Marinette In Wonderland

The Harder it Gets

(Chat's POV)

As we walk into the cafeteria, Marinette turns to me. "Do you know what the obstacle course will be like?"

"Max normally changes it every time. I know from experience. He never does the same obstacles together in the same order," I say. "He may repeat certain obstacles, but it normally changes."

She sighs. "Of course. Well, I don't expect it to be easy. I'll try not to think to hard about it."

"Yeah. This being your first time going through one of his obstacle courses means he may make it a slight bit easier. Only slightly, and maybe. It depends," I say. "You being Ladybug, and us only having a week to train makes it a bit harder."

She nods. "It makes sense. And thanks. At least I know not to expect it to be easy."

"Y-yeah. No problem my lady," I say. I smile as we sit down.

Tikki pops out in front of me, kind of startling me. "Chat."

"Yes Tikki?"

"You will take care of Marinette, won't you? She is very strong and capable. But will you have her back?" She asks intently.

I nod. "Of course. I care for her deeply. Even if she only sees me as a friend, or her partner in stopping crime. I will do everything I can to protect her," I say.

I hear Marinette stand up quickly. Her face slowly becomes bright red. She turns away. "I-I'm going to go get my food."

I stare dumbfounded as my face heats up. "Did I really say it that loud," I whisper. "Better yet, did I really make her so flustered her ears turned red?"

I hear Nino laugh. "You sure did my friend. I even heard your little speech about protecting her."

Tikki smiles. "I've never seen her get that red. I think you may be the only person for my Marinette."

My blush deepens. "N-no... she likes her world Adrien. I mean... I may be a mix of him and Chat, but I'm not him. So I doubt she likes me."

"You may be surprised. The mix of Adrien and Chat may be more to her liking," Nino says. "Her best friends personality mixed with the guy she likes. Makes her more comfortable, yet still awestruck."

I shake my head feeling my cheeks start to cool. "I don't know."

"Well, only time can tell," Tikki says giving me a huge smile.

I return a small smile to her.

(Marinette's POV)

As I turn to leave I feel my face on fire. 'Why is this happening!? D-does he really mean that!? Why is my life so complicating!?' I scream in my mind.

As I reach for a pastry, a hand touches mine. I pull away and look up to see Nathanael. I relax noticing who it is.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he says with a smile. He puts the pastry on my plate. "I'll grab another."

I nod feeling my face cool. "Um, yeah. Thank you."

"Lost in thought? You seem a little out of it," he asks calmly.

"Yeah. It's nothing really. I'm just confused about many things. But you don't have to worry about it."

"Thinking that you have to do things on your own isn't very good. Trust those around you. Everyone here is here to help you."

I sigh. "Can I ask you something? If that's alright."

"Of course," Nathanael says with a nod.

"Well, in advance I'm sorry if it's a subject that may be hard to talk about. But, why did you give in to the dark? Did it have something to do with me?" I ask.

He turns away. "Well, I guess it kind of did. You know because of the me from your world that I love you. But now I'm stronger. Even better than your Nathanael. But know that this is me now. It doesn't matter what I've done, I've repented, and I'm here now. So all that matters is that I'm on your side."

I nod with a small smile. "Yeah. You're right. I'll admit I was a little scared of how things may turn out, but I'm starting to trust you. Thank you for what you've done. I'm glad we talked."

"Yeah," he says as I turn back to my table.

I start to walk back over there. 'Now... what am I going to do about Chat? What am I going to say to him? Okay Marinette, just don't say anything. Be calm, and no eye contact.'

I quietly sit down in my seat. I take a deep breath not looking up from my food.

"Marinette?" I hear Chat say.

I don't move. I press a fork to the outer crust of my pastry.

"Marinette, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Please look at me," he asks.

I shake my head. "No."

"Marinette," he sighs. But then he goes silent.

I keep from looking no matter how badly I want to. 'He is attracti- Marinette no!'

I feel a tickling sensation in my sides. I freeze completely at the sensation tilting my head down lower.

As it continues I start to shift uncomfortably. "P-please stop."

"Not until you look at me," he says.

After that I couldn't control my laughter. "Ch-chat. P-please stop."

"Will you look at me? And have an actually conversation with me?"

Laughing I nod. "Fine, fine. Just please stop."

He lets go of my sides. I blush realizing how close he was, and how he was touching my waist.

I turn to face him. "Happy?"

He smiles widely. "Very. Now, what were you and Nathanael talking about?"

If I didn't know better, I would have thought there was some jealousy hidden in his voice. "Just clearing some things up. He told me that no matter his past, he's on my side now. And I'm starting to trust him."

He slowly starts to nod. "Y-yeah. I guess if you feel that way about him, then that's good. Though, I don't know how I feel about him yet. He seems a little off. I trust your judgement, but I can't say I feel the same."

"That makes sense. If you don't trust him yet, I don't blame you. I might be one of the only ones that do. Other than Alya and Nino. And I don't completely trust him. Not yet."

"Well, I hope things go well for you then. We need people to trust each other. No one's going to get anywhere without trust," he pauses. He looks me in the eye. "You need people you can trust to help you. But it needs to be a mutual trust. You can't just blindly follow someone, and expect something in return. You need someone that will show you they will do all they can for you before you can trust them. Someone that won't leave you behind."

I remember when he saved me on our journey here. He did all he could to save me. Not only that, but he didn't want to leave me. 'Chat... why do you have to seem so perfect. While you will do anything for me, the guy I like back at home barely looks me over.'

I sigh. "Yeah you're right. So let's hope things get better in that way. Because, everything else won't be easy."