maricat love story

Part 10- Nightmare

A sudden, frantic knocking above her startles her awake. She flips on the small lamp near her bed as the frantic knocking continues. She knows, even in her half-sleep state that only one person can reach her balcony from the outside like that. She heavily makes her way up to the skylight, unlocking it and popping it open with a yawn, "Kitty, it's two in the morning."

He jumps down and her sleepiness begins to fade, seeing tears streaming down his face. He practically tackles her into a tight hug the second she hits the bed next to him, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He sobs, breathing heavily as his hold on her tightens, "I'm so, so sorry. I'll never let it happen I promise. I'll get stronger. I'll stop making puns. I'll do anything you want and listen to everything you say. I won't let it happen. I won't."

"Chat, what," she barely gets out before he cuts her off, his voice shaking as he pleads, "Please don't hate me. Please, please don't hate me. I'll do better, I swear. Just promise you won't hate me. Promise you won't give up on me. Promise you won't leave me."

"I won't give up on you kitty. I promise I'll never give up on you." She promises instantly, hugging him back tightly and holding him to her chest.

"I didn't mean to. I would never do it on purpose. I would never," he chokes on a sob, trying to bury himself in her embrace, "I'll never let it happen. I won't let it."

She kisses the top of his head, rubbing his back, "Shh, it's going to be okay. I'm here, I've got you, and I'm not going anywhere." His body trembles against hers, for nearly half an hour before he finally starts to calm down.

Her fingers gently run through his soft hair as he sniffles. She asks quietly, her heart breaking to see him like this, "Chat, what in the world is going on?"

"Nightmare." He admits roughly, clearing his throat when it cracks.

"That must have been some nightmare." She whispers concerned, planting another gentle kiss to the top of his head.

"It felt so real." He says after a minute, loosening his grip around her only to take her hand in his. "I destroyed the world." He tells her shakily, not able to look into her eyes, "I put Paris underwater and split the moon in half. I... I killed, everyone." His grip on her hand tightens when his hand starts to shake again, "I killed you."

A soft gasp escapes her. His eyes quickly darts up to hers, begging her to believe him, "I would never hurt you. Not ever. You know that don't you?"

She nods instantly, putting her hand to his face as her hummingbird heart fights to escape the confines of her chest, "I know kitty. I know you'd never hurt me." She doesn't want to ask, but she has to make sure, "Do you remember, why you did it?"

He looks away ashamed, another tear falling from his eye onto their linked hands, "I, I was akumatized as Chat Noir. I don't know how it happened, what triggered it, but I felt like I was breaking. I was so lost and alone and,"

"You listen to me." She says cutting him off, placing her hands on his face and making him look at her as the tears fill her eyes, "You will never, ever, be alone. I am always going to be at your side, no matter what happens. If you get lost, I'll find you, every time. I'll take your hand, and guide you back home no matter how far we have to go to get back." She puts her forehead to his, letting the tears fall as she tells him strongly, "And even if you start to break, I'll be here to hold you together. I'll never let it happen Kitty. Never."

He hugs her again, and she holds him tightly, letting the weight of the nightmare ease from around them as she whispers it into existence, "So don't worry Kitty. It was only a nightmare."

She knows that this must have been the day. This is the day in the other timeline where he had been akumatized, but because of her going to set things right, it hadn't happened. Is this her consequence for ever letting it happen in the first place? Her Kitty, suffering through the aftershock of something that she had made sure would never happen, just to remind her of what could have been?

No, that timeline is gone. She had made sure of it, and she knows that she wouldn't let it happen again. She had spent almost three months keeping both Chat Noir and Adrien at a distance after the incident, in both halves of her life. Eventually, she just couldn't take it anymore. She refuses to believe that it was their love that caused that timeline to happen in the first place, no matter how sure of it Chat Blanc had been.

She holds him tighter for a few seconds, kissing his temple before running her hand through his hair soothingly, "I love you Adrien. I love you so much."

He finally shows a smile, "I love you too bugaboo."

She pulls him to lie down next to her, and he instantly wraps her in his arms, saying it softly, "I'm sorry I woke you up."

She shook her head, "No, don't be. I'm sorry you had that nightmare."

He gives her a weak smile, "It's not your fault princess. It must be from all the akuma's Hawkmoth's been sending out lately."

She feels guilty about doing it, but nods, "Maybe." She kisses him lightly, seeing some of the light come back into his eyes before she snuggles closer to him, "Go to sleep Kitty. No more nightmares."

This is one secret she's determined to take to her grave. As Chat holds her close, drifting off into a peaceful sleep, she promises herself that this was the end. There was no Chat Blanc. There never would be. He would fade into nothing more than this, into nothing more than a bad nightmare.