It was a typical night, Marinette and Chat Noir doing separate things while enjoying just being in each other's presence. Chat was playing a solo video game on Marinette's computer while Marinette sat on her chaise to paint her nails.
When Marinette broke the comfortable silence with an exasperated sigh, she startled the cat boy. As the words 'game over' flashed upon the screen he turned to the frustrated girl. "What's wrong Princess?" Marinette was hunched over her knee with her tongue poking out of her mouth in concentration as she reached down to paint a toenail.
She was at such an award angle that he wasn't surprised when the brush slipped a little and she missed her nail entirely. Her sigh of frustration turned into a groan. "My arms are too short to even paint my toenails." Marinette capped the bottle and flung herself back on the chaise with a huff. "It takes me hours to even make them look semi decent. I wouldn't bother but with the weather getting warmer I'm going to want to start wearing sandals."
Chat could understand Marinette's frustration. Not personally, as he'd had a few growth spurts throughout the years, but he'd heard plenty tales of petite woes from Ladybug, who was about Marinette's height. Both his princess and his lady only reached his shoulders now. He found it adorable, they did not.
Marinette was still huffing about how much she hated being short. The way she pouted her lip and crossed her arms made Chat smile. "Would you like me to help Princess?" Her eyes lit up at the question and she bolted up.
"Really? I know you were playing a game and all. If you're sure though, I would appreciate the help." He chuckled at her slight desperation to avoid attempting to paint her toes herself again.
"Yes, I'm sure. I was going to switch games soon anyway. After I finish painting your toes maybe we can play something head to head?"
Marinette beamed at him. "Sounds perfect kitty. Since you're being so sweet and helping my short self out, you can pick the color." She held out a box with an array of nail polishes in different finishes and colors. He smirked as he caught a shiny green that was his signature color. He plucked the bottle out and help it up to her. Marinette giggled at his choice. "Why am I not surprised. Excellent choice though, I love that color."
He blushed faintly at her comment but set to work painting her toes. It was the first time he'd ever attempted the task and he messed up a few times. However, with the used of his claws, he was able to gently scrape away any polish he'd get on her skin. When he was done with the green he even felt bold enough to grab the thin bottle of black Marinette had called 'striping polish' and attempt to add a little paw print on her big toe. It ended up looking more like a blob than a paw. He laid a hand dramatically over his brow. "Agh, I have ruined everything. The paw is no more a paw than a blob. My nail painting career is over before it has even begun."
Marinette giggled and bopped him on the nose. "Hush now kitty, you did great. I can totally tell that it's a paw print. They look really good, thank you for your help." She kissed him on the cheek and his face flamed.
Chat helped her put all her nail polish items away. He didn't know what half of them did or why Marinette had kept calling the top coat a 'taco' but he felt accomplished. Even more so since Marinette seemed to be happy with what he'd done. He sat down in one of her desk chairs while she waddled over to join him, keeping pressure off her toes. Chat wasn't too surprised when she wiped the floor with him repeatedly in their impromptu gaming tournament.
When Adrien saw Marinette at school the next day wearing sandals, he couldn't help asking about the little black blob he'd created as Chat the night before. It might have been a little sneaky, but he wanted to know what she really thought. Her smile was radiant as she spoke about the paw blob. "Actually, it's a paw print. A friend did it for me, it was really sweet of him and they turned out great even though he had no idea what he was doing." When he saw the faint blush upon Marinette's cheeks as she gazed down at the blob of a paw print, Adrien felt his heart flutter a bit. Huh, that was new.