Thank you to nagemeikenu for betaing! Written for Day 8: Princess and Knight AU of Marichat May. They're around 15/16 here, for context.

Marinette looked both ways of the palace corridor, doing her best to sneak out without being seen. She slowly crept forwards, gliding her feet to avoid the sound of her footsteps.

Spotting a few guards coming her way, Marinette ducked behind one of the long pillars decorating the palace.

"And just what are you doing, Princess?"

Marinette jumped a foot in the air before she whirled around, instinctively dropping into attack position with her legs spread apart and palms facing outward. Just before she unleashed a burst of flames, Chat Noir appeared in front of her.

She let herself relax and straightened. "Oh, it's just you. What are you doing here?" She demanded to know.

"Just wanted to see what you were up to," he answered innocently. "Didn't think you would be ready to attack me so easily though."

"A Princess must always be prepared," Marinette sniffed at him.

"She should also be in class," Chat observed.

"You won't tell I'm skipping, will you?" Marinette blanched.

"Not if you take me with you!" Chat chirped, wrestling his helmet off his head. "I want to skip training too!"

She and Chat Noir had known each other for as long as Marinette could remember. His father was an important advisor for her father and they'd always gotten along as children. Now, he was training to be a soldier and was one of the top candidates to be her personal guard. Not that she needed one.

Marinette narrowed her eyes at him. "You'll get in more trouble than I will," she warned him.

"Yeah, but you'll also get caught without me." Chat grinned back. "I know more of the secret pathways of the castle than you do."

Sadly, it was true. Nobody let Marinette wander around on her own, so she didn't have as many opportunities to explore. She nibbled on her lip as she weighed the pros and cons of letting Chat Noir come with her.

"Why aren't you going to class anyways? I thought you liked Master Fu," Chat remarked, making Marinette scowl at him. "I wish I could train under Master Fu." He sighed wistfully.

"Why? You don't appreciate Master Su-han?" Marinette teased.

"Of course, I do! He's just very opinionated in his ways, I can't always keep up is all," Chat tried to defend.

Marinette simply raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't think I didn't notice that you didn't answer my question!" Chat retorted making Marinette flush.

"I'm the Princess, I don't have to answer anything if I don't want to," she told him loftily before glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "But, if you must know…" she trailed off, anxiously picking at a loose thread in her dress. "I can't master one of my katas and I'm too scared of disappointing Master Fu," she confessed, burying her face in her hands.

"You're afraid of disappointing him so you're going to skip class?" Chat Noir blinked at her.

Marinette felt her eye twitch. "Yes, I know my logic is flawed but if you can't help me, you might as well leave me alone!"

She whirled around, intending to storm off but Chat caught her hand before she could. "Wait!" he cried, "I didn't say that."

She peeked at him cautiously over her shoulder. "You were going to find a place to practice on your own, right?" Marinette bobbed her head as she turned around to face him. "No offense, Princess, but that's no way to learn."

He took his hand, the one that wasn't holding hers, and gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Allow me to help you," he whispered.

Marinette almost didn't hear him, lost in his sparkling green eyes. "Okay," she breathed out, ignoring the way her heart was pitter-pattering in her chest.

Lacing their fingers together, they ran through the corridors. Once, he had to tug her back and spin them into an alcove to keep them from getting caught. Feeling him so close to her, all Marinette could do was desperately grip the fabric of her dress hoping the moment would quickly pass.

Thankfully, aside from that incident, they made it to the empty field without being caught. Marinette's face felt hot but she didn't want to give her brain anymore time to come up with wild fantasies.

"Let's get started," she ordered, dropping into formation. As he circled her to check over her stance, Marinette felt extremely self conscious. Continuously reminding herself that she was the Princess here, she managed to keep herself calm.

"Okay," Chat finally nodded. "Go ahead and try the kata."

Taking a deep breath, Marinette did. She could feel the fire gathering in the pit of her stomach as she swept her back leg forward and it rushed forth as she swung her arms. But by the time she would thrust her palm to release the fire, it would just sputter out, dissipating in the air.

She sagged in disappointment, Marinette had really thought she'd done everything right this time. "Well? Where am I going wrong?" She interrogated Chat.

He was cupping his chin, seemingly deep in thought. "That seemed right," he admitted. "Hold on, let me try doing it."

He went through the motions, creating a beautiful burst of flames at the end.

Marinette bit her tongue to keep from calling him a show-off. He'd done it exactly the same as her, so why wouldn't it work for her?

"Your breathing was fine," Chat listed and Marinette had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Again, it would do no good to antagonize him, even if he did keep telling her things she already knew.

"And it's just this kata giving you trouble, right?" Chat checked with her.

"Yes," she answered acidly. "My bending is fine otherwise."

"Do it again for me?" He requested. She shot him a glare but obediently performed the kata. Again, she couldn't even produce a spark.

Chat appeared before her so quickly, she involuntarily took a step back out of sheer surprise. "W-what are you doing?"

"Do it again but this time sweep your leg with more force," he ordered.

Gritting her teeth, she did as he asked. This time when she thrust her palm forwards, a brilliant blaze of flames was released. "I did it," Marinette stated numbly.

"You did," Chat agreed.

"I did it!" Marinette shouted with glee, throwing her arms around Chat's neck. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She cheered, squeezing him tightly.

His hands hesitantly came to her waist and she could feel his chest vibrate as he chuckled. "Don't mention it, Princess."

Something in his voice sent tingles up her spine and she moved away from him. "I-I have to practice. And show Master Fu."

Marinette backed away from him and dropped into a curtsy. "Thank you once again, Chat Noir."

He bowed. "My pleasure."

As she turned to leave, she gave him one last look. "Maybe having you as my personal guard wouldn't be the worst thing in the world," she confessed.

As Marinette ran off, she privately admitted to herself that the flush on his cheeks and the dazzling smile on his lips was more than worth the blow to her ego.