Actions

Work Header

Il Me L’a Dit, L’a Juré Pour La Vie

Summary:

Marinette didn’t think inviting Chat Noir in for milk would lead to this.
The heroes were 20 years old, in university, and it was now time to trust each other better than they ever did

Notes:

This was originally supposed to be a one shot, but it turned out to be longer than I thought, and tbh, it just spiralled out of control. I love this fandom :p

Anyway, I hope you all like it! First Miraculous Ladybug fanfic! :)

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Warm Touch

Chapter Text

Her hips swayed as she hummed around the dark kitchen, light only coming from above the stovetop. The white floor length curtains were opened and the windows displayed the twinkling lights of the city of Paris at night; the Eiffel Tower peaking over the other apartments. She bobbed the peppermint tea bag in the hot water, watching it go from clear to a dark yellow-green. She started to sing La Vie en Rose to herself. Her vibrato ringing through the room softly, as she almost whispered the high notes. Marinette was alone. Alya was staying over at her family’s place for the weekend. She had her dark hair in a messy bun, strands falling in front of her face whenever she looked down. She continued to sing to herself, and watched the steam from her mug dance in front of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir landed skillfully on the curved iron railings to Marinette’s little balcony. He watched her dark silhouette, faintly hearing her sing. He gently laid a hand on the glass door, and hopped off the railing. Marinette stopped singing, and turned her head slightly to Chat’s direction. Busted, he thought, but he crouched down into the shadows, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

Marinette pulled the tea bag out of the mug, placing it on the little white and pink plate, before picking up her polka dotted mug and looking over the island, to the balcony. Chat Noir’s glowing green eyes stared at her in the darkness. She smirked. If this was the first time she’d seen those illuminated eyes in the darkness, she would have been completely terrified.

Chat Noir stood back up as Marinette approached the door. She slid it opened, “Kinda cold out here, don’t you think? Wanna come in? I have milk for stray kittens.”

Chat walked in slowly, and scratched the back of his head, “Well if you insist. I was just patrolling tonight, saw your light and heard you singing. Thought I’d swing by and say hi.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. What a flirt.

“You should sing some more. It was beautiful.” Chat casually sauntered across the room, his tail swishing behind him. Marinette watched his back muscles flex, as his arms almost shrugged from side to side. He sat down at one of the stools by the small island countertop.

Marinette scoffed, peeling her eyes away from the leathered back, “No. I sing horribly.”

“What? Don’t be so hard on yourself purrincess.” He had his cheek resting on a balled fist. She walked around him, and ruffled his golden hair before opening the fridge.

Marinette poured some milk in a mug and placed it in the microwave, “I hope you don’t mind if I warm it up in the microwave. I don’t want to have to wash a pot if I warm it up on the stove.”

“No worries, I’m not picky.” The black cat waved his hand.

Marinette smiled, and glanced at her partner. “So what really brought you here?”

Chat’s eyes widened and he coughed into his hand. “Oh, nothing. I just heard from someone that you would be alone tonight, and I wanted to make sure you were safe. You know, hero stuff.”

Marinette snorted, and took a sip from her mug. The warmth from her tea tickled her nose. She knew how to take care of herself and the entire city of Paris. “Oh I’m fine you silly kitty.”

The microwave beeped and Marinette put down her mug. Chat sat up in his chair. Marinette’s words ringed in his head. The way she said it. Why was she always so casual and comfortable around him? She was wearing pink shorts, tastefully showing off her creamy pale legs, and the baggy t-shirt that everyone in their class had signed on their last day of high school. His signature as Adrien was right on the front, in the middle.

Marinette handed the cat his drink. “Do you want cookies too?”

Chat sipped the milk, “Sure.”

“I’ve got a lot of chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal. Oh, I do have macarons if you want those.”

“Aww no kitty treats?” Chat winked at Marinette, who gave him an unimpressed look.

“Chocolate chip cookies are fine, thank you.” Chat chuckled.

She pulled out a few, and placed them on a plate. Marinette watched the blond haired boy dip the cookies in his milk, and eat them. His cat ears were relaxed, and he hummed happily. Her heart swelled. She almost never got to hang out with her teammate like this. Lately, he’s been coming over to help Alya with her LadyBlog. Ladybug had also made a few appearances, but Chat has been with Marinette more than Ladybug lately. He was great company though.

Chat sighed, “Man, this costume can get in the way sometimes.” He looked at his black gloves all covered with crumbs. Marinette giggled. She knew that feeling all too well. “There’s no way out, unless I detransform. Look at you all comfy in your pyjamas. I want to be comfy too.”

She looked down at her shirt and shrugged. Chat Noir glanced over her shirt again, reading all the signatures. It was colourful and messy like his at home. He glanced at his signature and note. Good luck Marinette! I’m sure I’ll be seeing you a lot in the future! – Adrien. He does see Marinette as himself, a lot more than his other former classmates thanks to Alya and Nino, who are dating, but not as much as he would like. That’s why he visits her as his alter ego. He liked hanging out with Marinette. There was always something about her that pulled him in. The way she ran into class late in high school, and how her graduation cap had fallen off her head when she went to grab her diploma, and when she buried her pink nose in her scarf while walking around the city with their friends. She was a special kind of different. He also constantly wished he could’ve written something better on her shirt but Chloé was pulling him away at the time.

Marinette noticed Chat’s gaze. “Oh, yeah. All my classmates and I signed shirts for each other at the end of high school. I’m really glad we did this!” She smiled, and looked down. She carefully brushed her fingers over Adrien’s note and sighed, looking away. She sipped her tea. Chat’s ears perked up, noticing her brief gesture. He frowned. She looked upset now. Her aura went from a calm soft blue, to an unwilling black one.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Why not?” Did he do something as Adrien?

Marinette frowned at her mug, “Never mind.”

Chat stood up, “Come on, please tell me.”

Marinette shook her head, took a deep breath and smiled. She was always smiling. Why was she always trying to be so optimistic, even when she was clearly hurting? She hesitantly placed her tea down.

“Minou, I don’t know.”

Chat locked eyes with Marinette; his green ones boring into her ocean orbs. She broke the gaze and sighed again. She was tired. Dating Adrien was such a distant memory and dream now. It was time to get over it. She dragged her finger along the side of the mug, before bringing it back up and circling the rim of hit, trying to build up the courage to tell
Chat. He was her partner, she needed to form this connection with him… She wanted to.

“I’ve just been in love with this guy since high school, and now that we’re both in university, we don’t see each other a lot, and I’ve been trying to move on. It was never going to happen. Besides… I’ve been…” Marinette stopped herself just in time. She couldn’t tell Chat she’s been enjoying his visits.

Chat Noir’s eyes widened. Marinette felt her face flush under his fixed gaze, and she hid behind her hands. “Wah. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. This is embarrassing.”

She turned around to face away from the young man. Chat stared at her neck, strands of dark hair that had fallen from her bun curtained her nape.

“W-who was this guy?”

“He’s in almost every fashion magazine and his dumb beautiful face is on most billboards.”

Chat swallowed hard, confirming the thoughts that had formed. “I, uh, see how it could be hard to get over him…” Chat looked at his gloved hands and claws. “Marinette…”

She could feel her heartbeat pound, “Let’s change the subject please.”

Chat nodded, “But…”

“Please.”

“Alright. What do you want to talk about?” He said slowly. Her back was still facing him. He could see her shaking.

“Anything. Literally anything else.”

There was a long pause, when finally, “Why don’t you sing the rest of your song for me?”

Marinette’s face flamed all the way to the tip of her ears, “N-Now why would I do that?”

“It’ll calm you down. You seemed calm singing it before.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know you were watching me then!”

“Pretend I’m not here.”

“That’s really hard to do!” Marinette gripped the edge of the counter nervously.

“Please.” Chat whispered. Marinette inhaled to protest again, but stopped herself, Chat’s quiet beg echoed in her head. Maybe he was right, it would calm her down.

Marinette took a shaky breath, “Quand il me prend dans ces bras, il me parle tout bas, je vois la vie en rose.”

She kept singing quietly, to herself again. She focused on when to take a breath, on what the lyrics were. She focused on how long she should hold the notes. Marinette closed her eyes. She remembered all the times her mother sang this song to her while brushing her hair before school. She remembered the time her parents slow-danced to this song in the living room together last New Year’s Eve. She remembered when she hummed this song while writing Adrien a valentine’s card once. Why had she been so hung up on him? Chat was right there; he had grown up with her.

Marinette’s eyes began to well, when suddenly she felt a hand wrap around her waist, and hair tickling her right ear and neck. A soft hand slid down her arm and held her hand. Chat’s forehead rested on her shoulder. Marinette stopped singing, “Chat…” His chest was dangerously close to her back, this new intimate touch sent surges through Marinette’s body.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. He moved his face up and his lips brushed against her shoulder. “You’re calm now though.”

“Yeah,” she whispered. She liked this affection. The air was still around them, and Chat’s arm was hot around her waist. The room was suddenly quiet, with nothing but their shaky breaths to be heard. She did feel better. Chat shifted his head, his hairs tickling Marinette’s neck again. She twisted her head slightly, and caressed the soft blonde hair on her cheek. She could smell the sweet shampoo he had used. Chat shifted forward and closed the gap, pressing his body on her, tightening his grip around her waist. Marinette could feel the thumping in his chest and slowly dipped her head back, resting just below his shoulder, as if to reassure him. Her eyes were still closed, and her lips pursed slightly. Her exposed neck was as milky and pale as her smooth legs. Chat licked his lips, and buried gently his face in the crook, breathing in the residue of whatever perfume she had on from the day. He was so careful not to brush his lips over the skin, knowing Marinette was still upset. She was upset about him on top of that, but he wanted to reassure her.

Chat rubbed his thumb over Marinette’s knuckles, and she tensed up immediately.

“Chat!” She hissed. Her heartbeat quickened all over again. She straightened herself out, and jerked her body away from his. “Your identity! What are you doing?” Chat’s hand was no longer in his usual leather gloves. The claws were gone. She hadn’t realized that the rough black material was completely gone, replaced with soft cotton fabrics. She hadn’t realized he transformed in his civilian self while she was singing. Was she that absorbed in her song thinking about Adrien again? Marinette squeezed her eyes shut even more. “Why would you do that?”

She tried to push Chat away but he held her hand tighter. “Marinette, please. Turn around.”

Marinette was hurt, even though nothing had technically happened. He didn’t know that she was Ladybug, so Chat wouldn’t know the impact of revealing himself to her.

“Marinette, please turn around. Please, look at me.” Chat begged quietly. He finally pulled away from her, his heart beating equally as fast.

“No! I can’t! That is way too dangerous!” Her fiery tone beating over Chat’s quiet one. “Do you not know how dangerous this could be to us?!”

“I…”

“There are so many consequences. You could get hurt, I could get hurt. No one must ever know! Chat! Please get out of here!” Marinette had blurred the lines between herself and Ladybug; her heroine concerns taking over. “I won’t be able to deal with the pain if my friends and family got hurt; if you got hurt. Hawkmoth will only attack the people around us.”

“Marinette, what are you…” Chat said confused. The tone of her voice, the anger that shook her little frame. It was all too familiar. “Calm down. It’s okay. I’ll transform back. But let me just say that we have known each other for years. I trust you more than anyone. Maybe more than Ladybug. I will protect you, and your loved ones from any harm. Ladybug will also protect you.” Chat reached over and gently stroked Marinette’s shoulder.

“What if Ladybug can’t? What if she fails?”

“She won’t. She won’t let herself fail. She’s strong.”

Marinette let out a heavy sob. Chat always believed in her. He was such a good guy. But that was the danger, she was Ladybug and could hurt so many, even if she was strong enough.

“Please turn around. I want you to see me. I have something to tell you as myself.”