Sabine closed the door behind her and Ladybug let out a long, pitiful whine, hiding her face behind her hands, hoping that somehow she'd find a portal to another dimension within.

Chat wrapped his arm around her shoulders and remarked with a snicker, "Don't be so nervous, Bugaboo! You're starting to sound a lot like my friend, Marinette."

Ladybug's head whipped up like a spring and she let out a shaky chortle, a too-wide smile plastered on her face. "HAH! That's funny! HAHAAA!! The Dupains' daughter!! Cute, isn't she?"

GOD, WHY DID I SAY THAT?! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH ME?!!

Chat chuckled in amusement. "She sure is. She's a big sweetheart, but she can be a bit excitable."

Ladybug groaned internally, feeling her eye twitch. Understatement of the century.

She cleared her throat in an effort to snap herself out of her stuttering stupor and get the thumping in her chest under control, before she did something stupid.

Not trusting her traitorous mouth to not embarrass her further, she simply took Chat's hand and made her way out of the bedroom and towards the sweet embrace of crumbly, sugary, chocolatey goodness. The one thing that always stayed the same in her life, no matter how confusing everything else got.

"I wonder where she is, anyway," Chat mused aloud. "I'd love for you to meet her. I think you two would get along really well!"

Ladybug almost tripped on thin air, but managed to continue her speed-walk to the kitchen while internally screaming.

From the living area, Tom overheard what Chat had said and replied, "Oh, that's a great idea! I'll go fetch her so she can say hello! Maybe we can even get a picture of you two!"

Ladybug suppressed a shriek and dropped Chat's arm like a sack of potatoes and whipped around to respond. "OHHH, you know what?? I just realized that I'm late for a, uh– dentist appointment!! I'd better go! Sorry I won't get to meet your daughter! Next time, definitely!"

She rushed over to quickly shake hands with Tom and Sabine, thanking them yet again, then ran back to where Chat stood perplexed.

"Feel free to call or message me anytime," she said to him. "My kwami will let me know if you're trying to get in contact with me."

He grinned back widely and replied with a wink, "Can do. Goodbye for now, My Lady." He took her hand and, with a slight bow, gave it a soft kiss. He gazed at her with the same look as before, back in the bedroom. A look full of fondness. Respect. And... something else; that other emotion she couldn't quite identify. Could it be...?

No... There was no way. She was just flattering herself by even entertaining the thought. Chat was just... a very affectionate friend. Someone who didn't receive a lot of physical closeness in his daily life. It shouldn't be a surprise that he'd be so touchy-feely with her. There might be some mutual attraction, sure (something that she still needed to sort her feelings about). But to imagine anything more would be delusional.

Regardless, his boldness always managed to knock the air out of her lungs, and she couldn't help but be rendered speechless.

All at once, however, Ladybug could feel her parents' stares from the back of her head, which Chat most certainly had not noticed (or if he did, he didn't seem to care).

Pretty certain that her body had abruptly burst into flames, Ladybug stepped away with an awkward giggle and a small wave. "See you Saturday! We'll have fun and make out–I mean HANG OUT!! SORRY, I'MJUSTGONNAGONOW, BYE!!!" she screeched, practically running into the door in her haste.

"Wait! What about your cookies?" Sabine called.

Ladybug skidded to a halt, throwing her hands in the air. "R-right!!! 'Cause I love cookies!" She sprinted back to the countertop to grab a small handful, then bolted back towards the door. Squawking one last garbled goodbye, she swung the door closed, albeit unsuccessfully, the latter bouncing off the doorframe from the excessive force. The remaining three listened to Ladybug clamber down the stairs and exit the building in a span of time that would ordinarily be considered impossible.

About sixty seconds later, a pajama-clad Marinette descended the stairs from her bedroom with a loud, theatrical yawn, stretching her arms above her head. She called out, "Good morning, everyone!"

Tom replied, "Hey sleepyhead! You won't believe who just stopped by!"

Maintaining her ruse, she answered innocently, "Hmm? Was it Alya? It seems a bit too early for her."

Sabine chimed in, "Oh sweetie, this was definitely the worst morning for you to sleep in! Ladybug was here! At our house! She left a minute ago; you just barely missed each other!"

Marinette gave out a dramatic gasp, bringing her hand to her mouth, accompanied by a loud groan. "Oh noooo~! I missed Ladybug?? Darn my luck! Oh well, maybe next time!" She promptly changed the subject, plucking a cookie from the tray on the kitchen counter. "Oh, yum! You made cookies!"

Tom scrunched his eyebrows. "Uh... Marinette, we always have cookies."

She giggled nervously. "O-oh yeah! Definitely one of the best perks of living in a bakery, that's for sure!" She shoved most of the cookie into her mouth, thus preventing herself from blurting out any further absurdities. If anyone happened to notice how shaky her fingers were as she munched on her pastry, nobody commented on it.

They sat around the table, eventually settling into comfortable chatter, and enjoyed a proper breakfast accompanied by a wide assortment of teas. Afterwards, it was time for Sabine and Tom to say their goodbyes and officially open the bakery for the day. Chat made good on his promise to Ladybug and cleaned up after the meal, tidying up the kitchen and doing the dishes, with Marinette offering a helping hand to keep him company.

Afterwards, Marinette moved to the sofa and motioned for Chat to follow. He grinned widely and eagerly complied. The couple made themselves comfortable and resumed their friendly conversation.

"So, Ladybug stopped by to see you, huh?" Marinette asked, immediately noticing the way Chat's cheekbones turned pink upon mentioning her alter ego. "What did she say? Other than asking my parents to let you stay here for a while."

"I– she, uh... She just wanted to say hi and see how I was doing, and, um..." he stammered. "Like you said, she asked your parents if it would be okay for me to lay low at your house for a little bit. Then she mentioned she had an appointment and had to leave."

"And... that's it?" she asked.

Chat turned bright red at this point, his eyes wide and hands tightly gripping his knees. "P-pretty much."

Marinette laboriously suppressed a wry smile, but decided to let him off the hook and stop making him wriggle nervously with her secret teasing. "I'm glad you guys got to see each other. And I'm relieved that you decided to stay."

He smiled shyly. "I'm a bit shocked at how generous you all are, to be honest. N-not that it surprises me that you guys are so nice, of course; I already knew that," he clarified. "But it's just... it's a huge favor to ask from anybody. Especially for nothing in return. I'd still like to pay you back somehow, but I'm not entirely sure how to do that."

Marinette reached over and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay, Chat! You don't have to do anything. Really! It's just like a sleepover. Friends do sleepovers all the time!"

Chat twiddled his fingers nervously. "I, uh... I've actually never slept over at someone else's house before. Not even Chlo– uh... not even my closest friends."

Marinette made a small, thoughtful hum. "Well, thankfully we've got all day to prepare for the biggest, most amazing sleepover you could ever imagine! Starting with me kicking your butt in 'Ultimate Mecha Strike 3'!"

Chat's face lit up with an excited twinkle in his eyes and a mischievous smile that she couldn't help but find utterly adorable. "Oh, we'll see about that!"

They laughed freely and began setting up their game on the television.

As Marinette got the controllers out, Chat asked bashfully, "Umm, before we begin... do you happen to have any Camembert? For some reason, I've been craving it like crazy."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. Camembert? That was... kind of an odd and rather specific request. Why Camembert, of all things?

Just then, a thought occurred to her. Since she was fairly certain that it wasn't a pregnancy-related craving, she realized that that must be his kwami's preferred food. Since Chat couldn't detransform to feed him, the need for that extra energy must be manifesting itself through cravings.

Poor little guy is working so hard... He must be exhausted!

Making a mental note to stock up on all kinds of cheeses, she grinned at Chat with a cheeky wink.

"One cheese-fest, coming right up!"