A/N: Thank you, Andrey258, for all your wonderful reviews! It spurred me to post this one early just for you. I hope you like it.

This one is a bit longer than my usual chapters, clocking in at a pretty hefty 3k. However, I couldn't break it up because it's already shorter than my usual 'episodes.' This little special serves as a bridge to prep the fanfic for more brilliance that I create in later episodes. You might not be able to see it now, but trust me... I needed to write this before I could continue the series (and I had been working on Episode Five when I finally found the missing piece in this fanfic).

Here's a little synopsis for this little not-quite-side-story, A Lull in Duties:

Marinette convinced Chat Noir to help her with her homework the next weekend. What she find out anything about the time when she had been akumatized? What will Chat Noir do with all that time spent alone with Marinette, his 'purrincess'?

Episode 2.5: A Lull in Duties

"Hm, hm, hm-hm, hm-hm." A black boot bounced to the hummed tune, pointing towards the sky.

"Sit still, or I won't finish this!" Marinette snapped, irritated.

"Of course, mi'lady," Chat Noir immediately conceded, continuing his humming but no longer tapping his foot.

He was lounged in her chair on the balcony, staring up at the clouds in bliss. Despite being in his black Miraculous suit, he wasn't too warm; in fact, he was just the right temperature.

Marinette fretted over a stray line in her drawing, leaning against the wall of her balcony as she drew the lounging Chat Noir.

"Chat."

"Yes, mi'lady?"

She had finally fixed the line. "When I had been akumatized, had anything bad happened between us?"

The humming stopped. Glancing up, she saw his head turned towards her as his eyes searched her face. After a brief moment of silence, he turned his head back towards the sky. "No."

Marinette glared at him for a moment before resuming drawing. "Why won't you tell me who you are, then?"

"I want you to know the real side of me." His foot began tapping a silent beat again. This time, she didn't stop him.

"Are you really that different from your real identity?" she asked, curious.

"You'll have to tell me," he admitted, tilting his head towards her again. His green eyes drilled into her. "Here's a question for you: Why haven't you figured out who I am behind the mask on your own? After all, we do go to the same school."

Marinette jerked up in bed, inhaling sharply as she reacquainted herself with her room. "A dream," she mumbled, relaxing back into her pillows.

However, it was a dream that reflected her true state of mind.

Chat Noir was keeping something a secret from her, and it involved the reason why he wouldn't reveal his true identity to her. It didn't seem as if anything bad had happened between them - he just seemed to be uncertain and self-doubting, believing she wouldn't like him anymore if she knew who he was behind the mask.

Tap, tap, tap.

She sighed heavily. Sitting up in bed, she unlatched her roof's latch, pushing it up enough to peer at Chat Noir's grin. "Good morning, Purrincess - "

He faltered when he saw her sleep-ridden appearance. "Did I… wake you up?" he asked, incredulous.

She quickly shook her head. "No. What are you doing here?"

He glanced at his wrist as if there was a watch on it, which there wasn't. "You wanted me to tutor you, right? I came at the prearranged time."

Marinette quickly checked her phone's clock. Sure enough, it was already past ten in the morning, proving her the one in the wrong. "Agh, I'm sorry, Chat. I guess I slept in. Give me a few minutes."

As she quickly threw on some clothes and brushed her tangled hair, she mulled over the previous weekend that had led to this situation; On Sunday, she had been scrambling to finish her homework for next week when Chat had dropped by. Refusing to leave after he had interrupted her, he had proceeded to help her with her homework. He even said he would help out with next week's work if she needed it - and, even though she hated to admit it, she definitely needed help.

Once she was dressed and had snuck some food into her room, she opened the rooftop hatch to spy Chat Noir resting in her chair the exact same way as he had in her dream. Shivering from a sudden chill, she brought her homework and the snacks up.

"Wow, right down to business," he commented as she sat cross-legged on the balcony near him, her math homework splayed across her lap.

"I need to finish it before tomorrow," she mumbled, not looking at him.

Thump. Glancing up, she nearly squeaked when she saw Chat Noir sitting cross-legged across from her with a serious expression on his face. "All right, then. Let's get it done."

He plucked her math homework out of her lap and examined the pages. His forehead creased in amusement. "Ah, you have him for your math teacher."

He proceeded to tell her everything he knew about the tense ball of wrath that was her mathematics teacher, including what he liked to see on the homework sheets. This prompted Marinette to ask him if they shared the class together, but he had quickly shaken his head.

After a while, they fell into a sort of pattern; Chat would lounge in her chair, nodding off or staring up at the clouds while humming, until she needed help with a tricky question. When that happened, he would plop in front of her and help her with it.

After the midday meal (which she had barely managed to sneak up enough food for two without her parents noticing), she eyed him with suspicion. At her look, he immediately asked, "What?"

"I never would have thought you would be so smart." Half of her homework was done thanks to him.

Chat clutched at his heart as if something had pierced him. "You wound me, Princess. How else would I be able to come up with my fur-tastic ideas?"

She rolled her eyes. There was the Chat she knew; she hadn't realized how unsettled she had been from his uncharacteristically serious attitude until he had broken it with one of his annoying, yet familiar, puns. "That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?"

"Paw-lease," he waved her off, grinning, "I'm only getting started."

She groaned, but she was smiling. She opened the book for the next subject: English*. She sighed now, already feeling so lost; ever since this semester's course with the new British instructor that spoke imperfect French, she hadn't been able to fully grasp all the concepts he threw at them. "How good is your English?" she asked with little to no hope.

"Pretty good." He peered at her homework upside-down, frowning. "Hmm. I haven't met him."

Marinette stared at him as he shifted to sit next to her so he could read the instructions. His soft gold hair slid along his ears, and she remembered how that hair had felt between her fingers just last weekend when he had fallen asleep on her knee.

Swallowing hard, she squashed the sudden urge to pat his head, reminding herself that she was seeing Adrien. Sure, they weren't boyfriend-girlfriend yet, but she wasn't leaving anything to chance.

"Ah, it looks like it's just sentence conjugation," Chat Noir finally exclaimed, breaking her out of her reverie. "Want me to show you a few examples of what he wants?"

She nodded quickly, hoping he didn't notice her lapse in judgement. He smiled at her then, showing teeth as he reached across her lap to grab a notebook.

Startled, she inhaled sharply, catching the scent of peaches and vanilla as his silky hair passed by her face. It was definitely not what she had expected Chat Noir to smell like.

Shoot me now, please, she thought as she was trapped in his expectant green eyes, because I have no clue what he just said.

A curious, puzzled expression crossed over his face. "Is something wrong, Marinette?"

"N-no," she stammered, cursing her nerves for revealing themselves through her annoying stutter.

He looked mildly surprised before breaking out in a grin. "Did I make you nervous with all that English jargon?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Maybe…" She fiddled with the corner of her book. "Could you… repeat what you just said a moment ago?"

Another hour passed by. Unbelievably, Chat Noir was better in English than almost everyone she knew; the only other one she knew to be this fluent was Adrien. She caught on to his explanations much better than she had with the British instructor, plowing through her homework in record time.

Beep, beep, beep.

Chat glanced at his ring, startled. His last print was blinking, alerting him that he only had approximately five minutes left on his transformation. He grinned at Marinette. "Any last questions before I leave?"

A flash of panic pierced through her. What if she forgot everything he had been telling her? Grabbing his arm, she exclaimed, "W-wait, stay a bit longer."

He stared at her, startled. "I mean, I could, but…"

What she had said and how it could be taken hit her like a sledgehammer. "I-I mean, I just - I don't want to forget and - my grade is already low in English - "

He chuckled, moving in closer until his face was mere inches from her own. Her mouth clamped shut at his close proximity. "You know, Princess, all you had to do was ask."

The look he gave her made her stomach do cartwheels. He had given her that smouldering look so many times before; why was this time different?

When she didn't push him away, a spark of curiosity flickered through his eyes. He edged closer, and Marinette held her breath, frozen to the spot.

"What if I go for about an hour and then come back? Would that be okay?" he breathed.

All she could do was nod. Eyes locked on his, she didn't stop him when he lifted her hand.

His lips pressed against her skin, soft and warm. They lingered there longer than normal as he watched her. Amusement danced across his features as he pulled away, his Miraculous giving another warning beep.

"I'll be back in an hour," he promised, leaping from the building.

As soon as he was out of sight, Marinette slumped into a puddle, her face turning bright red. She stared at her English book, remembering how he had reached across to use her notebook.

"Marinette? Are you okay?" Tikki asked, peeking out from her comfy little nest that Marinette had made for her.

"He-he smelled like peaches and vanilla," Marinette stammered dazedly.

Tikki floated over, slightly confused. "Peaches? What are you talking about?"

Marinette covered her face. "Tikki… He's coming back later. I don't know what to do…"

Tikki huffed. "That's easy. Work on homework!"

Adrien slipped into his room, nearly humming to himself from his day spent with Marinette. Despite only working on homework, he had still enjoyed his morning and afternoon with her.

As soon as he detransformed, Plagg leapt for the couch, burying himself into a cushion. "Wahhh, I'm so hungry! You're a slavedriver, man! Get me cheese!"

"Fine, fine," Adrien said, waving his hand dismissively. He left his room and headed down the lonely hallway towards the kitchen.

Gabriel Agrests stepped out of the entrance to the kitchen, a stern expression clouding his face.

Adrien froze, staring at his father. "D-Dad? What are you doing here?"

"I live here," he retorted, crossing his arms. "I would have liked to spend time with my son, but he disappeared. Care to tell me where you went, Adrien?"

"I was studying with a friend," he muttered, which was the truth.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "And who is this friend? Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me?"

Adrien locked his lips, refusing to answer his father. Pushing by, he entered the kitchen and started hunting for food.

"Dinner will be served in an hour," Gabriel said coolly while watching Adrien. He walked down the hallway without looking back.

Adrien let the fridge shut on its own, camembert cheese in his hand. His father hadn't said anything else, but he didn't need to; Adrien knew that if he didn't show up tonight, Gabriel would find some excuse to keep him from going to school.

I'm sorry, Marinette, he thought solemnly, sulking back to his room.

Marinette paced, worry etched on her face. Her discarded English homework - nearly completed - was sprawled over her desk along with some art designs for school. She looked at the clock for the umteenth time in the past hour. "He's late."

Even Tikki looked worried at this point. "Maybe…"

"He said he would be here around an hour ago, Tikki!" Marinette cried, running her hand over her pigtails. Strands stuck up every which way; huffing, she pulled them out, allowing her hair to fall against her neck. "What if something happened to him? What if he fell, or worse - what if there was an akuma and he's fighting it alone? We should - "

Thud.

Marinette's head jerked upwards to the ceiling. Racing up the ladder to her bed, she poked her head out the trap door. "Chat, where were… you…"

Her voice had started out furious, but as soon as she saw his drained, exhausted face, her anger had trailed off. He blinked at her slowly, forcing a smile onto his face. "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to worry you."

"What happened?" she asked, much softer this time as she let her trap door fall the rest of the way open.

He collapsed on his knees, his head falling forward to rest on her shoulder. Startled, she didn't move. "My father noticed I hadn't been home all day…" he mumbled before she could say anything. "He ordered me to eat dinner with him, and then proceeded to lecture me on leaving the house without letting anyone know…"

Hesitantly, Marinette reached up and patted Chat's shoulder. "What about your mom?"

His shoulders tensed as his face buried into her neck. "She's… gone."

"Oh, Chat," she crooned, stroking his hair. He relaxed against her, his hands loosely wrapping around her waist. "I'm sorry."

A low sound emanated from his throat as her fingers ran through his silky soft hair. With a start, she realized he was purring.

He realized it, too. Jerking back, he stared at her with wide eyes, his cheeks visibly turning bright red underneath his mask. She chuckled, unable to restrain herself. "I was trying to comfort you, but I guess that works, too."

She scratched under his chin - just like she would do with a cat - and that deep purr sounded again. He snatched her hand, avoiding her gaze as he clenched her fingers. "S-stop it," he muttered in a rough voice, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Ohhh?" She grinned, her eyes narrowing. "Is the kitty embarrassed? Purring only means you enjoyed it, silly cat."

"I should make you pay for that," he muttered, glancing at her with a contemplative look.

She chuckled, dipping back into her room. "Just get in here, kitty."

Within seconds, Chat Noir was prowling around her room as she climbed down her ladder. She turned around just in time to see him pick up her sketchbook. "Is this one the homework?"

"No, don't - !"

Chat stared at the page, frozen. A full five seconds passed by before his head slowly turned towards her. "Is this… a Chat Noir hoodie?"

Marinette blushed furiously. "I-I wasn't worried about you…" she babbled.

He stalked towards her slowly, a lazy grin spreading across his face as he flipped through the book. "Oooh, Chat Noir gloves - even a bag! Geez, Mari, you could open a business with designing things like this." The sketchbook landed on the desk with a soft thump. He stopped in front of her, blocking her escape route by placing his hands on either side of her ladder.

"You could have just said you're a Chat Noir fan, Princess," he purred, giving her a smouldering look. He twirled a lock of her dark hair around his finger. "You look good with your hair down, you know."

"Ch-Chat," she stammered, panicking. He was so close. "I-it isn't like that, I swear. Could we just… work on the English…?"

"Of course, my lady," he responded in accented English, and her face burned in return.

Sighing, Marinette leaned the back of her head against the wall. She was propped against the wall with every spare pillow and blanket in her room serving as the nest Chat and she had made in the middle of her floor since it was too dark now to hang out on the balcony. Chat Noir dozed beside her, curled up next to her just like a cat.

She smiled, finding his napping form absolutely adorable. She patted his hair, nudging him awake by scratching behind his ear. "Chat, it's late. You should probably head home."

"Mmmm…" he purred, half asleep. His hands reached out, wrapping around her leg as he scooted closer. "Not yet…"

Marinette squeaked indignantly, immediately pushing at his shoulder. "Chat! Get off me this instant!" she demanded, her face a brilliant red.

Blearily, Chat Noir blinked his eyes and looked up at her. He gave her a sleepy grin as he rested his chin just above her hip bone. His arms constricted around her leg. "You're comfy, though." His hooded gaze trapped her. "I don't want to let you go."

He was telling the truth.

Marinette's mouth went dry. She didn't know how to deal with the unfiltered emotions in his sleepy gaze. "Chat, you need to go home."

His arms unwrapped from around her leg. She sighed in relief, but her breathing hitched as his hands prop him on either side of her hips. His face came within centimeters of her face.

"What if I said no?"

She had no response for that. If he wouldn't leave on his own, there wasn't any other way she could get rid of him. Swallowing hard, she took a gamble. "Please?"

He sighed, hanging his head. "When you say it like that, I guess I have to." He leapt to his feet, smirking. "I'll see you tomorrow for patrol?"

Marinette sighed, regaining her composure. "Yeah. Thanks for all the help, Chat Noir. It means a lot to me." She smiled at him gratefully.

He took her hand, kissing the back lightly. "Anything for you, mi'lady."

Within a few seconds, Marinette was standing alone in her bedroom, holding her hand close to her chest. Thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump. She bit her lip, hoping her face hadn't turned as red as her suit again.

Even more than that, though, she hoped he hadn't heard - or worse, felt - her pounding heart when he had kissed the back of her hand again.

"Tikki, something's wrong with me…" she mumbled, clutching her shirt. "My chest hurts a bit…"

Tikki glanced at her, sympathetic. She could see what was happening, but she knew the girl wasn't ready to face the truth of her own feelings yet.

* The setting is Paris, so - technically - they have been speaking French this whole time. Marinette is taking a language class for English.

A/N: My inner fangirl squeals in anticipation any time I reread this. Hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you really like the MariChat pairing, don't worry... there's more to come.

Episode Three: Truth Serum has to be one of my favorites - and also a HUGE challenge to write. I'm going to proof it one more time before posting it, so it may be a few days unless I have another spurt of editing inspiration. Again.