Stray ~ A MariChat Love Story (Complete)

Chapter 7: What You Fear

Marinette made it home just before the sun set and Adrien said goodbye at her front door.

"It was perfect, Tikki!" swooned Marinette, "I mean just listening to him speak was like listening to an angel." She sighed and spun around until she landed in her desk chair. "I was magical."

"I'm glad to hear that, Marinette." replied Tikki, "And you handled everything quite well." She sat down on the desk and Marinette passed her a cookie. She bit down on the edge and swallowed a hefty portion. "It will be even better next time. I'm sure of it."

"Truly Tikki?" asked Marinette.

Tikki nodded, "Of course it will. He was even looking for you afterwards. Adrien cares for you and the more you go out with him, the more you'll get to know each other. This is another step in the right direction!"

Marinette squealed happily and switched on her computer screen. The pink, heart-shaped collage of Adrien was all she had now that she'd taken down the rest of his pictures. With Chat Noir appearing whenever he liked it was just safer to keep them down. At least he wouldn't go snooping through her stuff.

A soft knocked echoed through the silence of her room and Marinette sighed. Why was he here now? She climbed up the steps to her bed and opened the latched to her balcony. Chat Noir stood outside with a sheepish grin on his face and waved.

"Hello, Purrincess. May I come in?" he asked.

Marinette rolled her eyes, "Only if you stop making all those ridiculous cat puns."

"But they're my specialty." He pouted, "Every superhero needs a thing –like a signature. Mine's the puns and Ladybug's is her charming personality."

"I always thought it was that she could cleanse akumas." replied Marinette.

Chat shook his head with a sudden far-off look in his eyes that made Marinette's heart beat a bit faster. "No," he mumbled, "It's got to be her stubbornness." He sighed and Marinette fought the urge to giggle. He actually looked kind of cute whenever he spoke about Ladybug.

She groaned, "Fine. You can come in, but don't touch anything." She moved back down and Chat leapt inside her room, closing the latch behind him. Marinette rolled off the side and climbed back downstairs, switching off her computer screen before Chat landed behind her.

"So my day was eventful, I got punched in the face by a damsel -," Marinette couldn't help but grin, "Fought a remake of Ladybug and another copycat –though who wouldn't want to copy me?" Marinette turned around and found him flexing again.

She shook her head, "And I'm hearing all of this, why?"

He lowered his arms to his sides and shrugged, "I heard the akuma had you real worried about your friends. It must've been scary being all alone in there." Marinette glared at him, but she couldn't deny how her body stiffened as she relived the incident. She'd been vulnerable –completely at Hawk Moth's mercy.

Ladybug wouldn't be affected. Ladybug would laugh in the face of danger. But she wasn't Ladybug right now and Chat wouldn't make the connection if she confided in him. "I guess so." she wrapped her arms around herself, "Are you?"

Chat Noir walked towards her chaise and sat down, stretching himself against it. "Am I what?"

"Are you ever...afraid?" she asked. "Aren't you ever worried about losing to an akuma?" Marinette didn't know what prompted her to ask him, but it had been on her mind for a while now. She wanted to mention the miraculous and perhaps even his kwami, but she wasn't supposed to know about them. No one else was.

She looked up and saw Chat staring thoughtfully at the ceiling, his arms crossed behind him. His expression was somber and miserable. She immediately regretted asking. "It's okay –really, you don't need to answer –,"