Marinette had learned not to question Chat whenever she found him spontaneously sleeping in weird places or positions. She had little clue of whether it was in his cat-beast blood or something else, but she'd gotten used to it. Sleeping on the stair railing with a leg and arm hanging off? Classic Chat. Resting on the chandelier with no recollection afterward of how he got up there? Only every other Monday.
For those reasons, Marinette was relatively surprised when she was ready to go home for the day and found him merely laying in front of the fireplace, just about ready to doze off.
She paused, mentally debating if it was worth disturbing him, then approached, slight amusement across her features. "Not even sleeping upside-down on the couch, Chat?"
He peeked at her with one eye open, looking surprised, then opened the other eye as well, giving her a smile. "Are you disappointed?"
She snorted—he was such a dweeb—before responding. "No. Just..."
Her lips pursed. "Are you really comfortable no matter where you sleep? You always look well-rested whenever I come over."
"Maybe you're just my wake-up call, hm? Can't be looking tired for my one and only guest."
Her smile faltered for a moment, realizing just how lonely that sounded. She tried to brush it off. "That doesn't answer my question. You sleep in the weirdest places. I mean, even on the floor must feel awful, right?"
He hummed. "Don't knock it 'til you try it, Princess."
She paused, ready to pout at the mere idea, but tilted her head instead, Chat grinning at the curiosity that suddenly overtook her face.
She shook her head, reality kicking in. "That's not fair. I don't have all that fur like you do. It wouldn't be the same."
He knew she was right. Being a beast did have some advantages, like the fact that he was well-warmed most of the time and could be comfortable laying just about anywhere. Still, he wouldn't object if he managed to get her to stay a bit longer.
His mouth opened, ready to snark at her, but nothing came out. He hesitated, words coming to mind but suddenly wondering if they weren't right to be said.
He studied her face and blushed, knowing she was expecting him to say at least something.
His smile became sheepish, the prospect of her reaction driving him to push the words out. "Why not try laying on me then? Plagg's done it before. He must think I'm a good pillow, but it never hurt to have a second opinion."
Marinette let out a small noise that even she couldn't discern, her body reeling back in surprise. Lay down, on Chat? She didn't doubt that he was comfy, as she'd felt his fur once or twice, but the offer was a bit sudden, even if not entirely unwelcome.
She bit her bottom lip, hardly believing that she was actually considering the idea, but curiosity won over. She grasped at the blanket resting on the nearby couch, then brought it over to him. Getting down on her knees, she draped it over both herself and him, hesitating for a minute before her cheek met his side.
He was warm, but not to the point of being too much. It was like a furry heating pad, set to the perfect temperature. She couldn't help running her hand along his fur, though didn't linger for long.
Chat had to resist any urge to purr, a muffled squeak leaving him as he felt Marinette practically petting him. When had been the last time he'd been given affection like that? He couldn't remember.
"U-uh, sorry," Marinette suddenly said as she pulled her hand away, sounding embarrassed.
"No, it's... it's fine," he assured, swallowing sheepishly. He only slightly regretted asking her to lay on him. "So, is Plagg right? Am I comfy enough for you, Princess?"
She snorted. Not once did she believe he really meant it when he called her that. "You're okay I guess."
"You guess?" he asked in mock offense. "I go through a lot of effort to keep this fur smooth and silky, I'll have you know!"
"Not enough!" Marinette retorted despite nuzzling into his fluff.
"You're too cruel, Princess."
"Just go to sleep, Chat," she said dismissively.
"Oh?" Chat raised a brow. Marinette wasn't looking at his face, but she could feel his smirk and already knew what was coming.
"Chat, no."
"Would you prefer it if I were catatonic?"
He felt her small hand lightly smack the back of his head. He couldn't help laughing.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this."
Chat smiled, his heart warmed as he felt Marinette shift against him. I'm glad I did though...
"So... don't you have a bed or something?" she asked. "This castle's so big, and you gave me a room. There's no way you gave me the only one, right?"
Chat shrugged to the best of his ability while laying down. "I slept in one for a while, but this cat-body of mine doesn't always feel like sleeping where it makes sense."
Marinette hummed in thought. "Do you... have any other cat traits?"
Chat needed a moment to think about it. It felt like it'd been so long since he'd been human that he couldn't remember many differences.
"I tried lapping at a glass of milk once," he blurted out, promptly blushing as Marinette started to laugh. "I-I didn't mean to!"
"No, no! It's not that!" she assured, trying to calm herself down. She took a breath, ensuring she wasn't laughing anymore, then added, "I just didn't expect something like that from you. Aside from the whole sleeping thing, you don't do a lot of cat things."
"I am a gentlecat," Chat responded with a light regal tone. "I shouldn't act in such ways around my guest."
"So you do act differently then?"
Chat mentally scolded himself for slipping up.
Marinette stared at the back of his head, trying to gauge how he was feeling, then gently pet his fur. "...Silly cat."
One of his ears flickered, giving her its attention.
"You don't have to worry about that stuff with me. You know that, right?"
Chat jerked his head back at her in surprise, Marinette raising a brow as if offended that he would think otherwise.
"Uh..." He attempted to think of something witty to say, not wanting to accidentally insult her, but fumbled. "No, I didn't?"
If it were a normal person Marinette had been talking to, she might've felt insulted, but she couldn't blame Chat. She didn't know all the details of his condition, but she knew that he'd been alone for a long time. It was natural that he'd be insecure.
"Well, you do now?" She leaned further into him, eyelids drooping. "We're friends, Chat. You can be yourself around me, okay?"
His heart was warmed by her words. He couldn't remember many people he knew personally from his past, but he was sure that Marinette was a special person, too kind-hearted for her own good. Though he'd been initially against the idea of his kwami bringing Marinette to him, he couldn't be happier now.
He smiled playfully. "Even with my puns?"
She rolled her eyes, but giggled. "Yes."
"I hope you know that it works the same way for you too then?" he said, giving her a firm gaze.
Her eyes softened. "I know. You're one of the few people who don't look at me weird for my 'crazy fashion ideas'."
"You're just ahead of your time," he stated matter-of-factly. "Give it a few hundred years maybe."
Marinette snorted. "I'll be dead by then."
"Ah, but your ideas will live on forever," he retorted. "So don't worry about it."
Even if she didn't believe him, she deeply appreciated the gesture. "Where'd you get a cheesy thought like that?"
She wasn't sure what she'd said to cause it, but the atmosphere suddenly dropped. Chat's ears drooped noticeably, and Marinette felt hesitant to ask what she'd done.
"...My mom. She'd say a lot of things like that," he answered.
"Oh." Marinette knew it was best not to pry. Surely, she'd only hurt him further if she did. Another time might work, but now was not it.
Chat shook his head, smiling genuinely. "It's fine, Marinette." He knew she'd know he was serious if he used her real name. "I've moved on a long time ago."
Even in her near-asleep state, Marinette could tell it was a lie. She was drifting off, but still managed, "You can... talk to me... whenever, you know?"
If he was honest, the feeling of her against him was more than enough to soothe his soul, but he didn't let that thought be any more than that; a thought.
He simply nodded his head, which he figured Marinette must've seen because she began to nuzzle against his side again. He leaned his head onto his arms, relaxing, but couldn't help sneaking a peek at Marinette with one eye. Sure enough, she had already fallen asleep, a small smile on her face and one of her hands resting on his fur.
Chat was sure that his mother would've liked her. They were so much alike and yet completely different. It was beautiful.
He relaxed, now having both eyes closed as he tried to drift off to sleep as well, Marinette's words of comfort ringing in his head.
"We're friends, Chat."
The words both helped him and hurt him at the same time.
.~:|-|:~.
A/N: This scene is very similar to the original version in Chapter 7 of my story, but was written without any thought to the scenes that came before it. In fact, this was even before I'd decided whether or not the kwami were going to be in the story!
You can see more of Chat's thought processes here, as this was written before I thought it best to stick to one character's thought processes. I felt like it becomes a mess when I'm constantly switching between Marinette and Chat. I kept some parts of it line-for-line, but Chat's thoughts and feelings were scrapped.
