unexpected feelings | marichat

chapter twenty-nine

marinette's pov
he wriggled his mask-covered eyebrows playfully and leaned into me. i giggled and pushed him away.
"close? please, you shouldn't flatter yourself like that," i said, and he feigned a hurt look.
"me-yow! that one stung. i'm gonna have to end your rain of terror somehow," chat announced, putting a hand on his chin "pensively." he opened his mouth to talk, but i was startled by a small tap on my back.
   "gah!" i turned around reflexively and chat stepped in front of me protectively, only to find a small elderly woman standing before us. chat laughed nervously.
   "sorry! she startles easily." i shot him a look and the lady smiled warmly.
   "don't worry about it, sweetie. i just wanted to tell this wonderful young lady how much i love her dress. did you make it yourself, hon?"
   "awh, thank you! yeahh i kind of sewed it, with a ton of help from online tutorials. honestly, i credit most of it to-"
   "she's just being modest! marinette sewed it completely,  she's incredibly talented, isn't she?" chat interrupted, his compliment making my cheeks heat up.
   "yes, she is! if only i could sew like that, but my eyes can hardly see the needle anymore. well, you are very talented, marinette," the lady gushed, leaving me even redder. i was awful at taking compliments.
   "you should sew something for your boyfriend here. he could learn a thing or two about your style," she added, nudging me. i laughed, not bothered enough by the 'boyfriend' remark to correct her. so what if one lady thinks we're dating? i see nothing wrong with that.
   "maybe i will sew him something! his fashion choices are pretty awful," i teased, and chat looked at us offendedly.
   "i think my outfit is pretty paw-some," he said, sticking his nose up snobbishly. the lady and i exchanged a look.
   "say, where are you walking to, ma'am?"
   "oh, my daughter's house, she just had her baby! it's a few blocks away."
   "wouldn't you like a ride or something? i'm sure chat here could maybe carry you-"
   "nonsense! i can walk by myself," she said stubbornly.
   "in that case, take my umbrella. you're going somewhere much more important than we are," i said, handing her the already soaked umbrella.
   "are you sure sweetie? you both will get soaked."
   "100%. a friend lent it to me, but i'm sure he'd be happy to know i was giving it away to help someone out," i assured her as i put it into her hands. the agreste symbol gleamed proudly from the button on the handle.
   "he would be," chat said, smiling at us in an almost fond manner.
   "well, if you insist. i must be off, thank you both for your kindness," she said, waving at us and walking the opposite direction.
   "thank you for your sweet compliments!"
   "say hi to your daughter's baby for me! tell her chat noir sends his best wishes," chat said before turning back to me.
   "are you sure you won't get cold? oh, and your dress, it's gonna get all soaked!"
   "it's fine, let's keep walking," i assured him, trying to wipe the worried look from his eyes. he looked at me for a few more seconds before shrugging and taking my arm, looping his into it.
   we walked in the rain for a few minutes to no particular destination, laughing loudly and just talking of small nothings the whole time. after a while, though, i started shivering. the warmth that was in his arm was no longer keeping me as warm as it did at the beginning of our walk.
   we stopped next to the louvre. "marinette, you're shivering more than those little teacup chihuahuas," chat said, rubbing my arms in an attempt to make them warmer.
   "but it's summer! i should not be cold," i complained, secretly enjoying the way he gently ran his hands up and down my arms.
   "well maybe you wouldn't be cold if you weren't wearing such a thin dress. what type of good fashion designer makes the fabric so thin, hm?" he retorted playfully, touching the flimsy sleeve. i looked towards the mirrored outside of the museum, seeing my reflection on it. yeah, the dress was pretty thin. the fabric clung to my skin, it's once perfectly flowing skirt now draping awkwardly on me.
   "hm, if i recall correctly, YOU were the one who dragged me outside."
   "ah ah, let's not blame me here. but you're right, plus i did promise your mom i wouldn't let you catch a cold," he said, and suddenly his eyes lit up like a child's. "i've got a meow-velous idea. do you dance?"
   i looked at him incredulously. "i'm awful at dancing. why?"
   "i don't believe you. i'm sure you're a perfect dancer. c'mon, give me your hand."
   "chat, i don't dance!" i lied. last time i danced with a guy, i fell deeper in love with him. it's not like i love chat like that or anything, but dancing under the rain with him?  i didn't want to know what that would do to my heart.
   "don't dampen the mood," he whined. "this cat has every high school musical song memorized, you know. i will burst into song." i glared at him, and he smirked.
   "fine! if you won't dance with me like this, i'll just have to up my invitation." he ran off, stopping at the street and pretending to look around for something. i smiled at him. what is this idiot planning?
   he surveyed the area for a little before his eyes finally landed on me. they widened and he gasped loudly, quickly heading towards where i stood.
   "hello, beautiful purr-incess! what's a girl like you doing standing all alone in this SUPER crowded cotillion? why, my eyes have never been so blessed, would you do me the honor of letting me have this dance?" he pleaded in a dramatic shakespearian accent, taking my hand and kissing it. there was no stopping this dork, so i decided to go along with his cute little charade.
   "wow! a handsome prince asking me to dance with him? oh, how could i say no to that!" i fanned myself and pretended to faint before taking his hand, almost excited to see where this would lead to.
   "hey! you're supposed to curtsy when you take the prince's hand," chat whispered.
   "how would you know this?" i asked him, curtsying in a way that would probably cause the queen of england to demand 'off with her head!'
   "i've had way too much alone time on my hands," he shrugged, pulling me closer and beginning to spin us around wildly in the rain.
   "chat! did you want to dance or did you want to break our necks?"
   "as long as it's not my face that's broken."
   "oh, wait! instead of spinning like this, let's do that thing jack and rose did when they were at the third class party," i suggested, and his eyes lit up like a toddler's.
   he grabbed my hands and locked them into his, crossing our arms over each others. "you ready?"
   i nodded excitedly, and we began spinning quickly. the rain kept getting into my eyes, so i shut them tightly, just enjoying the moment while it lasted. we laughed loudly as we spun together, not worried of how dizzy we'd probably feel after we stopped.
"you look beautiful when you're happy," chat said when we finally stopped spinning. i looked into his eyes, waiting for any sign of sarcasm, any follow up puns to top off the joke, but there were none. it was all sincerity.