#glockenzspiel

Chat’s eyes were brighter than usual.

Ladybug watched in bemusement as he came screeching to a halt on their way back from another successful mission, and stood in front of a little street stall. The stall owner seemed to have fled to safety during the last akuma attack.

It was covered top to bottom in Chat Noir merchandise.

This wasn’t an unusual sight. There were dozens of Chat Noir-specific merch vendors all over the city. There were just as many Ladybug stalls. There were even whole department store sections dedicated to celebrating the resident heroes of Paris.

“This is so cool!” Chat gushes, his eyes glowing a vibrant green, hands clutching at a black shirt. Ladybug peered around him and noticed the black t-shirt had a single neon green paw print in the centre. She raised an eyebrow.

“Really, kitty? There’s probably a dozen like it” she chuckled, as he whirled around with a mock offended look on his face.

“How can you not appreciate how incredible this design is, milady?!” he argued as she smirked at him. “The simplicity yet sophistication. It’s bold but understated!” He waved the shirt around but she merely blinked at it. He pouted at her lack of enthusiasm.

“Bet Marinette would appreciate this” he grumbled, fingering the material.

“What was that?” Ladybug tilted her head, not having heard him. Chat’s ears twitched as he glanced back at her. “…I was saying it’s a shame you don’t realise how awesome this shirt is!” he finally said, thrusting the shirt into her face.

“Like it that much?” she giggled, gently pushing it away. His jaw clenched with playful stubbornness.

“Do you know what this says, LB?” he crooked a brow.

“What does it say, Chat?” she indulged him.

“It says, ‘I am a Chat Noir fan 100%’” he whispered dramatically. He leaned back with a bright grin. “I wonder if I could just leave some money and take this?” he mumbled to himself.

Ladybug burst out laughing.

---

Later, Marinette was driving around, running some deliveries on her scooter when she passed by the stall she had visited earlier that day.

There was still a stack of those Chat Noir shirts, but now with a bored vendor tending to the stall.

She couldn’t help but giggle, remembering how delighted Chat had been.

Marinette pursed her lips as she walked up to the stall, looking at the shirt. There really was nothing special about the shirt. It was a plain black tee, the neon green paw print stamped on. No embellishments, nothing clever. As a burgeoning fashion designer, nothing about the material or graphic design seemed exciting to her.

But Chat Noir had loved it.

As a general rule, and also because it was really, really weird, Marinette didn’t buy Chat merch. Let alone her own. That would be even weirder. But here she hesitated.

“Excuse me, miss, but are you planning on buying anything?” the vendor finally piped up, having watched as the strange young girl seemingly zoned out in front of his stall.

“Oh!” a bright flush spread across her face. “Uh, um, yes uh, this please!” she hastily grabbed one of the shirts, not even bothering to check the size and handing it to the vendor to ring up.

She paid for the shirt, gave the vendor an embarrassed smile, before running off to finish her errands, the now bagged shirt clutched in her hands.

---

An hour later, she stood, holding the shirt in front of her. It was a little big but nothing too crazy.

“I mean, I suppose I should try it on” she shrugged, and changed into it. Marinette looked in her mirror.

There she was. The Ladybug, wearing a Chat Noir t-shirt.

“Yup. About as weird as I thought it would be” she announced to the empty room, strangely embarrassed. “But it’s pretty comfy.” She played with the hem of the shirt and shrugged. Guess these were her pyjamas for the night.

---

As time would go on, the Chat shirt would naturally become part of her loungewear rotation. Marinette no longer felt self-conscious, and would often happily don it to go to sleep. It was a really comfortable shirt.

So comfortable, in fact, that she would forget she was wearing it.

Which would come back to bite her in a very embarrassing way.

---

It had been a long day of fighting another one of Hawkmoth’s akumas, and Marinette decided that a quiet evening looking out at the beautiful city of Paris on her balcony, with a hot mug of cocoa was exactly what she needed.

“That smells good,” a voice suddenly spoke. She looked to her left and saw Chat Noir perched on the ledge of the balcony. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

She had gotten used to these abrupt late night visits from Chat. Since he didn’t know she was Ladybug, she could relax and not worry about fending off his flirting.

“Hot cocoa. Want some?” she offered, preparing to push away from where she had been leaning. He shook his head and instead shifted from his crouch to sit properly on the ledge, legs dangling over the edge.

They both gazed out at the twinkling lights of the city.

“Tired from a long day saving the world?” she sipped at her drink. He shrugged, smiling down at her.

“A little, yeah” he admitted, and she looked up at him. He wasn’t usually so forthcoming.

“The job getting you down?” she asked, hesitantly.

One good thing about being Marinette and Chat Noir, was she could ask him things she wasn’t brave enough to ask as Ladybug. It was something that had long since been on her mind. Her role as a hero. His role as her partner. Living this double life. All the responsibilities they both were facing. She wondered if he felt the same way.

“Well, you know. The constant fighting gets to you after a while,” his eyes glowed in the black night, as he stared into the distance. She did know. “Well at least you have Ladybug at your side,” she offered, but all she received was a sad smile.

“Ladybug is great. She’s strong and steadfast and never seems to let anything get to her.” He went quiet for a moment. “It can be pretty intimidating, actually.”

Marinette’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re…intimidated by Ladybug?” the shock in her voice made him turn, and he shook his head vehemently.

“No! No, that’s not what I meant,” he raised his hands defensively. “Don’t get me wrong. I love this part about her. Her duty to the city and her role, and how fearless she is in the face of insurmountable odds! But… it kinda leaves very little room for me. Like even if I weren’t there, she’d still do just fine.”

He almost whispered that final part, and Marinette’s heart squeezed tight. She had never realised he felt this way. In her eyes, Chat Noir was unshakeable, undeterred, grinning through all the trials they faced as heroes. She looked to him as a shoulder to lean on and a support she could rely on. He was the best partner she could ever hope for. And yet she had made him feel like she didn’t need him.

She reached one hand over and laid it over Chat’s clenched fist. He looked at her and she glared at hi.

“You know that’s not true. Ladybug needs Chat Noir just as much as Chat Noir needs Ladybug.” She squeezed his hand. “I know it. You know it. And the whole of Paris knows it.”

Chat studied her gaze as she studied his, before they both smiled. “You think so?” he finally asked.

“I do. And I know Ladybug would think the same.” She gave him a pointed look. “You should tell her how you feel.”

For some reason, Chat’s ears turned red, but he coughed and looked away. “Yeah, maybe I should.” She nodded, and finally leaned back.

“Sure you don’t want some cocoa?” she asked.

He pondered for a second, before turning around. “Yeah, why not? I have time for- HEY!”

“What?!” she looked around, worried some hidden enemy had ambushed them on her balcony. It was still quiet, empty night and she looked back at him. He was looking at her clothes.

“My shirt!”

Marinette glanced down at herself, horror dawning on her.

“Oh no” she wheeled around, looking for something to cover the green pawprint, but there was no such object. She settled for instead covering her face with her hands, avoiding Chat Noir’s ear-to-ear grin.

“You bought a Chat Noir shirt!” he chimed, his voice bubbling with excitement.

“No, I didn’t!” she denied, trying to shuffle towards the door leading back into her home.

“Don’t deny it! I saw this shirt the other day with Ladybug!” he slid in front of her, blocking her escape.

“It’s not the same shirt. Not related to you at all” She tried to slip past him but the wasn’t letting her past.

“Don’t lie! Who else could be represented by a green paw print?” he demanded, planting his fists on his hips.

Marinette scrambled for an excuse.

“It’s this, uh, great indie band I know, Neon Leopards. Big fan. Yup.” Chat burst out laughing and allowed Marinette to push him inside as she re-entered her home. She stopped him before he could follow her in.

“Didn’t realise you were a Chat Noir fan, Marinette” he leaned in close to her bright red face but she locked her brows stubbornly.

“I’m a Neon Leopards fan,” she huffed. “Also, I just realised I drank the last of the hot cocoa. So I’m afraid you’ll have to leave now!”

Chat Noir didn’t even try to stop her, too busy snickering.

She slammed the door shut on his laughing face.

---

Over the subsequent months and years, the Chat shirt would becoming an ongoing joke between Chat and Marinette. When Chat Noir mentioned Marinette owning his merchandise to Ladybug, it took everything for her not to burst into flames from embarrassment and react with cool indifference.

But it would soon make way for an even bigger reveal.

“Wait, Marinette. You’re Ladybug?!”

“You’re Chat Noir, Adrien?!”

The Chat shirt would not be a topic that would come up for a good while after this, as Marinette and Adrien adjusted not only to the news that they were Chat and Ladybug respectively, but also the newfound romantic relationship they had entered into soon after the reveal.

Until one day, when Chat appeared on her balcony.

--- “Claws in!” and suddenly, Adrien Agreste was on her balcony.

Marinette poked her head out onto the balcony and huffed, coming to stand in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

“Hey Marinette!” he greeted her, before freezing midstride.

“Adrien, you know you can use the front door!” she complained, before noticing the creeping smile on his face.

She felt a tingling sensation on her neck and weird sense of déjà vu as he stared at her clothes. She glanced down and sighed.

“Neon Leopards, huh?” he smirked, walking over and wrapping her in his arms.

“This is why you don’t catch a lady off guard” she grumbled, leaning her red face into his chest.

“I should’ve known you were Ladybug when I saw you wearing this shirt. The fashion-forward design genius Marinette would never have bought this kind of top otherwise” he chuckled, pulling back enough to look at his cute lady’s face.

She rolled her eyes, lazily draping her arms around his neck.

“I guess I couldn’t help myself.” She sighed, smiling playfully. “I mean, it’s simple, yet sophisticated.” She teased. He nodded seriously. “Truly bold yet understated” he declared, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

“I mean, do you know what this says?” she leaned in, whispering dramatically. He followed her lead.

“What does it say?” he whispered back. “It says, ‘I’m a Chat Noir fan, 100%’” she grinned, and he couldn’t resist. He leaned in and pecked her lightly on the lips. A light pink tinged her cheeks and across her nose.

“Clearly you wouldn’t survive without me,” he sighed, winking at her. She jabbed him in the ribs. He jerked before retaliating by tickling her. She giggled and swatted his hands away.

“There is no Ladybug without Chat Noir, after all,” she announced.