The Situationship

Where there's a flame someone's bound to get burned

Chat Noir was bored and uncomfortable. Seeing Marinette with her friends and her late-night talks with Luka had been one thing, but witnessing her falling head over heels in love with another man was the most excruciating experience of his life.

It was obvious what was happening, and it had been for a while. The fact that he couldn't do anything to stop it plagued his mind morning and night — not that he had the ability to sleep.

The guy was an absolute dork. Out of all the words he'd use to describe Adrien Agreste, 'cool' wouldn't even come close. Sure, he was attractive and occasionally came out with a good pun, but Adrien was everything he wasn't, and he hated that. He despised that his Lady was falling for someone who was the complete opposite, which most likely meant she was falling out of love with him. Even when Adrien sent her texts late into the night, sharing memes about Mr. Darcy, Marinette seemed to be drawn to him even more. She had begun to hide the messages and keep Chat out of the loop. And it seemed the more Chat Noir whispered into Adrien's ear, the more the guy grew in confidence and, dare he say it, fun!

But something still didn't sit right. Although he had tried to respect Marinette's 'no stalking' rule, he couldn't help but spy on Adrien whenever he could. And what a result he had found.

Adrien seemed normal. Every time Chat Noir managed to tail him at work or during a quick visit to the guy's apartment, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The guy ran like clockwork. Wake up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, read Ladrien fanfiction (what a goon!), take an epically long shower — must be the model in him — get changed, and go to work. Adrien was even more boring in the evenings because he either spent his time with Marinette or was texting her.

That was until one day.

Marinette had gone out with a couple of her friends, Chat Noir telling her he'd catch up with her after 15 minutes because he had no choice. However, he'd used those 15 minutes to spy on Adrien. Adrien was talking to himself about her. He was falling for her as much as she was for him, and the realisation stabbed at Chat Noir's heart, almost killing him — or it would have, if he could feel.

Chat Noir wanted to know who he was more than ever. He wanted to confront his civilian persona, force the guy to find Marinette and fight for her, winning her heart like he knew he could. But it was useless. He'd attended more funerals than necessary over the past couple of weeks, and he'd scoured the missing people section of the internet — yet there was nothing.

He felt defeated, knowing that by the end of the night, he would likely lose his Lady for good. Adrien hadn't taken his eyes off Marinette during the wedding ceremony. Chat Noir was almost certain the guy was about to stand up, belt out 'Unchained Melody', and drop to one knee right then and there. He could almost envision Gammy jumping onto a chair, swinging her clutch bag around her head in celebration. Maybe she could even knock some emotion into Gabriel with it.

A pain shot through his ghost-like body.

His hands flew to his chest as he struggled with these new unfamiliar feelings. His breathing huffed—unsteady. His claws dug into what it could of his suit, grasping bits of the black leather like material in a bid to feel.

Breathe, Chat Noir, breathe!

He hadn't really felt anything until this moment, the sharp, intense pain burying itself deeply in his heart before twisting around and pulling aggressively out. Marinette's smile flashed through his mind, her laughter echoing like a distant melody. Adrien's face overlapped, smitten and enamoured, a stark contrast to his own brooding demeanour.

Chat dared himself to try, to fight against this inevitable tide, to grasp at hope even as it slipped through his fingers like sand. Maybe, just maybe, he could find a way to turn the tables, to rewrite this story that seemed to be falling away from him. With Marinette's image burned into his mind and Adrien's shadow looming large, he steeled himself for what lay ahead, determined to reclaim what felt like the last fragments of his shattered heart.