Marinette realized that Chat Blanc didn't like Chat Noir the same way he didn't like Adrien.

Because when the white feline saw the trapped superhero, his first reaction was to pounce the cage and snarl.

And to make the matters worse, the superhero responded him with a menacing hiss.

"Chat!" the girl pulled her fuming cat away. "Bad kitty!"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not talking to you, mister. I'm talking to my cat."

"Oh."

She turned Chat Blanc to meet his gaze. "Behave!"

His reaction to his Master's words was immediate.

His emerald eyes were full of regrets, and the way his ears dropped on his head told her that he was sorry for his actions. His tail even curled on her wrist to emphasize it.

"He's harmless, you know." she sighed, placing the cat gently on the chair once he relaxed then caressed his back to calm his nerves.

"Are you referring to that fellow?"

Marinette rolled her eyes before she walked towards the cage, abandoning her cat's soft whimpers.

"Well, Monsieur Noir." she sat on the back of her heels then gave him an impassive look. "Am I supposed to be impressed considering that one of the great heroes of Paris paid me, a normal citizen, a surprise visit?"

"Oh, but the pleasure is all mine, Princess." Chat Noir grinned joyously despite her sarcasm. "I believe the miraculous Ladybug passed my message regarding your invitation. So here I am!"

Of course, she remembered. "That was a few days ago."

"Exactly!"

"At one in the morning?"

"Uh, better to be late than never?" he blushed at the awkward tension, especially when she narrowed her gaze.

In his defense, he never specified what date and time he would visit Marinette after he told Ladybug about it. But that wasn't a valid excuse for him to storm on her balcony at one in the morning.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your beauty sleep." he bowed guilty. "I was so busy these past few days I couldn't visit you before your bedtime. And I was planning to double-check your security when I fell into your trap."

Her eye twitched on his pun. "Does this convince you now that I'm capable of protecting myself? That I'm not a walking disaster?"

She was trying not to be offended by Chat Noir's words. Her Kitty was caring and only thinking of every civilian's well-being, especially those who got dragged into Akuma battles. Bet she wasn't the only one he used to drop by to check their homes.

But hell, that was a jab on Ladybug's ego.

"I'm starting to agree." the feline hero rubbed his neck with an abashed face. "So Princess, would you mind to let this cat out from this bag?"

Marinette has another idea.

"And why would I do that, Monsieur Noir?" she crossed her arms. "First you trespassed my property, then you broke my security, and lastly you dared to threaten my cat."

"Uh..."

"Give me a valid reason, Monsieur Noir, why I should open this cage and free you, instead of skinning you alive and sell your carcass to Alya?"

Seeing how her Chaton's face paled with jaw-slacked expression and blown green eyes made her heart lurched to her gut. She didn't mean to instill fear in her partner and feigned him to reveal his identity, but she was still salty with his outlook towards Marinette.

His mouth quivered, but before he could utter a word, a growling sound from his stomach destroyed the mood.

"I think that's my answer." Chat Noir responded sheepishly then covered his face out of shame when his stomach growled again. "Apologies, Princess. My body seems to have a mind of its own."

On the third growl, Marinette decided to drop her act.

Then she laughed.

"It ain't funny!" the hero scolded her lightly.

"But it is, Chat!" she giggled between syllables while wiping some stray tears from her eyes. "If you just told me you're interested in a piece of bread, I might've freed you right away!"

The black mask failed to cover his tomato-red face.

"I thought it's for me," he mumbled, which only doubled the girl's peals of laughter. "Hey! Blame the croissantsfor calling me!"

"You're a hopeless case, Chat Noir. Alya will have a field day once she knows that a resident superhero has a weakness in croissants."

"Are you going to tell her, the one that runs Ladyblog?"

The designer didn't have to look at his sclera to sense his anxiety. She stood up and punched the codes on the cage locks until it disengaged.

"Of course not," she replied as she held the door open. "Your secret is safe with me."

Once Chat Noir crawled out from the trap, she decided to leave it closed to spare herself from another surprise. She must return it to Mr. Cesaire with gratitude and tell her best friend that she accidentally let the stray that was pissing Chat Blanc escaped.

"You have no idea how thankful I am for saving my skin, dearest Princess." the black-clad hero knelt down and swooped her hand for a kiss. "Or shall we say, my Hero."

Marinette groaned while rolling her eyes indignantly. How many girls did Chat Noir woo to win their favors?

Pulling her hand hastily, she retorted "It's nothing, Monsieur Noir. I did it to spare ourselves from public humiliation."

He stood up and both realized that he was almost a head taller than her. "Meow-ch. And here I thought my dear Princess was a sweet, kind and thoughtful type."

"It's not my fault for making you assume that I'm a sweet, kind and thoughtful type."

A sly grin marred on the hero's face, like a cat who got a cream. "You're interesting, Marinette."

"Excuse me." she placed her hands on her hips arrogantly. "I'm not your ball of yarn or a laser pointer for your amusement."

"Your words, not mine," he smirked then eyed the animal cage with disdain. "But really, Princess. Why would you place a panther-sized trap cage to lure meow-t?"

"I never realized it was you who was lounging on my balcony at night."

Chat Noir's brows perked up.

"I thought it was a random animal," she added. "Never in my life, I imagined capturing a cat superhero."

"You better stow that away, Princess. Or else you might capture a bug superhero."

She shuddered at the thought of Ladybug caging herself and the possibilities that could ruin her reputations. "I will do that first thing after sunrise."

"Don't tell Ladybug." he snickered then tapped the side of his nose. "But sometimes she's quite clumsy."

This time it was Marinette's brow that perked up.

"Not to mention how she tangled us with her yo-yo during Stoneheart, the first weeks after our debut she had difficulty controlling her balance." he bemused but with heartwarming expression. "She even slammed herself on the chimney during our first night patrol and the Lucky Charms? There were cases she messed the order of execution."

"I don't think your partner would appreciate you spilling the beans about her flaws." she grimaced.

"Oh, but her flaws made her paw-sitively purr-fect!"

Chat Blanc suddenly ribboned himself around his Master's leg while maintaining his animosity towards the hero's presence.

"Your cat is quite possessive." Chat Noir scoffed.

"I think it's innate for his breed." the girl picked her pet up then scratched his head, earning a mirthful purr. "And he's my hero."

"I'm your hero too, Princess."

She snorted then gently placed the cat on the floor. "Please stay, Chat."

"Are you talking to me, or that fellow?"

"Of course it's you." she rolled her eyes then sighed. "We have some leftover croissantsthat I can heat up while you wait here."

"Huh?"

"The Dupain-Chengs has a policy of not letting anyone leave this place with an empty stomach." she cut him before he could refuse her offer. "And that is non-negotiable, mister."

He was taken aback by her words.

Opening her hatch, she pointed her grumpy white cat. "Why don't you two try to get to know each other?"

Two pairs of green eyes lashed their tails and looked at her as if saying 'no way'.

Once she descended and went to the kitchen, Tikki immediately perched on her shoulder. "Did I hear you correct, Marinette? That Chat Noir is with Chat Blanc upstairs?

The girl nodded while warming some pastries in the microwave. As the timer ticked, she grabbed two glasses and a saucer then poured it with milk.

"I don't see any problems with it, Tikki. I trust them to be on their best kitty behaviors unless someone's immaturity dragged in."

The kwami shook her head. "You never know there's a cat fight going on your balcony right now."

Marinette stopped her tracks then listened for some possible noises, only to hear her father's loud snores from the other room. How her mother put up with it for years, she never knows.

"As long as they won't destroy my plants," she muttered then carried a tray filled with snacks. "Or else."

Tikki observed her charger from her desk as she headed upstairs with an epiphany.

"Hope this will not end up with a catastrophe, Plagg."