Criminal

Chapter 17: Listen

It had been a two weeks since Alya last visited her house.

Marinette was becoming worried, not for Alya's safety but she was beginning to think she had done something wrong. All of her texts were cold and dry responses, she never wanted to call anymore, and she hadn't come over to raid her fridge in what seemed like forever.

"Don't worry about it too much." Chat said softly, attempting to comfort the distressed woman. She had obviously told chat about her dilemma with Alya, and after some simple consideration he assured her that Alya was probably just busy or something. Marinette looked to the side, and nodded before he pressed a kiss to her rosy lips.

She watched as the criminal fled from her neat balcony, her heart aching in her chest. She had come to term with her feelings, and realized she couldn't fight the fact that she was in love with him. But she had some sort of unsatisfying feeling in the pit of her stomach, like there was something missing.

Not only did was she unaware of Chat's true identity, but she also wasn't sure if there were ever going to take their relationship a step further. They weren't dating, and it's not like they could go on normal dates publicly even if they were. There were so many issues that came with a relationship regarding the leathered criminal...

Yet none of those issues mattered whenever she stared into the green of his eyes.

He was her home. Chat Noir was her home.

The bluenette sat with her knees up in the warm bath, the delicate skin on her shoulders lathered with bubbly soap as she enjoyed the fragrance that emanated from the water.

Every Friday, she'd come home from work and take a nice bath while Chat Noir combed through her hair and doodled drawings on her skin with the soap covered on it.
He'd ask about her day and she'd tell him every detail- and he'd listen. He loved to listen to her rant about her morning, how she accidentally spilled a bit of coffee on her blazer and covered it up by placing her hair in front that day.

He loved to hear about how much she loved her job, and the designs or sketches she made that day. Marinette would talk about how she loved making the customers smile when they got their personalized dresses made for their prom, wedding, or photo shoot line.

She loved bringing a smile to Adrien's face when he took a sip of his favorite coffee. She liked the idea of bringing him a sense of relief by simply scribbling an inspiring quote on a sticky note to place on his desk most mornings.

Sometimes Adrien wished that he had made her fall for the civilian form of himself... So he could take her out normally and treasure every moment with her. There were so many things he wanted to do with her- but he was unable to. And it's not like he could ask her to do those things as Adrien because she was too committed to himself as Chat Noir...

Or could he?

"Wanna go see a movie on Saturday?" Adrien blurted out before his assistant could leave his office. Marinette turned on her heel and furrowed a brow, "Actually, I-"

"Just as friends. No pressure." The blonde assured her, and he immediately noticed the change in attitude afterwards. Her glossed lips curled into a small smile before she nodded with excitement. "If there's popcorn, I'm in." She said playfully, and Adrien chuckled. "In that case, there will be tons of popcorn- with mini m&m's in it just the way you like."

He spoke too much...

Marinette's smile slowly faded into a confused frown, it was adorable. "How did you know that?" She asked softly and he gulped, spinning in his chair as if to act innocent. "I think you told me over coffee." He said simply, hoping it was believable. The bluenette shrugged before casually walking out, and Adrien signed in relief.

He really needed to be more careful...

***

The truth was, Alya was angry with Marinette.

The brunette marched down the usual cement sidewalk at exactly three in the morning. She had barely responded to any of Marinette's text messages, and she hadn't gone over in at least two weeks. Marinette was her best friend, so why wouldn't she tell her about something so important?

Even when she was always given the opportunity to spill the beans, she never did. Alya knew that the bluenette intended to keep her little fiasco with the blonde a secret, but she just couldn't find put why. Did Marinette-- her best friend since high school-- not trust her?

So she had a few drinks at the bar while Nino was working overnight... She had every right to march down to her best friend's apartment and demand to know the meaning of all of it. It's not like she was drunk, just a little buzzed. Just enough to give her the courage to do what she was about to do.

Without hesitation, the brunette began pounding on Marinette's apartment door, demanding to speak with her and not giving a care in the world to anyone who heard her.

The bluenette inside the closed doors seemed to gasp, wondering who the hell wanted to speak to her at this time. Her heart began to race at the thought of the police showing up- somehow knowing about her relationship with chat noir. She began to over think as usual, and thought about being interrogated, losing her dream job, and possibly going to jail...

All of her thoughts had been dismissed when she heard the familiar voice of Alya Cesaire.

"Marinette, get up and open this door right now." She demanded, and the knocking came to a stop. She waited with her hands placed on her hips when she heard the door begin to unlock. Marinette swung open the door, standing completely shocked on the entrance to her apartment.

The angry brunette pushed her way through, and slammed the door shut before pulling out her phone and shoving the screen in Marinette's shocked face.

"What the hell is this?"

Marinette's mind went blank when she was shown the lively captured photo emitted from Alya's smart phone.

It was a picture of her, and Chat Noir...

Kissing.