Chapter Text
Chat Noir strummed the arms of the chaise with his fingertips as he bopped his head to the beat of the music. Marinette had the newest song of Jagged Stone’s unreleased album, Rocker’s Ambition , playing over the speaker as she worked with extreme concentration over the design of the album cover.
The cover was almost complete but felt like her design was missing a crucial little detail and she couldn’t put her finger on it. When she felt like her brain couldn’t think any more, she rolled back in her chair and stretched her arms above her head. The noise of the wheels was low enough to not bother a normal civilian, but when there is a superhero kitty in the room, the noise was enough to make his ears twitch in curiosity.
“Taking a break, Marinette?” Chat said without looking.
Marinette rolled her neck to get the remaining kinks out before turning to Chat. “Yeah. I’m struggling to finish this piece. I think I need some inspiration.”
Chat sat up from his spot and turned his body towards her. “Well, what do you have in mind? I can take you somewhere if you need some balcony service.” He said with a cheeky grin.
Marinette nodded her head in disbelief before looking at her tack board. When Jagged gave her the commission, he had gifted her with a set of tickets to his next concert. Marinette, of course, was so excited for the gift and she knew exactly who she wanted to invite.
Normally, she would invite Alya to go with her, but she was leaving to go to a weekend trip with Nino and her family. But she really, really wanted to invite Adrien. Not as a date, though. Okay, maybe as a date. But every time she mustered any ounce of courage to ask him, the world decided to crash and burn around her.
That was how it was almost everyday over the last two weeks. On Friday morning, she had psyched herself up on the walk to school and had made her way to the blond model when she heard Nino and Adrien talk about their weekend plans. That was when she heard it - he didn’t have any plans! Surely, she would be able to ask him now that she knew his calendar was clear. But nothing would matter as she heard his phone rang and saw the sad look to his face when Nathalie reminded him of a last-minute photo shoot that would surely take all weekend to complete.
Curse the world.
The devastation on her face was enough to elicit a curious gaze from Adrien, who happened to turn around a second before she turned on her heel to walk into the school.
Marinette sighed. “Thanks for the offer.”
Chat, being the curious kitten that he is, noticed her gaze at the paper stubs. “It looks like you have an idea. But you’re sad about it. Why?”
Marinette turned to look at him. “Well, Jagged gave me concert tickets for tonight’s show. Alya and Nino are both away from the city so I couldn’t ask them to go, and I was going to ask Adrien if he wanted to come, but then I overheard him telling Nino he had an unscheduled photo shoot that would last all weekend, and that means I couldn’t even bother asking him,” she took in a heavy breath not noticing the wide eyes Chat was giving her, “and now I’m here just working on the album cover because I don’t want to go alone.”
She was going to ask me to go? That was really sweet of her to even think about inviting me. She’s so thoughtful and amazing. No wonder why she looked so sad the other day. She still looks sad. Wait, why is she looking at me like that?
Marinette furrowed her brows as she watched Chat and his animated face. When Chat finally realized she was staring at him, he cleared his throat in embarrassment .
Before the thought crossed his mind, his mouth beat him to it. “I- I can go with you, if you want.” Marinette tilted her head in confusion. “I mean, if you still want to go and I know I’m in my superhero form, and I can’t change into my civilian form because you’re not allowed to know who I really am, but we can still go and we can hide somewhere so no one can see us, and-”
Marinette could not help but start laughing. Chat looked at her in awe as she snorted in between breaths. Just her face alone made him burst into laughter too.
“You sound like me when I’m freaking out over something!” She exclaimed in between breaths.
Chat continued to laugh but watched her in awe. She really was something else. And her laugh is just as cute as- wait. Stop it Chat! You’re in love with Ladybug. She’s just your very good, but equally as amazing as Ladybug, friend...
Chat mentally slapped his brain. He was now comparing Ladybug to Marinette.
Marinette finally calmed down enough to speak. “You know what Chat? Let’s go. He gave me VIP tickets and we could always hang out in the rafters to keep out of the limelight. We don’t want Hawkmoth using me as a pawn.”
Chat nodded his head in agreement. “Thanks, Marinette.” He rubbed his neck nervously. Why was he nervous all of a sudden? It’s not like this is a date. It’s just two friends hanging out at a concert. “I don’t go to many concerts. Actually, this is only my second one. I’ve only been to one other and I happened to hang out with one of my really awesome friends in my civilian form.”
It was Marinette’s turn to look bemused. “You, the flirtatious and boisterous cat, have only been to one concert?”
Chat remembered the concert ticket he received when they had to work at Le Hotel Paris for class. He got to hang out with Marinette that afternoon and it was one of the best times he ever had. He already knew going again with her would most likely be the same way.
“Yeah. Just once. My family doesn’t like concerts, unless you count anything classical.” Chat rolled his eyes. “So, why don’t you get ready and we can head out? I’ll be your personal Catsi driver! I just need to recharge my kwami first before we go.”
Marinette smiled as she made her way to her closet and picked out a few items. Chat climbed to the balcony to recharge and waited for her knock to indicate she was ready. After letting her parents know that she would be out late, Chat picked her up bridal style and headed over to the arena.
Standing on the catwalk that was hidden within the rafters, Chat couldn’t help but watch Marinette as she rocked and danced over the blaring sounds of the music. She grabbed his hands and started dancing with him, making silly faces to make him laugh. Chat, who didn’t want to be outdone, spun her around and rocked hard to an invisible guitar.
In between songs, Marinette and Chat took a breath and peered over the railing to watch what Jagged had to say before belting out another song.
She looked over to Chat and saw a cheeky grin spread across his face as he gazed at the stage. His cheerful look only helped the overwhelming feeling that was blooming in her heart. Chat turned and glanced a smile at her and her heartbeat raced as a result.
“Thanks for coming with me, Chat.” She said as she placed her head on his shoulder.
Chat wrapped his arm around her waist. “Thanks for inviting me.”