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“So, the dough has turned out to be a bit sticky, and hence, we need to add a bit more flour. Chat, could you get some from the canister over there?”
“Sure thing, Princess.” The hero gave her a mock salute and moved over to the indicated canister to get the flour.
Sunday baking lessons were for sure a fun thing between the two friends.
“Marinette, the canister is empty.”
“Oh, let me get it from the sack over there, then.”
The girl went to the shelves and tried to reach up for the flour sack kept on the top, but her short stature was a hindrance.
“Here, allow me,” Chat came up from behind and reached out to pull the sack down.
..
Only for his clawed gloves to pierce it, making the entire contents of the flour bag fall on the two teens.
..
Marinette was covered head-to-toe in flour, her blue eyes staring wildly at an equally covered Chat Noir.
The hero’s hand reached behind his neck as he let out a nervous chuckle, “Whoops!” He turned to look at himself in the mirror on the opposite wall, and a look of admiration formed on his face.
“Well, well, Princess. Seems like Chat Noi- no, rather Chat Blanc has gotten into some mischief.”
….
Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, m'lady. Could you please hand me your Miraculous? Cat Blanc has... gotten into some mischief.
Now you're breaking more than my heart, Marinette!
Things were PURR-FECT until Hawk Moth found out about everything. Once the cat is out of the bag, it's only a matter of time 'till everyone knows.
It was our love that did this to the world, m'lady.
…
No, no, no. Chat Blanc was another timeline. A timeline that never happened. He doesn’t exist anymore. He never even happened to exist. Everything is good, everything is fine, you and Chat are good friends, making the special Dupain-Cheng bread in the bakery.
The small ting of a bell caught her attention.
“See Marinette, I'm not Chat Noir anymore. I'm Chat Blanc.”
…
He came into existence thanks to your tomfoolery, Marinette. No wonder he still haunts your dreams. Even if it was another timeline, you really cannot overlook your mistake that left the world in chaos.
Are you meant to be a good Ladybug? Answer, Marinette. ANSWER! GIVE US THE ANSWER, MARINETTE, MARINETTE, MARI-
..
“-NETTE!”
Jerked back to reality, Marinette peered into the sparkling emerald gaze of the hero. The hero who was still covered in flour and had jokingly claimed himself to be some evilised version of himself.
An evilised version that still haunted her nightmares.
“Hey hey Mari, did that joke catch you off-guard? I-I swear I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Oh goodness, dumb me, of course white looks so ridiculous with green, no wonder your internal fashion designer was freaking out. Okay, okay, I won’t joke about being Chat Blanc anymore. Just say something, please?”
The girl looked at him in amazement. He wasn’t cold, he wasn’t rude. He didn’t have those soulless, icy eyes that made her shiver.
He was a jokester. A prankster who was trying to calm her down. His green eyes were lively and luminescent as ever, and were sparkling with concern right now.
He wasn’t Chat Blanc. He was just Chat Noir covered in a sack full of flour.
“Nette? Nette? Earth to Nette? Seriously, is blanking out of the world some sort of a new communication ski- OOF! ”
The girl had wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tight. Surprise wearing off, the boy smiled, returning the hug.
How Marinette knew of the Chat Blanc debacle was beyond his understanding. Had it been Ladybug, he would have understood the freak out. However, he had never expected the ravenette to give him that reaction.
It was a question worth thinking on, but it didn’t matter right now. Not when the girl clearly needed reassurance that he wasn’t who she'd panickedly supposed him to be. Hearing her muffled words, he was glad that she was finally all right.
“No matter who you are, you will always be Chat Noir to me, kitty. Always.”