A/N Happy Halloween! I hope you all like this one-shot! (A special thanks to my friends, the Club Club, for being my sounding board for this. You guys are great!) Story time now: I got sick earlier today IN SCHOOL which sucks on its own, but now I can't go trick-or-treating. I almost forgot to post this as well, so I decided to do it now so I don't forget. I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir or any of the other stories mentioned.
Marinette sat on her chaise, surveying the candy she had gotten trick-or-treating. She and Alya had gone with Adrien and Nino at Alya's insistence. It was Adrien's first time trick-or-treating, and Alya thought the four should go together. They had met up at the bakery before they went out, but what Marinette couldn't get off her mind was everyone's costumes.
Alya had dressed up in a black-and-purple witch outfit, complete with the pointy hat and a glittery broom. Marinette noted that Alya looked really good in purple. She had made a mental note to design a purple dress for her bestie.
Nino had been a zombie. His costume consisted of tattered and torn clothes, ashen-gray face makeup, and special makeup around his eyes that made them appear bloodshot. His costume was pretty convincing, to be honest.
Adrien went as a vampire. His normally tan skin was pale thanks to some makeup, and his hair was as perfect as ever. He was in a black suit vest and regular black pants in an attempt to look like a stereotypical vampire, like Dracula. He also donned a red and black cape and fake fangs, with red makeup dripping down from his mouth.
Marinette had made her own costume as always. Inspired a bit by her partner in stopping crime, she had decided to go as a regular black cat. She had sewn together a black and orange skirt, with the slightly-transparent fabrics crossing each other. She then paired it with black leggings and a black long-sleeved shirt. Attached to the skirt and leggings was a long, silky tail. She had also gotten a black and orange cat ear headband to go with her signature pigtails, which were tied off with orange ribbons.
She smiled as she remembered everyone's reactions to the others' costumes. Alya had come first, and the girls had marveled at the other's costume.
"You've outdone yourself, Marinette!" Alya had exclaimed, admiring the skirt. "This is the best thing I've seen you make!"
"Aww, thanks, Alya!" Marinette said, blushing. "I love your costume, too! Purple really looks good on you."
Nino came in next. Alya laughed when he staggered into the bakery, acting like a real zombie. "What is it with boys and monster costumes?" She had laughed. Marinette lightly swatted the girl's arm.
"Are you really the one to be asking that question, Miss Witch?" Marinette joked. "Sorry, Nino, we don't have any brains here, but you can have a macaroon," she offered, holding out a blood-red treat.
A few minutes later, Adrien came in. Marinette nearly fainted when she saw how realistic his costume looked. "Wow, Adrien, you look like an actual vampire!" She remarked, glad that she didn't stammer for once.
Adrien smiled around his fangs. "Thanks, Marinette. I like your costume, too. Did you get the inspiration from anywhere special?"
"Yeah, I was going to ask the same thing!" Alya exclaimed, munching on her third macaroon. "You didn't happen to get the idea from a certain masked cat, did you?"
Marinette blushed a bit and shook her head, giggling. There was no way possible she was going to admit that Cat Noir had a small influence on her costume. "No, I just wanted to go as something classic, and this was what I decided on."
Her friends had let it go, then went on their way to trick-or-treat all over Paris. They had gotten a lot of candy and had run into many of their friends from school. The four had joked around, laughing the whole time. And Marinette hadn't embarrassed herself once!
Now, with her costume still on and candy strewn out around her, Marinette felt like she had had the best Halloween ever.
"You really do look nice in that, Marinette," Tikki said, hovering in front of Marinette. She had been in Marinette's purse earlier, because Marinette didn't want the Kwami to miss a single moment.
"Thanks, Tikki!" Marinette said, handing her a small piece of chocolate. Tikki usually only ate cookies, but chocolate was a welcome substitute.
Suddenly, a small knock came from Marinette's trap door. Tikki quickly hid in the little bed Marinette had made her while Marinette got up to see who was there. Grabbing a couple small candy bars, she climbed the steps to the trapdoor to the terrace. She was planning on spending a while outside anyway.
As soon as she climbed out, she was surprised to be met with Cat Noir. He stood, leaning casually against the railing.
"Happy Halloween, Princess," he greeted.
"C-Cat Noir! What are you doing here?" Marinette asked, carefully closing the trap door.
"I heard from a friend that you decided to dress up as a black cat this year," he said, pushing himself off the railing. "I wouldn't happen to be the reason for that, would I?"
Marinette laughed, rolling her eyes. "No, silly kitty. Black cats are about as popular during Halloween as monsters. You of all people should know that!" She held out a candy bar. "Want some chocolate?"
He accepted gratefully and unwrapped his treat. "Thank you, Marinette."
She walked over to the bench-like seat on the terrace. "Come on, come sit. It's the best night for sitting up here." She unwrapped her own candy and ate it as Cat Noir sat down next to her, leaving six inches in between them. As Ladybug, she had known Cat long enough to know that he would never cross the invisible line between harmless flirting and making her feel uncomfortable. Apparently, that went for Marinette, as well.
They sat there, munching on their candy bars, looking into the beautiful autumn night. A slight breeze blew, making the ribbons in Marinette's hair wave around.
"I don't know what it is about this, but I always love the fall," Marinette said after a while.
"I agree. I like the crisp nights, the cool days. . .everything," Cat said, smiling into the night. Marinette offered him another candy bar, and he took it with a smile. "Mm. These candy bars are almost as sweet as you, Princess."
"Wow, sugar must make you extra flirtatious," Marinette teased, unwrapping another for herself. "But thanks."
"Or maybe it's the fact that I've never been allowed to eat this much sugar," Cat said, "and I want to savor this moment in any way possible."
"Strict parents?" Marinette asked, suddenly curious.
"You could say that. I'm usually only allowed to have one piece of candy a month."
"Really strict, then. Because my parents own this bakery, I usually have pastries at least three times a week in one form or another," Marinette said.
"Is that why you're so sweet?" Cat asked, grinning.
"I walked right into that one, didn't I?" Marinette groaned.
"You sure did," Cat agreed. "Hey, you want to play a game?"
"Sure, what is it?" She asked, toying a bit with her headband.
"We have to ask a question, and we both have to answer it," Cat said. "Questions like, 'What's your favorite season,' or 'Who's your favorite author?' Stuff like that."
"Sounds fun! Do you want to start, or should I?"
"Ladies first, Princess."
"Okay, then. Umm. . .What's your favorite. . .cream cheese flavor?"
Cat laughed. "Cream cheese flavor?"
"Hey! It's a serious question! You can tell a lot about a person by what flavor cream cheese they like best!" Marinette protested, turning slightly red.
"Okay, okay. Let me think. . .I like pumpkin best. How about you?"
"It's a tie between pumpkin and raspberry," Marinette said. "Okay, you go next."
"Hmm. . ." Cat thought for a moment. "What is your favorite book series?"
"I don't usually get the chance to read, but I absolutely love Harry Potter!" Marinette said, her eyes shining.
"I never thought you would be a Potterhead, Marinette," Cat teased.
"Yup!" Marinette said. "I've got all the books. I'm a Hufflepuff all the way! What's your house?"
"I like to think of myself as a Gryffindor," Cat said. "But my favorite book series is Maximum Ride. You know, that James Patterson series?"
"Yeah, I've got the first few books in that series. I think I'm going to start rereading them, actually. Um. . .favorite singer?"
"Jagged Stone," Cat answered immediately. "I've been to one of his concerts before, actually."
"Same here!" Marinette exclaimed, giggling.
"Didn't you design an album cover for him?"
Marinette blushed. "Actually, yes. It was really flattering that Jagged Stone wanted me to design his album cover, but I think I design better clothes than anything."
"I'm sure you do. Favorite fairy tale?"
"Sleeping Beauty. I just love everything about that story, I guess. What about you?" Marinette asked.
"I think I like Rapunzel best," Cat answered. "Although I would love any fairy tale starring you, Princess."
"Why do you always call me 'Princess'?" Marinette asked, the question just slipping off her tongue. Once she saw Cat's surprised expression, she said, "Sorry. You don't have to answer that."
"No, it's okay." Cat Noir stayed silent for a moment, thinking. "I guess you just remind me of one," he said, shrugging. "You're kind, loyal. . .so many things a princess should be. This may sound strange, but you remind me of someone in the way that I just want to protect you and keep you safe forever."
"Who might that be?" Marinette asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Ladybug."
"You know, the two of you really do make a good team."
Cat smiled warmly. "Thank you, Princess. Ladybug does most of the work, though."
"That's not true!" Marinette was filled with a deep passion to defend her partner. There should be no reason for Cat to feel that way! "You and Ladybug balance each other out! If you hadn't been there to help her, she wouldn't have been able to capture that first Akuma!" She took a breath, looking into Cat's green eyes. "She needs you, Cat Noir." Talking to him about this, seeing the sadness in his eyes that he tried so hard to hide- she wanted to try something. It was crazy, sure, but she had to try.
"Thanks, Princess, but-" Marinette cut him off.
"Why do you really visit me, Cat?" she asked, the question burning in her mind.
"Because. . .I want to protect you, Marinette." Hearing him say her name gave the girl a warm feeling. "I want to be your knight in black armor."
Before he could say anything more, Marinette leaned in and pressed her mouth gently to his, her eyes closed.
"What was that, Princess?" Cat asked quietly, gently pulling away.
Marinette looked down at her hands, blushing. "I-I'm sorry. That was stupid of me." She got up and started toward the trap door. "I'll just go."
"No, don't go," Cat said, grabbing her arm. "I was just. . .surprised." He took a breath, running his free hand through his hair. He smiled. "I liked it, Princess. Can we do it again?"
She turned, a slight look of disbelief crossing her face. Then she smiled and sat down again. The two grabbed each other and kissed softly, then harder. Marinette knew it was crazy, that she liked Adrien, that she and Cat had no chance, he still liked Ladybug- but oh, God, this felt so good.
"Wow," she breathed when the two broke apart. She noticed that she got a little pink makeup from her nose on Cat's.
"Yeah," Cat agreed. "Wow." She looked a little closer at his beautiful face hidden behind the mask. Hold on. . .was that a little red mark by his chin?
She quickly shook the thought from her head. It was probably just a shadow. It was really dark out now.
"Marinette!" She turned at the voice of her mom, calling up from her bedroom. Marinette prayed that she didn't come onto the terrace. Thankfully, the trap door stayed shut. "Come inside, honey! It's getting late."
"Coming, Mama!" Marinette called back. She turned and smiled apologetically at Cat. "Sorry, I guess I have to go now."
"That's alright, Princess," Cat said. "I had better get going as well." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "See you tomorrow night?"
Marinette was secretly thrilled, but she played it off as cool. "Same time, same place," she answered, opening the trapdoor. As she descended the steps to get into her room, she heard the quiet sounds of Cat leaping away.
"Did that really just happen?" Marinette asked Tikki, who was waiting for Marinette on her desk.
"I saw it all with my own eyes," Tikki said in response. Marinette went to her mirror and started taking off the makeup. It was all smudged from kissing Cat. Her hair was kind of tangled from the wind outside, and her headband was tilted to the side a bit from her playing with it. "Why the sudden change of heart?"
"I don't know, Tikki. Maybe it's just that I feel a little more at ease when I'm with him as Marinette, like I don't have to hide my true self. When I'm Ladybug, it's all I can do to push him away. If Ladybug and Cat were to be romantically involved, Hawkmoth could use that as a bargaining chip. As Marinette, though, I don't need to worry about him learning my true identity." She sighed dreamily as she pulled her hair out of its pigtails.
"Wow, you're really head over heels," Tikki noted as Marinette slipped on her pajamas. "What about Adrien?"
Marinette paused. "I didn't think that much about that," she admitted. "But really, I think we'd be better off friends for now. Right now, I think I'm in love with Cat Noir, as crazy as that may seem."
"It's not crazy," Tikki said. "It really was only a matter of time."
Marinette yawned, climbing the ladder to her bed. "Well, I for one can't wait for tomorrow night."
Tikki giggled, then settled down in the tiny bed Marinette had made her. "Good night, Marinette."
"Good night, Tikki." Marinette turned off the light. All she thought about before she finally fell asleep was her knight in black leather armor and how she couldn't wait to see him again.
~End~
A/N I hope you all have a great Halloween! Until next time!