#again this is not a prediction it’s just a pleasant personal thought journey djdjdkd

[carpisuns]

something i think would be Neat (it will not happen lol)

a s4 glaciator-esque marichat bonding scene that opens both of their eyes to what the other is going through. In glaciator, Marinette had no idea how hurt chat was about her rejections. She didn’t know he was serious. She thought it was all an act. and adrien had no idea that marinette was also feeling heartbroken. But their brief talk helped them understand each other better. Adrien was able to comfort his friend in a time of need, and Marinette saw chat’s soft side, a sincerity she’s never seen before, and from that point on she knew she had to be honest with him but also gentle with his feelings, which were very real.

Right now in season 4, Marinette also has no idea how hurt chat is feeling. She hasn’t seen his angry outbursts, his sad looks when her back is turned. She is buying his forced nonchalance. She’s relieved that he seems to be the same old silly kitty he’s always been. but he’s not. She had assumed he was acting in glaciator when he wasn’t, and now she assumes he is not acting when he actually is. She can’t really be blamed for this. She has a lot of problems to deal with, and he’s a good actor.

But imagine what could change in the ladynoir dynamic if there was another marichat “intervention”:

adrien, feeling ignored and useless and lonely, transforms one night to go out and clear his head. He sees marinette, who is just so stressed and tired and worried about everything that she came out on her balcony for some fresh night air to just sit and feel nothing for once. he stops by to say hi (post-weredad, it’s not quite as out-of-the-blue as it was the first time).

he notices she seems stressed. asks her about it. she keeps it vague but is as honest as she can be, and it feels good to share this burden with chat noir, at least a little bit, in a way she hasn’t done as ladybug because she’s trying so hard to keep it together.

chat noir is a good listener. he’s attentive. kind. understanding. but something is bothering him too. she prods a little and he confesses how lost he feels. like ladybug doesn’t need him anymore. how he feels so bitter and angry, and he hates that he feels that way because he knows she wouldn’t replace him or forget him but he just can’t help feeling like he’s being left behind yet again.

marinette is surprised. with how busy she’s been as ladybug, she hadn’t had much time to stop and think about how everything might be affecting chat noir. he didn’t seem hurt. but maybe he was too good at hiding it. maybe his smiles and jokes were a little too forced and she never noticed.

chat gets quiet. “sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth it anymore. the lies. the secrets. sometimes I wonder if she even needs me. If it would even make a difference to her if i was gone.”

she’s shocked. Hurt. “Of course it would.” She assures him that ladybug needs him and cares about him and values him. He offers a smile but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “We all need you,” she says finally. “Paris needs Chat Noir. And so do I.”

“Thanks for saying that,” he says softly.

“I’m not just saying it. I mean it.”

She pulls him into a hug. He’s stiff at first, surprised, but then he relaxes and hugs her back. It feels good to hold each other. It feels good to have someone who cares.

When they let go, he feels much better. He thanks marinette for listening and wishes her luck with the stressful things she mentioned. “If you ever need a helping paw, I’m here,” he says. She tells him to wait. Disappears into her room and comes back with a pastry wrapped in a napkin.

“You know, if you feed a stray, they’ll just keep coming back,” he jokes.

She smiles. “I know.”

She watches him leave, heart breaking out how defeated he had looked. She had never meant to push him away; she just had a lot going on. She thought his ignorance would protect him (she still has nightmares about blue eyes behind a white mask), but now she wonders if it would be better for him to know—not everything, but some things. As much as she could tell him. Like how she’d confessed her identity to Rena Rouge when she was at breaking point. How she’s given Rena a miraculous permanently. She figures she should finally tell him the identities of the other heroes—which hawkmoth knows, but chat still doesn’t.

Maybe knowing will help him feel trusted, she thinks. Maybe that will protect him more than anything else. (She hopes so. She won’t let chat blanc happen to him again.)

When adrien gets home, he has a message from ladybug. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant lately. I owe you a chat. Paw-trol tomorrow, just you and me?”

He answers, and for the first time in a long time, he feels peaceful. He eats his marinette pastry, grateful for her kindness and warmth, and he thinks that maybe everything will be okay after all. They were still a team. It was still him and her against the world, as always. And ladybug and chat noir will always save the day, together.

[upbeat music playing over marichat endcard 😌]