little by little

the warm light behind you

Chat looked up from fiddling with his staff when Marinette began swearing under her breath.

"What?" he asked, nonplussed.

Irritation etched itself into the curve of her brow. "I was supposed to go to the Louvre before it closed to do an analysis on some paintings for Literature."

Chat cocked his head, a smile blooming on his face. "Mari, who am I?"

She met his gaze with a deadpan stare. "An idiot about to suggest an idiotic idea that would top all other attempts at idiocy."

Chat's smile grew as he slid his staff screen shut. "Up."

Marinette sunk into her chair.

He stood and reached for her hands. "Get up."

"Chat," Marinette whined when he tried to pull her to her feet, "you're a superhero! You're not supposed to do illegal things!"

Chat scowled when Marinette refused to stand on her own. "It's not illegal if I'm a superhero."

"This is an abuse of power," Marinette huffed, planting her butt on the balcony floor after Chat had hefted her up from her chair. "I should tell your superior."

"Who says I have a superior?" Chat winked, trying to get Marinette to budge from the floor.

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Ladybug? What would she sa—HEY!"

Cut off by her own exclamation, Marinette was scooped up around the middle and thrown over Chat's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Chat comically pretended to scan the horizon as Marinette kicked and struggled. "I don't see Ladybug... so I guess we're good to go!" And then he took off in the direction of the Louvre.

"Chat!" Marinette shouted over the howling wind. "This is considered kidnapping!"

"Can't hear you over the sound of your homework getting done!"

Marinette groaned, sagging in defeat. Chat beamed victoriously as he vaulted his way across Paris, the Louvre in his sights. He loved getting the opportunity to venture from Marinette's balcony with her and explore. It wasn't a common thing (seeing as how they'd get attacked by the press if it was), but Chat always found that the times they did change it up were the most memorable.

He silently landed in front of the Louvre. The two guards standing outside startled at his sudden appearance, shoving their phones into their pockets before straightening.

"Chat Noir," the burlier of the two guards said, stepping forward, "is something wrong?"

Chat set Marinette down, who, upon a single glance, looked like she'd rather be anywhere else. "Not a thing," Chat replied, smiling easily. "But I do need to get into the Louvre."

The guards exchanged looks before shrugging and unlocking one of the doors. When Chat glanced down, Marinette looked gobsmacked.

Upon the weight of his gaze on her face, though, her mouth snapped shut and twisted. "This is still wrong," she muttered, avoiding eye contact.

Chat snickered and took her hand. "No illegalities here." He nodded at the guards as they passed through. He could feel their curious stares following and hoped nothing would come of them.

Marinette, after initial entry, began pulling him along in a speedy walk. "I don't want to be here for too long," she claimed, but Chat knew better when she slowed every time she saw something she deemed worthy of closer inspection.

When they finally found the row of paintings Marinette was looking for, Chat got the flabbergasted guards to lift the metal bars and let them through.

"Official business," Chat stated solemnly. "We won't be here for long."

"This is insane," Marinette hissed to him, her shoulder brushing his. "Why are they letting us through?"

Chat grinned. "Probably because I'm a celebrity."

That earned him a hard elbow to the gut.

"I'm only going to take a few quick notes on my phone," Marinette declared stubbornly. "I can find everything else I need online."

Tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth, she typed away as she walked down the row of paintings. Chat stood back and watched her fondly, arms crossed over his chest. Really, she was so funny.

Only a few minutes had gone by when Marinette walked past him, phone clutched in hand. "Done!" she called over her shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

Chat chuckled and shook his head. It was like she was worried the guards would change their minds and arrest them.

Marinette finally allowed herself to relax once they were outside of the Louvre. "That was stressful," she lamented, shooting him a tired look. "I appreciate it, though, so thank you."

Chat wound his arm around her waist, bracing her for the trip they were about to take into the air. "Anytime, Mari. Whatever you need." And maybe his smile was a tad too genuine, because she looked away, ears red.

They were quiet the whole way back to the bakery; Chat was too afraid to breach the silence and incriminate himself, and Marinette seemed oddly interested in the roofs passing below them.

Their goodbye was an awkward handshake-turned-hug that left Chat cursing under his breath.

After they exchanged their final farewells, Chat admittedly stayed hidden in the shadows of a nearby building and watched Marinette pace back and forth for a few long minutes.

(He was not a stalker! He was curious! And! Confused!)

It was late, but he was almost afraid to leave; it would feel as if he was turning his back on the beginnings of a meek flame, and he found that he didn't want to look away for fear of it flickering out.