After a long grueling day at the office Marinette was ready to crash, but it looked like her cat had other plans.

Laying in the living room with her heels kicked off, Marinette squished her face into the couch cushions with a groan. As she yanked her hair out of its updo she felt her new roommate perch himself on the small of her back. The black mass of fur began kneading at her muscles good naturedly with a roaring purr, meowing softly to get her attention. She knew he didn't mean to but sometimes his claws would knick her skin and hurt a little, but she tried not to squirm too much to make him uncomfortable. His purr would soothe the occasional zing of pain and was a welcome vibration against her aching muscles anyways.

Marinette tried using this time to process the events of the day, having been glued to her phone despite all the meetings she had to attend. An old flame was to be returning to Paris after having been abroad for four years, but despite this she and Adrien managed to keep in touch with each other. He was to be messaging her with updates, but he'd been radio silent almost all week. Frowning she looked at her screen one more time but it just gave her a headache and Chat was being needy, so she put her phone down.

Chat moved up her back and dropped himself between her shoulder blades before nosing around her hair, demanding her attention. She struggled to not encourage him, but she could not suppress the giggles that bubbled up as his whiskers tickled her neck. That only spurred him on before he wedged his face between her neck and the couch, meowing incessantly in his mission of getting her up.

"What do you want, kitty? Huh, what is it?" Marinette cooed softly, wiggling before gently rolling over so that he could leap up to the arm of the couch. "Do you need cuddles? Food?"

He probably needed food now that she thought about it, herself included.

Chat pounced on her stomach, effectively knocking the air out of her lungs, before sprawling on his back to look at her upside down. Exasperated she humored him by pulling him up closer to her chest and stroked his chin, scritching at his chin as necessary to keep his purr rumbling. "Needy kitty, you're too friendly and clean to be a stray," holding him close she sat up slowly so he could adjust himself in her arms, "but in my house pretty kitties don't go hungry."

A few nights ago a black cat had followed her home from work and had very rudely stolen her heart, and preyed on her weakness for babydoll eyes. Marinette had not-so-reluctantly taken him in, giving him the time he needed to explore her home, but it looked like he was content to stay perched on her shoulders as she made dinner that night. He had chosen to stay glued to her most of the time, soaking up any and all attention she could spare to give him when he was awake. This night was no different, although he was happy to sit pretty on her countertop to watch her cook their supper. Once it was done she'd set aside some to cool off for him before she'd let him eat.

Sitting down at the table Marinette pulled her phone back out, fork hovering somewhere between the plate and her mouth as she scrolled through her messages. There was still no message from Adrien and she was half tempted to call Nino to see if he'd heard from him, but it was late and he was probably already in bed. It was only after Chat started meowing and butting his head against her arm that she realized he'd started to eat off her plate.

"Ah-! Hey! Stop that, no. That's mine," she tutted, moving the cat down to the floor. He just hopped back up on the table and looked at her, undeterred. If she didn't know any better she'd say he was smirking at her, daring her to do something. Putting her phone down she turned to her dish, about to eat off it, but he pushed at the porcelain causing her fork to miss its intended target. Shooting him a look Chat slunk back away further down the table. Marinette was not about to fall prey to her temper because a cat wanted to play keep away. He inched closer towards the plate, then she scooted it further away from him. He inched forward just a little bit more and when she was about to tell him to scat he sat down all prim and proper, "Ohh, you're lucky you're a handsome cat."

The damn felined preened.

Rolling her eyes, Marinette stood from the table to refresh her plate ignoring the shuffling that happened behind her on the dining room table. However when there was an abrupt ping! from her phone she clattered her dishes onto the counter before making a mad dash to the table. Chat's fur raised in alarm as he skittered away, curling his tail around him defensively. She paid him no attention as she checked her device, only to find that it had somehow opened to the volume control panel with no notifications. Huffing she set the mobile back down, mumbling about stupid phones this that and the other while she made her way back to her plate, only for her phone to go off again. Whirling her head back around she saw Chat messing with the screen, ears twitching back and forth as he tinkered around. On one hand she wanted to be irritated with him, but he didn't know any better so she settled on exasperation before finally cleaning her plate of pretty kitty germs.

When she sat back down Chat was turned away from her, seeming to enjoy playing on her phone. Curious, she tried looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. To her great surprise he was….texting? Marinette's eyes widened in shock when she realized he was texting Adrien. Gasping loudly she reached for her phone to try and stop the clever cat, but was too late seeing as Chat had already sent her friend three consecutive texts. She looked at the screen in horror, before pressing the smooth surface to her face with a deep groan.

It took her a moment but eventually she chanced a glance at the cat who had his head lowered, having realized that he apparently did something wrong. She felt bad but was curious to see what the animal sent to her old-time crush so that she could do some damage control. To her amazement Chat had managed to form… whole… sentences? Okay, maybe sentences is a long shot but these were somewhat whole words- if not simple text talk. Tilting her head she looked between the screen and her cat a couple times.

[20:00] not cat, adrien

[20:03] smthn hpnd

[20:05] to break curse

If her eyes grew any wider one might be afraid that they would pop out, but that was the least of her concerns. One she was going crazy, and two she was so desperate to hear from Adrien she was fabricating a false reality where her cat was claiming to be him. But looking from her screen to Chat once more she realized that he was staring at her patiently, and there was a woeful look to his eyes that was pleading with her to make the connection. She looked at the sent messages and her eyes slowly slid to the unfinished message in the box below.

[ kiss ]

A desperate yowl stole her attention back to Chat as he visibly began to get antsy, the bell collar around his neck jingling as he shimmied on the table. Marinette was trying to process this as quickly as possible, but she was known to be impulsive. Besides, if she kissed her cat and nothing happened there'd be no one around to laugh at her, right? Right. She'd be fine, this is totally fine. Reaching a hand out she stroked the top of his head, brushing her fingertips behind his ears as she tried to calm him down. It wouldn't do them any good if he was anxious and hopping around like a dope cause then she wouldn't be able to kiss him.

"You're either a really clever cat, or you're Adrien. But whatever the results tonight has been really… really weird."

Marinette couldn't stop the smile from gracing her lips when she saw Chat's green eyes widen as she leant down. Cupping either side of the fluff balls head she smooshed her lips right smack on top of his nose, earning her a happy chirrup and a dazzling green light enveloping the room. One moment she was holding Chat, the next moment Adrien sat in his place and was smiling up at her brightly.

"Long time no see!"

Whatever inhuman garbled noise she released from her mouth was a far cry better than the scream she wanted to let loose. Adrien chuckled up at her, but instead of humorous he sounded really nervous.

"Could… could I get down, please?"

"W-What?"

Stepping back she realized he was sitting very still on her table top… that was shaking under his weight. Oh, right.

Managing a chuckle she offered him some assistance to get down before she realized he was stark naked save for the the bell twinkling at her in the low light.

"Hey, thanks I thought the table was going to give out on me-ee-!" he emitted a very manly shriek before covering his memorabilia with her tablecloth, effectively knocking the scraps of her meal to the floor. Marinette tried to look him in the eyes without laughing, she really truly did. But they fizzled past her lips and the blush staining his cheeks spurred her on and she had to crouch to the ground to try and compose herself.

Adrien sighed, tying the cloth around his waist, "I'm glad this amuses you."

"I'm- I'm sorry, but- that scream."

"My ass being exposed to the chilling air must be hilarious too." he quipped, cocking a hip out in exaggeration.

"N-No, just, oh god. Adrien, let me find you something to put on," she sniggered, swaying up off the ground before taking off to her room. Half of her expected to hear tiny paws thumping noisily along behind her but Chat, Adrien, seemed content to stay wrapped in her table cloth for the time being. Moments later she came out in her own pajamas and in her arms the largest pair of pants she owned and her robe.

"Sorry, I don't think you wear my size- but luckily for you I wear baggy sweats to bed."

Adrien smiled at her, his blush still pleasantly warm on his face as he took the clothes from her with a silent thank you. He tossed a wink her way before dressing quickly in the dining room, causing her to squeak and turn away. They found themselves back on the couch not long after, just sitting in silence. There was an elephant in the room and she didn't know how to address it. He had been her cat for all of three days, and he had an appointment at the vet's office in two.

"Do I want to ask how you became the world's fluffiest void, or?"

Adrien hummed, rubbing his chin before flopping on his side to press up against her. Out of habit she began carding her fingers through his hair, making herself comfortable before meeting his soft gaze. Marinette smiled down at him gently tapping his nose, earning her a cross eyed slow blink. She wasn't going to lie, she would miss having a furry companion to snuggle with. But she wouldn't mind cuddling with Adrien if he let her.

"Would… would it be alright if I told you in the morning?"

Marinette had to think about it for a moment but she realized the time and the day was catching up with her again, the exhaustion seeping into her bones. The only response she could manage was a jaw cracking yawn and a nod of her head. Chuckling, he scooped her up and guided her to her bed all while tutting at her about getting proper beauty rest in a proper place. The last thing she remembered when her head hit the pillow was the feeling of warm pressure against her temple, and the quiet chime of his bell.