Appreciating Chat Noir

Chapter Twelve

Marinette tried not to yelp as the power outage startled her. She began to panic as the weight of the situation and the darkness began to enveloped her. What if she couldn't transform? What if she couldn't make it out on time? Event crasher appeared to be an especially difficult one of akuma victim.

And most importantly: What if Chat Noir wouldn't make it?

"Are you okay?" She heard Adrien ask. His voice sounded startled as well.

"Er... yeah, I'm fine!" Marinette told him, but even as she spoke, she could hear the lie in her voice.

"Y-yeah, me too." Adrien responded.

"Where are you?" Marinette asked, waving her hand around. She began to inch near the edge of the elevator to feel for the railing.

"I'm right here." She heard him rummage around for something. "Here, can you see me now?"

Just as Marinette felt herself bump into something Adrien turned his phone light on. She yelped as she looked up at Adrien Agreste in the Chat Noir costume. Her eyes widened as she realised, he had instinctively wrapped his arm around protectively her in the heat of the moment with his phone out in a similar way Chat Noir would have held his staff.

He looked down at her and blushed, embarrassed and reluctantly removed his arm. She held onto his arm and he paused, looking at her inquisitively. Marinette hesitated for a moment, something inside her not wanting to ruin the moment, but she broke away anyways, searching for the elevator doors.

It didn't matter the circumstances; she couldn't give up. Not now! The world waits for no one, not even Ladybug. She just hoped that Chat Noir, wherever he was, was able to get to the akuma in time while she figured a way out of the location, she was trapped in.

Surely with the help of Tikki, (and Adrien of course) she could figure it out!

Marinette looked up at the great big elevator doors, normally so helpful, were now blocking her one and only exit out of there. "What are you doing Marinette?" She heard him ask.

"I'm trying to figure out a way out of here! What does it look like I'm doing?" She snapped impatiently, trying to calm her anxious breaths. She put a hand on her forehead while closing her eyes. "Think, Marinette, think! How are you going to get us out of here?"

Adrien recoiled at her harsh tone, taking a moment to recover. He walked towards her and carefully placed a gentle hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "We'll figure a way out of here, Marinette, together. I'm on your side, remember?"

Momentarily, she forgot the circumstances, and the world was reduced to just his hand on her back. She took some deep, gasping, breaths, trying not to think about the walls closing in on her, or the fact that they were so high up trapped in a metal contraption, alone. But not alone, because they had each other.

In a surge of emotion, she turned and hugged him, burying her head in his chest. "I'm so glad you're here, Adrien. Thank-you for being such a good friend."

He was glad that it was dark in there, as she couldn't see him blushing wildly. Suddenly all thoughts of Ladybug and the akuma disappeared and all he could think about was the young woman in front of him, in his arms. Finally, at last, he was once more, close to Marinette.

But it was a bittersweet moment, for just then they both experienced a big crashing noise as something thudded on the roof of the elevator. Marinette and Adrien both looked up in horror as the thing – the akuma perhaps? – made another big crashing noise. The akuma was jumping on top of the elevator.

They only had a moment before the entire elevator fell like a rock for about ten feet before the emergency breaks kicked in. Marinette yelped and tried grabbing Adrien protectively. Maybe in the dark she could try and transform. Surely Ladybug could get them out of this? Was it worth revealing her identity to him? Was this fair to Chat Noir? Did she have a choice?

At the same time, Adrien instinctively tried holding onto Marinette, only partially aware of the part of his brain telling him to cradle her head. He had to transform, now. Ladybug was out there somewhere and this situation was just so – preventable. As much as he wanted to be alone with Marinette, it was not in this situation, not like this. He wouldn't – couldn't – let Marinette die. Not to protect his alter ego. He would figure something out to tell Ladybug.

This was not going to be their final moments. Not today!

"Plagg! Claws o-

"Adrien, I have something to tell you-

They said at the same time. They both abruptly stopped and looked at each other in the dim red emergency lighting. Did he say what she thought he said? Lifting her head, she realised just how closer her face was to his. It would be so easy to close the space between them right now. So close. But Chat Noir...

He may be a fake boyfriend, but she still... She would never betray him like that! She looked away, ashamed.

He looked at her lips, unconsciously, as he tried really hard not to. He wouldn't kiss her, he wouldn't. She was already with someone else. If only she knew who he really was though... then it would be so easy to-

He shook his head. He would never be that guy. Even if he secretly was the other guy, he would never-

The two lay there, arms and legs tangled among each other, each wondering how far was it okay to go as friends. What was the boundary? What was 'crossing the line'? How much was too much?

Marinette let her head rest on his chest and looked away, deciding maybe talking instead would help distract him. "So, how's your play going?"

He cocked his head, confused. "What play?"

She looked up at him. "You know, the one you told me about? 'Royal Elephants', was it?"

Shoot. He was hoping she wouldn't remember that. "Oh yeah... they canceled it. Something about the theatre getting infested with bugs."

"Oh." She hugged him, afraid to let go, to leave this moment and never have him back in her arms like this.

He looked down at her, longingly. He felt his chest swell with admiration for her. "Marinette?"

"Yeah?"

"I – care about you. You know that, right?" He looked concerned.

She looked up at him, confused. "Of course, why?"

"I-

The blond sighed. "This may sound silly, but I just feel you pulling away from me recently. It's just that, I care about you and I worry that you don't care about me."

She felt a surge of affection for him. "Oh Adrien- that's not silly, I'm sorry about that there's just a lot going on right now. Of course, I care about you. I- I have so much going on right now that sometimes it feels easiest to just pull away then talk about it. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough."

He smiled a small smile and hugged her to himself. "I'm just glad we are able to talk now."

She squeezed tight before letting go and pushing herself up to face him. "I know things are a little strange between us right now, but I'm glad that we are still able to stay friends despite – all of this. Thanks for stepping up today."

He shyly smiled at her. "It's no problem. I want to be there for my... people who are close to me."

She nodded noticing his choice of words, curious of their meaning. "Yeah. Me too."

Before he could think better of it, he leaned forward and grasped the back of her head, leaning in for a kiss. Marinette quickly reacted with Ladybug-like reflexes and tilted her head to the side, letting him kiss her cheek instead. "Adrien – I have a boyfriend. I-I'm sorry but I can't kiss you."

He felt the hot shame, embarrassment, guilt, and rejection pass over him. He shook his head, wondering what on earth came over him. "I'm sorry but I have to ask, why won't you date me?!"

She looked at him, eyes widening in shock. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you'll date Chat Noir, what about Adrien?!"

She felt herself grasping for straws, not sure how to respond. "I-I- you have feelings for me?"