Ch. 2. Marinette
The first thing that always came to her mind every time someone mentioned Chat Noir were the words reliable show-off.
She couldn't help it! Every time she met with the cat-themed hero as Ladybug, he was always trying to woo her in some way or another, from the flirtatious comments to the awful puns (and let's not talk about how they somehow always ended up in suggestive positions in the middle of an Akuma attack).
Despite his flamboyant personality, Marinette knew she could trust him. He was dependable, and fought with all his might to protect the city they both loved. He had been the one that had given her the strength she so desperately needed when she was about to give up her Miraculous, and the one who grounded her when her temper took the best of her.
And okay, if she was honest to herself, she had to admit that her Chaton was devilishly handsome. It was those untameable blond locks of his she sometimes wished to run her fingers through; it were those clear eyes that glowed with mirth every time he flew through Paris' rooftops, almost as if it was his natural habitat.
Too bad she had fallen for Adrien first.
However, there was something off about him. Something she couldn't put her finger on that he tried to hide with all his might. It was there when he thought no one was looking, that sad look of longing that he tried to mask with mindless banter. It always left her with a strange urge to hug him and tell him everything was going to be all right.
In conclusion, she trusted her partner with her life, even if she always gave him the cold shoulder to his romantic attempts. That's why when the Evillustrator – oh, poor Nathanaël – came to her room and invited her to his birthday party, her thoughts almost immediately roamed to the Kitty cat.
She was sure he would protect her with all his might; she had seen him protecting Chloe, of all people, so she knew he was cut for the job. So she transformed into Ladybug and called him, sending a picture of herself and asking him to protect her – did he gasp? – and excused herself for not being there telling him she had an 'Important Secret Mission' she had to take care of. What is more secret than trying to capture an Akuma in your civilian form?
What she didn't expect was the flirting.
After Sabrina left fuming – she was so not like Chloe! – he suddenly dropped from above, making her squeak in surprise. He then cracked a cat joke (obviously), kneeled down, grabbed her hand and kissed it. What?
He kissed my hand. He kissed MY HAND?
She took her hand away as fast as she could. Why was he flirting with her? Had he figured out? No, that couldn't be; he would've said something by now. Then why was he flirting with her!? He hadn't done it to any other civilian they'd protected so far, so why was she special?
She did her best to hide her Ladybug persona acting like one of those crazy fangirls that tended to overflow Alya's blog, and Chat Noir didn't seem fazed by it. In fact, he began showing off – wait, did he call me Princess? – and flirting with her while explaining the current situation (as if she didn't know that already).
She couldn't help but feel more like Ladybug than Marinette at that moment, and she found herself stifling her chuckles at his acting. She risked it a bit and turned around, asking about Ladybug's whereabouts.
Then he insinuated flirtatiously she could be his Ladybug today. Really, Chaton?
He then explained his plan for stopping the Evillustrator, and Marinette was impressed to see it was simple yet effective. It consisted in Marinette distracting the Akuma and taking his pencil away from him, disabling him from using his powers and getting the Akumatised object all at once. Chat would be hidden and step in once she had the pencil, or if the Evillustrator found out. Huh, clever.
She couldn't help but giggle at his flashy exit and went to her room once again, polishing the details of the plan with Tikki.
When the time came, she made her way to the deck by the river, and Marinette would be lying if she said she wasn't impressed. Natha- the Evillustrator, had gone all out, and had decorated the boat creatively without being too overdone.
She played along to every whim of the Akuma, which weren't much to begin with. Despite his submissive appearance, Marinette didn't drop her guard, she had already seen how aggressive he could become, after all, and spend all the time watching sideways, looking for a black figure tailing them.
There was her Chaton! She caught his gaze once or twice, the superhero flashing her a quick smile before jumping to the back of the boat silently. As much as she had a soft spot for his dorky behaviour, she had to admit something inside her burnt whenever she saw him all serious and thinking his every move.
He asked silently for her signal and she stopped him subtly, both of them not realising they'd fallen in their amity without effort. When she needed him to stop, he stopped; and when she wanted him to step in, he complied brilliantly. They understood each other perfectly, and didn't even need to look at each other for their minds to be in unison.
Then the Akuma compared her to Chloe – Really!? Of all people, it had to be Chloe again!? – and trapped Chat Noir and her inside a crystal box before he left, not forgetting to use his powers to open a hole in the boat's hull so it began sinking at an increasing speed.
Really, what was even her life?
Cold fear rushed through her as she closed her purse so Tikki couldn't be seen. If she didn't come up with a plan soon, she would be forced to transform in order to get a chance to escape out of their glass prison, and that uncertainty made her break in cold sweat.
It's not that she didn't want her partner to know – she secretly wanted to know more about him too – but every time a thought of opening up more to him crossed her mind, suddenly thousands of images of what could go wrong filled her head and her mouth fell shut in fear.
She knew she could trust him with her secret identity, even with her life; and if you asked her she would argue that it was for protecting them and for the people they loved most, but in reality it was her insecurity speaking. She had always been plain, boring Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the baker's daughter, and some part of her – even if it was the littlest of the sparks – still doubted if she was worthy of her Miraculous.
So it was an understatement to say she was immensely relieved when she came with a plan that would not expose her secret identity and explained it to him. He grinned wickedly as he tightened his grip on her waist, something that made her forget her fangirl façade as she glared at him and took his hands off her, placing her arms around his shoulders instead.
He extended his baton and the heavy box lifted, and the sly cat took his chance when they were in mid-air to catch her bridal style and landing softly on the riverside.
Show-off.
Unfortunately, (wait, what?) he had to leave quickly, as the Evillustrator had threatened Chloe once again, so it was their duty to protect her and capture the Akuma once and for all. When Chat Noir was out of sight, Marinette took the opportunity to transform and headed to the blonde's hotel after him.
From then on, Marinette would remember the experience of trying to fight an Akuma in her civilian self with fondness and a bit of exasperation. And for the life of her she couldn't get out of her mind how Chat Noir had interacted with her as Marinette.
It wasn't the fact that he had flirted with her all the time they had been together – she was used to it, after all – just that he didn't flirt with anyone else. She didn't notice at first, but she had been subconsciously checking his behaviour towards female civilians, and the only one he had seemed to flirt with was her.
And god, didn't that confuse her.
Therefore, that got her thinking, and thinking, in Marinette's case, wasn't good. Because when she thought, her imagination tended to go a bit overboard, and when that happened she often ended up panicking.
What if he had discovered who she was? What if he was having a good laugh at her obliviousness? What if-
She often had to stop herself before she got too worked up; Chat Noir was her partner, he had had loads of opportunities to discover her true identity in the past and he had respected her boundaries thus far, so he wouldn't be laughing at her at the moment. She hoped.
Nonetheless, her brain kept picking up tiny little details about him; how his eyes softened whenever they reunited from patrol and stayed for a while, talking about everything and nothing, and how his gentle smile, that one that showed when he was distracted, made her own heart speed up.
She felt something between thrill and dread when she realized she may be falling for her Chaton. It confused her to no end, because the only time she had felt that before was with Adrien, but it wasn't quite like that. While she felt a sudden rush every time she saw the blond model, Chat managed to soothe her as soon as he made his presence known.
It didn't help her state of mind that Adrien suddenly seemed to pay more attention to her.
She didn't know how or why, but her classmate suddenly seemed more interested in befriending her, and boy, didn't she become a stuttering mess around him. Tikki was constantly worried about her wellbeing, as her mind couldn't stop looping around the two, distracting her. As a result, she had become clumsier than normal.
But as time went by she… calmed down. The jittery feeling she always got whenever she saw Adrien was oddly soothed with the feeling she got whenever she saw Chat, and as she got to know the model more she was surprised to find out she didn't have as much difficulties as before talking to him.
So when Alya asked for him to help her talk with his uncle Cheng, she felt relief in spite of horror for being alone with him. She was surprised to see that the conversation flowed easily between them, and when they had dinner together that night, she was proud to say she had stuttered only three times.
Alya was proud of her too; she affirmed that now that she had lost her initial over-the-top wariness making him fall for her would be a piece of cake. Yeah, right. Because even if she didn't feel that initial terror for messing up around him, she still was shy with him, something she doubted she could overcome in a long time.
And it really didn't help that she still had those unwanted feelings towards the leather-clad hero messing with her feeble heart.
So the day of the Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament preliminary came. She hadn't even known it existed, and as soon as she saw Adrien as one of the finalists of the doubles category, she needed to join. And coincidentally, it was in a game she and her papa played at home to decide which one of them did the chores.
So when the director of her school was about to call the contest to an end – and why did they even hold this kind of contest at the library? – she asked shyly if she could give it a go. As soon as her words came out of her mouth, Adrien gave him his controller (Adrien's controller!) and she faced Max.
Thinking about it coldly, she may have been a bit too harsh on him. In her defence, it was the way she played at home; she really disliked smelling like smoke days after cleaning the central oven from the shop.
Of course, she beat him. She felt a bit bad for taking Max's place from the tournament, even if she had won it fair and square. It seemed he really wanted to go, judging by the way his shoulders slumped before congratulating her and walking out the library.
Adrien and she decided to have a training session in her home, and she once again realized her mistake. Her whole room was full of Adrien's face. With the help of one Kwami – Tikki deserved the whole world's supply of cookies – she cleaned it just in time to let Adrien up and avoid at the same time for her parents to embarrass her more.
"-You two are a pair, huh? I'm not surprised; Marinette talks a lot about you, you know?" Her mother commented, a look of innocence in her face.
See?! That was precisely what she tried to avoid!
She called for him to climb up the stairs and go to her room, and she could distinctly hear both of them awing at them. She really hoped Adrien hadn't heard.
She noticed from the corner of her eye that he was looking at her room, and she tried to direct his attention to her computer – luckily, she'd changed her background and the game was already on.
"Here, Adrien." She sat down in one of her chairs, and waited for him to sit beside her. His oh so green eyes landed on her and sat down with her.
When she settled her nerves, she reached to the controller nearest to her, only to land on Adrien's warm hand. They both tucked their hands away and giggled nervously, Marinette subtly brushing her bangs.
"S-sorry." She couldn't help but stutter.
"No, you go!"
Let's try again.
"I'll just choose the other one-" they both said in unison and reached for the other controller, not predicting that the other would do the same. They once again joined hands and tucked them away as soon as they made contact another time, feeling self-conscious.
Marinette couldn't supress her blush as she looked at the other side. She saw from the corner of her eye how Adrien caught the controller nearest to her, so she moved her hand to grab the other one. They both played in silence for a while, and Marinette's mind was working at full speed to find some way to break the tension between them.
"You parents seem nice." Adrien commented, a small smile in his lips. God bless your perfect soul.
"Oh, yeah, they are. But sometimes…" Tikki called for her attention, and her eyes widened in horror. Oh no, a picture of Adrien! She couldn't help but let out a shriek before she grabbed it and threw it to a basket full of clothes.
"Sometimes what?"
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and her papa opened the hatch of her room, offering them croissants. Fantastic, now Adrien would think that she was spoiled, or something. Couldn't they leave them alone?
Shooing him away, she sighed and returned to their prior conversation "Sometimes my parents can be a little nosy." She heard the hatch opening once again and she glared at not only her papa, but her maman as well. Adrien noticed and she shot him a smile "Where were we?"
Marinette let herself relax and concentrated on the game. At first, they were a bit wary of each other, but after some rounds, their two bots seemed to complement each other. She was impressed by his technique; it wasn't the best of the world, but he could put up a fight and covered her when she had to prepare a risky combo.
He was a really good partner, and if they kept playing like this the championship would be theirs, no doubt.
The screen flashed, showing that they'd won once again, and they both cheered.
"We won again! Thanks to you." he cocked his head to her playfully
She laughed awkwardly "Yeah, um, yes we did."
"We? That was practically all you." He let his chair roll backwards and rested the back of his head on it. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You're amazing, Marinette. I guess you wouldn't even need me. I'm so lame compared to you."
What had she done? Had she gone overboard again? Ugh, she did, didn't she? Now Adrien was feeling uncomfortable and it was her fault. Good job, Marinette.
But she didn't understand. He was really good too; they wouldn't have obtained as much punctuation without his aid, so where did all this come from? In any case, she felt compelled to reassure him.
"Um, uh, no, no, no!" She waved her hands in alarm "Um, I- no! You're so good. I mean, I'm the one who's not good- I mean," please, let her shut up. Even better, let her crawl into a hole and never get out of it. "Uh, I'm lucky, that's all."
The hatch opened up (again) and it was her father again, this time carrying a tray full of cookies. Didn't they know when to stop?
"Papa, we're trying to work here." she nearly hissed at him. He threw her a knowing glance and left again.
She risked a side glance to Adrien, and she saw she was still upset. Okay. Mission 'Comfort Adrien' is a go. How could she possibly…? An idea popped up in her mind and she smiled gleefully. That might work.
"Actually, you know what? I've got a secret." She reached for her pocket and took out an old amulet, showing it to him. She'd carried it around for some time, so she hoped her Ladybug luck had rubbed on it "This is why I win."
He looked at her sceptical "Are you messing with me?"
"Try playing a match with it." She handed it to him and he grabbed it, his fingertips brushing in the palm of her hand and giving her goose bumps. If that was her reaction for a bit of finger brushing, how would she cope if he ever grabbed her hand?
She would probably die at the spot.
Before he could thank her, though, the hatch opened once again. And oh, guess what? Both her father and mother had come to bug them.
"How about a delicious quiche? You can tell me what you think of it."
This was getting out of hand.
She was about to refuse again, but Adrien stepped in "Um, Marinette, a little snack wouldn't hurt, would it?"
He had such a hopeful look on his face that she just couldn't say no. Maybe a little break and a snack wouldn't be so bad, right?
They decided to have their break in the park near her home, so they could have their homemade quiche while enjoying the beautiful day outside. Some part of her felt giddy, as it looked very much as a date.
"I'm really sorry. It's impossible to get anything done with my parents around."
"It's okay." He took a bite of the pastry. I guess he was a bit hungry, after all. He seemed to enjoy it, too. "I didn't know your mother makes such an awesome quiche."
It always made her happy when someone complimented her parents' cooking. They were a bit overbearing, but she loved them with all her might. They were the best cooks she knew, and for someone like Adrien to flatter their skills… well, she was proud of them.
"Yeah. So, shall we go back?"
Before they could stand up, though, people around them began screaming and running. Some of them didn't make it so far, as they were turned into green glowing balls of light and absorbed by what looked like one of the robots from UMS III.
"Tell me this is some kind of publicity stunt for the tournament." She said, even though she was 90% certain it was an actual Akuma.
Adrien glared at the robot in front of them. "Doesn't look like a publicity stunt to me."
Then, the bot aimed at them and shot at their direction, but before they could get hit Adrien got them out of the way. They both ended at the floor, the bench no longer in there, and Marinette found herself encased between his arms in a too familiar way. He looked down at her and blushed, but quickly reached for her hand and helped her stand up.
They ran away from the blasts, Adrien keeping a tight grip in her hand. She could feel his ring burying between her fingers hardly, tightly, but she didn't care at the moment. Her first priority was getting them to safety.
But the Akuma had other ideas and the blast came closer and closer, until one of them came too close for comfort. Her hand slipped from his grip and she looked at him worried. One half of her wanted to make sure he made it out of there, but the other part knew it was the perfect opportunity to find a place to hide and transform.
So they parted ways, and she quickened her strides, looking for places to hide.
… If only the robot hadn't chosen to follow her.
She began running down the street, trying with all her might not to get hit and find a place to hide from him, but the Akuma was persistent. She'd managed so far, but then the robot leaped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. Why did he have to be so big?
"Game over Marinette." He said with a metallic voice.
"How does he know my name?" She frowned as she evaded a shot near her. Then realisation hit her. "Max!"
She really had overdone herself at the preliminary, and taking his spot at the tournament made him so upset that he ended up being possessed by an Akuma. God, she felt terrible.
He shot her three consecutive times, and she decided it was time to flee. She turned around and began running again, avoiding as many shots as she could. Once again, his aim was getting better, and luckily for her, if the last blast had been three inches nearer her, she'd be toast.
The bad news is that she lost her footing fell on her butt. The mecha corrected the direction and prepared to shoot, and she was sure this time would hit her, no matter what she did. She closed her eyes tightly.
"Game ov-" Something made a clang sound and interrupted him. She opened her eyes in confusion and she could've cried in relief.
"Not yet. Here comes a new challenger!" Chat Noir stated from the top of a building.
Oh, she could kiss him. Maybe she would later.
She watched him as he jumped down and landed neatly in front of the Akuma, his posture guarded and ready to fight.
As much as she didn't want to distract him and put him in danger, as long as Marinette was in the scene Max would target her, making both of their jobs difficult. She didn't want to make him drop her guard, but he was the only ticket she had for finding a place to transform as quick as possible. She really had no choice.
She sighed, and then raised her voice, calling for him. "Chat Noir, hey! Over here!"
She saw as he turned his head, looking for her, and his eyes widened for a fraction of second when he saw her before making a big leap towards her, avoiding Max's blasts (did he really need to make a show out of it?) and landed all fours in front of her. He smirked and reached for her, wrapping his strong arms around her. She instinctively hugged him back and buried her head in his neck before he started running.
She could feel his breath on her neck and his muscles tensing and relaxing as he carried her to safety. Although there was shooting around them, she couldn't help but feel safe with him surrounding her. The smell of wilderness and rain that came from him was almost dizzying, and she almost forgot the reason why she was in his arms in the first place.
He leaped from roof to roof, both of their hearts beating at the same frantic rhythm. One of her hands escaped from the tight grip at his shoulders and buried itself on his hair, marvelling at the softness of his wild locks. His groan made blood rush to her face and she sighed.
The trip ended sooner than she wanted, and he stopped at the terrace of what she later recognized as Chloe's hotel. His hands on her waist made her stomach do somersaults, and he didn't let go until she regained her footing. Her head felt a bit fuzzy, and she was almost certain it wasn't because of the speed of the trip.
She looked up at him, and electricity could be felt around them. She felt as if she was drowning in his bright eyes, and she didn't feel compelled to fight back. The moment ended way too soon when he cleared his throat and let her go, throwing at her his usual smirk. His Kwami had scolded him, no doubt about it.
She already missed his arms around her.
"I heard Ms Videogame champion really ticked off the final boss." He teased her, his tense eyes pleading her to fall into their usual banter. Being reminded of their responsibilities towards Paris, she complied.
She crossed her arms and frowned "Well, it doesn't give him extra points to go transforming everyone."
Chat grinned and nodded at her. He turned around, getting ready to go when a thought crossed her mind that froze her from head to toe. She had forgotten about Adrien!
"Hey wait, Chat Noir!" He turned around "I left my friend Adrien at the park. He could be in danger, we have to go back!"
Something seemed to cross his mind at the moment, his gaze intensifying in a way she had never seen before and leaving her breathless. But as soon as it came it went, and he smiled politely.
"Uh, don't worry. Adrien's not in danger. He'll be fine." He turned around, facing the edge, and turned his head to keep talking to her. "You'll be safe here," In Chloe's hotel? As if. "just stay put. Don't worry, Chat Noir's taking care of everything" he winked at her, returning to his flirtatious self. She felt both relieved and upset about it. He then turned around and jumped, announcing; "I should leap and do a barrel roll!"
She rolled her eyes out of custom, but she couldn't keep away the fond smile off her face. "He's always so over-the top." She commented affectionately.
Tikki came out of her hiding and looked at her charge. She could see the glow on her eyes, and she promised herself to talk about it with her, but they had an Akuma to cleanse.
She just hoped everything turned up alright in the end.
After dealing with the Gamer and purifying Max, Chat Noir and she parted ways. She detransformed in an alley nearby and made her way home, the sun already setting. Arriving home, she received a message from Adrien telling her that Chat Noir had taken him to safety, and asked if she was okay, so she quickly replied to ease his worries.
She arrived home and told her parents about the Akuma and how they'd both got stuck. They understood completely, and she headed to her room, beaten. Tikki flew out of her purse and landed on the table, where Marinette had placed a dish with two cookies before.
She had a quick shower and she stepped out of the bathroom already in her pyjamas, a loose pink shirt with a wide neck and dark shorts. She rubbed her wet hair with a fluffy towel, and when it was dry enough, she picked up a comb and untangled it.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tikki asked.
She shrugged. "I guess. Although it's pretty clear right now."
"You've fallen in love with him." Marinette nodded in response and sighed, stopping with her combing. "What are your feelings about it?"
"… I feel confused yet, but… I couldn't hate something that feels so right. But what about Adrien? I still hold feelings for him. Is it strange to be in love with two people?"
Tikki shook her head "It's actually more usual than you think. It's okay to love romantically both Adrien and Chat, Marinette. You humans are complicated creatures; the strength of your emotions is both your biggest blessing and your worst curse. It has the power to raise civilisations and originate wars. We Kwamis obtain our powers from those emotions, as love is creation and hate is destruction."
She looked surprised at her. "Is that so?"
"Yes. You've already felt how powerful I am, so you should be able to understand what I'm trying to say."
"I know human emotions are strong, I am a prove myself of what happens when you are used to feel way too much." She earned a chuckle from Tikki. "But I can't grasp my mind in how is it possible to fall for two people, Tikki. I don't now, I'm a mess."
Tikki nodded understanding, and a small smile decorated her face. "I have a question for you, Marinette. Do you love your parents?" She nodded, confused. "Do you love Alya?"
Her mouth opened in understanding, and nodded again. "And do you love Adrien and Chat the same way?"
"… No. I mean, there is the whole 'love' thingy that I feel about them, but the effect they have on me is different. While Adrien makes me feel nervous and a train-wreck, Chat calms me in a way no other had before. Am I making sense? Because I feel like I'm not making any."
"Of course you are." Tikki giggled. "You can love Adrien and Chat differently as you love your parents or even me in a different way. That doesn't mean you love one more or less than the other, or that you're betraying one for the other. You just love."
She nodded as she absorbed Tikki's words, her speech soothing out worries inside her she didn't know she even had. She picked up her comb again and combed her damp hair, her head elsewhere (more exactly, in a certain roof of a certain hotel).
She still could feel the ghost of his arms around her, the faint smell of him in her clothes, and the tickling of his breath in her neck. She felt the wild wind around her as he rushed through the rooftops, and his warm hands supporting her when her knees couldn't.
It was incredible how she had taken him for granted all these months they'd been working together. Blinded by her crush and her fear of rejection, she had failed to see that under that mask of cockiness and terrible puns was a boy with a heart of gold and deep passion.
Soft knocking on the hatch of her roof startled her away from her thoughts. She stood up, a smile already grazing her lips as she climbed up the stairs, careful of being as silent as possible. She opened the hatch and met his glowing eyes with hers, both of them staying quiet for a while, observing one another.
The Parisian night seemed to engulf him in a hug. The night-lights gave him an air of mystery, and the soft wind played with his hair.
She opened the hatch fully, and she smiled at him. "Do you want to come in?"
"Yes." His serious face dropped, and a small smile of content fell into his lips.
She climbed down the stairs, trusting him to follow her, and reached the floor of her room. She sat down on her chaise and resumed combing her hair. She heard his soft steps behind her, roaming around the room. He stopped at some point and chuckled softly. That picked Marinette's interest, but when she had turned around, Chat was already moving to another place.
"Are you going to sniff around every corner of my room, alley cat?" She teased him. She got a cheeky grin in reply.
"I might do just that. Then I can claim that place as my own and be by my Princess' side forever."
She rolled her eyes at his antics, but she could feel heat pooling at her cheeks. She prayed that with the low light he wouldn't notice. For his saucy grin, she didn't have such luck. How could she distract him?
"So what brings you here, Chaton?"
"I merely wanted to check out on you, see if you'd made it." He shrugged. "I hope you didn't have any difficulties getting out of the hotel."
Oh, getting out of that terrace had been way too easy once she'd transformed into Ladybug, but it's not like she was going to tell him that. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him.
"I managed just fine. Thank you for your concern."
At that moment, she realized she had yet to thank him for getting her out of the Gamer's way. She placed the comb on the chaise and stood up, standing one feet away from him and looking up to his eyes. Had he always been that tall?
"And I have to thank you for getting me out of there earlier, even though you didn't have to." And giving me the chance to transform. "And for helping Adrien too. He texted me earlier and told me you aided him, so thank you."
He suddenly seemed nervous. "O-oh, yeah. Adrien. I found him on my way back to fight the Gamer. Piece of cake."
Wait, what? That wasn't what he said at the hotel. He'd said Adrien was out of danger, so he should have met him before even finding her, right? And the uneasiness he seemed to radiate didn't help her suspicions to lower; at the contrary, it fuelled them.
Before she could carry with that line of thought, though, he dropped to his knee and kissed her hand. Her brain short-circuited. "And it was an honour to carry you to safety, Princess. This knight's first priority is your well-being, after all."
It seemed that her mouth answered him, but for the life of her she didn't know what she said. He stood up, but his grip on her hand never wavered, he tightened it interlacing their fingers instead. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, and if he could stop with his smug yet charming grin for a minute, she would regain the control of her body.
When she began to calm down, she noticed how familiar his hand in hers felt; something that struck her as odd, as when she was Ladybug she tended to keep contact between them to a minimum.
It was the ring, she realized. His miraculous was hard against her fingers, but in any way the extra pressure felt uncomfortable. But why…?
Hadn't he had a ring when…?
She felt a warm hand in her cheek. "Penny for your thoughts, Princess?"
She raised her head, and could see Chat Noir looking curiously back at her. She couldn't possibly tell him what was crossing her mind at that instant.
"I-I was just wondering how could I thank you for everything you've done to me."
"You don't need to, Marinette." He answered truthfully, dropping his flirty demeanour. "It's my duty to protect all of you."
She frowned. "But I still want to do it. You helped me great deal with the Evillustrator, and today I'd have become a big ball of XP if you hadn't intervened. Now, if I just had any ide- oh."
Oh, look at that. She had an idea. She had promised she would do it later, hadn't she? And what a better time than this one, where there was no impending danger nor rush? Oh boy, she was a genius.
Chat opened his mouth, clearly to ask her what was wrong but she didn't give him the opportunity to speak up, as she suddenly grabbed him by his collar and tugged down, making him yelp. Then, when she was at his level, she placed a kiss on his cheek, letting her lips linger on his skin before letting the back of her toes touch the floor once again and releasing him, her hands finding her way to his shoulders.
His face was priceless. He stared down at her with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape, and the most beautiful of the pinks made its way to his cheeks. His mouth moved, but no sound came from it. It was the perfect picture of a flustered person. Beautiful, even.
She couldn't resist the urge to tease him, and she rung his bell, her eyes never leaving his, and a teasing smile adorning her lips. "Cat got your tongue, Chaton?"
She got lost in the intensity of his gaze, and she couldn't help but feel content by being near him. However, both of them came back down from the cloud they'd been on when a loud beeping filled the room. Both looked down at his ring, just to see the first light to disappear.
"I guess this is my cue to leave, Princess." His rough voice sent shivers down her spine. He cleared his throat subtly before talking again. "Would you care to escort a stray cat outside?"
Unable to answer verbally, she nodded, and both of them climbed up the stairs to her balcony. The fresh air managed cooled her blushed cheeks, and she realized she wasn't dressed enough for the cool night. She hugged herself to keep her warmth and headed to the railing with him.
He jumped and stood on top of it, then crouched down facing her. He reached for one of her hands and grabbed it, warmth sipping inside her for the little touch. She took a step forward, not really wanting to leave his side, and he brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.
"I must say goodbye, Princess." He mumbled against her hand. She felt herself blush.
"You are free to visit anytime, Chaton."
The corner of his lips tucked upwards. "I'll make sure to drop by sometime. Adieu."
His fingers left her hand and she immediately felt the cold. He leaned backwards and fell, but she wasn't worried. She placed her hands on the banister at the same time Chat extended his baton, pulling his body to the next rooftop. Before he disappeared, his green eyes found hers and grinned.
She slowly made her way to the hatch and dropped to her bed, closing the little door behind her. She stared at the twinkling stars through the window on her roof and sighed.
"Chat… could he…?" She muttered to herself.
Tikki came out of her hiding and landed on the cat plush. "Could he what?"
She shook her head. "I'm not sure yet, Tikki. I need to think this through. I'll tell you when I'm sure, okay?" the Kwami nodded. "Goodnight Tikki."
"Sleep well, Marinette."
And she felt asleep quickly, dreaming of bright green eyes and a devilishly smile.