Day 21 - Part 2

Marinette was pleasantly surprised at the lack of drama, besides the occasional comment about "shipping Marichat", which seemed to be the new thing. Alya even said that she would pay Marinette to design Marichat merch. Marinette absolutely refused. Well, unless the price was right.

Chat Noir made the decision to stay for the rest of the day and drop her off at home after school was out. He even offered to drop by the Agreste mansion and give Adrien the lessons he missed today. Odd for a superhero, but a kind thing to do nonetheless.

Marinette expected nothing less after everything he had done for her in the past few days. Sure, he had left her with the responsibility of a week-old baby, but he had also gone out of his way to make sure she was okay.

She remembered his words from earlier that day: I swear, I would do anything for you. If you ever need to talk, need a shoulder to cry on, if you're having a bad day, anything. You call me, day or night, and I'll come right over. I don't care where I am or what I'm doing. I will always make time for you, Princess. He had finished that conversation by handing her a piece of paper with his phone number written on it.

Marinette's cheeks were burning again, or maybe still, as she felt the slip of paper in her pocket. But honestly, had his blonde hair always looked cute tousled like that? And don't even start with the eyes. Those piercing, green cat eyes. And the way he just seemed to ooze happiness wherever he went? It was absolutely intoxicating. No, Marinette. Stop it. You're in love with Adrien Agreste. Not this silly kitty sitting next to you with a baby in his arms. Besided, he loves Ladybug, not you.

But he looked so cute playing with Emma. Just the way his face lit up when he held her, and the cute, airy laugh he let out when she would reach for her toys or his bell, and the broad, goofy grin that spread across his face when he was happy. Not the one he gave to reporters, not the silly Cheshire cat grin he used for Ladybug, but a genuinely happy smile that Marinette had only seen a couple of times.

He's...he's kind of like Adrien, now that I think about it. And for the first time in forever, the mere thought of Adrien didn't make Marinette's heart flutter, or make her stomach do backflips, or make her cheeks burn and her palms sweaty. No, the last time that happened was in Mme. Bustier's room when Chat Noir kissed Marinette on the head and whispered in her ear. Strange…

It was not a secret to anyone that Chat Noir loved Ladybug. But recently, he had found her lacking something. Somehow, seeing her every few days to battle an Akumatized villain or go on patrol wasn't enough to satisfy him, and he found her less and less impressive each time.

After all, they had been partners for almost two years, and he had stopped asking her out because he knew there was no chance of him dating her. He had stopped trying to woo her with roses and flirting and dumb cat puns. He had stopped trying to get her attention and steal a kiss from her. He had stopped idolizing her and stalking the Ladyblog for pictures of "his lady". That was another thing he stopped. The pet names.

He no longer called her 'M'lady' and 'Bugaboo'. Of course, he kept the friendlier ones, like 'LB', the ones that didn't imply more than a friendship. He was just respecting her wishes. It wasn't that he didn't like Ladybug, but he had lost some of his interest in her and started searching for someone else more… accessible. Someone who could make him truly happy.

Those people were hard to come by. But… looking over at the dark haired girl next to him, he couldn't help but think he might have found one. Has Marinette always been that pretty? Have her eyes always been so… blue? Stunningly blue. And, by the way… did she always have freckles? I don't remember those.

Marinette looked over at him before he could tear his eyes away from her face. Her face scrunched up in confusion, but her expression softened as her eyes locked onto his. For just a few seconds, there was no one else there. No physics teacher, no students, no school, no baby. Just the two of them in their own little world.

Chat Noir was grateful they were in public, though. If they were someplace else, he wasn't sure he could restrain himself from kissing her. He couldn't help but let his eyes drift to her lips, the way they looked so soft under the lights of the classroom. And man, did that make it awkward. When the bell rang, they finally stopped staring at each other, and Chat Noir noticed he had been holding his breath. For how long, he didn't know, but it must have been a while, because all of a sudden, he felt lightheaded.

Chat Noir looked over to read Marinette's expression. She looked calm, her cheeks a lovely rose shade, but she scrunched up her brow when she realized what time it was. Lunch time. And there was no way in hell she was leaving Chat Noir there while she went home.

She had become accustomed to resting a hand gently on his upper arm, and she stood up on tiptoes to whisper in Chat's ear.

"Do you want to go back to my house for lunch? We… we don't have to stay here if you don't want to."

Chat knew she would stay if he did, and he was sure she would go if he did. But he wanted her to feel comfortable eating lunch wherever they were. "Your choice."

Marinette's eyes widened as they saw Chloè heading their direction, probably to make some snide comment about something. "Um… we can go."

If there's a god in heaven, don't let this be a repeat of last time. Marinette said a silent prayer that no one eating lunch at her house would get Akumatized. After all, the last time Chat had met her parents, her dad got mad and turned into Weredad. That wasn't her best day.

"Chat Noir! It's so nice to have you back here!" Sabine was the first to greet him, as Tom was still in the back washing down the tables they had gotten batter and flour on that morning.

Chat responded with a nervous laugh. "Yeah, um… it's nice to see you again, ma'am."

"No need for formalities, son. Call me whatever makes you feel comfortable. If you want to call me Sabine, or Mom, or Mrs. Dupain Cheng, I don't care. Whatever you're comfortable with."

"Thank you." Chat Noir felt his heart leap at Marinette's mother's kindness towards him, and the way she treated him like her own son. Another reason he loved Marinette. The list was growing all the time.

Lunch was pretty uneventful. Tom was excited to have Chat Noir back, much to the latter's surprise. The four of them made small talk, Marinette excusing herself once when Emma began to cry, but other than that, it was a nice, peaceful lunch. Afterwards, Marinette went upstairs to get a paper she forgot for school while Chat spoke to the Dupain Chengs.

Marinette took her turn holding Emma on the way back to François Dupont, Chat absentmindedly slipping his hand into hers. Marinette tensed at first but soon relaxed, realizing how good it felt to hold someone's hand. However, their moment was ruined as quickly as it began.

CRASH! A car smashed into a building, probably injuring or killing any passengers. Screams echoed throughout the streets as a young woman came flying into view, decked out from head to toe in a black bodysuit, adorned with little books and pencils. She let out an evil laugh. Though high-pitched, it was still menacing and villainous.

Catching a glimpse of Chat Noir, the villain wrote something in a diary she carried with her and closed it with a smirk. Instantly, some bricks from a nearby building formed a wall around Chat Noir and Marinette, Emma clutched tightly to her chest.

"What the-Cataclysm!" Chat slammed his palm against the bricks, turning them to ash. The villain fake-yawned, as if signaling that she was bored, before writing in her diary once again, and as she closed it, another wall formed around the three, shutting out all light as bricks formed a solid box around them.

Beep! Beep! Chat's ring beeped its first warning, a green pad disappearing from the paw print. Four minutes left, no way to get out, and no way Marinette would risk transforming. But there was one thing for sure. They were screwed.

TAF: Sorry this one turned into a part three. Thanks for reading, and I'll try to post another chapter tomorrow!