Miraculous One-Shots

Caught and Interested

Alya burst into the room; the trapdoor banged on the floor..

"Marinette! You won't believe it. I got the sponsor. They- What the hell? Is that Cat Noir?"

Cat Noir froze guiltily, even though he wasn't doing anything wrong. He lay on his back on Marinette's chaise lounge, his head and shoulders dangling off the edge, a video game magazine in his hand.

"Ow! Crap!" Marinette tugged at the fabric now trapped in the sewing machine. She sighed heavily, then turned around to face Alya with a forced smile. "Hey, Alya. I didn't realize you were coming over."

"It was spur of the moment. Why the hell is Cat Noir in your room?" Alya turned to Cat Noir. "Why are you here?"

"Uh," he said. Marinette shot him her strongest 'don't say anything, stupid' glare. He shut up.

Alya crossed her arms. She looked back and forth between them with an expectant expression.

"The thing is..." Marinette slowly started. "The thing is that sometimes people come over to my house. And sometimes those people are Cat Noir."

"Uh-huh," Alya said.

"You know, for superhero business. Because he's a superhero. And he wouldn't come over to just hang out because that's not professional."

Alya glanced at Cat Noir, still frozen and wide-eyed on the chaise. Specifically she glanced a the magazine he was holding, which featured a (quite gorgeous, in Cat Noir's opinion) watercolor of Link from the Legend of Zelda. Her lips twitched with a suppressed smirk.

"Now it may look like that's what's happening here," Marinette said quickly, having caught the look on Alya's face. "But sometimes looks can be deceiving. Like when... things don't look the way they are."

Alya nodded with mock seriousness. "Okay, sure, I believe you. So what's the important superhero business, Cat Boy?"

Cat Noir gulped. His eyes darted towards Marinette.

"Would you believe there's an akuma?" she said weakly.

"No."

Marinette slapped her hands over her face. "Ugh! Okay, you got me. Sometimes Cat Noir comes over, I give him food, we play video games, and we hang out. You know, to thank him for saving Paris."

"Marinette's sweets are delicious," Cat Noir piped up.

Marinette looked like she wanted to strangle him, and Alya's face lit up with an unholy glee.

"I'm sure you like to eat Marinette's sweets," she said.

Cat Noir let himself slide off of the chaise and onto the floor in an embarrassing heap. He covered his red face with the magazine.

Marinette groaned. "Really, Alya. He comes over and eats macarons and lounges around."

"And 'macarons' are a euphemism for...?"

"For actual, literal macarons. Made out of almond flour and everything."

Alya moved closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Is he your mystery man? Is that why you couldn't tell me anything about him?"

If Cat Noir didn't have super hearing he wouldn't have been able to hear what she said. But he did, and he could. Marinette's panicked eyes darted towards him. She knew he could hear them.

"Not right now," she hissed back, "and you can't tell anybody he comes over."

Alya sighed.

"All right. I won't say anything," she said at a normal volume.