Author's Note: Please remember that the Tendencies series was written based on the first thirteen episodes, and before we got the origin episodes, so I had to make up my own. In it, Ladybug was around for a lot longer that Chat Noir was.

Set: Prior to Obsession.

Sulk

Ladybug was frustrated.

Her kitty hadn't visited for nearly a month now, without an explanation, and... And she hated how inadequate and anxious that made her. He said he trusted her. That he enjoyed her company. That she understood what he was going through.

So, why hadn't he come back? Was he getting his itch scratched somewhere else?

Ladybug shook her head. That was silly. She didn't own him. She was just helping her partner deal with his stupid miraculous side effects. If he wanted to get scratched from somewhere else... well he could just go there all the time! She didn't care! She'd be perfectly happy if he never came back again and she could go back to adoring Adrien without feeling like she was being torn in two!

"Anything wrong, bugaboo?"

Nope. Nudda. Not a thing. She sighed and rotated her shoulders to loosen tense muscles. "I'm fine."

"You sure? You seem tense."

Ladybug stood and stretched out her legs, being careful to avoid Chat Noir's gaze. "Gonna call it, Chat. I've got a mountain of homework to do."

"Oh," Chat Noir said, rising from his kitty crouch to place one hand over his heart and bow to her. "Very well, my lady, and may I say—"

Ladybug didn't stick around to hear whatever flirtatious remark or witty pun he was going to deliver tonight. She didn't stop moving until she dropped through her trap door and released her transformation.

Tikki spiralled free and zipped down to the plate of cookies Marinette had left beside her computer. Fetching one, she floated back up. "We finished patrol early today."

Marinette sighed and headed to the stairs. "Yeah, I know. I just… wasn't feeling it today."

Tikki nodded. "You have been out of sorts lately."

Flopping at her computer, Marinette wiggled the mouse, then sat back to wait for her computer to come out of power saving mode. "Yeah, I know."

Tikki landed on Marinette's shoulder and nuzzled into her neck. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Marinette sighed. "Boy troubles…"

"Adrien or Chat?" Tikki asked.

Marinette laughed. "You know, I would never have expected to hear both of them in the same sentence."

Tikki giggled. "Things change."

"They do," Marinette said. She sighed. "Do you think he's getting pats from someone else?"

"Well—"

"And what if Adrien finds out I've been patting Chat? I mean, it is kinda weird when you think about it. What if he asks me to stop? What'll Chat do? Would he just… keep going to that other person? What if I lose the chance to pat him forever? How is he going to be when he finds out what I'm like in winter? What if Chat figures out why I have so many pictures of Adrien? How do I continue to juggle this?"

"Ahh," Tikki said, her high-pitched voice ruining the sage sound of realisation. "I see."

"What? What do you see?"

"You like him."

Marinette's head reared back. "Of course I like him. He's my partner."

Boots sounded against her ceiling and Marinette glanced up as Tikki made herself scarce. "Speak of the devil," she said and waited for the scratch against her trapdoor.

She wasn't disappointed. "Princess?" came with a pitiful meow and a scratch against the glass of her trap door.

She wondered what would happen if she ignored the scratching at her door. If he was like any other cat, he'd probably keep scratching and howling and disturb the whole neighbourhood. Sighing, she got to her feet to let her wayward kitty in.

He landed on the bed in a crouched-kitty position and grinned madly at her. "Good evening, Princess!" he chirped, happy. Standing, he offered her a marigold stalk with three flowers scattered along its stem. "I hope you don't mind me dropping by at this late hour."

Marigolds. She'd save that for a snack later. "Tasty."

He blinked. "What?"

Marinette's eyes widened, her lips parted in a part-grin, part-grimace. "Pretty," she corrected. "It's pretty. Why are you bringing me flowers?"

He cringed. "I… um… well," he elongated the word. "I'm… kind of buttering you up."

"You should've brought buttercups then," she quipped.

He brightened. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Why are you buttering me up?"

Chat Noir rolled his shoulders. His ears deflated and she could swear he suddenly developed a bad case of Puss-In-Boot eyes. "I was… trying to see how long I could go without bothering you for pats… turns out a month is… a little long."

"And now it's urgent?"

He lifted his hand and showed her two fingers, close together. "I'm this close to rubbing all over your legs."

"I appreciate your restraint." Moving to the head of her bed, she propped her large kitty cushion up behind her back and sat against the wall.

Chat Noir crouched down beside her and pressed his head into her waiting hand. In the blink of an eye, he turned from 'she'd-never-admit-he-was-a-handsome-boy' to 'oh-my-goodness-adorable-kitten'.

His purr thundered in his chest, reverberating through the room and he flopped beside her, his chest to her legs and an arm over her lap.

"Silly kitten," Marinette said, using both hands to scratch the spot behind his ears. "You shouldn't have waited."

He mewed and tilted his head so she could get a better angle. Burying his face in the crevice between her leg and the bed, he shuddered out a sigh. The hand across her lap gently tugged on the fabric of her jacket. His purr intensified as she found the base of his neck and used her nails against the nape.

She moved to his shoulders, scraping her nails against the magical material of his suit and he arched into her mumbled something and she had to work hard to hear his muffled words. "You are wonderful."

"So… you weren't gallivanting off getting pats from… anyone else?"

"You wound me, Princess," he said, raising his head and blinked his eyes at her. "I am a loyal kitty."

She couldn't describe how relieved (pleased) that made her feel. "What if Ladybug wanted to pat you?"

Rolling onto his back, he tucked his head against her thigh and curved. He offered her her his throat, ignoring the question in favour of purring. Marinette obliged him, walking her fingers along his throat to his chin, while her other hand itched the top of his chest.

Marinette smiled to herself as she continued to pet him. Seeing him lost in the haze of pats like this, purring and mewing at her, was invigorating. She did this. Her. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Not Ladybug.

Ladybug, her infamous other half. Ladybug, who could do no wrong, who everyone, including Chat Noir, loved and adored. Marinette knew why, (she hated why), people were always so calm and collected around her. Her tendency.

It wasn't just the sleepiness in winter she'd inherited, nor the preference for eating flowers as a snack. No, the reason so many people were so confident and clear-sighed around her, able to act rationally instead of fleeing in terror, was the pheromones she'd been gifted with. Phermemones that only activated when she was suited up. Or so she'd been told.

Which, in spite of what Tikki assured her, was why she couldn't trust Chat's proclamations and flirting. He'd arrived after her pheromones had activated, and she couldn't be sure that they weren't working on him.

Until he'd arrived at her rooftop, until he'd come to her begging for help for a very physical tendency he couldn't control. Her. Not Ladybug. No pheremonal scent in range.

And she'd helped him because she cared about him and it was a way for her get to know him without that looming over her head. Because no one could truly understand a tendency unless they had one too.

He was easy to talk to, much easier to deal with when he wasn't trying to flirt with her every two seconds. Just interacting with Chat Noir on casual basis helped her see her partner in a new light. She was noticing all these wonderful qualities she'd never had a chance to see before. He had oodles of advice about her 'blind prince' and she'd even tried some of them out… sort of … Maybe next time she'd actually get the words out.

Chat Noir had a nice laugh, a nice smile. He could be funny too. He was great at games. He was considerate and kind, and never ever demanded more than she was willing to offer. He always stayed in neutral areas and even when he was haze-deep in kitty-pats and barely aware of his surroundings, he was always, always aware of her and her comfort.

Plus, he made such cute noises as he climbed on her lap to get pats and his purr was the most adorable thing she'd ever heard and she just loved—

Marinette's hands stilled in his hair and Chat Noir mewed out a protest, pushing further against her hands.

Oh shit.