I'm posting this on Christmas because everyone wants Marichat for Christmas right? At least I do. For those who read my other story Barriers, that chapter should be coming out tomorrow, but this will have to hold you over for now.

Things to know in advance-
-Chat and Hawkmoth are basically business partners, with neither knowing the others identitiy
-Gabriel is not Hawkmoth in this fic
-Marinette and Chat both received their Miraculous's when they were around 13
-Akumas are deadlier than the ones in the show
-Everything else is like the show, character relationships, age, etc.

Marinette considered herself a smart person. She knew how to judge a situation and act accordingly, she had to as Ladybug, and she liked to think that the skill carried over to her civilian self. She was starting to doubt it though, watching the red pool out from her side. She really wasn't thinking when she jumped out in front of the akuma's attack to protect him. Chat Noir, the city's worst criminal just after Hawkmoth. And she did it as her civilian self of course, which meant there was no magic suit to protect her from the damage.

She felt herself collapse to the ground as the akuma's thorny vine retract from her abdomen, eliciting a panicked cry from Chat Noir. That was strange, he was so aggressive and uncaring towards everyone as far as she knew; so why would seeing Marinette injured panic him? Never less Marinette heard his enraged snarl through the pounding in her head.

"Hawkmoth! Call off the akuma! Now!" Who was he talking to? Marinette didn't think Hawkmoth could hear them through his akumas, but honestly, she could care less right now. The adrenaline was starting to wear itself off and excruciating pain was beginning to overtake her senses. She closed her eyes, trying to fight off the agony.

"I don't care if Ladybug hasn't shown up yet! Call it off or else I will personally destroy your little evil lair!" Chat Noir snarled again. That was Chat Noir, right? Marinette was losing focus, her conscious flickering.

She felt a warm hand wrap itself around her own, and frantic mutters. Marinette tried to say something to comfort whoever it was, that she was fine, but she couldn't find the strength to speak through the pain and exhaustion.

She heard sirens in the distance, she groaned, the blaring sound aggravating her pounding head.

A breath tickled her ear with the whisper of "I'll check up on you later.", and then the warmth in her hand was gone with a gust of wind. She reached out feebly for it to return, only for her hand to soon fall limp as she fell further into unconsciousness.

The blaring of the sirens grew closer and closer until it was right upon her, ringing in her ears. Then there were people around her, their panicked footsteps sending tiny vibrations through Marinette.

She tried to open her eyes to see them, but they refused to open. As she felt herself being moved, she protested weakly, only to stop once it sent a jolt of pain through her side. She was drifting into comforting sleep, away from the pain, away from the cacophony of sounds. The last thing she registers is Alya's panicked pleas to let her see Marinette.

When Marinette finally wakes up, the first thing she notices is how tight her side feels. She picks up her head to see the bandages surrounding it. Right, she had been stabbed by an akuma protecting Chat Noir of all people. She sighed audibly while musing over her past decisions, a sound which didn't go unheard by the other residents in the room. Marinette's parents, along with Alya, rush over to her immediately.

"Marinette!" Sabine spoke first, keeping her voice as quiet as she could. "Are you okay?"

"Hi maman." Marinette said groggily, her head feeling a little fuzzy. "I feel fine, just tired."

"It's probably from the anesthesia and painkillers." Tom said, his hands clenching and unclenching. "You had to get surgery you know."

"Surgery?" Marinette asked, trying to recall anything along those lines. "I don't remember surgery."

"You weren't awake through most of it. The doctors said if they had reached you just a little later you-you wouldn't have made it." Sabine said shakily, leaning into her husband for support.

"Your lucky to be alive. It's a miracle." Tom said with misty eyes.

"How long was I asleep?" Marinette asked.

"About two days, the doctors said it was your body recovering from the trauma." Sabine answered with a sniffle.

"I'm sorry I worried you guys, I didn't mean to get hurt so badly." Marinette said, offering her parents a hug, which they returned carefully, as to not bother her wound, but still full of love.

They pulled away after a while, letting Alya come up Marinette. Marinette didn't miss the subtle nod that Alya shot at her mother, but it was probably some secret agreement for Alya to spend more time by her side, or something like that.

"Hey Mari." Alya said, not even trying to stop the tears that streamed down her face when she pulled Marinette into a hug.

"I'm okay Alya. I'll be fine." Marinette comforted her, rubbing a soothing hand on her back.

"But you almost weren't. Mari, you almost died! Why are you so calm?" Alya said bitterly, pulling out of the embrace to sit down next to Marinette's bed.

Marinette tried to find a response, but as much as she tried, she couldn't find one. Why was she so calm? The last time she had gotten heavily injured had resulted in a silent panic attack in the middle of the night. The only thing that had kept her from keeping from revealing her secret to her parents out of fear had been Tikki's support. Maybe Tikki's calm nature was starting to rub off on her, wait…

"Alya, where's my stuff?" Marinette asked fearfully, hoping Tikki was doing alright.

"Don't worry, it's on the table over there." Alya reassured her, nodding to the small table on the other side of the room.

"Can you bring my bag to me?" Marinette asked.

"Sure." Alya said, walking over to the table to fetch the bag. As she handed it to Marinette though, she asked "So why'd you do it?"

"What?" Marinette asked confused, her hand searching her bag for Tikki's familiar presence.

"Why did you protect Chat Noir?" Alya asked again with a grimace. "Why protect the biggest jerk in all of Paris?"

"Oh, that. I saw the akuma turn on him and I just, reacted, you know?" Marinette said quietly, finally finding Tikki and giving her head a soft pat.

"Reacted by taking the hit? Jeez Mari, you're really too good to everyone, you know that?" Alya said with a bittersweet chuckle. "Although I think Chat Noir might have his own opinion on that."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked.

"Wanna see what you've missed the past couple days?" Alya asked, picking up the remote that Marinette hadn't noticed.

"Sure." Marinette said, eyes narrowing as she debated whether to call Alya out on her sudden change of subject. In the end, she decided that it was best to just leave it be, Alya would come out and tell her eventually anyways.

Alya turned on the T.V stationed on the wall in front of Marinette's bed, flipping through the stations lazily looking for something entertaining. She paused for a moment on the news station to check the headlines before continuing though.

"Wait, go back to the news." Marinette instructed, "I thought I saw something interesting."

Alya gave her a worried glance before going back, showing the caption that read "Stunning Revelation About Chat Noir, His Secret Love?"

The caption was accompanied by a picture of Chat Noir standing protectively over Marinette's fallen form. Marinette sent a questioning gaze towards Alya, who returned the look sheepishly, averting her eyes.

"There was a security camera across the street from where you were attacked, the media is sort of having a field day with the footage." Alya said guiltily.

The picture changed to a video, Alya moved to change the channel it but Marinette motioned for her to wait.

"Are you sure Mari?" Alya asked, gaze flickering between the television and Marinette, concerned.

"I'll be fine." Marinette reassured her, head turning back to raptly watch the screen. She had watched the video that Alya had showed her unwittingly of Ladybug being thrown around by Chat Noir and an akuma, while Marinette was recovering from said wounds.

The camera was high up, across the street from where Chat Noir and the akuma were seen terrorizing some civilians. The akuma was flower based, her rose colored dress contrasting the bright green vines weaving around her, the same vines which had ended up in Marinette's stomach.

Chat noir said something, the camera was too far away to pick up words, but it offended the akuma enough that it picked him up with the vines, slammed him against the ground a couple times, and sent him flying into the wall of a building. Walking up to him, the vines were preparing to strike, but then Marinette had come running around the corner.

At the time, she had been trying to find a good place to transform to fight the akuma, and had ended up accidentally running straight to it. Way to go past Marinette.

The akuma ignored her, and turned her attention back to a struggling Chat Noir. He flashed the akuma a cheeky grin, as if he expected the akuma to just leave him alone. It only enraged her further, eyes blazing, her vines leaned back to strike, and then…

"Move idiot!" Marinette had come running, standing tall in front of the kneeling Chat Noir. Most of the vines swerved to harmlessly hit the wall behind them, but one shot right through her, stopping before it hit Chat.

Marinette had to admit, it was unsettling watching herself being almost fatally injured, even if she knew that she was fine. She brought a hand to lightly trace over her bandages.

Alya gave Marinette a concerned look, Marinette waved her hand, signaling to keep the video playing.

As the video Marinette fell without a sound, Marinette had to remind herself that she was fine now, that she was alive and breathing. She was here, next to Alya, not lying cold and dead on some street.

"Hawkmoth! Call of the akuma! Now!" The familiar snarl pulled her thoughts back to the video.

Chat Noir had moved himself over her fallen body, crouching protectively over her, watching the akuma with furious eyes. The akuma was frozen, the characteristic purple mask of Hawkmoth painted over its face.

"Ladybug isn't here, we need this to try and take her miraculous! Remember our deal." A deep voice spoke through the akuma, Marinette recognized it as Hawkmoth himself, although she rarely heard him.

"I don't care if Ladybug hasn't shown up yet! Call it off or else I will personally destroy your pathetic lair!" Chat responded, pupils thinning in rage.

The akuma remained frozen, Hawkmoth likely weighing his options. But it wasn't long until the mask disappeared from the akuma's face. A wave of purple light followed though, and Marinette could faintly see the signature purple butterfly leave the tiny flower placed in the woman's hair, the woman herself falling to the ground with a gasp.

While Marinette was happy that the woman was okay, she was more concerned over Chat Noir. Him and Hawkmoth had been partners for as long as she knew them, so Hawkmoth backing down at Chat's request wasn't surprising, but the reasoning was. He was obviously protecting her, Marinette, but for what reason? They had never even met, so why such an extreme reaction?

In the video, Chat turned to face the fallen Marinette. If she remembered correctly, then…oh no. Marinette could feel her face begin to heat up as the memories came rushing back to her.

Chat bent down, Marinette's suspicions confirmed when his hand was seen to go wrap itself over hers as he knelt beside her.

Marinette could see Alya's poorly hidden smirk, her best friend obviously rejoicing over her flustered state, even with the injury. Marinette tried her best to ignore the embarrassed blush that blossomed on her cheeks, but she knew that she couldn't help it. This was just great, now the entire city would think that she and Chat had something going on, even if Marinette had literally never met the feline villain, at least, not as Marinette.

The clip ended there, the video being pulled away to go back to the commentary that was provided for it.

"Alya, please don't tell me people are jumping to conclusions about this." Marinette pleaded, bringing up her hands to cover her face.

"I would, but I'm not a liar." Alya said jokingly. "But seriously girl, it's huge with like, everything: news, forums, social media, the ladyblog, it's all Paris is talking about."

"Ugh, why?!" Marinette complained, "I've never even met him!"

"Well he doesn't seem to have the same story." Alya said skeptically.

"Really Alya? You know I can't hide anything from you, and that I have a crush on Adrien! You can't seriously believe that me and him are involved in any way!" Marinette accused angrily.

"I know Mari, but not everyone in Paris knows you, you'll have it rough for a while with a lot of people." Alya conceded sympathetically.

"Alya, could we just not talk about this now? Let's just see how things work out." Marinette asked.

"Sure girl, just know I'm here if you need me." Alya said, seemingly unwilling to drop the subject, but per Marinette's request, she moved on to talk about what their other classmates had sent Marinette. Marinette's parents arrived shortly afterwards to listen in on the conversation, mostly just enjoying their daughter's company.

Sabine kept sending pointed glances towards Alya, the girl too wrapped up in her conversation to notice. The looks didn't slip past Marinette, and once it had gone on long enough she grunted and jerked her head towards maman, the movement finally capturing Alya's attention.

Sabine flashed Marinette a grateful smile before gently suggesting "Alya dear, do you want to go home now? It's getting quite late, and Marinette needs rest."

"Of course, my mom's already going to be here in a couple minutes to take me home anyways." Alya answered immediately, nodding enthusiastically.

"Thank you dear." Sabine smiled gratefully. Alya said her last goodbyes, promising to bring Nino and whoever else wanted to come and see Marinette tomorrow.

Marinette's parent stayed though, just talking about the small things they had seen recently, like they normally would. They even stayed through dinner, even though the food wasn't exactly bakery quality; but, Marinette's system wasn't prepared for heavy meals yet, and she had to settle for soup as her dinner. Not like she cared, she was still here to eat the soup.

Her parents left after dinner, saying how she should get her rest and they would be back first thing tomorrow morning. They each gave her a bone crushing hug before leaving in silent tears.

Once Marinette was sure that the room was empty, she called Tikki out of her bag. The little red being tackled Marinette's cheek as hard as she could, wrapping her paws around it in a miniature hug.

"Marinette? Are you okay? Please, don't ever, ever, ever do something like that again. You need to be more careful." Tikki muttered under her breath, her tears leaking onto Marinette's face.

Marinette brought up her hand to pet Tikki's head, trying to soothe her.

Sniffling, the kwami finally could ask clearly "Why did you protect Chat Noir?"

Marinette opened her mouth to answer only to shut it when Tikki continued to talk, "But not what you told Alya, I already know that. I need to know why."

"Honestly Tikki," Marinette said, taking a deep breath, "he looked scared. He looked like the scared little kid that I am. He never looks like that when he's fighting Ladybug, so I've never really sympathized with him. But the look on his face when the akuma was about to strike, it just, just, made him look human. Some part of me might be willing to sacrifice a villain, but I can't leave a person to die, not someone like me."

"You did the right thing, but please, I couldn't bear to lose you." Tikki murmured in response.

"But Chat, he looked so scared in the video, scared for me. Tikki do you know why?" Marinette asked, looking up at the kwami floating above her head.

"I can't tell you that, only Chat Noir and his kwami know. But I can tell you that he genuinely cared about you, even if he doesn't care about Ladybug. Maybe there are more layers to him than you thought." Tikki answered, her voice turning sagely.

Marinette hummed in response, mulling over Tikki's words, stroking the kwami as she moved to sit in Marinette's open hand.

Marinette was reminded of a conversation she and Tikki had had years ago, just months after receiving her miraculous, at the young age of 13, about Chat Noir.

"Tikki, do you think Chat Noir could become good?"

"Possibly, he is meant to be your partner after all."

"But do you think Ladybug could turn him good?"

"I don't know, but these things work themselves out. I wouldn't pursue reforming Chat, but if an opportunity arises, then I think you should take it. Everyone deserves at least on shot at redemption."

"Thanks Tikki."

"Anytime, its why I'm here Marinette, to guide."

Think back to it, Marinette realized that she might have finally found the opportunity she had been waiting for. Sure, Ladybug had no chance at ever helping Chat Noir, but maybe, just maybe, plain old Marinette would do the trick.

I will probably write a Chat counterpart to this eventually, but that would be another oneshot because I don't have the time for another consistent series. Hope you enjoyed this though!