MariChat May Day 11: Age-Up Marinette.
Chat Noir has something special planned for Mari's 17th birthday.

I'd thought that I was being all clever with the birthday thing, but as it turns out, imthepunchlord beat me to it! Ah well, great minds think alike, right?

This is for LadyOfPurple! I love your work, and I enjoy your comments on mine! Thank you for both. :)

Chat Noir was laying back on the lounger, staring at the night sky, and pretending to be calm. He'd known it was too early, that Marinette would still be busy with her family downstairs, but he'd been too excited to wait at home. As it turned out, waiting on her balcony had been only marginally better.

He heard voices outside the bakery below him, and he popped up to peer over the railing. Alya was leaving! Finally! Marinette would have to come up soon, then, right? He turned back to watch the skylight anxiously, and sure enough, her lights flipped on only a few minutes later. He blinked in the bright light, and when he could see again, he tapped gently on the glass to draw her attention. She waved him in with a smile, but he shook his head, and beckoned for her to join him, instead.

She raised her brows in an expression of curiosity, but climbed up to her bed and then out through her skylight without hesitation. "Hi, kitty," she said as her head came up through the door. "What are you doing here, so late?"

He took her hand to help pull her up, and when they stood, they were very close together. Chat cleared his throat and took a step back. "I came to wish my Princess a happy birthday," he replied with a nervous smile.

"Oh! Thank you, Chaton. But how did you know it's my birthday?"

"A cat has his ways," he smirked.

"You saw my shout-out on the LadyBlog, didn't you," she deadpanned.

"Totally." Not really, but we'll go with that.

"Mangy cat." She flicked his bell affectionately.

He smiled again, recognizing her comment for the endearment it was, and began turning the ring on his finger. "Hey, um, you're not afraid of heights, are you?"

"No, why?"

"I have something for you, and—"

"Chat, you didn't need to get me anything!"

"I didn't, not really." He shifted his weight anxiously, and scratched at the nape of his neck. "It's a surprise. But it's not here, and I was hoping that you'd...let me carry you?"

"Carry me?" she asked, cocking her head curiously. "Where?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore."

"Is it a nice surprise?"

"I hope so."

"All right, then."

Chat Noir grinned delightedly, and swept her up against him. "Put your arms around my neck, Princess, and hold on tight!" He pulled his baton from his back and extended it in one fluid motion, launching them into the night sky. She gasped and squealed, and her arms clutched him still tighter, but a quick glance at her face showed that she was laughing. Her joy in the experience was obvious, and it bled into him. In seeing it through her eyes, he was able to appreciate the exhilaration of leaping over the rooftops of Paris like it was new for him, too.

It took only a few minutes to reach the Eiffel Tower by baton, and in spite of being excited for the next stage of his surprise, he hated that it had gone so quickly. It had felt good to hold her like that; when he set her on her feet, he had to smother the impulse to pull her back to him. Instead he went around to the side to collect the treasures he'd stashed there earlier, and then followed her to the railing of the observation deck. He leaned his hip against it, watching her face as she looked out over the city.

"It's so beautiful up here, Chat."

"Hmmm. I've always loved the Tower, but I never truly appreciated it until I got to experience it like this. I wanted to share it with you."

She turned, opening her mouth to speak, but she her words died when she saw his offering. He held a decadent chocolate miniature cake on a plate, with a single pink candle perched in the middle. As she watched, he pulled a small lighter from one of his zippered pockets, and lit the wick. Its glow sprung up between them, lighting her surprised face with warmth.

"Happy seventeenth birthday, Princess."

She looked from the candle to his face with shining eyes. "Chat, I-I don't know what to say. This is wonderful, thank you!"

"You're welcome," he murmured. Then he leaned toward her a bit more, and whispered. "Perhaps you should blow out the candle, so we can share the cake?"

"Oh! Of course." She extinguished the candle with a puff of air, and plucked it out to lick the frosting from the end. "Mmm, frosting is the best."

He chuckled, and passed the plate to her. "Here, hold this, so I can get the forks out of the box." He grabbed the box from where it sat partially hidden in a corner, and returned to sit next to Marinette. "Shall we?"

She giggled and sat next to him, and they spent the next several minutes quietly enjoying the wonder of a well-made cake. When they were done, he tucked the plate and forks back into the plastic box, palming the only item in there that they hadn't touched yet. A bubble of nervousness worked its way through his stomach. Would she like it?

She leaned her head on his shoulder comfortably. "We probably should not have eaten that whole cake, but it was too good to stop."

"It really was."

She sighed happily. "Thank you, so much, Chat. This was a wonderful surprise."

"Actually, I do have one more surprise for you, Marinette."

She straightened to look at him. "Another one? But you already—"

"This was a party," he explained, with a vague wave to encompass both the Tower and the remnants of the cake. "And what's a birthday party without gifts?"

He held out a small black jeweler's box, free of any decoration or logo, and frowned at it. "I should have wrapped it."

Marinette shook her head. "No, you shouldn't have gotten it at all. This is too much, Chat!"

"But I did, so you might as well open it." He held it closer to her and wiggled it, making the contents shift slightly. "You know you want to," he sing-songed.

She took the box with a laugh, and opened it to reveal the charm bracelet inside. It was white gold, and carried only two charms: a dainty paw print, and a tiny tiara. Her laugh faded as she frowned into the box, and Chat began to panic. Did she hate it?

"Oh, Chat, it's beautiful and I love it, but I can't accept it. It really is just too much!"

"I insist, Marinette. It's for you."

"But—"

"I'll just leave it on your balcony later if you don't take it now."

"You stubborn cat," she sighed, and he knew he had won.

Don't worry, he had the cake and such stored in an air-tight plastic container while he went to collect Marinette. But don't ask me how he got it up there without messing up the cake. That cat's got skills.