MariChat May Day 15: Something Sweet. Chat Noir returns to Marinette's house to talk about things, and ends up learning a bit about bees.

Short and sweet today, folks.

This is for edendaphne! She's a brilliant artist, and she's done illustrations for a couple of different stories here on AO3. Go find her on Tumblr!

"So, is there any particular reason you have a spoon full of water sitting on a dish on the ledge up there?"

Marinette looked up from contemplating her charm bracelet to see that Chat, looking like himself once more, had let himself in through her open skylight, and was peering down at her from her bed. She hadn't been certain that he would return that night, but she certainly wasn't surprised. After defeating Dorian, she returned to her room to sit curled on her chaise, fingering the charms at her wrist, and thinking. About him. She smiled, blushing at the memory of his earlier kiss, and forced her mind back to his question.

"For the bee. It is gone?"

"I only saw the spoon."

Marinette smiled. "She must have recovered enough to fly away, then."

"So you put water out for a…bee?"

"Not just water, sugar water. She was tired, and just needed a little something sweet to get her going again."

He looked at her a bit strangely. "You know, most people wouldn't even have noticed the bee, much less brought it a snack."

"It needed help," she said simply, shrugging. "Besides, without bees, who would pollenate my flowers?"

He blinked. "There is that, I suppose. So you take care of stray cats and tired bees, then?"

"Anything that needs it, really. But…" She paused to moisten her lips, aware that her blush was returning. "Only the stray gets invited in."

His eyes darkened a bit, and he swung his legs over the side of her bed to leap fluidly to the ground, so that he could sit at the end of the chaise, near her feet. "About earlier, Marinette, I hope that I didn't—I mean, was it okay that I…that I kissed you?"

She considered him thoughtfully, her mind still chasing itself in circles. What she'd told Alya was technically true; she wasn't dating Chat Noir. But even as she'd been aware of her growing attraction to her partner, she'd rationalized it away. Now it was staring her in the face, and she couldn't lie to herself any more. She wanted to be dating him. She was falling for Chat Noir in a way that was far more intense than what she felt for Adrien, and now that she was being honest with herself, it scared her.

"That depends," she said finally. "On why you did it."

He studied her as thoughtfully as she'd just studied him, and then very deliberately took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I did it because you're my 'something sweet'."

Steps up on soapbox: I'm 100% on board the lets-save-the-bees-so-we-don't-all-die train, and this is an actual thing that you can do if you find a weak bee. Dissolve 1-2 tbsp of sugar in about a tbsp of water, and put it in a spoon or shallow dish for the bee. Don't use more water than that, or you might drown your little friend. And while I'm on the subject, if you see a swarm of bees resting somewhere, DO NOT TRY TO KILL THEM. It's a new colony looking for a home, and they're just taking a break. Leave them alone, and get in touch with a local bee keeper who can collect the swarm and get them set up with a hive. Bees are so important to our ecosystem (and agriculture!) and they're in trouble, globally. There's a ton of info online about other things that you can do to help! Just ask Google. Steps down from soapbox

I hope you guys enjoyed it! See you tomorrow!