The movie ended just after 21h15 and Marinette didn't feel like going home after it was done. The bakery didn't open until 10h00 on Sunday morning and she didn't have anything to do that night regardless. She hadn't consciously registered that the two of them were still holding hands when the movie had ended.
The two stood from their seats and Chat followed Marinette down the aisle toward the door. He was careful to stay out of her line of sight as much as he could while the two of them made their way out of the building, into the cool November air. The general plan was to walk back in the direction of the bakery, but neither of them were in a rush.
As they walked, they passed dozens upon dozens of storefronts. She wasn't sure how their walk got them near the Eiffel Tower where they saw hundreds of people, looking at the twinkling lights. She hadn't remembered the last time she had seen the lights go on from the ground, usually by that time of night, the two of them would've been among the highest beams.
"It's beautiful," she heard him say from his place by her side. He was staring up at the structure. "It's been a while since I've been able to just… look at it for a while, you know?" She understood, but she hadn't thought about the fact that he wouldn't have as many excuses to come out to see the lights now that he wasn't a hero.
"Yeah," she agreed, "I'm sorry if this is bringing back bad memories. We can leave if you want." She was enjoying their night out, so she was hoping that this wouldn't be the end of their time together, but if he decided to take her home from there, she would understand.
"Not bad memories," he corrected. "I'm not really sure what kind of memories they are, but I'm glad I get to make new ones with you." He gently squeezed her hand and she wondered, silently, how she didn't notice before that they were still holding hands.
"So am I." They watched the rest of the short display of the twinkling lights before the two of them continued their walk. As they walked past the stores, Marinette saw displays upon displays of Ladybug merchandise. No Chat Noir, she idly noted.
It wasn't until one of the final stores they passed on the square around the Eiffel Tower that something stood out to her. It was a fleece blanket. That, alone, would've been enough to capture her attention, but it was Chat Noir themed. It reminded her of the backpack that he'd carried that night to the Eiffel Tower.
She suspected that the blanket and backpack had come from the same line and she couldn't help the almost magnetic feeling pull to it. He followed her inside of the store, but deliberately stayed away from the area that was stocked with the 'hero' merch. She picked up the blanket, the last in stock, and carried it to the cashier.
"Is this going to be all for you?" The attendant had a polite smile on her face.
"Yeah. I couldn't help myself." Marinette's face was lit up with the brightest smile that he'd seen on her in months.
"€7," the cashier requested, catching Marinette off guard. She'd seen all of the displays. The Ladybug blankets were almost 5 times the price, and she could have sworn that the tag on the blanket labeled it at €30.
"Are you sure? Did it ring up wrong?" Marinette looked at the barcode as best as she could, noting that there were no scratches or scuffs that would have caused it to ring up as a different item.
"Yeah," the cashier agreed, "the owner is trying to get rid of the stock. Since Chat Noir hasn't been helping for a few months, this collection hasn't been selling very well." Marinette's mouth dropped open in surprise, gaping while she tried to come up with an answer, but she couldn't. She could, but she knew she shouldn't unless she wanted to risk getting asked more questions than she could provide answers to.
Marinette handed the cashier a €10 note and the cashier gave her change, along with a bag that contained the blanket. Marinette kept a polite smile on her face during the rest of the transaction, but it fell almost as soon as she walked out of the store. "A few months?" she questioned. "He hasn't been a hero for a few months and the owner is trying to what? Phase him out? Like another hero is going to come along to replace him?"
"I'm sure it isn't like that," he tried to assure, hearing her voice start to fill with frustration. "Even if it is, though, it's fine. He's not working with Ladybug anymore. The shop isn't to blame. They don't decide what people buy, they just get inventory based on what people are buying."
"That isn't fair, though! He was a hero for years and people are giving up on him just because he hasn't been around in like 3 months? He deserves more respect than that." He felt his heart swell with how genuine she was being, but he knew that he shouldn't do anything to risk outing his identity.
"I know," he sighed, reluctantly. "It really, really isn't fair. I wish it was, but there's nothing either of us can do to change things." She knew better than to risk his identity, but she had so many questions for him that he hadn't answered and she was starting to get desperate, needing explanations she'd been waiting for.
They turned down a quieter street, getting closer to the bakery when she spoke again. "Why can't we?" Her question was followed by a brief pause. "Why can't we change things? Why can we hang out like this if you can't just do what you want to do the rest of the time?" She didn't expect an answer from him.
She knew it would be far too dangerous for him to give her an answer. She knew he shouldn't give her an answer. She knew that a civilian wouldn't be able to do anything about it, even if he did give her one.
"We can hang out because he likes you. He agrees to giving me time off to hang out with you because my dad likes you, okay?" His voice was quiet as he spoke, and she wanted to look at him. She wasn't sure if he had consciously registered what he had just admitted to, and she wasn't even sure if it was true or not.
She knew how easy it would be to look at him. If her parents recognized him, she probably would too, if she just looked at him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Every time she even considered looking at his face, she looked at the blanket instead.
Whether Monarch was really his dad or not wasn't something she was certain about, so it wasn't worth discovering his identity for a possible dead end. It was possible that the term was just to make their conversation less suspicious in case anyone had overheard them. That did, regardless, lead her to a new revelation.
Monarch liked her. He liked Marinette, a civilian. He was apparently aware of her enough that he had any opinion about her. "I didn't realize,' she breathed. The statement felt silly, though. Of course she didn't. Why would she? She'd rarely thought about Monarch beyond the supervillainy.
