Work Text:
Marinette sighed as she sat in her rooftop garden, harvesting some of the herbs she’d been growing for tea and setting them in their own individual bags. Today was a pretty boring Saturday, as far as they go. Her maman was on another date with that waiter guy she met a week ago, and she’d finished her schoolwork on Friday, so unless Marinette miraculously got over her fear of potentially bothering Alina, Flora, or Fae forbid, Felix — she’d be chilling out with her plants and Tikki, which she didn’t mind.
It’s just a normal Saturday.
“I didn’t think you could even grow plants up on such a small roof, but I stand corrected.”
Marinette flinched at the voice then turned around, aiming her pruning shears at a familiar golden bell.
“Chat Noir!” She exclaimed, dropping the shears on the metal railing with a disorientingly loud thunk. “What’re you doing here?”
He shrugged and leaned against the wall near her trap door. “Cats can get bored too, so I figured I’d take a walk on the rooftops, but then I saw you sitting up here alone.”
Marinette smirked and put the shears back in a small tool bag she’d brought up with her, picking up a watering can that sat nearby. “Oh? Were you planning on keeping me and my plants company?”
“Better than just sitting at home bored out of my mind, that’s for sure. Oh, um, quick question, do you have any—”
“Snacks?” Marinette finished, nodding as she watered some of the lavender growing near the railing of her rooftop. “Yeah, I’ve got plenty! Maman made some fresh strawberry and lemon macarons before she left for her date. Help yourself!”
“Maybe when you’re done, I don’t want you to miss out on any of it.”
“What, because they’ll be all gone by the time I go inside?”
He snorted, his grin widening a bit. “Oh please, have some faith in me, would you?… I’d only eat half of them by the time you got back.”
They laughed together as Chat sat, leaning over Marinette’s shoulder like a curious child just learning the basics of cooking while watching their parents demonstrate, and took in the scent of lavender for a moment.
“You know, this whole gardening thing is reminding me of something I had a while ago that I really really liked, but never had the opportunity to try a second time.”
“Oh?” Marinette asked, opening the trap door and grabbing the harvested herbs and the tool bag. “What’s that?”
“Herbal tea.”
“How classy,” she snickered and flicked his bell before heading inside. “Didn’t think you’d be the type to enjoy that kind of thing.”
Chat collapsed on her bed back first, bouncing a bit with the momentum from what Marinette was sure was him falling into her room on purpose, then headed downstairs and into the kitchen after she put the tools away.
“That’s kinda funny actually,” Marinette added, setting the herbs aside. “Tea is why I started that garden in the first place.”
Chat was mid-bite of a macaron when she said it, and she could feel the light and awe radiating off his face. “Can you make some?”
“Sure!” She replied, pulling out a kettle. “Any requests?”
“Nah, I’m good with anything, I just want some tea.”
As Chat flopped on her couch, Marinette looked down to the bags. Lavender, hibiscus, ginger…
Catnip?
Oh, the way Marinette hid the grin cracking from beneath her fingers almost made her collapse into laughter.
She knew she simply had to use those for their afternoon tea.
Marinette got to work almost immediately, pouring two cups of water into the kettle and getting out a jar of honey and a small bottle of lemon juice waiting for it to boil.
“So, what’s new in your life?” Chat asked, leaning on the arm of the couch and using his arms as a pillow.
“Well…” Marinette truthfully didn’t have an answer for that, but as she chopped the catnip that, thankfully, he couldn’t see, she remembered the hang out that Flora planned out a month or so ago.
She, Alina, Felix, Kagami, Alix and Marinette all got tea from Sebastian’s café together around the same time he had a date with Maman, and the result was a comedic mess of mixed up tea orders and laughs had by all after Felix ended up drinking Alix’s tea by mistake because he’d forgotten how to breathe due to enjoying it so much. As a consequence, Alix had swiped half of the cookies Felix had ordered for himself.
Marinette laughed to herself at the memory as she took the kettle off the heat, its whistling song shaking her out of it. “Not much, honestly. Just more of the usual. How about you?”
“Still trying to piece together how all these rogue wishmakers are being created by Papillon, as usual. Ladybug and I already checked the glade where Fae like mine lives a week ago, and no other stones were found so they couldn’t have woken up. Every time a rogue is defeated, a butterfly made of crystals just… flutters away from the Fae that phases out of them.”
Marinette had to bite back a comment that she’d normally make if she had her spots on, resolving instead to a quiet “hmm” as she strained the catnip into the no longer boiling kettle before stirring it in.
“Y’know, I’m curious…” Chat added walking over to the kitchen island to grab another macaron. “What would your wish be?”
“Hm? My wish?”
“Yeah. I’ve never seen you get taken over by Papillon before, and while that’s impressive, I’m wondering what kind of wishmaker you’d be. What kind of powers would you have?”
Marinette smirked, keeping the jab along the lines of ‘oh, wouldn’t you like to know’ to herself as she stirred in the honey and lemon juice in the steeped tea. Feeling cheeky, she flicked his bell again, then said “Cat whisperer.”
Chat sneered, returning the grin. “Consider me under a spell then, because you’re already speaking my language.”
“Psh, really now? I’m not even dangling a cat teaser, Chaton.”
“No, seriously. The tea smells good. It… speaks to me, somehow.”
Marinette bit back a laugh as she went over to grab cups, and Chat lingered nearby. “I’m not kidding, what flavor is this? It’s driving me crazy not knowing when it smells so delicious.” She heard him ask, and she rolled her eyes.
“Hey now,” Marinette sat a cup on the counter, then winked. “I don't want to spoil it, you’ll just have to guess after you give it a try.”
“Heh. Smart decision.” Chat watched as the tea was poured into his cup almost calculatingly slow, and he smiled quizzically. “Building the suspense for just a little longer, eh?”
It was getting harder and harder not to return the mischievous grin he wore and expose her planned shenanigans, but as she poured herself some of it, Marinette realized something that she hadn’t entirely taken into account.
How would Chat Noir even react to catnip? Would he be affected at all or was that just a guess she’d been rotating in her mind?
Regardless, the tea had a somewhat earthy taste with a hint of sweetness from the honey and lemon juice, and while it wouldn’t be her first choice, Marinette found herself enjoying it for the most part.
Setting her cup down on the coffee table as she sat next to Chat as he finished his sip, she looked over at him, the joy in her voice barely contained the longer she waited for an answer. “Well? How is it?”
“Ohh… oh my god …” was Chat’s only astonished response, staring at the wall in front of him for a good fifteen seconds before leaning his head back and drinking the rest of it in, at max, two giant gulps.
“Chat!!” Marinette shouted, holding onto his arm and snatching his now empty cup to put it back on the table, which her partner didn’t seem to notice as he was still staring at the wall as if in a daze. “It’s good, I know, but don’t forget to breathe, you goof!!”
Marinette blinked, disguising a surprised laugh as coughing when she saw his pupils dilate and a smile crack itself into his expression.
“How was it…?” She repeated, her voice now carrying with it an air of sneakiness that she carried more often as Ladybug.
“If perfection was a teaaaa… I think that,” he pointed not at either of their cups, but a fake potted silvervine plant of similar size on the table. “That’d be itttt…”
Ohh, it was wrong to laugh. It’s wrong to laugh, Marinette. Don’t do it. Don’t laugh at him. “Chat, that’s a fake plant…”
“How was I supposed to know that!! It looks suspicious…” Chat glared at the plastic leaves, draping his arms over her shoulder in a protective manner, then smacking his lips as if trying to see if the tea had some kind of aftertaste. “I’m tasting plants…”
She had to keep reminding herself to not laugh, it was getting that difficult. “That’s the tea, Chat.”
“You made me tea?” Chat sounded touched, which she knew he was, but it didn’t make this any less funny. “You’re like… the only person who’s super nice to me, y’know… not to- um—” A cacophony of hiccups interrupted his train of thought for a good minute, no doubt from downing the rest of his drink without taking a moment to breathe. “Not to, uh, think badly of Flora or Alina or whatever but like…” he twirled his hand in multiple circles as he tried to voice his thoughts. “You’re the only one I feel… I dunno, safe around I guesss…”
This just went from hilarious to confusing. He knew Alina and Flora by name? Chat was one of their friends? Huh… odd…
“Oh?” The question came out as a squeak, but she decided to prod a bit more anyway. “You know some of my friends?”
“I mean, duhhh.” He rolled his eyes as if Marinette’s question was dumb and gestured to himself. “Of course I do. We go to the same class, obviouslyyyy… can’t you tell?”
“No, no I can’t, Chat.”
“Really? I thought it was pretty obvious who I am.”
She snorted, reaching up to ruffle his hair. “Psh. I’m sure if one of my friends was caught wearing what you are, I would’ve heard about it.”
“That’s the point of secrets, Mariiii… you gotta keep ‘em secretttt!!”
“You literally just exposed a bit of your personal relationships not even two minutes ago, you goof!!”
“Do you want to know? Hmmmm???” Chat leaned into her as he said it, then fell onto his back after staring at her for almost two minutes. “Y’know what would make this whole heroing thing a lot easier? A giant bug zapper.”
Marinette had to fight herself to not comment about it and resist the urge to dig out her sketches for the Bug Zapper Mark 3 she’d planned to make for her spotted alter ego, settling for a curious “hm?” instead.
Said noise caught Chat’s attention as if it were a red dot, and he practically flopped on top of her, pressing his cheek into hers as if he were an actual cat rubbing against someone’s leg to show affection and trust. “I’m gonna be real here, I won't be caught dead wearing thissss at home… stupid father and his dumb expectations…”
Marinette’s blood turned cold as she felt Chat pout, something about the way he said it felt familiar. “Expectations…?”
“Yeah, like… being a champion boxer but apparently I’m ‘not trying hard enough’ or whatever. Heh, imagine what he’d think if he saw me doing this as practice…”
Marinette shifted her posture, causing Chat’s head to fall from her shoulder to her stomach as she looked at him dead in the eyes suspiciously. “…Nathan…?”
Chat reached up and lightly tapped her cheek, blinking slowly. Then he grinned. “…You’re getting warmerrrr.”
Marinette wanted to question what he meant by that, but she didn’t have time to get the thought out, because not even a microsecond later, her face burned the darkest shade of red it ever got in her life as she mumbled something under her breath. “Oh my god, I got Felix— my best friend and crush , high on catnip…”
…she couldn’t take it anymore, she couldn’t not laugh at this.
Not even a second later, Chat joined in the hilarity, doubling over and falling off the couch, their laughter completely drowning out Sabine calling out that she’d gotten home… which, of course, was when Chat finally calmed down and went “Ha.. haaa…. What’re we laughing about?”
Marinette was too tickled by the situation to respond, choked up from crying, cheeks and lungs hurting from laughing so much as Sabine sat down her purse near the kettle.
“I’d like to know the same thing.” Sabine said, taking a seat in the spot where Chat had fallen off. “What are you two laughing about?”
Chat shrugged, then got up, sat in a chair directly in the line of sunlight, and batted at the string that would’ve been used to pull down the blinds, his eyes round and full of wonder as the cord swayed at his every attempt at catching it.
When Marinette finally managed to breathe, she couldn’t even answer properly because it wasn’t her secret to tell. “Oh, no reason… just had a curious cat come over for tea.”
“Well, he seems to be enjoying himself so that’s all that matters in my book.”
“Yeah…” Marinette giggled, standing up to rinse out the kettle before Chat practically leapt off the chair and lingered behind her, his triangle ears pointing straight up.
“Can I have more of that?” He asked, purposefully angling his head downwards in his best impression of a begging face. “Pleaseeeee, Mar?”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’ve had too much!” She replied, still wracked with embers of laughter as she heard him thump to the floor grasping her ankle and audibly whine another request for tea just as she was finishing up rinsing their cups.
“How could youuuuu…”
“You’re already pretty out of it, Chat. No more catnip tea for you.” She walked back to the couch, and Chat sat beside her just as Sabine got up. He once again snuggled close to Marinette, purring loudly and blindly reaching behind himself for a blanket that, thankfully, was within his reach.
Not even five minutes later, that purring turned into quiet snoring as Chat had fallen asleep, and maybe it was because of how close they were, but Marinette had started to yawn a bit too…
She hadn’t necessarily planned on taking a nap today, but then again, she also hadn’t planned on having Chat Noir over for tea either, so… why not? Now was as good a time as any.
So she took a nap, right on the couch with her partner, and perhaps a half hour or so later, she felt the blanket draped over both her and Chat Noir move, and she stirred.
“Mm.. Chat?” She yawned, sitting up a bit once she realized that he’d been holding his head, looking at the ground slightly distracted.
“Huh? Oh, hey Mar.” Was it just her waking up, or did it look like his cheeks were dusted pink? His pupils were back to the standard slits as well, so if how he was speaking was any indication, the tea’s effects had worn off. “I-I don’t know what happened, but I really hope I didn’t completely pass out on you this whole time, did I?”
“Nope!” Marinette answered quickly. “Nope, you were fine, don’t worry!”
“Good.” He stood up and stretched, before walking over to the window that, unbeknownst to him, he’d sunbathed in just a bit earlier, and opened it. “Well, this was a fun little break from the usual, but I’d best be going now! I… hope you don’t mind me coming back sometime, do you?”
Marinette smiled, then nodded. “Not at all, Chat. I’d love to hang out with you again!”
Chat looked away for a moment, as if contemplating something, before looking back at her. “Ah… ah I see, good to know. See you soon then?”
“Yeah! Bye!” With another returned smile and a wave, Chat leapt off from her mother’s apartment window, and if Marinette squinted, she could see him popping in and out of the horizon, no doubt doing flips in and out of his Black Hole portals.
Now that she was alone, Marinette could let herself react to the sheer insanity of her afternoon with Chat— Felix, her crush and best friend, who was actually her partner this whole time. Said reaction was a bout of devious snickering as she put the bagged catnip and other herbs in a spice rack cabinet of sorts that Marinette had yet to declutter.
Ah, catnip tea. What a hilarious experiment this turned into…
Grinning to herself at a new memory she would definitely be teasing Felix with once he knew who the person behind the spots was, Marinette headed back up to her room and debated texting Felix to hang out again at her place sometime…
…Nah, not right now. Don’t plan that out, Marinette.
It might be funny to see if Felix had a reaction to that delightful tea just like his alter ego did, but she’d rather it be a surprise to them both.
Heheh. Yeah. Tea with her partner, masked or not, was the cat’s meow.