Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Credit for the cover image goes to the creator.

Chapter 1

Marinette hummed happily to herself as she sketched out her latest design.

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She was sitting on a random park bench near the Eiffel Tower. Having decided on the spur of the moment to find inspiration outdoors, she had set off after breakfast in search of a quiet area to work in. Wandering around the city had led her here, back to the iconic monument, and she simply sat and basked in the sun, and let inspiration overtake her.

It was 10 am on a bright, cheerful Saturday morning. The sun was warm, the breeze refreshing and delightful, and the view scenic, as always. Marinette was feeling more than usually happy, and it showed in her designs, more creative and flowing than usual.

.

.

Until, all of a sudden, she felt it.

The view before her eyes suddenly seemed to swim and blur, and her pencil slipped out of her grasp and clattered to the ground.

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A metaphorical cloud seemed to have blotted out the sun. Marinette blinked her eyes, trying to focus on her paper again. It worked for a few minutes; but again, a moment later, she felt that half-drowsy, half-giddy feeling again.

She couldn't ignore it this time around. "Tikki!" She hissed discreetly, looking around nervously for any prying eyes. "It seems that I've not completely recovered from the fever. What do I do?" She bit her lip in consternation.

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Tikki had been drowsily reposing inside her charge's purse, but she jolted awake at Marinette's panicked voice. "Oh dear!" She shook her head to clear the last vestiges of sleep away from her head. "That's why I insisted on your staying at home!" she tut-tutted reproachfully.

Marinette hung her head in shame. "Maman and Papa said the same thing. You were right, I should have rested for another day." She admitted.

"Anyway, do you think you can make it back home safely?" the concerned kwami asked.

Marinette bent her head low over her sketchbook, partly from a need to cover her mouth from unsuspecting people passing by, and partly because of the pain. "I don't know," she doodled distractedly. "My head has already started paining again, which isn't a good thing."

"I have an idea!" Tikki said suddenly, snapping her tiny fingers. "Why don't you transform somewhere and then go home? It'll be quicker, plus, the transformation will keep you protected for a while!"

.

Marinette paused her random scribbles as she considered her kwami's words. Transforming was the most obvious choice right now, but…. it wasn't exactly advisable to go jumping and swinging over rooftops while in that particular condition.

But there was no other choice, unless she considered walking home, which was a good fifteen minutes away. Would she be even able to make it? She didn't have any money on her, so taking the bus or the subway wasn't an option.

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She darted away behind a large tree, looking furtively around for any movements. Once the coast was clear, she called out the familiar words. "Tikki, Spots On!" Only this time, there was no smile on her face as she transformed.

Her transformation gave her a temporary bit of relief, and she felt a bit glad that she had listened to Tikki.

Tentatively, she threw out her yo-yo, hooking it onto a projection of the nearest building. With a hesitancy that was rare for the confident heroine, she pulled the string and launched herself into the sky.

.

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A few buildings later, she stopped, gasping for breath.

The few vehicles which were passing by on the street seemed to be emitting bizarre amounts of noise, and everything around her felt hot, blurry, and irritating.

The same sun which had been so warm earlier, now seemed scorching as it beat down on her, drenching her in sweat. Her head was pounding and she felt a bit dizzy.

She wasn't sure she could make it over another rooftop before collapsing.

Panting, she swung down into an alley, relishing in its coolness as she let her transformation fall away from her. Tikki immediately materialized in front of her, worry evident in her face. However, she suddenly darted away back to Marinette's purse without saying anything.

Marinette was about to question her sudden disappearance, when a voice from behind startled her.

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"Marinette? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice asked.

Chat Noir had been enjoying his stroll through the city, propelling himself randomly with no specific destination in mind. Imagine his happiness as he happened to catch a glimpse of red in the distance, a clear sign that his lady love was up and about. He had followed her with the intention of catching up with her- (that pun was unintentional, okay)- only to be disappointed as she ducked down somewhere and he lost sight of her red visage.

He had gone to investigate the alley he had seen her disappear into, hoping that he would find her there, but instead, he was pleasantly surprised to see another dark-haired, blue-eyed girl.

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Marinette.

Marinette turned around in fright, eyes darting upwards and landing on Chat Noir. The sudden momentum made her head spin.

The sunlight fell around the hero, illuminating his golden hair like a halo and slanting off his black figure.

Marinette couldn't help staring. In that moment, he looked so angelic, so handsome and brave and cool.

Like a saviour.

He lowered himself down next to her, greeting suddenly vanishing from his lips as he took in her wan appearance.

She was clutching her sketchbook to her chest, breathing rather rapidly, as beads of sweat rolled off her face.

"Whoa! Marinette, are you okay?" he stepped closer to inspect her in concern.

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Marinette had never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life. Okay, with the exception of Adrien- who wouldn't be happy to see him anytime?- but today, she was extremely grateful for her partner's presence.

"I'm just feeling a little bit under the weather," she said vaguely, as he looked at her worriedly, unsure of what to do. Abandoning all preamble, she got right to the point. "Could you take me home, please? You know where I live."

"Of course." Always the gentleman, Chat Noir was ever ready to help out someone in need. The thought made Marinette smile, inspite of her discomfort. He wrapped an arm around her back, then grabbed his baton before picking her up gently. "Hold on tight." With that, he launched them both into the sky.

Marinette closed her eyes, letting herself revel in the comfort and familiarity of his strong arms.

She felt safe.

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All too soon, she felt him land somewhere, and she knew that their brief journey had come to an end. She opened her eyes slowly, a bit confused at the sudden feeling of reluctance which came over her when Chat Noir lowered her carefully to the ground.

"There you go." Chat Noir said, looking her up and down as if to search for any injuries. "Take care of yourself, okay?" he said, a hint of worry creeping into his voice.

"Thank you, Chat Noir," she smiled briefly, but gratefully, and descended into her room, after giving him a small wave goodbye.

Chat Noir turned away to go, but an idea suddenly struck him. Changing course, he headed towards the supermarket…..

.

Meanwhile Marinette, freshly showered and comfortably clothed, was curling into a contented ball on her bed. A hot bath, a bowl of her favourite soup and one scolding from her parents later, she began to feel better again.

"Chat Noir really saved the day, didn't he?" Tikki flew around excitedly.

"….That he did," Marinette smiled fondly, closing her eyes. "I was so relieved when he showed up, Tikki."

Tikki opened her mouth to reply, but whatever she had been about to say was cut off as a knock sounded from above. "Marinette? Can I come in?"

.

The reposing girl opened her eyes and glanced at Tikki questioningly. The small kwami winked at her charge knowingly, before flitting off to her hiding place. Giggling, Marinette stuck her tongue out at the retreating kwami, before adjusting her clothes and moving away from the hatch. "Yes, come in!" she called out.

The very superhero they had been conversing about dropped into her room, a large paper bag in tow. "Hey there, Princess! How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks." Choosing to ignore his address, Marinette shifted to make space for him on her bed, a diverting thought flitting unwittingly into her mind.

Speak of an angel and hear the rustle of her wings.

….Wait, what?

"What are you doing here, Chat Noir?" she asked curiously instead, pushing away the errant train of thoughts from her mind. Her eyes lit up as they fell upon the bag he was clutching nervously. "Is- Is that for me?" she asked in surprise.

"It most certainly is." he handed over the bag with a wink and a flourish, eliciting a little giggle from her at his antics. "Ta-da!" he exclaimed theatrically, beaming at the smile that brightened her face.

She peeked inside the bag, gasping in delight as she lifted out the contents. "Flowers? And a get-well card? And new sketchbooks? And," Marinette narrowed her eyes in amused disbelief, "Is that a cat plushie?"

"It is a cat plushie," Chat confirmed, bouncing up and down in his excitement. "Do you like it?" he asked nervously, rubbing the side of his neck.

"I love it. All of it." Marinette hugged the black cat plushie to her chest, beaming up at him from behind her bangs. "Thank you so much, kitty. You didn't have to go to all these lengths for me."

Her smile, plus the way she said kitty, lit a sudden fire in his heart and he hastened to quench it.

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"You're welcome, Marinette," he answered her smile with one of his own rare, non-flirty ones and her eyes widened. "But you never did tell me what exactly happened to you?" he inquired curiously.

She darted her eyes away to the side, seeming very reluctant to answer that question. "Uhh, well, you see, it's nothing much, you know! A bedache, no, I mean, a headache. "

This is SO embarrassing! What do I tell him?

"I don't think it's nothing," he replied, unconvinced. "And it looks like more than a headache. You seemed pretty unwell earlier." He tilted his head to the side, inquisitively, and she let out a sigh of resignation. Ugh, those kitty eyes….

"It's just- it was-is a feverkindof!" she blurted out, face bright red.

"What? Sorry, I didn't quite get you-"

"It's- err- just a fever," she cut in quickly. "A mild one!" she added as his eyes narrowed.

"You had a fever, and you went out instead of resting?" his voice was laced with disappointed disapproval.

"Yeah, well, my parents said the same thing, but I thought I was better, so…well….yeah." she grinned anxiously. "I'm better now! All thanks to you!"

He hummed, still not quite convinced. "I didn't know you were sick," he murmured almost to himself, eyes widening suddenly as he realized his blunder.

"Well, and how exactly would you know if I was sick or not?" she questioned him archly, raising an eyebrow.

"Hehe, it's just that you…err… don't seem the type to fall sick?" he finished lamely.

Marinette snorted. "What's with that?" she chuckled, "Illnesses affect everybody! Even Chloe," she started giggling more as thoughts of Chloe came to her mind, haughtily forbidding germs to enter her body.

"What I meant is…. you're always so… energetic, and upbeat all the time?" He saw her looking at him curiously and suspiciously, so he tried to backpedal a bit. "That's how you came across to me, at least." He scratched the back of one cat ear a bit awkwardly.

Marinette smiled. "Well, you're right. I don't really fall sick all that often." In an undertone, she added to herself, "I can't afford to."

"And by the way, thanks for saving me," She said as an afterthought. "I don't know how would I have made it home if you hadn't been there."

"I was following Ladybug actually," Caught up in his musings about the spotted heroine, he missed the way she seemed to freeze momentarily. "But she disappeared before I could catch up to her. He paused, then a grin spread over his face. "Ha! Cat-ch up to her! See what I did there?"

"Ha-ha, very funny," Marinette replied distractedly. Gosh, I had no idea that Chat Noir saw me- well, Ladybug-me! I've got to be more careful. What if he happened to see me detransforming?

Removing his baton, the hero checked the time, then glanced at Marinette. "I've got to get going, Marinette. My fath-family will miss me if I'm away too late."

If Marinette noticed his slip-up, she certainly didn't comment on it. "Alright."

She followed him out onto the balcony. Before he about to leap off, she placed her hand on his wrist, stopping him. "Chat Noir, thank you. For everything."

He paused and looked back, into her blue eyes. They were shining with gratitude and affection and something more meaningful. Suddenly unsure of what to say, he settled for a small, chaste kiss on her hand. "Anytime, Princess." He grinned then, running a hand through his hair. "Always glad to be your knight in shining armor."

Marinette smiled to herself. My Chat, you're truly one in a million.

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With a last two-fingered salute and a wink, he finally leapt away into the afternoon sunlight.

"Wow," Tikki commented, flitting up into the balcony as they both watched the black blur melt away into the distance. "Chat Noir is so sweet and thoughtful!"

Marinette hardly heard her. A thousand thoughts were buzzing around inside her head, but there was one that stood out from all the rest.

Since when did I start thinking of him as MY cat?