He Saved Me

Chapter Four

As soon as Marinette arrived in her room, she detransformed and toppled on her bed with a grunt. She couldn't even move herself because of the pain.

"Marinette, is there anything I can do for you?" Tikki asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Tikki. I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow", Marinette tried reassuring her through the pain, even though she knew it was going to be worse tomorrow.

Tikki hid when a tap on Marinette's trap door was heard. Marinette didn't even bother to move, she simply lifted her arm as best she could and gestured for Chat Noir to come in.

He received her message and gently came in through the door. He was about to make a joke when he noticed something was wrong. "Marinette?" He asked worriedly, sitting himself down next to her. "Marinette, what did she do to you?"

Marinette shifted to a more comfortable position. "Same thing she did to you."

Chat Noir gasped, both hands running through his hair. "You mean...she..". Marinette nodded. Chat Noir covered his face with both of his hands and let out a sigh. "I should've been there. I should've stopped her. It was my job to protect you and keep you safe, and here you are lying in pain."

"It wasn't your fault-"

"But it was. You need a better protecter than me, one who can actually protect you without fail."

"Chat", Marinette breathed, sleepily. "I trust you."

"How can you trust me, anymore? I failed you", Chat removed his hands from his face.

"You didn't fail me", Marinette grabbed one of Chat Noir's hands and held it in hers. "Besides, I provoked her. It's my fault."

"Don't say that", Chat Noir shook his head. "For now, you just need to heal. Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere."

Chat Noir sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "How can I help? Please, let me help you."

"That's the thing, I have no idea. I don't even know the damage that was done."

"I don't want to know", Chat Noir turned his head away from her. He couldn't even stand to look at her while she was in pain. It broke him to know that he could've stopped it, but didn't.

"Chat, I don't want you to think that all of this is your fault. I don't want you thinking you can't protect me or that you're not good enough to protect me because that's not true at all. I'd only ever want you to be the one to protect me from supervillains", Marinette reassured him, hoping that he'd turn around to face her again. She meant most of the things she said, except for the last part. If Adrien was a superhero, she'd definitely want to be saved and protected by him.

Chat Noir slightly turned his head back. "Are you sure?"

"Pawsitive", Marinette winked.

Chat Noir let out a small laugh, which seemed to lighten the mood. "Marinette, I promise I'm going to come over every day to check up on you, if you'd like me to."

Marinette nodded. "Of course, kitty."

"Is there anything I can do for you? After all, I'm pretty much your servant, now."

Marinette thought for a moment. "Would you mind telling my parents about this?"

"Would they get mad at me at all?" Chat Noir worried. 

"Why would they get mad at you? It's not like you're the one that threw me."

"I know, I know. But what if they get mad at me because I'm the superhero and didn't stop it?"

"Chat Noir", Marinette said calmly.

"Yes, princess?" Chat Noir asked innocently.

"Go!" Marinette demanded, letting out a laugh. "You'll be fine, don't worry about it."

"Okay, okay", Chat Noir climbed down the ladder and disappeared under her door.

----------------------------------------

Marinette's parents decided it was best for them to contact a doctor before making any other decisions. The doctor said it was best that she just stays in bed and tries not to move as much as possible. She'll have occasional doctor appointments to check up on her progress. In the meantime, her parents allowed Chat Noir to take care of her while they were busy in the bakery.

"Will you just let me get it myself?" Marinette pleaded as she reached for her phone that was at the edge of her bed. Chat Noir placed his hand on her front shoulder and pushed her back gently. He was sitting on the other side of her, his arms folded and his head shaking.

"No, I can't allow you to move. You have to ask nicely for your phone, and then I'll give it to you", Chat Noir smiled.

Marinette sighed. "Can I PLEASE have my phone?"

Chat Noir hummed, tapping his chin. "I'm FELINE generous today so", he joked, grabbing her phone and handing it out to her. "Here ya go, princess."

Marinette grabbed the phone from him. "I have a real name, too, you know?"

Chat Noir leaned his head against the wall, tilting it to make eye contact with Marinette. "Where's the fun in that?"

Marinette grunted, obviously annoyed by Chat Noir. She just began texting Alya on her phone.

"You know, you're incredibly easy to annoy. You remind me of someone", Chat Noir broke eye contact with Marinette, his goofy smile beginning to fade.

Marinette glanced up at Chat Noir and realized she knew who he was talking about. "Chat Noir?"

"Yeah? Is something wrong?" Chat Noir broke out of his thoughts and jumped up at the sound of his name.

"Are you still in love with Ladybug?" Marinette asked hesitantly. She didn't know what his answer was going to be, but she was honestly hoping it'd be a no.

Chat Noir sighed, thinking for a moment. "I don't know. I'm not supposed to be in love with her, you know? But, I can't help it. I've never met anyone as incredible, smart, and funny as her. Being with her is like your dream home but with a person that you want to be around with all the time. She's so special and I'm so afraid of losing her just because I can't get over her. I just know that I'm the luckiest guy in the world, just for getting to fight alongside with her. I don't want to lose that."

Marinette froze. She couldn't seem to speak or to let the words fall out. In fact, she had no words. All of those times that he had joked around with her, annoyed her, etc., were all because he was so in love with her. She asked him to do something that he may never be able to do. If he was never able to do that, then he would be risking his miraculous.

"Anyways, I'm glad I got that off my chest", Chat Noir stood up from her bed. "I have to go, it's getting late. Call me if you need anything." And with that, he was out of her room.

Tikki flew out of her hiding spot. "Wow, so what do you think you're going to do if he can't stop being in love with you?"

Marinette thought for a moment, hesitant to her next words. "The only way to get him to stop being in love with Ladybug... is to get him to fall in love with me."