Chat Noir X Reader: The Muse

Chapter 35: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

The cat-like creature in front of you didn't seem real, it seemed like a 3D effect from a movie, and just looking at it was making your head hurt.

Plagg flew closer to you, and with him, came another memory.

The fashion show, the way Chat kissed you when you talked about how nice Adrien was. How you asked him if he was jealous because of your words. Your stomach churned in anger. It was so obvious. Black dots filled your vision and your legs wavered.

"Careful!" Plagg flew around you as you leaned on the Egyptian pedestal for support. "This first moment is always the worst. You should sit down."

Your body obeyed his words before you could even process them. Instead of sitting, you sprawled on the ground, the cold of the floor like an anchor holding you to reality.

Chat had been on the boat yesterday, just like he had promised. Why didn't he just tell me? You struggled to breathe.

"Take deep breaths, it should help." Plagg flew above your head, looking down.

You filled your lungs with air and let it out slowly a few times. It helped, but not much. Your heart was still hammering against your chest, your thoughts screaming at you.

"It was him. It was him all this time. It was so obvious." You let the words out, not being able to keep them inside you any longer.

Your gaze was fixed on the glass ceiling, which let you see the soft blue color of the sky. Another wave of pain brought another memory. The black cat figurine Adrien had given you for Christmas. 'You said you liked him, right?'

With a groan, you put the heels of your hand over your eyes. "Ugh, I was so stupid!"

You heard Plagg sigh. "Sometimes I think I should make an informative pamphlet so I don't have to explain everything every 200 years or so. It would make my life so much easier."

You took your hands off your face when you felt Plagg sit on your stomach. He didn't weight more than a stuffed toy.

"Listen, you couldn't have known. Don't you think that after almost 10 years, somebody should have figured it out that a famous model like Adrien has a striking resemblance with Chat Noir? And that the two are never at the same place at the same time?" He crossed his little arms, looking at you quizzically.

You opened your mouth to question him, but he continued before you could ever utter a word.

"It's magic. Witchcraft, sorcery mambo jambo, whatever you want to call it." He waved his little paw nonchalantly. "It makes it almost impossible for anyone to discover the miraculous heroes' identities. Only when someone is sure of it, it's over. But, if they're not really sure, if they don't have proof, the magic makes the person forget."

"But—"

"No buts," Plagg interrupted you again. "It wasn't your fault. End of story."

You pursed your lips, looking away from him. It still felt like it was your fault. You had been so close to Adrien and Chat all this time, how had you not seen it? Yesterday your mind had begun to blend the two together, but you thought it was only because of stress. Maybe you could've found out about this on your own? You had no way of knowing anymore.

The sculptures on the sides of the room seemed to watch you from above, and you saw that some of them were quite familiar. Not because you had seen them in your dreams, but because you saw those features in the mirror every day. Adrien had sculpted statues of you just like you had made drawings of him.

You imagined the blonde sitting in front of the clay or marble, thinking about you as he used your face for reference. Your stomach gave a leap just thinking about him.