December 12th, gift number 12 :
"No, my Lady, it's not the key of my heart (because that key it's you...) I think you already have the right keyring to hang it, keep it safe, you'll need it later.
Your beloved kitty. "
Marinette pulled out of her drawer the beautiful keyring she had received a week earlier and carefully added the small gold key she had just found under the packaging of gift number 12 before throwing this same small gold and sober packaging that still stood on her desk. She was curious, very curious to know what this key could be used for.
Open another gift? Open a door? Perhaps it was part of an enigma that she should solve? or maybe it was none of that.
With a suspicious mind, she went down to have breakfast. Today was Saturday, a day when she couldn't make it late to middle school, a day when she wouldn't hear Lila Rossi's unbearable lies, a day when she wouldn't have to endure an infernal race against time, a day when she had time... to take time. And so she did.
A peaceful breakfast without hurrying, a morning sewing two matching scarves that she had promised to Alya and Nino for several days already, a lunch with her mother in a small Parisian brasserie, an afternoon juggling between helping her Father at the bakery and exchanging messages with her friends to discuss the organization of the next Kitty Sections concert, another quiet meal in front of the TV news aimed, a long hot and rejuvenating shower to finally find her cozy bed.
And the best news in that? No Akuma today ! Finally... Considering that this meant that she didn't see her partner, she was no longer very certain that it was good news, and the joyful air that blossomed on her face instantly fanned at this thought.
Did she miss Chat Noir? Was she really regretting his jokes and his cat-astrophic wordplay? Did she really just play a purrfect cat pun on her own thoughts? Did she really start over?
She really needed to think about talking to her partner about the influence these damn word games had on her. Or not... It would mean to admit that she liked his wordplay enough to think about it when he was not present and he would take the big head. It would simply be confessing to him that she thinks of him when he's not there. And she didn't really know if she was willing to tell him, knowing that she had just done the making herself.
Yes, she missed Chat Noir. She missed everything about him, his kindness, his tenderness, his benevolent smile, his charmer's smile, his felines' eyes of an intense apple green, his mischievous gaze, his wordplay which she had to recognize were not all bad (they were even rather funny), as long as he did not take them out at the wrong time (i.e. not when a super-villain threatens to roast you on the spot with his fire department, for example), his romantic hand kisses, simply just his presence...
Chat Noir had taken an important place in her life, and that was not something she had just realized now, no, it had already been many months since the feline had won her blind trust and her sincere friendship as well as, subconsciously, a place in her heart: a place that seemed to grow bigger and bigger over the past few weeks.
Marinette lay down in her bed. Always immersed in deep reflection, the young woman felt like a child learning to ride a bicycle: Unsure, fragile, scared by the simple thought of falling or getting hurt and trying to maintain a constant balance on an imaginary straight line. However, to keep balance on a bicycle, you have to move on... Something the young heroine had not yet allowed herself to do.
Maybe it was time to push her feet on the pedals... Perhaps it was time to go forward and walk on the road to which her heart seemed undeniably willing to lead her..
To be continued...
Hope you're always enjoying the story!
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