Return of a Killer

Feelings

Marinette felt apprehensive about Noir Adrien, or more specifically, his openly jealous and hateful attitude towards Blanc. His smug warning of akumatization rang in her mind. If he was right, Hawk Moth was still out there, still able to make another Chat Blanc at any moment.

Marinette shuddered. Having only one Blanc was pushing her to the breaking point, and she had support and stability from Noir to help her. She felt his hand gently stroking her back as she sat at the table, waiting for the macaroons she had been asked to make to be ready before Blanc gets back.  

Noir knew that he had to do something to comfort Marinette. He stood up, hugging Marinette tightly before heading upstairs to her bedroom. She looked at him as he disappeared behind the trapdoor, tilting her head slightly. She got up and started pacing for a bit. She looked over that the oven, and when she turned around, Marinette jumped back with a shout of surprise as she saw Adrien standing behind her. 

" I got the macaroons done like you asked, Blanc," she whimpered, her hand over her heart, " Just, please give more warning before you come in like that."

Marinette saw his easy smile fade. His expression turning into a soft frown as his eyebrows bunched up, " But, I-I'm Noir..." 

She noticed her hairbrush in his hand, which must have been what he went up to her room to get. Marinette felt a handful of guilt for mistaking him for a murderer. But, as soon as the guilt settled in, a deep blush spread like wildfire across her face. She realized that all this time, her wall of his pictures had been up this whole time. He had seen the hearts drawn over them and how they spread past the bulletin board she had dedicated to them. Noir was supposed to be protecting her from a stalker, but here she was looking like one. 

Noir tilted his head slightly, unaware of her reason for blushing. Due to his experience with Blanc, the pictures had startled him. He held up the brush, " Will doing your hair make you feel better?" Noir asked. Marinette nodded, her blush subsiding just a bit. She sat down at the table, allowing Noir to stand behind her. He took the twin red scrunchies out of her hair, allowing the blue-black tresses to fall to her shoulders. Noir couldn't help but blush a bit, her pigtails were adorable, but her hair being down made her look beautiful. He smiled softly as he ran the brush through her hair, being as gentle as possible. 

Marinette let herself fall back into a sense of security. It was just her and Adrien. Caring, sweet, warm Adrien. She accepted the fact that Adrien was Chat Noir, someone she trusted wholeheartedly. He kept her safe, both in and out of the mask. Marinette felt grateful that he had been chosen to be her partner. She let the feeling of his touch stir the butterflies in her stomach, and she almost felt ready to start purring. 

Noir snapped awake from his moment of bliss when he heard Marinette's soft giggle. " What's so funny?" he asked, " I didn't make a joke yet."

" You're the kitty here, but I almost feel like I want to purr." Marinette teased. She felt him wrap her up in a warm hug and rest his head on hers, and she put her hand over one of his. They both eased into the other's touch, and Noir closed his eyes in bliss. He gave her shoulders a squeeze as he heard the oven beep. 

Chat Blanc watched, hidden from view. Twisted with envy and malicous thoughts, he conspired to separate them once and for all, and ensure that Marinette became his and stayed his. Blanc's blue eyes watched Marinette as she got up and turned the oven off, put on her oven mitts and pulled the tray of fresh macaroons out. The batch of sweets gave off a pleasant aroma that made Chat Blanc's stomach growl needily and painfully. 

Noir knew their time of separation was up, and he gently led Marinette back to her seat, taking Marinette's hair in his hands and starting to braid it. She sat patiently as he did so, the soft tugs to her scalp bringing her a sense of calm. Once he tied off the braid with one of her scrunchies, he let it fall over her shoulder. The braid stopped a few inches short of her collarbone, freeing up one side of her neck. Noir hesitated, blushing as he felt the temptation to kiss her there. He shook his head, trying to distract himself from the thought of it and how she might react. He imagined a cute little gasp coming out of her mouth and wished he could find a hole to crawl into before curiousity killed the cat.

Searching for a distraction worked, because he reached the descision that the braid would look better with an accessory like a bow or a headband, anything really. Noir just had to get upstairs before he gets rejected again. " I'll b-be right back," he managed to stutter before rushing up into Marinette's room, covering his reddened face with one hand. He got past the trapdoor and the pairs of staring green eyes, even a copy of his figure from the wax museum. He crumpled onto the day bed, pressing his face into a pillow, repeating " Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...." into the fabric. 

" I wouldn't argue with that." a voice commented behind him, causing him to sit up quickly. When he saw a little cat-shaped kwami, he sighed in relief and gently took him into his cupped palms. 

" I don't know what to do, Plagg. I love Ladybug, and Marinette is Ladybug. I... I love them both. I want to keep her safe from that... murderer." Noir whimpered. He looked down at Plagg, who was smiling back at him. He almost screamed and threw the kwami against the nearest wall.

Seeing one smile without a mouth will get such a reaction. 

The white kwami flew over to its master, who was mimicking the pose given to the popular wax figure. His small smile was mocking and hollow, and his eyes looked as if he were about to strangle whoever dared to stand too close. Blanc's eyes were fixed directly at Noir.