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“Chaton, what are you doing here? It’s freezing.” Marinette asked as she unlatched her window, allowing Chat Noir to slink in.
“Finished patrol,” he said, shivering as he padded over to the rug where Marinette was doing her homework seconds before. “Wanted to see my Purrincess,” he added, rubbing his arms.
"You silly cat,” Marinette scolded, removing a blanket from around her shoulders and tossing it over Chat’s. It was pink with white polka dots, and Chat clutched it to his chest, nose red and cheeks flushed. “I’ll be right back,” Marinette said, vanishing through her trap door.
She returned minutes later with a platter of cookies and a cup of hot chocolate. She settled next to Chat, who took a cookie from the plate before Marinette even settled on the floor beside him, and handed him the cup. She placed the cookies in front of them, near her textbooks.
“Hot chocolate,” Marinette said, feeling the cold from Chat’s hands as he took the mug from her. His suit was chill, and she couldn’t imagine what he felt like trapped in it.
“Bless you, Princess,” he said, cupping it in both hands and taking a sip. Marinette smiled, pulling her textbooks closer to her.
“Where’s Ladybug?” she asked innocently, trying to read the pages of her textbook despite how her eyes burned and itched with exhaustion.
“Ladybugs aren’t built for winter,” Chat laughed, stretching out beside Marinette. His legs brushed against hers and despite his suit and her pajama pants, she still got shivers. “She’s taking some time off from nightly patrols,” he continued, taking another sip from his cup and another cookie from the plate. “I don’t see her that much these lonely winter days.”
Marinette felt guilty. It was true that, as Ladybug, she was struggling to adapt to the winter weather that was cloaking Paris. But she was also struggling to rope in all aspects of her life, thanks to the holidays. She was spending more time in the patisserie as orders poured in, and she can’t very well shirk her Ladybug duties, so her homework was taking the hit.
She was thankful that Chat understood, and was willing to do nightly patrols without her for a while. He didn’t seem exactly happy about it, but he would do anything for his lady.
That had happened a couple of months ago, when winter started. Ever since then, Chat had been stopping by more often at Marinette’s. She might not have been able to put her mask on as often, but she could still do something for her cat- she had been leaving cookies out on her balcony, claiming to have seen him hopping from roof to roof late at night.
One night, when her lights were the only ones still on, he tapped on her window, and she let him in.
It had become almost a nightly routine, Chat stopping by and spending time with Marinette. She inadvertently stayed up waiting for him, doing work she should’ve done days ago.
As it got colder, he stayed longer and longer, pushing it until the last minutes of his detransformation. Marinette was beginning to wonder who was underneath the cat mask. She knew she shouldn’t, that they had no business knowing. Despite her crush on Adrien, she was beginning to feel a pull towards Chat.
He was so easy to talk to, with or without the mask. And he was talking to Marinette, cared about what she had to say. He asked about her day, and smiled and nodded along as she talked. She could tell he was tired, exhausted from Chat Noir duties and probably pressures from his every day, normal life, but he still wanted to listen to her.
Some nights they just lounged together, Marinette doing homework and Chat laying across the chaise, eating cookies. Eventually it evolved, and they shared the chaise or the well-worn rug across Marinette’s floor, Chat draped across Marinette’s lap, napping.
“Why are you always awake so late, Princess?” Chat asked, eyes hooded as he looked over at Marinette. She was hunched over her textbook, twirling the ends of her hair, loose from their pigtails.
Marinette hummed, eyes glazed with focus. Chat leaned his shoulder into Marinette, and she pushed back subconsciously. He placed his head on top of hers, eyes attempting to follow what she was reading.
“Physics,” Chat sighed, closing his eyes. Marinette’s head bobbed with Chat’s added weight, but she stayed focused, tongue poking out and eyes squinted.
Unconsciously, Chat wrapped his arms around Marinette, pulling her against him.
She went along with it, letting his cool suit brush against warm skin. “I’m studying, kitty,” she said, settling back against him anyways.
It was companionable and comfortable, a habitual thing they settled into easily. Chat was purring against Marinette’s back, making her even drowsier than before he arrived. Slumped against Chat, partially asleep, her textbook fell out of her lap, thudding softly against the rug.
“Purrincess I think it’s time for bed.”
Marinette mumbled, tilting back and wiggling more fully into Chat’s lap. His fingers were gently caressing up and down her hips, his eyes closed as well.
“Carry me.”
Chat began to purr even harder, a laugh coming from deep in his throat. In a fluid motion, he sprung up, muscles finally warm from Marinette’s body. He cradled her to his chest and she sighed deeply, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He easily climbed the ladder to her bed, settling them both onto it smoothly. On top of the blankets, Chat laid Marinette against the pillows, smirking at the garishly out of place green and black cat pillow she was snuggled against. Chat sat there for a minute, looking at Marinette’s dark hair fanned out against her pink pillows, chest rising and falling in steady breaths. A warmth spread out from his chest, and he all but forgot that he came by to escape the freezing Paris night.
“Wait,” Marinette mumbled, reaching out to grab Chat’s hand as he made his way to leave. “Stay.”
Surprised, Chat almost fell down the ladder, standing abruptly and hitting his head against the ceiling. He flushed red, rubbing the back of his head, as his ears twitched back and forth. Marinette giggled, still clutching his hand.
“Marinette-”
“It’s late,” she whispered, “and Chaton, it’s cold outside.”
As if by magic, when Chat looked back at the window, a light snow had started to fall. The railing on the balcony already had a thin coating.
Chat looked back to Marinette; her eyes were hooded as she looked at Chat without meeting his eyes, and she was biting her lip. Her cheeks were aflame, and Chat could see the red from her cheeks finding a place on her neck and chest.
“I wish I could, Marinette,” he began, smile forced. He sat back on Marinette’s bed and pulled her to him with the hand she was latched to. She looked at him, blue eyes wide and red with exhaustion. She untangled their hands, and reached up. Running her fingers over the edges of his mask, Chat leaned into her touch, soft as a butterfly’s touch.
“Why can’t you?”
“My detransformation-”
“So?” Marinette interrupted, eyes warm as she stared at him. She ran her thumbs over his cheeks, and Chat grabbed her arms. “I want to know who you are,” she whispered, arms circling around his neck. Her gazed flicked between his eyes and his lips, cheeks redder than before.
He knew he shouldn’t, but Chat leaned down as Marinette sat up straighter, their lips a breath apart. “I need to know,” Marinette whispered, closing her eyes and capturing his lips in hers.
After all this time, touching but not kissing, holding each other at arm’s distance, Marinette suddenly felt like they weren’t close enough. She tilted up on her knees and wrapped her arms all the way around his neck, running her fingers through his plush blond hair, and pulling herself against him. Chat wrapped Marinette in his arms, hands splayed across her hips. He kissed her hard, like she would vanish in a wisp of smoke if he let go for even a second, digging his nails into her sides. Marinette sighed against his lips, slumping against Chat as he licked her lips. He tasted like chocolate and sugar, and Marinette felt delirious.
Chat pulled away suddenly, lips warm and tasting of sugar and vanilla. “Marinette, we can’t.” He looked up, over her head, and she sighed. Her arms dropped from around his neck and grabbed the loops of his belt. Chat sighed, breath ruffling the girl’s dark hair. His hands were still splayed against her hips, and he hugged her to him.
He buried his nose in her hair, her body warm as he held her to him. Marinette tucked her head under Chat’s chin and squeezed her arms around his hips, unwilling to let go. Marinette felt like Chat was supporting more than just her body weight.
“Someday, I swear, Marinette, someday-,”
“But not today,” she interrupted, her voice thick. Her hands were shaking against his back, and Chat didn’t want to pull away.
But he didn’t have to, because Marinette pulled away first. Her eyes were watery when she looked at him, but she put a smile on her face anyways. “It’s okay, Chaton. When you’re ready, I’ll be here.” She brushed her fingers against his mask again, eyes downcast.
Chat cupped her cheeks in both hands, tilting her head up to him. He brushed a thumb against her lips and sighed deeply. “I don’t want you to be disappointed in me. The real me.”
Marinette huffed, her face contorting into something akin to anger and surprise. “You could never disappoint me, kitty.”
“You don’t know who I am.”
“I might not know who you are under that mask, but I know what you do, how you feel. You’ve come to my house every night for weeks. We save-” Marinette cut herself off, almost outing herself as Ladybug. Chat’s ears twitched and he tilted his head, about to speak. “We save my grades together!” she hurried to cover her slip up, ear burning. “You help me with my homework every night! The point is,” Marinette sobered, looking at Chat’s shoulder. “I want to know…you.”
Goosebumps erupted on Marinette’s arms, but not from Chat’s heat. She knew she had no room to talk- she wasn’t telling Chat that she was really his partner. It wasn’t right to push him into revealing himself, when she couldn’t even bring herself to do the same.
“And you will, I promise, Marinette.” His voice was choked, his back tense. He ran his fingers through her hair, looking at her eyes, her nose, her lips and back again. “I promise,” he whispered, kissing her cheek and pulling away. “You will know who I am.”
Marinette nodded, letting her hands fall from his face. She smiled, but it was forced and watery. “Of course!” she reassured, but her eyes made Chat hesitate. He smiled sadly, climbing down the ladder and leaving from the same window he came through.
Outside, Chat looked back through the window. Marinette had curled on her side, clutching the cat pillow, and buried herself under her pink covers. Chat dropped onto the street, and his transformation dropped.
“Someday,” Adrien whispered to himself as he walked away from Marinette’s, head down and hands tucked deep into his pockets. “Someday, Princess.”