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Marinette paced around the living room, going over her checklist. Snacks? Check. DVD? Phone on silent? Check. There had to be something she was forgetting, she was always forgetting something.
“Honey, relax. Your friend should be here any minute,” Sabine said.
“I know. It’s just that Chat Noir said he’s never had a family movie night, and that he doesn’t spend a lot of time with his family at all. I don’t know why I offered to invite him, or why he agreed to come, I just...I think he’s really lonely, Mom.”
Sabine put her hand on Marinette’s shoulder and sat the two of them down on the couch.
“Just breathe, Marinette. In, and out.”
Marinette took a deep breath. She could give Chat Noir something as Marinette that she couldn’t as Ladybug: friendship. Marinette hated the boundaries she had to set as Ladybug, with her friends, her team, her partner. But Chat Noir understood. And he knew that Marinette understood what he was going through, even if he didn’t understand why.
Tom walked into the living room holding a tray of chocolate croissants. He looked pointedly at the snacks Marinette had layed out, then back at his own tray of croissants. Marinette figured that while she had done her stress baking in the kitchen, Tom had done his in the bakery.
“Why are you so nervous about Chat Noir coming over?” Sabine asked.
“I’ve never met a superhero before!” Tom cried.
“Well, I’ve met Ladybug,” Sabine said. “She was a very sweet and polite young lady. I’m sure Chat Noir and all those superheroes are really just normal kids under all that.”
“Mom, when did you meet Ladybug?” Marinette asked, even though she knew exactly when.
“Oh, this university student from my tai chi group was akumatized into Deedee Minus. We tried to help calm her down, but she turned all of us to stone. Poor girl. Anyway, Ladybug was there when we were unfrozen.”
There was a knock on the door. Marinette hurried to answer it before her parents could do anything else weird. Chat Noir waited sheepishly on the other side of the door. It was an odd look on him. For a second, Marinette could pretend he was a normal kid.
“Come on in, Chat Noir. And don’t look so scared, we don’t bite.”
Marinette grabbed Chat Noir by the arm and dragged him into the living room.
“Hi, Chat Noir,” Sabine said.
“Hello Chat Noir, we have many snacks,” Tom blurted out.
Sabine rolled her eyes playfully.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. Thank you so much for inviting me.”
“It’s our pleasure, really. Sit down, Tom and Marinette have been stress baking, so there’s plenty to eat,” Sabine chuckled.
“Aww, all this nice food for a lonely kitty?” Chat teased, resting his elbow on Marinette’s shoulder. “You must’ve really missed me.”
Marinette jabbed him in the armpit. He coiled away from her, giggling.
“See if I ever invite you over again, Chat Noir. Act like you’ve been somewhere before.”
“Don’t go feeding strays if you aren’t prepared for the consequences, Princess.”
Chat Noir grabbed a chocolate croissant and sat down on the couch. Tom gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. Chat shuddered a little, but smiled up at Tom. Marinette noticed her mom notice that Chat Noir seemed a little afraid to be touched suddenly. They nodded at each other.
Marinette turned around and started setting up the DVD. Luckily, it was her turn to pick the movie. With Chat Noir there, her parents probably would’ve picked something embarrassing like videos of her helping her dad bake when she was like, three. Not even Alya had seen those.
“So, what are we watching?” Chat Noir asked.
“Spirited Away. I know you like anime, and it’s been a while since I’ve made Mom and Dad watch a Ghibli movie.”
“Oh, this was Marinette’s favorite when she was little,” Sabine said. “Though it still scares Tom half to death.”
“I love Studio Ghibli. Ladybug does too, her favorite’s Princess Mononoke,” Chat said.
Marinette smirked to herself. She did like Princess Mononoke, but it was pretty intense so she didn’t watch it that often.
“Yeah, I considered having us watch The Cat Returns, but that seemed too on the nose,” she joked.
Sandwiching herself between her dad and Chat Noir, Marinette sat down on the couch. Chat made it sound like he’d seen Spirited Away before, but she still kept an eye on him once the movie started. She noticed things he did, the things he liked, and the things that made him sad. She noticed how he tried every single one of the snacks, and ate about half of the croissants Tom had made. She noticed how he giggled at the soot sprites pretending to be too weak to carry the coal. She noticed the clench in his jaw when Chihiro told Boh that staying inside his whole life would make him sick.
Marinette decided to stop watching Chat Noir. She let her head fall against his shoulder. He let her, didn’t really react to it like when Tom went to pat him on the shoulder. Marinette was glad Chat Noir wasn’t afraid to have her around. She felt his head turn towards her slightly when Chihiro asks Zeniba for help.
“Once you’ve met someone, you never really forget them.”
It was on the tip of her tongue. Marinette knew someone who was jumpy and didn’t like being touched. Someone who was always a little bit hungry. Someone who liked physical comedy. Someone who was used to being alone. She just couldn’t figure out who.
Instead of chasing the answer, Marinette kept watching the movie. It was one of her favorites, after all, and she was happy to share that with Chat Noir. She knew him, and she cared about him, and it didn’t really matter if she couldn’t keep track of how.
Because one day, she would remember.