Chapter Text
Marinette was exhausted, and Paris was just as exhausted as Marinette. Though the city never truly slept, twinkling with lights throughout, the only light that shone into Marinette's room was through her patio, gently making the outlines of her room glow. Marinette herself was comfortable in bed, hidden underneath waves of blankets, soft breaths escaping her lips as she slept peacefully. Exhausted from her day at school- college was no joke afterall!- and exhausted from fighting Akumas, Marinette wanted nothing more than a good night's sleep, though Marinette would not be getting that tonight.
Tikki awoke from the small pillow Marinette had laid out for her Kwami to rest upon in a startle, in reaction to a loud clutter downstairs- the sound of something falling on the floor followed by an eerie silence. Quickly, Tikki tossed herself towards Marinette, patting her hands onto Marinettes soft cheeks, squishing them with each tap. Marinette's brows furrowed together as she pushed her head into her pillow, gently gliding her hand across her cheek to shoo the eager Tikki away.
"W-what... is it T...ikki?" she murmured still half asleep, her body calling for rest. She peered her blue eyes open slowly, a fearful Tikki coming into focus as her eyes adjusted to the soft glimmer of light that illuminated her bedroom.
"There's someone in the bakery again!" Tikki panicked, flying around the room in circles, not quite sure what to do. Marinette's heart jolted in adrenaline, snapping her out of her groggy, sleepy state of being. Her fingertips clasped at her bed sheets as her mind wandered, unsure of what to take of the situation. For a while now, Marinette and her family had been waking up once in a while- two or three times a week, maybe, to find some goods from the bakery missing. A pecan cookie here, a croissant there, a slice of lemon meringue pie... But this wasn't the result of a hungry mouse or a raccoon. Sitting so menacingly onto the counter- next to the cashier every morning, was always the exact change for the stolen goods. Someone was sneaking into her parent's bakery to steal her parent's lovingly cooked treats, and paying for them because they felt guilty about it!
Marinette jumped to her feet with a small "thump". She carefully tread towards her door to creep downstairs, still in her pajamas, her breath hitched in her chest. Marinette had encountered tons of dangerous people before as Ladybug, but the idea of having to face someone in her own home in the middle of the night terrified her! She didn't want to bother her parents though by calling the police- besides, if they were leaving money, they must be friendly, she assured herself. On the other-hand, Ladybug showing up in a home all of a sudden might be suspicious too, so that was out of the question.
As she neared the part of the bakery where the treats were stored, Marinette heard a small clang, the sound of the lid being lifted off of a batch of chocolate-chip cookies. It was familiar to her, having heard it her whole life growing up just above the bakery, so she couldn't mistake it. Her heart dropped and her body felt hot from her toes to the top of her head, fear pumping through her veins. She ducked quickly behind a counter and lifted her head up to peer into the darkness, unable to make out what- or who, was creeping around in her kitchen at 1am in the morning! Her heart fluttered in her chest as she saw a sudden movement, light glistening off of something shiny and black, carrying itself towards the delicious cookies. Squinting her eyes, she pulled herself up over the counter just slightly by the pressure of her finger tips, the weight of her body pushing itself onto the tips of toes as she struggled to stay hidden. As quickly as Marinette had tried to get a better vision, a flash of two, familiar bright green eyes flickered over in her direction following her sudden movement, and her heart sank, blood rushing to her head in confusion.
"C-Chat Noir?" she stuttered quickly, lifting herself from behind the counter, keeping her arms close to her body. She winced in confusion as she watched her partner jump, startled to hear- and presumably, see, Marinette. His eyes widened as one of her mother's cookies slipped between his fingers, falling to the floor. He lifted his hands out in front of him cautiously in a startled fret. Why would Chat Noir be stealing her mother's cookies, she couldn't wrap her head around it. Chat had never come across as someone to do something bad to her- maybe a bit pushy, and lacking boundaries, but never a criminal. "What are y-you doing?"
Her voice was filled with concern, catching at "you" with an ounce of pain. She felt her fingernails press into the skin of her palm as she clenched her fists lightly, unsure on what Chat was planning, but more mad to be seeing her partner stealing. If she were Ladybug, she would most definitely be scolding him, she was sure of that.
"I-I- Oh, I-uh, Marinette!" Chat let out a nervous laugh, his jaw quivering, "I-It's not what it seems! I j-just, u-uh, they're good! They're good, you know! And I don't get to h-have stuff like this at home so, I-..." Chat trailed off. That wasn't a good excuse for anything, and he knew it. He felt damn guilty, for breaking in, for stealing, but more for Marinette catching him red handed. If Curiosity doesn't kill the cat, Marinette sure would.
Marinette let out a forced breath in confusion, shaking her head at the stumbling Chat.
"You can't come buy them when the bakery is open?" she questioned, squinting her eyes, choking up on her own emotions. "This is stealing," she pleaded. Chat Noir sighed and lowered his head in defeat, holding his arms against himself with a sulk. He shook his head, closing his eyes. How could he look at Marinette? He was ashamed of himself.
"P-Please don't tell anyone! I-If Ladybug ever found out I-I'd..." he faltered, rubbing the palm of his hand against his head, "She can't know about this! Don't tell anyone, please! I won't come back, I promise!" He pushed himself towards Marinette, grabbing one of her hands in between his palms. Grits of cookie crumbs scratched against Marinette's skin as she looked down at the blonde boy.
"P-Please...," he pleaded, sounding as if he was about to cry as he let himself fall onto his two knees, still holding onto Marinette's hand. Her vision trailed towards Chat's pitch black ring, the light green paw print so brightly showing itself off in the darkness. 'Showing itself off', she thought, years of Chat's relentless teasing, flirting, and confidence coming to the surface inside of her. The Chat Noir that Ladybug knew was smooth and coy, she never could have imagined him on her bakery's floor, pleading and begging her for her forgiveness- her silence. A vulnerable Chat Noir. The thought gave her stomach butterflies. What was it about seeing Chat in such a shameful, pathetic Chat made her excited?
'Is this the real Chat?' she asked herself 'Under the mask?', gazing at the boy squeezing at her palm, focusing on her with pleading eyes. His lips quivered, desperate for Marinette to pretend she hadn't just caught him stealing- desperate to make sure Ladybug would never find out. 'What does Ladybug think?', Marinette asked herself. Chat didn't know he was standing in front of 'his lady' of course, but maybe Marinette could use that to her own advantage. Perhaps the mask, the disguise, was what made Chat who he was, the confident, bumbling buffoon she'd worked next to for so long. Marinette knew herself she was far more confident as Ladybug than Marinette- but Chat didn't know that. Maybe it was time to see a different Chat, she thought. The real Chat Noir.
She slipped her hand out from between his gentle clasp, swiveling around on the balls of her feet as she sauntered towards the counter, picking up and taking the tray of cookies with her. She paused for a moment as she reached under the counter to grab a bowl, taking one last thought before she placed the cool ceramic on top of the counter. If he didn't want Ladybug to know he was stealing cookies like some... alley cat, then he would have to earn it. She was confident she was going to give Chat a piece of his own mind and teach him a lesson.
She hastily grabbed some of the cookies into her hands, feeling a confused and concerned Chat staring at her though her back. Breaking them up between her fingers, she let small chunks of cookie fall into the bowl, filling the room with the only sound between the dense silence. Dusting the crumbs off of her fingers and letting them fall onto the counter, she picked up the bowl, taking a deep breath before she carried herself menacingly towards Chat, trying her best to keep a straight face. She placed the bowl on the floor in front of him, backing away as he looked down at it, and then up at her.
"Eat it if you're so hungry then, Kitty," she taunted amorously. Her heart fluttered and her cheeks felt as though they were burning up, hopeful in the dark that Chat wouldn't see how truly embarrassed Marinette was. She'd never thought of doing something like this, but she assured herself that it was what the boy kneeling on the floor needed. He lingered, giving her a look of caution for a moment, a short one, but one that felt so long to Marienette. She began to doubt her decisions before he slowly lifted a hand, grabbing a piece of one of the broken cookies in between his claws. Marinette clutched his chin rougly between her hand in one swift movement, forcing his head up towards her as she leaned in, His eyes cautiously watching her every move.
"No," she purred, looking down at him as he dropped the bit back into the bowl. She felt her lips curve softly into a small smirk as she pressed the tips of them against his ear, hand still firm on his chin. "Not with your hands. If you want to be a bad kitty, then you can eat like a kitty- with your mouth."