Chat Noir X Reader: The Muse

Chapter 63: Love Among The Ruins

A/N: I honestly can't believe it has been so long since I've last updated this story. Why is time going by so fast, make it stop please. But yeah!! Here we are with another chapter, woo!! Figuring out the rest of the fic has been rough, but thanks to a writing strategy called freewriting I'm back with something I'm actually proud of.

Just a heads up, the following chapters might be a little darker than the rest of the story, but it won't be anything extreme. I'll make sure to write trigger warnings when needed, and if I forget something, feel free to let me know. Love you guys and thank you for waiting!

(also, a big thank you to my beta Natasha (isknowplaces on tumblr) for still helping me after all this time ❤ )

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You were burning.

The sensation came from your neck and spread to the rest of your body like a vice, not letting go of you. It felt like with a little more intensity, it could destroy everything it touched, suck all life away.

A sudden chill breathed over your skin and you almost sighed in relief. You clung to it. If you let go, you'd lose yourself to the flames. It touched your hair and skin in a familiar way and your body jolted awake when it realized who it was. Chat.

You struggled to open your eyes. Your muse sat by your side on the bed, his figure blurry but brighter than anything else.

His thumb brushed your cheek, making you lean on his touch. "You're finally awake, mon amour."

His voice soothed you for a moment, until the icy blue light of his eyes shone down on you. Adrenaline filled your veins as your memories rushed back and screamed that this wasn't Chat. You frantically rubbed your eyes and saw Blanc smiling down at you.

You tried to push yourself up, but your muscles protested and trembled, forcing you to lie down again, chest heaving. It felt like all your limbs were ten times heavier and you barely had control over them. Your eyes darted around the dimly lit room, not recognizing the place.

"What..." Your voice refused to come out. You swallowed dry, feeling a bitter taste in your mouth, and tried again. "What did you do to me? Where are we?"

Blanc caressed your cheek. "We're in a safe place. I had to use a bit of my power to make you pass out. But you don't need to worry, you'll feel better soon."

You leaned away from his touch, feeling your heartbeat in your ears as the explosion at your flat repeated again and again before your eyes. Ladybug's horrified expression was the last thing you had seen of her. You felt tears well in your eyes, but you bit your lip hard, not letting them fall.

"How could you?" You managed to croak out. Blanc looked at you with a quizzical expression. "How could you attack Ladybug like that?"

"Calm down," he said with a worried look. "Breathe." As he said it, you realized you were panting heavily, your chest tightening with each shallow breath you took.

"Don't... tell me... what to do," you said in between breaths as you scowled at him. You two stared at each other in silence for a moment before you began to control your breathing.

Blanc merely smiled. "You underestimate that bug. An explosion like that wouldn't kill her. It was just a greeting gift."

You looked at him for a long moment, trying to detect any hint of sarcasm in his voice. You knew Chat and Adrien well enough, but you still had no idea how Blanc was different from them. How much of his personality had changed because of Hawkmoth's influence and what had remained. You had to be careful.