Chapter Text
“I cannot believe this stupid hat won’t come off!” Marinette groaned while up on her balcony. She was looking over the railing to see where the akuma flew off to. “Tikki? Is this going to affect me when I transform?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure, Marinette.” The little sprite said helping her look in the opposite direction. “The worst that could happen is that when you transform, your hat will just stay on your head. Maybe you can subconsciously think to remove it or at least change colors when you transform. But just in case, we need to hurry up so Chat Noir doesn’t see it and–“
Marinette’s eyes shot open at the sudden quietness from the kwami. She stood still, straining to hear what was going on around her. Instead of hearing the akuma flying around or the tapping of the familiar boots of the boy in fake leather, she heard a loud meow that echoed in the alcove of the rooftop.
She turned quickly and noticed that it was indeed her partner, but what she was not expecting was that the usual boy in a super suit was now a boy completely covered in black fur. The ears on top of his normally blonde locks were real and twitched with every noise, a black fuzzy tail was in place of his belt, and his large gold bell sat perfectly on a neon green collar that was now on his neck.
“Oh no, Chat!” Marinette cried running over to him, feeling the black fur underneath her fingertips. “You’re an actual cat?”
“Meow?” He purred with sad kitten eyes.
She worried her bottom lip. “And you can’t talk?”
Chat Noir just sadly shook his head. “Meow.”
Marinette placed a careful hand on his cheek and he nuzzled his pink button nose up against it. She could feel a purr rumbling in his chest.
“Wonderful... Have you seen Ladybug?” That was such a stupid question but it’s not like she could just not pretend to be curious about his partner.
“Nope!” Chat started to giggle.
She slapped his arm. “Oh, come on, Chat. I seriously thought the akuma turned you into an actual cat!”
“Come on, Mari. Don’t you like the fur?” He said as he gestured to his new exterior. “Speaking of witch… I like the newest addition to your wardrobe. I guess I’m the cat to your craft.”
Marinette grimaced as she touched her hat. It was a pink witch’s hat with black lace adorned along the sides. A black feather was attached to the brim alongside a red rose. “Oh, you mean this old thing? Yeah, this absolutely gorgeous hat was just lying around in my closet and I decided that I just had to wear it today of all days.”
Chat just laughed. “Man, Mari. Your sarcasm is strong today.”
“Well, there’s only so many letter changes and words that rhyme with witch that I could use.” She said playfully while not wanting to let out the swear in front of the cat boy.
“Well, I would love to play hangman to figure that word out,” he winked at the joke, “but I have an akuma to catch. Hopefully milady is working on a reverse spell as we speak and be able to bring the witches, warlocks, and black cats back to their human versions soon. I’ll see you later, ma petite sorcière.”
Chat bowed once more before leaping off the balcony on all fours. “That boy will be the death of me.”
Tikki flew out of her hiding spot. “Well then, we better go and break that spell!”
Marinette groaned. “Not you too, Tikki.”
She just giggled. “Let’s go, Marinette. The sooner we do, the faster you can come back and be free of that hat!”
“Fine then. Tikki? Spots on!”
Ladybug arrived at the Louvre to witness Chat Noir bantering with the akuma.
“-no need to get your stockings in a bunch!” He said as she touched down to the ground.
“You will pay for saying that you mangy cat.”
“Excuse me, Sorceress, but I have a bell and tag.” Chat Noir said as he tapped the two metal pieces against each other. “That means I’m a happy house cat.”
Ladybug just shook her head. “Glad to see you’re mostly okay, Chat.”
“Ah, finally, milady!” Chat Noir happily added. “And I can see that you are now a pretty witch.”
Ladybug groaned. “Yeah. I thought it made a great addition to my outfit.” She said as she gestured to her suit.
“It almost matches. What’s odd is that it’s pink though. Hm. I feel like I’ve seen that hat before.”
Ladybug mentally slapped herself. Even though she asked Tikki to change the pink to red, it looks like the akuma’s power put a stop to that change. She had to think fast. “Uh, maybe? But... I had seen quite a few hats like mine on the way here! Yeah. That’s probably why.”
“Maybe that’s what it was then.” Chat shrugged. “Care to help me break the spell, LB?”
She smiled. “Let’s do it then.”
After a half an hour of battle and a random lucky charm that took two tries to work, the akuma was defeated. Before she threw the pocket watch into the air, Chat Noir stood beside her and flicked the feather on her hat. Ladybug responded in kind by doing the same to his tag.
“Pink is a good color on you. You’ll have to add it to your civilian attire if you don’t do so already.” Chat joked.
She tiled her head. “What can I say. Pink is my favorite color.” She giggled. “What’s surprising to me is that you have a tag, Chat Noir. Was there a name etched to it? A phone number maybe?” She teased.
“You know what? I didn’t even check.” Chat looked down to the tag and his smile shifted to a curious frown. “Huh.”
“What’s wrong, Chat?” Her playful joke turned into a serious tone. “Please don’t tell me your civilian name is on there.”
“No! No. Not my name, per se. But someone else's. I just wasn’t expecting her name.”
“Her name?”
His frown turned into a soft smile. “Yeah. She’s my best friend. You know her actually. Remember Multimouse?”
Her heart stopped beating. It was her name? She had to feign innocence on that one. She shook her head and looked at the tag and confirmed what he said was true.
What surprised her more was that he considered her to be his best friend. They had barely known each outside of her suit until the last year. Yeah, he came to visit her at least a day or two a week, but she didn’t realize those little moments together would make her on his top list of friends.
She threw the lucky charm and helped the victim back up to her feet. After ensuring she was okay, Ladybug turned to see that Chat Noir had turned back into his superhero self and that her hat was now gone. She still had another two minutes to go, and so did he, but her curiosity to his earlier comment was nibbling at her insides.
She cleared her throat. “Hey Chat?”
“Yeah, Bug?”
“Why weren’t you expecting that girl’s name on your tag?” She asked, quietly.
He let out a sad sigh. “You know I’ve told you how my civilian life is a little difficult due to some circumstances, and I can’t explain them or else I would oust my identity?” Ladybug nodded. “Well, Marinette has been my saving grace for the last year. She’s helped me so much and she doesn’t even know it. Sometimes I wish I could tell her who I was, but I know I can’t. And don’t worry, I won’t. But Marinette...” He let out another sigh, but this time he looked enamored, “she’s such an amazing girl. I just wish she saw me in the same way.”
Ladybug shot him a sad smile. “Chat, anyone would be foolish to not like you.”
A round of beeps rang through the open space. “Sorry, milady, but superhero duties have to stop me from feeling like that. The last thing I want to do is have Hawkmoth use her against us.”
She smiled and placed a comforting hand to his bicep. “Well Chat, please know that you are amazing in your own right. You thinking of her safety first is enough to confirm that.”
“Thanks, LB. I’ll... see you next time.” With a bow, Chat was gone.
Marinette sat on her lawn chair as she snuggled up to the blanket. The sun was setting, and the nighttime skyline helped cool down the warm autumn air. She stared out into the horizon, thinking over the words that Chat had said earlier.
There was something that bothered her about his words. It wasn’t the fact that her name was the one the tag – it was an honor to hold that position in his heart – but what bothered her more was the fact that none of his family member’s names were on it.
She gave herself a sad smile as she continued to stare. A pair of taps brought her back to the balcony and she smiled without turning to the noise.
“Good evening, Chat. Fancy seeing you here twice in one day.”
"Only the fanciest for you, princess."