His Special Place

Chapter 3

"Wait, you can make meatballs? You don't just... buy them pre-made?"

Chat Noir shook his head in disbelief as he watched Marinette add the last bit of flour to the ground meat mixture before grabbing a clump and rolling it between her palms. "Like this!" , she said, holding up the now-ball of meat up for him to see.

Huh.
Spaghetti and meatballs taught him a lot, like what percentage lean-to-fat ground meat he should get and Marinette's fathers distaste towards pre-made meatballs.

"How on earth do we cook them without them snapping?" Chat asked Marinette as he placed the spaghetti in the pot filled with boiling water.

"They'll wilt. I promise"

"Won't one half be more cooked than the other?"

"They'll be fine"

"Maybe if we use a-"

"Chat Noir, if you say that we should use a bigger pot one more time so help me I'll spray paint your tail bright pink!"

"Well do you think Ladybug would like me with a pink tail?" He turned around, wiggling his hips in her direction.

She tossed a limp noodle at him, sticking perfectly to his butt. "There. Now you have a backup tail." She joked, turning her attention back to the pot and gently pressing on the noodles inside.

He wiped it off before leaning on the kitchen island, curious as to what came next. They'd already made the sauce, and she just put the meatballs in the skillet. It felt like they were missing something...

Dessert!

They didn't have a dessert!

"I'll be right back!" he exclaimed, launching himself out the window and onto the sidewalk below before Marinette could so much as open her mouth for a reply. He knew what he needed to get. She'd love it!

Banana cream pie. He knew for a fact the Dupain-Cheng bakery didn't have any, because Marinette would always gorge herself on it as a child to the point they no amount of reprimand would stop a tiny human handprint in the whipped topping on the bakery's shelf when they opened.

Alright. He wasn't BananAgreste without reason. He cracked his neck, then his knuckles, and sprinted to the nearest coffeeshop. Time to spend a ridiculous amount of money on an entire pie by purchasing it slice-by-slice

He returned to a home-cooked dinner and a Marinette standing with her arms crossed. "Chat!"

Oh

Right

He left her with all of the work, didn't he?

That was quite rude of him. She had very right to be mad.

"Chat" she barked, and even his ears drooped at the call

"I, uh, can explain."

"You can't just run off like that! We were worried!"

"Worried?"

"Yes, you potato. Worried! Now come on and eat with us."

He looked at Marinette with surprise before tearing his eyes away to see Tom and Sabine sitting at the table, steam coming off their plates, and smiling at him. " What did you pick up?" Sabine asked.

"Oh! Uh-" He cleared his throat. "Banana cream pie"

Their eyes flickered to Marinette in unison, met by her nervous giggle. "Well- uh, I guess we'd better hurry and eat." Marinette said, eyes fixed on his to-go bag. "Come on, Chat! Wash your hands!"

"I'm literally wearing a magic suit."

The face of disgust she made couldn't be beaten, even by Chloe Bourgeois herself. "Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting" she said, sticking her tongue out.

"Don't worry, I washed before we cooked together."

"Each time?" She crossed her arms.

"Ye-Yeah"

"Are you lying?"

"No?"

"Why does that sound like a question?" Marinette leaned in.

"Because I'm intimidated by you?"

His answer came out more squeaky than masculine, accompanied by a barrel of laughter from Tom. "Chat" Marinette said, arms crossed and biting back her own laughter. "I'm, like, 15 centimetres shorter than you are"

"So is Ladybug, but she could kick my butt any day of the week"

She tensed up for a moment before succumbing to laughter. "Whatever, Silly Kitty. Wash your paws"

He grinned and did as instructed. The sun filtered through the kitchen windows and he had to wonder if it had always been such a beautiful day, or if her was just now noticing it.

Chat turned around to find a towel and caught a glimpse of the set dinner table, small and what would be cramped once he joined in. It awoke that fire in his heart that made him smile softly, a temperature that matched his now-clean hands.

Oh, he might be in trouble.

In only three days, this place and these people became his home.

Chat wasn't so sure if he could handle what that meant again.