Synopsis: When Marinette and Ladybug start finding a sleeping Chat about the city of Paris, she can't help but start a little challenge for herself: How long can she sneakily kiss her adorable sleeping cat before she gets busted?

Author's Notes: GregRock of AO3, here is your requested piece! I swear this one had me gushing all over the place. I loved it. This is one of the greatest things pieces I have ever written. Enjoy everyone!

It had all started out innocently enough.

Ladybug had accidentally come across Chat Noir lounging on a sunny beam of the Eiffel Tower after one long, rare day-time patrol. She'd smiled at him but left him be. After all, she was often tired like that a lot and knew that catching a few z's when possible was important for both of them since they were still growing. There was no denying it though; he was completely adorable and Ladybug felt something warm stir in her belly at the sight but she accounted it to not having had lunch, rubbed it away, and continued on about her day.

The next time she found him, she was plain old Marinette. She was returning home from the store for her mom, her arms heavy with a bag of groceries when she spotted him lying on a tree branch in the park near the school. It was another warm day. The spot was sunny. She stopped in her tracks, her bluebells going wide, her nose slightly flamed as she watched him breathe peacefully in and out, his tail swinging just below him. He was such a cat. An adorable cat but a cat none the less. This time, her heart skipped a beat as the warm feeling grew in her stomach again, and she ran away quickly, unsure what to think about what she was feeling. Tikki only giggled at home. She wouldn't tell Marinette exactly what was happening to her but continued to give out her vague advice of, "Wait and see."

It was infuriating.

Slowly, it started to become a game. Whether she was Marinette or Ladybug, she started looking for the random places she would catch Chat napping. Sometimes on the tower, sometimes at the Louvre, even at the park or behind random chimneys. There was even a time she found him curled up at the top of Notre Dame.

It never failed either that her face would turn bright red and the warm feeling would spread from her belly to the rest of her system.

On one particular day, she found Chat laying at the top of the Eiffel Tower on his back, his an arm and a leg draped over the edge as he peacefully breathed in an out. As she watched him for a moment, Ladybug couldn't help but let her eyes wander to his face. His golden hair was flopped back, exposing his broad forehead and she could see the angled features of his jaw and chin perfectly from where she sat. He looked so peaceful and perfect sleeping like that. Her face stayed red and grew redder the longer she stared. Then the idea came to her. A soft smile crossed her lips and Ladybug, oh so quietly, walked to where her kitty-cat laid, and she knelt down next to him. Gently brushing some hair out of the way, she managed to somehow get close enough to plant a warm, soft kiss on his forehead, whispering, "Sleep well Chaton."

She ran away before she could see if he'd heard any of it.

On their next patrol, he said nothing about it. It made her wonder if he even knew what she'd done. When a couple of days passed and he didn't mention it, she grew bolder. Now when she found him lying about the city in his odd sleeping places, she made it a game. A game to see if she could continue without waking her kitty. She was only so bold to kiss places like the forehead, cheeks, and nose, but she didn't hesitate the longer her game went on. It didn't matter if she was Marinette or Ladybug. Sometimes she would catch him as her civilian self and, when no one was looking, would plant a kiss followed by her "Sleep well Chaton," before scurrying off to finish whatever task she had been working on. Days eventually turned into weeks, Weeks into months. She wasn't sure how long the game could go on but secretly, she hoped it would continue forever.

Of course nothing can last forever. On a summer day, Marinette came home, unpacked her bag, and went to her balcony with the intention of relaxing after a long day of helping Alya with a Ladyblog project only to find that on such a sunny day, her lounge chair was occupied by a black cat hero snoozing away softly. Her face turned scarlet.

She motioned for Tikki to return to her room to hide as she crept forward to get a better look at him. He was sleeping on his back as he normally did. Only this time, his hands were folded on his stomach, his tail hanging off the edge of the chair just enough to have it swinging back and forth in the breeze. His hair was its usual messy mass of gold. Marinette hesitantly knelt next to him, just as such, she reached out a hand to brush some of his hair back off of his forehead so she could see the exposed skin more clearly. She could tell that he'd been spending quite a bit of time in the sun recently; his skin was becoming a shade warmer than it had been before and it looked beautiful contrasted with the black of his hero outfit. His hair stood out a lot more because of it as well. Marinette continued to gently brush his hair back.

Then she did it. Her game.

First she kissed his forehead. It was warm and she could smell his scent- earthy and fresh.

She moved to a cheek. Her own flamed with each second her lips lingered on the smoothness of his skin.

She moved to the other cheek. How was it fair to kiss one but not the other?

His nose was next; she kissed the top of it and she held her breath as he scrunched it in his sleep, making cute little noises.

Marinette smiled then, realizing that she'd won again at her own game. She started to stand and leave when a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her, turning her around, and pulling her backwards until she landed with a soft thud on the very chest of the person she'd just been kissing. Her face landed squarely there, keeping it out of sight. It took her a moment to realize what was going on. A soft chuckle pulled her out of her surprise.

"My lady, if you wanted to kiss me so badly, all you had to do was ask."

She swallowed hard, "I... It was a game. I wasn't supposed to be caught."

He laughed again and the feeling made her face flame brighter than it already did. She looked up. Chat was staring down at her but it wasn't hate that filled his eyes, it was warm and caring and she could tell what he was thinking just by looking up at him. He wanted the same thing that she deeply wanted. The thing that she'd been hoping to happen since the minute she saw him sleeping. Marinette wiggled her way out of his hold so that she was more on top of him; their faces were close enough for their noses to now touch. He stared at her, eyes half lidded, mouth slightly open as he surveyed her. She felt a nearly similar expression on her own face.

"When did you find out," she breathed. Chat smirked then, bringing a hand up to caress the side of her face.

"The first time," he returned, "You kissed my forehead and wished me a good night's sleep."

She chuckled this time. "That long?"

"That long."

"So why reveal yourself now?"

She already knew why. She'd known since he'd woken up this time and spoken to her. She hadn't been as careful as she thought she had been; he had learned and now he knew. Still, she needed the confirmation; she needed to hear the words coming from his own mouth.

"Because I know who you are my lady," he breathed. "Your little game revealed yourself. I thought it was odd that my lady and purrincess were playing the same game. Wishing me the same well rest. With the same phrase at that. Plus..." He traced a finger over her lips. "I couldn't forget how these lips feel on my skin even if I really wanted to."

"So the cat's out of the bag uh?"

"Very much so," he returned. This time, he moved his hand to the back of her head, lacing his fingers in the silken threads he found there. "And now, I'd like to return the favor if you don't mind."

"Of course," she smirked. Chat tugged her down then, kissing her oh so gently just as she had been doing for him in the last few months and nothing could have prepared him for how delicious and soft she was. He had finally found his lady. The feeling made him elated and dizzy and oh so very happy.

Years later, when they were married and with children, Adrien made sure to never let Marinette forget how their first real kiss had gone. It still managed to make her blush.