Day 17 - Balcony Visits

How dare he.

The thump she'd been expecting landed on her balcony. She glared at the ceiling— not even an hour! He didn't give her two days like she asked, let alone a day, and here he is an hour later!?

Marinette fumed all the way up, carrying a bag she'd prepared earlier.

"Marinette," Chat beamed, then raised a placating hand. "I know what you're going to say..."

"No, you don't." And she tossed bird seed into the air.

"What-?"

Pigeons swarmed.

Muffled sneezes filtered into her room as she descended the stairs.

Tikki giggled, laser pointing the kitten about the room.

"I love a kittens uncontrollable instinct to chase these things."

Marinette sat in her desk chair, and flopped over her desk's surface, watching the kitten tire itself out with wary eyes herself.

"Mom said we could keep her. You alright with a roommate?"

"Only if we can dress her up in those silly cat outfits."

Marinette pursed her lips. "Why do you like teasing her so much?"

"If you knew what I've been through, you wouldn't question it."

Marinette shrugged. "Fair enough."

The sneezing retreated.

She flicked a pencil, and watched it roll down the slope of her desk before repeating. Her anger refused to stay. To fester. No matter how much Marinette willed it.

As Chat Noir and Adrien he took advantage of her ignorance to his secret persona. Then again, she didn't give him the chance for it to happen otherwise. And her cat could never help himself. Maybe it's a mercy he revealed himself two days before she asked him to.

Feigning irritation, she kept him at bay, afraid of facing him. Because... how embarrassing! She groaned. She made such a fool out of herself! Had she known they were the same person—

The thump returned.

She rushed up with the bag... and there sat Chat Noir in a box. A hand curled under his chin with big doe-eyes. He meowed, and she cocked an arm back.

"Wait!" He held up the white kitten from earlier.

On her bed inside sat Tikki with anxious eyes, the kitten laid curled around her.

Marinette's brows lowered, she crossed her arms. "That's playing dirty."

"It worked." He stepped out of the box, tail curling around his leg, he hugged the kitten to his chest. "So, I could have been more elegant..."

"Should have been."

He took a swift step closer. "But you understand, right? Let's say I did wait, wouldn't you have been more upset?"

"Well..."

"I mean, I've had a bit of time to rationalize it, but really... I couldn't resist." He blurted out a laugh. "You should have seen your face!"

She slammed the trapdoor shut. When he heard the click of a lock he panicked.

"H- Heeey, Marinette!" He scratched at the wood. "Listen, I'm soooorry."

He heard hammering on the other side and jerked back, scandalised. "Why I never..."

Come night time Marinette wondered what the ramifications of skipping school for the next five years would be.

"You need time." Tikki patted Marinette's fringe. "Talk to him tomorrow with a levelhead. I'm sure you two can work it out."

"Yeah right," she muttered, laying her head sideways at her desk.

"Marinette," Tikki lightly reprimanded.

"No, I mean-" she jabbed her chin toward the window.

Tikki spun in place. Catching Chat Noir at the window, fogging the glass and drawing a heart struck through by an arrow.

Tikki grumbled, flew to the window, fogged it, and drew a cat with x's for eyes.

Chat gritted his teeth, backing as far as he could from the little ladybug.

"Let him in."

"Marinette," Tikki argued.

"It's fine, he won't sleep if we can't talk."

"So?"

"I won't sleep if we can't talk."

Tikki undid the latch and Chat crawled cautiously inside. Marinette met him halfway.

"Love those posters." He cupped his chin, eyebrows doing a little dance as he winked at her.

And suddenly she was angry. "You sit there and chip in questions about yourself." She jabbed his chest. "As Chat Noir and Adrien, just- just- how dare you!"

"Whoa, okay, wouldn't you have done the same thing?"

She growled, "yes."

Head dropping, he slapped a hand over his eyes.

"But you're the idiot who did it, so I have a right to be upset!"

"What do you want me to say!? I can't apologize anymore, it doesn't work on you."

"This is why I needed time!" She threw her arms up. "Because... because I am so mad! You absolutely refuse to give my fight time to simmer down, lighting it up higher every time you poke your stupid paws by, and I am just... so mad."

"But... why? We talked, it's all even." He swayed his hands left. "I turned into a cat." Swayed right. "You had to take on some odd akuma." Left. "You found out said cat was me." Right. "And I revealed myself early— which you agreed was totally okay by the way."

Arms tightly crossed, she pouted at the wall.

He poked her arm. "My lady."

Filling her lungs, she did her best to ignore the warmth on her cheeks.

"Bugaboo." He stepped closer, bringing up an arm. "Marinette." And he enveloped her into an embrace. "You're not still mad?"

"I am." She muttered into his suit. "So mad."

He nestled into her hair, purring. "Yeah?"

"Yes."

He sighed dreamily. "Okay."

Returning home from conferences held out of the city, Gabriel took in the kittens scurrying in and out of rooms, and the one climbing down stairs to greet him.

The white ball of fur nudged his ankle.

He pinched a growing headache between his brows.

"Not again."

Author's Babble

Thank you all! Your reviews kept me motivated! and trust me, writing a story a day is getting tough. Thank you so much everyone for reading!