Chapter Text
Marinette hummed to herself as she pinned the last piece of fabric to the dress which had hung on the mannequin in her room so she could hand sew it later.
She was interrupted by a knock on her trap door. Checking the time, she realized that she may have got too into the zone that she didn't notice time flying.
She removed the pin she had between her lips. "Come in!" She shouted, carefully returning all excess pins to its container.
"Good evening, princess," Chat greeted, a smile gracing his lips.
"Hey, kitty. Where are the rest?" By the rest she meant Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and Carapace. They started visiting a while after they started having their patrols (still as temporary heros).
Chat visited her for years. He brought Rena Rouge over a long while ago, she brought Carapace and then Queen Bee 'tagged along', not wanting to be left alone.
She started reorganizing her room and he followed suit. He visited her so often that he knows her room very well and how she loved to have things organized.
"They will be just a little late, they went to the store as civilians and told me I can't join since they don't know my civilian identity. They didn’t even tell me what they’re getting, insisting that it’s a surprise.” He rolled the fabric and carried it to her storage box.
“Oh, I see. I wonder what they’re going to get.” She returned the excess pins to the pin cushion that rested on her wrist.
Chat snorted, “Knowing them, they’re definitely planning something or looking for a way to embarrass us.”
“That is true.” She carefully placed the sewing threads in their container.
Chat approached the mannequin to admire the dress she was working on. The dress was high-necked and close-fitted and the skirt, that reached to the knee, had a split at the side with a gold edging, which goes well with the red textile. It also has straight pankous; one placed on the base of the mandarian collar and two at the chest portion of the single sided large round front with a fitted cap sleeve. He recognized the dress as a Qipao.
“Wow, the dress is gorgeous.” He was genuinely impressed. He already knew that Marinette is an amazing designer but that dress was a whole new level. She will definitely be an amazing designer in the future.
“Thank you, kitty, I tried my best.” She gently felt the fabric, it was soft, stretchy, and strong.
“I can tell. Is there any special occasion?” He asked, curious.
“I am going to visit family in China in summer so I started making a dress. I used cotton because it’s more fit for the summer season,” She explained, her smile brightening as she spoke about her passion.
“Oh, that is true. Very smart choice of fabric, Marinette.”
“Thank you. Now that it’s just you and me, want to play mecha strike 3 for old times’ sake?”
He laughed. “You say it as if it’s been years.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, it felt like it.” She was, as always, right, it has been a while since they last played as just the two of them.
“Can’t let this go on longer now, can we?”
“No, we can’t.” She sat down on one of her office chairs while he sat on the other, facing her computer she opened the game and connected the two controllers before handing him one.
Their hands brushed as he took the controller from her and for some reason he wanted to hold her hand. He shook his head to clear the thoughts from his head and turned to the screen.
“Ready?” She asked, a grin gracing her lips.
“To beat you? Always.” He couldn't help but grin back.
“No, silly. I am beating you.” She booped his nose and he laughed.
“We will see about that, princess.” He started the game and as usual (not that he was complaining) she won.
“What were you saying, kitty?” She teased.
“You have proved me wrong, once again. Well played, purr-incess.” He didn’t mind losing to her although he wouldn't mind winning. He simply just enjoyed spending time with her, from enjoying cooking with her, bantering with her, playing with her, to simply doing anything with her.
“I see that someone is not a sore loser,” She noted.
“How could I be when I was playing against the best gamer ever?”
She flicked his belt. “Flatterer.”
“Just simply telling the truth, my princess,” he corrected as she rolled her eyes.
They played for a while before deciding to watch a movie. She suggested Tangled because, as she said, that he reminded her of Rapunzel which he laughed at and agreed to watch. They sat on her chaise, knees brushing as she opened her laptop and opened the movie.
“Is everything ready?” Marinette asked, unfolding the blanket and covering them with it.
“If by that you mean the bowl of snacks, then yes, everything is ready.”
She laughed and started the movie.
Mid-way through the movie, he felt a weight placed on his shoulder which he recognized as Marinette’s head. He wrapped an arm around her to just help her rest her head better on his shoulder. He, of course, didn’t want for her to get pain in the neck due to uncomfortable head position.
He noticed that his long legs took most of the place on the chaise so he decided to give Marinette’s legs more space to move by placing her legs above his. He also saw she was very close to the edge of the chaise, valuing her comfort, he wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her closer to the middle of the chaise.
Marinette, hiding her flaming cheeks, buried her face in his chest as Chat felt his own cheeks heat up. Marinette had one hand on his chest, where his heart layed and he hoped she didn’t hear how fast it was beating. He may or may not have just realized that Marinette’s comfort may have not been the only reason he brought her so close.
He felt Marinette’s shoulder relax as she moved closer to him with a sigh of content. Unconsciously, he rested his head on her’s. She smelt like cookies, croissants, and home. Marinette breaths became even, signaling she was asleep. He held his breath, not to wake her up nor ruin the peace and quiet of the room.
The peace and quiet the room was in. His masked friends decided that was the best moment to show up.
“Hey, guys, look at the Ladybug hoodie I got- Omg, you’re cuddling!” Rena Rouge squealed.
“Dudes, finally. This went for so long. Happy you’re together now,” Carapace congratulated, wearing a Chat Noir hoodie, which Chat would have commented about if his friend didn’t assume he was dating his other very good friend Marinette.
“I know right, you were literally dancing around each other,” Queen Bee added, wearing a Ladybug hoodie just like Rena’s.
Chat’s cheeks flamed. “We are not together, she is just a friend.”
“....You’re cuddling.” Rena deadpanned.
“As friends.”
“You call her your ‘princess’,” Carapace reminded him.
“It’s an inside joke,” Chat explained.
“You kiss her hand and cheek just like you do with Ladybug.” Queen Bee crossed her arms, challenging him to explain that.
“Uh, it’s a friendly gesture?” Chat grinned sheepishly.
Queenie gave a snort.
“That is not just a friendly gesture, we don’t see you kissing everyone,” Rena corrected.
By then, Chat was a tomato. He didn’t know how to respond. He just did that with Ladybug and Marinette. He kisses Ladybug’s hand because he is in love with her but he doesn’t feel that way about Marinette.
“Thought so. So if you’re not together, when are you confessing?” Rena asked after he was unable to respond.
“I don’t like her that way.”
“You cheeks say otherwise,” Queen Bee pointed out.
“Guys..” Chat whined.
“Alright, alright, we will stop teasing.” Carapace took pity, saving the poor boy from the endless teasing. Chat Noir just needed help figuring out his feelings and as his man, he was going to help him.