"Why do they call it falling in love? Because when you fall, you crack, and when you crack, you break, and when you break, you shatter. You can shatter into pieces, or you can shatter... and bloom again."

— Forbidden Love

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

In the darkness of the night, Chat Noir slowly opened the front door to his one-person cottage. The door creaked open on its hinges, and Chat Noir cringed at how horrific it sounded. He had to remember to oil that later.

Looking around to make sure his surroundings were clear, Chat Noir quickly took ahold of Marinette's wrist and pulled her inside, almost wishing he hadn't acted so fast when she almost tripped over her own feet. Marinette stumbled inside, barely able to catch herself from a painful fall. When Chat Noir realized how carefree he'd been, he felt utterly guilty for almost causing her a terrible amount of pain.

"I am so sorry!" He quickly apologized, rushing to her side to help her stable herself once again. Chat Noir reached out to Marinette, gripping the crook of her elbow with one hand and grasping her forearm with the other to steady her. At this motion, Marinette's hands flew to his arm in attempt to also keep her balance.

Unwillingly, she blushed at the action. "No worries. It is fine."

Chat Noir shook his head, and he couldn't help the small frown that found its way to his lips. "It most certainly is not fine. You almost fell face first into my floor! I do not think I would have been able to live with myself knowing that would have been my fault."

Smiling gently at his act of kindness, Marinette gently patted his arm at an attempt to assure him all was alright. "Almost. A very important word. I did not fall and bust my face, so you must be doing a swell of a job already, am I right?" Her smile only widened further, and she giggled, indicating that she really was okay.

This time, Marinette didn't miss the way the corner of Chat's lips tugged upward as he struggled to hide his smile. If her grin could grow any wider, it probably would've– although she already knew sooner or later, all smiles would fade, and Chat Noir would begin to question her why she was here.

She had in fact come for refuge in her new found friend late in the night, and had run away from her torturess Aunt. Not to mention that she had unwillingly abandoned her sisters, despite for their pleas for her to stay.

Except for Elizabeth, of course. That woman was too wasted to care if Marinette was alive or not.

"I suppose," Chat Noir's voice broke through her thoughts, and Marinette's gaze fixed on him once again. "But I am making a lousy first impression." She watched as he reached up to rub the back of his neck nervously. Marinette could read the uneasiness in his eyes. "I apologize for..." he glanced around his living space, glaring at it all with disgust. "...the mess. I do not receive very many visitors. Well, none at all actually."

Puzzled, Marinette tilted her head in confusion. "You live alone?"

In response, he simply nodded.

Silence soon overtook the small home, and it only made the ravebette feel even more uncomfortable than she already was. It wasn't that she was necessarily uncomfortable around her friend, but in the situation she was now currently in. Sooner or later, he would be questioning why she was here, and Marinette was not prepared to explain it to him.

Her eyes travelled across his home, despite there was not much to focus on. Chat Noir's home was very small, hence why he probably lived alone. There was hardly any room for more people to share the space with him. There was barely any space for the television in the corner of the room. And the kitchen hardly looked big enough for one person to cook in it. But what really caught her attention was the once piece of furniture that consumed almost the entire house.

The bed.

And there was only one bed.

Blast! There was no way he'd be willing to share a bed with her! Double blast! What was she thinking? There was no way she'd be damned to share a bed with him!

What on earth was messing with her mind?

Luckily, Chat Noir was easily able to catch her uneasiness at the sight of only one bed in his home. "Ah, yes, I... I will take the floor. So... do not worry. You may have my bed."

She looked his way with one eyebrow raised. "What? But I could not possibly take your bed! Let me take the floor."

He shook his head as if that idea was absurd. "Of course not. I will sleep on the floor."

"You sleep on the bed," But, Marinette, as persistent as she was, would not give in so easily. "It will be fine for me to take the floor. I am used to uncomfortable sleeping arrangements."

And that was not entirely a lie.

For three years of Marinette's life, she had been forced to sleep on the floor. Aunt had refused to buy her a new bed when the old frame broke, despite the fact that Elizabeth had her own bed with a mattress to sleep on, and Krissy and Emily had shared a small mattress of their own. The only reason Aunt had eventually bought a mattress for her least favorite niece was because if she wouldn't have, Marinette would have rung up child services.

Threatening Aunt with child services usually got you what you wanted as a kid/young teen.

But after growing up, that tactic was long gone.

"A lady should never have to sleep on floor." Chat Noir folded his arms across his chest, clearly indicating that he was not about to let go of this discussion any time soon. "Despite what has happened in your previous living conditions, I will not allow a woman to sleep on the floor when there is a perfectly, comfortable bed awaiting for her use. You will sleep in the bed, no exceptions."

Despite his demands, Marinette was grateful for his persistence. She admired how he was so determined to make sure that she was comfortable, despite that he would be somewhat uncomfortable himself. She supposed that was truly how a true friend was meant to act.

Her regret for coming to him to begin with was slowly fading away.

Clearing his throat to clear the awkwardness in the air, he directed her attention back to him. "Um... wait here while I fetch some sheets for my place on the floor." Then he gave her a once over from head to toe, inspecting her clothing and noticing all of a sudden that she was carrying a small bag with her this entire time. He cleared his throat. "I mean... uh... make yourself at home. I shall return shortly."

And before she could respond with any form of thanks, Chat Noir was stepping out the front door and closing it behind himself, leaving her for a moment to clothe herself properly for sleep.

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