Dinner for Two Part 2

"Alya! I'm telling you! It was staring at me!" Marinette groaned, running a hand down her face in frustration.

Her phone was next to her head, Alya put on speaker, "Girl, are you for real? We're still talking about a stuffed toy, right?"

Marinette sighed, falling back on her bed, "Yes…and it talked," she quickly explained before Alya could officially brand her as insane, "It had a device in it that repeated certain words or sentences when it's spoken to, I mean." She sighed, staring at her wall.

A sigh, "But the food there is great, right? Did I promise too much? Of course not! No offense to your newfound affection for cats girl, but I would appreciate it if you would make goo goo eyes at a real man than some old, fat and ugly guy probably stuck in some cramped space doing all these recordings for those stuffed animals," she could practically feel Alya cringe at the idea and Marinette had to cringe too.

Well…that sounded awful.

"It had soft ears…" Marinette couldn't keep the large grin from spreading on her face.

"MARINETTE!" Alya's enraged shout caused Marinette to erupt into giggles on her bed, holding her stomach as her friend fumed, "Ugh! You're impossible!"

Once she finally recovered from her giggle fit, Marinette grabbed her phone and drew it closer to her face, "Sorry, I couldn't resist." She smiled, "Anyway, how's Nino doing? He said something about becoming a new prodigy DJ?" she rose an eyebrow in amusement, giggling when Alya gave an amused snort.

"Well, you know how he is… From what I noticed in the media and on my blog, Nino's a hot topic right now so maybe the idea of a 'prodigy' DJ isn't too farfetched…" she giggled teasingly, "Of course, if his famous blogger girlfriend helps him get a few more followers," Alya laughed and Marinette giggled, shaking her head.

She knew Alya would, she was always the most supporting friend Marinette could possibly wish for. Unfortunately, Alya, bless her soul, coud…overdo sometimes…

"So, did Nathaniel call again? I'm assuming he keeps stumbling over his own tongue before he asked you out, right?" a flood of panic suddenly seized Marinette like a vice and she shot up in bed.

"Alya! I forgot to call Nath and cancel!" her fingers were flying over the screen before Alya had time to reply, momentarily ending her call with Alya to quickly ring up Nathaniel.

Nathaniel and her had designed the latest fashion line in time for the annual fashion shoot, but they were supposed to have a business-esque meeting today to discuss the final details.

The worst thing was, Nathaniel had falsely misinterpreted it as a 'date' and Marinette was at a loss of how to gently reject him without ruining their good friendship and partnership.

"Alright, you can do this, you can do this, you caaaa-H-Haaai! Nathaniel, hi!" she squeaked, nearly falling out of her own bed at the male voice suddenly speaking to her.

"H-hi Marinette! How are you? How comes you're c-calling?" his stuttering had improved in spades since their partnership began two years ago, but it would still come back with a vengeance whenever she surprised or startled him.

She took a deep breath, fingers clenching the material of her bedsheets tightly, "I'm fine! Um, how are you doing?" she felt herself sweat. Why did this have to be so difficult?

Nathaniel, ever the poor oblivious man, was none the wiser, "Good, good. I,uh, I just finished up on some new sketches for the final drafts. You can take a look over them once we meet up today for our date-"

"That's the thing!" she laughed nervously, nails digging deeply into the softness of her bed, "Would…would it be possible to…reschedule?" she shut her eyes tightly closed, heart beating a hundred miles per minute, already dreading the crestfallen look on her friend's face.

There was a short pause and Marinette almost thought he hung up on her until his voice came out softly, "…Did something come up? Are you alright? You're not ill, are you?"

Marinette's heart melted at the genuine concern she heard in his voice and ignored the deep sting of guilt that stabbed her, "Yes, I…I'm fine it's just- I really have to help my parents with the bakery and it's impossible for me to make it on time today!"

She felt the deep blush of shame cover her entire face and Marinette had to ground herself not to tell him the truth. Nathaniel's voice sounded sad but understanding, "Oh, I see. Um, would…would next week on Tuesday be okay for you?"

She was thankful he couldn't see her, see the guilt in her eyes and her tight lipped smile, "Yes, Tuesday would be perfect. Thank you so much for understanding Nathaniel,"

Her hand gripped the phone tighter, "No problem Marinette, good luck! A-and good night!" she giggled, returning the sentiment before hanging up and falling back on her bed.

Her arm covered her face and she groaned, "I'm a horrible person…"

Her stomach grumbled.

She forgot to go grocery shopping today…

"Good evening, is there still a table available?" Marinette smiled, recognizing the waiter from her last visit here.

The elder male smiled politely at her and beckoned towards the same table she had first occupied, "This way madame,"

Marinette smiled and sat down, nodding her head in gratitude when the waiter handed her the menu.

She skimmed through the meals, one after the other, trying to decide what she should eat.

A shiver ran up her spine and she could have sworn she was being watched.

Whipping her head around suspiciously, Marinette couldn't find anything amiss, until she spotted a large black stuffed toy, sitting on the opposite side of a blond, attractive woman.

She couldn't explain why, it was utterly ridiculous, but she felt a small sense of relief flood her when she realized it wasn't a cat but a large panda.

"Mon dieu!" Marinette buried her face against the propped up menu in front of her.

"Bless you mademoiselle," she jumped when the waiter from before was standing before her and her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she noticed-

"Kitty?"

The waiter moved his gaze toward the toy, then back at her, "Oui, does the lady request for a different one?" he arched an eyebrow and Marinette paused.

…Nobody ever asked her if she wished for another toy since her kindergarten days, hearing it now coming from an adult, while she was an adult, felt very surreal. She wasn't sure how to phrase her answer at all, "Um…i-it's alright…thank you," she squeaked out the last part, wanting nothing more than the ground to swallow her up.

Marinette made her order and blushed when the waiter smiled and adjusted the cat toy in its seat, almost as if it were a real human before walking away.

She stared at the toy for a moment, before groaning and burying her face in her hands, her voice quiet as she whispered into her palms, "Why me…"

"Good evening, m'lady!"

She jumped, hands frozen in position above her head as if preforming a martial art move she had no knowledge of, before she quickly lowered her arms and glancing around the restaurant to make sure nobody saw her embarrassing stunt.

She cleared her throat, "Um…good…evening?"

She was ridiculous.

She needed help.

Alya was right.

Not having a date in a year resulted in her losing touch with reality and reduced her to talking to a stuffed toy!

She sighed, eyes widening slightly when the cat talked again, the slightly distorted voice sounding like a young man's, "Hello, little lady! I'm Chat Noir!"

Chat Noir?

She laughed. Actually laughed.

Shaking her head and taking discreet glances around to make sure nobody was watching her, Marinette quietly whispered back to the toy, "Chat Noir, huh? Well, that sure is a surprise," she giggled, highly amused at herself for talking to inanimate objects.

"Nice to meat you!" she giggled at the pun before freezing up.

Wait…

How did this thing know she had ordered something with meat? Or had the pun been purely coincidental?

Shaking her head to dispel her suspicions, she leaned back against the cushion-like surface of her chair, sighing, "Nice to meet you too, kitty." Her eyes twinkled in amusement and she leaned her elbows against the table, resting her chin on top of her joined hands, "Well, you're a cute cat I'll give you that," she laughed at her own joke but the cat remained quiet and Marinette tilted her head to the side.

The cat suddenly mewled, "Meow!"

She smiled, shaking her head.

She knew what she was about to do was ridiculous, she knew talking to a stuffed cat toy about her daily problems was a very good way to get herself a one-way ticket to the clinic, but she had to vent. If not to Alya, then to a noncommittal, inanimate toy.

Marinette took a deep breath, "You know…no, what am I talking about you probably don't have these problems, being…well a toy but…ugh!" she ran her hands through her hair in exasperation, before hiding her face behind her propped hands again, "I…kind of blew off a coworker and great friend today…he's really nice, the sweetest person on earth but…" she sighed, exhaustion finally making it's way onto her face, "I…just don't like him that way. The problem is he liked me since we attended college together and I'm confused and guilty because I lied about having to help my parents in the bakery instead of going through our business date today,"

Her shoulders slumped in defeat, guilt etched clearly onto her pretty face, "I…just got scared, turned tail and ran really," she chuckled dryly, "I'm not the type to deceive him and I would only hurt him more by leading him on. I don't understand what he likes about me but…it makes me sad to think that I would have to be the one to break his heart where I am the master of one sided love," she laughed, the sound hollow.

The cat remained quiet for a while and Marinette stared at its sleek dark fur, as if it was being washed regularly and taken care of by the staff here. She never even knew restaurants could offer such service, it seemed so personal.

While it was only a stuffed toy, to a lonely person or simply someone having a bad day it could mean the whole world, not having to stare at a wall while eating, but instead looking at a really cute animal with big eyes and round ears.

The little paw prints were bright green and she wondered idly if the toy was new, the color bound to dull at some point, right?

She finally settled on looking into it's big green eyes and she felt her heart lung in her throat at the odd sensation that they looked almost…human. They still looked artificial, like on any other toy, but she couldn't decided why this particular one made her feel so weird.

"Purrety lady!"

Marinette was so caught off guard by the unexpected compliment that she didn't know what to say for several minutes, before she barely stifled another giggle behind her hand, "Well, aren't you a charmer?" her expression softened and she felt the sudden urge to touch its ears again. "I bet you took out many girls to dinner before, hm?" she giggled quietly, covering her mouth.

The toy remained quiet for a few seconds before it responded, "I once asked a teddy bear to dinner, but he said 'No thanks, I'm already stuffed,'"

Marinette, despite the ridiculously overused pun, found herself laughing out loud, hand half covering her mouth and just before she calmed down, she heard a short but rich laugh coming from the cat and tensed.

Wait…

"I thought Alya was joking when she said there was a real person talking through this thing! I thought they had recordings for that!" her eyes widened in panic suddenly.

Was she talking to a real person through the stuffed toy? It's responses were far too accurate to appear random and something out of the blue, something recorded and scripted. Oh god, what if the guy was far too old and he was leering at her from some dark, creepy corner or room?

Suddenly nervous, Marinette straightened her back, "You…" she swallowed nervously, adjusting her collar, "You're not…real right? Like…a real person?"

She blinked, staring imploringly at the toy.

She felt foolish. What if people observed her from the sidelines and thought she was some crazy cat woman that talked to toys? What if they thought she was a lunatic and would call the police o n her? What if she was making herself crazy for nothing-

"Well, purrincess-"

"Your order, mademoiselle," the waiter from before came back and set her full plate, spaghetti Bolognese, in front of her along with her water making Marinette jump slightly in surprise, "Bon apettit!"

Marinette smiled, stomach growling at the prospect of food, "Merci," she smiled brightly at the man and he left with a small, secretive smile and she could have sworn it was directed at the cat.

Burying down her suspicions in the meantime, she started quickly but politely eating her food, ignoring the stare from the stupid cat.

The silence stretched during the duration of her finishing up her plate, when Marinette thought of Nathaniel.

Her eyes moved to her phone, biting her bottom lip nervously. Should she call? Should she apologize and tell him the truth? Would he hate her for it? What would she do about the fashion shoot if he refuses to work with her?

So many questions, along with the stressful schedules of the previous week swam through her mind and Marinette felt the sting in her eyes before she could stop it.

Quickly wiping away any stray tears before other patrons noticed, Marinette reached for her phone, finger sliding across the display and looking at the time.

8:30pm

Great. She was crying in a restaurant at 8:30pm with obviously nothing better to do.

She knew she did wrong, she knew Nathaniel wasn't to blame for his affections, but she seriously asked herself how she could lie to him where he was so honest and kind to her.

Marinette half heartedly poked at the small meatball still left on her plate, a deep frown etched onto her face as she tried to will away the onslaught of tears.

Adrien watched the woman before him break down into tears.

Well, she didn't exactly break down, more like discreetly rubbing away at the liquid before any other patrons or staff could notice.

He frowned deeply.

What should he do? What could he do? He wasn't allowed to leave the room until all the guests left the restaurant and it was closing time, but he had to do something.

This woman was so genuinely kind and funny and curious, she seemed like a nice person, so what could possibly cause her such grief?

She had looked at her phone and Adrien's first thought was a boyfriend, or possible ex but he shook his head. She didn't seem like the type to cry over guys, at least he thought so.

She did mention her coworker but…as far as his people skills helped him in this, he deduced it was a one sided love on his part and she had no real interest in him aside from friendship.

She wiped away more tears and Adrien's heart broke for her.

The moment her eyes opened and he found himself staring at the sad, blue eyes through the camera of the toy, Adrien made a mad split second decision.

It was crazy.

It was forbidden.

Restaurant policies had him in a bind, but it went against his code to just ignore crying people. Stuffed toy or not.

With that, Adrien turned on his microphone.

Marinette wiped away the last remains of her tears quickly, stuffing the tissue in her jeans pocket until the familiar voice of her table companion broke the silence, "Don't cry princess, your beautiful eyes don't deserve to shed those tears,"

Her body froze but her brain was working into overdrive.

The cat had just complimented her.

The cat just tried to comfort her.

It was weird, she thought she might really be going insane, but the words that left the cat, real or not, were so cheesy, so corny that she couldn't help but smile and giggle quietly.

She sniffed, blinking back tears, "There you go, a smile befits a princess more,"

She released a short laugh and cautiously looked at the toy, "I'm…not going crazy am I? I mean…you were talking to me…right?" she smiled a small smile, at this point, she didn't even care if it was all in her head.

It felt nice talking to someone other than Alya or Nino.

The cat released an odd sound which sounded suspiciously like a purr, "No, you're not, I apurre you, m'lady,"

Marinette rose an eyebrow, my lady?

Her eyes suddenly flew open when realization hit her like a truck and she was forcibly thrust out of her sadness, "W-wait…you…you talk! I mean…you're talking to me?" she blinked rapidly, feeling stumped.

The cat remained quiet and the silence oddly made Marinette giddy, as if it wasn't already bad enough that she engaged in conversation with an object, she was actually curious to what the toy would respond, if it could anyway.

Perhaps Alya had set this up-

"Well, purrincess," the cat, no, the person, began speaking, "It looks like the cat is out of the bag,"

Marinette's eyes narrowed slightly, "…Wait, so…you mean you're a real person? I'm not talking to a computer?" she sighed in relief, "Well, at least I know I'm not going crazy just yet,"

There was a chuckle and Marinette smiled, "I'm as real as you are princess," his voice, even altered by a computer, softened, "Sorry for saying the same things at the beginning all the time, I kinda have a script I have to follow,"

The realization that she was talking to a real human being made her hyperaware of every word that left the stuffed toy, but she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the person's words, "Did that script also tell you to comfort whiny customers during their emotional breakdowns?" she propped her chin on her hand, a small smile on her lips.

She should feel mortified to know a stranger had watched her cry, but in this situation, maybe because she was looking at a cute, large cat toy, she oddly felt…peaceful.

The voice turned serious, lacking it's usual humorous tone, "You're not whiny, my lady and no, that bit was purely improvised," she smiled and chuckled at the cat puns.

"…What's…what's your name?" she smiled but felt a bit foolish for asking, since to other people, she still was talking to a toy and essentially herself.

There was a short pause before the voice sounded, "Call me…Chat Noir,"

The dark haired woman rose an eyebrow curiously, slightly amused, "Chat Noir? Really?" she smirked, leaning back and crossing her arms.

Another chuckle, "Hey, you're talking to a stuffed animal I think it's fair,"

She shook her head in amusement and then, "And your real name, monsieur?" she couldn't help but giggle at the soft snort that escaped the cat.

"Well, other than asking you to stop calling me 'monsieur' since I'm not that old. My real name must remain confidential. Sorry princess, restaurant policies and all," he sounded genuinely apologetic and Marinette didn't feel offended.

She nodded affirmatively, hoping the man behind the cat saw it, "I see…well then Chat Noir I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" her smile was hopeful if not a little timid. She had no idea who the man behind the toy was, nor did she know how old he was, but he seemed nice. Feeling oddly playful, she stood up, bag in one hand and reached for the paw with the other, shaking it gently in a mock hand shake.

The male chuckle came again and it sent a small shiver down Marinette's spine, one she hoped was purely coincidental, "Sounds good princess, I'll be there," the humorous, teasing tilt was back.

Marinette smiled brightly, feeling good for the first time today, "Good night, kitty. Bye," she waved and even though he couldn't wave back, she still left the restaurant with a beaming smile on her lips, ignoring the questioning looks on the customers faces.

She had a hot date with a cat to look forward to after all.

Adrien was practically vibrating in his seat, placing his headset down and whirling around on his chair multiple times, until the door suddenly opened.

"I knew you would get crazy in here one day," Plagg shuffled his way in, his lanky form settling on the opposite side of the room, precious cheese already in hand as he watched the oddly giddy man.

Adrien straightened in his seat, emerald eyes sparkling, "Plagg! I think I just made a friend!"

"Oh boy,"

"It's great! I was finally able to talk to her without her freaking out…much and knowing who I was!" Adrien slumped back in his chair, sighing heavily in relief.

Plagg watched him suspiciously, "So…you told her you were the one talking through the cat?" he tilted his head to the side, his green eyes even more vibrant than Adrien's own.

The blond nodded rapidly, grinning from ear to ear, "Yes! And I even comforted her when she was sad! I think she liked it! Plagg, do you know what this means?"

The man deadpanned, "Therapy?"

Adrien rolled his eyes, "No! That means whenever she comes here I can talk to her freely! Without sticking to a script!" he laughed.

Plagg's expression softened for but a moment until he schooled it into his usual disinterested look, "Uh-huh…what about the other customers? Don't tell me you plan on revealing yourself to them too?" his gaze narrowed warningly.

Adrien held his hand up, "No, don't worry. It…it was just different with that woman I guess. I just felt so sorry for her and I really wanted to help her so…yeah," he scratched the back of his neck timidly, "I think she didn't mind…I mean at least now she doesn't think she's crazy anymore," he chuckled.

"And she didn't freak out one bit when you told her you were a internationally famous model?" Plagg arched a brow skeptically, boring holes into his friend.

Adrien paused, fingers drumming against his leg, "Um…I didn't tell her that." He grinned sheepishly, "I uh, I told her a false…name so to say,"

Plagg crossed his arms, "Alright, spill, what grandiose name did you make up? I swear, if it's one of those stupid fantasy names you get from those video games of yours I'll-"

Adrien waved his hand dismissively, "No, no, no! Nothing like that I promise," he paused briefly, a slow grin spreading on his lips, "I told her to call me Chat Noir;"

Plagg snorted loudly, munching on his cheese, "How original,"

Adrien glared, "Hey, that's better than just saying my real name, you know?" his accusatory gaze made Plagg hiss.

"For the record, how many people would believe me if I said my real name was Plagg? Besides, Tikki's the only one who knows," he shrugged nonchalantly.

Adrien frowned, "…I guess you're right," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, a small smile spreading over his lips, "You know…maybe this could actually work,"

Plagg tilted his head to the side, akin to a cat, questioningly.

"I think that…" Adrien looked at the video footage again, zooming in on the woman's laugh, "Maybe we both wouldn't feel so lonely anymore after this,"

With Adrien's back turned to him, Plagg's expression softened and he stopped himself in time before he reached over to pat Adrien on the head consolingly.

Plagg shook his head, leaning back against his chair, "Maybe you're right kid," his eyes zeroed in on the woman's laugh and the way Adrien's mouth tilted upwards into a smile, "Maybe you're right,"

And suddenly, Adrien bolted upright, eyes wide in alarm, "Plagg!"

"WHAT?!"

"I FORGOT TO ASK FOR HER NAME!"

The dark haired man face palmed.

I'm sorry for its short length! I hope it's enough as a Part 2, I may change it once I release the separate story! What did you think for starters? Anything to change/improve?