Marichat, enemies au - “I’m not supposed to be here.” “I didn’t know where to go.”
For @bookworm-queen-bee :)
Ladybug’s Miraculous beeped its last warning and she sprinted to the nearest door in the alley. Gripping the handle, she sighed when it turned and the door opened.
Stacks of boxes along one wall greeted her. Cleaning supplies filled a shelf above them. There was a desk situated at the other wall, but thankfully no one sat in the chair as Tikki’s magic fizzled out. The supernatural strength fled her and she nearly sagged to her knees, her breath quick and high in her chest.
“That was close,” Tikki said.
Marinette nodded and was about to fish through her purse for a cookie when a thud came from the roof. “Do you think he knows I came in here?”
“We better hide, just in case.”
Slipping into the front of the business, she barely registered the racks of clothing and grabbed a hanger, pretending to inspect the item. Every one of her senses were trained on the back exit.
A nearby woman glanced at her with a strange look, then walked away. Marinette probably did appear rather tense. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her racing heart and soften her face.
Chat would be looking for Ladybug, not Marinette. She was perfectly safe. Regardless, she hoped her kwami was inhaling a cookie and regaining her energy. The sooner she was back out there, the better.
“That’s a nice choice,” a familiar voice spoke against the shell of her ear.
She flinched and nearly threw the garment in her hand. “Chat!” she whisper-yelled. Her nerves turned to barbs and pricked every inch of her body. She tried to reassure herself again but it was hard when those eerie green eyes were so close to her.
He chuckled and took a step back. His cocky stance and expression had her raising a brow in question and he pointedly looked down at the clothes in her hands.
She followed his gaze to the dainty Chat Noir lingerie hooked onto the hanger. Her eyes widened and she fought the instinct to hurl it away from her. Oh god. She’d taken shelter in a lingerie shop. And her partner-turned-enemy was staring at her like she’d suddenly morphed into something he hadn’t quite considered before. It gave her the chills.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him with a firm glare.
He lifted his hands as if he meant her no harm and his smile grew wider. “I know I’m not supposed to be in here, but I saw Ladybug come through—”
“Clearly. You had your eyes closed.” He waggled his brows. “What were you thinking about?”
His flirting reminded her of how he had used to treat Ladybug. The ache in her chest flared and she covered the grimace with another glare. “That’s none of your—”
“Crap.” His eyes narrowed on someone behind her. “Hide me.”
She went from standing in the softly lit space to being crammed into a terribly small changing room. The back of her knees hit a stool in the corner.
“What are you doing?” she demanded and pushed his hand off her arm.
He rolled his eyes and whispered, “I had to hide. An attendant was coming.”
“So you decided to stuff us into a box?”
“I didn’t know where else to go and I can’t exactly be seen right now.”
That the police would be called went unspoken. Why he didn’t think she wouldn’t do the same stumped her. Maybe he thought she would be more understanding given that he had helped her. But that had been...before. The temptation to reach into her purse for her phone was undeniably strong, yet she continued to clutch the lingerie for some reason.
“Excuse me,” a woman’s soft voice floated in from outside the door. “Can I help you with anything?”
Marinette and Chat Noir stared at each other, the moment heavy with tension. She could out him. She could scream for help.
Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m fine, thank you.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need another size.”
As her footsteps on the hardwood floor faded, Chat’s eyes softened.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Marinette asked.
She scoffed. “I couldn’t. We’re kind of in a compromising position here.”
“We weren’t doing anything.”
“But that’s not what it looks like.”
A corner of his lips curled upwards. “What does it look like?”
Despite the warmth blossoming in her cheeks, she maintained her indignant expression. “Like we snuck in here to make out.”
He crept closer to her, spiking her heart rate, and his voice took on a sultry edge. “Would you like to?”
“Absolutely not.” She spluttered and twitched.
“Are you sure? You’re the one who’s thinking about buying that.”
Remembering the Chat Noir lingerie in her hands, her cheeks burned as if they were on fire. “It’s not what it…”
Words failed her as Chat leaned in even closer. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. I think you would look purrfect in it.”
She blinked in surprise and before she could gather herself to say something, anything, he slipped out of the changing room and, a moment later, the back door clicked shut.
With her blood pounding in her ears, her knees gave way and she collapsed onto the stool behind her.
Tikki poked her head out of Marinette’s purse. “Do you want to to talk about—”
“No.” She was going to put the interaction out of her mind and pretend it had never happened...hopefully.
