Chat Noir was bounding across the Parisian rooftops in the dead of night. He was probably going to regret it in the morning when waking up for class, but sleep wouldn't come to him no matter what he did. A night run seemed to always do the trick. The calm, silent night only being interrupted by his footfalls as he jumped from roof to roof. Well, it was the only sound until a loud groan of frustration made him falter to the point of almost missing his landing.
Looking to see where the sound could have come from, Chat noticed the light in Marinette's room still on and the door to her balcony propped up. Chat hadn't realized Marinette was a night owl too, unless she was hurt or in trouble somehow and the exasperated sound came from her room. He should probably check since it technically was his job to make sure the people of Paris were safe. That was the only reason, no curiosity about what his friend was doing up so late. Nope, none at all.
Chat gently knocked on the rim of Marinette's open window. "Princess?" There was a thump and a cruse word, then Marinette's confused face came into view.
"Chat Noir? What are you doing out so late?" Marinette stepped away, gesturing into her room. "Come in." Chat smiled, climbing through her window. Of course, she would ask about what was going on with him and not why he was baring into her room at three in the morning. Marinette was always so worried about others, it was adorable.
"I could ask you the same thing Marinette. Do you know how late it is?" When Marinette groaned, Chat found out his hunch of where the sound he heard earlier was right. Thankfully it wasn't because she was hurt.
"Yeah, I know. I'm going to hate myself in the morning, but there's this contest I'm entering for the Gabriel fashion brand and I'm having trouble with sizing. The only form I have has a typically female shape and is for my own measurements, so I'm essentially guessing right now while I pattern on the floor, and I'm just…" Marinette groaned again, slumping her shoulders and hanging her head. He could see piles of fabric and patterns scattered across her floor "…and I'm just rambling. Sorry, I'm stressing."
Chat frowned, he couldn't remember a time when he'd seen Marinette this desolate about anything, let alone her designs. He couldn't let that stand. "What if I was your dress form? Let me be your model." It was the first time Chat had ever willingly offered to model for someone and he was kind of surprised with himself as the words came out of his mouth. He knew it was worth is with the way Marinette's eyes lit up.
"Really? You would do that for me?" Chat nodded. He let out a squeak much higher than he would have liked when Marinette pulled him into a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She pulled way, holding him at arm's length and looked him over with a designer's eye. "You actually look really close to Adrien's measurements, so you're kind of perfect for this."
Chat chuckled nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've seen that kid on posters. I guess we do have a similar body type." He was thankful Marinette seemed too busy taking his measurements mentally to think any farther on the topic.
"Alright, I have most of my patterns cut already so if you'd be okay with me pinning on you, that would be amazing." Marinette was bouncing on her toes with how excited she was. It was adorable.
"Yeah, of course. I'm totally okay with that." Marinette beamed, immediately whirling into action. She gently maneuvered Chat into the position she needed him in then grabbed her fabric cuts and pins. Shoving some of the pins in her mouth, Marinette began draping fabric over Chat, pinning as she went.
She was quick and precise, with only one or two accidental pokes that Marinette immediately apologized for. Before too long, an entire outfit was pinned on Chat. Marinette gently began to remove the new pieces, directing Chat so it would go as smooth as possible. As the shirt was lifted over his head, Chat grinned down at Marinette. "You know Princess, this is the most pleasant fitting I've ever done."
Marinette paused looking at him with confusion. "Do you do fittings often?"
Realizing his mistake, Chat tried to back pedal. "Oh, um, no, first time. For my first fitting though, it's been very pleasant…" He trailed off, hoping Marinette would take his answer at face value. She looked at him suspiciously for a moment before noticing an out of place pin and diving in to fix it. Chat let out a sigh of relief.
When all the pinned clothes had been successfully removed, Chat and Marinette realized that it was way later, or rather earlier, than they expected. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, I was in the zone. I really hope you don't have to be anywhere this morning." Marinette was looking at him with worried eyes.
Chat waved a hand dismissively in the air. "Eh, I just have school, but I'll throw on a hoodie and sleep through class. My grade can handle it, don't worry."
Marinette groaned. "I'm sorry again. I'll make sure not to bug you next time I'm having a designer moment."
Chat placed a clawed hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Hey, anytime you need help, you can ask me. I know menswear can be difficult, especially without a form. You don't have to struggle through it by yourself."
Marinette nodded, smiling up at Chat. "Okay, but I'm paying you back in some way." He went to interject but she continued before he could. "You can't talk me out of it. You will be repaid, I just don't know how yet."
"Okay, fine, I won't push it, but it has to be something small." Chat stubbornly crossed is arms until Marinette agreed. Glancing toward the window, Chat sighed. "I should probably get home."
"Probably. I can't tell you how much I appreciated you coming to my rescue tonight. I guess that means you're the knight to my princess." Marinette giggled, and Chat had no idea why he suddenly felt himself blushing.
"I guess so." His voice came out a little strangled and when Marinette looked at him curiously, he quickly turned toward the balcony window. "I'll see you soon I hope, Princess. Have a good morning." Chat exited out the window, hoping the air hitting his warm face as he made his way home would cool it down.
-o-o-o-o-o-
It was several weeks later when Chat Noir went back out for another late-night run. He was making his way past the school when he heard someone yell his name. "Chat Noir!" It was kind of a whisper yell; the voice was distinctly Marinette's.
Changing directions, Chat landed on Marinette's balcony moments later. "Can I be of service tonight Princess?" Chat knew that his father wasn't holding any contests at the moment, but maybe Marinette was entering a contest for a different fashion company.
Marinette chuckled, holding out a wrapped parcel to Chat. "Nope, not tonight. This is your payment for being so patient and helping me with that outfit." Marinette's face lit up. "I won the contest by the way!"
Chat, of course, already knew this, since he'd already done the photoshoot modeling the winning design. He was glad Marinette told him though. As Adrien he had only been allowed to give polite congratulations, but as Chat, he had the freedom to scoop her up and swing her around in a tight hug. Marinette giggled at Chat's antics. "I knew you'd win Marinette!"
Setting her down, Chat watched Marinette try to spruce up the now crushed bow on the package she'd tried to give him a moment ago. "Oops, sorry."
Marinette laughed, holding the present out for him again. "It's not a big deal, it's just a bow." She shook it slightly at him. "Come on, open it." Chat took the package from Marinette, carefully prying the tape off with a claw. Unwrapping the paper, Chat pulled out a black hoodie that looked exactly like the top half of his suit. The piping alone must have taken days and he had no idea how she had found a green that matched his eyes perfectly for the lining.
"Marinette." Her name came out breathy as he examined just how much detail she'd incorporated. "This is stunning." He looked at her with wide eyes, hugging the jacket to his chest. "Thank you. I can't wait to wear it." Unfortunately, Chat couldn't wear it to school since it would be pretty obvious to Marinette that Adrien was Chat if he was wearing the jacket Marinette had given Chat. He was going to absolutely strut it around the mansion and bring it on any trip his father made him take.
Marinette tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "I'm glad you like it. It took me awhile to come up with the perfect thing to repay you with. Jackets are a little more forgiving when it comes to sizing so I didn't need an exact dress form when making it and you talked the other day about hoodies so..." She shrugged like it was no big deal, like it took her no time at all to whip out something so perfect.
Chat was astonished. "Princess, I don't even know if I can put into words how much I love this. How did you do you piping?"
"You really want to know?" Chat nodded enthusiastically. Marinette launched into an explanation, growing more and more excited as she talked.
Conversations began to flow into one another and before Chat and Marinette knew it, over an hour had passed. Chat left soon after they realized what time it was, both of them needing to do homework.
As soon as he was through his window and detransformed, Adrien slipped into his new jacket, it was softer than he imagined. He snuggled into the jacket as he zipped it up. If he outed his secret identity to Marinette by wearing it to school, so be it. Adrien didn't know if he'd ever be able to take his new favorite hoodie off, ever.