I'm back! And it's summer break! And yes, I am a terrible terrible updater, so without further ado, (and I don't own these characters), I leave you off to your reading.
I hope you enjoy!
Summary: "Can I do you?" Wait…what?
"Can I do you?"
Chat stopped in his tracks, his ears not believing what they just heard. He swiveled around slowly, his face not sure on how to express his emotions. It was a cross between shock, bafflement, and embarrassment. Quite an interesting mixture, really.
"Pardon me, you want to what?" He choked out.
Marinette's face was red as she held her sketchbook in front of her face. "I said, could I draw you? For art homework."
Chat Noir blinked. So he did hear her wrong the first time. He straightened up and flipped his bangs away from his eyes. He looked sideways at her and gave her a sly smirk. With a wink, he said, "You can do me too if you want."
Her reply was a smack on the head with the sketchbook.
"Meowch!"
…
"I get the whole art thing going on, but do I really need to sit still and look pretty? I mean I do have stunning looks-" – Marinette snorted at this, but didn't deny it – "- but a whole two hours? Those people back then who got their portraits painted must've had a lot of patience."
"Mhmm." Marinette absentmindedly muttered as she shaded the shadows of his arms. His muscles had toned nicely over the year. Catching her train of thought, she mentally shook them away and focused on her art.
It was comfortable silence between them – Marinette with her sketchbook, strokes making intricate marks upon the page, and Chat Noir sitting on the carpet under the rays of the evening sun, looking out of the window of her bedroom. The red light illuminating upon his hair made it more golden, as though his head was a halo, a stark contrast from his dark suit. For a moment, it was as though he had come from a fantasy – a dark angel, one could say – rather than Paris's superhero sitting on the floor of Marinette's bedroom.
As Marinette continued drawing, she took this chance to really study her partner - How his hair falls all over his eyes, the curve of his nose, the slight smile on his lips, his jaw still soft, but showing signs of his growing into manhood. The slope of his shoulders, the taunt muscles, his slim build, as though he worked more than he ate, the strong muscles on his legs – signs that despite his wire frame, he was quite built.
But the most fascinating to her were his eyes. Green. Green like…It was indescribable. So much emotions, she couldn't decide which shade to color his eyes in. It was everything, and yet, it was green.
Mixed with so many emotions, like a palette of feelings, unfathomable on what they have seen. It was hard not to stare and get lost in his gaze. But his gaze would never fall upon Marinette; she knew that, because it was always fixed like an ever loyal compass to Ladybug.
She knew her partner, but at the same time, she felt as though she didn't.
It was as though he was hiding.
Hiding so many secrets.
Hiding himself.
Hiding behind his mask.
Just like her.
"And DONE!" Marinette scribbled down her signature with a flourish. Chat stretched his cramped muscles and walked over to her.
He leaned over, interested on how she drew him. "Did you make me a dashingly handsome knight in a leather suit, ready to save a...princess…"
His voice trailed away as he looked at his portrait. Hands leaning back, knees crossed at the ankles, looking out the window, a wistful smile ghosting his lips. For a moment, it was as though the portrait captured him better than a camera. Unlike the millisecond shutter of a million-dollar camera towards a half-hearted smile, this two hour sketch of a friend portrayed him more accurately than any advertisement poster ever would.
"Marinette, I…" Chat Noir's hand hovered over the picture, scared that he would ruin it if he touched it. He looked at her, an unreadable look on his face. He said almost quietly, "Do you really see me this way?"
Marinette tilted her head to the side, a small smile on her lips. "In what way?"
"In…this," He gestured to the picture and then to all of him. "In…I don't know – you made me more amazing than who I really am."
"But Chat Noir, you are amazing." Marinette said. "You're a kind, gentle, strong person, a great friend to have, and Paris's greatest superhero."
Chat Noir felt deep warmth grow within him. He looked down at the sketch. Marinette placed a hand on his shoulder. She said affectionately, "You are amazing, with or without the mask and a mere picture cannot describe the whole of you."
He was at a loss for words. He knew Marinette was a kind person, but to be complimented like this…to be acknowledged as a friend even – it was a wonder why he didn't fall for her sooner. Maybe it was because she wasn't as comfortable with Adrien as she was with Chat Noir. The realization stung, but he could work on it. But for now…
"Thank you, Marinette." He said gratefully.
"I should thank you." Marinette said. "Despite your busy schedule, you still found the time to let me sketch you."
He flipped his hair from his eyes. "Well, I do like to give quality time for my looks."
Marinette rolled her eyes as she closed her sketchbook. "What? Like you spend more than an hour in the bathroom fixing your hair?"
Well, she wasn't too far from the truth.
"No, but really, you made me look great!" Chat Noir said. "You actually do a better job than the magazines."
Marinette laughed. "Well, you do have good looks – wipe that smirk off your face – and besides, that's what friends are for."
He smiled at that.
I hope you guys liked it! It ended pretty weird, but oh well.
I've been gone for so long, I haven't kept in touch with the ML fandom so forgive me if the characters are pretty weird. Also, forgive me if there's not much love and maybe a slight too much angst in the later oneshots.
The year's been pretty hectic lately, so I haven't been able to get in touch with my writing. My updatings will be sporadically distributed, but I will do my best to bring out more oneshots during this summer month.
Also, I am willing to take prompts! So if you've got anything you want me to write, do tell!
Thank you for reading! See you all next time!