Running from the Night (A Ladybug and Chat Noir Fanfic)

Chapter 25

Marinette stepped softly down the stairs to the kitchen and living room her parents were resting in. The tv was on as they watched the news cuddled on the couch. With an armful of clothing and towels, she motioned for Chat to follow her. He crept down behind her with silent steps.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pointed him towards the open bathroom door. He quickly made his way inside. She was about to follow when she heard her parents shift.

"Oh honey could you hand me my phone," her mother called back. Marinette grabbed the phone and brought it over.

"Thank you sweetie," she gave her a kiss on the cheek before glancing at the towel, "are you taking a shower?"

"Ye-yeah I'm just on my way to do that," she dipped away and rushed to the bathroom, leaving her bewildered parents to the news. She darted into the bathroom and spun around to close the door. She breathed a sigh of relief as she locked the door. She turned back to the small bathroom. Chat Noir was taking in his surroundings, his eyes darting around. Marinette noticed the tense stance he had as if he was expecting danger at any moment. She reached forwards to comfort him. As her hand grazed his arm his attention snapped down to her and he jumped back with his eyes wide. She recoiled and took in the sight of him breathing hard, his baton now in one hand.

"Sorry," he shook himself and looked down at the weapon in his hand. He looked surprised to see it and placed it on his back again.

"Umm well these are for you," she held out the bundle of cloth. He reached forwards and took it. She noticed his hesitance as he carefully avoided touching her. He rifled through the clothing and saw the towel along with a simple loose black shirt and matching shorts. His cheeks tinted pink.

"Oh right I wasn't sure if you had any clean uh underwear so I bought some just in case," she felt her own residual embarrassment. She had wanted to get out of the store as quickly as she could when the cashier gave her a look for buying men's boxers.

"Right," he muttered. He looked back up at her with an unsure look. She moved to the shower, careful not to get too close to him and turned the water on. She looked around the bathroom chewing her lip. She turned around to face the door and sat down as close to it as she comfortably could to give him privacy.

Chat was still for a moment behind her before she heard him shift his feet.

"Claws in," Chat muttered. The room was filled with a green flash. Marinette waited while she heard Chat moving around behind her. She tried not to think about him getting undressed and focused on the very interesting wood grain in the door.

Plagg floated over to her and lazily settled on her shoulder. She smiled to herself as he curled up into sleep. The shower curtain moved behind her and the sound of water hitting the tub dampened. She soon noticed the heat of the water he was running, the room was steaming enough that she was starting to sweat. She wondered idly how he was comfortable with the temperature. He was probably just enjoying having warm water, she reasoned with herself.

She didn't know how much time had passed by the time her butt was getting sore from sitting on the ground and the steam was getting too thick to comfortably breath in. She didn't want to rush him but there was a tugging irrational fear in the back of her mind that he wasn't okay. She prepared herself to ask him how he was doing when the water shut off. She breathed a sigh of relief.

The curtain opened behind her again and she heard him drying himself off with the towel. A few minutes later he cleared his throat.

"Claws out," Plagg let out a squeak of surprise as he was pulled into the ring and off Marinette's shoulder. Marinette gave him a moment before turning around. He stood in front of her with a bundle of dirty clothing tucked in his arms. He held the same tense position he had before the shower. Marinette tried not to let her disappointment show. She wanted him to be comfortable, not look like he was about to flee at any moment.