(Author's Note)
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or Beauty and the Beast.
Delphigirl689: First off, GuardianAngel1234567, I'm afraid that your request just isn't right for my story. ^-^' But thank you for the suggestion! I hope that you'll still enjoy the story!
And big thanks to everyone who's been reading this! With your support, I think I'll finally manage to finish a story for once!
I'm keeping this short and sweet so we can see how Marinette and Chat Noir's relationship progresses:
Several days later, Marinette took Cookie out for a stroll around the castle in new winter clothes the wardrobe, Mireille, gave her.
She felt warm and happy in the French pink dress and chocolate brown winter boots with the soft, almost velvety cloak and hood with a woolen trim. Tikki felt the same all snug in the hood.
The girl loved the scenery. It was like walking on puffy clouds in a frosty dreamland.
But she still had a pang of loneliness on her heart.
She remembered how her family would close the bakery early on a day like this and they would play in the snow for hours until the cold was too much.
Then they'd sit by the fire and drink hot milk or tea while they took turns reading a story book.
A nudge from Cookie's head brought her back to reality and she smiled as she stroked her beloved horse.
Their happy moment was interrupted by the barking of the footrest. The little thing romped and played in the piles of snow. Marinette smiled warmly and called to him, "Allez, chiot!* Allez!"
The footrest eagerly ran to her and jumped into her arms, tickling her lovingly with his tassels.
From the West Wing balcony, Chat Noir, Nino, and Max watched the scene below them.
"Aw! C'est mignon, non?*" Nino sighed cheerfully.
"Oui, Nino. It's very nice, indeed." Max replied.
Chat Noir felt himself change inside as he saw Marinette play with the footrest.
Then he looked at the bandage on his arm and remembered how cruel he was to her.
Yet, even with his appalling behavior, she didn't leave him behind that night.
She helped him.
The ferocity in his eyes was long gone now and his heart felt more light than he had in months.
"I've never felt this way about anyone before. I want to do something for her!" He told the clock and candlestick, "But, what?"
"Well, there's the usual things, sir." Max said, "Flowers, chocolates, promises you never intend to keep…"
"Non, non, Max!" Nino replied, "This needs to be something very special…something that…sparks her interests…"
He thought for a moment and got an idea, "Wait a minute! Books! She loves books! Remember, Max, she was really interested in seeing the library!"
"Mais oui!* Chat Noir, you could show her the library!" Max informed the beast.
Chat Noir gasped in delight at their suggestion. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face.
Later that day, Chat Noir led Marinette to a part of the castle she hadn't seen yet. "Marinette…th-there's something I want to show you…" he nervously said, "But, first, you have to close your eyes."
The girl raised an eyebrow in suspicion at his request. Noticing that she didn't feel quite right, he added, "It's a surprise."
Still not sure, she humored him and closed her eyes tightly. Chat Noir waved a paw in front of her face to make sure she wasn't peeking.
When he was certain that she wasn't looking, he quickly opened the doors, took Marinette's hands, and led her inside the mysterious room.
"Can I open my eyes, now?" she asked. "
No, not yet." he replied.
He stopped and softly told her, "Wait here." Then he rushed to the windows and drew the curtains opened.
Even with her eyes closed, Marinette could tell there was a chance in the lighting, and excitedly asked, "Now can I open them?"
"Alright, now!"
She snapped her eyes open and gasped in surprise at the room she was in. The meer size of it alone was incredible, but what really excited her was the walls covered in books. Her smile widened so much that it almost hurt.
"I can't believe it! I've never seen so many books in my entire life!" she cried.
Chat Noir anxiously asked, "Do you like it?"
"I LOVE it!"
"Then, it's yours!"
Marinette gasped, "Really?!"
"Oui, Marinette."
"Oh, thank you so much!" She said giving him a grateful hug.
He was surprised by the act, yet accepted it, and said, "Actually, I should be thanking you. After the way I treated you, you didn't leave me out there that night. So, thank you, and…I'm sorry…for the way I acted. It really wasn't like me to behave like that."
Marinette smiled as she listened to his sincere apology.
Then a strange voice snidely said, "I'll say. When I met you, you were hardly one to give demands."
A little black kwami floated up to the pair, shocking the girl before she remembered that Alya told her Chat Noir had a kwami with him.
Tikki popped up and, just as surprised as Marinette, said, "Plagg? You're the kwami we were told about?"
"Ah, Tikki! Long time no see!"
As the two magical creatures caught up with each other, Chat Noir and Marinette watched in amazement.
"I didn't know that you had a kwami?" he stated.
The girl replied, "Yes, I met Tikki only hours before I came here looking for Papa. The day before that, I saved a ladybug from being squished by this horrible girl in my village, and it turned out to be Tikki testing if I was worthy of having a wish granted."
"Really? So, why didn't you just wish yourself home?" the beast asked her.
"Because I promised to stay here." Marinette sighed, "And I never break my promises."
He looked at her with sheer admiration.
In all his life, he had never seen anyone as honest and pure before.
She then asked him, "What about you? How did you meet…Plagg was it?"
Chat Noir awkwardly chuckled, "It's kind of the same as how you met Tikki, only I had found an old black cat that needed some food and a warm, dry place. All the servants thought it was a bad idea to let him stay, but I didn't listen to them."
Marinette gazed at the cat-like monster and noticed how kind his eyes had become. It was shocking at the sudden change in him, but then she remembered Tikki saying the castle was cursed and she felt that the curse was really to blame, not the beast.
"You're really not what I thought you were, Chat Noir." she stated, making the beast blush under his dark furred face.
The castle servants all watched the pair converse in the library with big smiles on their faces.
Natalie stated, "Would you look at that?!"
"See?! I told you it would work!" Nino said.
Little Manon didn't understand, "What? What worked?"
"Oui, Nino. It's very encouraging." Max replied.
Alya giggled, "Isn't this exciting?!"
"I didn't see anything!" the teacup shouted, getting Natalie's attention.
"Come along, Manon." the teapot said, "There's chores to do in the kitchen."
"But what are you all talking about?" Manon begged to know, "What's going on? Come on, Natalie!" The teacup's pleading went on as they headed down the hall.
The days went on and Marinette finally agreed to dine with Chat Noir for le petit dejeuner.* Unfortunately, she wasn't ready for his atrocious table manners.
While she used her silverware, the beast ate snout first straight from the bowl. He stopped when he saw how disgusted the girl was and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.
Natalie and Manon nudged a spoon towards him and he accepted it, only to awkwardly shovel his meal into his mouth.
The teacup giggled lightly at the sight until Natalie's scowl made her stop.
Marinette then got an idea.
She picked up her porridge bowl and subtly suggested that he do the same. Chat Noir smiled and took her cue, lifting his bowl as well. The two toasted silently and sipped the porridge from their bowls. And with each meal, Chat Noir gradually used his utensils more and more.
As the days passed, soon it had been two weeks since the girl arrived at the castle. With their friendship growing, Marinette decided to take the beast out for some fun in the snow. She thought it would be nice to feed the birds.
Chat Noir, however, was very nervous about the idea. Being a cat-like monster, he was sure that his hunting instincts would ruin the whole thing. But the girl insisted that he join her and, reluctantly, he did.
Marinette spread out some seeds as the sparrows and cardinals gathered in the courtyard and she poured some in Chat Noir's paws.
She watched as he nervously approached the birds, but when he gently shoved the seeds towards them, they scattered to a little further away.
When he tried again, she giggled and knelt down to help. She had him leave his paws on the snow, scooped out some of the bird seed from them, and spread it out just before his paws.
Sure enough, a little sparrow hopped over and, after pecking up some of the seeds on the ground and noticing that it was safe, fluttered onto Chat Noir's open paws and pecked at the seeds within them.
The beast gasped happily that the little bird trusted him and he quietly thanked Marinette for her help as a few more birds flitted over to him.
Marinette smiled warmly at him and got back up, letting a little cardinal perch on her fingers.
Chat Noir was unsure about her smile.
Did it mean that she liked him?
Or…dare he imagine…love him?
Doubt settled in his mind as she went behind a tree.
Marinette was startled as a surge of new feelings swept into her heart.
Only a few weeks ago, she said she didn't want anything to do with the beast.
But, now, she had seen a whole different side to him…something wonderful.
The girl looked back at her friend and smiled at what she saw; the feline-esque creature was practically covered with birds and tried to stay as still as possible.
Getting a sudden urge for mischief, Marinette threw a snowball right in between the beast's eyes, sending the birds flying off in a frenzy.
She laughed loudly at his dumbstruck expression and he smirked with the same air of mischievousness and purred, "So, you want to play rough? Well, two can play that game, my lady!"
He then scooped up the most snow he could carry and packed it into a great big snowball. But before he could throw it, the girl smacked him with another one and his snowball fell on top of him.
"You're giving me the cold shoulder?" He joked, "You wound me, Bugaboo!"
"Nothing hurts more than that terrible pun!" Marinette replied, giggling like a school girl.
Their snowball fight went on for an hour or so and the servants looked on happily.
"I never thought that after such a rocky start, they'd turn out like this!" Max stated.
"That looks like fun!" Manon said, "I wish I had my arms back so I could play, too!"
Nino comforted the child, "Don't fret, little one. If all goes well, we'll be human again before the year is up!"
That afternoon, on Marinette's request, Chat Noir led her into the sitting room and offered to hang up her cloak. She let him and grabbed a book to read by the fireplace. Chat Noir asked Natalie to bring some hot milk and sat down beside the girl. The two then took turns reading from the book and Marinette admitted to herself that she finally felt at home.
Time passed and, before anyone knew it, it was Christmas time. The servants decorated the castle and Chat Noir took Marinette to get the perfect tree. They would spend the days trying to think of what to give the other.
Marinette finally decided to make the beast the finest jacket he'd ever seen. While the cat-like monster decided to give her something he was frightened of giving.
On Christmas morning, Marinette presented her gift and Chat Noir was so touched by it. True, it wasn't the first time someone gave him new clothes, but no one had ever made anything for him themselves.
Then it was time for him to give his present. "Marinette, my gift isn't as lavish as the library, and it's not something I can put in a box." he nervously said, "But it is something that I think you should know…"
He paused and the girl knew it was something that he struggled with, "It's okay, Chat Noir. You don't have to tell me anything if it hurts you."
"No, I want to tell you my real name!" he replied, "My real name…is…Adrien."
Marinette gasped in surprise.
Her new friend had trusted her enough to give her his real name.
"That's a wonderful name." she stated, "It suits you."
Adrien smiled at her comment, knowing that it was the same thing she said when he introduced himself as Chat Noir.
And I think that's enough for now. Next time we'll see how Hawkmoth is taking the progress their relationship is making…and I don't think it will be good.
Now some French Vocabulary
*1- "Come here, puppy!"
*2- "That's cute, isn't it?"
*3- "Of course!"
*4- breakfast
