Stitches • Marichat

Chapter Three

Marinette's PoV

Marinette was concerned for Chat's sake. He was acting strange. Though it might not be apparent to others, for Marinette it was very clear. He was constantly by her side, not that she minded it, but he always looked like he was suspicious of something and was guarded.

Now, he had always been guarded, ever since she first met him as Ladybug, but this was worse than before. That look he had sported a few days ago after their fight with Sandman scared the hell out of her. He looked terrified. She had never seen him with that look, and she never wanted to again.

But she did want to ask him why he looked like that. Why he had acted so brashly, so unlike himself. What could possibly have been that horrifying that he looked like he was seeing the world end right before him? The thought sent shivers down her spine.

Curling further into her blanket, Marinette hummed as she thought of all the possible things Chat had seen. After several minutes of constant horrors flashing through her mind, Marinette sighed in defeat before slumping back on her bed.

"Marinette?" The teen's sweet kwami looked at her holder in worry, her big lilac eyes staring straight into Marinette's with a stern look. Marinette hated when she did that. It felt like she was looking straight to her soul.

"Yeah Tikki?"

"Are you okay?" Marinette held out a hand for her friend which Tikki instantly accepted, settling onto her open palm as she pulled her closer.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just don't think that Chat Noir is." Tikki noticed the faraway look in her bluebell eyes as the petite girl pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top of them.  "I'm really worried about him Tikki, but I don't know what to do. He doesn't want to talk to me about it- but what could have been so bad that he couldn't tell me?"

"Maybe Sandman had given Chat Noir a nightmare during the middle of the battle?" Marinette quickly dismissed Tikki's idea, shaking her head as she voiced her thoughts.

"It doesn't work like that. You have to be asleep in order to have a nightmare. You can't really be awake."

"Were you asleep when you and Chat got trapped in your classmates' nightmares?" Marinette paused, her brows drawing together as she tried to remember.

"I don't... I don't remember. I can't remember if I was awake." Marinette scratched her head in confusion. Was I awake? Why can't I remember? "But he was only zoned out for a second. How could he have a nightmare in less than a second?"

Unless Sandman was telling the truth and there was someone else helping him. Would that mean that the other akuma is still out there? And that they controlled time? Or is it something else?

"This just keeps getting harder and more complicated doesn't it, Tikki?" The ladybug themed God nodded her head.

"I'm sorry Marinette. But it is the duty of every Ladybug. But never in all my years have I seen a situation so complicated and confusing. We need to get this solved fast."

"Yeah," Marinette agreed. "Chat needs us to finish this. This is really taking a toll on him, so as long as we solve this problem, he will be okay. Right Tikki?"

When she turned to her friend, the kwami was already gone, fleeting to the other side of her room. An expected knock on her window followed shortly after. Without getting a reply, Chat opened the latch and landed on her mattress on all fours, grinning at her with a goofy smile.

"Evening princess!" He saluted to her before kissing her hand. Lowering her freshly pecked hand, he leaned in closer and kissed the corner of her mouth as per usual before leaning back against her wall, placing his gloved hands on her thighs. "Something wrong?"

"No," Marinette placed a forced smile on her face as she glanced up at him. "Nothing's wrong. How are you?"

"Better that now I'm here." He winked at her as he lifted her legs up, placing them on top of his.  Marinette felt a blush begin to creep its way up her chest and behind her neck. A few minutes later her fake smile began to melt away, molding into a real and genuine one as it always did whenever she was with him.

She watched his lips move to form the words he was speaking as he told her a story to try to cheer her up and tell her about his hectic life. His hands were moving wildly with his explanation of his story, as if he were trying to shape it to show her.

"I love you Chat." Chat stopped his story mid-sentence, caught off guard by her sudden confession. Not even a second later he grinned at her, baring all white teeth as pure happiness overtook his features.

"I love you too, Marinette!" The hand that wasn't in the air moving with his story squeezed her thigh in appreciation. Continuing on with his interrupted story, Chat lazily drew random shapes on her thigh with a claw, gently pressing into the flesh and sending tingles up her body. Everywhere his finger traced heat trailed after, warming her. It was tender, which was unlike the brash and flirty Chat she knew, but at the same time, the one she had always known.

It was at that very moment that Marinette realized something. She wanted to tell him that she was Ladybug. But not only that...

She wanted him to reveal himself to her, Marinette.

So was it all a nightmare? Did Chat really change, or is he back to normal? Will they reveal themselves to each other? And if they do, who do you think will reveal first? Tell me what you think!

Until next time, peace!