Chapter Text
Marinette had made a bad call. She knew it the second the second she hit the pavement, her elbow making a sickening crunch under the impact. The akuma was stronger than she had anticipated, and in her haste to finish the fight she had underestimated her opponent's power. In a rare flash of misfortune she'd used her Lucky Charm, too. At the rate the fight was going she didn't know if she'd be able to make a speedy exit before her transformation wore off. The akuma advanced on her slowly, his metal boots clinking against the pavement. The victim had been transformed into something that looked vaguely like a cyborg, his body plated with silver and gold, but more frightening was the power his possession had spawned – magnetism. Marinette could practically see the air particles around him shifting with his power. The cars that lined the street shuddered and groaned as they began lifting off the ground, circling the akuma.
“I have a joke for you,” he taunted, strolling calmly towards where Ladybug still lay tightly clutching her injured elbow, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “How many cars does it take to crush a ladybug?”
The cars shook violently in the air, threatening to burst apart with the amount of magnetic energy running through them, and the billboard behind the akuma creaked ominously as the magnetic field began reaching it. Ladybug had to finish this fight now; she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer with her injured arm. A flicker of movement at the corner of her eye alerted her to Chat Noir's appearance, and she turned her head in time to see him grab his staff from his back, a look of sheer ferocity on his face.
He was standing right in front of the billboard.
“CHAT!” she screamed, using her good arm to point at the huge metal structure.
Chat locked eyes with her for a second, an unspoken comprehension flashing between them before he turned, sprinting back towards the billboard. The akuma whipped around, spotting Chat Noir and his grin twisted into a mask of pure rage. He sent a car hurtling towards the young hero, but not before Chat had pressed his hand against the foundation of the billboard, his Cataclysm causing rust to spread across the metal instantly. Chat leapt out of the way of the car, and the vehicle hit the base of the structure, snapping the brittle metal immediately. Ladybug sprang to her feet at that moment. The jolt sent a shooting pain up her arm, but she managed to bound back a few meters as the billboard came crashing down on top of the akuma. As the dust cleared, she could see her opponent wedged under the huge sign, incoherently yelling. The billboard trembled slightly as he attempted to lift it, but it failed to budge.
“Looks like that thing's too heavy for even your magnetic powers to lift, huh? Ladybug said, the satisfaction clear in her tone.
The akuma gargled something incomprehensible in response as Chat Noir calmly crouched down to remove his helmet. Without hesitation, he stamped on it with the heel of his boot, the metal denting deeply as the black butterfly sprang free. Ladybug quickly caught and cleansed it, releasing the now pure white insect. After a flash of light restored the cars and the billboard, her earrings gave a warning beep, telling her that her transformation wouldn't last much longer. Chat turned at the sound and Marinette felt a wave of anxiety spread through her.
This was always when he wanted to hang around for a post-battle conversation and no doubt use the opportunity to unabashedly flirt with her. But Marinette's elbow still throbbed with pain, and she could hardly find it within herself to even humour her partner's attempts at flattery today. The fight had shaken her. She'd never been at such a disadvantage before, and her injured elbow was a sign of how much she'd been taking her powers for granted. If Chat hadn't showed up when he did... Marinette shuddered slightly. The thought of dying hadn't even really crossed her mind until that moment.
“Ladybug?” Marinette's head snapped up at the voice. Chat Noir was looking at her closely, his eyebrows pinched together in confusion.
“Sorry, what?” she said, shaking her head to get rid of any lingering thoughts of mortality. It was then that she saw Chat's arm extended towards her, his hand closed into a fist awaiting their ritualistic fist bump. She blinked, her hand tightening around her hurt elbow.
“Oh! I- er...” She trailed off and Chat's eyes flickered towards her arms cradled against her body.
“You're hurt!” he exclaimed, worry flooding his face as he stepped towards her, hands outstretched. Marinette involuntarily stepped back a little, the fear of more pain instinctively causing her to recoil.
“No I'm fine! Really, it's not that bad,” she said, forcing her features into what she hoped was a carefree smile.
Chat stopped in front of her, examining her expression. Slowly, very slowly, he put his hands gently on her upper arms. His expression was soft, concern clear in his eyes as he said, “At least let me get you out of here.”
Marinette hesitated. They'd both used their powers and their transformations would be wearing off soon, but the hot ache in her arm told her that she wouldn't be swinging out of there with her yoyo, and she needed the help of someone she trusted. Marinette allowed herself one more moment of hesitation before nodding her head.
“I'm going to pick you up, okay?” Chat asked.
“Yeah, okay,” Marinette replied. Chat slipped a hand under her knees and one around her back, lifting her gently before turning and dashing down a network of alleys. He didn't take to the rooftops, not wanting to jolt his Lady's injured arm, instead choosing to sprint through a labyrinth of backstreets away from the battle site. After a few blocks Chat slowed, glancing around quickly before setting Ladybug down. His ring beeped loudly, and ladybug could see one of the glowing green paw pads flicker and disappear.
“Your Miraculous!” she warned, her eyes widening anxiously.
“It's okay, hang on,” Chat replied, giving her a reassuring smile. He extended his hands towards where Ladybug still held her arms closely, and again she made as if to move away.
“It's okay,” he told her gently. “I'm just going to check if the bone is broken.” He waited for her consent, his eyes warm despite the worry etched into his face. Marinette was painfully aware of their rapidly expiring transformations, but what if the bone was broken? She knew she couldn't return home with a fractured arm; her parents would want an explanation, and she trusted her partner.
The blond boy watched her patiently, and Marinette knew he would wait until she said it was okay before touching her. She took a shaky breath before quietly saying, “Alright.”
Chat took her by the wrist carefully, the fingers of his other hand gingerly sliding under her elbow as he manoeuvred her arm away from her chest. He slowly extended her arm, watching closely for any signs of distress.
“Does that hurt? Any sudden pain?” he asked, concern colouring his tone. Marinette's elbow did hurt, but she managed to extend it fully. She shook her head in response and Chat's fingers began massaging the elbow bone.
“What about that? Is the bone very tender?” The spot where Chat's fingers delicately rubbed ached a little, but not as badly as it had during the battle, she realised. She shook her head again.
“A little, but it feels better than it did.”
Chat nodded, his features relaxing fractionally, but he didn't move to release her arm. Marinette's wrist tingled where he held it and she peeked up at him. A look of fierce concentration and concern tightened his expression, and her heart surged for a moment at how much her partner cared about her. He always flirted wildly with her and made terrible jokes, but she could see that underneath all of his bravado the boy harboured real affection for her. It was one of the things that made their dynamic so effective. Chat looked up from wiggling her fingers, an eyebrow quirking and a sly smirk tilting up the corner of his mouth.
“Enjoying the show, My Lady?” he asked, the flirtatious drawl shattering the moment. It was then Marinette realised she'd been watching her partner with a disgustingly goofy smile on her face.
She'd been so lost in her reverie that she hadn't even noticed her expression morph into a dreamy daze, and she quickly furrowed her eyebrows, scowling at the cocky cat. Chat chuckled, his shoulders shaking with the sound. He moved her arm back to her chest, his expression turning serious.
“It doesn't seem like the bone is broken,” he announced. With a wink he added, “You're lucky.” And Ladybug rolled her eyes. “I think you might have bruised the joint though, so you're going to need a sling, at least for twenty four hours.”
Marinette shook her head.
“It can't be that bad, surely. It'll be fine by tomorrow,” she insisted.
“With your luck, it probably will,” Chat agreed. “But I'm going to put your arm in a sling anyway, just in case.” Something in his tone told Marinette that this was not up for debate, and she settled for pouting grumpily at him.
“And how are you going to do that kittycat?” she asked, the sarcasm heavy in her voice. She saw Chat hesitate for a moment, some foreign emotion flashing in his brilliantly green eyes.
“Turn around, face the wall,” he said solemnly. Ladybug frowned at him. He sighed, lifting his hand to scratch the back of his head, something Marinette recognised as a nervous habit.
“I'm wearing a shirt...” he began, trailing off as he watched the implication of his words.
“Chat I said I didn't want-”
“I know,” he rushed out, “But my transformation is wearing off anyway, and you can close your eyes just to be sure.” There was something wistful in his voice, but Marinette knew he would respect her privacy, she knew he would never do anything to jeopardise their relationship.
Marinette turned around to face the rough brick of the alley wall, a second or two later hearing Chat's transformation release behind her. She could hear the rustling of clothes, undoubtedly as he took off his shirt and a second later two strong looking hands appeared over her shoulders, glove-free. In one of them was held a white shirt, twisted into a long strip. On the fourth finger of the other was a silver ring, probably Chat's miraculous, and Marinette suddenly squeezed her eyes tight shut. That was more than she wanted to know already. It wasn't that she didn't care for Chat Noir, she did. She would risk her life for him and she knew he would do the same, but familiarity bred complacency and Marinette didn't know what she'd do if either one of them accidentally shouted the other's name in battle. No, the secret of her true identity was too big even for one person, even if that person was her trusted and valued partner. In the darkness behind her closed eyes, she felt the hands gently lift her wrist, looping the shirt-sling underneath.
Marinette suddenly became aware of how close Chat was to her. She felt the warmth of his skin radiating off him, his cheek almost brushing hers as he leaned over her. Moving to tie the two ends of the shirt, Chat's breath ghosted the back of her neck, the warmth tickling the baby hairs exposed out the top of her suit and Marinette shivered at the sensation. She had never really been this close to a boy before, not like this, and her mind wandered absently. She thought about Chat Noir's hands, how strong they had looked, how they always held her so assuredly during a mission, unfaltering. Marinette's heart had time to do a tiny somersault at the glowing feeling of safety the thought brought her just as Chat's fingers brushed the back of her neck whilst tying the shirt knot. The sudden contact sent a jolt of electricity shooting down her spine, the feeling of his skin on hers bringing her crashing back to earth, and she felt herself physically jump.
“Sorry! Did I hurt you?” Chat worried, misinterpreting her sudden spasm.
Marinette shook her head, not trusting her voice. Oh gosh for a second she had thought... She shoved the ideas racing through her mind firmly to one side, focusing on her arm. The pain was much more bearable now that the pseudo sling had taken the weight off the joint, and she wiggled her fingers just to make sure.
“Thank you, Chat,” she breathed, trying to mask the shakiness of her voice by speaking quietly.
Hopefully Chat would just think it was the ache in her arm that had suddenly made her so nervous. There was a pause, and Marinette could practically feel his eyes on her back. His hands lingered on the knot for a second, and Marinette froze as she suddenly felt the cool tip of his finger trace a feather-light line from the nape of her neck to her jaw. Her earrings gave their final warning beep and she stiffened, hyper aware of the boy standing so close behind her. Chat's finger shot away from where it had lazily moved across her skin and he cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed.
“Chat...” She began anxiously.
“It's okay, I know! Please keep safe, my Lady,” he replied, his voice thick with affectionate concern.
Marinette knew that if he could, he would walk her home and make sure she got into bed safely. He'd probably stay up and keep watch on her if she let him, but that was not the relationship they had. Ladybug wanted to keep their personal lives private and Chat respected that, even if he did not share the same desire. Marinette heard her partner's footsteps fade into the distance just as the pink glow from her transformation moved over her body, leaving her in her civilian clothes in the alleyway. Tikki flew out of her earrings, plopping down exhausted on her shoulder. The little kwami's antennae drooped with fatigue and she turned to look at Marinette, seeing an odd expression on her charge's face.
“Marinette are you okay?” Tikki asked. She wasn't only talking about her injury, and Marinette knew it. Tikki had always been astonishingly perceptive.
Marinette turned to look at the tiny creature perched on her shoulder, a small smile gracing her face to reassure her kwami. Tikki's eyes glinted cheekily.
“Chat Noir really cares about you, doesn't he?” Tikki said, successfully managing to mask the slyness of her tone.
Marinette's eyes unfocused for a second, probably as she thought on the emotions she'd just felt Tikki mused.
“I suppose he does,” Marinette whispered, and Tikki smiled softly, floating down to tuck herself safely in Marinette's purse.
Marinette stood in the alley for a few more minutes to compose herself before checking the coast was clear and stepping out into the street. As she walked, she glanced down at the shirt-sling coiled around her arm. A small black label poked out of the folds of the fabric around her wrist, and she used the fingers of her good hand to turn it towards her. Printed in bold script, the name “Gabriel” stood out at her in white against the black of the label. Marinette snorted to herself: Of course a boy like Chat Noir would have designer clothes, she thought, though she couldn't help the grin that slowly spread across her face.