Marinette was used to deal with strange things.

Ever since she became Ladybug, she started not to question her environment anymore and began to accept that walking statues, living mummies, morphing dinosaurs, miniature gods and two-faced butterflies were part of Parisian's everyday life.

Her phlegmatic reaction was a result of being caught frequently in a crossfire between Good and Evil way beyond a normal citizen had experienced before. She never bats an eye in the face of danger. Hell, she would even snort in the face of danger.

She was too immune to the mysteries of the world, and the fact that she has an alter-ego of a badass insect with a giant kitten as a partner didn't help her sense of reality.

So waking up in a loft bed that morning wasn't that alarming.

"Did I sleepwalk again, Tikki?" the girl yawned groggily then looked at the bright windows.

Her mind was hazy last night due to her medications, but she swore she conked on her desk flatly while answering her Physics assignment. She could even feel the indents of the book binds on her cheek.

"Hmmmmm." the red god landed on her side as she nibbled a cookie. "Maybe Chat carried you to your bed?"

Marinette laughed.

It was a running gag between the Chosen and her kwami to use Chat as the reason behind every unexplained scenario.

Not Chat as in Chat Blanc, but Chat as in Schrödinger's chat.

That mysterious cat that everybody wondered if alive or dead unless someone opened the box. On Marinette's case, she stopped cracking the answer to every mystery that was occurring around her and just left it as it should be.

It all started when she discovered one of her smashed flower pot while she was away with Alya, only to find a new pot on her balcony the next day.

She knew it wasn't her parents, and it'd be hilarious if a thief sent it as an apology after he kicked it by accident while doing his escape.

"Maybe Chat did it?" Tikki told her, but she just scoffed at the idea.

No way her superhero partner would land on her balcony, of all places, and break her pot. Or random strays then took somebody else's pot as a replacement.

She didn't have a pet that time, so clearly Chat Blanc was out of the picture.

"Whoever did this." the girl mused "They forgot to add a 'Sorry' note."

The mystery didn't occur again after Evillustrator.

She was a bit frazzled after battling with the Akuma who wants nothing but to date her on his birthday. She even forgot that Chat Noir left her in the banks of Seine after he fled and chase the Akuma.

Her tiredness won over, so she ended up going home and slept on her balcony.

That was her first case of sleepwalking.

"Maybe Chat tucked you into bed?" Tikki reasoned.

She remembered looking at the night sky before closing her lids. She even rolled around and sniffled when the midnight wind wafted her back, yet too tired to crawl inside.

"Chat doesn't know Marinette," she answered. "He's not a type that would check on a random civilian."

"If you say so." the kwami shrugged her shoulders then flew away.

The topic was still dropped even after it happened several times. She may be in her chaise or outside the reclining seat, Marinette would always end up waking in her bed covered with blankets.

It was a random occurrence though. There were cases she suffered backpains after sleeping in her chair or stiff necks because of pillow placements. Thankfully, she didn't exhibit such condition during sleepovers or wake up in an unfamiliar place.

At least she didn't fall downstairs while locating her loft bed.

Marinette couldn't tell if the disorder was due to stress or an innate ability she developed subconsciously, but whenever she asked Tikki about it, her kwami would always say 'it's a Chat's thing'.

She didn't believe her.

When Chat Blanc came along, she thought it was some sort of a joke.

Looking at her mewling cat, the girl snickered. "As if Chat can carry me while wearing his cone."

The white feline flicked his tail to show his displeasure.

"If you say so." Tikki shook her head then went back to her cookie jar.

Marinette began to think about her parents and a possibility that they might have entered her room. But her trap door was locked all the time, and even though they have keys to open it, they were not a type that would be in denial when their daughter asked them about it.

She never told anyone about her sleepwalk tendencies yet, not even Alya. She wanted to figure it out by herself first before she breaks the news.

"Uhm, Tikki?"

The kwami hovered at her charger's shoulder while peeking at the papers piled on her desk. "Yes?"

"Did I..." the girl gulped, looking at her assignment with disbelief. "Did I solve these formulas while sleeping?"

And as usual, the kwami answered. "Maybe Chat did it."

Tikki's cryptic words gnawed her mind as she went to school. Her kwami might be ridiculous, but she wasn't a type that would say a lie.

"Whoa!" a pair of hands braced her shoulders when she almost collided with a post. "Look where you're going, Marinette."

"A - A - A - Adrien?!" she squeaked when she saw a familiar blond.

He let her go. "Good morning, Marinette. You seem to be preoccupied. Did you sleep well?"

She did, much to her surprise. And it was a dreamless sleep.

Her silence somehow worried him. "Are you sure you're okay now? Maybe you still need rest or - "

"I - I - I'm okay now!" she cut him with a blush. "I can go to school just fine!"

Adrien observed her state for a moment before responding "If you say so."

When he asked her about their Physics assignment, she didn't know what to say.

"I - I managed to finish mine. No problem."

A slight hurt flashed in his eyes but vanished immediately. Then he smiled.

"I see."

Marinette was afraid to ask if she did something to warrant his disappointment.

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Ladybug broke a question during their patrol break. "Does your civilian's self exhibit some cat-like tendencies?"

"As far as I can tell, I don't purr outside my mask." Chat Noir answered while scratching his chin. "I'm not hydrophobic when taking showers, and I don't scratch on my walls. Why you ask?"

"Nothing." she shook her head with a smile. "Just wondering."

The feline hero went closer. "Why, Buginette. Are you purr-haps hibernating during winter?"

"Of course not." she crossed her arms with a huff. "And I can attest that during Santa Claws fiasco."

She noticed his flinch but never made any comments about it.

"You haven't told me why you used your Cataclysm in a post back then."

"I am a cat with secrets, my Lady." he reclined his back then winked. "You haven't told me your secret mission during Evillustrator either."

Perhaps two can play a game.

"Hey, Kitty?"

"Yes, my Lady?"

"Are you acquainted with a civilian named Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

The heroine wasn't sure whether to pity her partner or to laugh at his demise when he tripped himself with his tail.

"No?" he immediately sat upright with a squeak. "Do I know a civilian named Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Of course, I do! You're the one who introduced me to her, remember? Not only during Evillustrator but with other Akuma battles too! She always walks with disaster!"

Ladybug's brows shoot up at his stammering mess.

"I'm not saying that she's a walking disaster! She's always present during Akuma attacks, just like her Ladyblogger friend! How did I know that she and Ladyblogger are friends? She was featured in Ladyblog sometimes!"

It was comical how her partner was scrambling his arms while visibly sweating with bullets under her gaze.

"She's vulnerable during Akuma attacks! And as a protector of peace and security, I have to make sure that a civilian like her is safe!"

Realization finally hit her. "Wait, Chat. Don't tell me you - "

"I didn't mean to be a creep!" he blurted out then covered his beet-red face with his hands. "She leaves her balcony door unlocked, her windows are open almost all the time, and she sleeps anywhere like a rock!"

Ladybug choked her spit.

"Someone can harm her without her knowing! She's too exposed and too fragile and small! She has bad coordination skills, and she trips in the air! And she's too naive not to lock her goddamn skylight!"

In her defense, she forgot to repair the bolts that were broken due to Chat Blanc's consistent kneads. And if she ever repaired and replaced it, Chat Blanc will definitely try to destroy it again.

"She has a pet cat, one that can protect her." she pointed out.

Chat Noir removed his hands to give her a withering look. "Her cat knows nothing but to hiss at me."

No wonder why Chat Blanc was sharpening his claws almost every night.

"Cats are territorial. You know that." the spotted heroine sighed then patted his back. "You should, uh, talk to Marinette about it. About your concerns."

"I don't know how to approach her, given that she's a heavy sleeper," he confessed sadly. "I don't have any reasons to drop by while she's awake except giving her a lecture about Security 101 and creep her out."

"You will never creep her out, Chaton. I assure you."

The hero frowned then mulled over. "Marinette is quite scary when she's angry."

"Why, did she chew you out before?"

"Boy, tell me more about it."

She blinked. The only time she remembered losing her cool in front of her partner was when Evillustrator compared her to Chloe.

"How about this - I'll talk to Marinette about her safety issues on your behalf, then I'll make sure that she follows your suggestions to the T.," the spotted heroine said. "We're both girls anyways, so it's not going to be awkward."

"You'll do that for me?" her partner gave her an expectant look.

She nodded. "Of course, mon minou. We can't let any civilians be harmed under our watch."

His posture relaxed. "That's so claw-some."

"Kitty?"

"Yes, my Lady?"

She cracked a smile. "Marinette might appreciate if you can drop by next time to say 'hi'. She wants to thank the person who brought her that beautiful flower pot, you know."

Chat Noir averted his gaze to focus on the darkened horizon. She couldn't see his expression, but the way his tail swished she knew that he was happy.

"Next time."

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Later that night, after she dropped her transformation and prepared for bed, Tikki began her incessant rants of 'I've been telling you since the beginning that it's Chat'.

Somehow, her kwami finds her embarrassment quite amusing.

"You know that I love Adrien, right?" Marinette reminded her. "And Chat Noir is my best friend."

"If you say so." the kwami rolled her eyes then nestled on her pillows.

Once the girl turned off the lights and settled on her sheets, she whispered in the dark. "Tikki?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I made a right decision?"

There was a humming silence before the kwami made a reply. "Chat Noir genuinely cares for your safety."

She buried her face in a blanket. "I can sense that."

"He's blind as a bat though." Tikki laughed. "He won't see me if that's your concern."

"But he's not dumb. Time will come and he'll figure me out."

"And you don't want him to?"

The girl paused for a moment. "Part of me wants to. But the other part tells me it's bad. Hawkmoth aside, I don't want to be a disappointment."

"Oh, Marinette - "

"It's okay, Tikki. I'm fine." she brushed her off and decided to drop the subject. "Let's sleep now."

"If you say so." the kwami nuzzled her cheek before slipping back to her space. "Goodnight, Marinette."

"Goodnight, Tikki."

Then a mewl sounded below.

"Goodnight, kitty." the girl called out with a chuckle then lulled herself to sleep.

Unbeknownst to her, Chat Blanc was looking at the skylight with an intense glare.