Marinette was going to kill Tikki.

Which, she realized with an internal grumble, was impossible. And if Marinette were being honest with herself (which, gosh darn it, she did NOT want to be honest with herself right now because she was RIGHT), she really had brought this situation on herself. She knew Tikki had been a little punchy of late—which, granted, wasn't an excuse, but something Marinette should have factored in before goading her, especially at the expense of her partner.

Tikki had only been defending him, that little internal voice hissed at her. Tikki had only been doing what Marinette should have done.

The elevator wobbled and Chat Noir's hand flew to the wall, grasping at its smoothness. Yet, he noticed Marinette's eyes on him and tried to cover his startle by flexing and posing with his hand behind his head.

"Maybe if you just gave him a chance, you'd find out he's not so bad!"

"Oh come on, we've spent how many hundreds of hours together, I think I'd know my partner by now…"

"But you only know him when he's fighting akumas. Every time you see him as Marinette, you're always pleasantly surprised. Like when he made you that beautiful candle lit dinner? Or when he thought you were in love with him and went to great lengths to let you down easy and then declared his undying love for Ladybug?"

She was certainly surprised right now—he was trying to play cool, but the corners of his eyes were twitching. Something was not right.

"Chat Noir? Are you ok?" Marinette whispered.

"Oh, me, oh y-yeah, wh-wh-why wouldn't I be ok? I'm the m-m-most amazing p-p-person ever!"

"He's a person too, you know. He has real feelings and you've hurt them. You should really give him a chance!"

"I know I've hurt him, don't you think I feel bad about that?"

"Feel bad? Of course. But you've never validated them or even tried to listen to them before. He's deeper than you realize. You should really try to get to know him."

"Tikki, are you trying to set me up with Chat Noir?"

Marinette watched him try to play cool again, wagging his eyebrows and smirking, but his knees were shaking slightly.

Tikki's eyes had narrowed on her slightly. "I'm saying you should give him a chance."

And Marinette had laughed at her.

Whether or not it was Tikki's fault that she was now stuck in this elevator halfway up the Eiffel Tower with Chat Noir was a moot point, at least in the here and now. He was obviously hurting. She reached her hand out cautiously, not wanting to frighten him more. "Chat, it's ok, I'm right here with you," she responded. She turned her hand over so it wouldn't be demanding, much like she would if she were trying to earn the trust of a stray cat. He eyed her fingers suspiciously, but then decided it might be ok. He reached with a clawed hand and took her offering gently at first, then, as if her hand were a lifeline, he tightened his grip and pulled her body into his. His knees gave way and the two collapsed to the floor of the elevator. He was quaking.

"He's not invincible, you know. You have a tendency to treat him like a human shield, but one of these days he's going to break and it's going to be your fault."

"Tikki, that's not fair. You know how much it kills me every time he takes a hit."

"I'm not talking about akuma strikes, I'm talking about his heart!"

Marinette had enough anxiety of her own that she recognized his immediately. But she wasn't sure what the exact trigger had been. "Chat? Breathe."

His breathing increased in frequency, but not in depth. "Wh…what if we run out of air?" he whispered so rapidly that if she hadn't been trying to identify his trigger she might not have caught it. Aha. Claustrophobia.

"How about cataclysm?" Marinette suggested. His eyes still firmly shut, he shook his head rapidly, and then held up his right hand. His ring was flashing, down to one pad left. She raised an eyebrow. Apparently more had happened before her arrival than she knew about.

"Ok, here's what we're going to do."

"Tikki, I forbid you from interfering."

She'd let out a tiny squeak as magical bonds were wrapped around her tiny body. Tikki writhed in discomfort and her eyes had watered with pain.

"Wait no, I take it back! I didn't mean it!" The bonds had disappeared as quickly as they'd appeared, but Tikki had flown to the Miracle box without a word. "Tikki, I'm sorry, I didn't think through that word… I would never restrict you like that… Tikki!"

"Breathe with me, Chat. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Deep breaths. Fill your lungs all the way."

He did so, eyes still shut.

"Now, I know you are aware of this, but just in case you forgot, there's a fan on the top of this elevator. I can see it spinning as we speak. It's bringing in lots of fresh air. You can feel it, can't you." She blew gently across the top of his head so his hair vibrated. He nodded and relaxed slightly.

"Now, Chat, repeat after me… 'Claws in.'"

She shut her eyes firmly and pressed her hands over her eyes. She didn't know if he checked first or not. All she heard was the whispered command.

If Chat had been quaking, this boy was totally freaking out. Marinette realized, suddenly, just how much his suit had been protecting him—or rather, protecting her from his true self.

With her eyes still firmly shut, Marinette pulled out a macaron from her purse and held it in her open palm for Plagg, then took out a second and pressed it in the boy's hand. "Here, I always keep these on hand in case of emergencies. Try it. It's strawberry, my favorite flavor."

She heard two hungry mouths eating.

"Now, I want you to listen to my voice and nothing but my voice. I want you to relax your toes. Seriously, relax your toes. Did you relax them?" The boy beside her hummed his affirmation. "Good, now, your feet." She continued with the conscientious relaxation exercise, working her way up his body until she had him relax his ears, temples, nose, forehead and hair. At last he laughed.

"Relax my hair? Hair has no muscles, how can I—"

"Use your imagination then," she offered, "and relax your hair!"

Something very soft and warm snuggled against her cheek, and a squeaky voice whispered in her ear, "Thank you for helping him, Marinette."

"Ready?"

He took another deep breath.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. You can do this."

She felt his arms tense around her, and then with surprising confidence, he called, "Plagg, claws out!"

The sensation of the magic overtaking the boy's body, so close to hers, was electrifying, but she gripped his shoulders firmly. She opened her eyes then. Chat Noir was watching her furtively. She smiled and ran a finger around the edge of his mask. He returned a, albeit weak, genuine smile.

"You must think I'm the world's biggest coward," he chuckled sadly.

She shook her head intensely and cupped his cheeks firmly. "Battling akumas is nothing compared to overcoming one's biggest fears. Today, Chat? Today I learned you're the bravest man on the planet."

"If you were to spend even five minutes with him, I guarantee you'd learn something about him that would change your mind."

And all of a sudden, as if it had been waiting for her to say those words, the elevator smoothly started working again.

Author's Note

I love grounding/coping techniques. People don't just get over panic attacks or anxiety. It often takes a great deal of training and practice to overcome fears. However, that doesn't mean they're weak. To anyone and everyone out there battling their own demons, I love you all and am rooting for you!

Also, anyone else get the feeling that maybe Marinette's true calling is as a therapist?