Marinette

"Guys, guys, guys! Please, calm down. Now, Manon I'd like you to go over to that wall of sand and try digging through it while Cat Noir and I come up with a plan to get us out of here," My ladybug side comes out as I stop the two from arguing. Manon complies and runs over to the sand wall, her tiny hands scraping its surface. I feel Cat Noir's eyes on me so I turn to him and fold my arms. "What?"

He quickly averts his eyes to the ground. "Oh, it's nothing. You just reminded me of someone when you said that..."

My eyes immediately widen at this, as I awkwardly bring my hand up to the back of my neck. "Aha...So anyway...Do you have any plans to get us out of here? You are the superhero after all," I switch up topics, just in case he was starting to figure out anything.

He shakes his head. "To be honest, I'm sure Ladybug can handle whatever's out there for now. She can do anything. We're closed off from the akumatised victim here too so we'll be safe." Cat Noir leans against the wall opposite me and slides against it so he's sitting on the floor.

"Yeah-but-but what if Ladybug's been trapped or something too? We can't not try!" I desperately try to reason, as I look down at him.

"But if I use my cataclysm to get us out of here, I'll only have 5 minutes left before I transform back," he sulks, sighing slightly. I raise an eyebrow at his negativity. This isn't the Cat Noir I know. It's almost like he wants to stay here.

"Alright, Cat Noir, I'll do you a deal," I say, grabbing his hands and pulling him up as he stares at me with wide eyes due to my newly shown confidence. "You help me come up with something to help get us out...And I'll make you a plate full of croissants tonight if you come to my balcony at 9 o'clock so you can get them." His eyes light up with glee.

"Really?!" I nod my head, trying not to smile. "Well in that case we can just use my staff to lift us out of the alley." My almost-smile drops. HE KNEW HOW TO GET US OUT THIS WHOLE TIME?! Ugh, when I see him as Ladybug I'm gonna give him a real piece of my mind.

He goes over to Manon and lifts her up first, extending his staff up the wall of sand and then down it. Next, he extends his staff back down the wall of sand for me to grab onto and I slide down onto the ground after doing so.

"Now, my princess, I'm gonna leave you here so I can help Ladybug defeat that sand kid. Although I'm shore it'll be another piece of cake. You'll be okay getting back?" Cat Noir asks and I begin to blush at the nickname until I notice the pun.

"I'll be fine, you should go!"I dismiss, waving at him so he leaves. In the midst of me doing so however, he grabs my hand and places a gentle kiss on the back before winking and leaping off into the distance. I stand in a daze, staring at the spot he kissed.

"MARINETTE!" Manon shouts, pulling me out of my haziness.

Manon! What am I going to do with her?

"Sorry, Manon, umm I'm going to drop you off at my house. I'm sure my mom and dad can look after you...I have something I need to take care off but I purrromise I'll be back soon." I hurriedly tell her as I pick her up and we begin walking. She nods her little head and I speed walk down the streets. My house isn't too far away luckily; I just hope Cat Noir won't get too mad that I'm not there.

We're almost at my house when a thought comes to me, making me almost stop in my tracks.

I made a cat pun without realising.

---------------------15 minutes later---------------------

"Pound it," Cat Noir and I fist bump just as my earrings being beeping. It's a real shame that I don't get to talk to Cat Noir as Ladybug very often. We've been friends for so long now and I feel like just lately we've lost our old connection and I'd like to rekindle that.

"I guess I better go. Bye Cat Noir," I sadly smile, waving goodbye to him and swinging away using my yo-yo. I glance behind me to see him frowning and looking down.

I hate seeing him looking so serious. If I could, I'd go right back and hug him to lift whatever tension he's feeling.

Shaking off my worries, I turn back around and finally reach my house. Upon arrival, I detransform on my balcony and sigh. "What's wrong?" Tikki asks after exiting my earrings. Smiling at her concern, I lean against my balcony.

"It's just...Cat Noir looked so sad when I left and we don't get the chance to talk so I can't ask him what's wrong." The wind blows through my hair as I tilt my head to the sky. Tikki nuzzles herself into my shoulder to comfort me.

"Hey, he's coming round tonight, right? You can ask him then," she reassures, and this puts me slightly more at ease as I relax my tense shoulders.

He's coming over tonight. I can see him. My pulse quickens as I think about being in his presence again. "I guess you're right Tikki. Oh! Speaking of him coming over, I better get those croissants ready!"

-----------------

50 minutes later I'm sitting cross-legged on my balcony waiting for Cat Noir to appear with a plate of croissants at my side. It's not a particularly cold night so the slight wind blowing past my bare arms is refreshing. Besides, even if it was absolutely freezing, I wouldn't care. All that's on my mind is Cat Noir and I honestly can't wait to have some time with him.

"Wow, I actually love you right now," a voice brings me out of my thoughts, forcing me to look up. Cat Noir. "Those croissants look purrfect." He joins my on the floor and crosses his legs, helping himself to a croissant. He moans in satisfaction after biting into it.

"I'm glad you like them," I giggle, filled with happiness. He nods his head, the croissant in his hand almost finished as he scoffs it down. "But maybe you should slow down, geez anyone would think you don't eat." My eyes widen as he finishes his first croissant in such a short amount of time.

Cat Noir laughs at my concern. "To be honest I don't. My civilian lifestyle doesn't really allow for me to eat much. I actually have a strict diet plan...That I'm breaking right now...Wow, Marinette, thanks for corrupting me!" I laugh at his playfulness.

"Welcome to the dark side," I respond, winking. He chuckles, a wide smile on his face as he reaches for another croissant and I refrain from rolling my eyes. This cat...

"So...Marinette...Tell me about this 'boyfriend' Manon mentioned earlier...Do you like him more than me?" he asks, smirking as he glances at me.

Ah, the awkwardness...

"Well, for starters, he's not my boyfriend. We literally kissed once! It's actually really awkward now as well because Manon walked in on us and we didn't have time to talk about it straight the way," I rant, sighing. Cat Noir pays close attention to what I'm saying as he delves into his croissant at the same time.

"It sounds like a difficult situation you're in there...Maybe invite him over sometime so you can chat about it? Besides, if it's paw-kward for you then it's bound to be paw-kward for him too so try and think of it in the sense that you're both in the same boat with feelings," he says, and suddenly I feel a lot better about the situation. I mean, besides the outrageously bad puns, his advice was quite good.

"Thank you, Cat Noir," I smile, resting my chin on my hands. Staring into the peaceful night, I feel euphoric and content within my surroundings. I must admit, if I had to choose to share anyone's company, it would be Cat Noir's. He makes everything seem better.

I hear shuffling to the side of me so I turn to see him moving the now empty plate from in between us and then moving closer to my side, placing his arm round my shoulder. "The view is beautiful from here huh, princess?" he asks, and I can feel his eyes bore into the side of my face. Leaning my head on his shoulder, I smile.

"Yeah, it is."

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A/N:

OMG OMG OMG

WE REACHED 1000 READS I AM ACTUALLY SHOOK!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this book, I can't thank you enough! I made sure to make this chapter pretty long in celebration of this milestone✨

Sorry to any Adrienette, Ladynoir or Ladrien shippers too but this chapter is solely Marichat...But Adrienette will be back very soon, don't worry!

Byeeeeeee ✨💖💜