Day 21
Something spooked Emma in the middle of the night, just when Marinette was having one of the best dreams of her life. She had finally mustered the courage to talk to Adrien and ask him out. Adrien had agreed, and the two were going over to Andre's for some ice cream.
They walked downtown to where he was, near the Place des Vosges, and they walked up to his cart. But instead of Andre's usual cheerful demeanor and accent, he started crying. Like a baby girl. And it was oh-so-familiar to Marinette, startling her out of her fantasy and back into her room, where there was a baby girl crying, and she didn't look the slightest bit like a middle-aged glacier.
"Emma," she groaned. "Go back to sleep." Emma didn't listen. Marinette pulled herself off her bed and over to her chaise. She turned on her phone and squinted at the bright light coming off of the screen. When her eyes adjusted, she saw the time: 1:42.
"Lovely. Just lovely." Marinette said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Huh?" There was a knock on the trapdoor leading into her room from the apartment downstairs. She opened it to find her dad, dressed in his pajamas, standing on the stairs, not looking particularly happy.
"Marinette, this is why I didn't want you to keep Emma here. None of us are getting any sleep anymore. Especially you."
"I know, Papa. But I can't help it. I'm doing it as a favor, and I'm sure Chat Noir has a much busier schedule than any of us. You know, being a superhero and all." She lied, knowing full well that her superhero schedule was just as busy. She was just grateful that Hawk Moth seemed to be taking a break.
"Just try to keep her quiet. I'll have you know that I'm counting the hours until she goes." Tom Dupain whispered, loudly enough so Marinette could hear over the screaming.
"More hours than you think." She murmured.
"What?"
Marinette put on her best fake smile. "Nothing, Papa! Nothing at all. Now you go back to sleep and I'll try to keep Emma quiet. Sorry again for disturbing you." She gently nudged her dad back downstairs and closed the door, walking over to Emma. "Shh." She coaxed. "It's okay."
Luckily for Marinette, Emma only woke up once more during the night, a short time after 3:00, so Marinette got a better night's sleep than usual. She was awakened by the alarm she had set on her phone, and the fact that the alarm had been loud enough to once again disturb Emma's sleep.
She felt a gust of wind and shivered, noticing that the door to her balcony was partially opened, propped open by a potted plant that usually sat on the balcony railing. Under the plant was a note, no doubt from Chat Noir.
'Marinette -
I'll meet you at school.'
"O...kay? Great." Marinette sighed, returning the plant to the railing and putting the note on her desk. But she wasn't worried about Chat Noir showing up. He never lied to Ladybug, and certainly not Marinette.
Instead, she got dressed for school, packed her school bag with homework and another bag with baby supplies, ate a quick breakfast while her mother fed Emma, and left. Marinette camped out on the front steps, not wanting to go inside until she was sure Chat Noir was there too.
Fortunately, he was pretty early, and arrived only a few minutes after Marinette.
"Ready, Princess?" He smiled at her, nervously playing with the bell on his collar. Emma cooed at the shiny gold metal and reached out for it, giggling. Chat Noir allowed his smile to broaden considerably and held his arms out to Marinette. "May I?" He asked.
"Sure." Marinette said, gently handing Chat Noir the bundle in her arms. A few minutes later, both Emma and Chat were giggling. Marinette stood there, amused. The only thought running through her mind was, He's going to be a great dad someday. She shook it out of her head, though. What am I thinking? But she couldn't help but watch with a big, goofy smile of her own.
The trio walked into Mme. Bustier's room, a few minutes to spare before the bell rang. They received a few oohs and aahs from the class. After all, it wasn't every day a superhero walked into your classroom. Marinette cast a nervous glance to Adrien's empty seat, noticing that everyone else was there.
"Hey." She whispered to Nino. "Where is he?" She gestured to the seat next to him.
"He's sick. Can't make it today." Nino responded, shrugging. Marinette was about to continue the discussion, but the bell rang and Mme. Bustier clapped her hands to quiet the students.
"Marinette, if you and Chat Noir would like to come to the front and explain the… situation. I'll be back, but I have a short meeting with Mssr. Damocles. Alya, as deputy, I'm trusting you to keep things from getting out of hand in here." Mme. Bustier smiled at the two of them. Chat Noir winked at Marinette, and she couldn't help but notice how familiar the wink was. He winks at Ladybug all the time. Get it together, Marinette.
"Hey." Chat Noir waved at the students, flashing his signature Cheshire cat grin. An uncomfortable moment of silence passed before Alya spoke up, recording on her cell phone.
"So, are you two dating?"
Marinette shot a death glare towards her best friend. "Alya!"
"Hey, it's not for me, it's for the Ladyblog. Chat Noir, why did you decide to give Marinette the baby?"
Chat rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, the other arm still holding Ema, another gesture that seemed too familiar to Marinette. "Well, she's one of the only civilians I know well enough to trust with a baby. She's responsible, kind, sweet, selfless, trustworthy, she knows how to balance many responsibilities at once. I mean, she's basically Ladybug without the costume." Marinette felt her cheeks getting redder at every compliment he gave her.
"So you know her pretty well, then?" Alya asked.
"I mean, not that well, but-" Chat defended.
"It sounds like you two hang out a lot. Why Marinette? How did you two meet?"
"I…"
"Alya, why don't you lay off?" Marinette said, resting a hand on Chat Noir's arm, causing him to blush. He hoped no one noticed. "It doesn't matter how we met. He needed to talk to someone and he chose me, that's all."
"I think you two would be cute together." Kim said, a devious smile on his face.
"What about Ladybug? I thought Chat Noir loved her." Rose chimed in.
"I agree, but it's pretty obvious that Ladybug doesn't like him, so maybe he should go after Marinette." Nino added. "Especially since they have a baby together now. Then Ladybug could go after her mystery guy, and-"
"Mystery guy?" Kim asked. "What mystery guy?"
Alya shook her head and stopped recording. "You would know if you read the Ladyblog. Ladybug rejected Chat Noir because there's a guy she's crushing on."
"Who is it?" Rose asked.
"We don't know. She won't say anything about it 'cause she doesn't want to reveal her identity." Alya stated matter-of-factly.
"Fine." Nino concluded. "All I'm saying is Chat Noir and Marinette would make a good couple."
"I guess…" Alya conceded. "But I still ship Ladynoir. By the way, what would Chat Noir and Marinette's ship name be?"
"Marinoir?" Kim suggested.
"No."
"Chatnette?"
"Uh-uh."
"Marichat?"
"Hmm…" Alya paused, considering it. "Yeah. Marichat."
"Okay then." Nino said. "I ship Marichat."
"Same." Kim said.
"Me too!" Rose added. There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the class.
Marinette was getting annoyed. "Um, guys? We're still here, you know."
Alya laughed. "Sorry, girl. Now where were we?" She began recording again.
"Well, I'll answer any questions people have pertaining to them." Chat Noir said, gesturing to Marinette and Emma, the former now holding the latter.
"Are you the father?" Mylénè asked.
"Uh...no."
"Are you sure?" Chloè chimed in.
"Yes. I'm very sure."
"I don't know if I believe that." Chloè said, examining her nails. "You're being pretty secret about how she got the baby, so why should I trust you?"
Chat Noir was at a loss for words. Luckily, Marinette wasn't. "Chloè, superheroes are full of secrets. You can't expect them to give you every single detail of their life story."
"Well, Dupain-Cheng, you're not a superhero, but you're not giving any more information than he is."
"I'm only respecting his wishes, Chloè. I can't tell you any more than he did. It wouldn't be fair." Marinette defended, once again resting a hand on Chat's arm, near his bicep. Once again, Chat blushed, trying not to make it obvious. Since when did Marinette make him feel this way? No, he said to himself. I just appreciate her defending me. That's all. But he couldn't even convince himself of that.
The arguing between Marinette and Chloè seemed to drag on forever. The longer it went on, the louder it became, and Chat Noir couldn't help but notice that Emma looked like she was about to start crying. Without thinking, he leaned over to Marinette and put a finger on her lips.
He bent down to her ear and whispered, "I'll take Emma out in the hall for a while so you can talk. Good luck." He wordlessly asked for permission to take the bundle in Marinette's arms before cradling the baby in the crook of his elbow and starting his way out of the room.
And for absolutely no reason that he could come up with, he leaned down and kissed his princess softly on the temple before leaving. He didn't know why. It just seemed… right. Marinette didn't protest either. In fact, she didn't say anything.
She stood in complete silence as the rest of the class watched her cheeks grow several shades redder with every second that passed. She finally blinked and started stuttering some form of a comeback to whatever lame shade Chloè tried to throw at her.
"Yeah, well I-I-um… Y-you, I-I mean, m-me and um… yeah!" Marinette managed.
Luckily, Mme. Bustier took that opportunity to come back into the room. "Well, I trust that your questions have been sufficiently answered for now, so we can begin…"
Marinette stumbled back to her seat, mind clouded and cheeks still as red as her alter ego's suit. Alya, meanwhile, was having the hardest time trying to suppress her laughter.
"I didn't even know that shade of red existed!" She whispered to her BFF, referring to the color of said BFF's cheeks after being kissed by a superhero in a leather catsuit. Marinette just grumbled and focused her attention elsewhere.
Marinette half-heartedly stumbled through about 20 minutes worth of a lecture on something-or-other before her partner tiptoed back through the classroom door with Emma still cradled in his arms. She snapped to attention when he came in, not really expecting him to return, but there he was, plain as day.
Alya grabbed her stuff and slid into the seat next to Nino, usually reserved for Adrien, but not before giving Marinette a very suggestive wink. Marinette scowled at her best friend. She could be a pain sometimes, but she was also someone you didn't want as an enemy.
Chat Noir stood awkwardly for a moment before gingerly sitting down next to Marinette. The few minutes that passed between the two of them were filled with the quietest silence they had ever heard.
Chat really wasn't planning on staying, but he decided he'd rather stay than risk Marinette being tortured at lunch when he wasn't around to stop it. She was his princess, after all.
Marinette wasn't sure if she wanted Chat around or not. Sure, he could be cocky, arrogant, attention-seeking, and fiesty, but he was also sweet, patient, curious, and amazingly brave. Marinette found herself listing all of Chat's qualities, and the list was much fuller on the good side. Especially after the kiss.
She didn't know why she liked it, but it felt so natural. It wasn't that different from a kiss on the hand, after all. Right? Just a kind gesture. That's it. Then why did she want it to be more?
TAF: Part 2 out soon!