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Marinette shivered. Her superhero suit usually kept her warm but this time she felt cold.
Maybe it was because Claw Noir didn't even try to hide how insufferable he found her presence. He was distant, cold and very unwelcoming.
She should have felt the same way, she reminded herself with a frown. He wasn't a friend. He wasn't even an ally. They had been thrown together to fight against Betterfly, but they were rivals.
He never pretended to be doing anything else but waiting for a moment to pounce and take her Miraculous. He tolerated her because this way he could be close enough to take advantage in a moment of weakness.
She knew that. She logically felt the same way. She wanted to be the one get out of this stronger, not a loser.
And yet, a part of her, a small part that progressively and maddeningly got bigger, wanted something else.
In unguarded moments she found herself wondering what it would feel to have him touch her lovingly. Not grip her arms to the point of pain as he pushed her away from danger, begrudgingly mind you, because they were on the same side. Not dig his claws into her suit until she was alarmed that he was going to tear it apart. No, instead, to feel him caress her skin and pull her into his arms.
She could bet that he felt warm. After all, he was a growing boy. He'd probably feel like a furnace next to her. She went as far as to look at him out of the corner of her eye, while rubbing her hands over her arms to feel warmer.
Of course, she still had enough presence of mind to know that to actually try to hug him would be a very bad idea. In fact, it could be lethal for her. She had no doubts that if she overstepped the mark of tentative, deceptive peace between them, he would not hesitate before turning his deadly power on her.
So her mind still screamed at her to stay away, even when her body craved the human touch, the warmth, the closeness. No matter how dangerous it could be.
"Are you cold, cockroach?" He sneered.
"N-no," she shot back, instantly on the defensive, as if he could read her mind.
"Let's go. That horribly nice butterfly probably decided to stay in his greenhouse as well instead of to roam the cold streets."
He stood up and she followed him, hoping that the movement would bring some warmth to her limbs.
"Bye, I guess," she said coldly, trying very much to sound indifferent.
"You know, you could easily save yourself the cold walks. You just need to give me these earrings," he suddenly whispered in her ear, a sharp claw alarmingly close to her throat. She jumped back in fright, even as blood rushed to her face, making it warmer than the rest of her because of the unexpected proximity of the damn cat.
"Don't touch me!"
Lethal. He could be lethal. She had to remember that.
"Just teasing you," he cackled.
Even at the grating sound, she couldn't resist stealing one last look at him, to see the way his black lips stretched over pearly white teeth.
He was probably a terrible kisser, she thought. After all, he was an egotistic, cruel being. She doubted that he had even a single nice bone in his body. So he would probably be selfish and harsh even in something that was supposed to be anything but.
If only she could bring herself not to want to kiss him.
He is probably poisonous. One kiss and you drop dead. Right?
He was already leaving, totally oblivious to the turmoil in her heart. So there was no need to distract herself from her annoying thoughts.
She sighed as she headed home. As if she'd needed another complication in her already horrible life.
*
Marinette woke up with a gasp. Then she saw the open skylight and realised this was why she had been cold. It had a faulty latch and opened on its own sometimes.
"Goodness," she groaned as she sat up to close it. "What a dream."
It was so silly that she could still think about this. After all, this was in the past.
Adrien was no longer Claw Noir. He no longer hated her. And she had no reason to feel embarrassed because she wanted to kiss him. Why couldn't the old memories leave her alone?
She checked her phone and saw that it was already 7. He was probably up.
Are you asleep?
Instead of replying to her text, he called her.
"Good morning, bugaboo!" He said, sounding impossibly cheerful for the early hour. Not to mention that he had once again managed to come up with a new nickname for her.
"Mhm," she barely mumbled.
"What is it? I thought that you wanted to talk to me."
"I... had a dream," she croaked.
"A nightmare?" He instantly sounded alert. So sweet and kind. She had been so wrong to think that he couldn't care about another one but himself.
"Um, no. Just a very embarrassing one." She felt her cheeks heat up even though he couldn't see her. "I remembered the ridiculous crush I used to have on you back when... well, you hated me."
"Hey, hey, I never hated you," he said instantly. "I just liked getting the rise out of you. It was so easy," he chuckled.
Yeah, right. As if she didn't remember how he'd left her to hit the ground after that big drop from the sky as they tried to catch their alter egos. He just chose to pretend the past had never happened. He was probably embarrassed by how he had acted as well.
"Wait. Crush?" He asked then, bringing her back to the present. "You used to have a crush on me while I was still Claw Noir?"
She felt her face get even hotter.
"Silly, I know," she laughed a little.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"It's embarrassing, ok?" She all but whined.
"I told you about the many times I pretended I was dying for macarons so I could go to the bakery and catch a glimpse of you."
It still felt surreal to hear him say it. To know that it had been true. Even when she knew how he felt about her now.
"That was sweet," she smiled to herself. "Also, you didn't know that I was Shadybug. So it wasn't nearly deranged for you to have feelings for me."
"So... Was it the green hair?"
He sounded amused and was clearly teasing her. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to tell him. Hopefully the dreams would stop then.
She snorted.
"No. But I did wonder what that black lipstick tasted like."
"Oh."
It was a strangely comforting sound of disbelief coming from him.
"Yeah, I was that pathetic. While you plotted how to steal my Miraculous, I dreamed about kissing you," she giggled. "But I tried to convince myself that you were probably poisonous."
"Ouch," he chucked.
"Now I know better," she said gently.
"Mmm. Do you want to meet me for breakfast? All this talk about kisses made me miss you."
Now she really laughed out loud.
"Adrien, it's impossibly early. I'm going back to sleep."
It was one of the rare mornings when her aunt didn't make her take the early shift at the bakery. She wanted to make the most of it.
"Then why did you text me?"
Now he sounded as if he was pouting.
"Because I was annoyed at myself because of the dream. Talking to you helped," she admitted.
"Good to hear. Call me when you get up then."
"I will," she said around a yawn.
"Love you!"
"Love you, too."
But the truth was that when she ended the call she couldn't go back to sleep immediately. She went to the bathroom, because the cold had this effect on her usually, and for some strange reason brushed her teeth. All this talking of kisses..
Unfortunately, Adrien was too far away for kisses, she thought as she got back to bed. After that, she fell asleep and thankfully had no more embarrassing dreams.
When she woke up again, though, she thought that she was dreaming. Because Adrien was there and he was kissing her.
Her arms closed around him instinctively and she kissed him back.
"Mm, better than a dream," she hummed happily when he pulled back. And then she opened her eyes and gasped. Because he was Claw Noir! "Agh!"
"Surprise," he grinned. And then he licked his black lips with relish.
It wasn't a dream, she realised as she blinked rapidly. He was in her room and he was her boyfriend. He had just done this to tease her.
"You... You!" She slapped his shoulder, knowing that he would feel nothing in the suit.
"Hey, is this what I get for making your dreams reality?" He laughed.
"I almost had a heart attack," she groaned and hid behind her pillow.
"But you liked it," he practically purred in her ear as he found an opening.
She had. Almost too much.
"Ask me again in a while if I don't end up poisoned," she grumbled in a muffled voice.
"This is not poison!" he exclaimed.
"Shh! My aunt will hear you," she warned him, removing her pillow to shoot him a look.
"Kiss me again and I'll keep quiet," he smirked.
"Ugh."
It was almost embarrassing how easily she agreed. Mostly because it was a good way to keep him quiet. But when their lips met again, she could no longer be mad at him for tricking her.
He tasted nothing like poison. His lips were as warm and gentle as usual. He was her sweet kitty.
"This is also like one of my old dreams," he said when they broke apart eventually. His cheeks were a little pink under the mask. Oh, had he dreamed of surprising her in her bedroom?
"Again, not embarrassing since you didn't know my secret identity."
"Need I remind you that you couldn't stand Adrien Agreste before?" He huffed.
"Oops," she giggled. He had a point. They had both been pretty blind.
"I better go before your aunt really catches me here. I also kind of want to get rid of this look," he made a face.
"It's not that bad," she teased him.
"Har har."
"One more kiss and you can go," she pleaded. And he kissed her because he was as weak as her. They were made for each other.
Why should they rehash old misunderstandings anyway when they could kiss for real and it was better than any dream.