A/N: This is chapter 28 in Miraculous Moments, but as it started a whole new au I figured it deserved a place in the story! :)

"Damn it Plagg, get back here! Plagg! Give me back my underwear!"

Nino sipped a steaming mug of coffee as his roommate sped out of the door, chasing the kitten which had been nothing but trouble since Adrien had brought him to the dorm a few weeks ago. Adrien had insisted that the stray just needed some love, but had since learned that the small black cat was… well, a bit of a kleptomaniac. Particularly when it came to Adrien's underwear.

The people in the dorm had lost count of the times Adrien had fled after the tiny kitten, a hilarious for sight everyone who got to see the model-turned-student speeding after a black streak with whichever pair of boxers had come out of the latest wash in its mouth. Usually Plagg didn't get that far; someone always managed to scoop him up before he escaped the dorm, or Adrien grabbed his underwear before the cat could make a bid for freedom.

Of course, Adrien was always particularly unlucky on Friday the Thirteenth. And, naturally, for the first time since Adrien had moved into the dorm, someone had wedged the door to the staircase open.

The whole hall heard Adrien groan when he saw Plagg shoot out of the hall and – of course, of course the damned cat decided to run upstairs. The more people who saw his underwear the better, right?

Adrien sprinted after the kitten, taking the stairs two at a time as he rushed to keep the blur he called Plagg in his sight. Plagg stopped a couple of levels up, running through an open door into a hallway and halting outside one of the doors to a bedroom. The kitten began to mew pitifully, and Adrien took a moment to catch his breath; Plagg didn't seem to be going anywhere else in a hurry.

Adrien was bent over, his hands grasping his knees as breathed heavily, when he heard the door the kitten was waiting by open.

"Oh, hey Chat Noir!" a voice Adrien recognised said, causing him to freeze. His whole body was rigid with tension as he straightened up to see the person calling him a name which nobody should know. Trying to hold back the shock on his face, Adrien looked up to see Marinette bending down in her doorway, picking Plagg up and holding him to her chest. Adrien's mouth dropped open when the kitten, known to scratch anyone who dared to try and hold him, purred contentedly in Marinette's arms, causing the boxers to fall over her forearm when Plagg's mouth opened.

"What have you got here, mon minou? Is that… Chat Noir, are you stealing underwear?"

Adrien wondered if he should just walk away. Marinette hadn't noticed him yet, and when she picked up the pair of boxers draped over her to examine them, Adrien realised that he was never quite going to live down the ladybug themed boxers if she saw that they were his. Besides, Plagg was clearly in good hands; Adrien could just go back to his room, pretend he lost the cat, and could live happily ever after with his underwear drawer undisturbed.

It was a simple dream, but one which was short-lived. Plagg, apparently not content with petty theft from his owner's clothes pile, began to meow in Adrien's direction; apparently the kitten lived to embarrass Adrien as much as possible.

Marinette turned her head to follow the kitten's noise, and her face lit up when she saw Adrien. He raised a hand to wave at her, beginning to walk towards Marinette as he did so. Marinette went to wave in return, but realised that she held a kitten in one hand and a pair of boxers in the other. Her eyes flicked between the boxers and Adrien as realisation began to dawn on her face, making the connection between the flustered boy and the underwear between her fingers. Adrien's face was becoming as red as the crimson boxers Marinette held, and she had to bite back a giggle as he closed the distance between them.

"Hi, Marinette," Adrien said, pointing at the kitten who was balancing on her arm. "You have my cat."

Marinette raised an eyebrow as her eyes looked down at the material in her hand.

"Just your cat?" she asked, holding up the boxers with a barely concealed smirk. Adrien's face reddened further, and with a laugh Marinette held out the underwear to him.

"You know, I'm not sure I want to ask," Marinette said, letting go of the boxers when Adrien grabbed them, her hand moving to hold the kitten more securely as Adrien stuffed the offending item of clothing in the pocket of his jeans.

"The cat likes to steal my underwear. He got a bit further with it than usual today," Adrien explained, frowning at the ebony kitten; Plagg seemed far too happy with his current situation, a constant purr coming from him as as Marinette gently stroked his back.

"Ah. Well, I'm glad you got your boxers back," Marinette grinned. "I didn't realise Chat Noir here was a thief. Although I didn't know he had an owner either, so I guess I'm not a great judge of character."

Adrien chuckled, one hand moving to his hip as the other slid into his free pocket. He turned so he was leaning against the wall by Marinette's door as she rotated so her back was against the doorframe, the kitten still resting in her arms.

"Well, maybe not with cats," Adrien nodded. "This one is cute, but a bit of a handful."

"Sounds like someone I used to know," Marinette murmured, so quietly that Adrien wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.

"Huh?"

Marinette blinked, eyes wide as her smile dropped for a split second. It came back at full force, and she looked earnestly at Adrien, clearly eager to deflect the conversation back to the cat.

"So when did you get him?" she asked, gesturing towards Plagg with her chin. "I thought pets weren't allowed in the dorms, and I'm surprised you kept it a secret." There was a touch of hurt in Marinette's voice, and Adrien pushed himself away from the wall so that he could rest a hand on her shoulder.

"I was going to tell you soon, but I wanted to get Plagg settled in first – the less people who knew, the better. If I get found out, I didn't want to drag you down with me." Adrien paused, frowning as he looked down at the tiny ball of fluff which seemed to be dozing off. "Wait, how do you even know Plagg? He's supposed to stay in my dorm, apart from when I let him out…"

"I've seen him around the halls," Marinette replied. "I figured he was just a stray who managed to get in. Chat Noir pops by now and again, but never stays for long. I guess he sneaks out of your dorm; he's a clever little thing." Marinette began to scratch the kitten under his chin, eliciting a purr of contentment. "You come and go as you please, don't you mon minou?"

Marinette's name for the kitten was like a punch to the gut, and Adrien's hand dropped from her shoulder. He knew it was a coincidence, knew that Marinette probably gave the cat an obvious name for simplicity's sake. But it was still nice to think that maybe, just maybe, there was a little part of her which had named the black cat after the hero of Paris, who had saved Marinette on a few occasions.

"Well, Plagg's a bit of a free spirit," Adrien laughed, trying to brush away thoughts which could never be confirmed from his mind. He bent down so he was level with Plagg, and held out a finger so he could rub behind the kitten's ear. "I'm not surprised you've seen him around, even if he's supposed to be inside. Apparently he's not fond of rules, even when they're meant to keep him safe. Right, Plagg?"

The kitten purred again, although it was quieter this time. Plagg was tired, but still clearly pleased with all the affection he was receiving from the pair. Adrien rolled his eyes; Plagg apparently took after his namesake in that way.

"Plagg? That's… an unusual name," Marinette said, looking up at Adrien with a smile. Adrien heard the confusion in her voice, and gave her a wry grin in response as he straightened himself up.

"It has sentimental value," he replied. It wasn't exactly a lie, but he couldn't tell Marinette he'd named a cat after his lazy little kwami, who was still by his side despite not having transformed in years; it would sound crazy to say that he'd named the kitten so that he could talk to the original Plagg without raising any questions. Okay, his flatmates wondered why he spoke to the cat so much, but they just rolled with it. Adrien decided to change the topic. "At least it's original, unlike naming a black cat 'Chat Noir'."

Adrien was surprised to see a light blush form on Marinette's face. She looked down at the kitten, and a small smile quirked her lips upwards before she met Adrien's gaze again.

"It has sentimental value," she grinned, and Adrien swore his heart stopped beating for a moment.

Had… had Marinette named a cat after him?

Adrien couldn't ask, of course; there was a good chance he'd implode from shock and joy if Marinette said yes. But even then, just the thought was enough to make him smile.

"Well, I guess you'll be wanting Plagg back," Marinette said after a moment, and Adrien nodded automatically, still in shock from the mini-revelation.

"Yeah," he replied. "Gotta feed him soon. He's grouchy when he doesn't eat, and Nino's arms are already pretty scratched."

"Well, we wouldn't want Nino to have any more scratches," Marinette nodded, holding out the now slumbering feline to Adrien. Carefully, so as not to disturb Plagg, Adrien curled his arms around the kitten. He smiled as he looked down at Plagg; how could something so adorable cause so much trouble?

"Thanks, Marinette," Adrien said, before meeting her gaze. He bit his lip, opening his mouth to speak before Marinette held up a hand to cut him off.

"Don't worry – your secret is safe with me," she told him. Adrien sighed with relief, a half smile tugging on his lips.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem. Just let me come and play with him now and again, okay?" Marinette winked, and for a moment Adrien was stunned at how far they'd come; four years ago Marinette would never have winked at him, and he was glad that they had moved forward from their shy encounters.

"Deal," Adrien agreed, taking a step away from the wall and angling his body to partially face the hall entrance whilst still looking at Marinette. "I'll message you about coming over - Nino and Alya want to go out for drinks soon as a group, you could come over beforehand and feed Plagg. You know. If – if you want." Adrien silently cursed himself for tripping over his words, but there was something about Marinette which left him tongue tied.

Marinette nodded, folding her arms and leaning her hip against the doorframe.

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon, then." Marinette smiled warmly, and Adrien began to move towards the hallway door.

"Hey, Adrien?"

He turned when Marinette called his name, one eyebrow raised questioningly whilst he tried not to disturb Plagg with too much movement.

"I love the Ladybug polka dot underwear," Marinette winked. "But I prefer a pawprint pattern, myself."

She shut the door in front of her, leaving Adrien standing in the hallway of her dorm with a cat in his arms, his underwear in his pocket, and a heartrate which had skyrocketed.