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rosie-b · 1 year

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How Marinette Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ball

Chapter 2: The Invitation (read ch. 1 here!)

Summary: Marinette and Chat Noir continue to have weekly meet-ups, with a new addition to their group.

You can read the whole chapter below or on AO3 using the links above!

It had been years since Marinette first met Chat Noir. In that time, they’d become best friends, meeting at least once weekly to talk about life in the two realms and share secrets as they explored Paris and the neighboring countryside. They did everything together, and the people of Paris grew used to the idea that Marinette had a not-so-stray cat to call her own. Her parents offered to adopt him more than once, but she turned them down, saying that the cat wasn’t fond of being in enclosed spaces like their bakery for too long, and he was well-kept enough. He might have an owner on a nearby farm, so Tom and Sabine reluctantly gave up.

Sometimes, as Marinette and her cat made their rounds about town, a fairy or mixie would stare at Chat Noir for too long, a suspicious lift to their brow as they sensed the cat’s magic. But they never said anything, and all it took was one blithe, catlike purr from Chat Noir to make them give up their suspicions. Because, as they reasoned, surely no self-respecting fairy would degrade themselves by acting like an ordinary human pet! This cat must simply have gotten a little extra magic from the kwamis during his creation. Marinette and Chat Noir giggled to themselves when they walked away from these confrontations, thrilled that their simple plan was still working.

In the second year of their friendship, Chat Noir’s parents found out that he was leaving through the old fae gate every week. They nearly banned him from returning to see Marinette ever again, but he begged and pleaded and reasoned with them, and somehow, they were convinced to permit him to go back to the human realm. When he left for his visits now, though, Chat Noir had to let them know where he was going, and he had to be back in the fae realm before dark.

“Before dark” was a better deal than the fifty-minute visit rule Marinette and Chat Noir had been following previously, so neither of them minded this new guidance at all. It was the mixie companion assigned to follow Chat Noir and Marinette around everywhere on their Paris-side adventures that they initially disagreed with.

The first time Alya came through the gate with Chat Noir, disguised by Chat as a fluffy red fox, Marinette assumed that she was one of Chat Noir’s parents, here to scold her for endangering their child. She was prepared to argue with the fox for her friend’s freedom, but Chat Noir merely walked over to his new companion, tapped the side of her front leg with his nose, and let go of the spell holding her transformation, revealing a girl no older than Marinette herself.

“Marinette, I’d like you to meet Alya Cesaire,” Chat Noir said, curling his tail over his front paws as he sat down.

Shocked, Marinette stared at Alya as she explained how Chat Noir’s visits had been discovered, and that he had eventually convinced his mother, who in turn convinced his father, that his visits to the human realm shouldn’t be punished. However, his father, in an abundance of caution, had required his son to take an approved companion with him on his visits if he wanted to return to the human realm, to provide additional safety and to make sure he followed the rules of the fae.

“He nearly got stuck with a royal guard assigned to him,” Alya explained, “But Ad— I mean, Chat Noir told me about what was going on, and I managed to convince his mother, who then convinced his father—”

Is this how all communication with Chat’s father works? Marinette wondered.

“—That I would make a better companion for him than some stuffy adult who doesn’t know how to have fun. That’s not what E— his mother said to his father, of course. She made the argument sound much more professional and took out the ‘fun’ part entirely. I think she emphasized my potion-making skills and my mother’s trusted position in the palace, instead. Anyway, having someone come with him to your world was the only way Chat Noir was going to be able to visit you again, and I knew I could help, so here I am. Being told about the chance to get some of the pastries your parents bake if I come didn’t hurt, either— could I have some to take back with me?”

Marinette blinked at this ebullient, energetic girl. “That depends,” she said. “We don’t always have leftovers, so if you want to be guaranteed anything, you’ll have to buy it yourself.” A default answer came out of her mouth while her brain tried to reboot with the new information she’d just been given.

“What, no discount for friends?” Alya asked, a teasing smile on her face as she rested a hand on her hip. Despite her easy attitude, Marinette could tell that she was nervous about the way Marinette would react to her. What would happen if Marinette wasn’t okay with this unexpected addition to her Saturdays?

Marinette looked carefully at Alya, taking in her orange blouse and hiking boots, the black pouch for potions at her side, the bandana holding her hair back, and the patient, hopeful smile on her lips. This girl had helped protect Chat Noir from his father’s overbearing nature in a way that Marinette could not, and she seemed to have earned Chat Noir’s trust, which was a good sign. Plus, she was ready for a full day’s adventure, so she didn’t seem to have planned to limit Chat and Marinette’s excursions in any way.

If what Alya was describing was the truth, then she must already be friends with Chat Noir, Marinette realized. It must sting him that his father still didn’t trust him to go to the human realm on his own, but having Alya join in his journeys must be much better than the alternative was. Alya seemed like a good person to have on their side.

Shifting her focus to the black cat sitting amiably about a meter to the side of the two girls, Marinette noted how calm he seemed. He hadn’t said a word so far, aside from introducing Alya, and Marinette wondered what he was waiting for.

Staring back at Marinette, Chat Noir seemed to prod her with his eyes, looking from her to Alya and back again. Ah.

“A friends’ discount? I’d nearly forgotten about it, but we do have one,” Marinette said, her words spilling out of her mouth in a rush. “Actually, once I introduce you to Papa, he’ll be so excited that our problem won’t be getting pastries but making sure he doesn’t absolutely drown us in them!” Marinette let out a nervous giggle.

Chat Noir seemed to smile as his tail swished once behind him.

“Then it’s decided,” he said in a joyous tone. “Our first stop will be the Dupain-Chengs’! There is the issue of making sure I’m not left pastry-less, but that can be fixed by you asking for more food than you normally would. I’m hoping for one of everything passionfruit flavored! And some chouquettes. And a croissant, too. I could eat a whole mountain of M. Dupain’s croissants,” he said, a line of drool forming by the edge of his mouth. He licked it up self-consciously as Marinette and Alya shared a smile with one another.

With Alya by their side, Marinette and Chat Noir continued their weekly meetings, and in time, Marinette became nearly as close with Alya as she was with Chat Noir. Though Alya lived in the fae realm with her family, she was free to come visit Marinette whenever she wanted to through the main gate, and the two girls enjoyed having girl-only visits. Chat Noir was almost irrationally jealous of this, and he was extra affectionate with Marinette on his next parent-approved visits after her girl dates. Marinette teased him about it, but secretly, she enjoyed his affection more than she was willing to admit, even to Alya, who became her sole confidant about the burgeoning crush she was harboring on Chat Noir.

“I know he looks like a cat,” she moaned to Alya as she rested her head on the taller girl’s shoulder, her legs in her lap, during one of their girl-only movie nights. “But at the same time, he’s just so human, and I know he’s a fairy under all that fur, so it isn’t that weird, is it?”

Alya tousled her friend’s hair affectionately. “All crushes are weird, ‘Nette,” she told her anxious friend, who was looking up at her with a genuinely concerned expression. “I don’t think this is any weirder than my mother falling in love with my dad and moving to the fairy realm just for a chance to be with him. But you’re right, trying to date Chat Noir while he’s still disguised as a cat and keeping him a secret from your whole family would be pretty hard. I think you should give it some time,” Alya said, popping a chip in her mouth. “Maybe you could try dating someone else who’s interested, like that musician you were telling me about. Luka, right?”

Marinette nodded against Alya’s shoulder. She hadn’t introduced Alya to all of her friends yet, but she’d been talking about the Couffaines more recently since she’d started designing the costumes for their new band.

“That’s the one. He would totally fall for you as soon as you bat your eyes at him! You could try things out with him, and if it doesn’t work out, you can go back to moping over the cat-boy who’s not allowed to show you what he really looks like.”

Marinette frowned and reached for the bowl of popcorn. “I guess I could give Luka a chance, but I don’t know if I really want to,” she grumbled. “Besides, Luka is Juleka’s brother, and since we’re friends it would be weird.”

Alya smirked. “Weirder than dating a magic cat who is also your friend?”

As Marinette threw a popcorn kernel at her, Alya laughed and waved her arms in surrender. “Girl, I’m just kidding! You know I’ll support you no matter what you choose. I think it’s great that you’re in love with Chat. But, you know his parents are super restrictive about dating, right?”

Marinette sighed. “No girlfriends until he’s at least eighteen, yes, I know.” Throwing herself back on the couch as Alya scrolled through the list of movies they had yet to choose from, Marinette let out a groan. “Maybe I should just give Luka a shot, honestly. Chat’s dad is a prick, but going behind his back would still feel wrong.”

Clicking on the description of a new documentary she knew she wouldn’t choose, Alya turned a soft smile to Marinette. “You don’t really even need a boyfriend, Marinette. But if your heart is telling you to love Chat Noir, then love Chat Noir. You don’t have to do anything about it yet. And I’ll always be here if you need a shoulder to cry on.”

Marinette gave Alya a weak smile from her position, half-fallen off the couch. “Thanks, Al,” she said. “You’re the best.”

Alya grinned as she clicked out of the documentary. “Thanks, girl,” she said. “And, hey, the future’s going to be better than you expect. I have a feeling that everything is going to work out just fine.”

Marinette smirked. “A feeling? Or did you try making a future-telling potion again, and you’re just hiding what you found out from it?”

Alya squawked indignantly. “They should be able to be made! I still don’t get why my last recipe didn’t work out, but I’ll master it someday, and show all those old-fashioned teachers what’s possible.”

“I believe in you, Alya,” Marinette said. “But you’re avoiding the question. Did Chat tell you something?”

Alya hit play on a new movie. “I’ll never tell,” she said. “But trust me, girl. You have nothing to worry about.”

__*__*__*__*__

By the time Chat Noir turned seventeen, his parents decided to allow him to travel through the realms without a companion. He still had to let his parents know where he was going, and he still brought Alya along for many of his trips, but now Marinette and he had more time to spend alone together, talking the days away as they rested under the trees in the woods.

Today, Marinette was hoping for another of those treasured days. She had met up with Alya the past evening after school, and Marinette knew that she had plans with her new boyfriend on Saturday, so as long as Chat Noir didn’t have any responsibilities pop up, he’d be the only one to come through the gate.

Playing with the strings of her cross-body purse, Marinette stood in the clearing by the gate. She’d shown up early today, pressed by a mix of excitement to see Chat again and a desire to know about a certain letter she’d received only an hour ago. Her mother had been confused by it, but Marinette didn’t have any answers for her. She was hoping that Chat Noir would be able to clear up the situation as he read the so-far-unopened letter with her. And, okay, she was also early because she wanted to have a nice long afternoon with her not-boyfriend and pretend they were on a romantic date together. There was also that.

Fifteen minutes before noon, a grinding squeal rang out, and Marinette looked up to see a black cat emerge from the rusty gate, his tail lashing at the loud noise, as always. Reaching into her purse, Marinette pulled out a cream-colored envelope and hurried over to greet her friend.

“Princess! You’re early today,” Chat Noir remarked when he saw that Marinette was already at their meeting spot.

‘Princess’ was a nickname he’d come up with early in their friendship. As much as Marinette asked about it, he never told her how he’d come up with it, and he never stopped using the title for her, though it made Marinette blush and complain terribly about the nickname. (She secretly liked it, though. It made her feel like she was as important to Chat Noir as he was to her.)

Giving him a quick unimpressed look for his use of the nickname, Marinette greeted her friend with an energetic wave. “Hi, chaton! I wanted to get here as soon as possible; I have something important to show you. Look, I got a letter in the mail from the fae realm today! See,” Marinette shoved the envelope in front of Chat Noir’s nose as he hopped up on the boulder to be closer to her eye level, “There’s the royal seal. The royal seal! It must be from someone in the palace, and it isn’t Alya. I’ve wanted to show it to you ever since I got it!”

Blinking as he nearly went cross-eyed staring at the envelope, Chat Noir nudged it further back from his face with a paw.

“That’s unexpected,” he said, sounding confused. “I didn’t know they were sending those out yet.”

“Yet?” Marinette asked, looking at Chat Noir. “As in, you knew this would happen at some point? Do you know what’s inside the letter? Is it from your parents?”

Stepping up from the boulder he was standing on, Chat Noir gingerly climbed to be on top of Marinette’s shoulders, the girl shifting perfunctorily to help him stay balanced as he took up the familiar position.

“Well… I don’t know for sure, but I do have a pretty good guess about what the letter says,” he remarked, eyes shining with anticipation. “Why don’t you open the letter and find out?”

Marinette traced the edge of the wax seal with a finger, tilting the envelope in her hands as she slid a nail under the edge of the seal to open the envelope. As the seal broke, the envelope changed colors, transforming into a light pink shade Chat Noir knew she loved.

Gasping, Marinette paused to admire the magic trick. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured. “I hope I don’t tear it, or I’ll feel guilty for ruining such a pretty thing.”

Chat Noir groaned. “You’ve seen magic far more impressive than this,” he said in a complaining voice. “Just rip it open and read the letter! We haven’t got all day.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Just because I’m used to your magic doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate someone else’s, too,” she pointed out. “Besides, I love pink. I think I’ll keep the envelope for a few days, so I can appreciate it properly.”

As she spoke, she carefully opened the envelope the rest of the way, tucking it in her purse after pulling out a letter written in flowing, gold ink on a pale lavender sheet of paper.

“It’s in the royal colors,” she noted. Chat Noir wiggled impatiently, urging her with his eyes to get to the point and start reading already.

She’d been half wondering if whoever sent the letter was Chat Noir’s father, warning her that he knew about their secret meetings and telling her to stay away from his son. But if this were an official royal letter, there was no way that could be the case! Marinette was glad to be wrong.

Unfolding the letter, she began to read it silently, holding it slightly to the left so that Chat could read, too.

After scanning the letter in silence, Chat Noir frowned. “I can’t read the letter,” he informed Marinette in a hesitant voice. “It’s protected by magic; only the person it’s addressed to can read it. All I see is gibberish, and it hurts if I look at it for too long.”

Marinette blushed in embarrassment. “Oh! I’m so sorry, kitty,” she apologized. “Here, I’ll read it out loud for you!”

Reaching up with her left hand, Marinette scratched Chat Noir behind the ears. He leaned into her touch, like he always did, careful not to overbalance himself and fall.

“To Marinette Dupain-Cheng, of the Human Realm,” she read. “We hope that this letter finds you well. It is our great pleasure… blah blah blah, this is just flowery royal stuff, the next paragraph is where the letter really begins. I was just getting there, earlier. Here we go:”

Leaning forward on Marinette’s shoulder, Chat Noir strained to see the letter, as if hoping that the magic protecting it would fade, and he could read along with Marinette.

“As the prince, our son and heir’s eighteenth birthday approaches, we fae keep in mind the old customs, and seek to preserve the traditions which will preserve our kingdom and its long line of rulers. It is our hope that you will agree to do the same, and honor us by accepting this invitation to the Heirs' Ball on the eighth of August.” Stunned, Marinette read through the paragraph again, wondering if she’d misread something. Why would the fae’s king and queen be inviting her, a human (and not even a wealthy one), to a royal ball?

“What in the name of kwamis,” Marinette breathed when the letters on the page didn’t change.

“You’re invited to the Heirs' Ball, Princess!” Chat Noir explained, his voice holding an excited tremor.

Marinette nodded slowly. “So the letter says. But how? And why? I’m just a normal girl, you know!”

Chat’s tail swished, brushing against the top of Marinette’s head. “Didn’t anyone teach you about this in school? I thought they went over fae traditions.”

Marinette moved Chat’s tail, shivering as it tickled her ear. “Our teachers might have,” she admitted. “But I never paid much attention in Realms and Magic. I counted on you to tell me all the important stuff, and here I’m finding out that you’ve failed me!” she joked, eyes tracing the words of the letter one more time in bewilderment.

“Marinetteee,” Chat whined.

She shot him a reproachful glance in response.

“All right,” Chat sighed. “The Heirs' Ball is a tradition going back 200… no, it’s just over 100 generations. It started when the Seelie queen Louisa I made a pact with the kwamis to ensure the survival of her land and people. In exchange for promising to rule with a good heart, and teaching her heirs to do so, as well, plus a few other things, the kwamis would bless her line and provide a new heir each generation. That’s why the Agreste line still hasn’t been broken in over three thousand years, though it’s changed a lot over time.”

Marinette nodded, gesturing to the letter in her hand. “Okay, but how does that lead to me going to a ball?”

Chat Noir huffed, pressing his wet nose against Marinette’s cheek in a gentle rebuke.

“I’m getting there,” he said, and Marinette sighed as she wiped the moisture off her cheek. “So, not all of the ruling heirs to the line are born as Agrestes. My— the current queen, for example. She’s technically a Graham de Vanily, but she rules in the name of the Agrestes, just like her son might or might not, depending on him and his soulmate.”

At these words, Marinette gave a start, nearly disturbing Chat Noir from his perch.

“His soulmate?” she asked, straightening Chat with a hand. “This sounds familiar! I thought it was just a myth, or that it was a forgotten magic. Soulmates are real?”

“Not for everyone,” Chat Noir said, removing his claws from Marinette’s cotton shirt (not her skin, thankfully). “I think, at least. Maybe everyone has a soulmate, but it’s only the Agreste heirs who are guided to theirs. And it has to be at the Heirs' Ball, that’s the only time the magic works! Our holding the ball is another way of proving to the kwamis that we’re still faithful to our oath.”

“Huh. And I’m invited because…?”

“The invitations are actually random,” Chat Noir said. “At least, on our end. The kwamis guide the king and queen through distant magic, and they pick several dozen Seelies, and, since the peace treaty, humans, to invite from a randomly formed list from the latest censuses. With the help of the kwamis, one of those invited to the ball is always the heir’s soulmate. At the ball, a soulmate bond will form between the heir and their true love, provided that both soulmates are willingly present. So far, throughout all of history, not one single heir has failed to find their soulmate! After some time, it will be determined whether the Agreste or their soulmate will become the kingdom’s new ruler, so that the best suited candidate is always on the throne . Later on, the soulmates marry, and later still, the cycle repeats. As long as the Heirs' Ball is held properly each generation, and as long as our rulers are on the side of light and order, the Agrestes keep the throne.”

“Wow,” Marinette breathed. “That’s amazing! So, I get to go to the ball this generation?” This seemed like the most exciting thing Marinette had ever had happen to her, other than meeting Chat Noir.

“Yes,” Chat Noir said, his warm breath hitting Marinette’s cheek as he looked closely at her. “If you go, you’ll be provided with a dress to wear, a Seelie guide to the fae realm, and anything else you might need. And by the end of the night, you could meet your soulmate!”

Though she’d been staring dreamily off into the distance with the letter clasped against her chest, Marinette snapped out of her reverie.

“No soulmates,” she insisted. “If I go, it’ll be so that I can wear a magic dress and go to a royal party. Besides, the ball’s at the palace, and that’s where you live,” she pointed out matter-of-factly.

Suddenly frozen on her shoulder, Chat Noir struggled for words. “Yeeesss,” he said, dragging out the word slowly. “Where are you going with this?”

“If I go to the ball, I can try to find you afterwards,” Marinette said. “I’ll sneak out, explore the palace, and find you. Since I’ll already be in the Seelie palace, there won’t be any Unseelies to worry about, and I won’t need a guide. Once I find you, your parents won’t be able to make you keep your real identity a secret anymore. You can tell me your real name, and we’ll be free to visit each other whenever we like, and we’ll live happily ever after. Um,” Marinette gulped, realizing how that last part sounded and not wanting to presume Chat’s affections. “As friends, I mean! We’ll have a platonic happily ever after.”

Chat Noir seemed to deflate, folding his ears flat back on his head. “Of course,” he said in a low voice. “We’ll live happily ever after. Without soulmates.”

Suddenly struck by a thought, Chat’s ears perked back up..

“So, wait, you are going to the ball, then?” His green eyes peered excitedly into Marinette’s blue ones.

Marinette folded the letter and tucked it into her purse. “Of course! Did you not hear what I just said? There’ll be high fashion, free food probably, and best of all, I’ll finally get to meet you! Real fairy-you, instead of cat-you. Though you do look cute this way!” Marinette smiled as she reached up to pet Chat again.

Letting out a short purr, Chat curled his tail around her neck. “I’ll have you know that I look ravishingly handsome as a fairy,” he said, eyes teasing Marinette as they glittered. “When you see the real me, you’ll instantly fall in love. Are you sure you want to risk that, Princess?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I think that you’re awfully bold, for someone who’s been hiding their true appearance for six years,” she remarked. “You’re probably ugly underneath all that fur. But it’s okay if you are, because I’ll always love you… as a friend,” Marinette said quickly, bopping his nose with a finger. He went adorably cross-eyed at the sudden motion.

“But you think there’s no chance of you being the prince’s soulmate, then?” he asked, tapping a paw against Marinette’s cheek as he asked to be set down.

Marinette chuckled as she lifted the cat off her shoulders and placed him back on the boulder.

“Not a chance, kitty,” she said. “Not a chance.”

Marinette didn’t let herself think about why Chat looked so disappointed by her assertion. If he really wanted Marinette to be the prince’s true love, that meant he didn’t want her to be his. And that thought hurt too much for Marinette to consider.

#today's chapter is a little less exciting #but next chapter we'll get to the ball!#one important note: a mixie is part fairy part human #they can make potions but can't use spells #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #rosie-b writing #marichat #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #chat noir #alya cesaire #ml au #fairies #soulmates #royalty #ml leak free #miraculeakless #miraculous ladybug

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