A/N: Enjoy! And if you like, let me know!
Prompt: Midnight
6.
The last couple of days had been an emotional roller coaster. Marinette was angry at Chat Noir for being so stupid and so sweet at the same time. She'd yelled at him as Ladybug during one of their patrols, but he hadn't let it get to him. He had repeated what he'd said before: "Princess is a fighter" and while she didn't exactly believe him, she couldn't fault him for having confidence in her civilian self. So she did the only thing she could think of to deal with her dangerously growing feelings of angst and annoyance. She challenged the emotions into her work.
And now it was almost midnight. She yawned, as her eyes found the clock. Tikki was already asleep, nestled in a ball of yarn. Marinette was tired, too, but she wasn't sleepy. She kept gazing absentmindedly towards her skylight door, as if anticipating the arrival of the other half of the Parisian superhero duo.
When he finally showed up, Marinette put down the piece she was working on. She made sure to cover Tikki with a soft piece of fabric that served both as a blanket and as a protection from the curious cat eyes. She made her way to Chat Noir and opened the door just a little.
"What are you doing here?" she sighed. Chat Noir looked at him with kitten eyes that left Marinette only one choice: to close her own.
"I saw you had a light on and thought I'd pay a visit to my favorite Purrincess!" Chat Noir tried to sound as confident as he usually felt, but Marinette could tell something was wrong. She knew him too well as Ladybug to let it slide and pretend she didn't notice.
"How many princesses do you have?" she asked, sounding a little grumpy. "Move. I'm coming to the balcony."
Chat made room for her to enter the balcony. It was a little chilly outside although weather had been nice for the entire week. Marinette shivered a little.
"What's up, Chat?" The girl crossed her arms over her chest.
"Wh-why do you think something is up?" Chat jumped onto the railing. He grabbed it with his claws, not wanting to fall off, and flashed a grin at Marinette. It didn't sway her.
"You've been acting weird for the entire week," she commented dryly. "Taking selfies with me is one thing, but showing up at my house at midnight? I can't even tell you which is worse. So what's up?"
"Nothing is up! Cat's honor!" he swore, looking alarmed. "Everything is meowelous!"
"Well then, why are you here?" Marinette stretched herself. Her eyes filled with tears from another yawn. Looking at her like this made Chat Noir feel even worse, because everyone knew about Marinette's tendency to stay up late and work on her designs. So he had assumed she'd be doing it tonight too. Yet there she was, practically asleep on her feet.
"I'm sorry," he muttered without looking at her.
"Kitty, are you… Are you lonely?" Marinette walked over and leaned on the railing, staring into the night. Chat Noir turned his head. It was strange to see her without a smile and not blushing.
"That's okay, you know," continued the girl wistfully. "Everyone has moments like this."
She turned around just as Chat jumped off the railing. He landed on his feet, straightening himself almost immediately, and faced Marinette. He was nervous.
"Do you hate me?" he blurted out, earning a small chuckle from the girl. "I mean… you don't seem to like me very much." He turned bright red under the mask, knowing that there was no way he could tell her what he really meant. She'd been even more focused on her phone in Adrien's presence.
"Silly kitty, who could ever hate you?" Marinette reached out and ruffled his hair. It was soft and silky under her touch. Her eyes widened in surprise at how pleasant it felt to run her fingers through his messy hair. She pulled her hand away and let it go limp next to her body. "Sure, your puns are annoying, but you're a good person. You save Paris whenever there's an akuma attack."
She smiled at him. "Don't sell yourself short just because you're lonely."
Chat stared at her in wonder. Had Marinette always been this wise? Before he could stop himself, he pounced on her. Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin as two clawed hands wrapped around her, trapping her in a tight hug. Realizing nothing bad was happening, she relaxed and hugged him back.
"Thank you, Marinette," he breathed into her hair. She gave him a gentle pat on the back.
"It's okay, kitty." She giggled. He found it adorable.
Chat Noir pulled away, moved by her kindness. "Marinette…"
"You'll feel better in the morning." She grinned sleepily. "You'll see."
"Ladybug says I should stop trying to get photos with you…" Chat peeked at her through his eyelashes. He saw Marinette tense up. "But I don't want to. It's fun."
"Chat… It might be fun for you, but it's dangerous for me." She spoke quietly which was somehow worse than just outright yelling at him. "People associate me with you now. When the guy who sends the akuma…"
"Hawkmoth," Chat interjected.
Marinette continued as if she hadn't been interrupted: "… sees those photos, he'll try to use me."
Now, it was Chat's turn to tense. Ladybug had said the same thing. But Marinette wasn't finished. She placed her hands on his shoulders and stared intently in his green eyes, delivering the last bit of her speech: "So I need you to promise me, Chat, that when it comes to that, you'll protect Paris before you protect me. Promise me that you won't falter."
"I promise." He was lost in the blue of her eyes, but he was still somewhat aware of what she was telling him. He knew he'd end up breaking this promise. She deserved to be saved just for extracting it from him.
"I'm serious, Chat." She groaned, seeing the betraying grin spread over his face. "I can be your friend, if you need one, but not when it means that Paris will be in peril."
"Purrincess," he swooned with a purr that surprised them both. "I didn't know you cared so much!"
"Paris is my home, kitty. Of course I care about it."
Chat Noir laughed. Marinette had officially agreed to become his friend. This brought Chat Noir's friend count up to two. In that moment, it didn't matter to him that his friendship with her was only thanks to the mask he donned. She considered him a friend.
"You should go home now," she yawned. His excitement made her exhaustion resurface. She offered him a small, comforting smile. "I have school tomorrow and I'm willing to bet that you do too." Another yawn. "Gosh, I'm going to be so tired tomorrow morning. I've slept in pretty much every day this week."
"As you wish, my Purrincess," he grinned, jumping onto the railing once more. "See you around!"
Marinette watched him go before retreating to her room. She locked the door behind her, suddenly aware that leaving it open might not be such a good idea anymore. Despite the effort it took, she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, hoping that with tomorrow, the photos would stop.
Silly kitty, she thought, as sleep took hold of her.
The next morning Marinette was late to school as usual. She grabbed a pastry (a croissant) from the bakery and rushed off, feeling more sleepy than hungry. She got to the classroom with a couple of minutes to spare. She had beat her previous record. She almost laughed.
"Hi, Marinette!" Somehow, Adrien was first to greet Marinette. The bluenette tensed up, her hands reaching for her phone before she could say something dumb. "Trade you for that croissant?"
He held out a travel mug. The intoxicating scent of coffee was irresistible. Her arms reached for it almost unconsciously. Adrien laughed happily, the sound sending tingles down Marinette's skin, and snapped the slightly crushed croissant from Marinette's hands.
"Hey, Marinette!" Alya came to her rescue. "Sunshine boy! Don't go stealing her breakfast!" She tried to get the croissant back for Marinette who was frozen on the spot, cheeks red and her brain processing the scene unfolding before her.
"Poor Marinette," Alya started rubbing circles on her back, "First, Chat Noir bullies her. Now you, Adrien. Have you no shame? Stealing a poor girl's breakfast?"
Adrien was almost certain that Alya was making fun of him. "I'll make up for it later?" he offered with a smile that made Marinette's breath hitch.
"Lunch is on you, pretty boy." Alya grabbed the coffee from Marinette's hand and pulled her along to her seat. Marinette let her do that, unable to get out a single word out in Adrien's presence when he looked at her like that. Alya pushed the coffee into her hands. "But hey, he got you coffee. It must mean something." She winked at Marinette. "By the way, that last photo! It's so cute! If you and Chat are dating, you must tell me!"
Marinette nearly choked on the coffee, because of Alya's question.
"What?! No!" She spluttered indignantly. "What even gave you this idea?!"
Alya pulled up her phone. "Someone posted this last night. I tried to find out who, but it's a dummy account. You look really sweet together."
"Don't you like… ship him and ladybug or something?"
"Yeah, girl, but you're my best friend! I'll support you all the way!" Alya chuckled. "Provided you help me get my interviews."
"I swear, there's nothing between me and Chat Noir. He's just a really good friend."
Adrien in the seat front of them smiled. He was looking at the photo someone had posted. It wasn't as good as the ones Chat Noir and Marinette had posted, but the two were clearly recognizable on it. Alya was right – based on the way Chat held Marinette in hid arms, even he would think they were romantically involved. He zoomed in on the photo, trying to look as natural as possible while doing it. Had his face really been that close to Marinette's?
"Besides, you know I like someone else." Adrien's keen ears picked up on that phrase and he felt something jolt through him. He had never noticed that she liked someone. Who was it? Was it someone in their class? Or did she know him from somewhere else?
He was determined to find out.
