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Marinette groaned and tried not to move too much and still shuffle sideways to a cooler spot on the floor. Although it was hard to find any. It was still cooler up on her balcony than it was in her room and in her bed, but it was still unbearably hot too. The air hung heavy, not even a slight breeze stirring it. She just wanted to sleep and she couldn’t because it was too hot for that. She loved summer, but when it reached that point when it was hot during the night as well as during the day, it became torture.
She rubbed the cold water bottle she was holding against her cheek and sighed. This was better. But it brought only a short reprieve. She groaned again, wondering if she was going to get any sleep at all that night.
“This sounds painful,” she heard a voice and almost jumped out of her skin. While this would have been nice, she thought, one less layer to stick to her, it also sounded like too much trouble. So she just moved her head slightly to look at the cat perching on her railing.
“Chat, what are you doing here?” she asked, trying not to move too much. It was a valid question, it was the middle of the night after all. And, well, she wasn’t exactly dressed for company in her tiny tank top and tiny barely there shorts. She tried to resist the need to wrap her arms around her to cover herself up. It was too hot to bother about being seen like that. And it was Chat after all, not a stranger.
“Just out for some fresh air. Although that’s debatable tonight. It seems like the air outside is no better than that inside,” he concluded with a thoughtful expression.
Just then she took in his leather-clad form and tried not to shudder. To think of being covered from head to toe!
“God, aren’t you hot?" She shot his way, trying to voice her sympathy. But of course he took it the wrong way. A huge grin split his face and she knew what was coming even before he said it.
“Oh you need to ask? Isn’t that obvious?” He said and she resisted the urge to facepalm or roll her eyes. Too much moving, even the second one.
“I wouldn’t be asking if it was that obvious,” she quipped and was rewarded by his indignant gasp. She couldn’t stop herself this time and shook with silent laughter. But this just brought a fresh wave of warmth over her and she instantly regretted it. Was there anything she could do in this heat?
“No, seriously, I’m just curious. Isn’t the suit making it even more unbearably hot than it already is?” she asked after she calmed down. He seemed to think about it for a second and then just shrugged. So casually, as if he didn’t risk dying from heatstroke.
“Now that you mention it, it’s keeping me strangely cool actually. Must be the magic in it. It adapts to the outside temperature it seems,” he said, clearly marvelling at it himself.
Wow. She hadn’t given much thought to that before but it surely made sense. They couldn’t go around changing their suits in every way the weather demanded it after all. She wondered how she hadn’t thought of that before. But the thought that her suit could actually keep the heat at bay instead of multiplying it was too ludicrous to consider. Then again, she couldn’t exactly go to bed transformed, right? It was too much to ask from Tikki and then there was the risk of being caught by her parents.
“Sounds nice,” she said instead, resigned to having to deal with the heat without any supernatural help.
“Do you plan to sleep out here tonight?” He asked then, curious.
“It’s not a bad idea. Although I’m not sure I’d be doing much sleeping. Even out here it’s too hot for that. But the stars are nice,” she relented, looking at the sky. It wasn’t so bad. And it was still better than her room.
“Too bad I can’t stay too long, I’d love to be stargazing with you,” he said, a strange fondness in his voice. She smiled at him because she wouldn’t mind the company at all. It was distracting her from the heat and it was nice.
“Go. Get your beauty sleep or whatever,” she said, waving him away with a slight movement of her wrist while he chuckled. She closed her eyes, feeling sleepiness creeping up on her. Maybe she’d be able to fall asleep after all.
She was almost certain he’d left and then she felt a light touch on her lips. It startled her. He’d literally crept up to her as noiselessly as a cat. Wasn’t it strange that it was this that had startled her? Because it felt so natural to feel his lips against hers, even as out of the blue as this kiss was.
She didn’t want to move but she hoped she could convey that she needed more as she pressed her lips against his lightly. And oh, goodness, he complied, kissing her just a little harder. But it was still so intense, especially since the contact was still limited only to their lips and it was like all her nerve endings were concentrated there. She felt so clearly the softness of his lips, their warmth. She didn’t mind that, she found, but she still felt too weak to respond in a way she wanted to. Because she suddenly realised that she wanted to wrap her arms around him and bring him closer, to feel more of him than just his lips. The hunger she felt for more caught her completely by surprise.
But it was really not the right time for this. So she had to make do with lifting a hand to his cheek, while their lips moved slowly, luxuriating in the feeling. She sighed when he pulled back and opened her eyes. When they met his, she realised she had only thought that it was too hot before. The heat it his gaze made her feel like she was about to burst into flames. It seemed like he hadn’t been satisfied by that mostly chaste kiss either. She felt a flutter in her belly and had to restrain herself from dragging him down for another kiss.
“Can I come tomorrow too?” he asked softly, sounding a little breathless. She bit her lip to suppress a smile at the hopefulness in his voice and his eyes moved to her mouth, causing warmth to engulf her once again. She felt overwhelmed by the feelings he caused to stir inside her, it was so delicious but so unexpected too. What was it about the hot and sticky night that had brought them together like that? She still didn’t know why he’d kissed her at all but she found this wasn’t troubling her. It was done. And they both clearly wanted more. So she just nodded.
A quick peck on her lips and he was off. Leaving her once again full of doubt that she’d get any sleep that night. But this time because of a completely different reason.