Cat,Cat, Cat, kitty Cat, her Cat in black, come to sweep her away tonight. Marinette twisted in front of the mirror, admiring her new outfit. Cat- Adrien. The fizzy bubbles inside her popped and a hot flush rose in their place. Marinette saw herself pink in the mirror and bonked the sides of her head.
"It's just Cat, it's just Cat." She fought down the blush, but it wasn't just Cat, it was Adrien now too, but it wasn't just Adrien either.
Marinette spread her fingers over the carefully crafted skort she wore. Perfect for preserving a little dignity while being carried across Paris rooftops while still being enough to feel pretty. She'd made this believing it was just Cat Noir coming to pick her up tonight.
She raised her hands to her hair, loose and free. This was another thing she did only for Cat. Her tails had come loose one evening and he teased her 'windswept' look, now she wore it down whenever they met. A thought slipped through her mind. Cat wasn't just Adrien, the one on billboards and commercials all about Paris. Cat was *her* Adrien. That made her smile and blush, but a gentle blush not a panicky one.
"You really should cancel your date Marinette." Tikki's voice cut into her moment as the polkadot kwamii floated up over her shoulder,"Now that you know, it's dangerous."
Guilt settled an arm across Marinette's shoulders, but she pushed back,"I'm not going to tell him, I can make it work. I can't just abandon Cat," and I don't want to either,"It'll be okay Tikki."
Tikki fidgeted, floating in a nervous little circle,"But Marinette, have you forgotten Cat Blanc? You're not supposed to know each other's identities."
Her own conscience pricked her through Tikki's admonishing words,"But… I. I can't unknow. Marinette touched her reflection and hung her head,"I don't want to. I had-" almost forgotten. She had been trying to forget those haunted blue eyes, that broken expression. Cat Blanc had held her hostage so long, only recently it felt like Cat Noir might free her. Now this.
Tikki opened her mouth to say something but a kwamii swarm descended on Marinette, a dozen bits of advice rattled over overlapping each other. The colorful menagerie lifted her spirits instead of frustrating her for once. Their earnest opinions drowned each other out but all delivered sincerely; they cared.
Sass was last to speak, waiting until all others had spoken before floating up beside Marinette,"The treacherous path to happiness is always more worthwhile than the easy path to misery, provided one walks with eyes wide open."
Marinette clung to those words, pointing to Sass while pouting wordlessly at Tikki.
Tikki deadpanned,"Marinette, you don't even know what that means."
Marinette looked away quickly, fussing with her friendship bracelet,"I do too; mostly."
"Marinette."
"Tikki, I'm HAPPY." Marinette let a little bit of her exhausted bottled up anguish out, sagging but staring earnestly at her kwamii, "I'm happy, just for right now. I found out something amazing. I know I wasn't supposed to, but it's not my fault! You didn't fuss when I started spending time with Cat as Marinette. That's all I want to keep doing. Please just trust me on this? Please?"
Tikki looked like she might argue, but in the end that little expression softened. She smiled at Marinette and sighed,"Okay Marinette. Just, be careful okay? This is all so risky."
"Oh thank you Tikki!" Marinette swept her Kwamii up out of the air and snuggled her, spinning while the other Kwamiis circled in supportive glee. It wasn't often someone talked Tikki around on anything.
Tikki eventually wiggled herself free,"Well, if you *are* going Marinette, you should probably hurry along on your way shouldn't you?" Tikki settled on Marinette's phone, the time ticking over to 9PM on the dot.
Marinette let out a startled eep and ran both hands through her hair one more time, smoothed her clothing, and grabbed the tray from her desk before trotting up to the rooftop exit.
He wasn't here yet. She always arrived first, even when she was late. She had long ago figured out that he must be waiting nearby watching for her, but making sure she never felt she had kept him waiting. She hadn't spotted him once yet though, and it had almost become a little game. First Marinette set down her tray on the little table then she stepped to the rail and swept her eyes across the city below; no Cat Noir. Then with a grin she turned around and there he was, hand outstretched for her tray of treats from the bakery,"Almost made it this time!" She congratulated him.
He flashed her a perfect Cat Noir grin, those green eyes so alive with happiness. He'd looked at Ladybug that way once, but she wasn't allowed to enjoy it. Marinette could, and she had learned she very much did.
He plucked a croissant from the tray and held it up points down in front of his mouth,"The Saber-toothed Noir has sighted his prey, the mighty hunter crouches low, tensing for the attack."
Marinette put a hand to the back of her head, pushing a small portion of her hair up into a fringe above her head,"The Blue Crested 'Nette, thinking herself safe up in her skyward perch, goes on about her business, unaware of the danger." Marinette small-stepped in a circle, facing herself back away from Cat Noir again, and waited in anticipation.
She didn't have long to wait, A playfully loud growl preceded a pounce-hug, Cat's strong arms encircled her. Marinette swooned dramatically in response,"Ohhhh nooo." then fell into a fit of giggling to match Cat's rising laughter. She leaned against Cat's chest in the comfortable moment. Adrien's chest. The thought snuck in, both frustrating her and making her knees weak. Marinette turned her gaze up and met Cat's looking down. Those eyes were so free. She could borrow a little bit of that freedom herself when they spent time together.
Cat Noir went goofily cross eyed at her and Marinette blushed, realizing she'd been staring. He released her, but she let her touch linger a moment against his chest before pulling away. He of course caught it,"Marinette? Is everything okay?"
It was Adrien's voice. He was right here behind that mask, that gentle concern that made him so easy to love. Marinette felt a bitterness for wasted time welling up but pushed it back down. Nothing should intrude on these moments, even more so now. She held out her hands to Cat Noir,"It is now kitty. It's just been a trying couple of days. I'm sure our evening tea will settle things."
Cat Noir took her hands and gave them a small squeeze. With a gentle familiarity he guided her to her seat and took his own. He plucked up the croissant again and Marinette let herself fall into the moment. Her prompt,"So, tell me about your latest adventures." was the start of so many of their times together.
She actually loved hearing about them. She loved listening to the little ways he embellished this or that; enjoying his expressive antics and gestures while he talked. There were so many small details she missed when having to focus on saving Paris that these little recaps were a delight. Having knowledge of the events also let her relax even further, half-listening at times and just being present in good company.
As the snacks vanished and he finished this morning's brief tussle Cat's voice shifted from confidence and excitement to a mild embarrassment, "Before I forget, because we know that happens now and then-" Marinette giggled and shot him a playfully judging look to match his self deprecating one,"-I have something for you." He padded over to a corner of the balcony and reached into shadow to pick out a small wrapped package. He came back with such a timidly abashed look on his face Marinette had to suppress a squee and the urge to cuddle him.
He put it on the table between them and those green eyes met her before darting away,"It's not that much, I wanted to try though."
Marinette reached out and undid the ribbon, she was careful with the paper and a brief glance Cat's way told her that the delay was killing him. His tail was in his hands again, just like this morning. This morning... Adrien… This was a gift from Adrien. Marinette's grip crinkled the paper inadvertently. Cat, Marinette, it's Cat. Cat got you this.
Marinette held up the black textured fabric, crochet stitches, a scarf? Her heart skipped a beat, did he still wear her gift? There were two triangles off one end of the scarf and a narrow strip off the other end, a cat-scarf. Marinette was grinning like an idiot and couldn't help it. She fingered one of the ears in silence, words just weren't an option at this point.
"I know it's not that good, it's my first attempt. I thought you might like it more, since you like to make things too." Cat's voice was pure anticipation and hope.
Marinette wrapped it around her neck even though the night air didn't really call for it, then pulled it up over her mouth and nose all comfy cozy and scrunched her eyes at Cat,"I love...it" she finally got out. A spiral twisted in her stomach, threatening to pull her out of her chair; she had been about to end that line differently.
He looked so utterly pleased with himself, puffing up under the validation,"I wanted to make you a ladybug one too, but I didn't know how to do the dots, and I couldn't find the right shade of red."
Marinette was still swimming in her own head at what she had almost admitted. "Yard? Yarn! Red yarn! I have red yarn! She shot up out of her chair,"I'm sure I have the right color, come on!" She dove for the skylight, a change of venue would help. Her cheeks were starting to burn. No, no, no! It's Cat Noir Marinette. It's- That was the problem. It *was* Cat Noir. Cat who had made the scarf. Cat who she'd spent time with. Cat who told her funny stories when she was sad. Cat who was so open about how much happier he was just because she was around. It was Cat, who also just happened to be Adrien.
Marinette's mind did a little reset on her and the panic subsided into a smile she'd never consciously worn before, but one that had a muscle memory from a point in life her mind no longer remembered. a time captured only in a single photo taken by Alya. One she had once been so embarrassed by. A smile for this very same Cat, who back then also just happened to be Adrien.
"Marinette?"
She blinked back to the now from a memory just out of reach. She had paused halfway across her room and Cat Noir was watching her from the steps up to the roof, crouched catlike, hands and feet on the same step.
"Oh! Sorry." Marinette grinned,"hehe, just had to sort through my mental organizer and find the right color." she gestured with both hands,"it's.. ah.. this way." She dashed over to her craft corner and picked through one of her older yarn-bins. There it was, she came up with a yarn ball,"Here we go."
She turned and held it out proudly, walking back to Cat,"I got it a long time ago I was going to try to make a Ladybug scarf myself at one point." she moved the yarn ball from hand to hand as she talked,"I thought maybe it might make a good gift for.." she remembered just who she had intended it for, a second attempt for a certain someone,"For umm, my grandmother, yeah. She LOVES Ladybug, but she left before I could work on it. So it's been sitting in my bin unused but if you want to use it then I think that'd be great! Knitting is so soothing, and once you get good you can do it while you're doing other things too. I've watched whole movies while clicking away." Marinette came up for air and looked back to Cat. He wasn't looking at her, not directly. What was he so focused on-
*twitch*
Marinette blinked, she turned and cat's eyes pivoted with her. She dropped her hands and Cat crouched low, eyes dipping.
"Oh!" Marinette stifled a giggle. She brought the yarn ball up, Cat's eyes rose. She moved it left, his head turned. Those green slit pupils were wide and focused. Marinette looked back down at the ball in her hand and decided it was worth it. She gripped the end between thumb and forefinger then tossed the ball into the air.
Cat took it midair and tumbled, a tangle of limbs and yarn battling and rolling around on her floor for a solid minute, Marinette felt herself grinning again. Cat Noir finally came up sitting, a much diminished yarn ball in his hands, and an entire tangle of red ensnaring him hopelessly. The red line wound round and round the black cat but trailed back to Marinette who gave a little tug on her end,"Mighty hunter?"
Cat put on a very serious expression,"Yarn balls are incredibly dangerous." he nodded to his own words of wisdom.
"You're hopeless." Marinette smiled ruefully and tugged again,"Let's get you out of there."
They each gathered up their ends, meeting in the middle and Cat handed off his end to Marinette who deftly rewound it into a tight ball. She caught Cat's eyes following her hands again, not for another playful pounce just wrapt by the quick long practiced motions. If she'd caught Adrien watching her that way she would have fallen apart on the spot, but with Cat…
Marinette's cheeks pinked just slightly. She needed time to sort all this out. She distracted herself and him both,"So, where are we going tonight kitty?" She handed over the yarn.
Cat Noir perked,"Well, if you're up for it, I thought we might try the Sacred Heart. One of the upper windows doesn't lock just right if you'd like to look around, and if not those domes will help you get your rooftop feet faster than anything."
That was another little game, teaching Marinette how to run and climb on rooftops. She had been Multimouse once, and while there was a new mouse now Cat Noir seemed convinced that Ladybug would trust Marinette with a new Miraculous someday. It was a lot harder without a magical yo-yo and miraculous agility, but Cat was always there to catch her or offer a hand up. Marinette had come to like the harder challenges for just that reason.
"It sounds lovely kitty." She held out her hand and Cat Noir took it with a smile she had only half seen all the times before. Now she saw both parts of it, though one half still scared her for reasons she couldn't grasp. She had a sudden courage to try now though; the other half was still there to catch her if she fell.