Miraculous: Short Tails er Tales

A collection of short unconnected stories for you to enjoy. I'll try to keep a list of the stories at the top of the first one so you can decide what looks interesting to read.

This is the standard disclaimer that goes on most if not all fan fictions about ownership and so forth.

Tale 1 – Marinette & Cat Noir in "Flirting"

Tale 2 – Nathalie Sancoeur & Emilie Agreste in Roomates

Tale 3 – Marinette, Cat Noir & Chloe in Betrayal

Tale 4 - Adrien Agreste & Marinette in Altered Ladybug (in the spirit of How It Should Have Ended)

Tale 5 - Cat Noir & Ladybug in "Is it Wrong to Want Revenge After a Funeral?"

Tale 6 - Adrien, Marinette, Nino, Alya, Rose and Juleka in How Truth or Dare Goes Wrong.

Marinette & Cat Noir in "Flirting"

"Rescued again by our dashing young hero in black leather and cat ears, huh, Marinette." Ayla commented when she found Marinette after the most recent Akuma attack. Marinette turned and looked at her with a frown.

"I could have gotten away on my own." She complained. And Ladybug could have shown up faster if I had, she added in her thoughts.

"Yeah but I think he likes rescuing you." Ayla teased. Marinette rolled her eyes. "So, how does it feel to be the only normal girl Cat Noir flirts with?" She asked holding up her phone to record her.

"He doesn't flirt with me." Marinette growled.

"Whatever you say, Princess." Ayla laughed with extra emphasis placed on princess. Marinette rubbed her face in an irritated manner.

Break

Marinette leaned against the railing of the balcony above her room looking out over the Paris landscape. It was just after three in the morning, most of the lights of the buildings were off allowing the stars to shine through the sky. She sighed contently, or at least as contently as someone who couldn't fall sleep could be.

"Fancy meeting you here." She heard a voice say behind her. She let out a scream and turned around, throwing a startled punch at the voice. Cat Noir's eyes went wide as he just barely managed to avoid her fist. "A little jumpy aren't you?" He asked.

"What do you expect when you sneak up on someone on their roof?" She asked annoyed. He tried not to smile, he tried really hard not to.

"You have a point." He replied.

"What are you doing here ruining my peaceful night in the first place?" She asked, clearly irritated with the cat themed super hero.

"I saw you while I was out patrolling. You looked pretty peaceful, so I figured I'd. . . "He paused and grinned, "scare the snot out of you." Her hand went immediately up to her nose checking to make sure she wasn't snotting. It caused him to laugh, and she frowned.

"You're a jerk." She replied.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." He stated.

"I figured. Just like I figure you aren't actually patrolling, but catting around."

"Oh you made a cat pun, Princess." He laughed. She frowned again. "Is something wrong?"

"Do you flirt with me?" She asked seriously.

"No, of course not." He replied immediately.

"My best friend Ayla, you know the girl who runs the Ladyblog. "She paused a moment before questionsing. "Are you familiar with the LadyBlog?"

"Of course I am, it's where I get most of my photos of Ladybug." He admitted.

"That's creepy." She remarked.

"Ouch, I'm the cat but you're the one with the claws." Marinette shook her head, but Cat Noir could see her lips twitching up as she fought against another smile.

"So what about your friend?" He asked.

"She was teasing me today."

"What kind of teasing?" He asked with a wink.

"I don't even want to know what you're thinking." She stated before continuing. "She was teasing me because according to her, I'm the only normal girl you flirt with. So I was wondering if you are flirting with me."

"Of course not Prince. . ." He paused a moment. Marinette smirked.

"Exactly what she was talking about. Every time you rescue me, you call me Princess. She's heard it enough times now that she considers it flirting."

"I have nicknames I use with most of the girls I rescue." He retorted. "Like that one. No wait, how about that one, no, um Chloe, I've pulled her bacon out of the fire often and I call her." He paused again his sparkling green eyes widening. "Holy wet hairballs!" He cried.

"Eww." Marinette commented.

"You are the only girl I call by a nickname." He realized and sat down on the chair that was up there.

"So, does that mean you flirt with me?" She asked, now she was smirking a little.

"I really don't know." His confusion was evident. She sat down across from him.

"Well, I guess if you're going to call me princess, then I should come up with a nickname for you." She laughed. "I think I'll start to call you kitten whenever you call me princess."

"Kitten? Why not kitty cat?"

"That's Ladybug's nickname for you isn't it? I don't want to steal her lines."

"Well Kitten is a bit childish don't you think?"

"Yes, and that's what makes it perfect for you." She laughed. He shook his head this time and stood up.

"Whatever you want, Princess." He said as he pulled out his staff to vault away.

"Until next time Kitten." She laughed back.

BREAK

"Okay girl, what is going on with you and Cat Noir?" Ayla asked as she pulled Marinette aside. It had been more then a month since she had spoken to Cat Noir on her rooftop balcony.

"What are you talking about?" Marinette asked confused.

"Oh I don't know, Princess, it might have to do with you suddenly calling him Kitten. You even held your hand out to him to kiss it."

"Oh, that. It's no big deal. I figured if he's going to be all flirty with me and calling me Princess, I would start to call him Kitten." She explained.

"So to counter his flirting, you're flirting back with him?" Ayla sounded amazed by that idea, and not in a good way.

"Pretty much. It serves that tom cat right, doesn't it?"

"You know, Marinette, as your friend, I have to say, you really need help. You're like crazy in love with Adrien, and can't even string two words together without tripping over your own tongue, and yet here you are flirting with Cat Noir, Cat Noir of all people. It's just so wrong." She finished taking a breath. Marinette Laughed.

"Oh please, it's not like either of us take it seriously. He seemed amused when I mentioned it to him."

"When did you do that?"

"When he was on my balcony a few weeks ago." The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them.

"A few weeks ago? So he's visiting you?"

"Only by accident and because he was patrolling and saw me hanging out on my balcony." She didn't mention the couple other times since then. She really didn't want to give Ayla any more ideas.

"You do realize you're blushing, right?" Ayla observed. Marinette blinked in confusions but she could feel a slight heat in her cheeks.

"I am not." She lied.

"Hey Marinette, Hey Ayla." A familiar voice called out form behind Marinette. She turned around and smiled.

"Hi Adrien, how are you?" Marinette asked smiling.

"I'm great, thanks for asking. What are you guys discussing?"

"Oh Ayla is convinced that Cat Noir keeps flirting with me when he rescues me."

"That does seem to happen a lot lately." He laughed. The two continued to talk for a while before Nino grabbed Adrien and dragged him off. Ayla looked at Marinette strangely.

"Okay, who are you and what did you do with the real Marinette." She exclaimed and started to poke and prod her.

"Ayla, stop, don't do that." Marinette cried and laughed as Ayla kept hitting ticklish spots.

BREAK

"I can't believe that Ayla thinks I'm in love with Cat Noir." Marinette complained as she sat on her balcony talking to Tikki.

"Really, you can't?" Tikki countered. "You're blushing right now even as you say it. You've even taken down most of your Adrien photos. At least you haven't replaced them with Cat Noir ones though."

"I um, I um." The elegance of Marinette's words was lost on Tikki.

"I can't even think of the last time you mentioned Adrien to me."

"Really?" Marientte asked confused. "Okay, lets say I have falling for our black cat in the night, why is it I still reject his advances as Ladybug?" She asked and paused. She hadn't needed to reject him lately.

"You've finally noticed that too haven't you?" Tikki asked.

"He hasn't made any advances on Ladybug for the last couple of weeks." Marinette's voice faltered as she said it and she even physically deflated into her deck chair. "What's going on with us?" She asked after a few minutes of quiet.

"With who Pricness?" She heard a familiar voice ask. Tikki ducked under the table as Cat Noir came into sight. Marinette let out a little scream and fell off the chair startled.

"You need to stop sneaking up on me. One of these nights, I'm going to hit you." With Cat Noir coming around so often, She and Tikki needed to be more careful when outside. He slipped down and sat on the edge of the makeshift table and smiled.

"You can try Princess." He grinned. She frowned and then smacked him on the leg, hard. "Ow."

"I don't try, I do." She laughed.

"Forgive me Jedi Master Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He joked.

"Hey Kitten?" She asked. "Do you have feelings for me?" Her face heated up with the deep blush she was feeling as she asked. Cat Noir was taken by surprise and slipped off the table to land on the floor.

"Where does that come from?" He asked with a slight groan.

"It's just, I noticed that you weren't flirting with Ladybug anymore." She quickly added, "at least in public. I guess you could be doing it in private where people wouldn't see." Marinette found it a little amusing to see him open his mouth to protest, then stop, then watch his eyes get a little wider, then open his mouth again with no sound coming out. "You didn't realize it until just now, did you?" She asked. It felt a more then a little good to be able to use some of the lines that were used on her, on him.

"Yeah, I didn't." He replied and looked at her. "I guess, I don't know how I feel about you exactly. I mean, I do like you, obviously since I've been visiting you so much, and it's true I've really enjoyed flirting with you once I realized I was doing it."

"I figured as much. I hadn't realized how much I was enjoying your flirtation, and flirting back with you, until Ayla pointed it out to me today. There was a boy in my school that I really liked, and I realized today that I haven't really thought about him in weeks, I've been thinking about you instead, and trust me, that confession is really hard for me to make."

"Easier for you then me apparently." He said a little sadly.

"It's okay Kitten." Marinette replied with a smile. "This just came down on you suddenly. I've had the entire day to think about it, although to be honest, seeing you here tonight is what really made me realize it. Sure you scared me when you first surprised me tonight, but my heart hasn't slowed down it's beating yet." She moved over towards him and knelled next to his side. She took his face in her hands and pulled him close and kissed his forehead.

"I have feelings for you Cat Noir, I'm not ready to call it love, but I'm willing to see where this goes." She whispered in his ear, sending a jolt of electricity through his body. "Don't worry Kitten, I don't expect an answer right now." She smiled again and pulled away from him and grinned. "I'll give you five minutes to decide."

BREAK

The time limit had been a joke, and he knew that. She'd even confirmed when he'd gotten all flustered about it about thirty seconds after she said it. She even apologized for the joke. The thing was, at that moment he was ready to agree with her, but he didn't do it. He was reacting to her then, not really thinking about it. He would have agreed with to go out with Chloe at that moment if she'd asked. Okay, that was an exaggeration. He knew Chloe too well to ever actually date her. They were too much like brother and sister, at least while they were growing up.

Adrien shook his head. He was trying to distract himself from the question at hand. Did Cat Noir, well him, have those kinds of feelings for Marinette? He rested on the couch in his room, a leg draped off the side while he was holding one of his Ladybug action figures. He looked intently at her, trying to see if he felt anything. He use to feel a lot just looking at the figure, but this time, there wasn't really much there. Somehow over the last couple of weeks, his feelings for her had changed.

"Thinking about a girl kid?" Plagg asked as he chomped on a chunk of cheese.

"Geez, Plagg what have I said about talking with you mouth full of that stink?" Adrien complained making an exaggerated gagging noise. Plagg just shook his head. "So, are you thinking of Ladybug or are you thinking about Marinette?"

"Both actually. I hadn't realized how much my time with her as Cat Noir had meant to me." He admitted and rolled onto his side. "She occupies my mind more then Ladybug now. I didn't even realize that would happen. I think the next time I see her as Cat Noir, I'll let her know." He smiled and laughed a little.

"You know, she mentioned a boy in school that she used to have a crush on," He started as he set the Ladybug figure on the table and sat up. "Wouldn't it be ironic if her crush had been on me?" He added with a laugh. Plagg just rolled his eyes.

"I think if that were the case, it would make you an idiot." Plagg replied and under his breath so Adrien couldn't hear it, added. "Idiot."

BREAK

"You stopped flirting with Cat Noir. I'm so proud of you." Ayla commented after another Akuma attack aimed at Marinette.

"Well, I thought about what you'd said a couple of weeks ago and decided you were right. I shouldn't flirt with him just because he flirts with me." Marinette spoke sounding just a little sad.

"Are you okay?" Ayla asked softly, noting Marinette's change in mood.

"Yeah I guess. It's just you know, once I stopped and told him I was stopping, he stopped too. I kind of miss it you know. It was nice having a guy flirt with me." She admitted.

"Oh Girl, I'm sorry." Ayla gave her a hug.

"Thanks."

"Nino and I are going to a movie tonight, do you want to come with us?" She asked.

"No, I don't want to feel like a third wheel. Go enjoy yourselves." She smiled.

BREAK

It had been weeks earlier when Cat Noir had come to discuss with her the feelings he had for her, to give her the answer to her feelings she'd admitted to him.

"Hey Kitten." She'd said when she noticed him. She'd obviously been looking for him, since he wasn't able to sneak up on her.

"Hey Marinette." He said softly, almost sadly. Her smile turned downward into a frown and the breath she'd taken in stayed in. He walked over to her. "I've thought about what we'd discussed.." His voice was so lacking in excitement. Marinette could feel some tears start to form in her eyes. She knew it was possible that he'd reject her, but she hadn't realized how bad that would actually feel. He refused to look her in the eyes as he talked. "And I've thought long and hard about what you've said about your feelings for me, and I have an answer for you."

BREAK

She shouldn't have been out as late as she was, but Marinette still wondered around the streets of Paris until she found the spot she was looking for. She took a moment to double check the basket she'd packed before sneaking out of her house.

"Welcome Princess." A familiar voice called out to her.

"Hello Kitten." She replied with a smile. "I brought dinner." She stated holding up the basket. He smiled.

"Did you bring your macaroons?" He asked.

"Of course I did, for me. None for you, Kitten."

"Seriously, it's been weeks. Can't you forgive me?" He pleaded.

"You're lucky I'm just keeping desert from you Cat Noir. Making me think you were about to break my heart before kissing me? If I hadn't been so stunned by that, I would have hit you. . . A lot."

"Please Princess." He begged as he held out his hand. She took it shaking her head as he set his pole out and extended it so the pair could go up to a nearby rooftop. Cat Noir had already set up a makeshift table and seats for them to use. Mariette started to set out the meal she'd prepared. She smiled as she looked at Cat Noir again.

She still felt a little guilty for making Ayla think she was no longer flirting with Cat Noir, although technically under the circumstances, it wasn't really a lie. She did miss the flirting when he'd rescue her. She still felt guilty about not telling him who she really was too. She did feel more justified in that, simply because, since Cat Noir had stopped flirting with Ladybug, he'd been a more serious crime fighter. At least that was part of it. The other part was, she didn't really want to share him with Ladybug, even if Ladybug was still her. She liked getting the attention as Marinette. It made her feel special, although she'd decided that if he told her his identity she'd tell him hers.

Cat Noir had some similar issues, at least when it came to his identities. He knew Marinette in his civilian life. It would have been so easy to tell her who he was, and they could have a normal relationship. Heck, he was under the impression that both Ayla and Nino would have jumped for joy if he asked Marinette out. The problem was, he wasn't sure how Marinette felt about him. They'd gotten off to a rocky start, but had become friends. He was afraid she might reject him if she knew the truth and he'd lose that friendship. The catch twenty-two was, the longer he waited, the harder it was to tell her.

She'd told him that she would wait until he was ready, and assured him, she wouldn't reject him because of who he was, that is unless he'd some how turned out to be Chloe. Still, he was unsure of himself. He had to laugh at it really. He was a world famous male model that lacked the confidence to tell the girl he loved that he loved her. Instead he continued to see her as his alter ego.

Marinette finished the setting by lighting a couple of candles. She took his hand and pulled him close and slowly kissed him.

"I love you Cat Noir." She whispered, as they pulled apart.

"I loved you too, Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He whispered back.

"You're still not getting any macaroons." She whispered in response.

"Awww."He pouted.

FIN

BONUS

A future conversation that could occur in days, weeks, months, but likely in just over a year later while Nino and Adrien are playing a video game.

"Dude, Ayla and I are really surprised that you and Marinette never got together. We thought for sure you would."

"Yeah, I could tell you guys were pushing me towards that, but I never really understood why you guys were." He admitted.

"It's because Marientte use to have the biggest crush on you."

"Wait, what?"

"You must have been the only person in class who didn't realize that." Nino laughed and looked at Adrien. "Dude, are you okay? Adrien? Bro, speak to me. I know you're white, but you're not suppose to look like a ghost man."

NOTES:

I had done a collection of Short Stories called "Miraculous: Le Balcon (The Balcony)". It started with a Story about Marinette and Cat Noir, so I find it great to start a new Short Story collection with a story about Marinette and Cat Noir. I hope you enjoyed this and will continue to read the additional stories I put in place.