Back to Back 2

Location

Chat Noir stayed at Marinette's house until morning.

What Felix had said was true; Gabriel didn't have a Miraculous anymore.  Therefore, he wasn't a threat. But even with that knowledge, Chat Noir stayed with her all night, needing to make sure that she was safe.

Once the sunlight started to light up Marinette's bedroom, he was awakened by the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Good morning, Kitty."

He opened his eyes and looked at her lying next to him. "Good morning, M'lady."

"How did you sleep?"

"Very well. Just like every other night when I'm with you."

Marinette smiled. "You're too sweet." She scooted closer to him and tucked her head under his chin as he wrapped his arms around her. An entire glorious minute passed before she spoke again. "I'm sorry, but I need to get up now and go help my parents."

He replied by holding onto her tighter.

A happy sigh left her lips as she lay there with him. "I'll see you later?"

"I can't wait."

"Me neither." She pulled back to look at him and paused for a moment, trying to think of how to ask a delicate question. "Are you... okay?"

Chat Noir already knew exactly what she meant. "Gabriel should be back in London by now, so I'm fine."

Fine. There was that word again. "Emilie's awake," she whispered, trying to reassure him. "He got what he wanted. There's absolutely no reason for him to come after me."

No response.

"He would have found out eventually," she continued.

"Yeah," he sighed, letting go and turning to look up at the hatch above them. "That's what Felix said."

"Well, he's right. It was only a matter of time. Just think about it this way, now we don't have to worry about it anymore. And everyone is happy. Gabriel is happy in London with Emilie, and we're happy right here in Paris."

It was amazing; no matter how bad he was feeling, no matter how terrifying things seemed, Marinette was always able to make him feel better. With a smile, he looked at her again. "Have I ever told you how wonderful you are?"

She scrunched up her face like she was deep in thought. "Hmm, not that I can recall," she teased.

"Well, let me remind you," he smirked before pulling her close again and planting light kisses along her neck.

Giggling, she let him continue for a few seconds. But when he started nipping gently at her skin, she couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, okay. I remember!" she laughed.

He stopped and smiled at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Kitty."

"Alright, but I'm always here if you need reminding again."

"Uh huh," she laughed. Then she reached over and playfully pushed his face away. "You have to leave now so I can get to work."

His cat ears drooped as he frowned.

"I'll see you later," Marinette continued. "And maybe by then I'll need some reminding."

Now with a great big smile, Chat Noir leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead before getting up. Then he left through the hatch and used his baton to propel himself across the city.

While he was traveling, a lot of thoughts raced through his mind.

Marinette was right, like usual. Gabriel got Emilie back, so there was no reason for him to still hold a grudge. Things were perfect the way they were; it would be incredibly stupid of him to try and get any sort of revenge on Ladybug, or the girl underneath the mask.