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“I didn’t even know you could spin a person that many times during one song,” Chat admitted as they continued their way back to Marinette’s house. The two had opted for walking as, well…
“I still can’t believe Prince Ali actually thought a Sadie Hawkin’s dance was a dance where the women took the lead in a song,” Marinette giggled, watching as her poor kitty attempted to walk in a straight line. He was still far too dizzy. “Besides, isn’t that an American thing? For their lyceé? Err…”
“They call it high school, but yeah.” Chat shrugged. He then turned to his friend with a grin. “So I take it my purr-incess had a good time?”
“Marvelous.”
“Don’t you mean mew-velous?”
“Why am I even friends with you?” Marinette bemoaned, dramatically putting her hand to her head and halting to emphasize her traumatic situation. She opened an eye and grinned at him. He was waving a finger in her direction, a joking grin on his masked face.
“…I maintain the ‘no take backsies’ rule.”
“Drat, foiled by ‘no take backsies’,” she said, snapping her fingers as some cartoonish villain might have. “Anyways, do you—”
“Excuse me, but you’re Chat Noir, aren’t you?”
Marinette and Chat both turned to see the interloper on their conversation. She had strawberry blonde hair curl into ringlets to the small of her back and wide green eyes that never deviated from Chat’s face.
“That I am,” the alley cat grinned, always pleased to meet a fan. Marinette stood to the side to let him have this. She knew how rare it was for people to seek out Chat Noir as their favorite half of the—
“Can I kiss you?”
She.
Did.
Not.
“What?!”
Chat’s voice was high and confused.
Marinette’s was a strangled cross between furious and mortified.
The girl plowed on. “I’ve always loved you, Chat Noir, and I’m grateful for everything you do for this city and I really admire the fact that you look a bad situation in the face and crack a wonderful pun and I want to get to know you better so I thought I could ask you on a date but I asked for a kiss instead so I thought I would roll with it and now I’m rambling, please Chat’s date, shut me up…”
With every word, Marinette could feel her patience thin more and more. Chat Noir was her friend, her kitty, her companion, and her partner. And this girl was trying to kiss him? In front of her?
Knowing she was Chat’s date for tonight!?
What the hell?!
“I-I’m flattered, but I can’t do that,” Chat stuttered. “My heart belongs to my Lady and my time belongs to my purr-incess tonight.”
“Oh…” the girl said softly. Marinette hoped that the girl would just turn around and— “Well, can I have your time some other night? Next week?”
THIS GIRL WAS JUST ASKING FOR IT!
“Sorry, he’s a bit busy for the next few weeks. He and Ladybug do patrols and he’s got his civilian life and he’s been helping me with a project,” Marinette cut in. She wished she had kept her mouth shut, but there was no helping it now. She was in this fight and there was no way she was giving up.
“But…but can’t you spare him for even one night?” the girl asked, her voice taking on a tone that grated heavily on Marinette’s nerves.
“No.” She had no qualms saying it. In fact, it felt rather justified.
“But…but why? You don’t even have a say in what goes on in his life! He could want to date me! I’m datable! You’d just be standing in the way!”
Marinette had seen far too many temper tantrums like Chloe’s to put up with another one.
“Look, if Chat wants to date you, he can say so and I’ll move my schedule around for him, but I won’t do it for you. Why? Because Chat is one of my best friends. My best friend. I will stand up for him when people don’t realize when he’s uncomfortable and especially when people think that he’s so low as to hand out kisses to whoever asks.”
So she hissed out that last bit. Fight her.
“I get that you might like him, but he said ‘no’. Respect it and leave him alone,” Marinette seethed. The girl inhaled sharply before turning and running away.
A sense of victory washed through Marinette. That would teach her.
“So…” Sense of victory gone. “Best friend, huh?”
“Yeah. Got a problem with it, chaton?”
“Nope.” Sense of victory returned (slightly). “Just one thing.”
“What’s that?” she asked, turning to her chaton. He had that grin on his face and looked entirely too happy.
“No take backsies.”