Chapter Text
Marinette hated Chat Noir. Well, at least when he showed up uninvited while she was in the midst of an Adrien Emergency.
Yeah, sure it wasn’t as bad as Adrien showing up during an Adrien Emergency but she still didn’t want Chat Noir to see Adrien’s three year schedule sprawled across the floor, hundreds of discarded letter confessions littering her room, and her pajama clad self sitting in the middle of it all.
She furrowed her brow as the silhouette disappeared from behind her window and was followed by a thud on her balcony.
“That Chaton really chooses the worst times to barge in.” She hissed to herself as she struggled with the large poster board. Attempting to shove it in the closet wasn’t working so she ditched that idea and flung it into her bathroom instead.
She shut the door but cringed as she remembered all the crumpled confessions.
A knock on her balcony’s hatch made her jump. Grumbling, she quickly made her way over the piles of paper wads and scrambled up her ladder.
“Chat, this is a really bad tim-“ she started as she opened the hatch. Her words were cut short by the sight of jeans and shoes that made her slam the hatch shut. “Chat!” She exclaimed. “Why aren’t you transformed?”
“Sorry, sorry!” He replied from the other side. “I just wanted to feed my kwami real quick, usually you take longer to come up.”
Marinette sighed, but after hearing Chat’s usual “Claws out,” she once again peeked up through the hatch. Chat extended his hand to hers but she pulled herself up and shut the hatch.
His green eyes flickered away slightly before retracting his hand. Marinette wasn’t trying to be rude but she really didn’t have time to play around with him today.
“Sorry Chat… I’m kinda in the middle of a big project.” She clenched her folded arms thinking about how often she tried to confess to Adrien, and how many times—despite her excessive planning—she failed. Chat must’ve noticed her sullen body language. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. He was warm, unlike the brisk autumn air around them.
Flashing a smile, he tilted his head. “Don’t worry, I’m sure whatever it is will turn out great, you’re really talented Marinette.” He paused. “Hey, I can help you!”
She froze. Swiftly putting her hands up she shook her head. “No no!” She said nervously, thinking not only of the “project” itself but also the state of her room. She couldn’t let Chat Noir see that, he already had plenty of reason enough to tease her, no need to give him another. “It’s fine,” she exclaimed slightly louder than she intended. “Thanks though, you should probably get going no-“
Of course Chat wasn’t gonna pay attention.
“Look Purr-incess, I’m very well known for being a good project partner. At school, I basically have to run away from my classmates when the teacher announces a paired project.”
Marinette sniffled a snort. “Are you sure that’s because you’re smart or because you flirt with every girl you meet?” Half of her thought that must be the case, and half of her hoped it wasn’t. It’s not like she cared if he flirted with anyone, almost every girl in Paris threw themselves at Chat Noir’s feet, but he always proclaimed his love for her as Ladybug, and Ladybug didn’t want a flirt.
“Nope, it's cause I’m smart.” Chat retorted quickly, as he lifted the hatch.
“Don’t-“ Marinette began to protest, but he hopped down before she could finish. She pinched the bridge of her nose but quickly followed the nosy cat.
Shutting out the cold wind behind her as she dropped down to bed, she glared at Chat Noir. “You can’t just waltz into someone’s bedroom like it’s your own.” She said, folding her arms.
“You’re not just someone.”
Marinette clambered down her loft and pulled a half done confession out of his claws. Her eyes widened as she realized she had actually written Adrien’s name down on this draft. She glanced at him, frowning.
“It’s not polite to look through people’s stuff, kitty.” She balled up the paper and stuffed it into the pocket of her sweatpants. “Curiosity killed the cat, remember?”
“But satisfaction brought it back.” Chat finished, leaning a bit too close for the temperature of the room. Was he always this invasive? “You should know your idioms if you’re gonna try to use them.” His voice was laced with sarcasm, and his face with a smirk. Marinette stammered slightly, trying to ignore the proximity.
“So who’s the boy??” Chat asked, bouncing back on her desk chair. The air cleared, or well, Marinette's head cleared at the return of Chat’s loud personality. She pushed past him, scoffing.
“No one you would know.”
“You sure about that? I know a lot of people.” He said in a singsong voice.
Marinette turned to him. “Even if you do, I’m not gonna open the door for you to invade his space.” She knew if Chat knew, he’d definitely pay her crush a visit, probably embarrassing her in the process. Although really, it couldn’t be much worse than how she embarrassed herself. Still, it just felt wrong. Technically she was the girl Chat was in love with, even if he didn’t know. Telling him who she liked felt morally wrong. If he knew she was Ladybug, his feelings would be crushed.
“Alright, it’s your loss. I could totally help you.”
“No thanks.” She replied mindlessly as she flipped through her design notebook. An unfinished sketch caught her eye. Maybe there was something Chat could help her with after all. “Hey Chaton, come sit over here real quick.”
“A seat next to my purr-incess, how could I decline?” He said with fake grandeur. Without hesitation he made his way over to her chaise lounge.
Marinette showed him the unfinished sketch. A jacket. A very plain jacket. At the time she hadn’t been very happy with it, thus the unfinished sketch. But a small pattern and some embroidery might just be what it needed. Fortunately for her, the amount of times she’d seen Chat Noir’s suit was enough to remind her how much she loved the subtle stitching and fabric pattern. As Ladybug, she would never get a chance to really study it closely, fighting crime didn’t really lend to staying still, but as Marinette…
“Here,” she said, handing the notebook to him. “I want to take some close ups of the pattern on your suit.” She grabbed her phone and pulled Chat’s arm towards her. She didn’t notice the way he stared at her.
“So is this jacket for you?” He asked.
Marinette smiled. “Yeah, I wanted something business-like to wear to this job day thing that my school is hosting. I heard that my favorite fashion company is going to have a booth, I guess I just want to make a professional impression.”
“That’s great Marinette. I’m sure they’ll totally give you an internship.”
“I hope so.” She mused. She had nearly finished fussing with him when she noticed slash marks decorating the side of the suit.
“Chat,” She said worriedly. “What happened?” She refrained from pulling his arm any farther and set her phone down. She didn’t want to hurt him more than he already was.
“Oh this?” Chat looked away. “That’s actually why I came here tonight. I know you sew so I wanted to ask if you could patch it up.”
Marinette softly touched the ripped fabric. It wasn’t just a surface wound, he should’ve gone to treat his injuries, not the gosh darn suit. And why hadn’t she noticed it earlier? Oh yeah she was too busy trying to get rid of him.
“Doesn’t it reset when you detransform?” She asked genuinely. As Ladybug she had never gotten hurt like that before. She tended to be a lot more careful of her surroundings.
Chat shook his head. “Well if we were fighting a villain, then Ladybug’s lucky charm would fix it, but uh, I just happened to run into some thugs earlier-“ he paused as if contemplating whether to continue or not.
“Chat, you should’ve called Ladybug. I’m sure she would’ve helped you.”
“It’s not as easy as that. I can’t just call her up whenever, she has to be transformed too.. I don’t know her identity so I can’t contact her…”
Marinette was taken aback. She hadn’t ever thought of what could happen if either of them got hurt without the other one knowing. “Don’t you and Ladybug usually go on patrol together?”
He shrunk back slightly, his eyes suddenly losing their glint. “Sometimes when my home life is getting bad, I like to get out, to clear my head.” He said the first part so softly, Marinette barely caught it. Her breath hitched in her throat. She knew his personal life wasn’t like hers, as shown by his constant amazement when she shared bits about her family's relationship, but the way he curled into himself revealed a much deeper hurt than she had previously thought.
“I’m sorry, Chat.” She whispered softly. “I’m so sorry.”
He looked at her. “It’s not your fault.” He smiled softly and patted her hand that had come to rest on his shoulder.
Marinette looked back down at his wound. Red and blistering, but thankfully not bleeding too bad. “Come on kitty, let’s get you fixed up.” Her fingers ran softly over the wounded area before she looked up. All the sudden she was aware of how close they had gotten. His green eyes pierced her blue ones, his shaky breath filling the silent room. His skin was warmer than usual. Hers had followed suit. The difference was that she knew why he was warm, it was reasonable and scientific. Her warmth though, was completely involuntary and not at all brought on by illness.