Chapter Text
Bless Alya. Marinette didn’t know what she ever did to deserve her.
After school that day, Marinette arrived at Alya’s house for their scheduled sleepover. Alya had noted the exhausted look in Marinette’s eyes and assured her that she wouldn’t mind if Marinette spent some of their time together taking a much-needed nap.
She really didn’t know what she did to deserve her.
After her nap, she begrudgingly turned off her phone alarm, rubbed her eyes, and forced herself to sit up. As much as she wanted to just sleep through the rest of the day, the two of them were planning on going out about the town soon, and she didn’t want to ruin their sleepover any more than she already had. As Marinette glanced around Alya’s room, a certain comic sitting on her desk caught Marinette’s eye. She still hadn't read the second half...
Chewing her lip and knowing full well that Tikki was likely still asleep in her purse and couldn’t contest it, Marinette flicked the lamp on and grabbed the comic book. Alya was probably waiting out in the living room with her family, but surely she could wait just a couple more minutes for Marinette, right?
Marinette opened the book and flipped through the pages with a frown. Adrien’s description of the events seemed pretty accurate. Skimming through, Marinette saw Ladybug crying into Mightillustrator’s shoulder and huffed to herself, resentment pooling in her gut as she tried to shake the feeling off. Something didn’t sit right with her about it.
She flipped the page to see a villain burst in through the walls of the church and rush to Chat Noir’s open casket, trying to grab his miraculous off of his body.
Augh. That was a gross thought. Marinette squeezed her eyes shut. Prying his miraculous from his cold dead fin—
The thud of an opening door startled Marinette out of her thoughts, nearly knocking her right out of the bed.
“You’re up!” Alya cheered, “Wha— Hey, put that down!”
Marinette huffed and set the comic down on the desk, a playful smirk donning her face. “What? Am I not allowed to touch your stuff? Think my hands are too grimy?”
“You’re not allowed to read that dumb comic that made you sad!” Alya snorted, rushing up to Marinette to grab and tug at her wrist, “But since you’re awake, let’s hurry up and go! I’m getting antsy!”
“Okay, okay!” Marinette giggled and snatched her purse up from the ground. Spending the day with Alya was much preferable to reading that comic, anyway.
Marinette sipped at the last drops of her smoothie before dropping the cup into the nearest trash can.
Alya and Marinette had spent the last hour or so wandering around a shopping district. They had been mostly window shopping, though Alya had splurged on a ladybug-print phone case. Marinette could feel her mood improving significantly with the fresh air and her best friend by her side.
She peeked into a shop window, idly appreciating the strange trinkets within. It seemed to be a strange little shop with charming souvenirs, and probably a fun place to stop by. Maybe she’d find something cute or funny to decorate her room with? She opened her mouth to tell Alya, but was cut off by the sound of a sharp gasp.
Oh no. Was there an akuma?
Marinette whipped her head around to Alya, ready to ask what was wrong when—
“Chat Noir!” Alya squealed. Marinette’s eyes followed Alya’s and, sure enough, Chat Noir was wandering on a rooftop across the street.
“Is there an akuma?” Marinette whispered to Alya. Why would Chat Noir be wandering around at this time if there wasn’t?
Alya shrugged and startled Marinette when she bellowed out, “HEY! CHAT NOIR!”
Though he was far away, the cat ears perched atop his head flicked up as he turned his head towards them. She wanted to think his enhanced senses helped him hear Alya, but honestly, half of Paris probably could hear her.
Alya waved her hands in the air and Chat Noir leapt over to them, flipping in the air with an exaggerated flourish before landing on his feet just in front of them. What a show off.
“Why hello, ladies!” Chat cooed out, giving the two of them an exaggerated bow. Marinette frowned.
“Is there any danger?” Marinette asked, shoulders tense as she tried to think of what excuse she would have to slip away from Alya to transform.
“Nothing cat astrophic that I’m aware of,” Chat answered, voice coy as he gave the two of them a big smirk. He was acting… especially Chat Noir today. His general tone and body language were exaggerated as if he were acting in a play, and Marinette felt like she had whiplash.
Wasn’t he crying in her arms last night?
“Then what’s the occasion?” Alya questioned.
“Just stretching my legs!” Chat grinned, and Marinette understood. Though it was a bit unusual for Chat Noir to be wandering around without a reason, it certainly wasn’t unheard of. Besides, Marinette couldn’t judge; she’d used her own fair share of transformations to just run around the city.
“So you’re not busy?” Alya asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes that gave Marinette a pool of angst in her gut. After having to cradle a weeping Chat Noir in her arms, Marinette wasn’t exactly keen on Alya cutting into his me-time for an interview— not that Alya knew that that had happened…
“I’m never too busy for the citizens of Paris!” Chat bellowed out with a grin, resting his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest in a stance that Marinette felt was straight off of a Superman cover. Where did this come from? “I am at your service!”
“Uh huh,” Alya laughed, amused by his behavior, “Well… You know my friend here, right?”
Huh? What did she have to do with this? Wasn’t she just asking for an interview?
“Marinette!” Chat Noir answered, a twinkle in his eye as he looked to her with a smile, “How could I ever forget someone as amazing as Marinette?”
Alya grinned, and Marinette felt her cheeks pinken. He was… really overdoing it.
“Yeah, well, she’s your biggest fan,” Alya said in a cool voice.
WHAT.
Marinette felt her face flare up in embarrassment. Chat’s, on the other hand, lit up. “Really?”
“Alya!” Marinette hissed under her breath. Alya seemed to ignore her.
“She just can’t stop talking about you,” Alya said as Marinette resisted the urge to tackle her to the ground, “She’s always drawing you, talking about how cute your bell is, how much she cares about you, and… well, let’s just say she has a thing for blonds.”
Marinette covered her face and breathed out a silent scream into the palms of her hands. Her cheeks were so hot, she felt like they could melt off her face.
“Blonds?” Chat asked, his voice taken aback. Really? That’s what he got from that? She was going to die.
“Yeah. But... she’s been having a bad week,” Alya continued, “and, well, she was just telling me how much she’s always dreamed of seeing Paris from the rooftops…”
NO SHE WASN’T.
“I can do that!” Chat said, a nonsensical excitement in his eyes and— what was happening? Was this real? Was Alya really asking Chat Noir to whisk Marinette away right now?
Marinette was going to kill her.
Marinette supposed she understood Alya’s reasoning. What with all of her anxiety over Chat Noir’s well-being, it was reasonable to think it’d help to have Marinette spend some one-on-one time with the hero. It was, however, debunked by the fact that Marinette saw Chat Noir nearly every day and already had a very close relationship with him.
She was still going to kill her.
“N-No, it’s fine!” Marinette squeaked out, face red from embarrassment. She really didn’t want to interrupt Chat’s me-time. Despite his current over-the-top attitude, she wasn’t entirely convinced that he wasn’t having a terrible day. How do you go from bawling your eyes out one night to being perfectly chipper the next afternoon? “You don’t have to! I’m totally fine! It’s nothing! Alya doesn’t know what she’s talking about! I don’t want to be a bother!”
“You wouldn’t be a bother at all!” Chat Noir cooed, grabbing Marinette’s hand and pressing a dramatic, chaste kiss on her knuckles. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Was this even the same guy from last night? Was Copycat back at it again?
“Great!” Alya cheered and pushed Marinette towards him, “Thank you so much! Don’t keep her too long, y’hear?”
Marinette was trapped. She really couldn’t keep arguing this, though she supposed spending time with Chat certainly wasn’t a bad thing. At least, it wouldn’t be if not for the fact she was worried about bothering him. She wasn’t sure if Chat would be the type to be honest and say he didn’t want to.
After giving him a hesitant nod of approval, Chat scooped Marinette up into his arms. Marinette shot Alya a look, and Alya winked right back.
“Text me when you’re done!” Alya called after them as Chat bounded up to the rooftops with Marinette in his arms.
Well, she supposed she might as well try to enjoy this, considering she didn’t seem to have much of a choice. She sighed and kept her arms wrapped around Chat’s neck, gently resting her cheek against his shoulder. There was a certain comfort in being near Chat Noir— not unlike the comfort that she felt near Alya. She trusted him with her life, and if it were easy and convenient for them, she would gladly spend more time with him than she did.
Being carried across the rooftops was a bit exhilarating. Not nearly as much as being Ladybug was, but still fun. Excitement stewed in her gut as she looked around the city from above. She had to admit— she didn’t get to see Paris from above in the daytime as much as she would’ve liked. At least, not in a setting without immediate danger.
A small part of her noted that it was nice to feel Chat’s suit with her bare hands— something that she couldn’t do when she was Ladybug— but she quickly shook the thought away.
Just as she was beginning to wonder where they were headed, Chat stopped in his tracks. She smiled to herself at the familiarity of the rooftop that they had stopped at— it was one that Ladybug and Chat Noir hung out on top of often. He carefully set her down on her feet.
She looked over the city with a smile on her face. Though she preferred the Parisian lights at night, there was something special about looking at the bustling city below them. There were never this many crowds during patrol times.
“This is one of my favorite spots,” Chat Noir said as Marinette sat herself down on the edge of the rooftop. She glanced at the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and her heart felt… warm.
Okay, maybe she wasn’t going to kill Alya.
“Thank you, Chat Noir,” Marinette sighed, dangling her legs over the side. She still felt a bit bad about bothering him, but she had to admit that she quite enjoyed this in her own selfish way. “I’m sorry about making you do this, by the way. I’m sure you were in the middle of something…”
“Oh no, not at all!” Chat quickly reassured, and she glanced at him to see a bright smile on his face as he sat himself down beside her, “I don’t mind at all! I wasn’t really doing anything… and I quite like the company.”
With a genuine smile on her face, Marinette glanced down at the crowds of tourists and parisians bustling through the streets. Sitting with Chat Noir like this was always quite comforting, though a bit strange without her mask on.
After a moment of silence, Chat spoke up, “Your friend… Alya, right? She said you were having a bad week.”
Marinette flushed a little and shook her head. “Ah— she was exaggerating.”
“You can talk to me if you’d like,” Chat assured, glancing over the city with a grin, “I’m a superhero, you know. It’s my job to help citizens in distress! I am but your humble servant, princess.”
“Uh huh.” she rolled her eyes and smiled. But when he turned to her and met her eyes, the look in his eyes told her that he was being genuine. With soft eyes, he took her hands into his own and stared right at her, and she felt as though her heart had stopped.
“You know, Marinette…” he whispered, “I think I’m getting a good idea of what you’re like.”
“What?” Marinette choked out, “We’ve only talked like… twice?”
“More than that! We’ve met enough for me to get a good sense of you. You helped me out once, remember?”
She nodded. “Evillustrator.”
“Well… yeah, that too,” Chat said with a little shrug, “You really rocked during that, by the way. But I meant more like... as a friend.”
“As a friend?” She muttered, confused.
“I came to your balcony when I was upset about Ladybug, remember?” he chuckled, having the sense to seem a bit embarrassed about it, “I mean… you helped talk me through it a bit, and I really am grateful. Don’t think I forgot that.”
“Oh…” Marinette chewed her lip as embarrassment flushed over her. That memory was a bit awkward for her. “Right.”
“You’re really kind, Marinette,” he whispered, voice unnervingly gentle, “You’re always helping and standing up for others. That’s why you have so many friends.”
She furrowed her brow. “... How did you know that?”
“I was at your birthday party, remember?” Chat winked at her. “Besides! Animal instincts. I’d like to think I’m purr ty good at figuring people out.”
“Oh, sure,” she snorted.
“You always see the best in people,” he continued, and Marinette wondered where all of this was coming from, “but you’re not a pushover. You stand up for what you believe in, but you always do it with an air of kindness.”
Was she being psychoanalyzed by Chat Noir right now? She quirked a brow. “All of this is animal instincts?”
“What?” He laughed. “You don’t believe me?”
“I mean…” Marinette giggled, “It kind of feels like you’re just making things up as you go along.”
“But am I wrong?” Chat whispered, a sudden hint of seriousness in his tone.
She hesitated.
“Exactly.” He smiled. “So… how about applying that to other things?”
“I… I don’t get what you mean.”
“You always see the good in people,” he said, glancing out over the city, “So how about seeing the good in the future too?”
“... What?”
“Try…” Chat hesitated, as if trying to figure out what he was going to say next, “... Try not to focus so much on what-ifs. Keep your stubbornness and go for what you think is right— but still see the good in the world, you know? Don’t focus so much on what-ifs. It’s easy to… uhh… say ‘what if the world ended tomorrow,’ but you can also think ‘what if I won the lottery tomorrow’.”
“I’ve never entered the lottery,” Marinette laughed, “Are you trying to get all philosophical on me?”
Chat had the decency to look humble, “I’m trying! All I’m saying is… … and I know it’s easier said than done, and I need to take my own advice here too, but each negative comes with a positive. Ladybug and I are here to make sure the positives happen.”
Marinette stared at him.
He squeezed her hands, and she had almost forgotten that he was holding them at all. “... You shouldn’t worry about us superheroes, Marinette.”
“I…” Marinette gawked, feeling as if she had just been doused with cold water. She had no idea where Chat had gotten that from. “I-I never said I was worried about—”
“I deduced it!” Chat quickly clarified, his cheeks pink. Did Chat Noir have special abilities that she wasn’t aware of? That didn’t seem fair— first he got pockets, enhanced senses, claws, and night-vision, but now he had ESP too? Sure, Ladybug could cleanse akumas and repair the city but… … ESP.
“You… sure are perceptive.”
“I’m a smart cat.” He winked at her, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“Well… thank you,” Marinette managed to say, removing her hands from his to brush down her thighs. This was… a weird talk.
“Like I said!” Chat beamed. “I am here to assist the citizens of Paris!”
“I don’t think psychic readings are in the job description.”
“How would you know?” Chat winked. “Give me your palm, I’ll read it.”
“No thanks,” she laughed, “We’ve talked about me enough. How are you ?”
“... Me?”
“Who else?”
“What did I just say?” Chat snorted, “You’re not supposed to worry about superheroes.”
“I just want to know how you are,” she said honestly, watching him carefully.
“I’m grrreat!” he bellowed.
“You’re not a tiger,” she huffed, “I mean… … I’m sure superheroes have bad nights too. Right?”
“Still a cat. And not me!” Chat said, but Marinette knew for a fact he was lying through his teeth. She frowned. “I’ve had a great week, actually.”
“Really?” Marinette muttered, disappointed in how well he was hiding it. If she hadn’t been personally cradling his weeping form last night, she might’ve been inclined to believe him. “No… rough nights?”
He laughed, and her mood only dropped in response. “No. I’m fine, Marinette.”
Marinette simply nodded her head. There was nothing more she could say.
"Now," Chat said, pulling himself up onto his feet, "Let's get you back to Alya."