A/N: Had sudden inspiration to finish Part 2 for the Adrienette living together trope. Tomorrow "The Beast in her Home" will be updated though! :3

The Cute Suspect Part 2

Marinette sighed in relief when the watchful green eyes finally left her form to focus on heating up what appeared to be store bought dinner, something with rice and vegetables. She glanced down at her feet, where the warm, purring furball had situated itself permanently.

Hesitantly glancing towards the policeman's back, Marinette slowly wiggled her toes under Plagg's weight, the cat not reacting at first. Marinette stuck her tongue out in concentration, wiggling her toes a bit harder, Plagg shifting slightly before meowing in annoyance and climbing up her leg onto her lap, sniffing her cuffed hands and shooting her what she interpreted as an annoyed look.

She smiled brightly, her mood instantly improving when the cat started purring and rubbing it's head against her bound hands and wiggling fingers, rolling on top of her thighs and playfully swiping at her wiggling fingers with his paws, claws retracted.

Marinette finally couldn't stifle a giggle when Plagg made three fast paw swipes towards her finger and promptly fell from her lap onto the ground, twisting his lithe body to land on his paws quickly.

His ears were straight on their sides, Plagg's tail flicking in surprise at the unexpected fall, "I'm so sorry kitty!" Marinette soothingly petted the black cat's fur, gently scooping him back up into her lap again, where he immediately settled back down, licking the tips of her fingers.

"He's alright, that little furball is more durable than he looks. He even beat up a cat burglar once." Adrien's amused voice called from the kitchen, slightly startling Marinette, "I think the thief was more scared of my cat than me." He laughed, an airy, nice sound that made Marinette's fingers twitch, causing Plagg to affectionately nibble her pointy finger for unintentionally flicking his ear.

"Really?" Marinette stared down at the playful ball of fur, Plagg's big green eyes staring back up at her, slowly blinking. She scratched his head softly and he leaned into her touch.

"Mhm, Plagg may be a cat, but sometimes I think he has some grumpy old human inside of him just waiting to get out." Adrien was just stirring the food in the pan when the feline released a loud, wailing meow, "See?" he snorted in suppressed laughter.

Marinette giggled, gently petting the annoyed cat.

Adrien glanced at the sitting woman from the corner of his eye, watching her carefully, "Did you used to have a cat? You know how to handle a handful like Plagg pretty well." Maybe he could get her to open up little by little like this.

Marinette smiled, distracted by the soft fur of the cat on her lap, "Mhmm, her name was Tikki. I…" she swallowed, a wave of sadness washing over her, "She ran outside one day and got hit by a car so…" she bit her lip, smile twitching when Plagg nuzzled her raised finger.

Adrien paused in his stirring, mentally shooting himself in the head, "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"N-no, it's fine really!" Marinette stared at his back, smiling kindly, "You couldn't have known." She glanced back down at Plagg, "She was very sweet and gentle, I always thought she had the personality of a human inside her. She really loved sweet treats, so I treated her twice a month with cat treats and took her to trips to grassy planes so she could stretch her legs. Living in the city can become stifling."

Adrien tensed, mind torn away from the peaceful image he'd conjured up with Marinette with a cat on a grassy field to the task at hand, he chose his next words carefully, "So...you don't like the city life, huh?" Adrien took out two plates, watching Marinette from the reflection of the glass in front of him.

She thought for a moment, still softly stroking Plagg's back, "Not really, no." she lifted her head, glancing at his back, "Do you?"

Adrien thought of what to say, until he settled for the truth, "To be honest, sometimes I want to go away too. Away from the city and the responsibilities." He fixed the second plate, taking out an additional glass, "Guess we have something in common, hm?"

Finally he turned around, two steaming plates of mouth-watering food in his hands, white crisp shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, shirt unbuttoned to the first button, forbidden views of pronounced collarbones barely hidden by the collar of his dress shirt, hair slightly messy from the steam of cooking, smile friendly but slightly guarded.

Marinette's mouth was open.

Hot.

"Hot…"

Adrien's brows drew together in confusion, straining his ears, "Could you repeat that? I think I didn't catch it."

Marinette jumped from the realization of what she'd accidentally uttered out loud, Plagg bolting from her lap and hiding behind Adrien's feet, staring wide eyed at the nervous woman who was anxiously straightening the sleeves of her blazer, "T-those plates look hot!" she speedwalked to the man, forgetting her hands were cuffed and grabbed them in her practiced grip, stacking the two on one hand like a professional waiter.

Adrien blinked, momentarily stunned by the kneejerk reaction, "…That…that's cool." He gestured to the way she had the plates stacked on one hand, her first three fingers firmly holding onto the bottom plate, with the thumb on the outermost surface of the plate, as far away from the food as possible, with the last two fingers crooked upwards to support the upper plate balanced perfectly on her forearm, "Did you used to work in a restaurant?"

The handsome man's genuine question threw Marinette off guard and she nearly dropped the plates, quickly setting them down on the table before she made a mess and fool of herself, "U-uhm, I-uh I," she shook her head, "I-I mean my parents still run a bakery…and I used to help out often…" her heart squeezed at the thought of her parents and memories of working for them during her teenager years.

Adrien sensed the change in mood, mentally punching himself again for asking the wrong questions, before he pulled out the chair, "Shall we? Dinner is served." He made a grand gesture with his arm, motioning toward the food and Marinette smiled timidly, taking the offered seat, "Would you like me to remove them? To eat properly."

Marinette glanced down at the cuffs bounding her hands, grabbing the fork to test out how good her range was with the chain, "I don't think it's necessary, I'll be fine." It would've been more difficult had she had to cut something, using both hands, but she could comfortably eat with one hand.

Besides, she didn't want him thinking she was looking for an escape, the last thing she wanted was arouse suspicion and get sent to prison. She may be covering for those people, but she wouldn't go to prison for them and risk endangering herself more than she already was.

The blond craned his neck, mentally going through the questions he subtly had to ask before grabbing silverware and the glasses filled with water and taking his own seat across from her.

They ate in silence, occasionally broken by praises for the food's deliciousness.

Adrien glanced a few times at her facial expressions, trying to gauge the mood. His mouth opened to voice his question, but when he did, he felt something brush against his leg.

His face burned uncharacteristically.

Did she just-

His leg violently slammed against the table, a hiss passing through the blond's teeth at the bolt of pain shooting down his leg. Marinette jumped from the force of the table shaking, eyes wide in surprise, "What happened?!"

Adrien grinned in embarrassment, subtly rubbing his knee, cheeks still aflame, "I uh, your-I mean, my uhm…" he coughed into his head, clearing his throat and tugging at the collar of his shirt, "My knee…caught onto something." He straightened his back like a bow, stiffly continuing to eat.

Maybe the veggies will throw his mind off things.

Would she react so calmly if she had done it? But then what did brush against his leg? Was it his imagination?

Shaking his head silently, Adrien continued to eat, trying to throw the suspicious thoughts of her trying to seduce him and then escape from his mind.

After calming down from the unexpected ordeal, Marinette exhaled softly and began eating again, until she felt something warm trace her leg.

Freezing in place, Marinette waited with baited breath, until another, firmer touch made contact with her leg.

Her whole face coloured stronger than the burgundy red of Adrien's slippers, mind racing a mile a minute on what on earth was happening underneath that table.

Was he-?

No!

He was a policeman for goodness sake!

He also seemed far more decent than his brutish colleagues. She doubted he would do something like that. He was nothing but nice and polite to her so she should show the same courtesy, despite their circumstances.

Touch

Marinette squeaked and her leg violently lashed out, slamming into Adrien's knee in a kneejerk reaction.

"Ouch!" Adrien hissed, gripping the aching spot on his knee, eyes blown wide and the heat in his cheeks gone, "What the-!"

Marinette's entire body was still, face like a cherry, "W-why d-d-did-did y-y-you-!"

Adrien suddenly saw the tablecloth move suspiciously and he leaned down and lifted it.

What he saw made him want to sink into the ground.

Two big green eyes stared up at him innocently.

It was Plagg.

The thing that touched his leg had been his goddamn cat.

Which meant-

Adrien's face flushed for a completely different reason, hand covering his mouth in embarrassment, "I…I don't know what to say…"

Marinette's gaze was fixed on a spot on the tablecloth, cheeks looking worse than the red pepper in the vegetable dish, "I-I'm so-so sorry-"

Both raised their heads, immediately locking gazes before hastily turning their heads to look the other way.

Adrien suddenly felt far too hot, "Just-just what was this?! Plagg, you stupid cat! You aren't getting any cheese from me!" he remembered about his earlier suspicions and mentally groaned, "Have I no shame? How could I think she was doing it on purpose to seduce me? So far she'd behaved complacent and non-threatening, we have strong suspicions about her involvement in the theft so why -why- did I think she wanted to seduce me?! Great going Agreste!"

Marinette was internally screaming, combusting, dying. Had she honestly thought he was making a move on her? Her? A woman who'd been coerced into trying to steal something?! She was nothing but a criminal in his eyes! She was a suspect! He was a policeman! A gentleman! Of course it had been his cat!

Marinette mentally berated herself, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart before she suffered a heart attack or worse.

They were both adults!

She could do this!

Meekly, she raised her head, glancing shyly at the handsome man sitting opposite of her, only to find him already looking at her.

Marinette squeaked.

She couldn't do this!

Trying to ignore the cute noise, Adrien cleared his throat again, feeling like he'd swallowed a desert, "I-It…had been Plagg."

Smooth Agreste, smooth.

Marinette laughed nervously, playing with a strand of her hair, "Eheh, y-yeah, I mean, I thought it was." She was lying through her teeth, but there was no need for the dangerously handsome policeman before her to know that.

Adrien froze on the spot, suppressing the urge to kick himself for his overpowering stupidity, "O-of course, yes, what else would it've been aside from Plagg." He chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, trying to find something to save his dying ass.

Marinette thought she would cut her own wrists open from the pressure of the handcuffs. Her mind was racing with things to say to break the awkward silence, until a ring on the doorbell sounded through the apartment.

The blond paused for a second before standing up, heading out of the living area into the short hallway to the door and opening it.

Marinette tried to crane her neck to catch a glimpse of who was at the door from her sitting position at the table, until something warm brushed her leg again.

Marinette pouted at the black cat, who innocently meowed and walked off.

She sighed, trying to distract herself by picking up the plates and trying to wash them.

She heard shuffling and then the door shutting, before Adrien came back, "I got your things." He carefully set the box down on the chair she'd previously occupied, respectfully keeping the box closed. She was sure if it had been any other officer, they would've looked inside, for 'safety' reasons.

Adrien caught her trying to awkwardly wash the dishes, the task more difficult with the limited amount of chain hindering her movements. He walked to her side and gently took the rag from her hands, "You don't have to clean up, don't worry about it. You, uh, you can get settled in my room, it's just to the right when you enter the hallway." He offered her a kind, reassuring smile and Marinette used all her might to not spontaneously combust before the far too handsome man.

Did he used to be in the modelling business? He certainly had a face for that.

"Tinker too!" the unexpected words made Adrien stare at her quizzically.

Marinette's eyes grew wide over her embarrassing stumble, "I-I mean, t-thank you!" faster than lightning, Marinette grabbed her box and rushed out of the kitchen, out of Adrien's sight.

Adrien stood rooted to the spot, hand clutching tightly to the kitchen counter while the other tiredly ran down his face.

He tried to regulate his far too irregularly beating heart, just what was this?!

That had been too cute. Did that woman try to kill him? He was an adult, he shouldn't be this affected by cute sounds or reactions.

….Adrien groaned, not believing he just called Marinette cute on at least three occasions, all in his head, thankfully.

Something brushed against his legs.

Adrien looked down.

The devil's spawn looked up at him with the most innocent green eyed stare but Adrien knew Plagg better, "…What are you smiling about, huh?"

The cat blinked as if thinking, before replying to his human's grumpiness, "Meow."

Adrien sighed.

Thanks for reading!