Jealous Kitty | Marichat [[DISCONTINUED]]

Catless Whisper

Chat looked out across the rooftops of Paris and sighed. He hadn't seen much of Ladybug recently. The only time he did was when they fought akumas.  Was she avoiding him? She couldn't be. She had no reason to. She was probably just busy.

Chat's thoughts were soon changed from Ladybug to Marinette, though, because he saw her figure on the balcony in the horizon.

Time for a visit. 

Marinette jumped as chat landed on the railing behind her. She turned to see him looking at her with big eyes as if he were the one surprised to see her.

"Oh, you caught me," he put his hands up in a caught-red-handed way.

"It seems I have," Marinette smiled. If there was anyone who could cheer her up from Nathanael's news, it was Chat. Maybe he could distract her for a time.

Chat smiled, and it filled Marinette with joy. It almost reminded her of... No. No thoughts of him anymore. She had moved on and, for heaven's sake, she had a boyfriend!

"well, aren't you going to let a cat in? It's cold out here!" Chat shivered. Marinette wasn't sure if it was real or fake. She didn't care. With a secret smile on her face, she opened the hatch to her room and hopped in, shortly followed by Chat.

"Mmm," Chat sighed, snuggling into the chaise. He hadn't been there five minutes and he was already nestled under a mountain of pillows and blankets.

"So, Chat, did you have a point to this visit or are you just here to take advantage of my blankets?" Marinette joked, falling into her chair and picking up her sketchbook. She searched her messy desk for a pen while Chat replied.

"Actually, I was hoping to enjoy the company of my meowst favorite citizen." The pun mixed with the disregard for grammar created a new feeling within Marinette which consisted of a mixture between a snort and a cringe.

Marinette finally settled for a thin black pen and began sketching, saying, "Well, if you're going to be here, at least entertain me." She put a certain emphasis on her words which eluded toward one of Chat's previous visits. Chat looked up at her to see a mischievous smirk on her face as she looked back.

Chat smiled to himself. Marinette was so cute when she was being mischievous, and he was flattered that she had remembered one of his throwaway lines.

"What are you drawing?" Chat inquired, noticing her energetic pen movements.

"Just my newest inspiration," Marinette cast him a glance, "If only it weren't so... fleeting." The way she had said fleeting had a tone to it that Chat didn't quite grasp.

"Well, can I see?" he asked innocently. He had a genuine curiosity about her art. Was this another stunning fashion sketch, or was it, perhaps, an ultra-rare Marinette doodle? I never get to see those... I bet Nathanael gets to see all of them.

That thought sent a stone into the pit of his stomach. He had to see it now.

"No..." Marinette spun her chair around, so Chat only saw her back. He scanned what little bit of her he could see. Hair, neck, upper back, shoulders. She was wearing a sweater due to the weather, so he could really only see a small patch of her exposed neck where her hair parted.

So cute...

Chat crept out of his mountain of covers soundlessly and stepped toward Marinette. He reached toward her neck slowly... and then took his hand back. He was turning to get back to the chaise when he noticed what she was drawing.

He saw what looked like a big chair covered by a large blanket... with cat ears. Further investigation showed that the ears were connected to a head of messy blonde hair and a cute little face wearing a black mask. It looked quite... chibi-ish. Chat blushed immediately and felt his stomach drop. Finally, he composed himself.

"Drawing from life, are you?"

Marinette jumped out of her chair and spun around with a half-annoyed half-scared expression. It changed quickly, though, to one of anger.

"Why did you do that?" Marinette cried. Her breathing was heavy and quick, and Chat almost felt bad. Almost. But darn, did she look cute when she was angry. Honestly, when was this girl not cute? Never. 

"I'm sorry... but you have to admit that that was hilarious," Chat laughed. Marinette's face was angry, but Chat could see her holding back laughter.

"Shut up you stupid cat," Marinette turned away, but not before Chat saw the hint of a smile play at her lips.

"But you were drawing me," Chat insisted, "that has to say something."

"Don't flatter yourself, Chat. You'll pop that overinflated head of yours," Marinette spat. Chat felt bad for making her so angry, but it was hilarious to him the way she responded to a little embarrassment.

"Ouch," Chat responded, watching as Marinette put her sketchbook away with a huff. Did he really make her that angry?

"Hey, um..." Chat looked down as Marinette turned to face him, "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to upset you." His ears were pointed back and his head was tilted down. Marinette felt a little bad. She had such a negative response to what was meant to be a joke that she got a genuine apology from Chat.

"It's okay, Chat. I know you were just joking. I'm just running a short fuse right now," Marinette tried to soften her tone. Chat saw his opportunity. 

He looked up slowly, tilting his head. "Why is that?" he asked with genuine concern. He wasn't sure how big this Nathanael stuff was.

"Well, it's just this stuff with my boyfriend..." Marinette trailed off, "It's kind of private, though."

Well, that wasn't exactly news to  Chat. He needed to dig deeper. To find out what precisely made the sweet Marinette Dupain-Cheng a ticking time bomb.

"You know you can tell me anything," Chat began, "I mean,  who would I tell without outing myself, y'know?" He hoped that this would be enough to get Marinette to divulge more. Something about this whole situation rubbed him the wrong way, and he needed to figure it out.

"I guess... but even still. I'd be sharing some pretty confidential stuff." Marinette looked at Chat with an unsure expression. could she trust him..?

She thought about her dependable partner. He was the one Ladybug could always rely on. The one who, despite wanting to know who she was, never looked when he had the chance. The one she could trust.

Marinette took a deep breath, then began, " Well, Nathanael, he... he has some problems. He's kind of been dealing with a lot of bad thoughts... like suicide and stuff." What?! She winced and looked up at Chat's taken aback expression.

Nathanael? Suicidal? Somehow those two words didn't match up in his head. The boy who was a shy, reserved artist, the same boy who was absolutely enamored with Marinette, was suicidal? No way.

"I, um..." Chat began, and neither he nor Marinette knew where he was trying to go with the sentence, "Uh... I'm sorry."

"What for" Marinette inquired, it's not like you had anything to do with it." Chat furrowed his brow at this, ut Marinette didn't take notice. She was too busy in her own thoughts.

Chat brought his hands up to Marinette's shoulders, saying, "I'm sorry you have to go through this. I know it's hard." He noticed how Marinette refused to meet his gaze, and how rigid she felt under his palms.

Raising his hand to her face, he gently tilted her head up. He looked into her crystal-clear eyes for a moment before leaning down to whisper in her ear, "You are not alone."

And somewhere deep inside, she shuddered.