unexpected feelings | marichat

chapter three

marinette's pov
"PSHH, of COURSE not, it's not li-" i stop midway through my sentence because i feel eyes watching me from all corners. why in the world are they- ah, i know why. noticing my abrupt stop, chat looks around the park to find cell phone cameras and eyes trained on us. people murmur excitedly amongst each other, and i wonder how alya is going to react when she sees the pictures.
"i think thats our cue, marinette," chat says, and i nod, starting towards the exit of the park. however, chat simply picks me up and we start leaping above the park with his stick, forcing me to hold on tight to him. this, of course, brings on even MORE excitement from the nosy crowd, and i groan. chat sets me down on my balcony, and we sit, him perched on the edge and me on my chair.
"they're gonna have a field day with this one," i start frustratedly, and he just laughs.
"i don't know, i think today was pretty claw-some (a/n : awful puns I KNOW im not doing my mans justice but i truly cannot come up with anything better) besides the whole audience at the park, don't you think?" he asks, and i can't help but smile.
"thank you, chat noir. for today, i mean. you really did cheer me up a lot," i tell him, and he looks away. when he turns back, i see he's grinning ear to ear.
   "i'm glad you're feeling better, marinette. i've gotta run off though, you know, to do "super-heroey things,"" he quips, and i roll my eyes, remembering when we hung out on my balcony that day andré glacier was akumatized. we wave goodbye, and as he leaps away, he promises to do this again sometime.
right, he'll probably forget by the time he gets home.
—-
   "it's the fifth time chloe has caused an akuma. and that's just THIS WEEK!!! (a/n: not chloe slander besties i love my fave bully , but sis is currently leaning more towards hawkmoth's side than lb and cn's) it's getting on my last nerve," i complain as chat noir and i chase lady despair, a poor girl who was pushed to the edge by chloe's endless taunts.
   "not only that, but hawkmoth is taking every chance he gets to akumatize any relatively sad person. i think now that you're the guardian he's getting more and more desperate," chat adds, and we fight, just as we do so constantly. it's a tedious but solid routine, because in a matter of minutes, we've defeated her, much to hawkmoth- and frankly, chloe's- dismay.
   "so, m'lady, shall we cat-walk on out of here? i heard andré was somewhere around the eiffel tower," chat wiggles his eyebrows and i giggle. about to decline his offer, i think about earlier today, and how he cheered me up without even needing to. i look up at him again, and decide it wouldn't hurt to get some ice cream. the sunset was pretty anyway, and it'd be nice to enjoy it with a friend.
   "fine, we can find a place to detransform then head towards there. but only for a few minutes!" i say, and he leads me to an alley that's dark enough for noone- not even ourselves- to see. still, we keep our eyes closed as we feed our kwamis, then transform quickly and make our way down to the eiffel tower.
   we decide to walk, since the weather is rather pleasant. it's calm, blissful almost, until we pass by a construction site with a small memorial in front of it. on it are a few names, victims of robustus' last attack. i frown, but chat seems to take seeing it the hardest. his posture significantly slumps, like a wilting flower. the glares from some of the construction team surely don't help, and i quicken my pace, prompting him to do the same.
   "it's all my fault," he starts. "if i had just stayed in paris instead of going to-"
   "chat, listen to me," i interrupt, and put my hands squarely on his shoulders. the sudden action seems to shock him into silence, and he listens. "you made a mistake, but everyone makes mistakes. i know what you did was, not the smartest idea, but stop beating yourself up over it. it won't make anything better. just focus on what you can do to help, and be glad that the most damage was on empty lots, not buildings full of people," i finish, and he looks away for a few seconds before giving me a small smile.
   "thank you, ladybug. who am i to say you're wrong, anyway? now, lets go get that ice cream. my nine lives won't last very long if i don't eat," he says, and i smirk.
   "well then, kitty, maybe we should hurry," i retort, and he laughs as we begin to run towards the eiffel tower, where andrè stands next to his delicious ice creams.