A/N: I 100% accept the headcanon that the Ladybug miraculous gives Marinette a better than average green thumb.

Small warning for stimulant use, even though it's all natural and not used maliciously, it's still technically one character drugging another.

Day Ten: Catnip. In which Marinette tries to pull a prank and it backfires.

Fire & Rain

Ten: For Science

Gardening had always been a favored hobby of Marinette's, and since becoming Ladybug she had started to appreciate it even more. It was soothing and methodical and she had, quite suddenly, become very good at it. While at the start of her little rooftop garden, she had trouble keeping anything but the hardiest of plants (aloe and mint) alive, now it seemed like she couldn't so much as drop a leaf into a pot without it taking root.

She was as proud of her plants as she was of her designs, even though only a few people ever saw them.

Every once in a while, she set aside a bit of money to buy a new plant for her garden, and though she had been aiming for a batch of ranunculus, when she got to the gardening store, she found herself drawn to an entirely different sort of plant.

Even as she paid for the seedlings, Marinette told herself that she was in no way being a mean person. She was just curious is all. Chat Noir had so many cat tendencies, while Ladybug just had her strangely blessed garden, that she wondered just how catlike he really was. It was a completely impartial, scientific endeavor that led her to buy the catnip. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she wondered what Chat would be like while under the influence of a stimulant.

Not at all.

Okay, fine, she was a jerk, so sue her. Chat had teased her and played enough pranks on her to make it more than fair. It's not like anybody other than her would know.

Marinette was careful in her planning. She hid the catnip plant amongst her other plants so that Chat would not notice it until it was grown enough that she could put her plan into motion. It took a bit of research (she needed to be sure there wasn't any way she could actually hurt him, after all), but it was simple enough to wait until it grew to eight inches and then cut and ground a few stems to dust.

Fresh catnip would have worked just as well, but since the intention was to see how catlike he could be, she decided to stuff the catnip powder into a little fleece ball she had stitched.

Then it was just a matter of waiting. She couldn't do it when he got there early enough to interact with her parents (she would be grounded, because Chat was obviously the favorite), and on days he got there too late, she didn't want to interrupt Magnificent Century viewing just for a prank (each episode was at least an hour and fifteen minutes long, and could sometimes be up to two hours, if they ever wanted to finish the series, they couldn't waste a single moment).

The perfect moment came so suddenly, she almost let it pass her by. Chat had dropped by early for a family dinner, only to find her parents busy in the bakery working on pastries for a catering event the next day. Marinette had helped throughout the afternoon, frosting cupcakes and transporting cookie dough into the oven, but had been released so that she could focus on her schoolwork and order pizza for dinner.

The blond somehow seemed both delighted at the greasy treat and worried that it would destroy his physique. It took twenty minutes just to convince him to eat more than a single slice - that was hardly a meal!

They settled in to watch the third season, Marinette practically vibrating with excitement ("Mihrimah's my favorite!" she declared as the blonde girl took up the screen), and she was so into it that she forgot her scheme. At least she did until his tail wrapped around her waist as it usually did these days when it was just the two of them.

She cleared her throat and tapped his belt tail with her forefinger, "I have to go get something."

He was getting better at controlling his extra limb (which sort of negated his claim that it was all his kwami's doing), and after startling at the realization that his tail was around her again, it slipped easily off her waist.

Barely containing her laughter, Marinette pulled the ball of catnip from her sewing box where she had hidden it.

"Hey Chat," she called, and smiled wickedly when he blinked innocently up at her. "Catch!"

He caught it almost unthinkingly, hand fisting around it before bringing it close to his face, curious to see what it was. Confusion marred his face right before his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. She caught a peek of his slitted pupils dilating widely right before he fell to the ground in a heap.

"Chat!" Marinette shrieked, running to kneel at his side. What happened? She thought he would just act a little more hyper than usual, not collapse!

Oh God, what if he was allergic to catnip? It seemed absurd for a cat-based hero to be allergic to catnip, but he was allergic to feathers, wasn't he? Cats loved attacking pigeons, but he had barely been able to endure a fight with Mr. Pigeon. What if his human self was allergic to catnip? She had never seen a violent allergic reaction before!

What if he was dying? What if she had killed him? What if. . .

Wait, was he purring?

"Chat?" Marinette questioned, voice small and worried.

Chat didn't seem to hear her, only wriggled on the floor towards her and threw an arm around her waist. She muffled a shout when his head followed the movement. That was his face snuggling into her lap and why wasn't she pushing him off? Her hands fluttered uselessly as she made to move him off of her, only to abort the movement when he started purring more loudly. His other hand was clenching and unclenching around the plush ball.

Was this the catnip?

Marinette opened her mouth to say something, only to shut it closed. Well, it was her fault this was happening, and it wasn't the worst feeling in the world. With a sigh she decided to let him stay cuddled on her lap. The effects would only last about fifteen minutes, after all.

A/N: So, only fifty percent of cats actually react to catnip, but you know, comedy. Also, although pop culture has cats acting like they're on crack when in contact with catnip, for some it acts as a sedative. And, you know, romance.

Please review and let me know what you liked, didn't like, and what you thought could use improvement!

~ Destiny's Sweet Melody