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Chat Noir pricked his ears up as he heard the pitter-patter of dozens of tiny feet permeating the room. The smell of pastries and honey filled the bedroom as fairy lights gently lit up the two heroes below. Chat was happily munching on some cookies Marinette had baked earlier as he lounged on a beanbag.
He had decided to drop in for a surprise visit to his princess. Unfortunately, Adrien had too busy a schedule to hang out with her much outside of school lately. Chat Noir, however, had no such obligations and responsibilities. And so was able to spend some much-needed quality time with his girlfriend.
“What color do you think works best?”
Chat glanced up from his sweet treat to meet the brightest and most beautiful bluebell eyes he’d ever seen. He could see Multimouse holding up a tiny can of blue and green paint, much too large for her small mousey frame. She had divided herself a few hours ago and sent her doubles to gather a series of items from all over the bedroom. Chat had no idea what his scattered and brilliant girlfriend was planning to create, but he was excited to see the process in action.
“I’m partial to green myself, but I’d have to go with the blue,” Chat replied, happily nibbling on his chocolate chip cookie.
“Blue is nice, it’s his favorite color,” the mouse next to him retorted.
“But the green matches his eyes!” another argued from her dresser.
“Maybe I could use both? No- that would be cheesy!” a third mouse asked from her work desk. Chat watched as Multimouse quite literally argued with herself.
“Why do you need to match paint with eye color? Actually, what are you even making?”
“A dollhouse!” a fourth mouse squeaked from the other side of the room. It was fun looking to see how many mini Mari mice he could find and guess which one would respond to him next.
“Why?”
A series of multimice gathered around a small house, sitting in the center of the bedroom. The dollhouse was a miniature two-story building in the style of old American houses. It had a latch where it was split open, so he could perfectly see all the rooms and decor that the building was so lovingly built with. The top floor had two bedrooms and a bathroom, meanwhile, the bottom floor had a living room, kitchen, and dining room. The front yard even had a picket fence!
The multimice were walking around perfectly around the house, the miniature structure perfect for her small size. A few doubles gathered blue paint to coat the outside of the house. Meanwhile, another group placed small chairs and rugs all over the bottom floor as another series of mice placed miniature blankets and pillows in the bedrooms.
One of the multimice was struggling carrying a - miniature for him, large for her- sofa that he leaned over and carefully gripped between his claws. She sent him a grateful squeak as she guided him to where she wanted the furniture placed.
“My boyfriend mentioned recently that he ran out of room for his figurines. I thought it would be a nice surprise if he had a cute little dollhouse to place any extra figures in!”
Another mouse, who was placing small towels in the bathroom upstairs, paused in thought. “Although now that I'm actually putting this together, I am seeing how giving a boy a dollhouse may come across as strange.” Some of the other multimice paused as well, some in deep thought, others in embarrassment.
Chat remembered that conversation, he was having lunch with his friends when he complained to Nino that he ran out of room to display his action figures. Although action figures may be pushing it since they were actually dolls of Ladybug in her various suits and styles. Aqua Bug, Lady Ice, Cosmo Bug, Lady Noire, he even had the Dragon Bug fusion version of her doll. Miraculously, he ran out of room to display them in his giant cave of a room. Mostly because he wanted to display them on his desk, and he was too self-conscious to ask Nathalie for more shelf space for his ever increasing doll collection.
Plagg so sarcastically referred to them as his doll obsession, but Adrien would disagree. Chat Noir loves Marinette more than anything, but he still admires his lady. The least he can do is support her through buying merch, surely no one could fault him for that! It's not weird!
Chat couldn't help but feel a bit guilty, though, here Marinette was making him a sweet and thoughtful gift, and he went and ruined the whole surprise! Well, he’ll just have to make sure to get some of the special fabric she likes from his dad's old studio to make up for it. She always gets so happy when he brings small gifts as opposed to the larger ones he wanted to give her at the beginning of their relationship. Scraps of fabric and flowers were a definite yes, renting out private theatres and buying arcade consoles were a no-go.
Speaking of gifts, he focused back on the multitudes of his incredibly adorable girlfriend, slowly becoming more despondent on her gift idea. Well, that wouldn't do! There is no world where Chat would allow his sweet princess to think he would snub any gift she’d grant him.
Carefully picking up one of the Multimice in his paws, he could see her ears droop and her tail self-consciously curl in on herself. Being mindful of his claws, he used a finger to gently rub her cheek.
“Don't think like that, ma souris,” Chat cooed, “I’m sure your boyfriend will love it!”
Initially letting out a squeak of surprise at his caress, Marinettes voice turned thoughtful at his words. “Are you sure? He won't think it's weird?”
“Of course not! This is an incredibly sweet gift. I bet he could house all sorts of dolls and action figures in it.” Plus, he could probably renovate it as a little hidey house for Plagg whenever he got bored of napping in Adrien's pocket. Although he might feel a bit bad if Marinette's sweet gift got drenched in cat fur and the stench of camembert.
“Exactly, that was the plan! He’d be able to store so much stuff in it, and it would look so cute!” She joyfully squeaked, encouraged by Chat's words. So small, so adorable! Chat wonders if this is the kind of cute aggression Mari expresses she gets around Adrien. She especially loves how his cheeks dimple when he laughs. She can’t help but hug him with all her strength whenever he did, not that he was complaining. He was more than happy to let his surprisingly strong girlfriend coddle him.
Emboldened to finish her project, the Multimice worked double time to finish the dollhouse, now moving to get the mini furniture set up and properly placed. The entire bottom floor was now fully painted and decorated, with only the second floor remaining. The horde of mice were carrying small towels for the bathroom and tiny blankets for the bedroom. They were even hanging miniature paintings in the hallways! Wanting to help her fellow doubles, Marinette jumped out of Chat's paws and joined the rest of the group.
Chat considered going back to his earlier snack, but couldn't help but watch the mouse hero at work in her element. Seeing all the different mini copies of Marinette working on so many different tasks at once, and yet still being so clearly organized, amazed Chat. She was truly a marvel when it came to creativity, he couldn't imagine what it must be like to live in his princess’s head.
So busy watching the mini mice, he didn't notice a stray mouse sneaking up beside him.
“Hey Chat?” He let out a very manly yelp as he looked down at the small hero addressing him. “Not that I don't enjoy your visits chaton, but why did you drop in?”
“Meh, I didn't get the chance to see you during my earlier patrol. Plus, it's pretty quiet at home, I won't be missing anything.” He really wouldn't, his house was always so cold and quiet. Even if his princess was too busy for visitors, he still would have spent the rest of the night jumping from roof to roof instead of being in his room. Besides, this way, at least he gets a little quality time with Marinette.
She was always so understanding of how busy Adrien was, or whenever he had to run off during akuma attacks. Marinette could do so much better than him, yet she still stayed, capturing his heart in the process. And to top it all off, while Adrien was worrying the day away that he’d been ignoring his princess, Mari was making Adrien his own special gift. She was truly amazing. Adrien doesn't know how he got so lucky as to have her as his partner.
“Still doesn't explain why you always make sure to come visit me. Especially when I have the mouse miraculous.”
Ah, so she took notice. Of course she did, Marinette was always so observant, it kinda reminded him of his lady. But his princess was right, he did pay her extra attention when she was Multimouse, he couldn't help it.
As one of the Minimice scurried past Chat, he grabbed her tail between his claws and carefully placed her in the palm of his paw once more. She tried to slide out of his gloved hand but the cat merely curled his fingers, preventing her from leaving. The small girl barely reached past his finger, she was so tiny. It was truly fascinating just how little Multimouse could make herself. If it wasn't for her moving and speaking, Chat could easily mistake her for a doll herself. It made Chat want to sneak a mouse for his own to keep and cuddle. She could hangout with Plagg in his pocket.
Within Chat's claws, Marinette turned back to him in confusion, her head cocked questioningly at his larger frame. She wasn't scared or intimidated, she knew her kitty far too well to feel something like that. Instead, she was just curious about his actions. Chat was glad that she was so naturally comfortable around him, it gave him a warm feeling in his stomach.
Bringing the mouse closer to his face, he gently scratched behind her ears as he explained, “You know how our miraculous affect us in weird ways, right? Usually, it's just physical stuff, like how I can purr and you sometimes squeak. Or how our tails can move independently of us and how even our ears are functional.”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, maybe it’s because I've had a miraculous longer than you, but I’ve had other effects as well.” Multimouse looked like she wanted to say something when he mentioned how long she’d possessed a miraculous, but seemed to hone in on the second part of what he said.
“Chat,” Multimouse asked, voice full of worry, “what do you mean by ‘other effects’?”
A geez, this was going to be embarrassing. Well, no pulling out now. “No need to worry, princess, it’s not anything major! Sometimes I hate getting my hair wet and I've found myself loving naps more.”
At that, he could hear a little snort from Multimouse, amused by the silly actions of her kitty.
“But sometimes,” Chat couldn't help but add, “other things pop up. Like when I'm around other miraculous users.”
“Like around Ladybug?”
“I mean, like around you. Like specifically now?”
Chat would feel certain impulses when around other miraculous users. It may have to do with the fact that the other heroes were meant to balance each other; very rarely was a holder supposed to work alone. They always needed to be partnered with someone, or things could get a little..weird. Heck, even Hawkmoth partnered up with Mayura for a while.
It was a bit easier around the others. With Carapace, he wanted to jump off his shell and maybe push his buttons a little. Around Viperion, he felt calm and reassured. Hanging out with Purple Tigress, he felt overexcited and hyper (the two of them weren't allowed around each other without supervision anymore; something about Destruction and Elation working together being a recipe for trouble). But being around his lady and princess was very different.
With Ladybug, it was like being drawn in by a sweet honey-covered scent. Being around her felt right, felt normal. Chat wanted to curl around her as she scratched behind his ears. He wanted to hear her talk about her lucky charms and feel the light of her miraculous cure. He just felt drawn by everything about her. Chat had no clue if she ever felt the same way towards him. However, the feline hero has come to learn to appreciate the feeling he had for her more platonically than romantically, especially since he’s found his own princess to adore.
Speaking of his princess, she drew him in almost as much as his lady did. While Chat couldn't help but relax around Ladybug, he was hyperaware of everything Multimouse did. Whenever she scurried by him a little too fast or talked a bit too loudly, he couldn't help but notice. Whenever her tail jerked every which way, her ears fluttering at the large sounds around her, or her little nose twitching in excitement. Chat saw every movement. He had to; she was just so small. What if he missed it?
Plagg once mentioned offhand that he wasn't allowed to be alone with Multimouse's kwami, Mullo, for another three thousand years because of some kind of incident the small cat refused to share with Adrien. Maybe it really was just some cat instinct to act weird around mice. Maybe it was because said mouse happened to be his very pretty girlfriend that he was very much in love with. Maybe it was Plagg messing with him from inside the ring. Either way, Multimouse was the center of his attention whenever she was near.
Hesitantly looking down at the mouse in his hands, he spoke once more, trying to describe how he felt around her that wouldn't make him sound like a major weirdo. “I can’t help but focus on you whenever you're near. The way you walk, the way you talk, everything. I can't help but wanna see every moment. You’re just so…amazing!”
“Oh no! So, I’ve been a distraction to you this whole time!” Multimouse guiltily cried out.
“A very pretty and cute distraction.”
“Chat, that’s not good! What if an akuma appeared?! Would you have been too busy gawking and gotten yourself hurt?!”
“No, no ma souris, it’s not like that at all (he thinks). I’m just more aware of whenever you're near. Like, whenever Ladybug always knows when I’m trying to sneak up behind her.”
At that, Marinette's face, previously pinched in worry and concern, slowly softened. I'm sure his princess can imagine her silly kitty trying to creep up behind Paris' best superhero for a pounce, only to get a yo-yo thrown right in his face.
“Well, then I guess that’s not the worst thing to happen,” Multimosue reasoned as she leaned back against his hand. Leisurely lounging against his index and ring finger, she continued, “If I remember correctly, though, don't you have a girlfriend? I can imagine she’d be mighty jealous to hear her tomcat flirting with random mice.”
“How did you know I have a girlfriend? Is Ladybug spreading rumours about me?”
Suddenly panicked, the small mouse began to rapidly explain herself, her hands moving every which way as she spoke. Her face turned a bright red as she tried to look to her many duplicates in some desperate plea for help. But all of them oh so conveniently, were too busy with the dollhouse to help.
“Oh-I uh, of course not! She just happened to mention that you had a girlfriend when she let me borrow the mouse miraculous! Not like- in a weird way! In a totally normal and not gossipy way! I swear she didn't tell me about anything else or-!”
“Relax, Mousinette, I trust my bug with whatever she told you. And yes, I do have a girlfriend that I love very much. I’m more of a one-cat guy.”
“Well, looks to me like this alley cat is a big ol' flirt.” Multimouse huffed, her arms crossed in displeasure.
If she only knew. Multimouse was well aware that he knew both her hero and civilian personas, but was painfully unaware that her own boyfriend was right in front of her. Looking back at the almost finished dollhouse, Chat whispered to himself, “Well, maybe you should take a closer look.”
Whoops, now Marinette was giving him one of her ‘need to solve this’ looks, better change topics.
“Plus, there are more things I wanna do whenever we hang out when you're all mousey. I can’t help but wanna enjoy this while I can.”
“You don't need me to have a miraculous in order to visit chaton.”
“Yeah, I know. And it’s really nice to have someone I can talk to while in the mask…maybe we could talk while I'm out of it too?”
“Chat I…”
He could see every copy of his princess curl in on themselves. Making themselves smaller than they already were, as not one mouse met his eyes. The mouse in his hands was the only one brave enough to still address him. “Chat, you know how dangerous it is to share identities.”
“Why not? I already know yours, heck, I'm in your house!” Chat was so frustrated. He already knew Ryuko, Viperion, and Rena's identities. Heck, Carapace practically blurted his out to Adrien the first chance he got. Chat knew that Ladybug had someone she could share her identity with; he wasn't mad at her about it (anymore), he just wished he could have someone for that as well. Luka was gone and he could only discuss so much through video calls.
“Yeah…” Multimouse hesitantly agreed, still not meeting his gaze.
“And everything is fine, isn't it?” Chat reasoned, “ If you were compromised, Ladybug wouldn't have trusted you with the mouse miraculous, even for just the night.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about, though.”
“Huh?”
Settling back on his hand, Marinette gently caressed his finger. “What if someone targets me to get to you or vice versa? What if, during an akuma attack, I get forced to reveal one of our identities? What if I’m held hostage and you give yourself up to do something stupid like save me?”
“What could possibly be stupid about wanting to save you if you're in trouble?”
“Because you should be focusing on defeating the akuma and waiting for Ladybug!”
“And I will, after I rescue you!” Chat shouted in response. “And I wouldn't have rescued you because you were ‘used against me’, I would rescue you because you're my friend and I care about you! I lo-” I love you, Marinette. But he couldn't say that, not to her, not yet. Not while he was Chat Noir.
Taking a moment to calm down, Chat took some deep breaths. He silently looked around to see the room empty; it seemed he scared the other Multimice off. Now he really felt like a jerk.
“I'm sorry Chat, but I just…I’m not ready yet. To know about your identity, I mean. I really like what we have right now and I’m not sure if I want to risk changing that just yet.”
“I’m sorry too, I shouldn't have pushed when you were so obviously uncomfortable with it. I understand learning about stuff like this isn't easy.”
“Yeah”
“It’s just…lonely sometimes, you know? I don't get to hang out with Ladybug as much as I get to hang out with you.”
“I’m sure you two have time together.”
“I mean, sure, for akuma attacks and patrol. I mean, don't get me wrong, she’s my best friend. I don't trust anyone more than I do my lady.” Marinette seemed to glow at the praise. “But there’s still some stuff I can’t share with her. That I wouldn't want to like I do with you.”
“Really? Like what?”
“Like how a certain someone's eyes sparkle whenever she’s working on a project. Or how her tongue sticks out whenever she’s focused. Or whenever her tail twitches when she’s nervous. Or when she makes the most adorable squeaks when she’s surprised.”
“You’re flirting again, kitty. Your girlfriend is definitely going to get jealous.”
Chat couldn't help but smirk in response, his voice turning into a conspiratorial whisper. “I wouldn't be so sure. She might be more okay with it than she thinks.”
“I highly doubt that. But on brighter news, the dollhouse is finished!” multimouse gestured back to the center of the room, where a fully furnished and painted dollhouse sat. It had a bright green roof and baby blue walls. The inside looked simple, but comfy. He could even see little lights illuminating the tiny house.
“It looks amazing, Mousinette! I can’t believe you made all this in one night!”
Bashful at his praise, Marinette shyfully tried to wave him off. “Well, I actually had been sketching out the blueprints for a few days and I had the idea for even longer. I was originally gonna make it for Manon, but when Adrien suggested needing more storage space, I thought it would be just perfect and-! Ahem, yeah.”
“Well, I'm sure he’ll love it.”
“Thanks, Chat. And...thanks for keeping me company tonight. I really appreciate our time together. I’m sorry it can't be more, but..”
“Princess, I wouldn't trade our time for anything in the world.”
“Me too.”
Now that her project was finished, Chat had no other excuse to stay; he supposed it was time to go. “Well, I guess that’s this cat's sign to head off, huh?” Chat inquired, finally putting his little mousinette down to join the cluster that had begun to gather at his feet. “I wouldn't want to interrupt your beauty sleep, plus you probably need to start your plans for getting your miraculous back to Ladybug.”
Getting up, he slowly walked over to her skylight, ready to take off into the night. He still wasn't ready to return just yet; maybe he could take a stroll by the Seine. Before he could get far, though, a tiny voice rang out.
“Wait!” Marinette shouted, “You don’t need to leave right away. I mean, I still have a bit of cleaning up to do, and then I have to put away those cookies you never finished.”
Turning back, Chat's ears perked back up in hope. “Really?”
“Yeah, we could just…talk some more. If that's okay.”
The horde of mice slowly guided him back to his previous spot. Sitting right back down to where he was just a few minutes ago, the Multimice began to climb all over him. He had Mari mice in his lap, hands, shoulders, and even his hair. The ones in his hair seemed fascinated with giving him little pats and scratching his leather ears, something he couldn't help but give a small purr for.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Chat hummed, loving all the attention the many copies of his princess were giving him. “What would you like to talk about?”
One of the mice settled back into his hand as she addressed him once more. “You’ll never guess what kind of customer I had at the store today. There I was, minding my own business, when this weird old woman came in heckling about a pie we sold her being burnt.”
“I didn't know you sold pies?”
“That’s because we don't! I have no clue where she got the pie from!”
“Then why did the lady-?"
“I. Don't. Know?!”
“Well, what did you do?”
As the nest of mice around Chat regaled him with her day, he settled back, lulling himself with the caress of her many small hands on him. His ears twitched to the sound of her voice and his heart leapt with every mouse who snuggled closer to him. He may not be able to share everything with his princess just yet, but he was happy with this. And when the day came when his princess realized her silly kitty was in fact also her prince, he would be ready with open arms.