Chapter Text
Marinette cleared the next table, always a spring in her step, a smile on her face and an airy, “Welcome!” on her lips.
Business was booming in the café, but the morning rush was slowly beginning to dissipate, leaving Marinette with some time to take a quick breath. She picked up an empty tray on her way to the breakroom, her coffee waiting since morning.
Her colleague had other ideas as he apologetically reminded her, “Marinette, there’s still one customer waiting to be served.”
That couldn’t be.
Marinette was sure all the customers were seated outside due to the nice weather, there was nobody in the café itself, she double checked while wiping down the tables.
Who could’ve sneaked in so quickly when she turned her back-
“Good morning, princess!”
Of course.
Hands clutched onto the tray for dear life, Marinette forced on a practiced smile.
The twirl she did to turn around made her pink skirt flutter and Chat Noir couldn’t have fought down the smile even if he wanted to.
“You know, if you wanted to get into the latest fashion, you could’ve asked moi.” Chat Noir rested a hand over his heart, eyeing the adorable fake cat ears on her head, “I feel very flattered Marinette, we almost moewtch! Your outfit is much cuter than meown though.”
This time, he did try to bite back the shit eating grin from consuming his face, because while her smile oozed sweetness, her eyes spelled death.
“Chat Noir! How…nice of you to visit! Don’t you have any superhero stuff to do?”
The self-satisfied smile was blinding, “Nope! Today, I’m taking a break from being a superhero.”
Marinette supposed it was alright, Hawkmoth had been quiet, she had been busy working at the café, she could allow Chat Noir some reprieve.
Taking her notepad in hand, she asked “What can I get you?” the slight twitch in her left eye didn’t go unnoticed by her observant companion, who only seemed to smile wider.
Before Chat Noir could place his order, a loud cough from behind them made Marinette turn her head, seeing her colleague lift his curled fists in the air and mouth the words Marinette was supposed to use.
This would be her downfall.
The end of her short-lived career.
Her dignity forever tarnished in the eyes of the feline she wouldn’t be caught dead doing this in front of.
It seemed like the universe had a funny way of playing tricks on her.
Taking a deep breath, Marinette set the tray and notebook down on another table. Positioning her hands into the signature pose, Marinette curled her lips into the smile she practiced in front of the mirror.
Then, she bounced once, twice, “Welcome to our meowtiful café, nya! Offurring the catfeine boost to start your day, nyaa!” another bounce, “We hope you enjoy our Capurrccino, Catspresso, Latte Meowcchiato and our Meocha in different flavors, meow!” wiggling her hand as if it were a cat paw for emphasis.
Finished with her humiliating introduction, as per protocol of the café’s ridiculous policy, Marinette quickly took back her tray and notebook and held it clutched to her chest like a shield, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.
Thankfully Chat Noir didn’t know about her being Ladybug, she would never hear the end of-
“Pfft-“
As expected, the superhero was bent over, hands clasped over his mouth, body trembling violently with the effort to hold in his laughter.
“Awesome job, Marinette!” she could hear her colleague’s praises coming from the breakroom, a room she wished she could lock herself into right now.
Marinette had never wanted to commit murder quite as intensely as she did while watching Chat Noir lose it over her little display, wheezing and laughing.
She hoped he coughed out a lung or two.
Chat Noir could barely piece a sentence together, he chortled, “That- that was-it was just purrfect!” still snickering, holding his stomach, Chat Noir finally managed to meet her eyes.
They promised certain doom, “…Your order, cat?” she spat, flipping her notepad on a clean page and holding her pen at the ready.
Chat Noir finally managed to sit upright, breathing deeply, body still wrecked with chuckles. Marinette wished Chat Noir had actual whiskers so she could pull on them, since his tail wasn’t accessible. “Hmm…let’s see…what could I pawssibly want more? Seeing my princess like this is more than enough to make my day!” the smile he gave her seemed genuine, but Marinette was too embarrassed to think too deeply about it.
“You order or you leave.”
“Latte Meowcchiato, please.”
“What flavor?”
“…Blueberry.”
Biting back a scalding retort, Marinette turned on her heel to place his order.
Chat Noir was trying to be respectful, but he couldn’t quite stop himself from looking over at Marinette. The way the cat ears framed her face adorably, the fake tail swishing gently back and forth, the maid outfit she wore, were those heels with paw prints?
The superhero nearly jumped out of his skin when a sudden weight landed on his lap, to his astonishment it was a cat.
He started petting the animal, who immediately started purring up a storm and getting comfortable on his lap. Why he was surprised to find a cat in a cat café was beyond him, but the way all the felines started inching closer towards him did surprise him.
By the time Marinette was carrying the blueberry flavored latte macchiato over to Chat Noir, she nearly dropped the beverage in shock.
All of their cats were situated around or on Chat Noir, two precariously balanced on his lap, one on his shoulder, another behind his head, the rest were curled at his sides.
Marinette didn’t know how to tell Chat Noir that it was bad for business to steal all their cats, she didn’t quite have the heart to do so. He looked strangely peaceful surrounded by the smaller felines, as if he were right at home.
But when he lifted his head to look at her, and their gazes met, it felt like she could feel at home there too.
Shaking her head, Marinette set the hot beverage on the table, “Here’s your blueberry flavored latte macchiato, kitty.”
“Thank you, Marinette.” The use of his nickname made him smile and Chat Noir patted the only vacant spot next to him that wasn’t occupied by cats.
Marinette glanced at the clock, morning rush was over, the customers were taken care of, afternoon rush was hours away.
Marinette had time.
Finding herself squeezed in-between Chat Noir and cats wasn’t as mortifying as Marinette thought it would be. It felt…nice.
Cozy.
At some point, it seemed like the cats were conspiring against her, sitting on her lap and piling up against her side, forcing her further into Chat Noir’s.
Marinette failed to see his red glowing cheeks when he picked up his coffee for a sip, “I’m impressed, this is so good!”
Marinette couldn’t fight back a smirk, “Don’t you mean impurressed?”
They burst out into giggles, miraculously not disturbing the sleeping cats. “You seem to be a magnet for them, huh?” Marinette mused out loud.
The words that left his lips felt almost foreign, but held the familiar bravado of Chat Noir, “I don’t mind, as long as I’m a magnet for you too.”
Chat Noir seemed just as stunned as she was at his words, but found her own confidence resurging to match his, “I’m glad we’re opposites, kitty.”
Chat Noir rose an eyebrow, unsure how to react to her statement.
Until Marinette leaned into his side, snuggling up just like the cats around them, muttering a soft, “Otherwise we wouldn’t attract each-other.”
Never did he want to hug or kiss anyone as badly as he did in that moment, but for the sake of not disturbing the cats, Chat Noir settled for an affectionate head snuggle into Marinette’s hair. Her sigh of contentment seemed to be the trigger to make all the muscles in his body relax, slumping against her peacefully.