Disclaimer: You know I don't own.

AN: Written for Cochrane on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord.

AN2: I'm ignoring the tail end of season 5, not least because I haven't seen it yet.

It was quiet.

Strictly speaking, it was supposed to be quiet. It had been almost a year since Hawkmoth had been defeated. Gabriel Agreste was in La Santé prison serving a lifetime prison sentence. Natalie was serving a ten year sentence in a much less harsh prison. (Her help in bringing down Hawkmoth and his allies had commuted her sentence considerably.) Lila was serving a sixty year sentence in Pagliarelli prison in Italy. (Marinette took a certain amount of savage pleasure from seeing Lila being sentenced. It was a guilty pleasure, but not one she regretted seeing.) And Tomoe Tsurugi was currently in the middle of being extradited to Japan to face even more charges than the ones she was charged with in France.

And so, it was quiet. No supervillains to worry about, no random people being turned into monsters, nothing.

It was good timing as well, in Marinette's opinion. University was only a few months away and she didn't want to have to be constantly interrupted to deal with Akumas. The other Miraculous heroes were more than capable of dealing with the more mundane situations. Life was good.

Except for one problem.

Chat Noir was going away for six months. He had an amazing opportunity in his civilian life and she had said yes, he could go. She wasn't going to hold him back. Her other friends were moving on with their lives. Even her ex-boyfriend (and now one of her best friends.) Adrien was recovering after having his world shattered. Her kitty deserved it.

Strangely enough, Chat's departure was matched by a great opportunity for Adrien in Japan. It was a very strange coincidence that it happened to her two favourite boys.

So now she was sitting at the top of Eiffel Tower, waiting for Chat Noir's temporary replacement.

"Hi there!"

Ladybug jumped in surprise as a girl in black landed next to her. The girl gave her an apologetic smile.

"I climbed up the Tower," she said with an apologetic expression.

The girl was wearing a black compression shirt and high waisted capri trousers. (Hey, she was a fashion designer. She noticed these details.) And she was very pretty. Very, very pretty. Even her cat-like eyes were beautiful in their catlike way and her green lips were so very cute.

Ladybug stared at her for several seconds, before giving herself a mental shake. She was supposed to be meeting Chat's temporary replacement, not admiring her new partner. She didn't even know who the girl even was!

(She had no doubt that Chat had chosen a good replacement. She knew that she could trust Chat's judgement at least.)

"I'm Kitty Noire!" the girl said cheerfully, her cat ears wiggling with apparent excitement. "I'm your new, temporary black cat!"

"Hi, I'm Buginette. I mean Ladynoir. I mean Ladybug!" Ladybug said, before abruptly blushing hard. Kitty Noire looked curiously at Ladybug, who decided to press on.

"So, Chat usually patrols solo on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I patrol solo on Thursdays and Fridays and on Mondays we patrol together," Ladybug explained and Kitty Noire nodded in understanding. "The other heroes have their own patrol areas, but if you need any help, you can always call for them." She threw out her yo-yo. "Follow me and I'll show you your area."

"Do we…pass by the Dupain-Cheng Bakery?" Kitty Noire asked, suddenly acting shy. "It's just…I…really like that place." Her face turned red and Ladybug internally smiled. Her new partner was fooling nobody, especially not her. (She was nowhere near as clueless as she had been at fourteen.)

"Yes, of course," Ladybug said, trying to ignore the urge to silently cheer. It would be nice to see her new partner on patrol on her nights off. (And absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she wanted to see more of her new partner.)

"Oh that's good," Kitty Noire said and a smile crossed her face, before blushing.

"Follow me," Ladybug said with a smile. "It's time to introduce you to Paris and the Ladyblog."

Ladybug leapt into the night, with Kitty Noire enthusiastically following her.

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This was…unexpected.

Marinette knew that Kitty Noire had a crush on her.

What she didn't expect was to find Kitty Noire sitting on her balcony with a huge bouquet of roses.

As soon as she saw Marinette, Kitty Noire knelt down in front of her.

"Beautiful flowers for the most beautiful girl in all of Paris," she said with a flourish and Marinette abruptly turned red.

"I-bluh-gah-"

"Please accept this token of my love for you," Kitty Noire continued, while Marinette continued to flail.

She placed the flowers in Marinette's hands and leapt off into the night.

Marinette continued to stare at the retreating figure, her face red and a warm, pleasant feeling in her chest.

It was silly of course. She had no idea who it was behind the mask. It could have been anyone, anyone at all. But, despite her thoughts on the matter, she wanted Kitty Noire to come and see her again.

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"It was so sweet Alya!" Marinette said as the two girls walked to school in the morning. "She brought me flowers and then she said that I was the most beautiful girl in Paris. And then she leapt into the night and…" Marinette practically floated and her eyes became distant. "She's amazing! And cute. And romantic. And-"

Marinette was abruptly interrupted by Alya sharply pulling her back and as a car sped past.

"Maybe you should concentrate on where you're going," she said with amusement. "You don't want to miss your girlfriend because you're in hospital."

Marinette blushed and Alya laughed.

"Aaaalllyyyyaaa," Marinette groaned. "She's not my girlfriend. She's only a temporary holder. She could be anyone under the mask. She could be anywhere. She could be under our very noses and we wouldn't know."

"Marinette, Alya," a familiar voice called out to them. Both girls smiled and waved as Zoe ran up to them.

"Hi Zoe," Marinette said as the younger girl reached them.

"My girl here had a romantic moment not so long ago," Alya said with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"Oh?"

"It was amazing," Marinette said, twirling on the spot. "Someone I know gave me a bouquet of flowers and said that they were for the most beautiful girl in Paris. It was amazing and cute and cute and romantic and perfect."

For some reason, Zoe blushed at this and momentarily turned away. Alya's eyes narrowed briefly, before returning to normal. Marinette didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, Marinette, I need to talk to Zoe real quick about our homework," Alya said as they reached Marinette's lycée and a puzzled expression crossed Marinette's face.

"But…you go to a different school than Zoe and me?" she said. Alya shrugged.

"It's complicated," she said, before dragging Zoe around a corner. Marinette stared. Thirty seconds later, she heard a sudden yelp of surprise. Shortly afterwards, she saw Alya and Zoe reemerge. Alya had a shit-eating grin on her face and Zoe had a shy smile on her face.

"Seeya later Marinette," Alya said with an amused wave as she continued on her way to her own school.

"What was that about?" Marinette asked Zoe, who blushed for some reason.

"Errr…homework," Zoe said and she hurried away, leaving Marinette standing puzzled.

"But you don't even go to the same school!"

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"And how is Paris's finest designer this fine night?"

"Kitty Noire!" Marinette exclaimed, turning to face the new hero and a smile unconsciously crossed her face.

Kitty Noire leapt down from the chimney to land at Marinette's feet. She took Marinette's hand and proceeded to kiss it.

"An angel has fallen from heaven and graced me with her presence," she said and Marinette blushed, before giggling slightly. It was cheesy and ridiculous and it made her feel very happy.

"Hello Kitty," Marinette said, still smiling from ear to ear and her face still slightly red. "What are you doing here?"

"I was on patrol and I felt your siren call," Kitty Noire said as she stood up. "It is a fate I could never resist."

Marinette could feel her face redden once more and a smile crossed her face. It was nice to feel loved like that. It was cheesy and over the top, but it was cute in her opinion.

Okay maybe she had been spending too much time with Chat Noir. He was always so over the top and happy.

She hoped that he was having fun.

"Did it hurt when you fell down from heaven?" Kitty Noire asked and Marinette suddenly began choking on thin air. Kitty Noire winked at her and leapt into the night.

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It soon became a pattern.

On the nights Kitty Noire

K was on patrol, she would always visit Marinette. She would say cheesy pick up lines and leave little gifts.

And she would leave Marinette a happy blushing mess.

It was cheesy and silly and Alya smirked when Marinette gushed enthusiastically about it. And Zoe couldn't stop smiling when she heard Marinette gushing about her. (It was strange, but Marinette attributed it to Zoe being pleased for her friend. She was sweet like that. A good friend…why did that feel familiar? It was probably nothing.)

Before she knew it, she found herself eagerly waiting for Kitty Noire's visits. A shining bright spot in her week, regardless of how good or bad the week had been.

Before she knew it, six months had passed. Six happy months of visits. Six happy months of happy, cheesy flirting that had made Chat's flirting seem tame. Six months of laughter and unexpected tenderness and kindness.

And six months for Marinette to fall head over heels in love with Kitty Noire.

And next week, Chat would be back. This was her only chance, or rather her last chance.

As usual, Kitty Noire landed on her balcony. But this time, it was Marinette who spoke first.

"I love you Kitty Noire!" she shouted, before blushing hard.

Kitty Noire stood there with a stunned look on her face. And a smile crossed her face.

"I love you too Marinette," Kitty Noire said and she leaned forward and kissed Marinette on the lips.

Marinette deepened the kiss and soon the two girls were kissing passionately on Marinette's balcony.

"How will I ever find you again?" Marinette asked as they paused to take breath. Kitty Noire leaned closely with a smile on her face.

"Alya knows," she whispered and the two girls began kissing once more.

AN: Okay, so to explain a few details. Marinette and Alya go to separate schools after Collège Françoise DuPont. Marinette's lycée specialises more in the creative arts and Alya's is more focused on things like journalism and technical writing. They're still best friends and walk to school together in the morning. As for why Zoe didn't just tell Marinette who she was, well I wanted to involve Alya. Plus it was funny. And yes, Marinette did ask Alya. (Who told her with a shit-eating grin.)

Also, I have realised that I really have no clue how to write flirting