DISCONTINUED | Black Cat In A Box ☂ ML

06 ☂ A Rival

06 ☂ A Rival

UNREVISED

Adrien hastily rounded another corner, only just shy of running in his desperation to put distance between him and the wide, blue eyes that seemed to look straight into his soul. He couldn't get Marinette's gaze out of his head – the way she blinked up at him with slightly parted lips, wayward hairs brushing her forehead, cheeks pinkened from walking in the wind...

Adrien had to turn from the main-street into an empty alley. Slapping flat palms against the dirty wall, he leant his forehead on the cool bricks in an attempt to control his raging blush. Admiring his beautiful savior in the form of a feline was nothing compared to meeting her as a human, nothing compared watching with bated breath as she appraised him like a human.

Ah, this is bad, this is bad... Adrien clenched his eyes shut and banged his head against the wall gently, trying to suppress the erratic beat of his delighted heart. I can't let her find out about me.

Though still going into cardiac arrest – he tried to reassure himself that she wouldn't have any idea about his identity as Chat Noir. There was absolutely no reason for Marinette to link them together, regardless of his awkward behavior in the café. A black cat, left at home, and a blond boy, looking for work?

No connection, what so ever.

I hope.

Adrien resolved himself.

Even though he knew his intentions weren't as pure as he would have liked, today's outing – today's meeting – didn't have to be the last. He still had to pay back her kindness, after all. Get work, earn some money, pay her back. It was just a matter of making sure the non-existent connection between him and Chat Noir stayed, well, non-existent. If he was going to continue living a double life, "chancing upon" Marinette as a human and basking in her presence, he would have to be extra careful about being home before she was.

Which was a predicament all of its own.

Adrien turned around, instead leaning his back against the wall as he stared up at the bright, blue sky. He pressed his lips together in thought as fluffy clouds puffed along, realising he knew next to nothing about Marinette. Her age, her hobbies, where she'd been before going to the café today... god, he'd only known her for a maximum of twenty-four hours.

His throbbing heart didn't seem to be comprehending that information, though.

"Just... take it slow... take it slow, Adrien..." He mumbled to himself, pushing out of the alleyway with considerably less energy that he'd entered it. "Figure out her schedule... work around it... part-time work should be fine..."

I'll go home for today. Figure her out piece by piece – I don't have to rush.

  ☂  

Adrien was safely back in the body of a cat when Marinette opened the door to the apartment hours later. He'd sat obediently by the door for what felt like forever, waiting for the smiling girl to return so he could begin his Very-Important-Investigation-of-Marinette's-Life.

However... the first thing he noticed as she approached him, cooing nonsense as she bent down to scratch his ears, was the offensive odor emanating from her very pores.

Reeling back with a loud meow, he stared at her slender hand with wide eyes.

"What's wrong, Chat Noir?" Marinette asked in concern, and began to reach for him again.

This time he didn't recoil, instead letting the smell of another man fill his nostrils as she stroked him. It made his tail twitch, his eyes narrow to slits. The scent overpowered Marinette's natural, sweet smell, and even masked her perfume.

But it also made him angry.

Wait... I've smelt this somewhere before... He continued nosing the palm of her hand, her giggles falling on nearly-deaf ears as Adrien racked his brain. The café! All the cats...

If it had just been any other cat though, brushing past her fleetingly, maybe Adrien wouldn't have had such a sour taste in his mouth. Except, he could practically taste the 'Fuck you' covering Marinette like a thick blanket, a clear warning from whoever had been all over her at the café.

"Meee-roow!" He tried to ask her furiously, barely keeping his urge to immediately change back into a human in check. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders, wrap her in a tight embrace that would erase all memory of the offending cat. He wanted to cover Marinette in his own adoration until no other cat would come anywhere near her.

Adrien had to forcibly, and begrudgingly, remind himself that he had no sole right to Marinette's attention (he vowed to work on that), he couldn't help but feel stark possession continue to brew.

"Ahaha..." Marinette just laughed as he rubbed his furry cheek against her palm with vigor, attempting to cover the smell with his own. "Can you smell Théo on me?"

Théo?

Who, the hell, is Théo?

"Théo was just like you the entire time I was at the café! He probably smelt you on me earlier..." She chuckled again, straightening to remove her bag and meander off into the kitchen like nothing had happened.

Adrien followed her as he fumed, twining around her ankles in an attempt to tell her that this was, in fact, no laughing matter! Whoever this Théo was, his intentions were as clear as day. He regarded Adrien as a threat to his girl... his Marinette. And he was like Adrien... a shapeshifter.

A shapeshifter in love with Adrien's savior.

"C'mon, Chat Noir," Marinette scolded him when he accidentally nearly tripped her. "It's not that bad, is it?"

Oh no, it won't be that bad. Adrien vowed as he looked up into her beautiful, blue eyes. Not after I start working at that café.

I'll show Théo exactly who he's dealing with.

 ☂

Dedicated to sailortwilightt for having a swanky dream about my future as a hot model™ & motivating me for the next 348494 years yeeewwwww ily bby