Thank you so much, Den! Without you, this fic would not exist. You are the Ideas Master. Thank you for being such a great friend and I hope you like what I've done with your idea. Written for Day 6: Midnight of Marichat May.
Chat Noir yawned loudly. He hated solo patrols, they were exhausting and tedious to do. He'd much rather spend time with his Lady, though he had to admit that roaming the streets of Paris was always preferable to sitting home alone.
He checked the time on his baton and winced at the time. It was getting rather late and he had an early morning, having to squeeze in a photoshoot before school. Still, he didn't feel like going home right away.
Deciding to make a quick detour through the park, Chat hopped down from the roof, enjoying the sights from the actual streets of Paris.
He'd just entered the park when he saw the silhouette of another person in the corner of his eye. Fearing it was an akuma, Chat adopted his battle pose only to stop dead when he realized it was a pig-tailed girl holding a sketch pad.
A very familiar pig-tailed girl holding a sketch pad. He retracted his baton and sauntered over to her.
"Yo," he greeted, making her jump out of her seat, her pen going flying. "Woah!" Chat reached over to catch it before it could hit the ground. He straightened and offered it to her.
"Thanks, Chat. What are you doing here?" Marinette asked him with a warm smile.
He frowned at her. "Isn't that what I should be asking, Marinette? It's almost midnight, why are you out here alone?"
She didn't respond, staring at him with a peculiar expression on her face. "Marinette?" Chat tried waving a hand in front of her face and Marinette grabbed it.
"Stand here," she commanded, dragging him to a spot where the moon's light was especially bright. "Perfect," she murmured, scribbling away furiously in her sketchpad.
Every time he tried to question her, Marinette would simply look up with an irritated expression and hush him. Chat wanted to protest, he was a model that worked with photographers, not artists, but he slumped his shoulders, resigned to his fate.
There was clearly no interrupting Marinette when she was in the zone. So much for an early night.
After what felt like hours, but was in fact around 20 mins (a fact he only knew because he'd been constantly checking with his baton, out of sheer boredom), Marinette finally put her pen down.
"Look at this," she exclaimed proudly showing him her completed drawing.
Chat Noir squinted before his eyes widened in surprise. "Is that a Chat Noir-themed jacket?"
"Sort of," Marinette admitted. "It's a new commission for Jagged Stone. I've been trying to figure out a way to work with the leather and since I've never worked with leather before, I was completely lost. I think I had been staring at my blank sketchpad for hours before you showed up. Somehow, against all odds, when I saw you here with the moonlight shining on your leather suit, inspiration just hit," she mimed an explosion with her fingers.
"Look where it's light? I'm planning on having white sequins there on top of the black leather to mimic the effects of the moonlight."
"Woah, that's so detailed. If you can make it work that would be amazing and you could change the colour of sequins to try for different effects," Chat inferred. Even his Father rarely attempted projects like that, there was just too much of a chance for things to go wrong.
Her expression turned sheepish. "Sorry for commandeering you like that," Marinette apologized.
"It's fine! That jacket looks so awesome, Marinette. Jagged Stone is going to love it," Chat gushed, waving away any of her concerns. Sure, he hadn't enjoyed standing there as a model for her, but knowing he had a hand in helping her create something that cool? It more than made up for it.
"I'm pretty clawsome, seeing as you got so inspired by just the sight of me standing around," Chat joked, enjoying the way Marinette grinned at him even as she rolled her eyes at his punning.
"Yeah, I suppose you are," she admitted softly, a pinkish hue covering her cheeks. Chat tried his best to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat at her words, in favor of frowning at her in disapproval.
"Princess, I understand you needed inspiration but do you have any idea what time it is right now?"
Marinette blinked at him before scrambling for her phone. She shrieked when she saw how late it was. "It's a minute to midnight! How did I end up staying out so late?" She groaned.
"I guess what they say is true. When you're in the zone, time just flies by," Chat Noir shrugged,
"This is a disaster. If my parents hear me coming in this late, I'll be grounded forever," Marinette wailed. She pulled on her hair, clearly trying to find a way out of this mess.
"How about a lift?" Chat offered, a small smile on his lips. Marinette really was adorable for worrying like that.
She looked up at him from the crouch she had ended up in while panicking. "Really?" She squeaked.
Doing his best to repress memories of Multimouse, Chat nodded. He extended his hand to her. "Shall we, Princess?"
Hesitantly, she put her hand in his, his grip tightening around hers instantly. Pulling her closer to him, he looped her arm around his neck before wrapping his arm around her waist. Giving her a smile, he extended his baton, and then they were towering into the sky.
A few jumps later, Chat was safely depositing Marinette onto her balcony. "There you are," he sighed, perching on her balcony railing.
"Thanks, Chat," Marinette smiled at him. "Would you like a croissant for the road?"
"Would I?" Chat's eyes sparkled. He would never turn down a Dupain-Cheng treat if he could help it. She grinned at him, briefly disappearing into her bedroom before coming back with a bag of goodies.
"Croissant and passion fruit macaron for good luck," she chirped. "Have a good night, Chat Noir," she smiled sweetly at him.
Taking the bag from her, Chat gave her a mock salute before heading home, this time with a light heart.