Alright, here's the next chapter! Here, the girls continue pondering the mystery presents, which aren't stopping Adrien and Félix from flirting with Marinette and Kagami.
And Marinette can't seem to stop thinking about Cat Noir and their encounter at the bakery. Maybe there's more to the capricious cat than she thought?
Again, MORE COMMENTS, MORE CONTENT!
During their break period, Marinette was sitting in the art room with the teddy bear.
"Now, what should I name you? I can't decide if you're a she, a he, or a they," She said as she started sketching out more clothes and accessories for the pink plush. "Doesn't matter. You're adorable!"
The door opened, and in came Adrien, who closed the door behind him. She just glanced at him out of her peripheral before going back to her teddy bear and sketching.
"Hey, Marinette," Adrien greeted as he approached. "What'cha up to?"
Marinette kept sketching, not look at Adrien, and she said, "Just designing some new clothes for my new little friend here."
"Hey, maybe you can make a line of clothes for stuffed animals," Adrien suggested, his face pink. "And make them out of the same sustainable materials you were talking about before."
Marinette looked at him, and subtly moved her chair further away from him. She said, "That's not a bad idea. I've heard of companies that recycle plastic bottles and turn them into fabrics for stuffed animals, too."
"See? You can't deny how perfect you - it would be!" Adrien said, failing to keep his face from going red.
"Y-Yeah..." Marinette agreed, still not looking at him in the eyes.
He sat down next to Marinette, trying to get close to her.
"Changing the subject, I wanted to ask... I saw on the news that Cat Noir and Argos were causing some trouble near your parents' bakery. Are your mother or father hurt? Did anything get broken? Is everything okay?" Adrien asked, sincere.
Cat-like green eyes flashed in front of her own. At this, Marinette flinched before stammering out, "N-No! I mean, yes, everything's fine! They didn't rob or break anything. Truth is, they defended the bakery."
"Really?" He asked, sounding surprised.
"It was the weirdest thing. And Cat Noir-" Marinette began, only to catch herself.
"What about him?" Adrien questioned, his voice betraying nothing.
All Marinette could remember were feline-like eyes that bore into her soul. Like beautiful emeralds with midnight-black pupils that made him look like a dapper cat, especially with how he was looking at her. Her heart thudded, but she took a deep breath to calm down. The way he flirted with her while fighting off the robbers was fresh in her mind, and she couldn't stop herself from feeling something.
But she heard the sound of a record scratching in her mind, and she shook her head before giving Adrien a suspicious look and asking, "Hang on, why are you asking me this?"
He shrugged and said, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. After all, the bakery's your home, and you put yourself in harm's way to protect it. I envy your courage."
"T-Thanks for the concern, Adrien," Marinette thanked, trying to maintain a formal tone. "I... I appreciate it."
"You're welcome. And I wanted to ask you something else." He prompted, rubbing the back of his head.
"What?" Marinette asked, her guard going up and started to move away from him.
"There's that fencing meet coming up. Maybe you'd like to come and watch?" Adrien questioned, blushing.
"Oh, that," Marinette said, sounding a bit relieved. "Of course I'm going. The girls and I are always there to cheer Kagami on, you know."
"That's not what I meant." Adrien murmured, his eyes going askance.
Marinette didn't hear him. She looked at her phone and said, "Almost time to get back to class."
She put her sketchbook away, picked up her teddy bear with both hands, and jogged out of the art room. Sighing in relief, Marinette looked at the bear in her hands and gave it a smile and a hug.
"Marinette!" Alya called from the bottom of the stairs.
She and the rest of the girls were waiting.
"Coming!" Marinette said as she ran down the stairs, only to trip and begin falling.
"Marinette!" The girls shouted in dismay.
But Marinette felt her arm getting tugged and someone's hand on her waist as she stopped. She turned around and saw Adrien, who looked worried.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he helped her get her footing back.
Again, the warning signals were firing off in Marinette's brain.
"I'm good, thank you." Marinette said as she wrenched herself away from him. Her teddy bear was on the stair beneath her, sitting face-up. Marinette picked it up and began descending the stairs again.
Once she joined the girls, they began walking to class.
None of them saw the hurt look on Adrien's face.
"So, did you get any work done on any designs for your little friend there?" Rose asked as Marinette kept hugging the toy.
"I had a few ideas, but Adrien interrupted and asked about the bakery incident yesterday. I couldn't focus after that." Marinette confessed.
"Speaking of focus, Mlle. Mendeleiev isn't going to cut you any slack if you're not focused in science class today," Myléne spoke. "You might wanna put that back in your locker."
"Good idea." Marinette said as she ran for the locker area.
Alya turned around and saw that Adrien was looking at the scene, and he seemed a bit hurt and sad.
'Why does she always give me the cold shoulder like that?' He thought as he started coming down the stairs to get to class.
During science class, they were covering biology, specifically gender dimorphism in species.
"Now, one example of sexual dimorphism in real life occurs in birds," Mlle. Mendeleiev said as she scrolled through the presentation, stopping on slides that were focused on avian species. "By and large, males tend to be more flashy in appearance, and smaller in comparison to their female brethren. Can anyone come up with any examples of this?"
Max raised his hand up and spoke, "Cardinals. The males are bright red while the females are usually in several shades of brown. Though bright colors in males occur more often than in females anyway."
"Good." Mendeleiev said to Max.
Alya raised her hand, and said, "Peacocks are an obvious one. The male peafowl are a lot more flashy compared to the females."
"Excellent, Alya. Anyone else?" Mendeleiev asked.
Marinette held back a sigh before propping her face on her fist.
'She HAD to mention peacocks, didn't she?' Marinette thought, unamused.
"Marinette, what about you?" The purple-haired woman asked, standing in front of Marinette.
Marinette looked up at her before swallowing a lump in her throat. She swiftly looked around before taking a deep breath.
"I um... What about bears? Don't male bears tend to be bigger?" Marinette questioned, still thinking about her secret admirer present.
"That's true, size also occurs in gender dimorphism," Mendeleiev answered. "Though there are species where it's the other way around, given the females are the ones carrying offspring."
"Speaking of which, animal species do tend to be polygamous, but that's just nature." Ivan pointed out.
"That's true," Adrien added before turning his lovesick eyes towards Marinette. "But some species mate for life. Bald eagles, for one."
Marinette wasn't paying attention at that point, her mind occupied by Cat Noir. The way he flirted with her while trying to defend the bakery at the same time was still fresh in her head.
'Why can't I stop thinking about Cat Noir? Even in my dreams, I couldn't get him out of my head!' Marinette thought, confused. She hung her head in worry.
When school let out for the day, the girls were leaving the building and talking to each other.
"So, that dragon of yours is cute. Figured out a name yet? I'm still deciding." Marinette said as she and Kagami had their respective stuffed animals in their hands.
"I haven't, either. Maybe I'll name it after one of the Shinsengumi." Kagami reported.
"That's an idea." Marinette responded.
"Marinette!" "Kagami!" Two familiar voices called from behind. The girls turned around and sure enough, Adrien and Félix were walking down the stairs to catch up to them.
'Not again.' Marinette thought, in no mood to deal with Adrien.
"What's up?" Marinette asked.
"I just remembered that I never got an answer about the movies," Adrien began, face red and fidgeting with his hands. "So, maybe we could go today?"
"It could be a double-date?" Félix suggested, looking at Kagami in a way that was hard to describe. He was smiling, yes, but it was stiff.
Marinette's gut was churning with the standard "pit-in-the-stomach, something's not right" signals that went off whenever Adrien was around.
"About that..." Marinette began, trying to think of an excuse to decline.
"We already have plans," Alya cut in as she stepped in front of Marinette. "Girls' afternoon at our smoothie shop."
Alix whispered in Marinette's ear, "Let's get going, like yesterday!"
"Wait, hold up!" Adrien called as Marinette and the girls started to leave.
Adrien sighed in frustration once the girls were out of arm's reach.
Their family's car pulled up, and the boys got in. Once the car started heading home, they passed the girls, who were in a hurry.
Marinette heaved a relieved sigh once they got to their spot.
"Thanks for covering back there, Alya," Marinette said - the teddy bear was sitting in her lap. "It's so weird how those two are causing my instincts to go into overdrive. You okay, Kagami?"
"I am," Kagami reported while sipping her dragon fruit smoothie. "Bad enough Félix and I are in the same homeroom together. I fail to understand his attempts at talking to me."
"That makes two of us," Marinette agreed as she drank her blueberry smoothie. "Adrien nearly cornered me in the art room earlier."
"Cornered you?" Alix asked.
Marinette rethought her choice of words before saying, "Well, not really. He just wanted to ask if I was okay after what happened at the bakery yesterday."
"That was sweet of him to check up on you," Zoé spoke, drinking a lemon-vanilla bean smoothie. "I'm sure seeing those two so close to home startled you."
"It did." Marinette responded.
"But Marinette, what were you thinking, trying to fight off those thugs?!" Myléne asked, sounding scared.
"I guess I wasn't. All I could think about was trying to protect my home." Marinette confessed.
"That's very courageous of you, girl." Alya praised.
Marinette gave a nod.
"Enough about bothersome boys," Rose spoke. "Do you have any idea who gave you those presents?!"
"I doubt it was Luka," Marinette said with a sigh before looking at Juleka. "This isn't his style. He's a lot more straightforward. It'd be more in character for him to come by and serenade me on his guitar."
Juleka gave a nod before mumbling, "No doubt. And I would've known if he was going to do something like this."
"That's right. And he wouldn't have access to the balcony from the outside, either," Alix reasoned. "That's the real mystery here."
Marinette nodded in agreement before asking Kagami, "You said you found the flowers on your bed in your room?"
"Yes," Kagami confirmed. "It's strange how someone got in my room to put them there."
"It is a bit weird, but the notes didn't come off as creepy to me." Myléne commented.
"So regardless of how they got the presents there, I don't think they have any ill intent." Alya concluded.
"But you know what wouldn't be weird or creepy?" Rose asked, turning her happy eyes to Marinette and Kagami. "If you two did go on a double-date with the Clone Cousins!"
"Not this again, Rose," Marinette said, a bored expression on her face. "Why are you saying that?"
"Because I'm sure once you and Adrien get to know each other better, you'll see you're made for each other. Kagami and Félix, too." Rose commented.
"Really?" Marinette asked in a deadpan tone, hanging her head.
"I sure am!" Rose confirmed.
"I find the direction this conversation is going to be quite obnoxious. While I appreciate your optimism and idealism, Rose, the idea of me going on a date with Félix leaves a lot to be desired." Kagami stated.
"Then how about we talk about my birthday party instead?" Zoé suggested.
"Oh, love the idea!" Marinette said.
"I can definitely get on board with that!" Alix agreed.
"It's gonna be so much fun!" Alya added.
In science class the next day, they were covering the topic of microplastics and how they had negative impacts on the environment and human health.
"One of the main issues with plastic is that it's single-use," Markov, Max's robot buddy, said. He was asked by Mendeleiev to accompany him for the lesson. "And most of it winds up in the waterways and in the ground."
"There's a ton of single-use plastic waste that's been found in the Seine. And the problem is that it's in our environment in one form or another because it doesn't decompose." Myléne added.
"That's right, I've noticed a lot of plastic trash littering the area near the river," Marinette commented. "I do my best to clean it up whenever I see it. And I've showed my parents cost-effective and environmentally-ethical alternatives to the products they use at the bakery, which they've implemented."
"The cloth bags that your parents started using for their items was a genius move, girl." Alya said. The girls shared a fist bump.
"You're incredible." Adrien said from in front of Marinette. She looked up and saw he'd turned around and was looking at her with that expression again. The same expression that he was giving her when he was passing notes the other day.
The one that would always force her walls up.
"How so?" Marinette asked, sounding skeptical.
"You saw there was a problem and found a solution that your parents could switch out seamlessly," Adrien said. "You really know how to problem-solve."
Marinette blinked at him in surprise before saying, "Thank you. But the bakery is only one place of business. A small one, too."
"But your parents' bakery is one of, if not the best place in Paris. Besides, small businesses play a big part in the economy," Alya added. "But when it comes to plastic pollution, isn't it the big businesses that are the real problem?"
"That's true, like the King of Plastic, Bertrand King." Ivan agreed.
"Excellent points, everyone," Mendeleiev spoke. "But what other types of problems are plastics causing?"
"Sea turtles often mistake floating plastic bags for jellyfish." Alix pointed out.
"I've seen reports of animals getting stuck in those six-pack rings, too." Alya added as she pulled up a picture of a seagull whose neck was caught in a six-pack ring.
"Amongst other problems that people tend to turn a blind eye to." Juleka mumbled.
"Very good." Mendeleiev praised as she kept writing down the answers on the blackboard.
Once class let out, Marinette started walking along with Alya to the locker area.
"I feel awful for Ivan and Myléne. They tried to get Bertrand King to make recyclable or compostable product, but no luck." Marinette said, sounding a bit sad.
"And apparently, there's rumors going around that the mayor is going to implement this thing called "Project Oxygen." It's going to call for cutting trees down in one of the parks nearby. They're going to put up some tower to clean the air and then put that cleaned air into plastic bottles to sell to the public." Alya added.
"You're kidding me," Marinette groaned. "That's greenwashing! All those bottles aren't compostable or recyclable either, and that'll just cause more pollution in the long-term! Maybe we should gather up the group and organize a tree-planting outing and help protest Project Oxygen, too?"
"That sounds like a great idea!" Alya said.
"I'll run it by everyone else." Marinette said as she took her phone out.
"Maybe I can join in?" Adrien asked as he ran up to the girls, causing Marinette to jump in panic. She flailed her arms and tossed her phone up. She caught it in her hand before turning around to face Adrien.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, Marinette," Adrien apologized. Marinette nodded to signal forgiveness, but she still didn't look at him. "So, may I help?"
"What? You want to help with this?" Marinette questioned, stepping out of Adrien's space.
"Of course! I'll ask Félix to come, too!" Adrien offered.
"You're serious?" Alya questioned, crossing her arms in suspicion. "You want to help us plant trees?"
"Yeah! It sounds like a great time," Adrien said, pink in the face as he approached Marinette. "Anything to help our planet."
"R-Right... Small steps lead to a huge difference." Marinette confessed, refusing to look him in the eyes.
Like always, the alarms were blaring in Marinette's head. Her gut was twisting.
"Great! I'll look at my schedule and let you know when Félix and I are available!" Adrien said, sounding like the matter had already been decided.
"A-Are you sure that's smart?" Marinette asked as she took a step away from him. "We haven't even talked about this with the group. A-And, I... I mean... You really don't mind getting your hands dirty?"
"Of course I don't," Adrien countered with a cheery smile before stepping closer to her. He kept looking at her, face still tinted, before telling her, "And... It would be a great chance for us to get to know each other a little more."
"That's..." Marinette began, not sure how to get away from him. She was thinking, 'Come on, Marinette, you gotta find an excuse!'
Adrien's face fell when he noticed Marinette's body language. He asked, "Marinette, is there something wrong? You can tell me, you know."
He put a hand on her shoulder, but Marinette's skin went ablaze with fear. Her mental warning signals were blaring thrice as loud at that point.
"I, um..." Marinette began.
"You can talk to me about it during lunch? We could go to a nice restaurant and get something to eat, maybe?" Adrien suggested, getting one step closer to her.
"Um, well..." Marinette stammered, trying not to let Adrien's presence get to her.
"We're gonna be late for our next class if we don't get a move on! Let's go!" Alya interrupted.
"Y-Yeah, that's right!" Marinette said as she brushed Adrien's hand off of her shoulder and started chasing after Alya. "Thanks for the save."
"No problem, girl." Alya responded and the pair shared a fist-bump.
Adrien heaved a sigh before slowly walking after them.
During lunch break, Adrien and Félix were in the family car, and they were being driven home.
Adrien was sighing in dismay as he watched the scenery pass by. He'd glance at his phone every few seconds.
"How many times am I going to have to hear you sigh today, Adrien?" Félix questioned.
"Sorry, just frustrated." Adrien confessed.
"About Marinette?" Félix asked.
"Right. Why does she always try to find an excuse to blow me off every time I ask her out?" He murmured as he pulled up his phone and looked at a picture of his crush. "What did I ever do to her?"
"I know how that feels, cousin." Félix said, looking at a picture of Kagami on his phone.
Adrien pulled up the news app and replayed the video feed that was taken near the bakery.
"She certainly seemed more open to Cat Noir flirting with her, but whenever I try..." Adrien began, a jealous expression on his face as he saw how Marinette looked flattered by Cat Noir and his compliments.
Félix looked at his cousin in concern.
After finishing lunch, Marinette was in the library, looking over a few books with Alya. The rest of their gal-pal group was there, too, to their own devices.
"So, we need to gather up books about different solutions for several ecological problems. In our case, methane emissions." Marinette said as she kept reading.
"Putting a permanent stop to coal burning and oil production, and converting solely to solar, water, and wind power. That's one thing we can do." Alya pointed out.
"That's right. I've been thinking we should encourage Mlle. Bustier to run for mayor in the next election." Marinette stated.
"That would be genius, girl. Then Chloé wouldn't have her parents' weight to throw around anymore." Alya laughed.
Marinette laughed, too.
Their phones started going ballistic again. Alya looked at her phone and saw what was going on.
She moaned and said, "Another alert for Cat Noir and Argos. The news is live now!"
"Mirror it onto the TV screen!" Marinette said, pointing towards the TV screen the library had set up.
The girls (and Ivan, who was helping Myléne prepare for another protest) came together to sit in front of the TV screen, and they were watching the entire feed go down.
"Don't be bemused, it's just breaking news! Live above Bertrand King's factory!" Nadja reported as the helicopter flew overhead. "Cat Noir, one of our city's rogues, is at it again!"
The overhead camera feed showed smoke coming out of the windows, people evacuating. The door to the rooftop burst open and out came Cat Noir. He had a broken machine over his shoulder, a stern look on his face, and was walking to the edge of the roof with a purpose.
"Hey! Stop messing with ma machines!" A portly man with white hair, a pink suit, glasses, and a Southern United States accent shouted as he came after Cat Noir.
"Sorry, but not sorry for putting a stop to your poisoning, King of Pollution," Cat Noir said as he threw the broken machine into the air and then used his baton to smash it like a tennis ball, sending it off the rooftop and into a trash bin at the bottom of the building. "Every machine Argos and I ruin is less plastic choking sea animals to death and polluting our waterways."
"Why you mangy-" Bertrand King shouted as he lunged at Cat Noir.
But he put his ring close to the ground before looking up at Bertrand and warning him, "One more step and your empire will come crumbling down, and you'll be going with it, along with the rest of those polluting items you're making!"
Bertrand skid to a halt before backing up, saying, "E-Easy, kitty!"
"That's better," He said as he stood up. "All your machines are wrecked, your trucks are destroyed, and all your production is halted indefinitely. Take your time and think about how to make your products more planet-friendly, if you know what's good for you."
Cat Noir took his baton to leap off the roof, and he started jumping and heading for the Seine.
"And now, at the Seine!" Nadja said as the helicopter started moving away from Bertrand King's building. "Cat Noir's peacock partner-in-crime, Argos, has a sentimonster that's sucking water out of the Seine!"
The entire live feed changed to showing Argos. Argos conjured up a sentimonster that, upon closer inspection, was acting as a water treatment plant. Any and all plastic debris was taken out of the water and put into an enormous receptacle, while the water was put back in the river.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Cat Noir said as he landed next to his cohort. "The King of Plastic is a tough nut to crack."
"No problem." Argos said.
Cat Noir took out a green wedge of cheese before eating it. He gagged before his suit changed to give him features like fins on his feet and arms. He took up a reusable, waterproof bag before diving into the river. Though it couldn't be seen from above, Cat Noir was using the bag to gather up any plastic waste that the sentimonster missed.
After a few minutes, Cat Noir jumped out of the river with a full bag before emptying it in the bin.
Marinette couldn't help but stare at him, admiring his muscular physique as he kept moving around. A smile began growing on her face as she thought, 'Wow... He's got muscles for days.'
She began to imagine herself being gently cradled in those lithe, yet strong arms.
Cat Noir kept going into the river, gathering up plastic waste, bringing it to the receptacle, and repeating. After a few repetitions of this, Cat Noir came out with an empty bag. The sentimonster made a belching noise.
Argos asked, "Is that all the plastic and debris you could get out of the river?"
It made another sound, as if confirming to the affirmative. Argos, looking wistful, gave a nod.
"Thank you for your help. I'm sorry to do this, but it's time to release you from your existence." Argos said as he snapped his fingers, causing the sentimonster to disappear in blue bubbles.
He turned to Cat Noir and said, "Do it."
"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir shouted, charging his hand with destructive power and slamming his hand against the plastic in the bin. All the waste turned into ashes and fell into a pile.
"They can't be all bad if they're trying to look out for the environment!" Myléne commented, bringing Marinette back to reality. She looked over to her friend, and saw that both she and Ivan were smiling at the scene in approval.
"Maybe you're right. And they destroyed the rocket boosters on those trash barrels, too." Alix reminded everyone.
"I've noticed a trend with these two," Alya said as she looked up her research on her phone. "They tend to go after the uber-rich that are irresponsible, polluting, dishonest, or slave-drive their workers. But they're also not above kicking crooks' asses period."
The articles and research Alya had pulled up to show the girls.
"Prime example being that Cat Noir did defend the bakery from some hired thugs. He even relocated the fight so nobody would get hurt." Marinette admitted, fighting off a blush.
"That's true. Obviously, they're not above playing the "Good Samaritan" role." Kagami conceded.
"This news feed is just one example of their "good side". And check this out, his company's stocks are plummeting now that all this data about his products' environmental damage is out." Alix agreed as she pulled up her own research from.
"Most of what they just collected were Bertrand King's products, too." Alya added.
"Their antics are dangerous, but sometimes they can be funny, too." Rose spoke.
"Oh, I remember when Argos created a sentimonster that sucked Chloé and her mom into a wardrobe, then spit them out, dressing them in the most horrific outfits ever." Alya added with a laugh.
"I know, that was like something out of that fighting scene in the climax of Beauty and the Beast." Marinette laughed.
"It helps that the clothes were made from the byproducts of unethical, inhumane fabric-making practices." Myléne added with a giggle.
Everyone laughed at the memory.
"And they figured out a way to force Bob Roth to confess to all of his unethical/illegal business practices! They got him to annul the contract we got duped into signing." Ivan added.
"But don't you think it's weird how they know who to target and who to leave alone?" Zoé asked.
"I guess they just watch the news and do their research." Juleka mumbled with a shrug.
Marinette nodded while thinking, 'Did I honest-to-God imagine myself in the arms of that scoundrel earlier?!'
Again, it took a lot of energy to keep her face from going beet red.
That afternoon, after finishing her part of the project with Alya, Marinette had been sent out on deliveries again.
"Thank you! Enjoy your goods!" Marinette said as she took the payment from the customer.
She mounted her scooter and put her helmet back on. She sped off, humming to herself, only for her musings to be interrupted by the roar of a car engine behind her.
Marinette looked at her rearview mirror and saw two guys in a convertible speeding right at her. Marinette changed lanes to escape, but the same people followed her into that lane.
'Wait, aren't they...?' Marinette thought, but her mind clicked: they were the same goons who tried attacking the bakery!
Realizing she was being chased, she upped her speed. Seeing an alleyway up ahead, Marinette made a hard right on her scooter to escape.
'There, that should do it! They can't get that car into a space this narrow!' Marinette thought as she kept riding.
But she spun out, though she was able to stop her scooter before she hit the wall. She got off, put the kickstand up, and started examining her vehicle.
"No scratches... Everything seems okay." Marinette murmured.
A shadow came over her. She looked up and saw the two thugs were towering over her.
"Well, if it isn't the mousy little girl from the bakery! You had some nerve, trying to stop us!"
"You were threatening my home! What were you expecting?" Marinette spat back.
"We were expecting you to let us ruin that place so our employer would pay us!" He shot at her.
"There's only one way to make a girl compliant and obedient. Shall we?" His cohort asked as he licked his lips.
Marinette's heart dropped and her blood turned to ice. She rummaged around for the pepper spray her parents gave her (had an alarm, camera, etc.) as they approached.
"Stop! You leave me alone!" Marinette warned as she grabbed the device, ready to spray.
A silver baton flew out of nowhere, knocking one of her pursuers in the temple of his head, knocking him out. The other guy turned around to confront their attacker, only to get a right hook to the face.
He stumbled back. Marinette saw the chance to get away, but her arm was grabbed by the guy who'd gotten punched.
"Hold still and let us do what we want! You owe us after getting in our way!" He spat at her.
"Don't you dare! Let me go!" She shouted as she yanked out the pepper spray. She was about to fire, only to see the same guy get knocked to his knees, then thrown over someone's shoulder.
She couldn't see who'd stepped in. Petrified, Marinette closed her eyes shut and covered her ears as she heard the sounds that came with a standard fist fight ring out. Sounds of punches, kicks, screams, shouts, the whole bit. Everything was loud and noisy. She was about to take her chance to escape when everything went dead silent, aside from heavy breathing.
"Well, looks like we meet again, belle." A familiar voice said.
Marinette opened her eyes, looked up and saw Cat Noir was standing there. The thugs were unconscious and at his feet.
"C-Cat Noir?!" Marinette asked while resisting a blush and leaning back on her scooter, intending on putting the kickstand away so she could escape.
"Indeed, Purrincess," He purred as he laid the baton across his shoulders. "I was in the area when I caught sight of these vermin chasing after you. Couldn't leave well enough alone."
Marinette gave him a scowl, but her face was beet red.
"You certainly have a bad habit of that," Marinette insisted, turning her face away from him. "It's like whenever there's something happening that you can't tolerate, you two won't leave the matter be. Where's that peacock buddy of yours, anyway?"
"He's got other matters to attend to," Cat Noir chuckled as he put the baton away, approached the scooter and leaned his left hand onto it before giving her a charming smile. "Looks like it's just the two of us now."
Marinette, still burning, looked back at him. His eyes met hers and she felt her heart soar.
"So... You're the Dupain-Cheng bakery's daughter, right? Marinette, correct?" He asked, his face not changing.
Marinette let out a frightened squeal and furiously nodded her head.
"I admit that I wasn't expecting you to come out and defend your own home, but it was incredible to watch," He praised. "Your courage is admirable."
Marinette squeaked a bit before saying, "T-Thank you. I... I don't know what came over me, honestly."
"I don't think it matters, Princess," He chuckled in response. "I'm just glad you're okay. Your home, too."
Marinette blinked at him, her eyes wide, and she asked, "R-Really?"
He nodded at her before saying, "Now, I think you've been delayed enough. Shouldn't you be getting your precious cargo to its destination?"
"Oh, mon dieu! You're right! Th-Thank you!" Marinette said as she hit the gas and started leaving on her scooter. In one of the rear mirrors, she saw Cat Noir was standing there, waving goodbye to her.
Again, her cheeks changed to strawberry red, her heart leaped and ached at the same time, and she let out a swoon-like sigh. But she refocused on the road in front of her after hearing a honk in the distance.
'Get it together, Marinette! You can't fall for a crook like Cat Noir! Granted, "crook" might be a stretch...' Marinette thought. 'NO! Bad Marinette, bad!'
She zoomed off and out of Cat Noir's sight.
Cat Noir tied up the goons and shoved them into the dumpster. He used his baton to notify the police of what he'd done, including the location of where he'd put the crooks. Cat Noir then extended it to get himself up to the roof. He leaped a few roofs away before landing on one that was near the bakery. He leaned up against the chimney wall heaving an affectionate sigh.
"Cat Noir!" Argos called as he jumped over from another rooftop.
"Hi," Cat Noir greeted. "How'd it go?"
"Quite well. They're not gonna know what hit 'em." Argos chuckled as he hid the lower part of his face behind the fan.
Cat Noir smirked in response.
Okay, end scene for chapter two! Now, things are getting busy in the real world for me, it being the holidays and all, so writing for this story is going to be a bit on the slow side. I may not have the time for a Holiday-themed one-shot, just fair warning.
Coming up, Marinette's trying to resist her attraction to Cat Noir, especially since she has a more pressing - and pleasant - matter at hand: Zoé's birthday party! But leave it to the boys to get up to something...