Patrol was a breeze.
In fact, patrol was so breezy that Chat found himself involuntarily shivering even after he had scanned Paris twice. And by the time he was done- it was far too early stay at home. He did drop in, to feed Plagg and to collect another handkerchief to push into his pocket. He slowly transformed, and clambered out of his window again. There wasn't anything much to do on such a night. And besides, he promised himself he would visit a certain ebony.
Chat gulped, and clutched his arms closer to himself, "I'll just drop in to see Marinette,"
A particularly biting wind circled him, small leaves attacking Chat's face. The cat turned away, biting his cheek as he prepared himself to run once again.
"Five minutes-" he whispered, letting his hands fall to his side, "And I'll be out of this cruel, cruel night,"
And just for drama's sake, he glared at the three dark leaves that remained riding in the wind. And if Chat didn't know better, he could have sworn that those leaves looked a little suspicious as they danced right above his head. Leaves couldn't be akumatized… could they?
Chat shook his head, "Nah…"
And off he went, depending on his senses to lead him all the way to the familiar bakery. It didn't take long before the scent caught his nose- no matter how he tried, he would always catch some aroma or the other that tempted him to appear in front of Marinette's bakery with a basket and maybe a dollar- or a hundred.
But Chat knew that if he really asked Marinette, she would give him as much sweets as he desired. She really was that sweet and kindhearted. And for some reason, there was always an abundant of cookies in her room. It never occurred to Chat why the girl would stash so much goodies up there when she herself didn't eat that much. Maybe she had a pet or something… Maybe a friend who ate a bunch of cookies but was too small to be noticed- maybe magic… Who knows… Maybe Marinette had a cookie-eating little pet…
"Achoo!"
Chat jumped far too high than he ought to- the dainty sound startling his sensitive ears. Chat smiled softly, taking just a second to hear the soft voice of Marinette saying, "Excuse me…"
Chat leaped atop the balcony, balancing on the railings and relying on his tail to keep him just a bit more balanced. He tilted his head, listening to pinpoint the exact location of his little friend. And sure enough, she sneezed again.
Chat grinned, she was right on her futon. The tiny half-bed, half-couch thing that he loved to laze around on- when she allowed him of course. He wouldn't have even sat on it if she hadn't invited him to, wouldn't want to push the boundaries and have her chasing him out with a shriek and a spray of water.
Chat shivered at the unpleasant thought- but Marinette was simply too nice to treat him that way. Why, he could waltz into her bedroom right now and she would welcome him with a plate of magically appearing cookies. She really was a really good friend to him.
Chat dropped down on the hatch that opened up to her bedroom, he tapped at the door, listening not-too-hard for her upcoming footsteps. Sure enough, he heard her sneeze and clamber up the ladder on her bed.
Clip, clop, clip, clop- "Achoo!" clip…
Chat inhaled slightly, noticing how much more close her scent was. But something was different. Chat wrinkled his nose, the harsh scent of cold medicine attacking his nostrils and causing him to stick out his tongue in disgust.
And that was the manner Marinette found him in when she opened her door to peer out. The girl arched a brow, but didn't look away from his wide-eyes, tongue-out, wrinkled-nose face.
"Chat?"
How could someone with such a sweet voice sound so teasing and innocent at the same time? Marinette stuck out her own tongue, and mirrored her friend, "Bleep to you too Kitty,"
Chat chuckled, and tilted his head. He greeted her softly, but took these few seconds to take in as much of her image as he possibly could.
Marinette was a pretty cute girl- but at that moment, she looked pretty messy. Chat frowned slightly at how red her face was, much more than what his precious Bugaboo had been earlier that night. And Marinette's eyes were sunken in, those bluebell beauties looking exhausted but still managing to sparkle in the dim light.
Chat's frown was traded for a grin, "Hello Purrincess!"
Marinette giggled, but this time, her voice was deeper strained. The girl flushed slightly, and cleared her throat. She turned her head away, and coughed into her hands. Chat watched a very familiar handkerchief wipe her nose.
Chat arched a brow, his tail swishing behind him as his thoughts travelled, "Hey… isn't that an Agreste handkerchief?"
Marinette's eyes grew to saucers, her jaw slackening and she managed to turn another shade of red, "Huh?"
Chat shrugged it off- he must have lent her in school and forgot. But the thought didn't sit well with him- he knew exactly where each and every of his handkerchiefs were. His father had given him six after all- ever since he made a complete nuisance of himself when that Pigeon Man tried to take over Paris. It had to be one of the most sufferable times of his life, and the elder Agreste had gifted his son with six of them.
Chat rolled his shoulders, "Oh never mind,"
He tilted his head further, "I came here to check up on you Marinette,"
The girl's eyes softened, then widened once again, "Me?"
Chat nodded, "Yep," and he let his concern slip out in his tone, "You weren't looking too well earlier today,"
Marinette giggled again, but a set of coughs attacked her throat and she held it back down bravely with a strained voice, "The cold bug's been going around,"
"I know," Chat grinned at his friend, Bugaboo had caught the cold bug too.
Marinette's eyes flickered to Chat's bell, and then to his tail, "So… Chat…"
She gripped her- his handkerchief tighter, and her eyes didn't his, "Since I've got this cold… and you don't… I was thinking that you should leave before… before…ah… ah…"
Chat winced, and braced himself for the inevitable, "ACHOO!"
Marinette pitched back, her head colliding with the back of her door, and thus dropped the handkerchief down into her room. Chat peered after it, noticing that if Marinette wanted it back, she would have to leave him. Outside. In the cold. Alone.
"Um… Bless you?" Chat smiled at her in hopes of her returning it.
Marinette sniffed, and looked sadly at the fallen piece of cloth, "Oh no…"
Chat grinned, and leaned closer to her to prove his following point, "I thought you knew Purrincess, that it's not so easy for us cats to catch bugs,"
Marinette's eyes widened, but then it settled into the familiar teasing smirk that Chat was used to seeing far more than Adrien did, "Are you referring to yourself not getting ever getting a chance with Ladybug?"
Chat pouted, aiming for her smile, "Meowch, but yeah…" his eyes drifted to his side and his hand went up to awkwardly rub his neck, "I kinda was referring to her,"
Marinette giggled, her throat still raw, "Oh Chaton…"
She looked behind her, "Come on in- I'll get some cookies,"
Even if Chat tried, he wouldn't have been able to keep the glow off his face when Marinette mentioned that. In fact, he grinned so widely that his cheeks protested for a second, but his ears perked up. He could literally feel his tail swishing back and forth in excitement at the thought of spending quality time with such a good friend.
Marinette sighed in what Chat hoped was content and amusement, but before he could comment, he recognized the telltale of disaster coming their way. Her widened eyes, the flared nostrils, the gaping mouth. Then she was leaning her head back, eyes drifting shut… now…
Chat grabbed the handkerchief from his pocket to push it at Marinette before he was sprayed with germs, the girl grabbed it just in time to deliver a rather loud sneeze.
Chat nodded sadly, "Bless you,"
Marinette blew her nose on his handkerchief, "Thank you Chat Noir…"
Her eyes reopened, and blinked slowly at the item at her face. Chat watched her calmly, not at all predicting any danger.
Marinette's lips tightened, and she held the cloth in front of her face, "Is this… another Agreste handkerchief?"
Chat ignored the panic swelling up inside of him, and his tail swooshed calmly behind him, "Yeah, and?"
Please don't make any connections…
Marinette squinted at it, "You had… two?"
Please don't assume anything…
Marinette's eyes flickered at his, and he had to swallow to nerves that bubbled up to threaten his calm exterior, "Did he give this one to you too?"
Please don't – oh what's the use? She's bound to put two and two together eventually. She literally hangs around both sides of the nearly every day. At school, she sits behind Adrien. And on some nights, more often than he'd like to admit, she chats with Chat.
Chat leaned closer to her, giving her his best mischievous grin, "Guess how I got this one,"
Marinette was not amused, her face fell into something he recognized as annoyance, "He gave it to you after you used his bathroom?"
Oh… new plan… new lie.
Chat shook his head, "Nope- this one was given after he gave me a midnight snack,"
Marinette wasn't buying it. But when Chat gave her another dazzling smile, he could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she accepted his answer. What other explanation could she fathom? Nowhere close to the truth he hoped- for both their sakes.
Marinette gestured below, "Come on in Kitty," she slowly stepped down, "And don't forget to pull in the door behind you- but don't bolt it! You have to leave before midnight."
He never did.
