Hey next chapter! This took a while as I had less writing time because I was away. Thanks for the reviews and for the song mentioned by afellowjedi-it's such a beautiful song, I loved it! Please enjoy the chapter!
Every morning for the next few days, Marinette woke up to find a rose in her bedroom. Her visitor had seemed to like how she had put the first rose in a vase as the following morning, she discovered it had been joined by a twin, identical in every way right down to the marking from the mysterious CN. Then they had started to appear in different places. One had been tucked into the weaving of her dress makers dummy, another was found resting on her chaise longue like it had always been there. Another morning it had been the first thing she saw as it dangled from one of her own hair ribbons from her skylight. One morning she had looked around but could not find it and she had felt disappointed only for her to open a drawer and find it filled to the brim with rose petals, each larger than the face of a pocket watch. Their fragrance was now burned into her memory and each time she found one, she couldn't help holding it close to her and daydreaming about who was leaving them for her. The vase was filling up each and every day yet she was no closer to guessing who it could be.
She had tried to deduce who it could be but she had always come up clueless as she knew nobody who would think to do such a thing for her. She also had barely any time to think; her parents always needed help in the bakery as, despite all the new machinery that had flooded Paris, it seemed the one place it hadn't reached was their bakery's kitchen. Her father stubbornly carried on making everything the way their family had always done and that meant all hands were needed. There were also her other activities that didn't bear mentioning that resulted in her falling asleep almost the minute she got into bed these days. She tried one night to stay awake and spot who was entering her room by keeping her candle burning but it hadn't worked-she had woken up the next morning to find the rose was next to her face on the pillow with a small note attached saying Nice Try Princess, signed in the same way of CN. She had frequently wished that she owned a box camera so she could take a snapshot of whoever was coming in but even though they were now very popular and it was the turn of the century, she still hadn't gotten her hands on one as her family were still very traditional and didn't want to waste money on an expensive toy. They had never been interested in status symbols which was why she loved them so-they didn't care much for the class that constantly shunned them. However, that night, after one whole week of receiving these anonymous but beautiful gifts, she had come up with the perfect plan and this time, they weren't going to get away.
She already knew how they got into her room, there was only one window that was big enough for a person to get through and she always kept it unlocked so she could make her own escapes. That evening she attached a small golden bell to the window latch so that when it moved, she would know the window was open. Just in case that didn't wake her up, she had also attached one to a length of ribbon she had tied across the room as a hastily-made tripwire. Now there was no way she could not hear it and she would finally meet her secret admirer.
As she went to bed that night, her muscles aching with tiredness from another day of lugging around bags of flour and serving customers, she felt like she could burst with excitement yet she was also really nervous. She didn't know what she was going to say when she uncovered the identity of the gift leaver. She supposed she wanted to thank them but then what would she say? Would they be offended and stop? Would they demand anything from her? What if it was a trick or something? Should she want to thank them or should she be scared that somebody was creeping around in her room? These thoughts kept picking at her brain and kept her awake for far longer than normal. She tried to draw but ended up ripping the paper in her tense state. She worried and tossed around in her bed for what seemed like ages as the night dragged on but her exhaustion won in the end and she fell asleep.
She was woken up by the tiniest of tickling sounds that suddenly stopped but then was followed by a small creak and a whisper of cold air as the window opened. Her eyes flickered open but she didn't dare move, instead listening out for the sounds of the person in her room. She kept her breathing steady as she heard the soft footsteps of somebody creeping towards the bed. She gently angled her head in the darkness and she saw something moving in the shadows by her desk. She saw their outline as they stood almost in the middle of the room, appearing to be pondering where to put the rose they were twirling in their fingers. She watched them breathlessly for a moment before the figure gave a satisfied nod and took a determined step forwards. Their foot brushed against the ribbon and set off a louder tinkling noise that made them freeze before they both spring suddenly into action.
Marinette sat up in the bed and the figure jumped into the air in shock, dropping the rose. They then turned to flee and made a beeline for the window but Marinette had already leapt from her bed and across the room with a speed even she didn't know she possessed. She slammed the window shut and turned to face the intruder, her chest heaving as they halted a few paces from her. Luminous green eyes that seemed to absorb all the dim light in the room stared into her own and she felt a shiver running down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold glass that pressed against it.
"Well, well," A voice purred from the darkness. "It appears that you have beaten me princess. I would take my hat off to you if I wore one."
Fumbling as her hands shook, Marinette found the emergency candle her father always insisted she kept in a drawer and lit it without taking her eyes away from the green ones that felt so bewitching. The light exposed the figure that stood before her and she couldn't help a gasp escaping her. Standing there was a young man about her age who was just taller than her and was dressed from head to toe in sleek black leather that was cut to perfectly embrace every curve of his body. His messy hair was golden and tousled like fingers had been run through it with black cat ears buried on top and half of his face was covered by a black mask from which his green eyes stared. His mouth was curled in a small cheeky smile that made something in her stomach flip and she could already feel her cheeks burning.
"Who…who are you?"
"Your knight in shining armour princess." He said before dropping to one knee and taking her hand in his. He kissed her fingers gently, his lips soft like a cat's muzzle, before he scooped the rose up from the floor and presented it with a flourish. "Chat Noir, greatest trickster in all of Paris, at your service. May I just say, it is an absolute purr-leasure to meet you at long last. You are far more lovely in the light than in the dark."
"C-chat Noir?" She stammered, hardly daring to believe this was real and not a strange dream her tired mind had conjured up. She pinched her arm hard and when she felt the pain she had to remind herself to speak. "The cat burglar?"
"I object to that a little bit." He said as he stood up. "I admit I take things from people but I never keep them. I only do this for my own amusement." He looked at the little red mark her fingernails had left on her arm and he took the candle from her hand and rested it on the windowsill before examining it, his gloved hands caressing her skin like she was made of china. "You shouldn't hurt yourself princess. I can't bear the idea of you in pain."
"I'm sorry," She said, unable to stop herself even though she wasn't sure why she was apologising. "It's just…it is not every day you find an infamous thief is leaving you roses." She looked down at the rose he had put in her hand and stroked its petals lovingly. This one was one of the most beautiful she had seen, just in bloom with crimson petals each almost the size of her palm.
"So you liked them then?" She heard him say and she smiled at the eagerness that slipped into his sensual voice.
"I loved them." She told him truthfully and she saw a bright smile light up his features. "You must have gone to a lot of effort for them."
"No effort is too big for you," He said and she felt her face blushing again. "I would have gone to the ends of the Earth to get them for you princess."
She giggled at that, a sound that seemed to burst with life that made his grin grow wider. "You know, you can call me Marinette if you want. It is my name after all."
"But princess suits you so well," He purred again, taking a little step closer to her. She saw his eyebrows wriggle and she felt a bubble of laughter rise in her chest. "I would go as far to say it is purr-fect for you."
She laughed at that, trying to smother the sound with her fingers so her parents wouldn't hear but it didn't work very well. "Those cat puns are terrible!"
"Oh how you wound me!" He clutched his hands to his heart and pouted at her, thinking it would make him look hurt but it actually made him look like a petulant child. She batted him away with her hand and he pretended to fall but she stepped forwards and caught him, her hands against his chest as he found himself leaning into her. Their noses were a finger's breadth from each other's and he was looking deeply into her eyes. He had never seen them this close and he marvelled spellbound at the intensity of their blue colour. He saw how her slender throat moved as she gulped and drew nervously away.
"I'm s-sorry," She said looking down at the floor in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to…"
"Don't worry about it." He said before adding flirtatiously. "In fact, feel free to grab my chest at any time, I won't mind." That made her laugh and shove him playfully away.
"Silly kitty!" She giggled at him before she looked thoughtful. "How did you stop the bell on my window? I was certain I would catch you that way."
"And you did, didn't you?" He said suggestively, throwing out is arms as if to display himself proudly which made her raise an eyebrow. "I heard it ringing when I opened the window and I jammed it with a scrap of cloth that was on your windowsill." She spun around and saw that, exactly like he said, there was a piece of crumpled red fabric sticking out from it that she carefully removed and smoothed out. She couldn't afford to waste material if she didn't want to be suspicious. "What I wasn't expecting was the second bell on the floor. You really are a crafty one princess."
"Thank you," she replied with a smile. "My original plan was to try and get my hands on a camera. I figured you would enjoy that."
"Those things are over-rated." He said, feeling a little pang of panic. Was she hinting that she suspected something about him?
"Strange, you don't strike me as shy." She said with a cheeky smile of her own. "Though I get what you mean. I don't usually want my photo taken either."
"Really? But you're so beautiful." He sounded genuinely surprised and she blushed again.
"I would rather my clothes got the attention than me." She sighed. "I love designing clothes, I would love to see them in a catalogue being modelled. It's all so new and exciting, these models are really leading the way and starting to become famous on their own and the designers are also…"
He saw the faraway look in her eyes and smiled when he saw her passion, no matter how close to home she was getting. It was almost the same thing his father had told him when he had started modelling his father's designs in his catalogues and people had started to recognise him. He had called it a new frontier of fashion and Adrien had hoped it would bring him closer to his father but all it had done was make them more distant and gained him unwanted attention from the society beauties that poured over those kind of things and found it a novelty.
He looked out at the window and was shocked to see that half the sky was already pale pink like the walls of her bedroom. He hadn't realised how much time had passed. Following his gaze, Marinette also looked out of the window and gasped. She could hear cluttering sounds from downstairs as the bakery started to awaken and she knew any minute her father would be calling her to get up.
"Chat you have to go!" She squeaked but found he was already perched on the windowsill next to her and was opening the window, about to leap out but he hesitated.
"Will I see you tomorrow night?" He asked hopefully, his hand on the latch. He didn't see the way her eyes went wide in panic and how her voice went slightly higher as she came up with an excuse.
"I won't be there," She said. "We…have a big order in the bakery that we have to make and I will have to stay up all night to help with it. But after that, yes…I'll be waiting for you."
She realised how that sounded and she went red again. He laughed and his hand brushed some of her hair behind her ear. The little touch made her shiver and lean a little into his hand before she realised what she was doing. Was she going insane?
"I'll be counting the hours." He murmured as he reluctantly took his hand away and then his cheeky smile returned. "Until then, may this knight have a favour from his princess?"
"Who said you were my knight?" She snorted but her eyes scanned the room for something small she could give him. "Hey, I have an idea." She reached over to the window and untied the little golden bell that was there before she attached it to the front of his cat suit just below his chin. "Now when you come in, I'll hear you and wake up."
"That is a good idea," He purred in admiration. "After all, it would be a catastrophe if you didn't get to see me."
"Enough with the puns!" She sighed as she shook her head at his grinning face. "Also, take this." She handed him the piece of red fabric. "Just as a little thing."
"Nothing from you if ever little, my princess," He said as he took it gently and tucked it into his front so it lay over his heart. "I will treasure it always."
"You really are a silly kitty." She smiled but when she looked up into his eyes again she saw how much he meant it. All of a sudden, she felt like the air had been sucked from the room as he bent his head gently towards her and she began to do the same…
"Marinette!" The jolly voice of her father came from downstairs, causing her to jump and turn towards the trapdoor. "It's time to get up! We're going to have a busy day today!"
"Coming Papa!" She shouted back. She spun back around to the window but it was already closed and Chat Noir was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished completely and the only evidence that he had been there was the red rose still in her hand and the missing bell on the window.
She sniffed the flower and the aroma of rose was all the sweeter now she knew who he was. Who would have thought she was being courted by an infamous trickster? She thought and the idea thrilled her. She went to go and put the rose in the vase with the others and took a moment to hold her face close to them, the soft petals brushing her skin the way his fingers had. She then went downstairs, readying herself for a busy day with a smile on her face.
She didn't hear the way Chat Noir whooped as he sailed through the air to get back home before the city woke up, feeling drunk on the happiness that was shooting through his body. He had met her! She loved his roses! She had liked him! The excitement he felt came out in his cries that mingled with the ringing of her bell, her favour to him, as he cheered to the sky with the biggest smile on his face. How he hadn't woken up Paris with his rejoicing, he would never know but in that one blissful moment, he hadn't cared. He had met his princess.