June 11: Innocent
It wasn't what it looked like. A kiss on the cheek taken completely out of context. A thank you to a superhero who saved her.
Author's Note (Chubby Unicorn Mama): I must have been picked to write this chapter because I am just so sweet and innocent, and would NEVER come up with a master plan to take over the rights to Miraculous. Alright, Icarus, would you hold this pen, and sign right here. Don't read the rest of it, just sign T-H-O-M-A-S A-S-T-R-U-C.
Ic: *Uncapping pen* Sure, what is this, some sort of activist art about the ruthlessness of modern contracts? *begins signing* Well, I guess it seems pretty reasonable to sign… wait… Did I just spell Thomas Astruc?
Ep: Uh, guys, why are police cars pulling up outside?
Thank goodness she'd worn her hair down that day. She wasn't sure what possessed her to do it, it must be her ladybug luck, but she was grateful. If it had been in her typical pigtails, she might have been recognized as either Marinette or Ladybug, but as it was, the question of the day was 'who is Chat Noir's girlfriend?'
It had all started innocently enough. An akuma had appeared at the Trocadero where Marinette was sketching, and she had been cornered, trying to distract the akuma, so that a group of young kids and their mothers could escape without being encased in marshmallow fluff. Chat had appeared next to her, snatching her up moments before she was engulfed in a world of white, and carried her away. When he set her down, several rooftops away, he thanked her for her help, but asked her to stay safe. Marinette had raised herself up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek and tell him to be careful.
Unfortunately, the angle of the camera that caught their actions, made it appear much more passionate than it was. Alya had immediately posted the picture on the Ladyblog, and it had gone viral. Ladybug had shown up a minute after Chat had returned, and together they had quickly resolved the sticky situation. When she transformed, Ladybug's pigtails had magically appeared, so nobody suspected the blue-haired girl caught kissing Chat Noir could be her.
Later that evening, sitting on her balcony, Marinette apologized to Chat, who had stopped by to check on her. "I'm sorry, Kitty. I didn't mean to get you in trouble on social media."
"It's alright, Princess." He responded. "I'm used to the attention. I'm just glad that they didn't know it was you. If I hadn't been there, and known it was just a peck on the cheek, I would definitely have thought that picture showed a lot more." He waggled his eyebrows, and she laughed. "Besides, I'm used to being splashed all over the internet. You just learn to ignore it."
Having recently learned that passionfruit macarons were Chat's favorite, Marinette had made them especially for him tonight. His smile was rapturous as he bit into the flavorful meringue. "Princess, if fashion design ever falls through, which it won't, I'll hire you as my personal chef!" They hung around, talking, for an hour or so, while Chat worked his way through the plate of confections. When Marinette yawned, he stood up and stretched. "Goodnight, Purrincess. I will see you around." With a cheeky wink, he added, "Try not to get yourself caught in any more compromising situations!"
Her surprised laughter followed him as he headed home across the rooftops.
A week later, Marinette is in her room doing homework, when she hears a knocking on her skylight. Looking up, she sees Chat Noir, waving sheepishly at her. Waving back, she heads up to her balcony to ascertain what he was there for, when she found Chat standing there, smiling almost shyly, with dinner laid out on her wooden table. Smiling up at him, she inquired, "What's this for?"
His hand reaching up to rub the back of his head, "Well, I, uh, kinda didn't want to be home right now, and I can't exactly hang out with Ladybug, and we had fun last week…"
Her smiled turned softer. "You're always welcome here, Chat Noir. You don't have to bring anything but yourself. I'll always be a friend to you."
His nervous smile turned radiant, and he pulled her into an enthusiastic hug. "Thank you, Marinette!"
For a few weeks, Saturday night became a standing date between the two of them. Chat would arrive with a new board game, which Marinette usually won; she would feed him, and they would spend an hour or two, just hanging out, talking as friends do. One Tuesday night, Chat arrived on her balcony with a backpack, and the two did homework together in companionable silence.
Tuesdays, too, became a regular night for Chat to visit, and then Thursdays were added. As the weather started to turn colder, it wasn't unusual for Chat Noir to be visiting Marinette 3-4 days a week. Their visits moved from Marinette's rooftop retreat into her bedroom, and Chat added a few of his favorite video games to the rotation of things that he brought.
Marinette's wall of Adrien had decreased significantly over the past few months. It had started to diminish when Jagged Stone had pointed it out on national television, but the magazine pictures were being replaced by candid photos, not just of Adrien, but of all of their friends, even a few of Chat Noir. Adrien still featured heavily among them, taking up more real estate than any of her other friends. One day, Chat Noir brought this to Marinette's attention.
"So, Marinette. How come you have more pictures of that Adrien guy than you do of me? Aren't I handsome enough for you? I'm feline kind of left off your walls!"
"You're up there!" Marinette protested, pointedly ignoring his questions, and gesturing to the pictures of him she had printed off the Ladyblog.
"Yes, but you didn't take any of these!" He whined, not knowing that she'd actually cropped herself, her Ladybug self, out of one of them.
She laughed at him. "What? I should put up a selfie of you and me, sitting here in my room for everyone to see?"
"Not everyone, Princess. How many people do you have come into your room?" He countered.
"Normally, not that many people, but once Jagged Stone and a full camera crew have been in your room broadcasting live and making assumptions about the boy you like, you might be a little wary about what you put on your walls, too."
Chat Noir nodded. "Fair point. But it is just wrong that we've never taken a selfie together!" At this, he pulled out his baton. "Smile, I promise nobody will find this picture!" Snapping several pictures, over which Marinette displayed a range of emotions from surprise, annoyance, acceptance, and finally a radiant smile, Chat was grinning roguishly through all of them.
"So, Princess, why do you have so many pictures of Blondie there? I think there were more when I saw them on TV, but you still have more of him than anyone else. Should I be jealous?"
Marinette blushed. "I had a crush on him since the second day I've known him. He's kind and brave, thoughtful and smart. He's lonely, but he does his best to hide it where nobody can see. He doesn't see me as anything except a good friend, so I'm trying to be the best friend to him that I can be."
"You said had, Princess. Does that mean you no longer have a crush on him?" For some reason that Marinette couldn't understand, Chat looked slightly disappointed.
"Adrien will always have a special place in my heart, but these days, there's been someone else on my mind."
Seeming to droop even more, Chat turned as if to study her wall of photos. "Is he up here?"
"He is" replied Marinette. "But I didn't take a selfie with him until today."
Chat Noir spun to look at her, "Me, Princess?" He asked, a note of hope creeping into his voice.
Marinette smiled up at him, her whole face radiant. "Yes, Kitty. You."
Pulling her to him, Chat Noir slowly lowered his lips to meet Marinette's upturned ones. This time the kisses that they shared were not nearly so innocent.
