Crawl Into My Heart

By: Lara Winner

DISCLAIMER: Don't own 'em.

I will lure you in

With skin and sin

To crawl into my heart

There you will stay

My love, my prey

To light the endless dark

The only time Marinette felt alive was in her dreams.

She was being watched, stalked from the creeping shadows as she wandered among the dew-kissed woods. Trees taller than skyscrapers loomed all around her, allowing only a dapple of moonlight to filter in through the dense canopy of leaves. Under her feet the damp earth was cool and slick against her bare feet.

Vines hung in thick ropes from the tallest of the trees and they writhed and danced like slithering snakes, velvet soft but adorned with thorns. The razor sharp points bit at her, snagging her pink nightshirt and scratching her pale limbs. Blood beaded and smeared with each new tear, the thorns growing longer and sharper the further she walked.

Drops of crimson trailed in her wake. Where her blood touched the ground scarlet roses bloomed. With life came pain and each pierce to her flesh was a searing ache that tingled deliciously along her skin.

Marinette didn't mind the pain. It was invigorating to feel anything at all.

Behind her a twig snapped. Adrenaline spiked, her heart tripping into a frenzied beat as she froze, her eyes seeing far more clearly than they should in the unnatural dark.

Slowly she turned, fear and desire swirling like an oil slick in her gut. She knew what she would find. The scent of her blood lured him in. It always did.

Glowing, slit pupiled eyes blinked at her, impossibly large and green. Slinking from the swirling shadows, he coalesced into a feline form and moved closer, massive and every bit as tall as she was. Ivory fangs, wickedly sharp and menacing, glinted as he smiled. Beneath his paws the ground turned to ash.

Except for her roses. They soaked up his corruption and thrived.

The creature stopped before her, close enough that the huff from his nostrils ruffled her hair as he sat upon his haunches and cocked his head curiously. "You never run from me anymore."

Ruin. Decay. The timbre of his voice rattled her bones.

"Why should I, Chat Noir? You always find me."

"Ahhh, but I do so enjoy the chase," he smiled wider, the gesture disconcerting on his cat-like face. His pointed ears flicked forward as her heart hammered harder. Smoky tendrils of his misfortune twined around her bloodied legs in a gentle caress. "It would make catching you that much sweeter."

"I'm not a mouse for you to toy with," she snapped, a spark of anger flickering to life but too weak to be of consequence.

The tendrils crept higher, curling around her knees teasingly.

"You are my Lady, not a scurrying little mouse. I would never play with you in such a way. What do you take me for?" he hissed, his tail whipping agitatedly against the ravaged earth.

The banter was familiar. The underlying menace to his teasing was… different.

It plucked at the knots of tension coiled within her heart, promising bliss. A pain she could control. She just needed to give him the right push...

"You are a vain kitty that takes whatever he wants whenever he wants." Marinette's lips curled into a challenging smile touched with melancholy.

Chat Noir sprang forward, winding himself around her body, his tail curling around her waist. He purred, the shadow touch of his essence entwined around her thighs.

"Puurhaps you are right…" he nipped at her shoulder, catching the fabric of her cotton night shirt and ripping the material playfully, "but you do enjoy it when I play with you."

"Do I? Tomorrow I'm going to buy a dreamcatcher," she replied, her jaw setting stubbornly.

"If you would come to me willingly, my Lady…" he trailed off, his tail sliding higher to slip inside her torn shirt, tickling her skin.

She shivered. "I can't, you kno-"

Chat Noir cut her off with a hiss, the fur along his back bristling as he peered into her face, nose to nose. "Spare me your human reasoning. You act as if I've nothing better to do than chase after you, pathetic for meager scraps of your affections."

Placing her rust streaked hand on his muzzle, she sighed. "Lower your head, silly kitty."

"Is it not enough to have me at your side. You would have me bow to you as well?" he growled.

Marinette's smile grew. "Do you want ear scratches or not?"

The coiling essence slipped between her legs, ghosting across the damp curls of her sex.

All bluster and pride. He was a capricious kitty. Though he had reason to be angry.

She hadn't kept her promise…

Chat Noir's glowing eyes closed and he lowered his head. She scraped her nails around the base of his ears and the world shattered.

For a moment she was falling, weightless. Then her back was pressed down onto cloth more luxurious than silk, his body surrounding her. Protectively. Possessively.

As she breathed in his scent, something that reminded her of embers and cinnamon, he shrank in on himself, his fur blurring and reshaping until it was replaced by warm, luminescent skin. Snew and bone reformed into a willowy body, bare and splendidly muscled. His face twisted and shifted until the handsome visage of the audacious man she'd come to know looked down at her, frowning harshly.

She continued scratching his kitty ears from where they nestled in his shaggy blond hair.

"I won't be distracted. You keep me powerless and I hate it."

Her gaze flicked to her surroundings. To the plush bed that hadn't been there a moment ago, then to the consuming darkness surrounding it. A dreamscape where nothing existed but the two of them.

He was not completely powerless, it would seem.

"And I hate it when you try to frighten me on purpose," she reminded him, leaning up to kiss his cheek, the fine ebony fuzz that partially covered his face, soft as down against her lips.

"You lied to me."

"I only promised to try. Sometimes the pain is the only thing I can feel," she admitted softly.

Chat's slitted pupils remained narrowed but his mouth twisted in a sensual smile, his petulance vanishing. "I know ways to make you feel," he purred, his voice deep yet unnervingly melodic in his current form, "and I can make them hurt so good…"

He trailed a claw down the front of her ruined nightshirt, the pink material beginning to disintegrate where it snagged on the sharp tip. The corrosion spread like spilled ink until there was nothing of her shirt left but wisps of ash drifting away. Chat Noir had never touched his retractable claws to her skin. She thought that now she might know why.

Marinette stilled as he raked his gaze hotly down her naked body, a ravenous glint entering his inhuman eyes. He licked his lips and grinned, exposing his fangs "You want me. I can smell it."

There was no point in denying Chat, she was already wet and tingling, craving the way he used her desires against her, making her need the pleasure as well as the pain. Making her itch to have him, fixating on the memory of his touch in her waking hours, his eerie beauty constantly haunting her thoughts.

She wouldn't deny herself either, even though her obsession frightened her.

"Please." It was as close as she would come to begging.

Chat visibly trembled, his erection twitching and she could see the exact second his restraint snapped. His muscles tensed and his eyes darkened, pupils blown wide as he fiisted her hair, claws safely retracted as he turned her head to the side, baring her throat.

Hooking his other hand under her knee, he lifted her leg and slid into her with a savage thrust, the shock-wave rippling deliciously through her body. Crying out, she arched against his lithe form as if trying to escape the merciless way he filled her, stretching her to take every inch of his thick girth even as her hands fell to his shoulders desperately clutching him closer.

There was no relief as he pressed her down, reflexively jerking his hips as his tongue lapped at her neck. His lips latched onto where the curve of her shoulder began, sucking sharply. She gasped in a breath, bracing for the added torment as Chat bit down, burying his fangs deep into her tender flesh.

Tears flooded her eyes as he invaded her very essence, his bite causing contradictory sensations. The initial sting was pleasantly amplified as his sensory perception merged with her own, the pleasure he felt leeching into her veins, the echo carrying through from every point they joined. He thrust again, sinking his fangs deeper and she clawed brutally at his back, their combined need nearly overwhelming her.

The ghostly taste of iron lingered on her tongue.

The pain was rich and the pleasure heady. He began rocking hard and fast and the heat that throbbed within her abdomen worsened. She couldn't move against him, couldn't gain purchase. She was at his mercy, whimpering with each delicious plunge, reveling in the sting in her shoulder, the shallow lacerations on her limbs prickling from where his sweaty skin pressed into hers.

Then he yanked on her hair and she started spiraling, her breath stuttering, her legs clenching around his hips. It felt like flying, like bursting apart at the seams, like her body was burning leaving only bliss in its wake.

"More," she gasped.

Chat growled into her skin, fucking into her so forcefully her spine creaked. The friction demanded she cave under the pressure. Her core throbbed and pulsed, sucking him back in every time he pulled out and the coiling in her gut tightened unbearably. One second she was cresting then the next it was almost too much, the pleasure crushing her under a landslide of sensation as her orgasm ripped through her with annihilating intensity.

Endorphins rushed, her body shuddered but it wasn't enough. Chat's unfulfilled desire raged through their connection, his erection rock hard and glistening as he pulled out of her with a wet plop.

"Kitty?" Marinette's heart lurched as he released her shoulder, the connection of essences instantly broken leaving her feeling drained and empty.

Her dream lover smiled down at her, his lips stained red. "I'm not letting you go yet, my Lady." Using the back of his hand, he swiped at the crimson dribbling down his chin. "I'll never truly let you go. You must know that by now," he leered.

It was unsettling to admit those words would comfort her if only he were real.

"You're mine," Chat warned softly, his eyes burning. "You'll never be free. In time, you will understand just how much I love you."

The hand twisted in her hair urged her up gently, guiding Marinette to her knees. Blood oozed from the bite on her shoulder, crimson rivulets mixing with the sweat beaded on her breast and splashing onto her thighs. Chat lowered his head using the flat of his tongue to clean away the garish blood, lapping at the curve of her breast. When her heart began to pound she felt his lips curl smugly against her skin. He nipped at her nipple, sucking hard when she gasped, pressing into his mouth.

Laughing, her arrogant kitty let go with a smack and straightened up, crushing his lips to hers, urgent and demanding. Marinette returned the kiss just as fiercely, sucking his tongue into her mouth, tasting rust and cinnamon.

When Chat pulled back, he liked his lips, purring, "Your blood is exquisite but there is another part of you that tastes even better."

Marinette shivered as his rumbling voice slithered along her spine. The promise in his words caused her desire to reignite.

Guiding Marinette by her sweat damp tresses, Chat eased her torso down to the bed, forcing her bottom to remain up in the air. He nudged her knees apart, spreading her open for his leisure. Letting go of her hair, he tapped his finger to the tip of her nose. "Don't move, my Lady."

"But, kitty," she whined, "you know I'm not good at staying still."

"I know. But if you don't I'll stop," he chuckled darkly. "And you like it when I devour you."

Closing her eyes, Marinette tried not to squirm as Chat's hands gripped her bottom, twisting himself around with cat-like flexibility to seal his mouth to her slit. Her legs wobbled, knees threatening to collapse as he licked at her aching clit.

She groaned, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from grinding onto his mouth. It was so hard to obey his wishes when he sucked on her puffy folds, swirling his tongue sloppily, making the most filthy sounds as he sought out every drop of slickness that leaked out of her.

Then his tongue followed the taste of her to its source and wormed its way inside, hot and stiff and wriggling in ways that had stars bursting behind her eyelids. It was all she could do to claw at the bedding beneath her, whimpering pathetically as he began to purr, the sound vibrating along his tongue.

"Ch..Chat.." she panted, "please... I...I can't…"

The please always got him.

Growling, his fingers dug into the cheeks of her ass as he jerked her hips forward, his tongue slipping from her along with a trickle of slickness as he latched onto her clit. He sucked gently, teasing the hard little nub out of its hood. Thighs quivering, her knees gave way as his tongue began working stiff circles, ripples of pleasure sapping her strength. The pressure was building slowly but steadily, taunting her with the promise of ecstasy that remained just out of reach. Reading her body, Chat didn't let up, his tongue kept right on rubbing and flicking, alternating with broad licks and gentle suction until she couldn't breathe enough to gasp.

Until all she could do was slump against his mouth as her entire body burst apart under the weight of desperate, toe-curling release.

Head spinning and muscles weak, Marientte vaguely noticed when his arms slipped around her waist hauling her up to rest her back against his chest. She shivered, head lolling onto his shoulder, moaning when he laved at the angry, bleeding teeth marks. A choked cry caught in her throat as he slid her hips back, running the head of his member in between her folds until he hit the sweet spot and plunged inside her hot, tight center.

She let her kitty do all the work, instead reaching up to scratch his ear as he braced her weight and fucked her with slow, controlled thrusts. She whimpered as his left hand closed her over her breast, squeezing and kneading. Her back bowed, the movement arching her into his touch while tilting her hips down to take him in deeper.

Gasping, she clutched at his hair, tugging hard on the silky, soft strands causing him to hiss and pinch her nipple roughly. When she jerked, he rubbed away the smarting sting, panting against her neck.

"Ready?' Chat purred.

Marinette could only nod, letting her head slump to the side, exposing her marred skin. She felt his lips curl into a smirk and then he bit down once more, their connection roaring to life in a surge of agonizing pleasure.

Through the link she could feel everything. Chat's barely maintained composure was an echo of raw want slamming through her head, the frantic pounding of his heart was a second beat to her own, even the curling of his tail around her ankle was followed by a reverb of sensation. She gave herself over to the onslaught, embracing the ferocity that poured from him, feeling as if she were part of something beyond herself... as if she were somewhere she belonged.

It felt real.

Marinette knew that could hurt in ways which made his violent affections pale in comparison.

Desperate to forget anything outside of the moment, her fingers found her clit and she moaned, smiling dazedly when Chat's maddening rhythm faltered and he pushed forward hard and deep. Needing that, she rubbed her fingers faster and the residual jolts of pleasure trickled through their bond making Chat mew into her torn flesh. Then his hands were on her hips clutching her in a bruising grip as he hammered into her tight, wet heat and there was nothing but the sound but skin slapping, blood and sweat dripping in tune with their ragged breaths.

All too quickly the mounting tension inside of Marinette snapped like a rubber band. Whimpering, her orgasm crashed down around her from all sides but then Chat was cumming along with her and his pleasure was thrumming through her as well and she thought the euphoria might kill her it was so intense.

It took a small eternity before Marinette could draw a steady breath. It was even longer before she realized that Chat was lazily licking her inner thighs, grooming away the traces of their passion.

When he realized she was watching, he raised his head and grinned. "Feel better now?"

"Very much so," she sighed, her fingertips brushing at her neck and taking stock of the healed and still tingling skin. She stretched, her muscles practically humming and free from tension.

"Good." Stalking up her body with feline grace, Chat watched her carefully. "It could be like this always, you know. I could bend you and break you just enough to give your madness a purpose."

The softness of his expression, the lurking hopefulness in his lopsided smile, there was the kitty boy that had comforted her in her darkest moments and that was the side of him that twisted her heart. It was the very contrariness of his nature that made him so vivid, that made it so hard to remember this was all in her head.

"I'm already broken, kitty," she reminded him sadly and by proxy reminded herself. He knew that, of course. Chat Noir was only a figment of her imagination. The dark and forbidden fantasy of a sad and lonely young woman.

He wasn't real and she couldn't become lost in her own mind… even if she secretly lived for her dreams of him.

"Do I not make you happy?" he asked, his ears laying back as his voice dropped to barely a whisper. Behind him his tail lashed angrily.

"You do." And that was perhaps the most unsettling part of this; to think that he was her only source of happiness these days.

"Then stay with me."

It was a plea as much as it was a demand but he already knew her answer. To escape it he buried his face against her stomach and purred, the deep rumble echoing in the shadows surrounding them.

Petting his silken hair, she sighed, "Chat do-"

"I would do anything you asked of me. Anything you could possibly want I would give you. Anything at all."

I want my life back .

The biting thought carried with it emotions she wasn't ready to feel, not after her dream lover had taken care to force them away. But it was too late. The cruel truth of reality was coming back. The dream was already unraveling, the shadows receding.

"My Lady," he yelped, startled, holding onto her tightly.

But it wouldn't be enough to keep her from waking. It never was.

Even the hurt that flashed in Chat's eyes- the same hurt that was constantly mirrored in her own- faded as he did, bleeding away until everything dissolved into nothingness.

Sunlight...

Boring holes through her eyelids...

Groaning, Marinette burrowed into her pillow, seeking the darkness. No, that wasn't right. It was too hard to be her pillow, too scratchy.

Blinking her eyes open, she winced.

Why was she on the floor…?

Oh yes, she remembered now. The half empty bottle of vodka in her periphery was a dead giveaway. So was the throbbing in her temples. Her mouth tasted bitter and her stomach rolled unpleasantly.

But none of that was really important. Marinette could deal with a half-ass hangover. At least now her outward appearance would match the hot mess of emotional baggage she kept hidden on the inside.

No. Getting drunk wasn't where she'd fucked up. It was the four jagged, barely scabbed over cuts on her inner forearm that had disappointment clogging her throat and scalding pressure beginning behind her eyes.

She'd been getting better.

She'd promised herself she wouldn't do it anymore.

Chat had made her promise, damn it.

But yesterday had been a bad day. It was Bridgette's birthday and birthdays always sucked. To most people it was a celebration of life spent surrounded by loved ones. But Marinette wasn't most people.

Her little sister would have turned seventeen.

It was hard to celebrate Bridgette's life when it was taken from her too soon. Now there was nothing left but memories of happier times, before the day when Marinette's world ended and all that was left of her family was three grave markers in a quiet cemetery.

Nearly two years later and the emptiness was still suffocating. It felt like a vice crushing Marinette's chest, stopping her from breathing, from feeling anything but utter despair and consuming loneliness. Most days she could function, go through the motions, live this imitation of life until she could lose herself once more in her dreams.

Not on bad days.

Birthdays, holidays, the anniversary of their passing...

On those days Marinette curled up in a ball and cried until there were no tears left. But by then she was angry and restless and that's when she turned to things that hurt. Because it was always better to hurt in a way she could control. To feel something besides the terrible aching numbness that seemed to chill her very soul.

Sometimes she wondered if Chat Noir was her subconscious.

Other times she suspected he was proof of her crumbling sanity.

Her kitty wasn't real. She was alone. And if she drank herself into a stupor and cut her arms a little too much, there would be no one to give a damn if she bled out and finally put an end to her misery.

Marinette reached for the bottle, eyeing the razor blade lying a few feet away.

No one would care. No one would miss her.

Chat wasn't real.

It was all in her head.

A.N. - So... you guys wanted dark fae Chat Noir, you've got a dark Chat in this fic. I wasn't sure how far to go in the first chapter but I think there is a good gist of the set up with this. We'll see a bit more of Mari's waking life next chapter and probably more smut. This fic will not be as involved as "Inside Of You", I have a pretty stream lined draft but it's hard to pin point word count and such so I'm not sure how many chapters this will be.

I hope the smut was acceptable. Just to clarify though, please don't take this fic as a serious reference to extreme S&M play. If that is your thing then more power to you but please do your own research and be safe.

Thank you for reading. Every review means the world to me so let me know what you think and I hope to see you next chapter.