As an exchange art student in Paris, you expected things to be different from what you were used to. What you didn't expect was a flirty cat boy to be your source of inspiration, as well as of constant embarrassment.
The next week was a mess, full of projects and little sleep. However, you did have time to go out with Marinette to a cafe and had a nice time chatting with her and Alya. They never ceased to amaze you with their talks. You didn't tell them about the whole Chat Noir situation, as it would create more drama in your life, and the cat boy was enough as it was.
When the weekend finally arrived you were exhausted. You yawned as you read a text for your Art History class, the orange afternoon light illuminating your papers. A knock on your window told you your muse had arrived. Your teacher had been happy with your previous drawings, so you just needed a couple more. Standing before the curtain, the memory of that day with the paper cut came back to you and you shook your head. It had haunted you all week.
You opened the curtain and the window with another yawn, your eyes almost closed. You said, well, tried to say 'bonjour' through your yawn, but it just came out as a mumble.
"Tired, are we?" He said with a smirk. You waved a hand at him as you turned around, still yawning, and went inside to grab your drawing tools.
Coming back to the living room you finally got a good look at him. He didn't seem so good. His outfit was dirty as well as his face, and he had some deep scratches on his cheeks. The cat boy looked like a mess.
"Wow, what happened to you?" You approached him, getting a better look at his injuries.
"A crazy villain as usual, nothing new, my lady," he said with a smug smile, but you could see in his eyes that he was tired.
"You didn't have to come," you said softly, looking at him.
"Well, I'm your muse, am I not?" He said and continued to smile. "Of course I had to." You smiled back weakly at him.
"But what about your time?" You pointed to the ring on his finger that, as you had researched after the other day, showed how long the transformation would last. He looked at it. It still had two dots.
He waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, ma chérie. I didn't use my special power, so it'll take a while."
"Alright, then let's clean you up," you said, rolling your eyes when he wriggled his eyebrows at you. Leading him to the bathroom, you waited as he cleaned his face, hearing him hiss a couple of times and then you put two band-aids over two of the bigger scratches he had. You didn't have the proper medical supplies since you had planned on living here temporarily, but you hoped it would help a bit. Chat was quiet the entire time you touched his face. No flirting, no snarky remarks. He must have been feeling really bad, you thought sadly to yourself.
Walking back to the living room, you made him sit on the sofa in the middle of the room. He tried to complain, but you were having none of that. You put your chair in front of him and began to draw quickly, cutting the time down from 20 minutes to 10. Chat began telling you about the fight with the villain, who was an akumatized old cat lady, which explained the scratches.
By the second drawing you felt your eyes get heavy and that was when you realized Chat had stopped talking. Looking up at him, you saw him dozing off while sitting up. Guilt filled your heart. Getting up slowly, you went to your bedroom and grabbed a blanket, putting it over him. You then sat by his side with your drawings, trying to improve them a little bit. Glancing at Chat, you wondered if he'd go back to normal anytime soon. Sure, you were curious to know who he was, but you wanted to respect his privacy. Looking at his ring, it showed one dot. Maybe you should wake him? Your eyes went to his face. He seemed to be in deep sleep, his breathing even. His blonde hair fell over part of his mask, covering it like a curtain of gold. Beautiful, you thought. Shaking your head, you went back to your drawing. If he transformed back, you'd just cover your eyes.
Said eyes were getting heavier again when you felt something warm on your shoulder. Looking down, you saw Chat leaning on you. He looked so calm, his expression relaxed without that ever-present grin on his face. You smiled. I'll let this pass this one time, you said to yourself. Just this once...
You woke up with something moving under your head. You groaned, it was so warm and cozy and you wanted it to stay that way. Your hand grabbed at what was moving, making it stop. Hearing a chuckle you opened your eyes a little bit, your vision foggy with sleep. You saw a blonde figure, but no black suit.
"Go back to sleep, ma chérie." You heard a familiar voice whisper and your eyes obeyed, closing and taking you back to your dreams.
You woke up completely lost. Apparently it was the middle of the night. Looking at your phone, you saw it: 4 a.m. Yep, you were right.
Stretching, you saw that the light from the kitchen was on, so you got up. There was no one there. You felt a bit disappointed for some reason, but then found a post-it note.
"Sorry to leave like this,
I'll see you next week.
Sleep tight, ma chérie."
A tired smile tugged at the corners of your lips. What a dork. You saw a little arrow pointing to the side and turned the note over.
"P.S.: You look adorable when you sleep. Check your phone."
Your eyes widened a bit at this and you ran back to the living room, quickly grabbing your phone on the sofa. You cursed inwardly for disabling the locking option as you went through your pictures. And there it was, a picture of you sleeping that Chat had edited with cat ears and a lot of sparkles. You sighed to yourself as you laid down on the sofa, putting your phone down. Looking up at the ceiling, you could feel your heart beating fast in your chest. You put an arm over your eyes and smiled to yourself. What a dork.
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"(...) Glancing at Chat, you wondered if he'd go back to normal anytime soon. (...) Your eyes went to his face. He seemed to be in deep sleep, his breathing even. His blonde hair fell over part of his mask, covering it like a curtain of gold. Beautiful, you thought."
