"This gift from god is the most precious creature I have ever seen in my entire minor existence."
"You say that every time you see a ca-"
"SHE IS!"
Adrien was holding Totoro - apparently Ella and Etta were huge Ghibli fans and didn't care for the sex of their cat - right in front of his face so their noses touched. Nino would have sworn he saw the same eyes-squinted grinning expression his best friend had on his face on the cat's face as well. Every now and then Adrien let out a squeal of joy while snuggling with the British shorthair silver tabby and Marinette was sure she would never see anything as pure and innocent in her whole life ever again.
"Can you even imagine what kind of drama would have occurred if Totoro would have disliked Adrien?" Alya was watching the boys with crossed arms and an amused grin on her face. A shiver went down her spine as Marinette considered that scenario.
"Don't even think about something as terrible as that! It would have completely wrecked his will to live." She sighed, relieved that they hadn't had to try to prevent Adrien from drowning in his own desperate tears.
"Quite possibly" Alya laughed, nudged Marinette's shoulder with her own and began to smirk. "You should join the cuddling. Maybe Adrien will end up nuzzling your nose somehow."
It took Marinette's face exactly one second to turn flaming red and she was too baffled to stop Alya from pushing her towards the carpet the boys kneeled on. Well, Nino kneeled. Adrien had ended up lying on the ground, Totoro climbing over his chest like it was a part of Mount Everest and not the body of a model. An affectionate smile replaced the blush of embarrassment on her face and she gathered the courage to sit down next to Nino.
"I didn't even get the chance to pet her" he grumbled jealously as she settled down beside him.
The moment the three of them had walked into Alya's home Totoro had ran up to Adrien straightaway, rubbing her head against his legs and meowing in delight. Clearly there was something to Adrien that somehow had an attracting effect on her but Marinette had no idea what it could be. Of course Adrien had a similar effect on Marinette herself but she doubted that it was for the same reason as for the cat. Totoro and Adrien simply had captivated each other on the spot.
Marinette understood Nino's grudge only too well.
But Adrien didn't even realize how grumpy his friends were. "Don't you think cats are the greatest?" he asked as he happily smiled up to the cat on his chest.
"I like turtles" Nino answered deadpanned.
"Foxes are definitely the best!" Alya jumped in as she joined her friends serving cookies. Marinette held her hand in front of her mouth and giggled joyfully. She was thankful to whoever had blessed her with those quirky, wonderful friends.
"What is your favorite animal, Marinette?" Adrien asked, averting his eyes from Totoro for the first time this afternoon and smiled at her for a short moment before turning back to the cat.
Still counts, Marinette thought proudly before answering. "I like all kinds of animals, it's hard to choose just one…"
"Oh girl, is there a single creature on this earth you wouldn't be able to love?" Alya chuckled and put an arm around her best friend.
"You mean aside from Chloé?" Nino muttered under his breath more to himself than anyone in the room, staying unheard.
"When it comes to favorite earth-creatures those present have a good chance" Marinette responded laughing, unaware of Nino's slightly mean yet true comment.
At the end of the day Marinette had another entry on her mental list of joyful gatherings with her best friends.
After an exhausting day full of lectures about being late to class and nearly falling asleep during dinner Marinette allowed herself to take a break on her balcony. As she admired the sight in front of her she spotted a shadow fastly approaching, causing her frown to turn into a small smile.
"You again" she said surprised when Chat Noir landed in front of her and bowed.
"The path of faith led me here once again, princess" Chat explained coyly but Marinette just blinked at him, not the littlest bit less confused. When he dropped his act and genuinely chuckled at her baffled expression Marinette's heart took a leap. "Your speech from last week inspired me and I want to learn from the furry best how to Christmas" he confessed with an eager smile.
"How to… what?" Still puzzled Marinette tried to understand what Chat was talking about since it seemed he'd forgotten to say the second half of his sentence out loud.
"Since a hero like me has to live a life in isolation I never experienced Christmas like you have described it to me. And since I found your version extremely appealing I was wondering if you would mind to…" Suddenly he became timid and very quiet and Marinette was taken aback due to the fact that she never saw him like that before. "…show me to enjoy Christmas the way you do?" The shy and pleading smile on his face could just as well belong to a five-year-old. It was impossible to say no to that. Everyone was talking about puppy eyes but no one ever gave warning of kitten eyes!
Finally she came back to her senses and smiled at her counterpart. "I'd be honored to pass on my legacy." She curtsied. She was talking to Chat, after all. "But it's not that hard; you simply devote yourself to something you like that delectate others too. In my case it's crafting gifts for my friends and family and I'd love to help you find that something for you too. But, for my sake..." Marinette imposed her one and only condition: "No puns."
"I thought this was meant to be a time of fun and joy!" Chat protested, causing his newfound master to laugh cheerfully.
"Yes, you're right but since both of us are meant to have fun…"
"You think my pawns are hilarious, don't even try to deny it."
"…let's try to find something different that both of us will enjoy. Is there anything else you like?" Marinette asked, ignoring his maybe a little true comment.
Without a second thought Chat revealed the thing he had already been thinking about all week: "I love Totoro."
Panicking over the realization of what he just had said he already made up an excuse about how he met Alya's siblings and their cat but Marinette's eyes began to shine and she excitedly jumped up and down in front of him.
"Really? You do? That's great! If you want to we can watch it right now!"
Chat Noir blinked at her, uncomprehending. Until now he had thought the twins had come up with the name for their cat on their own and he had no idea what Marinette was talking about but since it seemed to be a suitable opportunity to keep his identity a secret he tried to play along as best as he could.
"Yeah sure, it's great!"
Marinette squealed and looked at him curiously. "What's your favorite part?"
"Uhm… uh… I don't know… That's a tough question. Maybe… everything?"
Laughing she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her window. "We'll watch it right now so you can decide what you like best about it!"
After 86 minutes of laughter and tears of joy Chat not only got the origin of his favorite cat's name but also craved for more Ghibli films. Since Marinette was perfectly fine with that they ended up in a Ghibli marathon that lasted all night.