Fluff this time? Fluff this time. Felt bad about the angst-esque stuff last time, so yes. Have some MariChat. Also, I didn't separate the previous chapters little POV switch things I did properly. It was more of an experiment of perspective. Don't think it turned out too well but I'll tweak it in a bit. For reference sake, think of this is something that doesn't happen a lot, but happens enough for it not to be unheard of.

Chapter 2: Stray Cat

Once again, Chat had thrown her for a loop. Every pun and every flirtatious move he made towards her, all corny and crazy and just so him, they hardly phased her. Except, of course, lately. Marinette was not pleased with this, not at all, what with suddenly being hyper aware of proximity when she was with her partner, who seemed to lack any sense of personal space. It wasn't business as usual lately, the akumas were coming at a much slower rate than before and the duos typical patrols at night were almost entirely for show. Chat decided this somehow meant he had free range to be as hard core a flirt as possible, keeping close and constantly staring at her with those damnable eyes and stupid smile. Was that even flirting? Surely it was. Last she checked, he sucked at it, and it was like, what he thrived off doing. Being a tease and a flirt. Not that Chat wasn't far too cute for his own good... not that Marinette nor Ladybug would ever mutter such words, but she had Adrien to chase. A small part of her wished Adrien wasn't so perfect so she didn't have this... whatever it was.

Working on her latest design for the latest theater production and being so horrendously interrupted by a thump on the roof that she tore the paper she was writing on, Marinette cursed. And when she heard the gentle knock on the hatch, her head thumped against her desk softly. Please tell me he's not here to flirt with my civilian self too.

She popped the hatch the find her partner soaked and grinning sheepishly, teeth chattering. Marinette groaned, tempted to slam the hatch in his face.

"What are you doing you stupid cat. It's raining, and it's December," she pulls him in, "this could kill you."

With a shaky bow to express his thanks he chatters out, "Anything to see my Princess! Why, is my eternal vigilance in protecting Paris not impawressive enough for you?" Marinette smacks him upside the head gently, doing her best to quell the smile pulling at her lips.

She opts to face away from him to grab a blanket, tossing it over his head. For some reason, Chat freaks out a bit under the blanket, pawing at it like he's stuck and it breaks Marinette. As she keels over laughing, she nearly falls over watching him struggle.

"Silly kitty. What did you really want?" she huffs out. She tries to look intimidating, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, but God help her if his antics aren't just... she doesn't want to put it into words really. The smile on her face sells her out apparently as Chat finally frees himself and runs over to her, nuzzling against her aggressively, desperate for warmth.

"You're my only civilian friend! I needed somewhere to not freeze my paws off!" Marinette raises a brow. Chat was tough. Insanely tough. The cold wasn't likely all. Chat, however, tried to maintain the bluff, smiling up at her as innocently as he could. With a poke to his nose and a gentle push, Marinette came to a decision.

"Liar. I'll go get you some hot chocolate and pastries or something."

The excitement that flashed across Chat's face sold him out.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Come on you silly cat, you can pick one of your choice. My parents are busy in the back and would be thrilled to see you if they didn't have so many orders this weekend." The way his face only lit up further than she's seen since the time there were two Ladybugs told Marinette all she needed to know.

And suggested a few other things. A few things that she wasn't sure exactly how to deal with. Like, for example, the turning in her stomach at the way he looked her. The way his pupils, ears, and tail moved and twitched and flicked at her every motion and word.

It was incredibly similar to how he looked at her as Ladybug.

This really wasn't fair.

"Are you sure though Princess?" Chat spoke up, nervously checking his surroundings, "I've seen your dad before, big fellow, wouldn't want him to bring Dupain on a boy walking down from your room. I may be Chat Noir, savior of Paris, but... uhhh..."

Marinette paused. She hadn't thought of that. And the new nagging notion that she should keep him, keep Chat, a secret from everyone... it was a compelling argument that she positively hated that she needed to have. Okay, yes, let's keep the fact that you have a cute cat boy in your room a secret. But if it's a secret that means there's something to hide. There's nothing to hide it's just Chat Noir being Chat Noir. Stupid cute cat boy Chat Noir. Nope, no reason to keep this a secret.

"Just... go wait in my room and grab a blanket or something," she sighed, hanging her head, "and dry your hair for Pete's sake. You're everything is freezing and dripping all over the place." And ever so neatly clinging to you, she noted, raking her eyes over him for a nanosecond. "You look frigid and stiff as a board."

Marinette wasn't sure she liked the mile wide Cheshire look that stretched across his face. "Of course, princess, I'll go be your stiff little secret."

Marinette's jaw dropped, he had been flirting! She swatted at him angrily as he shot off up the ladder, his face a sharp contrast of fear and utter amusement, the little shit. She grumbled away to grab his drink. All the nice things she does for this boy and he makes a joke like that. It wasn't even a cat pun, he was just taking whatever he could get and trying to fluster her.

She left the marshmallows out of his drink.

She also nearly threw the cup at him when she saw him sitting in her bed in what could only be described as an awful attempt at looking seductive. He was all smiles and innocence, sure but she knew what he was up to now and wouldn't have it.

With a prompt thunk she set his drink and a few croissants several feet away on a desk beside the chair she sat in so he'd have to get up to collect them. The look of minor dissatisfaction that flickered across his face was worth it, especially when he realized he had no marshmallows. He looked pawsitively heart-broken. Marinette groaned at her own inner monologue.

"Me-ouch Princess!" he cried, hand over his heart, "What ever did I do to you?" Marinette smiled smugly, but before she could respond he had to say one last thing. "I'm pawsitively heart-broken!"

Marinette slapped her hand against her forehead. "Goddammit Chat, are you in my head or something?" Well, he was in a sense... "I just thought of that stupid pun,"

He sat beside her, forcing himself half onto her lap, half onto the arm-rest,

"You have no sense of personal space,"

He ducked his head down to her drink, taking a mouthful of a her marshmallows,

"You just barge in here,"

He chews them up and swallows, leaning in close, his head cocked and eyes wide with curiousity. What was she going on about again?

"And you've gone out of your way to fluster me with far too much success. Why on Earth are you here?"

Chat's head leaned in the opposite direction as he pondered an answer, and Marinette felt her heart rate spike in anticipation. She wasn't so sure she wanted to know the answer, actually. Especially after admitting he was getting to her. If she was Ladybug right now he'd be having a field day. Chat would be the death of her.

"Well," he said, reaching down and munching a pastry happily, "I like you. And you seem to come equipped with pastries." His stupid grin flashed, "And I don't try to rile you up Purrrincess, that's all in your head."

She threw him off her.

"What a load! I'm going to bed! Go home, Chat!" she crawled into bed, praying the heat on her face was due to the beverage.

"It's still raining Chats and dogs out there!"

Marinette poked her head out of the bed, this time glaring at him as hard as possible, but he didn't break. The wounded look on his face, be it fake or not, was hard not to bend to. His greatest power. The kicked kitten look. She had never asked if it was real or fake, intentional or a built in defense mechanism of mass destruction that came with the powers of Chat Noir, but never had she defeated it.

"Goddammit, get over here." After all, part of her knew what it was he really wanted. What he needed. Sometimes it was just anything, from anyone. He was selfish really, to ask it of Marinette, of any civilian, but she knew. She knew Chat just needed a hug every now and then. Even if it was under the guise of 'accidental cuddling whilst passed out after harmlessly talking for three hours. In a bed. With stupid cute cat boys.'

Oh, no, Marinette was not okay with reveling in being encompassed by the leather clad hero who happened to be in pretty okay shape at all.

She really did kick him out two hours later after waking to him kneading her back.

I wanted to do more with this, but I didn't want to run the plot too thin. Expect more of exactly this.