Secret Santa fic for Twin-Lupus, who's also fabulousanima on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy! ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug, etc.

For the past few months, an alleycat had taken to frequenting the bakery and the surrounding area. Naturally, Marinette encouraged this by semi-regularly feeding it.

The cat was very young, barely full-grown. Black fur, green eyes, and incredibly affectionate. It followed Marinette around whenever she went within a certain distance of the bakery, and wasn't shy about demanding pets or cuddles. More than once she'd nearly tripped over it while coming back home from school, the cat twining about her ankles with a throaty purr.

Marinette almost instantly began to call it Chat Noir.

"No, you can't come inside. You're going to get dirt everywhere."

Mraow.

"Don't look so sad! You'll be fine!"

...Meow.

"Relax, it's not raining that hard."

Just to contradict her, thunder boomed overhead as the storm intensified.

Marinette stared down at the cat. The cat stared back, ears drooping and shoulders slumped as it put on the best pathetic kitten look it could muster. Marinette crossed her arms. The cat valiantly tried to appear even more pathetic, if possible.

After a moment, Marinette sighed, resolve broken. "Fine," she relented. "Come on. Just… make sure my parents don't see you, alright? And let me wipe you down a bit first."

The cat flicked its tail and purred, triumphant.

Actually getting the cat up to her room without letting her parents know had been an adventure. Luckily, her parents left on an errand soon after, and the bakery was closed for the day so she didn't have to watch the counter. This made it easier to get the cat food, and she didn't have to worry about keeping him quiet. Keeping him off of her stuff, however… now, that seemed just about impossible. He was determined to investigate absolutely everything. Her bet, her closet, her desk, her sketchbooks… everything.

"Thank goodness I managed to get you cleaned up before letting you inside," Marinette muttered as she watched the cat settle down on her pillow. "This would've been a nightmare otherwise."

Tikki, sitting on the edge of the desk, giggled. "At least he isn't clawing anything, though," she pointed out. "It could be a lot worse."

Before Marinette could respond, there was a muffled thump above their heads, followed by a rapid tap-tap-tap. The cat jumped, startled, back arched and fur bristling.

"Oh!" Marinette gasped, nearly tripping over her chair in her haste to reach the skylight. The cat, which bolted to hide under the bed, hissed balefully. Marinette, too distracted to listen, undid the lock to let the hatch swing open.

"My Lady!" Chat Noir purred as he dropped into the room, rainwater dripping all over everything. His hair was plastered flat against his head, and his uniform was completely soaked through. "How are you faring in this purr-fect storm?"

"I'd be better if I knew you weren't risking hypothermia or a broken neck," Marinette scolded as she pulled towels out of the closet. "What if you had slipped or I was downstairs? You should have at least called ahead!"

Chat grinned, catching the towel she threw at him in one hand. "But that would've ruined the surprise," he told her cheekily. His leather cat ears flicked, tail waving jauntily. For all that logic said they were meant to be inanimate, the hero's feline aspects of his costume could certainly act remarkably lifelike.

"Chat," Marinette sighed, fishing out another towel. She couldn't help the tiny giggle that slipped out, though, at the amusing way he constantly flirted with her. They'd been together for a month already, and it only got more endearing each time.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" he quipped.

Chat took a step back to sit on the edge of the bed so that he could wipe down his boots, but as he did so, there was an offended yowl from underneath as the mattress springs creaked. Chat startled, shooting to his feet with a near-identical yowl of surprise. His back arched, tail lashing, and his fingers were hooked into claws rather than fists.

"What was that?!" he cried. "Your bed just- just- what?!"

Marinette broke out laughing. She couldn't help it. He looked just like a cat who'd realized his owner was about to bring him to the vet. She did feel a little bad for not warning him, but his reaction had been pretty funny.

"Relax. It's just a cat," Marinette chuckled. She crouched to peer under the bed, hand out and body language as nonthreatening as possible. "You aren't the first feline I've rescued from Mother Nature today," she added with a smile.

Tikki giggled, flying under the bed with a piece of sausage in hand. She emerged a moment later, minus the sausage but with the cat in tow. It immediately slunk over to Marinette, brushing along her lets. It tossed Chat an irritated look, tail flicking haughtily.

Chat eyed it with wary caution. "I didn't know you had a cat," he said.

Marinette grinned sheepishly. "Actually, I don't," she admitted. "He's a stray. But I couldn't just leave him outside! He looked so sad I couldn't help it."

Chat made a noise of understanding as he relaxed, arms dropped to his sides and back straightening to a more human posture.

"You are as kind as ever, My Lady," he laughed. Crouching, he held out one hand for the cat to sniff. "Hello," he cooed as it warily approached. "You're a pretty one. I bet she just couldn't resist those big green eyes of yours, eh?"

The cat padded closer, tail flicking. After some inspection, it sat down and allowed Chat to run a few gloved fingers over its head. He grinned as he scratched behind its ear, careful not to let his claws accidentally scratch skin. A catfight right there in Marinette's room was something to avoid at all costs, after all.

"Marinette?" Footsteps sounded on the ground floor as a door opened and closed. "We're home!"

Chat froze. Marinette gasped.

"Quick," she hissed, "transform back! You came over to study and the cat looked too pitiful for us to leave outside, got it?"

"Got it," he affirmed, as Chat Noir was replaced by Adrien in a flurry of dark magic. Plagg and Tikki dove underneath the bed. Just in time, too, as wood creaked and Marinette's father pushed open the trapdoor to her room.

"Oh," he said when he was greeted by not one, but two teenagers. And a cat, for some reason. The same cat that had been hanging around the bakery, which he knew his daughter had taken to feeding. "Hello, Adrien. I didn't realize you were here."

"Hello, Mr. Dupain," Adrien said. "I just came over to ask Marinette for help on some Chinese homework. I've been told that my accent is still pretty thick."

Marinette's father chuckled. "Ah," he replied, "apparently, so is mine." He glanced at his daughter, gestured to the cat, and asked, "now, who is this?"

"Oh. Um," Marinette colored slightly, "W-well, it's raining so hard, and he looked really cold and sad, so I couldn't just leave him out there! And I cleaned him up first, don't worry. He's been very well-behaved."

Tome looked between the cat, which stared up at him imploringly, and his daughter, who wore an almost identical expression. Willpower didn't stand a chance against their combined attack, and he caved like a ten-tier cake with no foundation.

"Fine. Just be careful, all right? It's still a wild animal," he cautioned.

Marinette squealed, darting in for a quick hug. "Thank you, Dad! Thank you so much! I promise I'll make sure he behaves and I'll be safe," she assured him.

Tom laughed and hugged her back, taking a moment to inwardly lament how big she was growing before stepping back down the trapdoor.

"I'll bring you kids some snacks later," he told them. "Study hard, but not too hard. Remember to take breaks occasionally."

"Yes, sir," Adrien promised, while Marinette nodded in agreement.

Still crouched underneath the bed, the cat meowed.

Hours later, homework was finished and Adrien had successfully managed to befriend the cat. He and Marinette sat side by side on the rug, leaning against her bed while the cat purred beneath Adrien's ministrations. The dull drone of rain on the rooftop lent an almost drowsy sort of feeling to the atmosphere. It lulled them into a sense of contentment and calm, the cold of the outdoors making everything inside seem cozier. Even Plagg and Tikki were two slumbering lumps on the pillow, curled into each other like two halves of a yin-yang symbol.

"What's his name?" Adrien asked, belatedly realizing that he'd simply been calling it "Cat" in his head the entire time. "Does he have one?"

Marinette yawned, eyes drooping. "He's a silly kitty," she mumbled, clearly half asleep.

Adrien could sympathize. Long nights for both of them meant less sleep for the day, and those missed hours added up. He was prettys sure his caffeine intake alone had at least doubled over the past few months. Maybe even more than that.

"He's like you," Marinette continued, the tail end of the phrase distorted by another yawn. "Always following me around, looking cute. I call him Chat Noir. 'Cause he's also loyal and really sweet. Tried to bring me a dead mouse once," she added with no small measure of amusement. "That was a little gross. I appreciated the thought, but it was gross." She let her head drop to rest against his shoulder. "He's a good cat," she murmured into his shirt.

Adrien couldn't help the flattered and utterly besotted grin that refused to leave his face as she spoke. He knew she was rambling from both sleep deprivation and general tiredness, so she'd get embarrassed over telling him later, but for the moment…

Well. He was just going to bask in the praise.

Beside him, Chat Noir purred.