Chapter Text
Chat Noir wasn't being his usual self. Rather than leaping from rooftops, he slunk through dark alleyways, out of sight from the rest of Paris. I really am an alley cat now. He sighed heavily, using the wall he walked along to support himself. He would be fine in due time, but for right now, he felt like he had been hit by a bus. His back was on fire, his legs threatened to give out, and his vision went blurry if he pushed himself too hard. God, she roughed me right the fuck up. The Akuma fight had been brutal. He had been tossed around a library like a ragdoll, knocking over every bookshelf in the damn place. Luckily, Ladybug had fixed the library, but she couldn't fix his extraordinarily aching body. He would be fine, of course. The Miraculous would see to that, but even this might have a longer than usual recovery period. And it would be the shy bookworm who becomes an absolute hell beast of a villain. Why did she get to cast spells like some sort of bullshit wizard? He sighed at himself, realizing how salty he had become over the situation. Ladybug will get mad at me if I make cursing a habit.
He slumped against a wall between two trashcans, and let his transformation fade as his ring beeped it's final warning. Pain washed over him, renewing itself with a vengeance at the separation of his Miraculous. “Plagg? I'm gonna need you to eat some cheese. I'll never make it home like this.” For once, the Kwami genuinely concerned. After a rushed feast of some sports bag cheese, Adrien could get his claws out again, though not nearly as dramatically as he usually liked to. “Okay, I can handle this now.” He took a step, and immediately fell forward, barely catching himself before he hit the ground. “Nope!” He sighed, swallowed his pride, and used his pole like a cane, hobbling through the alleyway. He peeked around the corner of the buildings casting the shadows he hid in, checking for any civilians who might see him in his humiliated and disheveled state. All clear. He stepped onto the sidewalk, and paused. He knew where he was. Across the street, the Dupain-Cheng bakery sat in a seemingly holy light, like the God himself lit the streetlamp in front of the door.
This might be a bad idea, but it would be nice to stay stationary for a while, at least. Maybe then I'll feel better faster. Marinette, of all people, would understand, right? He hummed, considering his options. He could knock on the front door at midnight, climb the wall and risk injuring himself more, or...?
I guess I'll have to climb. Explaining anything to Marinette's parents would be absolute hell. He'd never spoken to her father, but...Man, he was big. If he ever gets Akumatized Ladybug and I would be in for some real shit. He's like a hairless bear. He shivered at the thought. He's probably nice. Probably. But, bad luck was kind of his thing, so he decided not to risk it. He carefully clawed his way up the wall, inching, slowly, from ledge to ledge, stopping occasionally to recover. He was already feeling better, but not quite enough. After what felt like an eternity, he let himself fall over the railing, careless of what it may look or sound like. He closed his eyes, and relaxed a moment.
Of course he was drawn here. It probably wasn't by chance at all. He had probably subconsciously made his way here. Ever since the run-in with the Evilstrator, he had desired to know Marinette a bit more. He felt like if he kept digging, he'd find something truly special about her. But when the mask was off, and Adrien tried to speak to her, she could barely manage a coherent sentence, even seeming afraid of him, to a certain degree. So, he endeavored to do it as Chat. He visited her every few weeks or so, when he managed a free night. So far, he had genuinely enjoyed her company. His digging had paid off, and he found the pure, sparkling gem beneath that was her kindness, endless compassion and wit, and adorable awkwardness.
He let out a long sigh, enjoying the quiet of the night, until it was broken by a hatch opening, and a sudden gasp.
“Hee-eey Princess. It's been a while. How are you?” he replied, as if he wasn't laying on her balcony in a heap. He slid into one of his sly smiles, expertly covering the pain in his...everything.
“Chat? What are...what are you doing here? Why are you laying like that? I-”
“Shh, hold on a second. I'll explain.” Chat rolled himself onto his stomach with a groan, forcing his body upright. He winced in pain as he straightened his back into a sitting position. He met her supremely worried stare with a sheepish grin. “I didn't really mean to drop in on you like this, Marinette. I just....needed a quick break, and here was close.”
Her eyebrows turned up, with an expression of worry that wouldn't fade, and disbelief despite it.
“I'm purr-fectly, fine, I assure you!” He grinned at her, and it was only widened by the dramatic eye roll his pun earned him. “I'm a meow-ster at getting back on my feet.”
Her look of disapproval as she stepped onto the terrace only egged him on. “After all, if something happened to me, if would be a cat-tastrophe! Ha ha! You should see your face right meow, Marinette! Ha ha ha- Owch!” His laughter was cut short by a sharp pain in his ribs. He rubbed his side gently with his hand, sighing. He looked up at Marinette with his best kitten-eyes, who looked like she was going to set his injuries back to square one.
“Do you think that's funny? To show up on my balcony in the middle of the night, make awful cat puns and acting like you're not hurt?” Her eyebrows were furrowed with anger, but her eyes betrayed her true feelings of heartfelt concern. He was a bit touched by it, if he was being honest. She had no real reason to care, other than being her kind and helpful self. But that's what he liked so much about her, and probably why he had dumped himself on her balcony like the alley cat he was.
All he could manage was a sheepish grin, and a meaningful, “Sorry.”
She sighed, but seemed to accept his apology. Her anger slid away, and her concern for her friend took over. “Is there anything I can get for you? I can grab some bread from downstairs, or a blanket if you're cold, I have a water bottle in my room I can grab-”
“Just something to lay on. And maybe that water bottle?” He scratched behind his ears, smiling appreciatively. I never notice how selfless she is until she's doing something for me. He kept his eyes on her as she descend the ladder, simply watching the way she moved. I should pay more attention to her when we're in class. We are friends, after all, plus she's a real sweetheart. It's nice to be able to talk to her without getting stammers and panicked, unfinished thoughts, though. I wonder why she does that? She can talk to everyone else just fine, it seems like, including Chat Noir.
Marinette reemerged from her room, a large blanket and pillow over one shoulder and a pink water bottle in the other hand. “I hope this will do.”
“No doughnuts? I don't think it will.”
She rolled her eyes as she snapped open the blanket, laying it on the balcony close to the wall made by the connected building. She got down onto her knees to spread it out more evenly, leaving Chat open to admire her figure. Her tank top and sweatpants clung to her body better than her every day clothing, and Chat liked it, all of it.
“Here. It's all set. Now come over here and tell me what happened to you!” She patted the blanket, welcoming him over. He stood up carefully, using the railing to keep some weight off of his leg.
“It's kind of a long story, are you sure you have the time?”
“Of course I do. I've always got time to listen to friends.”
I can think of a few people who only have time to talk about themselves. Chat smiled warmly at her as he carefully laid himself on the blanket, settling on his stomach, sighing contently as he nestled his face into the pillow. It smelled like her. A sweet combination of vanilla and some sweet flower. He turned his head to look at Marinette, who leaned against the wall next to him. But I want to hear about you right now.
“Before I tell you what happened, will you give me a minute to rest?” She nodded, complete understanding and outstanding patience covering her expression He reached over, taking her pink water bottle in his hands and taking a sip. He noticed it was half-empty, and still had some lip gloss on the edge. He didn't mind at all, though. “Tell me what's new with you. It's been a week or two, Princess.”
“About me? I didn't do anything, really. There isn't much to say.” She fidgeted nervously, breaking eye contact with Chat and fiddling with the strings of her sweatpants.
“I'm sure there's plenty. But, if you don't want to, I won't purrr-y.” He closed his eyes, grinning at his own pun, already feeling better.
She sighed, but reached over and rubbed his shoulder anyway. “This isn't really a story, but it's something, I guess. I wish you could see the stars in Paris. I mean, I love this city, but it's always got so many lights on you can't see anything at night.” Her gentle rub, focused only on his shoulder, spread as she spoke, running small circles and gentle scratches over the center of his shoulders. She dug her fingers into his back with a bit more force and kneaded the muscle there.
Not expecting it, Chat let out an involuntary groan.
“Oh! I'm so s-sorry!” She recoiled her touch away from him like he had shocked her. “I didn't mean to hurt you, I just...like to keep my hands busy and I don't always notice! I'm sorry!”
Is that so? He considered making an off-color joke, but he doubted Marinette would appreciate it. She was probably the most PG girl he knew, aside from his Ladybug. But then again, he had no filter around Ladybug. “No, it didn't hurt. It felt really good, actually.” He wiggled his hips and rolled his shoulders, missing the firm touch. He looked up at her, expecting a mixture of horror and embarrassment. Which there was but also something...else. A more smug, mischievous look. That was his thing, even if he really liked how it looked on Marinette.
“I could keep going, if you like. I'm actually pretty good at massages.”
Chat's eyebrows shot up, his mouth slightly opened with shock. Marinette giggled in response, covering her mouth with her hand. “Oh, it was a joke. Ha, ha, ha.” The cat rolled his eyes. “You're such a tease, Marinette.”
“I am not!” She stuck her lip out and crossed her arms, huffing. So cute. “I meant it. You do nice things for me all the time, let me repay you with this, if you want it.”
“Are you kidding me? A free back massage for poor little me from a cute girl like you? How could I say no?” He grinned smugly at her as she blushed furiously, whacking his arm with the back of her hand. He only chuckled in response. “Want me to take off the suit? It 'd be better that way!”
“No! I'm not going to do it if you make it weird, Chat! You know I'm interested in someone else.” She rolled her eyes as he sprawled out on the She shifted her body, trying to find a good spot to sit. She didn't want to sit on his back, but he seemed to have a lame leg, too. She sighed. Chat chuckled as she settled into sitting directly on his ass, pushing his tail out of the way.
“Isn't that a bit lewd for a girl who's interested in someone else?”He lifted his eyebrows and swayed his hips beneath her. I might be blowing my chance at this, he thought, but teasing her is always worth it.
She rolled her eyes at him. “We'll consider it practice for the real deal then, huh?” She leaned forward, gently rubbing her hands over his back. She couldn't but appreciate all of it's curves, lines, and generally well-placed muscles. Her heart was set on Adrien, of course, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate how attractive Chat and his lean but muscled figure was. She dug the heels of her palms in a little deeper, kneading the small of his back and working her way up towards his shoulders. He groaned again, but not in pain. She got a bit of smug satisfaction from making the oh-so cool and desirable Chat Noir melt under her touch. He would die if he knew I was Ladybug.
“Okay, Princess. While we're – Oof! Yeah, right there – doing this, why don't you tell me a bit about this mystery boy, huh? I've gotta know who steals a heart like yours. Is he a bad boy? I bet he's a bad boy.”
“No! He's exactly the opposite! He's the sweetest boy I know.” She rubbed Chat's shoulders as she thought about how to describe Adrien. He was a lot of things, and she had to pick the best ones. She doubted the great Chat Noir would be impressed by any of it, but she could at least try. “Christ, Chat, relax your shoulders!” She firmly circled her fingers in the crook between his shoulders and neck, making him lean into the touch like a dog. “He's a model, you know.” She started.
“This is Paris. Everyone and their mother is a model. Hell, even I'm a model when I'm not doing the whole vigilante thing. Tell me something more interesting than that.”
“Well stop interrupting and let me keep going, then! But first, breathe in, then breathe out as much as you can.” She pushed both of her palms against his back as he breathed out, popping his back, louder than she thought was possible. He moaned loudly, yet contently, in response. “I told you not to make it weird, Chat.”
“I couldn't help it, sorry! God, that felt good...Could you do it again?” He stretched his arms out, and inhaled again. Marinette moved her hands lower, pressing down as he exhaled. Another pop, another contented sigh. “So, this guy--”
“Yeah, I'm getting there! He's got neat blonde hair, kind of like yours, actually, but a little bit lighter I think. He's in the same class as me. He can fence and play piano,” She sighed dreamily, and continued, “We're friends, but not close at all. I get all tongue-tied whenever I'm around him. I just panic, lose my composure and start saying whatever dumb things pop into my head. Once I tried leaving him a voice mail instead and I think my friend Alya lost brain cells because of it.”
Chat chuckled, thinking of all the times Marinette had become so flustered around him with the mask off. “That sounds like you.”
“No it doesn't! I doesn't happen to me around anyone but him. He's just so handsome, talented, cool, and collected, and...everything I'm not.”
I doubt that, Marinette. “So, what's his name?” He tried to ask as innocently as possible, but he must not have been as smooth as he thought. Marinette stopped the massage to stare at him questioningly. But if she had something to say, she held it in.
“I'll tell you if we work out. How about that?” She sighed, and rubbed down his back, making small circles with her fingers. He hummed contently. “I just doubt that'll happen. He'd never even take a second look at a girl like me. I'm so...nothing.”
Chat pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking back at her, clearly displeased. “Are you serious, Marinette?” His stare bored into her, making her fidget nervously. "If you actually think that, I'm disappointed in you. You're clever, kind, selfless, creative, and beautiful to boot. You stand up for what's right, even what it's hard. You've got a ton to offer, you just need to be brave about it! Just....pretend you're Ladybug, or something. If she can kick Akuma ass every week, you can ask some dorky guy out on a date.”
Marinette could only stare at him, wide-eyed after such a speech. Chat sounded the most genuine he'd ever been in his life. The way he looked at her, and spoke with such confidence...He must truly believe in every word he said. Marinette wanted desperately to be everything he said she was, and believe in that. But she just wasn't sure if she could. “Thanks, Chat.” She replied, half-heartedly.
“I'm serious!” He narrowed his eyes at her, still looking over his shoulder. “If you don't ask this guy out by next week, I'm gonna kick your butt, alright? Consider that you're motivation.” He paused, and thought for a minute. “No, I'm not gonna kick your butt. I'm going to take you out on a date, whether you want to or not, and I'll make cat puns the whole time. And don't think I won't do it- because I will.”
She sighed. Well, that was certainly raising the stakes. Although, Marinette wasn't as opposed to the idea of a date with Chat Noir as she thought she'd be.“Alright, I'll give it a shot. But if this goes horribly wrong, I'm going to blame you.”
“I'm pretty sure I ask Ladybug on a date every time I see her. I'm basically an expert on rejection, after all! The worst thing that can happen is he says no, you wait a bit, and try again!” Marinette picked up on the sadness in his voice, despite his (very poor) attempt at encouragement. “Or you find someone else, I guess.”
“I'm pretty sure the worst thing that can happen is he hates me forever or Chloe publicly humiliates me for screwing up so bad. Besides, who else is there if he says no?” She ignored the cocky grin Chat had plastered on his face, and let out a soft sigh. I'm setting myself for all kinds of trouble. I shouldn't encourage him like this.
He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “I'm sure it'll be fine. But hey, if that doesn't work out,” he shot an exaggerated winked her direction, “call me! I'm sure Ladybug wouldn't mind a distraction in my life.”
That she wouldn't. Marinette rolled her eyes, but smiled. At least he always knew how to cheer her up. “Sure thing, Chat.” She gave his back one final pat, just as his ring began to beep.
“Aww, over so soon?” He sat up, sticking out his lip in a mock pout. “At least I feel better now, thanks to you.”
“Yup. Now get outta here, before I get the water bottle.” He rolled his eyes but leaped up onto the roof of the building adjacent to Marinette's house.
“Don't forget, I'm coming back to see how it went next week. Otherwise you owe me date!” He winked at her, and took off into the night, leaving Marinette to her thoughts.
Does he really think all those things about me without the suit?
The next day, Adrien kept a close eye on Marinette. He had no idea who she was pining for, but he hoped her words would give her at least some pep in her step. Instead, the teen seemed more down than usual. She stared out the window, furrowing her brows as if she were in deep thought. He waved at her as he walked into the classroom, offering a simple, “Hi, Marinette!”
She didn't even look at him. “Hey.” She responded simply. She didn't stutter, foam at the mouth, or choke on her words around him. Something was definitely up. He looked to Alya, eyebrow raised, for some sort of explanation. But Alya seemed completely dumbstruck. Her lip was curled up in disgust at her friend as she physically leaned away. Her disbelief with Marinette was quickly redirected to a stone-cold stare at Adrien. She mouthed, 'did you do this?'
His eyes opened wide with shock. Does she really think I'm the reason for this? He probably was, but there's no way she could know that! He shrugged his shoulders, turning his hands palm-up up in clear confusion. 'You're her friend, ask her!' he mouthed back.
“Marinette, what's gotten into you? You're acting hella weird today.” Alya frowned as she got no response. “Hello? Earth to Marinette?” She waved a hand in front of her friend's face, who snapped out her daze.
“Oh, sorry Alya! I've just been thinking about..stuff.” She smiled sheepishly.
“Uh-huh. Clearly. And what are you thinking about, exactly?” Alya leaned back in her chair, eyebrow cocked and ready to drill Marinette with questions when she inevitably avoided giving her a solid answer. Adrien watched out of the corner of his eye, pretending to not be involved and doodle in his notebook.
“Uh, stuff? I thought I made that part pretty clear, I mean...”
“Yeah, what stuff, Marinette.”
“I've been, uh, thinking about a new clothing line I want to work on! Hammering out those details, you know!” She laughed nervously, avoiding Alya's iron gaze. Adrien had to appreciate her tenacity as she tried to un-dig her grave, but only made it deeper in the process. Sorry, not sorry, Marinette.
“You're the worst liar I know. If you don't tell me, Marinette, I'm going to dig around until I find out.”
Marinette groaned, but gave in. “Look, it's just a...” Adrien noticed that she glanced at him nervously. “boy...issue.”
Shit, does she know I'm Chat Noir? No, there's no way.
“Oh?” Alya perked up, leaning closer to her friend. “Do tell.” She purred.
Marinette dropped her voice to a whisper, but Adrien could still hear if he listened closely. “It's complicated. I thought I liked someone, but now maybe I like someone else, I don't know. Can we talk about this later? When people aren't around?”
Oh, that's interesting. Adrien thought. I think Marinette's developed a bit of a crush on Chat Noir. He drummed his fingers on the table, a habit he had when he was lost in thought. The idea of spending more time with Marinette was an appealing one, to be sure. She was witty, kind, and willing to put up with his non-stop stream of puns and constant flirting, after all. Plus she gave excellent back massages, which Adrien was a huge fan of. He told Marinette he'd come by again next week to see how she had fared with asking this other boy on a date, and he caught himself wishing she didn't do it at all. But where would he take her on a date if she didn't do it, anyway? Especially disguised as Chat Noir. He racked his brain for any ideas, thinking over their conversation last night. He'd come up with something eventually. He always did.
He tried talking to Marinette all throughout the week. But every time he looked at her, smiled, or opened his mouth, she immediately babbled, said something strange, and made some excuse to run off. What did I do? We were making progress before I talked to her a few days ago. Now we're back to square one. All he wanted to do was spend time with her, really. To get to know her when he wasn't slinking around as Chat Noir, notorious Ladybug lover. But that seemed so impossible. He was confused, certainly, but it didn't change his thinking at all. He still saw her as a pretty, clever girl who could stand up for herself. He'd just have to ask about it next week when Chat dropped by.
The cat himself fidgeted nervously all night. Even the presence of Ladybug couldn't set his mind at ease this time. If anything, it made it way worse. He was thinking about Marinette, and about how guilty he felt about liking her as much as he did. How many times had he sworn his love to Ladybug? And now he wasn't sure about anything anymore. It had been a full week since he had spoken with her last, and so tonight he had to drop by and check up on her. But he knew from hanging around her as Adrien she hadn't filled her end of the bargain, which meant he had to fill his. And for once in his life, Chat Noir was incredibly nervous about it. What if she didn't like it? Thought it was too much? The suspense was going to kill him.
“Got something on your mind, Chat?” Ladybug stopped and waited for him to catch up to her.
“Huh? Oh, no.” He lied, quickly. He knew he'd been caught in it when Ladybug cocked an eyebrow and frowned at him. “I'll have you know, my Lady, that I'm feline purr-fectly fine!” He grinned at her as she clicked her tongue in disapproval, but smiled. “I'm just a bit antsy. I've got plans after this, and I'm excited about them! In a nervous kind of way.”
“Plans, huh? I thought your only past time was waiting for me to come back again.” Marinette smiled, some part of her excited about making the always-cool and suave Chat Noir a nervous wreck. After all, he owed her a date tonight, and she was interested to see what he managed. Marinette was probably equally as nervous and excited, she just hid it a bit little better than Chat. In his own distracted state, he didn't notice her subtle foot taps or the way she would quickly glance away from eye contact with him. She was so completely, undeniably excited to see him without her mask on. When did she end up falling for her partner? For years she had rolled her eyes at him and his constant flirty remarks, even occasionally trying to actively discourage him from doing it again. But now, the tables had turned.
“Hey, my life only mostly revolves around you.” he stated simply. “And I'll have you know,” His ears perked up, and sat straight and proud, “I'm going a date tonight.”
“A date?” Ladybug pretended to sound surprised.
“Yeah! Only...” His posture drooped, ears tipped downward, and his tail hung loosely, gathering on the ground. Marinette's stomach dropped, and she prepared herself for the any matter of awful responses.
I still love you, Ladybug. It's just a joke. I'm only doing because I feel bad.
“...Only I've never been on a date before.” He cast his eyes downward, clearly unsure of himself. Ladybug almost never saw that look in him. But he quickly perked back up, grinning widely. “I'm pretty excited about my plans though, so I hope she has fun!”
Marinette had been expecting anything but that. Chat really does care. She smiled at him, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I'm sure she will, Chat. If you have half as much bite as you do bark, it'll be the best date of her life.”
He smiled appreciatively at her, and giggled like a schoolgirl. “I think you mean if I have as much purr...no, claws? As I do...Ah, never mind. Even I couldn't spin that into a good cat joke.” He gave her his best patented goofy grin.
“Maybe don't pull out those jokes on the date.”
“She loves my jokes.”
“Uh-huh.” Marinette rolled her eyes and crossed her arms playfully, but he was at least somewhat right. His bad puns and cat jokes were growing on her. She'd have to pull out a few of her own to catch him off guard sometime. “So, when is your date?”
“I was going to show up at 11, I think. Well, maybe 10. I haven't decided.”
Noted. “You might want to hurry up then, it's almost 10:30.” She chuckled as he visibly panicked.
“Aw, Really? Crap! I still have to go get stuff from my house!”
“You can leave now if you need to. I can finish this up by myself, promise!” Ladybug waved to him. At least that means I have time to get home. Maybe I could even shower.
“Are you sure? I don't want to –“
“Go!”
He yelped, and took off.
Perfect. Marinette leaped back to her house, stomach tying itself in knots as she detransformed. She took off her day clothes, let her hair down, and stepped into the shower.
Chat leaped into his window, tucking and rolling to neatly land on the floor as quietly as he could. He released his transformation, pulling a small duffel bag of stuff he had gathered before the patrol. He double checked it for everything he needed.
Flashlight? Check. Star maps he had borrowed from the library? Check. Champagne? Check. He had no idea if Marinette liked champagne, or even drank at all, but he figured it would be a nice gesture regardless. Glasses? Got 'em.
“Can you think of anything else, Plagg?”
Without even a second of consideration, he responded, “Nope.”
“Thanks.” Adrien replied shortly. He glanced around his room. What do people bring girls on dates? Gifts, right? He had nothing.
“Why are you putting so much effort into this? She told you she likes someone else, right?” Plagg munched some cheese (God knows where he found all that stuff), lazily watching Adrien freak out.
“Because I like her, a lot. And I think I overheard half a conversation where she implied that she might like me coincidentally the night after I gave her a sappy pep talk. But she can't, or won't, or whatever, talk to me if I'm not wearing spandex. Is that what you want to hear?”
“I just wanted to make sure you heard yourself say it out loud, first.”
“Thanks.” He grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and got his claws out for the second time that night. Fortunately, Marinette didn't live far from him. It only took a few short minutes to get there, where he carefully dropped his bag. He decided it would be in his best interest to set this up before she came up to meet him. He grabbed a thin blanket out o f his bag, snapping it open over the roof. He neatly arranged the champagne and glasses on it. He had brought a few small candles, which felt like the cheesiest thing he'd ever done in his life, but he arranged those around the rail of the balcony. Mood lighting! He kicked the rest of the bag into a corner; he wouldn't need that stuff until later anyway. Satisfied, he knocked on the trapdoor, and he waited. Nothing. So he knocked again. More nothing. “Did she forget? Is she ignoring me because she doesn't want to see me?” A nervous whine escaped him.
He put his ear against the trapdoor, straining to hear anything. He could very faintly hear running water, and relief washed over him. Why am I so paranoid about this?
He decided, against his better judgment, to simply let himself into Marinette's room to wait. He opened the hatch, quietly nestling himself into her spinning chair. The last thing he wanted to do was wake up Marinette's parents. He twirled himself lazily, looking around her room. “That's a lot of pink.” he thought aloud. It was a simply decorated room, with just a bed and her desk, scattered with drawings. He looked over them, appreciating the quality. She can really draw. He grinned, grabbed a pencil, and started to doodle on an open page. He was no artist, to be sure, but maybe Marinette would find it later and think of him.
He perked up as the sound of water stopped, and started to fidget nervously. Just a few minutes later, Marinette stepped into her room. She sighed contently at first, but a she turned and saw a pair of glowing green eyes in her room, she let out a sharp yelp. “Chat!” She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Could you not have waited outside? That scared me half to death!”
“Sorry.” he shrugged. “I got kinda bored.”
Marinette huffed, flicking the light of her room on. Chat slapped his hands over his eyes, surprised by the sudden bright lights. “Aah! That's way worse when I can see well in the dark, you know. Ah, jeez that's bright, ow.” He tried squinting through his fingers, to no avail.
“Bummer.” Marinette deadpanned. “You're lucky I get dressed in the bathroom, Chat.” She sat on the edge of her bed, curling her legs up under her. “So, how was your week?”
Chat rubbed his eyes, finally adjusting to the brightness. “My week was just fine. But I came here specifically to ask about yours.” He shook his head, getting rid of the last of his bright-light daze. He spinned his chair around, kicking it backwards and toward Marinette. He coasted lazily up next to her, smiling expectantly.
She stuck out her lip, swatting the bell around Chat's neck. “It went fine, I guess.” She played with the edge of her shirt, clearly avoiding his eyes.
“I don't believe you.” He raised his eyebrows at her, patiently waiting for what he knew the real answer was.
Marinette crossed her arms, and fell back onto her bed. “I didn't ask out that guy.” She admitted. “So if you were hoping to avoid a date, too bad.”
“Avoid a date?” Chat crawled off of the chair and onto the bed, laying on his stomach next to Marinette. He smiled lazily, stretching himself out like a true cat. “I've been looking forward to it all week!”
Marinette laughed softly, turning to look at her partner. “Have you now? I hope you've decided on what we're doing, then.”
“I did! But first, I have to ask – Why didn't you do it? Because if it was because you didn't think you were good enough –“ Chat rolled over onto his side, crossing one his arms over Marinette to pin her against the bed and look intently down on her.
She blushed furiously and swallowed hard. Chat made a mental note of it. “No! That wasn't it.” She wiggled on the bed nervously, shrinking herself as much as possible. “I just...After you left...” She covered her face with her hands, groaning. She's embarrassed about liking me! Chat thought, smugly. She split her fingers to look at him, letting out an exasperated sigh at his cocky smirk. “After you left, I missed you. You're always kind to me, and see things in me I never thought anyone would. Least of all you, Mr. M'Ladybug.” She poked his nose, and continued. “So I didn't say anything to him, I just acted like my usual idiot self, because I was struggling with liking you more, because I thought this date sounded fun and I wanted to go on it with you.” She said, with finality. “Is that enough? Are you happy?”
There was a long pause. The silence clearly made Marinette nervous, as she desperately looked for something to say, until Chat finally answered. “Yup.” So I was right, she did like me! “And I hope you do think this date is fun, because I want you to enjoy yourself with me like I do around you.” He leaned down, pecking a kiss on Marinette's cheek. He tucked and rolled off the bed, springing neatly to his feet. He held out a hand to pull her up. “Now, allow me to take you on the best date of your life.”
“Try the only date of my life.” She took his hand, and stood up.
Relief washed over Chat like a wave. She's never been on a date either, so she has nothing to compare this to! Her standards are at an absolute minimum! “Well, that makes two of us.” He checked the time on her alarm clock. 11:40. He still had plenty of time.
“So, what are we doing on our date, kitty-cat?” Marinette was interested to see what he had to offer. He seemed to excited about it earlier that night, after all. It had to be something good.
Chat grinned at her mischievously, making a cat-like leap out the trapdoor and onto the terrace. He poked his head back down to speak with her. “Staying here.” He grinned even wider at her clear confusion.
“You're taking me on a date...to my own house?”
“Yes? Kind of? I'm bringing the date to you, Marinette. Now get your cute self up here.” He loved her blush, he decided. She wore it on her cheeks as she climbed the ladder, and it darkened considerably as she saw the scene in front of her. The bottle of champagne, glasses and candles all painstakingly arranged on her roof. It was the most romantic thing she'd ever seen in real life. Chat waited for her to say something. Anything. When she didn't he stepped in front of her, taking one of her hands in his own. “Do you...like it?” He asked. His nervousness kicked in again. Her expression as hard to read. She looked shocked, but he wasn't sure if was the good or bad kind.
“Chat...” She turned her eyes to him, smiling widely. Her eyes sparkled with delight, and Chat swelled with pride. “I love it. It's perfect.”
“Then take a seat! The best is yet to come, Princess.” He took her other hand, leading her to the arrangement and pulling her to the ground with him. “I wasn't sure if you like champagne, but this one is kind of fruity, so it won't be completely god-awful, at least.” He held the bottle in his hands, grinning at her. “have you ever popped champagne, Marinette?” he asked as he unwrapped the foil and wire cage.
“No,” she responded, “But there's a first for everything, right?” She slid closer to him, much to Chat's delight, who laughed happily.
“It's pretty easy!” He shoved the bottle into Marinette's hands. “Just shake it a little – “ He quickly slid behind her, wrapping his arms around her sides to direct her own. “And once you pop the cork, put your thumb over it and shake it harder!” He reached out, putting his hands gently over hers.
“This is a terrible idea!” But Marinette laughed sweetly, and Chat couldn't help but join her.
“Are you ready?” He rested his chin on her shoulder, leaning into her.
“As ready as I'll ever be!” She laughed again, tightening her grip on the neck of the bottle and rattling it slightly.
Chat grinned, swiftly pushing the cork out of the bottle with a loud pop! Marinette immediately put her thumb over the mouth of the bottle and began to shake it with all her might, laughing with childish glee as it sprayed over the edge of the terrace.
Chat didn't even have time to react when she turned the over her shoulder and in his direction, instantly covering him in the sweet champagne. He yelped, tucking and rolling out of the spray as quickly as he could. It was too late, however, and he was drenched in it from head to toe. He huffed indignantly, running his hands over his face to get off the droplets of liquor that fell from his hair and covered his mask.
He turned to glare at Marinette, who was absolutely dying with laughter. She held her sides and fell over onto the blanket, completely unable to contain herself. Fuck, now I'm gonna be all sticky. He couldn't be mad at her for long, especially considering he would be laughing just as hard in her position. Her hoots of laughter were turning into short bursts of giggles, until she looked up at him. Then it began all over again.
“Chat! You should see your face right now! You look just like a real wet cat!” Her fit of laughter finally died down, and Chat finally graced her with a word.
“Done?”
She sat up, wiping under her eyes with her thumbs, still chuckling lightly. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Was it worth it, Marinette?” Chat tried to sound angry, but he couldn't keep a smile off of his face. Her happiness was so contagious.
“Yeah, it was.” She got to her feet, sauntering over to him, hands innocently held behind her back, swaying her her hips gratuitously. “But I'm still sorry. That was mean.” The innocence of her voice was betrayed by the fiery look in her eyes, one that Chat wasn't sure he trusted yet. But God, did he like it. He liked it a lot.
“You don't sound even a little sorry, Princess.” He put his hands on his hips, cocking an eyebrow at her.
“I am! I'll even show you how sorry I am about it –“ She stepped closer, grabbing Chat by the bell and pulling him in for a kiss. Her lips pressed against his, Chat practically melted into her, putting his arms over her shoulders and leaning into her. His breath caught in his throat as Marinette deepened the kiss, sucking gently on his bottom lip. She smiled, clearly pleased with herself as she broke away for breath. “That champagne is tasty.” She winked at him, curling her lip under her teeth.
She's going to drive me insane, one way or another. Chat thought. But somehow, he didn't mind. “Mm, want another taste?” Chat purred.
She laughed her beautiful, musical laugh. “Seeing how I wasted the entire bottle, this might be my only choice.”
He grinned and pulled her against his chest, gladly taking the chance to kiss her again. He breathed heavily, pressing his lips tightly against hers, running his tongue over her teeth. She shuddered in response, and he reveled in it. His heart raced, his breaths came heavier, and he wanted nothing more than to take in as much of her as he could. She gasped softly when he nipped her upper lip with his teeth. He could barely take the heat building in his body. He pushed her away with a heavy pant, clearly to her disappointment.
“There will be plenty of time for that later. Right now,” He held her at arms length, face flushed and grinning like an idiot. “I have a surprise for you.” He paused, considering his phrasing. “Forget I said that. I had something special planned and it's –Aw, Shit, forget that too.” He rolled his eyes at himself. I'm such an idiot. I'm sure dick jokes are exactly what Marinette wanted to hear tonight. But she was giggling like a schoolgirl rather than being wildly offended, so it wasn't a complete disaster. He chuckled light-heartedly and held up his hands. “Alright, alright, let me start over.” He directed her back to the blanket, carelessly pushing away the unused champagne glasses with his foot. “Sit here, and wait. Close your eyes too!”
“Okay?” She laughed, unsure of what was going on. Chat flew to his duffel bag, checking his phone for the time. 11:58. He carried it over to Marinette, who had comfortably settled onto the ground.
“So, last week, when we were just making small talk, you started saying something. It was just small talk, but I remembered, and I hope you enjoy it.” Marinette wrinkled her nose, trying to remember what he was talking about. Chat settled cross-legged next to her, looking over Paris towards the Eiffel Tower. “Open your eyes, Marinette.”
She did, and gasped aloud. Paris was completely dark. It looked like every light in the city had been turned off. “Chat, did you...? Why?”
He nodded, gently using his finger to direct her head up by her chin. “You said you wanted to see the stars.” He put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. He looked up too, to admire the sky in all it's glory. Every star in the sky was visible, and even the hazy cloud of the milky way was showing through.
“I've only seen it like this in pictures.” Marinette was complete awestruck. She never imagined seeing the sky like this. It was so much brighter than she had ever dreamed. She looked over at Chat, who smiled back. “It's absolutely incredible. You did this for me?”
He nodded. “Turns out, when you save a city from disaster enough times, they'll owe you a few favors. And – “ He dug through his bag, pulling out his flashlight and star map. “I thought you might want to do a bit of star gazing while you had the chance.” He pointed up at the sky. “The only one I know are the dippers,” He directed Marinette's eyes to them. “But that's kind of boring.” He clicked on the flashlight, pouring over the star map. “Oh, here!” He pointed to the map, which Marinette leaned over to see. “That part makes up Orion's Belt!”
“Oh, I see it!” Marinette took control of the map, looking from it to the sky over and over again.
Chat was over the moon with happiness. He had clearly planned this date very well, despite being so nervous about it. Even he didn't know this was going to work so well. He had expected a few stars to show up, but the whole sky? He'd have to buy the mayor a fruit basket or something. He settled comfortably into a cross legged position, “Hey Marinette,” He poked her thigh, distracting her from the map.
“Yeah?”
“If you look at the cluster of stars right above me, it kind of looks like an elephant!”
“Oh? I don't see it.”
“Well, c'mere and I'll show you!” He patted his legs, inviting Marinette to sit in his lap. She gracefully moved over to him, nestling herself between his legs. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and settling his head onto her shoulder.
She ruffled his hair affectionately, or tried to. “Aw, Chat, you're all sticky.”
“Huh, I wonder how that happened.” He responded dryly. He pressed his cheek into her hers with a bit more force and rubbed the sticky champagne into her skin. “Whoops, how'd that happen? I'm so clumsy, sorry Marinette.”
“You're such a butt.”
Chat laughed in response.
“So where's this elephant you promised me?” '
“Oh? There isn't one. I lied to get you to cuddle with me. I guess if you look up there – ” He took her hand, directing her to look just above the moon – “It kinda looks like one there if you believe hard enough.”
“Mm, that was clever of you, Chat. You know what else would have worked to get me here?”
“What's that?”
“Asking.”
“Mm, I'll give that a go sometime.”
“God, I hope so.” She sighed, but patted his arm that was crossed over her stomach. The pair sat in a long, comfortable silence, simply enjoying the open night sky and each other. Chat never thought he'd feel this content doing simply nothing. But Marinette's presence made it him feel so calm. All of his troubles seem to wash away with her so close to him. He felt like nothing in the world could touch him as he sat with Marinette on this balcony. No distant fathers, constant, creeping loneliness, or empty homes could keep him from enjoying himself in this moment, as he watched the stars with Marinette.
Chat sighed, burying his nose into Marinette's shoulder. “The lights will only be off for another few minutes. I could only get the city to turn them off for an hour, which was probably still pretty generous.”
Marinette sighed, clearly disappointed. “I wish I could see them a bit longer.” She turned her body around to face Chat. He could clearly see, despite the dark around them, that she was on the brink of tears. He panicked, completely unsure of what to do. His bravado gone at the sight of tears, he could only thing to pull her into a tight hug, stickiness be damned. “Chat, thank you.” She squeezed him tightly, and continued, “this might actually be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” She pulled away from his hug to look into his eyes. Tears still pooled in her eyes, but didn't fall down her face. “Thank you. This night has been...absolutely amazing.” She smiled at him, and he beamed back. “I don't know how you're ever going to top this date, kitty-cat.”
He laughed, “I don't think I ever will. It's all downhill from here. Sorry, Princess.” Marinette laughed, pushing Chat's chest with all her weight, sending him backwards and sprawled over the blanket, Marinette wrapped up in him and giggling happily. He took her perfect face in his hands, simply looking appreciatively into her glittering blue eyes. She leaned in, placing a soft, delicate kiss on his lips. He flashed her his signature cocky grin, sending butterflies through her stomach. From the other side of the terrace, Chat's cell phone started to ring. An alarm, signaling the end of the blackout.
Marinette propped herself up on her hands, looking out over Paris as the lights came alive again, stealing the stars away from the sky again. She looked down at Chat, who shared her look of disappointment. She sat back on her legs, offering her hands to pull Chat up. He got to his feet, looking at the now-lit city. He opened his mouth to say something, but his ring interrupted, beeping softly as a paw pad disappeared. “I had hoped to stick around a bit longer, but it looks like I have to run.” He knelt down, sitting on his toes as he always did, and put a gloved hand on Marinette's shoulder.
She could still feel it's warmth, despite the material between his skin and hers. She let out a long breath, colored with disappointment, but smiled Chat regardless. “I think not asking that other boy on a date was the best decision I've ever made.”
He laughed softly, deep and filled with warmth. “I'm certainly glad you didn't. Then the lights would have gone off for no reason.” He ignored the second warning beep of his ring, leaning closer to Marinette. “Will you promise me a second date?” He asked.
Her eye lit up, and she nodded. “Come back whenever you want, kitty-cat.” His ring beeped again, and she looked at it closely. “I'm not totally sure what that means,” she lied, “But I can guess. So get out of here and take a shower.” She put a hand on his chest and peeled it away, emphasizing the snapping sounds it made as her hand un-stuck.
“Alright, I'll get going. But I will be back, Princess. You can count on that.” He leaned in, stealing a kiss on the lips, and took off into the night.
Alya is going to freak out when I tell her about this. She sighed, standing up. Or maybe I shouldn't tell her at all. I don't want her digging around like she does. She glanced around, and realized her roof was a mess. “C'mon, Chat, you left all your shit here.” She put her hands on her hips, huffing. She picked up the glasses and almost-empty champagne. She spun it in the bottle, and took a curious sip. Almost immediately, the taste slapped her in the face, and she quickly swallowed it with a look of disgust. “Nope, still gross.” She chuckled to herself, “But that line was way too good to pass up.” She dumped the rest into a plant, and threw the bottle into Chat's forgotten duffel bag. She rolled up the blanket, and gathered the star maps in her arms. She'd hang onto those, and pin them up in the morning. For now, she just wanted to sleep, and relive the beautiful night she had shared with Chat Noir.
From that night on, Chat dropped by her house almost every evening for the next two months. He would knock on her trapdoor, greet her with a kiss, and steal into her bedroom to hold her against him and watch a movie, listened to her tell him about her day, or simply enjoy her company. He never brought champagne again,(saying she 'couldn't be trusted with it') but did surprise her with flowers, chocolates, or any of those other romantic things Marinette had though only happened in cheesy movies. It was hard to keep it separate from when she had to be Ladybug. Marinette would listen to him talk about her with such warmth and passion, recounting their last night together or what he had planned for the next visit. She smiled and nodded, commenting on how she was glad he was so happy.
Most nights were fairly quiet and simple, but occasionally Chat would be in a fiery mood, and their night would end with Marinette and Chat tangled up in each other, passionately kissing each other in any spot they could reach until the ring announced their time was over. So far Marinette hadn't allowed Chat more than passionate kisses and gentle touches, though he had given her a particularly dark hickey just over her breast not long ago. She ached for more, but always found herself to nervous to continue any further.
This night, Marinette had nothing planned but waiting for Chat. She scrolled through the LadyBlog, looking at the most recent pictures and theories about herself and Chat Noir.
The gentle tap at her trapdoor had Marinette practically flying out of her chair and up the ladder, opening it up to the night. She was greeted with a usual kiss, and jumped down to allow Chat inside. “Good evening, Marinette,” His voice sent a delighted shiver down her body. It dripped with sultry charm as he entered the room, his intense stare focused entirely on her. Something was different about him tonight, Marinette noticed. He usually walked in with an awful joke and playful jab at how pink Marinette's room was. But tonight, he had clearly decided to ramp up his sex appeal. Every one of his movements was slow and deliberate, and the heat of his gaze made Marinette's mouth dry.
He stepped quickly to close the space between them, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her against him.
“Hello to you too, Chat.” She glanced up at him, but turned her attention to his broad chest, bringing up her hands to make slow circles on his sternum. “You seem like you've got a plan for tonight already. She leaned into him, playfully flicking the bell around his neck.
“I have something in mind, but first, I'd like to ask you a question.” He kept one hand on the small of her back, bring up the other to run his clawed fingers gently through her hair.
Marinette ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms, looking up at him curiously. “And what is that?”
“Would you...” He seemed to catch on his words, as if he wasn't sure how to proceed. A rarity, for Chat. “Alright, this is going to sound silly, but would you...commit to me?” He asked. “I know we've been on dates and I've been over all the time, but I'd like to hear from you that you'd officially like to be the girlfriend of Chat Noir.” He tipped his head, waiting for her response.
She thought briefly of Adrien. Since her first date with Chat, her feelings for him had waned. So much so that she could speak to him like a normal human being. He actually seemed to take in interest in her at that point, but she had already fallen head over heels for her partner-in-fighting-crime, so it was a steady friendship at best. “I would love to be your girlfriend, Chat,” She smiled up at him, and he wrapped her in his arms, lifting her up into the air. She let out a mock sigh as her feet hit the ground again, “My only regret is that I don't get to brag about it.”
“Tell me about it. I'd be found out in no time if I ran around telling people I was dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng without a mask on.” He laughed, only somewhat bitterly.
“But for right now, I don't want to worry about that.” He ran a gentle claw down her neck and over her chest. He leaned in for a kiss, but Marinette's phone buzzed nearby. She glared at the phone as if it were the problem, but her screen was lit with Alya's face, who was trying to call her.
“She never calls me this late.” She stepped away from Chat, quickly answering the phone. “Alya? Do you have any idea what time it is?” She paused, listening. She turned to Chat, eyes lit with worry. “Akuma attack? Where?” Chat stiffened, ears perked, waiting for more details. Another pause. “Notre Dame?” She frantically waved her free hand at Chat, pointing to the ladder. She mouthed, 'go!' at him. Without hesitation, he nodded, fleeing out the trapdoor and into the night. “Keep yourself out of trouble, Alya. I mean it. Don't risk your life to get a good shot of Ladybug, okay?” She hung up quickly, practically flying to her balcony. Chat was nowhere in sight.
“Alright, Tikki, let's go!”
Marinette captured and purified the cracked purple butterfly, setting it free into the early-morning sky. She sighed contently, and waved to Chat. “I'm out of time, gotta run!” And I have to get back home before you inevitably show up. She raced home as fast as her legs could carry her. She could at least take comfort in Chat having to recharge before he could drop by, giving her a few precious minutes to get herself together. She detransformed, ducking into her room and wrapping herself up in a blanket. She pulled out her phone and idly scrolled through the LadyBlog, waiting. Leading this double-life is going to catch up to me someday. But for right now, she was enjoying herself and didn't want that to change at all. A part of her enjoyed not knowing who Chat really was, and knowing that he had no clue she was Ladybug. It was a dangerous game, but one that thrilled her. The didn't want the danger to excite her, but she was completely hopeless.
A knock on the trapdoor pulled her back to reality, and she quickly flipped it open. “Chat! You're alright, aren't you?” She cupped his face in her hand, looking him over.
“I'm fine. You should see the other guy, though.” He breathed heavily through his nose. “Look, it's really late. Or, maybe it's incredibly early, I'm not sure anymore. I just wanted to make sure you knew I was alright.” He leaned forward, resting his forehead on hers. “You should get some sleep, Marinette. I know I need to.”
“I will. See you soon?”
“Always.” He kissed her forehead and gave her a quick hug. With that, he was gone.
His eyes were heavy the next day. Maybe the heaviest they'd ever been. He'd gotten two hours of sleep, tops. But he dragged himself out of bed and into the shower miserably. At least I'll get to see Marinette when I show up, even if she has no idea what we are.
Nino was waiting for him when he arrived, sitting comfortably on the steps with Alya at his side. He waved to Adrien, who half-heartedly waved back. “Hey man!” He jumped up, hopping down the steps to walk next to him. It was way too damn early and Adrien was way too tired for his enthusiasm right now. “Did you hear about the party that Kim is throwing next week?”
“No?”
“Well, he is! And you should come with! You need to get out of your house every once in a while anyway.” Adrien scoffed internally. Right. “Plus it would be your first real party! How exciting would that be?” He was right about that. He still hadn't attended one, discounting the Bubbler incident, which turned out to be not very exciting at all.
“He's right, Adrien! Live it up a little, you'll have a ton of fun!” Alya smiled at him, getting up to walk next to him as he walked past.
A party did sound kind of fun. “Alright, I'll go.” He wondered if someone would convince Marinette to attend as well. Alya was pretty good at getting Marinette to try new things, at least. Speaking of Marinette, she was late again. He noted, unsurprised. She always seemed to be running late. And given how long she had stayed up last night, this was hardly a surprise.
“Really?” Nino seemed over the moon with his answer, jumping into the air with excitement. “Fuck yeah, dude!” He high-fived Alya, grinning to himself. “It's also a B-Y-O-B event, so keep that in mind, alright?”
“I can bring anything but champagne. I've had a few bad experiences with it I'd prefer not to relive.” He laughed, taking his seat in the classroom.
“Alright, alright. Hey, with any luck, you'll meet a cute girl at the party!” Nino nudged him with his elbow, giving him an exaggerated wink.
Without thinking, he responded flatly, “I already have a girlfriend.” Aw, shit. I fucked up. I fucked up real bad.
A pindrop would have sounded like thunder in the classroom after he spoke. The silence was deafening. Fuck me.
“Dude, what? Your first girlfriend and you didn't even tell me! When did that happen? How? How long have you been seeing someone? Is she cute? On a scale of 1-10, how you you rate her boobs? How did I now know about this?!”
Adrien slapped himself internally, and rattled off vague details or just plain untrue details to satisfy Nino. “A few weeks ago, I met her on a modeling tour, she's very cute, 8 but I haven't really seen them yet, and probably because I knew this exact thing would happen?” He offered.
“Aw, man, you have to bring her to the party!”
He winced. “She's...from out of town. I'll see if I can get her to come but...” He racked his brain for any excuse in the book. I can't exactly tell them it's Marinette, can I? Even she doesn't really know. “She works a lot, and has a lot of classwork to do in the next few weeks.” Nino raised his eyebrows like he didn't believe him at all, but didn't pry.
Marinette came barging into the room a minute later, clearly out of breath from hurrying to get to class on time. She smiled briefly at Adrien before taking her seat behind him.
Alya immediately leaned over, grabbing Marinette's arm and whispering into her ear. He could probably guess what it was about. Nino interrupted their whispers, catching Marinette wide-eyed and dumbstruck.
“Are you gonna come to Kim's party next week, Marinette?”
She took a moment to recover, blinking her wide-eyes away and turning to Nino. “Uh, parties aren't really my thing, you know?”
“Aw, Marinette! We'll all be there! Go out and try new things, pleeeeease?” Alya wrapped an arm around Marinette's shoulder, poking her sides with her free hand. “Peer pressure! Peer pressure! Peer pressure!” Marinette laughed lightly, swatting her friend's hand away.
“Alright, alright. No promises I'll have fun, though.” Adrien perked up. Marinette was really going to come? He was genuinely surprised. Maybe I should tell her I'm chat before we go...Then she could be my date, at least. And If I remember correctly, drunk me is very affectionate, and that could get very awkward very fast if she doesn't know... Ugh! I'll think about it when I'm less tired.
Alya beamed. “If you aren't, we'll leave right away as long as you at least try to enjoy yourself!” Marinette laughed with her friend, however tired she was. Was it a terrible idea? Probably. Was she going to do it anyway? Yeah. Chat might be a bad influence on me. Now that she thought about it, she wondered how Chat would react to hearing she was going to a party. Clearly he didn't have an issue with drinking, seeing as he brought her a bottle of champagne. Hopefully he'd be supportive of her trying new things.
We'll just have to wait and see.