"Put me down, you overgrown house cat!"
Chat Noir paused on a rooftop to set the struggling woman on her feet before she fell from his arms. "There. Are you ok?"
"No, I'm not ok! Take me back! You had no right to—oof!"
Her words cut off on an abrupt exhalation as he bent and set his shoulder into her stomach, and lifted her with his arm clamped across the backs of her knees. He ignored her renewed struggles and continued on his way, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Damnit, put me down! What are you, a cave man? Ooooh, put me down!"
"I will. When I get us somewhere safe." He swatted her back side with just enough force to surprise her, and she stilled for a moment. "That's better. Now hold still, we're almost there."
She huffed but didn't resume her squirming. He knew better than to take it to mean that he'd heard the end of it; she was only biding her time.
Sure enough, the moment he deposited her on the small balcony outside her apartment she slapped at his bell angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you? I was getting somewhere with them!"
He leaned lazily against the balcony railing, his arms crossed over his chest. "Sure you were. You were getting close to going home with one of them."
"Ooh, of all the arrogant, overbearing—ugh! What does it matter to you if I was? You and Ladybug haven't been able to learn anything about what they've been doing by fighting them head-on or by skulking around, but my plan had potential! A little bit more time, and a little more alcohol in his system, and I'd have had him talking—"
"Marinette, he was eyeing you like a piece of meat. He had no intention of 'talking' with you."
"Well of course, that was the idea. Distract him with a bit of cleavage and—"
"A bit?" He scoffed, straightening away from the railing. You're showing more than 'a bit' there, Princess. Are you sure you weren't offering a gilded invitation?"
She gaped at him, bemused. "What is your problem? Are—are you jealous?"
"I'm not jealous. I'm just..." He trailed off, and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "You're mine, okay?"
"What?" She all but shrieked, and began pacing incredulously on the small balcony. "How do you figure that? We aren't dating, you've never so much as kissed me, and mmpf!"
She froze the moment his lips touched hers. She didn't kiss him back, but at least she didn't pull away. He kept his hands bracketed around her face, and stroked his thumb over her cheek. "I want you to be mine, then," he whispered, his mouth only a few bare centimeters from hers.
"You are jealous," she breathed, her eyes wide.
"Yes, damnit. And I was afraid for you. You're mine to protect, if nothing else. You can't deny me that."
Her eyes hardened. "I can, and I will. You don't own me Chat Noir. You aren't my keeper."
"Merde, Marinette." He dropped his hands and stepped away from her, burning both with anger at her foolishness and the pain of her rejection. "You're too damned stubborn for your own good. Please, at least tell me you won't go back there and try again."
She scoffed. "How can I? You claimed me as yours in front of the lot of them, and then carried me away with you. I'd say the cat's out of the bag, now."
"Well at least there's that, then." He dropped his elbows to the railing and hunched over to rest his chin on his crossed arms, staring at the city beyond her balcony, but not really seeing it.
He heard her sigh, and saw her move into his peripheral vision. He turned his head to look at her, and saw that she'd hitched her hip against the railing next to his elbow, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes on his face.
"You're an ass," she said finally.
He grunted and returned his gaze to the street.
"But you're my ass, aren't you?"
His eyes shot back to hers, and he saw both hunger and possession in her eyes. He straightened, watching as she raised one hand to trace her fingers over her lips.
"And I think," she continued wonderingly. "I think that I might be yours after all."
"Dieu merci," he said emphatically, closing the short distance between them. He reclaimed her lips for another kiss, and she met him eagerly, opening her mouth beneath his on a moan. He shuddered beneath the passion in her kiss, lashing his arms around her back and growling when she lifted herself against him to wrap her legs around his waist.
She groped behind herself blindly with one hand, until her fingers met cool glass. She pushed the door open and he carried her through, sliding it closed once more with his booted foot.