"This isn't like you," Tom Dupain said with a worried expression.
It definitely wasn't like Marinette. She had never gotten in trouble before, maybe for misunderstandings, but not for something she had actually done. She herself wasn't quite sure who this girl standing in her room was.
"I'm sorry," Marinette said. In reality, she had mixed feelings. But she knew she could've handled the situation better. She was Ladybug, after all! She was supposed to always keep her calm. What would Master Fu think?
"What do we do now?" Tom turned to his wife. This was new for them, too.
Sabine looked like she was thinking. "Well, I heard the Césaires ground Alya whenever she sneaks off with her boyfriend."
It was true. Alya and Nino were a cute couple, but their parents didn't appreciate them hanging out too late in the evening. The reason Marinette was in trouble was not for sneaking off with a boyfriend, though. After all, the 16-year-old had been silently crushing on Adrien for 2 years now.
Tom looked stunned. "Are you saying we should ground our little girl?"
Her parents had talked to her before about missing class and being late, but she had never been grounded.
"But, maman..." Marinette resisted.
"I don't like doing this either, sweetie. But we can't let you off the hook, either. You need to learn from your mistakes," Sabine said. "No electronic devices or leaving your room for a week."
"Well, she can still go to school and stuff, right?" Tom asked as he lifted Marinette's computer from the white desk.
Sabine nodded and took her daughter's phone while Marinette clenched her teeth. "Love you."
"Love you, too," Marinette replied as her parents left the room.
She sighed.
It sure would be comforting to be allowed to go to school when it was friday night. And Marinette wasn't even sure if her school would give her a punishment, too. Probably would.
Well, her parents had been merciful enough to leave her sketch book in the room. But for some reason she really didn't feel like designing anything. It was a rare situation.
Marinette knew she would still have to fulfill her duties as Ladybug, grounded or not. It was Chat Noir's turn to patrol tonight, though. She didn't have to worry about her parents checking on an empty room yet.
Boredom hit Marinette. She wanted to do something but at the same time she didn't feel like doing anything. She definitely didn't want to just stare at her walls. It was dark, but still too early to go to sleep.
She was already sick of her room. It was weird, because she loved her room but right now she just wanted to get away from it.
A thought came to her. How nice would it be to feel the fresh air and admire the streets of Paris? It technically was forbidden to leave her room, but maybe her parents could forgive her going to the balcony. The balcony was directly connected to her room, would that count?
She didn't get much time to think about it when she had already climbed the stairs.
The streets were pretty. The city was filled with light, mostly from streetlights and cars. Marinette loved her balcony, but didn't use it often enough.
She thought about talking to Tikki, but she realized she had left her purse in her room. Not a smart call. But she would get to it soon enough and she knew Tikki loved resting in her purse.
"Good evening," someone said from behind her. Marinette jumped and turned around eyes widened.
Her partner was casually leaning on the fence. "I'm sorry, princess. Didn't mean to startle you."
"What... are you doing here?" Marinette asked slowly. She hadn't had many interactions with Chat Noir as Marinette. Chat only knew the Ladybug side of her so she was confused as to why he was standing on her balcony.
"You usually start with a greeting," Chat grinned.
"Hi," Marinette rolled her eyes. "But really, why are you here?"
"I was patrolling as I saw you standing here, looking kind of sad, so I just thought I'd drop by," Chat said. The brightness of the streets didn't reach the balcony and it was hard for Marinette to see Chat's face clearly. But his eyes glowed in the dark.
"Well, that was were sweet of you," Marinette said. She had originally wanted to make a sarcastic comment about how she didn't need his company, but she didn't actually mind.
"So, are you up for an adventure tonight? We could go climb a mountain or eat at McDonald's or something."
Marinette smiled. Did Chat know her in his civilian form? It was odd of him to act so familiar with her. "Burgers and fries sure are exciting, and I admire your bravery, but unfortunately I'm grounded."
"Grounded? I did not know my princess was a rebel," Chat said and placed his hand in front of his mouth to indicate that he was in shock. "May I ask why?"
"Eh, it's kind of embarrassing," Marinette touched the back of her neck. "How about we talk about you? Anything new?"
"Same old, same old. Saving the city and being a hero loved by everyone," he boasted.
"Glad you've stayed so modest," Marinette giggled.
"Pfft. Seriously though, Ladybug does most of the work. She's the reason the city is still running," Chat said. Marinette thought she saw Chat's expression soften, but she wasn't sure.
"That's not true," Marinette protested. She knew she wouldn't be able to do what she does without Chat. They were a team. "The city needs the both of you."
"Thanks," Chat said. He didn't sound convinced.
"Really!" Marinette's voice got just a bit louder. "You're awesome! You always have Ladybug's back, you never give up even if you've had a bad day and you have this insane skill for bringing out smiles!"
Was that too much? Probably. But Marinette did really appreciate Chat. Even if he was looking at Marinette in a funny way right now. In a way that made Marinette just a bit embarrassed.
He quickly pulled himself back together and changed his expression to a goofy, arrogant one. But Marinette had already witnessed the confusion in his eyes.
"Jeez, Mari. I didn't know you liked me that much," he said. Marinette didn't know that Chat was trying to fight a wide, genuine smile. He didn't want her to know.
"Oh, shut up," Marinette said.
They both looked at the stars for a little while. She really was a bit embarrassed, more embarrassed for this than for her reason to be grounded. Marinette knew she was blushing a little. She was used to the heat on her cheeks as she always felt it when talking to Adrien.
Adrien. Oh, Adrien. They were friends, but she knew Adrien didn't look at her that way. They didn't really even hang out unless Nino and Alya were around. And she still was a mess when ever they did hang out. You'd think one would get used to someone after seeing them at school for two years, but guess not.
Well, it was fine. It's not like she had actually made an effort to let Adrien know about her feelings. Yes, she was guilty of sometimes make crazy plans to make Adrien fall in love with her. It could be more simple to just confess to him, but somehow Marinette didn't feel ready for that.
She was hoping she could get to know him better before that. Though she was kind of losing hope with that, as speaking to him was so hard.
She sometimes wished it was as easy as with Chat Noir. With Chat, she never stuttered. But there was something very plastic about their relationship that Marinette couldn't quite put her finger on. It didn't feel that genuine. Chat always being flirty and Marinette always being confident. She wanted something real.
"I should go back inside. My parents will probably check on me," Marinette said.
"Oh, yeah," Chat turned to Marinette. "Good night, princess," he kissed her hand.
Marinette left Chat on the balcony and went back inside. She thought about taking him with her, but that wouldn't have made sense.
She didn't have to spend too much time sitting on her bed when her parents already came to wish her good night. Marinette tried to ask for her phone but they weren't bending. As they left, they put out the lights. Marinette's pink lamp on her table was the only one on now.
Tikki was asleep in her purse and Marinette didn't want to wake her up. She would talk to her in the morning.
Marinette washed her teeth in the bathroom. She knew she was allowed to move around the house for stuff like that.
The house was silent. But something was stopping Marinette from going to sleep. She felt restless. She felt like she didn't get enough out of that conversation with Chat Noir. She had been given the chance to get to know him outside of being Ladybug and she just left him on the balcony.
Marinette climbed the stairs again. Quietly. It would be crazy to assume Chat would still be there, but she didn't feel like sleeping, and standing alone on the balcony was fine, too.
It was darker now. The first thing Marinette saw were the stars that looked brighter than before. Maybe there just were more of them. The second thing she saw was -
Chat.
"Welcome back," he said.
Marinette looked at Chat in disbelief. Why was he still there? Had he waited for her?
"I swear I'm not a creep," Chat let out an unexcited laugh. "This is a good place to really see the city from."
"Don't you need to go home?" Marinette asked. She regretted asking it immediately. Not everybody had a family like hers.
"Nah, it's fine," he answered. Marinette decided not to continue on the topic.
"Do you mind if we talk some more? I don't feel like sleeping," she said.
"I'm not going anywhere," he smiled but the smile vanished quickly. "Unless you want me to. It's your balcony. Ugh, maybe I am a bit of a creep," he cringed.
"You're not," Marinette reassured. "So, what's our topic? The meaning of life, true love, fear of death?" she joked. "Take your pick."
"Well, actually, there's this one pretty cool anime I watched recently, and..."
"Wait, wait, wait," Marinette waved her arms. "The superhero of Paris wants to talk about anime with me?"
"Is that bad?" Chat grinned.
"Nope. Continue, please," she smiled brightly. The idea of this was ridiculous but suddenly all she wanted to do was discuss japanese cartoons with Chat Noir.
"Right. So..."
o - o - o - o - o
"It won't work!" Marinette said, frustrated.
"Yes, it will! It will be a hit!" Chat insisted. Their conversation had gotten a bit out of hand.
"No! You cannot make a pigeon the villain of a video game!"
"It's not a pigeon, it's pigeons! A mafia! Why won't you believe in me?"
"Why do you hate pigeons!?" They were now sitting on the balcony instead of standing.
"They hate me," Chat tried to explain. Marinette was not sold on his idea. "They always make me sneeze!"
"Oh, what devils," Marinette laughed. This was nice.
"We'll see who's laughing when I become a billionare with the success of Pistols on Pigeons," Chat said and kept on acting offended.
Marinette almost choked on laughter. The name wasn't even very logical. "My God," she giggled. "What time is it?"
"Don't know," Chat pulled his hands behind his head. "Pretty late."
"Or early. It could be morning and we just don't know it," Marinette pointed out. It was hard to tell, but they had talked for a long time.
"Sleepy?" Chat asked with curious eyes.
"Oh, no," Marinette said. She was a bit sleepy, but she didn't want to leave this moment. It was a good moment.
"I'm a little sleepy," Chat said and carefully placed his head on Marinette's shoulder. He gave her enough time to stop him, but she didn't. "I really want a hamburger right now."
"We're not going to McDonald's," Marinette said. "I wanna stay here, and I'm still grounded" she yawned.
"Will you please tell me why you got grounded?" Chat asked. "I'll tell you something about myself in exchange."
"Well," Marinette thought about it. "If you make it juicy."
"Alright," Chat lifted his head off of her shoulder. It made her sad in a weird way. "My real name... isn't Chat Noir."
"Really? I never would have guessed that," she rolled her eyes.
"Okay, but now for the real fact." Chat leaned closer to Marinette. "I once ate cat food," he whispered. "Actual cat food."
Chat's breath was warm against Marinette's ear. "Why on Earth would you do that?"
"I'm bad at shopping for food, okay?! I never do it myself. So this one time when I felt like having a snack, I made a little mistake," he defended himself. "I was young and stupid - only thirteen."
"Thirteen?! That's the mistake of a five-year-old," Marinette was shaking from laughter.
"Okay, I'm embarrassed enough. Your turn," Chat said. They were sitting right next to each other and Marinette was aware of their shoulders touching.
"I got grounded because..." Marinette let out a breath. "I slapped Chloé Bourgeois in the face."
"You what?!" Chat had not been expecting that. Not from Marinette.
But it was true. Marinette really had slapped a person. It was wrong and she shouldn't have done it, but she did.
"Yeah," Marinette thought she would explain herself. "She was mocking me about my crush as usual, and..."
Marinette thought she felt Chat's shoulder stiffen. "You hit someone because of a boy?"
"No. My best friend showed her newest post on Ladyblog, and the conversation topic changed to superheroes," Marinette said. "Well, Chloe is a fan of Ladybug and she said the post about Chat Noir was for nothing, because Chat Noir doesn't matter."
Chat was quiet, waiting for more. This couldn't be the end of the story.
"So that's why I slapped her," Marinette clarified. "She wouldn't take it back, she just kept going on and on about it. It made me mad."
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng slapped Chloé Bourgeois for... me?"
"It was stupid, I know. But I've been hearing that same thing for two years now and I just snapped."
She was really sick of everyone saying Chat Noir wasn't needed. She had heard the same thing over and over, ever since they first started being superheroes. From the public, the media, her peers, Chat Noir himself... When Chloe would not take her words back, she lost control.
"You're mad, princess," Chat said.
"At least now you know why I'm grounded," Marinette smiled weakly. "Can we stand up? My left leg is asleep."
They stood up again. Marinette felt a cold night breeze on her face. Chat would probably have to leave soon, this moment couldn't last forever.
"Can I say how much I'm enjoying your company?" Marinette blurted out. "I'm sorry for expecting you to be just a flirt. You're not. You're a dork."
"Thanks, I guess?" Chat laughed. "I expected you wouldn't want to talk with me. But you tolerated me."
On a normal basis Adrien always thought Marinette didn't like talking to him. She avoided him like crazy. He was a bit sad about it but he had just kind of accepted it. He couldn't force himself on people, right? But after this night, he wasn't sure if he could keep away from trying to start a conversation.
Marinette wasn't sure where his statement came from. "Of course I did," she turned to him. "You're great."
Chat's eyes were still glowing. Like, a lot. Marinette didn't want this night to end. She didn't want to go to sleep and let this all be just a memory.
She wanted to keep on staring into Chat's eyes. She wanted to stand here in the cold night with him. Was she insane? She'd been his partner for two years, why did it feel so different to look at him right now?
"Can I tell you another fact about myself?" he asked. He had a softened expression that Marinette had no trouble seeing. It was dark, yes, but they were close.
She nodded.
"I'm insanely attracted to you right now."
Silence.
He took a small step further. "Was that too much? I know you have a crush. Did I ruin this? I'm - "
Next, Marinette did something she would have never thought of before this night. She didn't let Chat finish his sentence before she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him closer.
Chat quickly returned the kiss. He played with Marinette's blue hair and opened Marinette's right pigtail, she wasn't sure if it was an accident or not but she didn't care.
They took a quick breath before kissing again. Marinette had decided that her first kiss with Chat Noir, the one because of an akuma, hadn't counted and that it wasn't her real first kiss, but she hadn't expected to give her "real" first kiss to Chat aswell. Now she couldn't think of anyone else to kiss.
After what felt like a couple of minutes, Marinette pulled away. She wanted to look at Chat's face again. She knew her face was red, but so was his. It was insane how much one night could change between them.
"That was... nice," Chat said all flustered. It was cute.
"Yeah... You owe me an apology, though." She had a goofy smile plastered on her face.
"What?"
Marinette grabbed Chat's hands. "Well, you know. It's kind of hard to be grounded when my feet are off the ground."
Chat smiled with Marinette. He pressed his forehead against hers. "I love puns."
"I know."
AN: Thank you for reading! And yes, Marinette has gotten in trouble with her parents for being away from classes, but in this story this was her first time :)
My first kiss scene, aaaa.
And I haven't lost interest in my on-going story (Just Marinette), but I really wanted to publish this one-shot during Marichat May. :D
Hope you enjoyed!