Disclaimer: I don't own ML.
No, I did not use YOI because it's the only anime I've ever seen
There's a soft tapping on Marinette's hatch door as she's just finishing off the last of the homework that Alya had dropped off after school. She frowns and looks up from her desk. Is that Chat Noir? Or just a stray stick dropping on her balcony? When the tapping sounds again, Marinette has her answer, and she sets her homework aside with a sigh, then climbs up the ladder to her bed and slowly reaches up to push the hatch open.
"Chat Noir?" she says when a familiar face appears in the hatch entrance, the illumination of Marinette's room reflecting off the person's skin and golden hair, contrasting starkly with the night sky outside. Chat Noir grins, but it's nowhere near as cocky as usual.
"Hey, princess," he says. "Just thought I'd drop by while I was out on the town. It's been a wild night, y'know. Parties, dancing, making out…"
"Only in your dreams," Marinette teases, rolling her eyes. Chat Noir rolls his eyes back.
"Okay, yeah, it sucks. So did my day, to be honest. Got any room in there for a stray?"
How can Marinette resist those green eyes? With a smile, she shuffles aside on her bed and says, "Well, I suppose I do need a good deed for the week."
"How kind of you," Chat Noir deadpans. He slips through the opening with all the grace of a real cat, landing lightly on her bed and leaping off as she pulls the hatch shut. "Pretend I just took my boots off."
Marinette rolls her eyes at the shoes comment. "You said you talk to Adrien, right?" she says as Chat Noir makes himself comfortable on the chaise lounge. "Did you get to talk to him today? The only time he messaged me was to tell me that he's alright, but…I'm worried about him. His father's been getting stricter and stricter lately."
For a split second, Chat Noir looks at Marinette as though she's some kind of angel, although the look is so fleeting that she'd probably just imagined it. Then he shrugs and says, "He's okay. As well as he can be with his father breathing down his neck. But trust me, he wouldn't want you to worry about him."
"I can't help it. He's a really good friend. And it's finally sinking in that he's not "just" a friend and that being friends isn't, like, second place to being with him."
"He must be a really good friend, if you jump in front of an akuma for him," Chat Noir says. Marinette sits down on the chaise lounge with him, hugging her knees to her chest, so he shuffles over to give her more room and curls up in a very cat-like manner.
"I don't even know what I was thinking," Marinette says, undoing her pigtails. She might have started changing up her hairstyle every now and then, but pigtails are still a comforting constant for her. And her autistic brain loves comforting constants. "I saw Adrien in danger, and I just…wow. All I could think was that I didn't want him to get hurt."
"You still shouldn't put yourself in danger like that. You're my favourite civilian."
"Aww, I'm honoured that the great Chat Noir likes me," Marinette teases. Chat Noir gives her a sly grin.
"You should be, princess. We both know I'm the prettier superhero."
"I thought that was Ladybug."
"That's what she wants you to think." Chat Noir winks. "But between you and me, I'm a real cat-ch."
Marinette groans and gently kicks him. "You can get out of here if you start making puns. Although I would wonder if an akuma had gotten you if you didn't make your puns. I'm already questioning the universe because Chloé's trying to be nice?"
"She is?" Chat Noir says. "I heard about the whole fire department thing, and Adrien told me that he's not her friend anymore."
"Yeah, she cornered me in the bathroom and demanded that I help her learn how to be nice. But I don't think she can be until she figures out why she wants to be nice beyond just getting Adrien back as a friend. I've been there when it comes to doing stuff to impress a boy."
"You think she will find a reason?" Chat Noir says in an odd voice. Marinette shrugs.
"I sure hope so. Is it selfish for me to feel this way? Because if Chloé's nice, she's not making my life hell."
"It's not selfish if you think of everyone else who'll also be spared," Chat Noir says with a wink. Marinette's lips twitch at that.
"Okay, yeah, you've got a point. I told her that she should try and be someone that Ladybug's proud of, so I hope that's a good enough starting point. Speaking of…did you end up telling Ladybug that you're in love with her?"
Chat Noir's smile melts into a serious look. He sits up, runs a hand through his hair, then sighs, "Yeah, after we defeated Despair Bear. She doesn't feel the same way."
"Aww. I'm sorry, kitty." Marinette shuffles along the seat and sits so that her legs are tucked under her and she's leaning against Chat in a casual kind of hug. She's keenly aware that she's Ladybug and she's the one who rejected him, but Marinette's not supposed to know that. And it would be very insensitive of Marinette to not follow up with her friend.
"Don't be. I'm actually kind of glad that I know for sure, to be honest. I mean, she already told me she was in love with someone else but having her outright confirm that there wasn't a chance for us…it's helping me sort my feelings out."
"You're not in love with her anymore?" Marinette's stomach twists, although she can't possibly figure out why. This is a good thing, after all; now Chat Noir's not stuck with unrequited feelings.
"I think I always will love her. But it's like what you said about Adrien, isn't it? About how being friends shouldn't be a consolation prize?"
Marinette lets out a small laugh. "Here's to close friendships. Want to watch something together? I can go and get snacks from downstairs."
"Dupain-Cheng pastries?" Chat Noir practically has stars in his eyes. "Like I'd ever say no, princess."
When Marinette comes back with a small box of chocolate croissants and macarons, Chat Noir's already got a show lined up on her computer. She drags the chaise lounge across the room and squints at the screen, then groans and says, "Really, Chat? An anime?"
"It's a good one!" Chat Noir says rather defensively. "So long as you don't go too deep into the fanbase."
"Okay, okay." Marinette sits down next to him. "Yuri! On Ice? What's it about?"
"Ice skating. Trust me, Marinette, you'll love it."
"I suppose I'll have to trust your judgement."
Marinette's pleasantly surprised to find that Chat Noir's right and she does end up really enjoying the show. She nearly cries at just how relatable Yuuri's anxiety is – it's like someone shoved her into the show, to be quite honest – and she's so invested in his and Viktor's relationship that when they finally share their ice kiss, she ends up squealing and clinging to Chat Noir's arm. He just grins and leans into her touch.
Marinette tries to stay awake for the whole show, since it's only got a few more episodes. But it's late and she's fairly tired after the sleepover from last night, so it's inevitable that she ends up slipping away to the sandman soon after Viktor and Yuuri's unofficial proposal. She's lulled to sleep by the scent and warmth of her partner, like the world's most comfortable blanket, and there's a soft rumbling to soothe her as she drifts but she doesn't have the energy to open her mouth and ask if he's purring.
Huh. Maybe Adrien picked up the purring from him, because it's just like having Adrien as her pillow as she drifts off.
This is both the best and worst situation that Chat Noir's ever been in. Best because Marinette is asleep against him, but worst because Marinette is asleep against him. How exactly is he supposed to function when he's got an angel asleep beside him, using him as a pillow?
Okay, so she's not pursuing Adrien anymore, but still.
Unfortunately, he has to cut this short. He may have managed to sneak out for a few hours after "going to bed", but he's got no doubt that Nathalie will come and check on him at some point to make sure he's "feeling better". And the last thing he needs is for her to find an empty bed.
Marinette stirring and snuggling into his side, her loose hair draping over his chest and releasing the smell of strawberries, is almost enough to break his resolve. Almost. But if he selfishly grabs for a few more minutes of this, he won't be able to come back at later dates due to heavier surveillance, so it's really for the best that he leaves now.
Carefully, he reaches out to close the internet tab but leaves her browser up on Pinterest so that he doesn't feel like he's snooping; god knows how he would've felt if someone had found all his Ladybug pictures a few weeks ago. He scoops Marinette up bridal style and carries her to bed, although it's a bit of a struggle to get up the ladder while not dropping her or waking her up. She's still wearing her usual outfit rather than her pyjamas, but Chat Noir doesn't even want to go near the implication of changing her into her pyjamas with a ten-foot pole, so he carefully tucks her into bed, jumps back down to turn off her bedroom lights, and then streaks out through the hatch and into the night before his head can explode at the thought of helping Marinette change.
"You make me sick," is the first thing Plagg whines when Adrien's at home and detransformed, then changing into his own pyjamas. "First Ladybug, then Marinette. You're so disgustingly gooey."
"I can't help it, Plagg!" Adrien grabs their class photos off his desk and flops on his bed. His heart flutters wildly upon seeing Marinette's smiling face in each one, and he sighs and smiles dreamily at them. "How did I never notice her like this before? She's so – so sweet, and caring, and passionate –"
"Blech!" Plagg darts for his fridge of Camembert. "You're horrible! You shoulda been one of Tikki's, not mine!"
"What do I do, though?" Adrien's face falls. "She doesn't want to be with me anymore. And I'm happy being her friend, but…I feel like I'm going to melt every time she touches me!"
"Gross! I don't need to hear this!"
"What – not like that!" Blood rushes to Adrien's cheeks at Plagg's implication. "Fine, you're no help at all. I'll just have to figure out for myself how to not die every time I'm around her."
Plagg rolls his eyes and stuffs a wedge of cheese in his mouth. "You're fifteen," he deadpans. "You only just realised you liked her the other day. You're literally like any other teenager."
"I know that," Adrien says rather sulkily. "But that doesn't make it any easier."
"Too bad, buttercup. Suck it up and deal with it. You wanted to be a real teenager? Now you get to be a real teenager. Not all sunshine and rainbows, huh?"
"Just eat your cheese," Adrien scowls. Plagg cackles and returns to his feast, so Adrien turns away from him and looks back at the photos. Marinette once again brings a soft smile to his face. He'll have to turn into Chat Noir and visit her again soon, and not for any creepy reasons like perving on her in her room or deceiving her with another identity. If Adrien can't hang out with his friends as much as he'd like, well, there's no reason why Chat Noir shouldn't be able to do so.