24. Chapter 24

The glass flew apart, shards of it skittering across the lacquered floor as the sound of distant screams echoed through the new opening. Everyone in class jumped at the sudden bout of destruction, their whispers of “Ladybug” beginning immediately as the students anticipated the inevitable arrival of their hero.

As for “their hero”, she just stood up from her seat with a groan, more annoyed than worried as she opened her mouth to spout her usual “gotta-go-deal-with-an-akuma” excuse.

“I need to go the bath—“

“Can I got to the restro—“

Marinette and Adrien blinked at each other as they spoke in damn near unison, both teens clutching at their bags as they paused mid-step.

“Absolutely not,” their teacher cut in, waving for her students to take their seats as she tentatively went to investigate the window, “I want everyone to remain in the classroom until—“

Marinette was almost relieved when a giant hand scooped up her squealing instructor, yanking the woman out of the building with a crooning call of “There you are darling!”

All at once, every student was on their feet, pounding over to the window to watch as a giant, vaguely female titan of an akuma stuffed the woman into an equally giant purse dangling from its arm. The monster stomped off with its prize, exiting the courtyard with purpose as it set a course down the street running parallel to the school.

Thankful for the distraction, Marinette made for the door. ‘I just need to slip away so I can…’

Once again Adrien cut her off, reaching for the handle just as she was about to exit the classroom. “I think you should probably stay here,” the boy said, concern evident in his voice as he glanced down at her distractedly. “Best to leave this for Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

‘I know, that’s why I need to get out of here,’ Marinette thought, digging a knuckle into the side of her temple as she regarded her classmate. Don’t get her wrong, Adrien was her friend, but at this point she was too incredibly tired to even attempt to hide her irritation as she once again moved to open the door.

“I’ll be fine,” Marinette grumbled, huffing as his hand reached out to stop her a second time.

“Marinette...” He trailed off, eyes pleading as he shifted absently beside her.

She wanted to punch his stupid handsome face.

“Adrien, if you don’t let me through this goddamn door—“ Another explosion echoed distantly through the classroom, causing Adrien’s eyes to shift just long enough for Marinette to duck past his guard.

She slid out the door, ignoring his objections as she booked it towards the girl’s restroom. Although the men’s lavatory was much closer, logic (as well as her past experience with bursting into that particular room unannounced) pushed Marinette to seek out another transformation spot.

The teen rounded a corner, adrenaline flooding her body as it readied itself for another battle. There hadn’t been an akuma all week, and while Marinette was exhausted, the Ladybug side of her was itching for a fight. Her nerves sang, mind so focused on getting out there and kicking ass that—

“You know, you shouldn’t be—“

CRACK

In her keyed-up state, Marinette barely registered her own fist whirling around to slam into the jaw of the figure who had snuck up behind her. The blow was solid, knocking her assailant back far enough for a stunned Marinette to get a good look at him before his dark-suited self landed on the ground.

Needless to say, she hadn’t intended to deck her boyfriend, and yet…

 “So,” Chat Noir began casually, rubbing at his jaw, “that’s one hell of a right hook you’ve got there.” He looked up, green eyes wide and mouth working against the sting that radiated from the side of his chin as the girl before him gaped. Marinette fluttered uselessly above him, muttering a string of apologies as her face flushed with regret. ‘Not really the ideal welcome for the boy who got you off last night…’

“Sorry, sorry!” she yelped, throwing out a hand to help him to his feet. This wouldn’t be the first time she had interacted with Chat as Marinette, but she hadn’t seen him as her civilian self since the two of them had become a couple, and that new closeness made her uneasy around him. Exposed. “I guess I’m just a bit jumpy today.”

“Don’t even worry about it, I’ve taken worse hits.” Here Chat rolled his shoulders, popping his head from side to side as he flashed a confident smile. “Besides, I am incredibly strong.”

Well at least she hadn’t concussed him.

Marinette felt her guilt ebb away, figuring if he was coherent enough to boast, he wasn’t all that hurt in the first place. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, turning to enter the bathroom. “Well in that case I’ll leave you to your job, hero.”

“Not so fast, I need to know you’ll be safe.” A flash of irritation crossed her face as his gloved hand pressed against the restroom door. ‘What is it with boys not letting me go places today?’  This time Marinette did roll her eyes, extracting his grip as she slid closer to her destination.

“Don’t you have better things to be doing besides playing hall monitor?” she asked pointedly, inclining her head as another muted crash boomed down the corridor.

“Not until you're back in a classroom I don’t!” Chat answered cheerfully, scooping her protesting self up as he broke into a jog.

“Why can't I be safe in the bathroom?” Marinette pleaded, ignoring the pleasant sensation of his chest pressed against her side as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. Chat’s hands only tightened, digging in behind her knees as he kicked open an empty classroom door. ‘Careful, handsy…you have a girlfriend.’

Marinette had only meant to think the statement, but her tired mouth must have let the words slip if his laughter was any indication. “That I do,” Chat said with a gleam, setting her on her feet as he whipped a smart salute, “and seeing as though she’s most likely having to deal with the akuma alone…”

‘Well, I should be.’ 

“…I leave you to your safety!” he ended with a flourish, flashing the thoroughly unimpressed girl a wink before bounding out the door.

“Gee thanks,” Marinette muttered, waiting until she was sure the cat was gone before unclasping her purse. “Lord knows what I would have done without your help.”

“Look how much he cares about you,” Tikki said, giving a dreamy sigh as she floated up to bob in front of her chosen’s face. “Both sides of you!” Marinette waved her friend off.

“No, he cares about Ladybug and he flirts with Marinette,” she corrected. “And since he doesn’t know they are both the same girl, I’m allowed to be irritated.” The kwami just looked her for a long moment, eyes narrowing uncharacteristically as Marinette quirked an eyebrow under her gaze.

“You know you can be pretty exhausting at times,” Tikki bemoaned, shaking her tiny head resolutely, “and extremely blind too!” She didn’t give the confused girl time to respond before flashing her way up into her chosen’s miraculous, effectively silencing the conversation via transformation.

In an instant, the spot the two had occupied was now taken up by one irritated Ladybug.

‘I am not blind,’ the heroine thought tartly, swinging from the window to sail across the courtyard. ‘Besides, Chat’s the one who couldn’t recognize he was holding his own partner…’

By the third failed lucky charm, Marinette was ready to crash.

Both she and Chat wailed in disappointment as they watched yet another plan to grab the akuma fall through. Their target was obvious: the giant pair of sunglasses nestled across “Rain Check’s” face glinted tauntingly in the daylight as the monster continued to rant about the fact her girlfriends just never had time to hang out with her any more, but every attempt so far to nab the offending shades had failed.

“That’s bullshit!” Chat ground out, stomping as he glared down at his beeping ring. It was obvious the duo would have to charge up for their fourth transformation of the day, a fact that made Marinette feel like yelling.

And yell she did, swerving into a roundhouse kick that slammed her heel directly into the bus terminal’s vending machine. The glass shattered around her leg, Ladybug’s knee catching on the jagged corners as she became hung up in the wreckage. Although it was impossible to feel through the material of her suit, the girl still cursed, wheeling her arms as Chat helped ease her limb out.

“I’m running on too little sleep to deal with this,” Marinette muttered, wrenching a bag of Oreos out of the machine before passing the boy beside her some cheese-its.

“Late night?” Chat responded with a forced lilt, his voice betraying how equally exhausted he was.

“You could say that,” she responded, equally strained as the two ducked into opposing bathrooms with twin grimaces.

Akumas like this that required multiple Lucky Charms and Cataclysms were rare, but the duo had come to abhor them. Holding one transformation was taxing enough, but having their kwami do three or four in one day…

Marinette slid to the tiled ground, wrenching open the snack bag so a worn-out Tikki could dive right in. The girl took a moment, breathing deeply to stop the swimming in her head before Chat’s voice echoed though the hallway separating them.

“Any more ideas?” her partner called in a falsely upbeat tone.

“I don’t have a plan B,” Marinette responded hopelessly.

“I think we’re more on Plan F…”

“Which is…?”

“Plan Fuck It.”

Tikki rolled out of the now empty bag, giving Marinette a knowing nod as another flash of light enveloped the two.

“Okay, so no strategy this time,” Ladybug confirmed, ducking out of the restroom as soon as her transformation completed, “just balls to the wall, do whatever’s necessary to get the object?”

From around the corner came a similar flash of green, Chat Noir stepping out a moment later with an irritated scowl. “Exactly.”

They dashed off, weaving their way down the now nearly empty terminal to where the akuma had scooped up another unfortunate woman.

“What, so going to visit your uncle is more important than our girls' day out?!” the creature screeched, shoving its 'friend' into its tote bag before rounding at the sound of a feral taunt.

“I don’t blame them for not wanting to hang out with you,” Ladybug called, swinging her yo-yo up to hook around the high-up eaves, “you seem like a real drag to be around.” The heroine swung forward, launching herself towards the ceiling as Chat circled behind their target.

“You won’t be so cocky when I take your Miraculous, Ladybug!”

“Yeah, 'cause that'll happen. Why don’t you tell Hawkmoth to bite my ASS?” The akuma screeched again, winding up its purse for another strike as a metal staff swiped against its ankles. A flash of red swooped down atop the struggling monster, and the struggle began anew.

Despite their exhaustion, Ladybug and Chat Noir fought with a single minded fervor, discarding tact for sheer force as they tackled their giant foe. Neither of them dared invoke their special powers, knowing the act would all but deplete their transformations, so melee was the name of the game.

Chat with his staff, Ladybug with her yo-yo, and both with flying kicks and jabs; the two were relentless. And finally, after about another 20 minutes of struggle, Marinette managed to dislodge the glasses with a triumphant yell. A harsh crack echoed through the bus terminal, the bridge of the lenses snapping over her knee with a satisfying crunch.

Marinette almost wept with joy as she saw the dark butterfly flutter up from the pieces, and from the look on Chat’s drooping face, he was equally as relieved. Ladybug cleansed the akuma, rounding up her failed lucky charms (a peacock feather, an ice cube tray, and (most confusing of all) a life-sized cut out of Jagged Stone) before she hoisted all three into the air.

It never ceased to amaze Marinette just how quickly things went back to normal, especially after long fights like this. In a matter of seconds the entire terminal was sparkling, the only thing out of place being a small group of dazed women sprawled across the floor a few paces away. Well that, and the exhausted look that took root across Chat Noir’s face.

Ladybug turned for their usual fist bump and had barely enough time to grab him beneath his armpits as the teen wobbled over in a faint.

“Chat?” she questioned, the first whispers of genuine concern beginning to creep their way into her voice as she propped him up against her. “Chat, are you all right?”

“Jus' tired is all,” he responded, giving what he may have thought was an encouraging smile but came out more like a wince. Marinette mentally kicked herself, hunkering over to hoist the objecting boy over her shoulders. ‘He’s on his fifth transformation, plus still recovering from my earlier punch. Why didn’t I let him rest earlier??’

She quieted his concerns with murmured reassurances, ignoring her own fatigue as she reeled them both up and out of the terminal via skylight. Reaching the roof, she paced over to where the upper eaves would conceal them from prying eyes before letting Chat off her back with a grunt of thanks. He pulled on her hand as he slid to the ground, and Marinette followed despite her logic’s objections.

The heroes settled flat on their backs, shoulders brushing as they both gulped down some much needed air. The almost-October weather, paired with the fact that it was nearing sunset, meant the atmosphere was crisp, not quite cold but pleasingly chilly against their battle-flushed faces. Marinette exhaled, letting her tired muscles finally, mercifully unwind as she almost melted into the concrete beneath her.

Neither of them spoke for an indeterminate amount of time, and she could guess the reason. It was obvious they were both thinking not only about today’s akuma, but also…

“So when are we going to discuss the fact we sexted each other last night?” Chat said, shattering the silence with the question Marinette knew was coming sooner or later. Inexplicably, she blushed, bringing her palms up against her sizzling cheeks as mumbled out her response.

“When we aren’t both on the verge of passing out.”

‘Stop being dumb. YOU initiated it. YOU ultimately won.’

And yet Marinette couldn’t quite beat down her jittery wave of nerves as she spotted her boyfriend lulling his head towards her. Out of the corner of her eye she could just see his smirk, could spy that shit-eating grin creeping along the bottom of his face as Chat inched closer. “Then I guess round two is out of the question for tonight?” he asked with a dramatic sigh, perking up a hopeful brow nonetheless.

“You guessed right,” Marinette confirmed, turning her head so that their noses were just inches apart, “You and I both need a night without distraction—” Chat pouted “—no matter how nice that distraction may be.”

“My Lady, you are my absolute favorite distraction,” the boy proclaimed, seeming to mull something over before reaching over to flick her nose with one claw-tipped hand. Ladybug started, giving a huff of indignation as he grinned thoughtfully.

“What was that for?!” she questioned, furrowing her brow as Chat tipped his head back with a laugh.

“That was for the thumbs up picture!” he replied, his chuckles cutting out with a soft “oof” as her elbow dug into his side. Chat's mouth drooped into a comical frown. “And what was that for?”

“That was for making me type out the words ‘how often do you masturbate’ with my own two hands.”

Another flick to her nose.

“That’s for chem homework!”

Another elbow to his ribs.

“That’s for keeping me up all night.”

A flick.

“Technically, my lady, you were the one keeping me up all night.”

An elbow.

“Yeah, well that’s for waking me up early this morning.”

…

“But I didn’t text you this morning,” Chat said softly, propping himself up on one elbow as he glanced down at her. Marinette bothered her lip, hissing as she realized her mistake. His eyes followed the movement, and the weight of them pressed on her like a touchless kiss.

‘You don’t have to text me to wake me up early,’ is what she wanted to say, what would have been the suave thing to say. But instead Marinette just gave a sheepish grin, hoping her shrug was explanation enough for the boy. ‘It sure was a lot easier teasing him over the phone,’ she thought with a gulp, feeling exposed under his green eyes as he seemed to draw a conclusion from her (lack of) a response.

Slowly, Chat rolled atop her, eye contact never wavering as he wiggled on his elbows down the length of her body. Marinette held in her squeak (‘YOU ARE IN CONTROL. YOU HAVE THE UPPER HAND’) as she felt the inch of air between them heat immediately, Chat's body ghosting over her own before finally resting fully against her.

Two hands folded on her stomach and one wistful face propped atop them as his arms pressed into her hips. Chat’s weight was warm, comfortable as he snuggled on top of her with a breathless laugh. “Well in that case, I apologize for subconsciously intruding on your not-so-needed beauty rest,” he said distantly, blinking up at the flushing girl with a tired smirk, “but I promise to make it up to you later.”

“How?” Marinette asked, thankful to find her words (or in this case, word) had come back to her. Chat yawned, spurring her to do the same. ‘What time is it I wonder?’

“I’ll get back to you on that after my cat nap…”

And with that, Chat Noir plopped his head down on her abdomen, body relaxing as he melted into her. Marinette warred with herself, screwing up her brow as his tempered breathing only confirmed he had immediately fallen asleep.

Reason screamed at her to not let this happen, to poke him awake and run home before fantasy got the best of her.

Fantasy obviously disagreed.

‘Just two minutes,’ it whispered, with honey-sweet assurances that everything would be all right, ‘just two minutes and then you both can go home and sleep soundly.’

It was fantasy (or perhaps exhaustion) that won out, that victorious force prompting Marinette to close her eyes just for a moment. Just long enough to enjoy his warmth atop her, his legs between hers, his breath against her ribs and his all-around presence.

Just long enough for her to truly relax….and unwind…and…

When she woke up, the sight of the dark sky told Ladybug it had not been just two minutes.

The sight of a snoozing red kwami told Ladybug she was no longer Ladybug, but Marinette.

And the sight of an equally snoozing black kwami told Marinette Chat Noir was no longer Chat Noir.