unexpected feelings | marichat

chapter fifty

marinette's pov
   things seemed to have escalated when i arrived on the scene. stone statues were scattered in different fleeing positions all around, and they disintegrated upon the slightest touch. i shuddered, recalling the stone figures in the submerged paris from when chat was originally akumatized. whatever had gone wrong that time that didn't allow me to capture the akuma wouldn't happen this time. failure was absolutely not an option.
despite the conditions, lots of reporters still swarmed the scene, and more kept arriving. there were reporters frozen in their places due to chat blanc's fury, but none of the others cared. apparently none of them appreciated safety. as soon as they caught sight of me, they swarmed me like a bunch of mosquitoes to light. i nearly groaned. did they not see what was at risk here?
"ladybug! ladybug! is it true that chat noir is a villain now?"
"ladybug! do you know what caused this? was it your fault?"
"ladybug! how does it feel having to fight your partner?"
i was trapped by the reporters, all flashing bright camera lights at my eyes and shoving their microphones in my face. i was afraid if i answered them, i'd either break down into tears or say things that i shouldn't say. i took a deep breath before turning to one of the many cameras around me.
   "chat noir is not a villain. he's a victim of hawkmoth's akumas, and you can fully trust that i'll save him. but please, for your own safety, exit the scene. you all may get hurt if you're standing so close."
a reporter with a pretty blazer shoved through the crowd and in front of me. "how are we supposed to ever trust you or chat noir again if hawkmoth was able to control him so easily?" she prodded. do these people have no filter?
"you'll have to find it in your heart to forgive him, because he's one of the kindest people ever. i can assure you that he tried his hardest to stop hawkmoth from getting to him. he would never willingly do any of this. so please, stop blaming him. don't think for a second that he's working with hawkmoth, or anything of the sort. excuse me," i choked, feeling tears well up in my eyes as i walked towards chat blanc. i could already imagine the headlines these reporters were itching to write.
chat sat on a half burnt building, his back facing me. whatever he'd been doing earlier, he seemed to have given up on. maybe he was just waiting for me to show up. the eerie silence that surrounded him unsettled me more than the lullaby he had sang to himself last time.
   "chat?" i called out uneasily, and he turned. a wicked grin filled his face as he quickly approached me. i fought the urge to back away from him as he came close enough to touch me.
"m'lady. you're here," he whispered, sounding more crazed than relieved. his hand brushed my bangs and stopped at my cheek, and i tried my hardest to keep my composure.
"yes. you're safe now, kitty. just let me get your akuma, and everything will be fine," i coaxed, reaching for it slowly. he recoiled immediately and scowled.
"don't think you'll get it so easily, ladybug," he hissed. "i guess you can have it, though... after you give me your miraculous."
he lunged at me, nearly grabbing my ear before i shot out of the way. he landed on the ground hard, and that riled him up even more.
"so this is how it's going to be? fine. CATACLYSM!" he charged once again, the power surging through his hand making it all the more terrifying. i spun my yo-yo in front of myself defensively, backing up quickly. i caught a glimpse of a slack-jawed cameraman, his gear nearly falling as he was too busy watching our fight to care for the expensive camera and light.
"tell me what happened, kitty. you don't have to listen to hawkmoth anymore. i'm here! i can help you. let me help you," i begged, almost being backed into a corner. he laughed drily.
"it was you, ladybug! don't act so innocent. how many times have you lied to me? did you really think i wouldn't find out?"
   i stopped in confusion for a second, and that was all it took for him to pin me onto the ground. i writhed violently, but his grip was like iron.
   i tried searching his eyes for something, but they were empty. cold and calculating and blue and completely different from the lively green ones i was used to. i teared up, thinking of all the time we spent together, how it all ultimately led to this. i should have known. i had known. but i was too selfish to stop it before the consequences ensued.
   his hand reached for my ear and i braced myself, because once he took them off the world would know who i was and hawkmoth would win, but chat blanc had stopped. i was still too shocked to react, but someone else flung him off me with ease. i blinked confusedly when i saw the person, trying to make sure i was seeing correctly.
   "chat? no, it can't be, you're..." i trailed off, looking towards chat blanc. he lay still on the pavement as if he hadn't just been thrown ten feet across the sidewalk.
   "i think i'd know if i wasn't myself," he quipped, and i looked at him skeptically.
   "how am i supposed to know you're really chat noir and not just some distraction hawkmoth created?"
   "hmmm.... oh! i know! a few months ago, during patrol, you told me you wanted to be the knitting fairy when you were younger. i laughed, and you hit me with your yo-yo. i guess you wanted to be a mean fairy," he shrugged, and i threw my arms around him, for once not caring about the reporters and their cameras and cheers and the confusing chat blanc on the pavement. all i cared for at the moment was that chat noir was safe, and in my arms.
   "oh, it's you! i was so scared! i'm so glad you're okay, my kitty," i breathed, a few tears escaping my eyes. chat chuckled and wiped them off with his thumb before his face went serious. i reluctantly let go of him
as i surveyed the area. "wait, if you're the real chat, then who is-"
   "replacing me so soon? that's not very nice of you, marinette," chat blanc grinned, apparently having snapped back into reality.
   i vaguely registered gasps of realization from the dozens of people crowded around us, and chat noir muttering something as he enveloped me in his arms again. but it was all foggy. because chat blanc, sentimonster or akuma victim, knew my identity.
   and if he knew, hawkmoth knew. our time was up. this would be our final chance to capture him, whether we were prepared or not.

(a/n: lmao the knitting fairy)