For You

"Marinette wants to see you."

"Marinette?" His eyebrows shot up. "…Why?"

Ladybug shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno. She said she has a surprise for you."

"A… surprise?"

I wonder what it is.

"Chat Noir! I thought I heard something." She beamed at him from the stairs leading to the balcony, hoping that her voice sounded genuinely surprised. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Good evening, Little Lady." Chat held out a hand for her and helped her up. "I heard from Ladybug that you have a surprise for me. What did I do to deserve the honor?"

She laughed and brought her hands together in front of her, suddenly feeling a little shy. "Well uh… I made a blog. A fan blog. And it's called—"

"The Mewspaper."

Marinette was taken aback. "Y-Y-You know about it?" Looking away, she chided herself. "Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have launch it before telling you."

"I knew it since the day you created it, actually. It must be luck that I stumbled upon it. It was a surprise. I… wanted to thank you for making it – you're too kind – but I didn't know how and when would be a good time to bring it up. I'm glad you talked to me about it first." He let out a breathy laugh. "I'm really touched. Thank you."

Marinette smiled at him. "You're very welcome. Actually…" She took a few steps back towards the trap door. "I have another surprise for you."

"Another one?! My god, Marinette, you're gonna make me cry."

"Perhaps!" She giggled and descended to her room. "Just stay there! Give me a sec!"

And sure enough, Marinette was back on the balcony a few seconds later, her hands behind her back.

"Oh my god… Marinette, you didn't…" He approached her, his voice quivering.

"Yes, I did~" She said in a singsong voice. "Here." She took one of his hands and handed him a gift bag. "I hope you like it."

Chat almost let out a chuckle when he saw the design on the gift bag. Green cat claws were spotted across a black background and there was a black cat with the caption "Chat Noir" written in green on both sides of the bag. But what really surprised him and nearly drove him to tears were the things inside the bag.

"I know it isn't much of a surprise because you've already seen it during The Puppeteer attack but I wanted to give them to you."

"Marinette… I…" He placed his hand inside the bag and took out a Chat Noir doll, revealing another one beneath it. "Wait, you're giving me the Ladybug doll, too?!"

"Well… You can't have one without the other, right?"

Chat Noir looked up from the doll and fixed his gaze upon her. "The two of you are partners," she continued. "You can't take one away from the other. Things fall apart if they're separated from each other."

Ladybug needs you. Always.

That did it. Tears swam in his eyes and he choked up, bringing his free arm around Marinette to pull her in for a hug, the dolls squished in between their chests. She had let out a surprised squeak at the sudden proximity but instantly relaxed in his arms and returned his hug.

They could have stayed that way for a longer time if not for Marinette's mother calling her down for dinner. They separated from each other so quickly that Marinette almost lost her footing.

"Alright, you heard my mom. I gotta go." She said, taking a look at the dolls in his hands one last time before turning on her heels and proceeding to the trap door. "Have a good night, Chat Noir."

"Marinette?"

"Hmm?" She hummed in response and turned her head back to look at him.

"Thank you… for everything."

She beamed at him. "No problem."