[Narrator's POV]

Adrien piles up some pillows beneath his bedsheets to look like a sleeping body.

"We going somewhere?" Asks Plagg.

He notices a container set out on Adrien's table. It was the one Marinette gave Chat Noir left over cupcakes in, only it is now empty.

"Oh, we're visiting the bakery girl." Plagg concludes.

"Yeah, Prin—ah, Marinette mentioned at school that her parents are going out tonight so I thought we could hang out again." Adrien says.

"And when you say we, you mean Marinette and Cat Noir." Plagg replies.

"Yeah, we can cook some more and hopefully refill that container." Adrien says happily.

"What's the point in spending all this quality time with Marinette when she doesn't even know it's you?" Questions Plagg.

"Well when I'm Cat Noir there's no misunderstandings or expectations—"

"Basically you can keep Marinette close to you, just keep her around, and still go after Ladybug." Plagg interrupts. "You know, you're always saying that you enjoy being Cat Noir because you're free to do whatever you want without consequences. Is that why you're always trying to charm Marinette as Cat Noir? Because you're free to act on your heart's most inner desires?"

"Woah." Adrien stops to look at Plagg. "That's too many rhetorical questions. You're confusing me."

"Never mind." Plagg rolls his eyes.

"Charge up. We're leaving soon." Adrien chucks Plagg a piece of cheese before going into the bathroom to pretty-up his hair.

Plagg looks at his beloved cheese, remembering the bet he had made with Tiki. If LadyNoir get together before Adrienette, she owes him five whole wheels of camembert.

"Cat Noir and...Marinette?" Plagg mutters as he strokes his chin. "MariChat...a ship I never saw coming. A ship I hadn't prepared for...Could this be a threat?"

Adrien comes out of the bathroom with perfectly placed 'bedhead' that he claims looks edgy and cool as if he isn't trying even though it took him ten minutes.

"Hm? Did you say something Plagg?"

"What? No. Nothing." Plagg says before shoving the camembert into his mouth.

"Well hurry up and chew that because we're leaving." Replies Adrien.

.

Marinette is cleaning up the bakery when she hears a knock on the back door. It's strange for a costumer not to come to the bakery door. Marinette thought it could be Alya, but she would have texted first.

"I'm sorry, we're closed." Marinette says as she opens the door.

Cat Noir stands in the doorway with his usual toothy grin.

"Chat!" Marinette says happily.

She hadn't seen Cat Noir in a while, not even as Ladybug, but even Marinette was surprised when she lunged forward to hug him.

"Woah there, you miss me?" Cat Noir chuckles and returns Marinette's embrace.

The hug was brief, just a friendly greeting, but it was nice. After pulling away, Marinette's face quickly blushes.

"I-I'm sorry. Are we close enough to hug yet? I don't know why I..."

"It's fine." Cat Noir says with a smile. "That's what friends do right? It was nice."

Marinette smiles back.

"So," Cat Noir takes out his container as he steps inside. "I'm thinking this container looks a little lonely. Maybe we should fill it with something?"

"Is your friendship with me purely for beneficial reasons?" Marinette jokes.

"Couse not Mari, I mostly came to see you." Cat Noir says, giving Marinette a bop on the nose. "Mind if I call you Mari?"

"Course not Chat." Marinette replies, elbowing him playfully. "But you know, you should be more careful next time. You can't just come straight up to my house door."

"Don't worry, I knew your parents would be out." Cat Noir assures her.

Marinette raises an eyebrow. "How?" She smirks and leans in closer. "Have you been stalking me?"

Cat Noir smiles nervously. "No!" He clears his throat and continues confidently. "Cat Noir knows everything."

"Pfft—whatever."

Marinette walks away from the conversation to retrieve her favourite cookbook. Cat Noir hoists himself up to sit on the counter, swinging his legs in the air like a child.

"So Chat, what's your favourite flavour?" Marinette asks as she flips through the pages.

"Hmm...chocolate is pretty good, but I love mint. Why not both? Yeah, definitely mint chocolate!" Cat Noir answers passionately.

"That's great! I know heaps of minty recipes because it's one of my closest friend's favourite flavour." Marinette says, referring to her extensive research for Adrien.

Cat Noir smiles with ardour. "That's real sweet of you Marinette. Do you keep track of all your friend's favourite foods?"

"Of course, I'm a baker." Marinette says complacently. "My best friend Alya loves dark chocolate the most, but she also enjoys coffee flavoured things. Rich taste, huh? One time I got her dark chocolate coated coffee beans and she totally freaked out to the point of drooling. Her boyfriend Nino, now I think his favourite flavour is caramel but honestly he'll eat anything and everything. And of course there's Adrien, he's the one who likes mint chocolate."

Cat Noir chuckles. "And what's your favourite flavour?"

"Mine...?" Marinette stops to think. "Mmm...well, nothing beats the classic chocolate but I think I also like strawberry a lot—or maybe raspberry? Or watermelon... Did you know watermelon is actually a berry? Yeah, and get this, strawberries aren't berries. What's with that?"

Cat Noir laughs.

Marinette giggles in response. "What?"

"You're cute." Cat Noir says, ruffling Marinette's hair.

"D-Don't patronise me." Marinette complains, her cheeks turning red.

Cat Noir's attention is distracted when he sees Marinette's sketchbook, which she was drawing in before he arrived. It is open on a page filled with little sketches of Cat Noir himself.

Cat Noir's eyes light up as he snatches the book. "Aw, Mari! You draw me? These are so cute!"

Marinette's face goes pink with embarrassment. "Give that back!" She lunges forward to try and take back her sketchbook but Cat Noir pulls it away.

"You must really admire me. I am majorly cool and handsome, don't blame you for wanting to capture my beauty." Cat Noir goes on.

"I-Idiot cat, it's not like that!"

Marinette climbs up on the counter Cat Noir is sitting on so she can reach the top of his hand but he just rises to his feet to get more height on her. The two are now both standing on the countertop wresting over a sketchpad.

"Awhawhaw! I can just picture you day dreaming about me in class, doodling on your little sketchpad. You're like a cute little schoolgirl." Cat Noir pauses. "Wait...you are a cute little schoolgirl."

"Shut up! I'm not little!" Marinette snaps, jumping up and down to try and grab the book Cat Noir is holding up in the air.

Cat Noir holds the book out and away from her. Marinette jumps up again and reaches out for it, pushing into Cat Noir and causing them both to fall off the counter.

"WAAH!" Marinette screams.

THUD!

"Ow ow ow." Cat Noir grunts.

If it were anyone else, say Adrien perhaps, Marinette might have been more apologetic for landing on top of Cat Noir. But instead, Marinette immediately scrambles for her sketchbook, kneeing him in the stomach and slapping her hand down on his face in the process.

"Aha!" She says as she snatches it up.

"Arruugghhhhh....." Cat Noir lets out a long, winded groan as he slowly sits up. "Itsakay, I'm fine..."

Marinette sits cross-legged on the bakery floor, flipping through her sketchbook pages. "See? They aren't stupid doodles! They are designs."

Cat Noir peers over at the pages that Marinette is violently jabbing at. There are small sketches of both him and Ladybug, as well as their weapons and pages and pages of clothing designs inspired by their costumes, patterns and colours. Some, as if Marinette was imagining what Cat Noir and Ladybug might dress like as civilians and some as if Marinette is making an entire brand themed around LadyNoir. There are fancy clothes, casual clothes, sports clothes, dresses, pyjamas, skirts, hoodies, accessories and more.

"Everything in this beautiful city inspires me. I borrow designs from all over Paris, it would only make sense for me to take inspiration from it's miraculous protectors. You are just as iconic to Paris as the Eifel tower." Marinette explains.

"That's...really flattering." Cat Noir says. He flips through the pages of Marinette's sketchbook, his eyes content and curious. "These are all so amazing! You could make some serious cash selling these designs—"

Marinette snaps her sketchbook shut. "I'm not designing cheap merchandise. I'm not looking to make profit from the wonderful things that you and, and Ladybug, do. This is my personal sketchbook. I just like to fill it with all the wonders of Paris. All the things that I love and that inspire me."

"That's very noble of you." Cat Noir says in admiration. "You're such a moral person. In fact, your stubborn righteousness is something I admire a lot about you. And of course that you see the beauty in everything. Your outlook on life is so optimistic and unique. Speaking of optimism, you are always so kind and—"

"Wow, you've really got my personality down pat. I mean, we've only known each other for a couple of months and you've already painted a perfect picture in your mind. A superhero worshiping a plain old baker girl," Marinette smiles playfully. "I'm starting to think you really are my stalker."

Cat Noir forces a laugh. "I just have a good judgement of character."

Marinette hauls herself off the floor and places her sketchbook back on top of the counter.

"Anyways, what would you like to bake tonight?" She asks.

"How about we make something you like for a change." Cat Noir suggests. "You're always trying to make everybody else happy, keeping track of everyone's favourite flavours just so you can bake accordingly, but how about we make something for you."

"Me...?" Marinette repeats.

"Yeah, I wonna make something sweet for my sweet Mari." Cat Noir says happily.

Marinette smiles, her cheeks turning a rosy pink. "B-But we're baking together. How about we make something we'll both like?"

"Okay!"

And so Cat Noir leaves the Dupain-Cheng bakery later that night with a container full of raspberry-mint cake slices. He takes his time leisurely walking home as he munches away on one of the slices. Before taking another bite, Cat Noir pauses and looks down at the fat chunk of cake in his hand. The magnificent creation that he and Marinette had produced together. Swirls of light green and red colour the sponge, the top decorated with chocolate and strawberries. The cool mint and the sweet berry flavours taste so wonderful together. This beautiful mix of both his and Marinette's favourite flavours almost signifies how perfectly they work together. The cool cat and the sweet girl. What would it be like for them to come together like the ingredients of a cake? Surely, amazing.

Cat Noir pauses. He doesn't wish to know where this thought train is going. He quickly shoves the rest of the slice into his mouth, deciding that it is in reality just a slice of cake, not a metaphor. If anyone had taken a peep into his mind whilst he stood alone in the night,staring at a slice of cake as he analyses it for a deeper meaning, they would most likely think him insane.