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It was late. Marinette sat astride one of the unicorns on the carousel, munching on the salty chips he had bought for her. Her hair was half falling out of its bun, and mascara was smudged under her left eye, though it looked more like she’d rubbed it out of forgetfulness than anything. Oh, and there was the fact that she reeked of alcohol. (Maybe without his miraculous the scent wouldn’t have been so strong, but right now he was suited up as Chat Noir and it was obvious that his friend was off-her-face drunk.)
“Why are you just standing there?” she demanded, or more like pouted. She patted the space behind her on the unicorn. “Come watch the moon with me, Chat.”
“I can see it better from here.”
“But it’s not the same if we don’t do it together.”
“I doubt there’s room for us both anyway.”
She twisted around to look. “There is if we squish. I can squish for you.”
A laugh escaped him and he pressed his hand to his face. “Marinette, please. It’s late. You must be cold—”
“Nope.” She popped the P, spreading her arms out and losing a few chips in the process. “I feel great!”
And perhaps that was true, but the jean shorts she’d paired with ankle boots and a billowing-sleeved shirt were hardly a good choice for an early spring night. (She’d had a jacket at the beginning of her night out, but it seemed she’d misplaced it while switching bars with her friends.)
“Now, come on!” she said, and patted the unicorn again. “Nicolette is waiting.”
His nose scrunched. “Nicolette?”
“The unicorn, obviously.”
“Right. Obviously.”
She stared at him with those big blue eyes, silently demanding why he had not moved. Did he dare to offend her and Nicolette like this?
He frowned. “How about I take you home instead?”
“Why?”
“Because that’s why I’m here, remember? You messaged me.”
She blinked at him once. Then again. Then she went back to munching on chips. “These are tasty.”
Ugh. Why was she such a distracted drunk?
“I’m glad you’re enjoying them,” he said with forced patience, “but we’ve been out here for a while and—”
“Chat, stop being such a buzz kill.”
He closed his mouth.
“What’s the point of putting on that clown costume if you’re not even going to let me have fun?”
Oh, now that was just mean.
“Hey!” he said, planting his hands on his hips. “I’m trying to be a good friend here.”
“Boring.”
“It’s not boring. It’s being thoughtful and—”
“Boring. Boring, boring, boring—”
“You’re boring.”
She leaned around Nicolette’s horn, pointing her finger at him. “But I’m not the one who wants to go home when there’s unicorn riding and moon watching to be doing.”
They stared at each other, unblinking.
“Alright, fine!” he groaned, marching over to her. “I will ride Nicolette with you if it matters to you that much.”
“Yay!”
His mouth twitched. “Did you actually just say yay?”
“Shut up. I’m allowed to say what I like.”
He shook his head with a smile, though he paused when he got a look at the space left for him on Nicolette’s back.
“We are not going to fit,” he said bluntly.
“We will.”
“I’ll just ride this other—”
“No.” She latched onto his arm. “It won’t be the same! Here, I’ll move up more.”
She did so and looked back at him like a hopeful puppy waiting for a good job pat on the head. Really, he couldn’t say no to that. Only the cruellest of hearts could withstand such an expression. Plus, he hoped that if he humoured her with this, she would get over her fixation with riding the carousel and let him take her home.
He swung his leg over the unicorn, shifting about to settle into position behind her. “Scooch up more.”
“Can’t.”
A sigh. “This is not comfortable.”
“That’s because you’re not squishing properly.”
“More like because we’re two adults trying to fit on something designed for one kid.”
Marinette made a show of looking to the left and right. “Oh, what’s that sound? Kinda sounds like buzz kill.”
“You are terrible bully, and I don’t know why we’re still friends.”
She laughed and leaned back into his chest, wriggling in closer with her shoulders as if he were a blanket in which she wanted to nestle. It was very snug. Not that he minded. For all his reluctance to join her on Nicolette, he was comfortable being close to Marinette. Though she did smell like a dozen cocktails. It also wasn’t hard to figure out why she wanted to “squish”, as she called it.
“I knew you were cold,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Am not.”
“Mhmm. So, you’re just stealing what space I have because you feel like it, huh?”
“Yip.”
He smiled and relaxed more into her, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Pass me a chip.”
“Get one yourself.”
“Rude.”
Nevertheless, she did hold the bag towards him. They sat there, quietly chewing on chips, and staring up at the moon from under the shelter of the carousel. It wasn’t the worst way to spend a night. Not what he’d had planned, but definitely not the worst.
“Hey, Chat.”
“Mm?”
“We ran out of chips.”
He laughed, nudging his nose to her hair in a little boop. “I’d say that’s a sign we should get you home then.”
She grumbled and fussed, but she did let him scoop her up into his arms this time. (Thank goodness, because it was precisely because she’d insisted on walking that they’d ended up at the park.)
It didn’t take too long to reach her apartment, though by that point she’d reached the sleepy stage of her drunkenness and just flopped against him like a deboned fish. He removed her boots for her and carried her to the sofa, setting her gently down.
“Goodnight,” he murmured.
“Wait.” She grabbed his tail. “Run me a bath.”
He raised his eyebrow in amusement. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a superhero, not your servant. Also, I don’t trust you having a bath right now. You’re way too drunk.”
“Am not.”
“Are too, and you know it.”
She pouted, still holding onto his tail. “Stay then? Just for a bit?”
Six years ago, that request would have turned him into a flustered mess. Now, he just sighed and lay with her on the sofa, opening his arms up so she could snuggle close.
“Don’t let this become a habit,” he murmured.
“Huh?”
“Messaging me to collect you.”
Her nose brushed the exposed skin on his neck. “Not allowed to drink and swing.”
“That makes zero sense.”
She didn’t offer an explanation either, content to sprawl on him like a worn out kitten. He prodded her in the back.
“Don’t go to sleep. I haven’t finished scolding you.”
“Mhmm. Listening.”
Her speech was slurring more. It might have bothered him, but in truth she rarely drank alcohol, let alone got this drunk. No, what he didn’t understand was why she always ended up messaging him if she did. She’d been out with her co-workers tonight. She could have caught a taxi back with one of them or called one of her other friends. Alya was in England at the moment, but Nino and Kagami were still around. Heck, she could have asked his civilian self to come collect her. Adrien would have been there with a car to offer the luxury chauffeur experience.
But she hadn’t asked Adrien. She’d asked Chat Noir.
“Marinette,” he said softly.
“Mm?”
“Why’d you message me tonight?”
She made a sleepy sound and slid her leg more under his, entwining their limbs. “Because …”
It wasn’t much of an answer, but as he lay there with his friend (now lightly snoring) in his arms, he thought that maybe he understood. After all, she was special to him. No matter how weird or inconvenient the request, he always came running to her aid. He always would, too.