It was dark.

It was raining.

Marienette was on her knees , soaked to the bone and covered in dirt , her hands frantically patting the ground and bushes in front of her despite not being able to see anything.

'Another year , another charm .'

'Oh Alya ! It's beautiful !'

'Glad you liked it . I thought it was the most memorable one for last year '

'Here's yours .'

'Oh my ! This is gorgeous ! Did you make this ?!'

'It's not that great .'

'You gotta learn to take a compliment, Mari .'

'Happy friendship day , Alya!'

'Happy friendship day , Marienette!'

They exchanged charms every year adding them to the first friendship bracelet they made and when she got home after a stupid akuma attack , she saw it was missing from her bag . She spend the entire evening retracing her steps trying to find it . Now it was too dark to see anything , she forgot to bring a flashlight , it was raining and ...

She had to find it . She HAD TO...

"Princess?..."

She looked up from the bushes she was patting , trying to feel for the bracelet and saw ...an empty tree covered in shadows .

"Chat noir ?..."

A slight movement in the shadows covering the tree was followed with the voice once again coming from above her . No air of mystery , just curiosity and ...a bit of concern .

Oh no , not him . Not now.

"What are you doing here , princess ? You should paw-bably get home ."

She turned back to the bushes and resumed reaching around blindly , focusing on her job .

"I could ask you the same question . I thought cats didn't like the rain ."

The voice was closer this time and the rain hitting her lessened .

"They don't but getting wet was a better option than staying inside right now . This kitty needed to stretch . No offense , my dear , but you look ,well, elegantly drenched ."

A bit of guilt hit her . If she wasn't so stubborn about their identities , she could have asked him what was wrong . She spared a moment to turn her head back to look at the cat-boy looking over her at where she was searching with curious eyes . He was wearing a hoodie which covered his head casting his face into shadows which failed to completely hide his bright eyes . The moonlight outlined his dark form as he towered over her .

She didn't have time for this . She had to focus.

"Listen ..." She began , eyes blazing "... I lost something very important to me and I don't know where it is , but I checked the grounds when there was light , so it must be in the bushes where I kept my bag when the akuma attacked and now there isn't any light and I haven't found my bracelet and I'm Not leaving until I do so Please don't try to get me to go home cause I Am Not Leaving Untill I Find My Bracelet ! "

And with that she turned back around and resumed her searching ignoring the wide eyes of the parisian hero . She couldn't be distracted and he was ...distracting.

Chat smirked , impressed by her determination if not a bit put off by her dismissal of his presence . Come to think of it , wasn't Marienette's bag pink? He could have sworn he saw a familiar pink bag during the fight that evening when he was thrown into a tree . But that was another tree , wasn't it ? Which tree was it anyway ?

Chat gave a small leap and sprinted to the fountain where the akuma was standing when it grabbed his tail and tossed him into the tree . Looking around he noticed the tree being right across from where Marienette was searching. He reached the tree and began looking around , his night-vision making the task a lot easier than it was for Marienette .

He knew the bracelet she lost must have been the friendship bands she and Alya exchanged in class that day . He remembers how they proudly displayed their respective charms before keeping them in their bags for gym class . He could have told her that he couldn't see anything where she was searching but she seemed a bit frantic and he didn't want to make her panicked...

... well, ...more panicked . The girl kinda scared her right then .

'Where was it ? ' Marientte thought frantically . That bracelet was a symbol of their friendship , something she valued so much despite the desired secrets she keeps from her about her dual identity . She Had to find it . She can tell her parents she decided to wait out the storm in a sheltered location . She didn't want to make them worry but she Had to ...

"Is this it ?"

Her head shot up at the voice of the person who she thought had left . Of course he didn't leave but it was so quiet and ... she still couldn't see him .

"Chat noir?..."

"Oh ! sorry !"

The shadows overlapping the tree across from her melded to rise form to a humanoid black shape with green eyes peering at his hand and rubbing something on it . He stepped into the moonlight and held out a rounded string with a glasses charm , a cellphone charm , a ladybug charm and a wifi charm .

The next second she shot up and leaped over the bushes , ignoring the ache of her cramped legs and stumbled towards the bracelet . She barely took 2 steps before she was gently steadied by strong hands which settled her against his chest and placed the bracelet in her open , dirty , mud-coated hands as he softly rubbed her hands clean with the help of the falling rain-water .

She grasped the bracelet tightly for a minute before placing it carefully in her purse and throwing her arms around his waist , squeezing him as hard as she could though she felt his body go stiff .

"THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! THANK YOU !..."

She felt rather than heard the chuckles he let out as his body relaxed . Though the sudden hug surprised him , Chat was more amused and impressed at how the sweet girl didn't even seem to notice how soaked she was .

" So . I can take that as a yes then ?"

The smile she gave him temporarily disabled his mind . Her eyes were bright and sparkling and...

... And she was shivering , they had to move .

He gently removed her arms from around him ( missing the contact but not wanting her to stay out in the rain ) and swiped the hair away from her eyes , which was still sparkling which was quite distracting and strangely familiar but priorities . She was soaked and the bakery was quite a distance away .

Marienette watched his eyes narrow in contemplation already knowing he wanted to take her home as he probably knew it was a distance from here since he visited her during the evillustrinater incident . Still , might as well try.

"Chat , I'll be fi..."

A single finger pressed against her lips silencing her as he gave her a small smirk before grabbing her wrist and leading her under the tree he came from , its branches blocking most of the rain , not that she saw the point in that . She was already soaked anyway and she told him just that . Instead of replying , he grinned and turned her towards the tree and told her to keep her eyes shut .

She obeyed , confused but she didn't really care . She got what she came for and she knows Chat would never hurt her so she follows the instructions until she hears a faint groan that sounds like the word "cheese " and she freezes in spot .

She knows Chat's kwami was obsessed with cheese and the muffled whispering that followed meant a conversation which required 2 people followed by some ruffling and warm , dry cloth land on her head .

"Wipe yourself dry with that . Don't wanna get a cold , do you ?"

She gaped . Her eyes refusing to open as her body froze . 'Did he just DETRANSFORM ? '

Adrien heard her shocked gasp with a bit of amusement . He had worn a vest and a shirt with a hoodie on top before transforming and taking another hoodie for him as Chat noir . The hoods were water-resistant and kept his head dry and he had taken off his dry hood and shirt before tossing her the shirt to use as a towel after taking out the cheese to give to plagg .

He knew it was risky but he also knew Marienette, unlike her best friend , respected the idea of secret identities from conversations he had overheard between them in class . Plus , she was cold , it was dark and she could barely see anything as it was . Still better safe than sorry.

"Yup . So no peeking , princess . No matter how much you might want to see my handsome face in all it's beauty ."

Marienette blinked confused as she quickly grabbed the shirt and wiped her hair dry after removing her hair bands , barely acknowledging the softness of the material . This was a good quality cloth . 'Did I say that out loud?'

"Yes. You did ."he practically sang.

She shut her mouth forcefully and wiped herself clean before wiping her hands in the moonlight when she realised it was a white shirt , key word 'was'.

It was more brown now .

"YOU GAVE ME YOUR SHIRT ?"

She exclaimed spinning around with wide eyes to see ...nothing . She blinked in surprise before realisation struck her and she squealed before shutting her eyes tightly and turned around again.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist..."

His teasing voice sounded from a bit farther away . He must have moved to the other side of the tree . Good , she couldn't believe she was so stupid.

"I'm sorry , I didn't mean to ..." The guilt was evident in her voice .

"I know . Don't worry about it ." He reassured.

"Your shirt . It's ruined ..."

Chat gave a small laugh . To think she was so worried about that . How cute . He quickly transformed leaving both his hoodies off and put the dirty one back on .

"...I'm so sorry . I'll wash it for you , but it'll still stain . This was such a waste . I'll still get wet on the way home and ..."

"Oh princess ! It hurts that you doubt me so ." he purred .

Marienette felt a pull on the shirt and she let it go as a warm , again dry cloth landed on her head . She pulled it down feeling the soft material in her hands .

"It might be a bit big but it'll do the job . Put it on ...oh ! And you can turn around now ."

She looked down at the brown hoodie in her hands and turned around to see Chat already back in his own hoodie grinning at her .

She blinked .

"You were wearing two hoodies?"

He winked .

"I guess my heart knew the princess would be in distress ."

She rolled her eyes and put on the hoodie . It was very loose and spacey and Dry and water-resistant .

It was perfect .

She pulled out her arms and removed her wet jacket and squeezed it as dry as she could before tying it around her waist . Now that she had something that could keep her dry , she wanted to be as dry as possible . Chat lightly cleaned the shirt in the rain and squeezed it dry before holding it out for her with a smirk . She narrowed her eyes , hesitant to use use such a fine shirt as a towel ... again . Plus , it was His Shirt . He was Wearing That .

"It's already ruined princess , no point being carefurr with it now ."

She grabbed the shirt and began to thoroughly dry herself before freezing and turning to face her self-proclaimed knight watching her with innocent curiosity . She felt her face burn but it was so cold and she was soaked .

"Um ...could you ...could you ..turn around ? It's kinda weird with you ...watching ..."

His eyes scrunched up in confusion , his head tilting to the side as his eyes flickered to the shirt she had against he stomach before realisation set in as he scampered back into the rain with wide eyes .

"Oh...OH! Sorry! ... I...I wasn't ..."

She gave a small reassuring smile .

"I know , Chat noir ."

He gave a nervous laugh before rubbing the back of his head ( which looked familiar for some reason).

"I'll just ...um... Just call when you're done . Kay ? Kay ..."

Then he shot up to hide in the tree . She just resumed wiping herself dry sans her legs cause they would get wet again anyway . She knew he wasn't really staring but it was embarrassing to wipe her bare stomach and arms while he was... watching . She opened her purse which was waterproof ( for reasons ) and saw her little kwami look up with a smile before whispering.

"It was lucky that Chat noir showed up , huh Mari?"

She gave a smile .

"Even luckier that he had extra clothes . It's a good idea to dress up before transforming for patrol ."

"Wonder how he thought of it ?"

She huffed .

"Probably forgot his clothes transformed with him and grabbed another one before leaving ."

Tikki giggled .

"Or maybe he really did listen to his heart ."

Marienette rolled her eyes but there was a sad smile on her face . Her and Chat pretty much had the usual comrade they had before the confession a few months ago , though he no longer seemed to want to know her real identity and was even more secretive of his own . And now , here he was , helping her again .

She just wished she could do something in return without leading him on .

"Don't start , Tikki . You okay ?"

"Yup . Bit hungry though ."

"Well ! If I can convince Chat to let me go alone , I can transform and we could get home fast ."

Tikki grinned .

"You know that won't work . Even if he let you go alone , he'd probably just follow you until you reach home ."

Marienette gave a soft groan .

"Yeah ! And in this dark , there's no way I can ditch him . I can barely see him . Guess I'll just have to play along ."

Tikki giggled .

"Maybe he'll carry you like a princess ..."

Marienette rolled her eyes before closing her purse and putting on the hoodie and zipping it up and rubbing her hands . Ah! She finally stopped shivering. She was glad he found her , she would have never found the bracelet without his help .

He was still so nice even after she...No ! Chat's not that shallow . Plus he doesn't know I'm the one who ...

'I love you , m'lady'

'Chat...I'm sorry'

'It's okay'

It's a stupid thought . He was still her annoying , endearing partner to her other persona . And right now , he was just a hero saving a damsel in distress . Maybe I should cheer him up , maybe boost his ego a bit again . He has earned it.

She breathed in and...

"CHAT NOIR !..."

A faint rustling of leaves above her was followed by a dark figure jumping down in front of her ... before slipping and landing on his butt.

She couldn't help it . She started laughing . She spent hours in panic mode and the peace was getting to her . All plans of swooning over his heroic actions just flew out the window.

He looked up at her surprised at her mirth before a wide grin stretched across his face . He wished she would be so free with her emotions around him in school but she was always so reserved and awkward around him , probably because she was worried Chole would try something if she got too close . Too bad , she was a fun girl ...who , he noticed with relief , was no longer shivering .

He smirked when he saw her bundled up in his hoodie .

"You look paw-sitively adorable in my clothes ."

She blushed ( score ! ) before giving a smirk of her own.

"I thought cats always landed on their feet ."

He flipped upright and wiped his hands on his hoodie , long ago accepting the fact that the Marienette around others was not like the Marienette around his regular self .

"In case you didn't notice princess , I did land on my feet ... The slipping was completely on propose ."

She placed her hands on her hips with a smirk .

"Oh really ! And what purpose was that ?"

He gave a flirty grin and winked .

"To hear your beautiful laugh , of course ! And it was completely worth it ."

She rolled her eyes , the smile still on her face . He gave a dramatic bow and held out his hand .

"Would you grant your loyal knight the honour of escorting your highness to her castle ?"

She raised an eyebrow .

"You're not thinking of carrying me , are you ?"

"Normally I would but the roofs are slip-paw-ry ( she gave a small groan . Good , her lack of response to his amazing puns were starting to worry him ) and I couldn't bear to risk you getting hurt . I'm afraid all I can do is accompany her highness to her doorstep ... Though if you insist ..." .

He wagged his eyebrows . She rolled eyes and gave him her hand .

"I suppose I can allow you to accompany me ...as a reward for helping me find my bracelet , of course ."

He smirked and gently kissed her hand .

"You're too kind , princess ."

AN:-

Hope you liked it . This story is basically a collection of headcannons for scenarios all put together and this chap was unusually long for me .

Please review .