "No, no, no, no, I'm not saying it," she whined. "I'm not looking either!"
He sighed heavily and turned his back to her, taking his baton. "Guess I'm leaiving alone then. I'm sure the bench over there inside can make for a good bed," he pointed inside before climbing up the railing.
She gasped. This place may have been decent, but there was no way she was sleeping, not with all the bugs that probably slept there. Not including herself of course. "Fine, fine, fine!!" she said, grabbing his arm. "Can you pur-lease take me home?" she asked, wincing at her own words.
He turned around and looked at her, eyes practically glinting with amusement. "Alright, alright, you've earned it." He giggled and turned his back to her, crouching before her. Hop on."
She blinked and then sighed, hopping on his back and wrapping her arms and legs around him. "Drop me and I'll kill you," she said, leaning her cheek on his back.
His brows arched and he pouted, trying to look at her over his shoulder. "Does this look like the face of a killer? No, it doesn't. Just hold tight, okay?" He said, giving her head a quick pat before extending his baton, propelling them off the ground. "Even if you do fall, I'll catch you before you hit the ground!"
She squeezed her legs tight around him and let out a little gasp, watching the almost empty sidewalks, except for a few people that were looking at them shocked. She saw them and pressed her lips together in a tight line. "You think people will think something's up?" she asked him.
He hummed in thought, looking down to the people on the streets. "I doubt that. I save people left and right, it's part of the job description," he laughed, not really knowing how much the situation would escalate later on. They got to her balcony and he carefully brought her down. "Alright, I believe this is your stop!"
She thought of it, chewing her lip until they got to her balcony. She smiled a little and hopped off, looking at him with a smile. "Thanks for everything, kitty. I really appreciate you," she said softly, crossing her arms behind her back and leaning closer, pecking his cheek.
He blinked, a light pink coating his cheeks. He smiled. "And I you, purrincess. Don't hesitate to visit the treehouse whenever you want to, I don't really visit it often so you wouldn't intrude on anyone." He stepped back onto the railing. "Just no more crying and pushing everyone away, okay? I'll see you around!!"
She nodded, taking a deep breath, finally feeling as though she had a bit of confidence. "Alright," she said softly. "See you around!" she called, waving as he jumped away. She smiled a little and went back inside, laughing as she fell back on her chaise. "I think I found something, Tikki. A little light to get out of this darkness."