There was something in the back of Marinette's head, tugging at her heart, and trying to steer her away from having any kind of conversation with Chat Noir. But she was tired of fearing everything and hiding it all from him. She had said herself, she trusted Chat completely. This was part of proving that trust.

Although Chat had said some pretty serious things, some would wonder why Marinette would still trust him so deeply? Maybe. Maybe it was because, deep down in that shattered, little, heart of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, was a little bit of love for the feline. Just a little.

Maybe she did have feelings for him. Maybe since the first day she's ever laid eyes on him she's had feelings for him: who knew? She wasn't sure. All Marinette knew was that she suddenly liked Chat Noir, but she wasn't exactly sure how to tell him. She wasn't exactly an expert on relationships either.

Chat had directed Mairnette to the floor since the bed was obviously occupied by his very ill mother. He didn't want to leave the room, yet he was determined to have this conversation with Marinette. He guided her to the floor, and Marinette sat in front of him with her legs crossed. His hands were still in hers while their eyes searched each other's for just a second, until Marinette pulled her hands out of his and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Where to begin," she chuckles sadly, her eyes soon finding the floor as a very interesting object. "It truly is a long story."

He's still staring at her, and he reaches for one of her hands to give it a comforting squeeze. "Take your time," he smiles when she looks back up at him, "I'll listen to it all."

She sighs again, but this time, she doesn't try to remove her hand from Chat's grasp, "I know there isn't much you personally know about me, Chat Noir." She says, "And firstly, I just want to apologize."

He grasps both of her hands more firmly, "Marinette, it is not your job to force your past out to people. You tell it when it feels right."

"I feel like this is right." She admits.

"Then tell away."

"Well, I guess I should start from the beginning then." Marinette lets out a shaky breath, and she can feel the comforting squeeze of Chat's leather hands squeezing her own. She grateful for his comfort, because without it, she's sure this conversation would not fall through. "It all started back in my junior year. I was just a fun-go-lucky teenage girl, who didn't really see anything in her future."

"You could say I was a bit of trouble. Hanging out with the wrong kind of people, and getting into messes I could've avoided." She sighed disappointedly at the memories of her bad decisions. "That's how I met Damon."

Chats eyes widened slightly, and he couldn't help grow angry at the news, "You've known that son of a-" he paused when Marinette raised an eyebrow towards him, "of a...banana..." He gulped, hoping she somehow wouldn't catch onto the true meanings of his words, "....since your junior year?"

She nodded sadly, "Some of my friends and I decided to hit the pub that night. Damon was the first to greet me at the bar."

Chat practically growled at the thought. That lowlife had the opportunity meet Marinette at such a young age.

"We talked," Marinette continued on, "And after getting to know each other that night, Damon wanted to take me home."

She heaved another shaky sigh, and suddenly Chat was hesitant to know she was about to say next. "We had sex, Chat." She chokes out, removing one of her hands from his to bring it up to her mouth to hold back her sob, "I was drunk, a-and i-immature."

"Shhh, it's okay." Chat tries to soothe, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the top of her hand in comforting motions. "Take a breath," he says when she continues to choke out small sobs.

Marinette inhales and exhales a deep breath, knowing fully well to try and keep herself calm while she tells him everything. "We exchanged numbers after that intimate night, and a couple of days afterwards, I got a call from him asking if he wanted to meet up with me again."

"And we did...." She sighs, "After a few other dates, Damon asked me to be his girlfriend. It was a little shocking at the least, but I had just turned eighteen, and I wanted to show my parents I could be independent and responsible, even though I knew myself I wasn't."

Chat nods, acknowledging her every word as she dreadfully continues.

"I moved into his apartment shortly afterwards. He was twenty-two, had his own place, and had just graduated from college with a doctor's degree."

Chat hums to himself, "Ah, so that's where your doctor self kicks in." He chuckles lightly, attempting to lighten the mood.

However, it didn't exactly work, and the frown on Marinette's lips only deepened. "Actually, no. Damon wasn't my first reason for wanting to become a doctor....well, a surgeon."

Chat raised an eyebrow, "He wasn't?" He asks, "Then why did you want to become a doctor?"

Marinette inhales a deep breath before grabbing onto Chat's other hand, "Back in England, I lived with my mother and father." Marinette begins to explain, "But I also had a brother."

Chat's eyes go wide at her confession, "What? You have a brother? Since when?"

"Had, Chat." She corrected him, sighing as she removed her eyes from his and hung her head, "I had a brother."

Chat Noir immediately goes to question on what had happened to the guy, but it was as if Marinette had read his thoughts, for she went on to continue shortly after, "His name was Thomas; three years older than me and a year fresh into college. He had a whole life ahead of him, so many things he wanted to accomplish, and a girlfriend he wanted to marry."

Chat couldn't help but gulp at thought of the girlfriend loosing a man who loved her so dearly. Not only did that make Chat's heart clench, but Marinette's story was getting worse the more she continued.

"One d-day," Marinette tried her best to hold back her tears. She removed one of her hands from his to wipe a year from under her eye before she continued, "My brother was literally just walking around his campus with his buddies when suddenly — as one of his friends had described — felt dizzy."

"His friends made him sit down and take a breath. But then my brother began gasping for air, and one of the guys had to call an ambulance."

She paused again, and it made Chat even more anxious to know what had happened.

"His left lung had collapsed." Marinette finally uttered, still not looking up into his eyes, "My brother didn't make it in time, Chat." She starts to cry, and she squeezes his hands even tighter as she seeks his comfort. "B-by the time they h-had gotten there, h-he w-w-was already d-d-d-dead."

"Shhhhh, okay princess, that's enough." Chat lets out his own sniffle as he pulls the crying girl before him into his chest. He wraps his arms around her, embracing her in a comforting hug as he rubs her back affectionately. Marinette clings onto him, sobbing into his chest and leaving tear marks all over his suit.

Not that he minded.

"Princess?" Marinette chokes out through her fit of sobs, and Chat only continues to soothe her with soft words.

"That's enough sadness." He whispers to her, still hugging her closely to his chest. The last thing he wanted to do right now was let her go.

Marinette hums, and snuggles closer into his chest; her sobs soon turning into sniffles, "Sadly Chat, there's still a-a lot more s-sadness from this damsel in distress."

Chat couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

__________________________

Wow, I have drifted away from my schedule and it's awful.

YOU FINALLY GET MARINETTE'S PAST.

Did you ever think that what she told Chat could've be the reason?

Anyway, that's not all of her past. More is still to come.

{ votes, comments, and shares are highly appreciated }

Thanks!
-Dippy