Chapter Two – Mix with a cup of angst and humour

The first rays of dawn shone in on Cat Noir's face and he scrunched his eyes before blinking them open, he felt like someone had thrown sand in them. His throat was parched too, yet he felt oddly content. His eyes widened as he realised he was lying on someone, he pushed himself up sharply and then relaxed. He'd fallen asleep with Marinette. It was the first time he'd ever woken up with a girl and he decided he liked it.

Some of her hair had come loose from her pigtails and the sunlight highlighted her profile. She looked so pretty and peaceful. He grimaced when he realised he'd drooled on her shirt. His hand went to brush it away when he realised he'd be touching the inside of her breast and he quickly retracted his hand. Instead he gently removed her arms from his back and covered her with the blanket. He pushed the stray hair her from her eyes and sighed. Then his mind recalled how he'd ended up with Marinette and his heart sank.

"Good morning Cat Noir," Tom boomed then raised a hand to his mouth as he watched the boy jump. "Sorry I didn't mean to frighten you."

Cat Noir's tail flicked, "It's okay. I didn't realise you knew I was here."

"I found you two asleep when Sabine and I got home. Marinette explained everything. Come down and have some breakfast."

He frowned, "I'd love to but I should really get home. I never meant to be out this long."

"That's fine we don't want your family worrying about you," Tom said as he dusted his hands on his apron.

Cat Noir looked back to Marinette as she continued to sleep. "Thanks Marinette," he whispered. He turned to Tom, "Thanks for letting me stay."

Tom placed a large hand on his shoulder, "You're welcome here anytime, son. But as Marinette's father I need to say this, don't do anything I wouldn't approve of with my daughter."

Cat Noir's face turned scarlet, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Tom patted his shoulder, "I'm glad to hear it."

Marinette woke with a stiff neck and wondered why she wasn't in bed. Then it all came rushing back. She tossed aside the blanket and noticed Cat Noir was no longer there. She looked at their mugs from the night before and sighed, she hoped he was doing okay. Being a school day she went through the motions of her morning routine and found her mother in the kitchen. "So, we had a visitor last night," Sabine said with a mischievous smile.

Marinette yawned, "Yeah I'm guessing Dad told you the story."

She nodded, "Poor Cat Noir. Did you find out why he was so upset?"

Marinette sucked on her bottom lip, "He was heartbroken."

"Who was heartbroken?" Alya said as she strolled in.

Marinette bumped her glass, grabbed at it frantically and saved it from spilling.

"Cat Noir," Sabine answered.

Alya looked confused, "What was he heartbroken about and how did you find out?"

Marinette rushed to answer, "I saw him last night, he was really upset so I invited him in for hot chocolate. We talked a bit and I hugged him when he cried."

Sabine beamed, "Tom found them asleep on the lounge together. It was adorable."

"Mum," Marinette growled.

"What? It was sweet."

"You slept with Cat Noir," Alya squealed.

"Yes, I mean no." A muscle under Marinette's eye began to twitch, "Just sleeping there was nothing else."

Alya laughed, "That's all I meant girl."

Marinette continued to bristle under Alya's teasing as they walked to school. "You need to stop now, people will talk," she said pointedly as she spotted Chloe preening and prattling at Adrien who wore a weary expression.

Alya smirked and whispered, "I wonder what Adrien would think if he knew you spent the night with Cat Noir."

Marinette elbowed her, "Enough already. Nothing happened, end of story."

"He might get jealous."

"I could only hope."

Adrien periodically nodded as Chloe droned on about herself. Inside he was broken and no one could know. He brightened as he spotted Marinette and gradually pushed Chloe away in attempt to talk to her. Then he froze, he couldn't exactly discuss last night, she didn't know he was Cat Noir. His mind searched for a reason to reach out to her. She looked up at him and he waved. Alya said something to her and she blushed as she waved back.

She blurted a greeting at him that made very little sense as she approached. His eyebrows drew together as he tried to decipher what she'd said. "Uh morning Marinette," he rubbed the back of his neck, "How are you today?"

She continued to smile at him spellbound until Alya poked her side, "I-I'm good."

He nodded and smiled back, not a lot to work with there. Alya seemed to realise and filled the gap, "So did you guys see the footage of the Jagged Stone concert last night? Wasn't it wicked how Ladybug and Cat Noir rocked on stage."

Adrien's stomach contracted and he forced the smile to remain on his face. "They were pretty awesome."

Marinette's eyes dimmed, "Yeah they seemed so happy."

Nino joined them, "That concert was totally awesome." The conversation was cut short as the bell rang and they headed to class.

At lunchtime things got awkward for Marinette. "Alya, you make it sound dirty."

Nino chuckled, "So Cat Noir spent the night."

Her flush grew darker and her jaw clenched, "Sleeping, that's all."

"Did he bring his own cat basket?" Nino smirked.

"No but I'm wishing he did," Marinette huffed as she picked at her lunch.

Adrien piped up, "Leave her alone guys, I think you've embarrassed her enough."

Alya sidled up to him, "So Adrien what's your thoughts on the situation."

He glanced over at Marinette then back at Alya, "She did a nice thing, give her some credit she deserves it over ribbing."

Nino watched Adrien stab his salad with his fork, "Dude, we didn't mean any harm."

"At least someone is looking out for me," Marinette tossed back.

Adrien's eyes met hers, "Anytime you need it, I've got your back Marinette." And with that she lost the ability to speak.

The school day dragged on for Adrien and with ten minutes to go the akuma alarm sounded. A sense of utter panic took hold of him, he wasn't ready to face Ladybug yet. He took a deep breath and saw Plagg peering at him from under the table. He gave a single nod as he cleared his head and gathered his stuff. He dashed to the male toilets and Plagg emerged from his bag, "You'll be alright. Focus on fighting the akuma and then we'll get some cheese."

"Let's get this over with. Plagg, claws out."

Thanks to everyone for their reviews, favourites and follows. I really appreciate it. The recipe is about to get more flavoursome... stay tuned :)