After her prisoner was hauled off by her other co-officers, Marinette headed back to the apartment she shared with Alya as fast as she could. Did she honestly want to be outside in this dark city any longer than she had to be at this time of night?

No. No she didn't.

Swinging the front door open frantically, she accidentally spooked the brunette who was, once again, busy cooking in the kitchen.

"Marinette?!" Alya was so surprised, she almost knocked over the pot off the stove burner.

"Hi."

"You scared me to death!"

"Sorry."

"You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Marinette didn't have time for sympathy. Trying her best to hurry to her room, she shot another quick apology, "Sorry."

Alya immediately noticed the tenseness. "What do you have up your sleeve?" She asked playfully, only to frown shortly afterwards when she remembered they had parted ways over previous, intense argument. "Are you still angry about earlier?"

Marinette stopped dead in her tracks, her backed still faced towards her. "I don't hold grudges, Alya." The ravenette replied as she turned around to face the woman. "And I was never angry. It was more like being upset and... severely disappointed."

"Oh," came Alya's response, as if she was hoping for everything to be one-hundred percent normal between them once again. "I'm almost done with dinner. I mean—!" If you want some!"

Marinette was too occupied with her thoughts on what she had just previously seen to really care about food. Nodding towards Alya's direction, she hit her with a quick lie, "Okay, yeah, I'll just be in my room... changing."

Technically, it wasn't a complete lie, but Marinette didn't have any spare time for explanations. Passing by the confused look Alya was shooting at her, Marinette sped walked as fast as she could to her room.

Switching the light switch on and shutting her door behind her, Marinette immediately removed her shoes.

As much as she tried, she just couldn't seem to get this cat-man out of her head.

His green, emerald, glowing eyes really made her legs tremble, especially when he had gotten too close to her, invading her personal space (her bubble) that she had kept up for far too long. The cat-man also didn't hesitate to switch her words around and create a new phrase to shoot right back at her.

Apparently, just because you look stupid doesn't mean you are stupid.

Marinette quickly scooped up her laptop from her small desk and sat herself down on her bed. The rest of her unpacking would have to wait. Finding more information about cat-man was more important at the moment.

Typing in the goggle box 'cat-man', Marinette was brought to many places on the internet that had nothing to do with her encounter. How would she find anything about a man dressed in a cat costume who looked like he roamed the streets of Paris ready to kidnap children?

A thought immediately popped into her head, and you could practically see the lightbulb rising from her scalp. Quickly, removing her laptop from her lap and setting it aside, Marinette was back to swinging her door open and bolting down the hall towards the living space.

"Alya!" Marinette cried the moment she rounded the corner and into the kitchen. Finding Alya setting her plate on the table was not as surprising as the look on the her face at the surprise.

Alya was so terrified, that the plate of food almost fell from her palms. Setting the plate down forcefully, the brunette glared up at Marinette. "Come on! Seriously?!"

Marinette had no time for an apology. "I need your help, asap."

"Oh?" Alya's expression immediately changed. "You actually want to talk to me now? What about—"

"Forget about pretty boy," Marinette brushed her criminal boyfriend off as if they had never discussed his existence. "This is way more important!"

Marinette sat down at the table in front of her plate and Alya followed cluelessly, setting her own plate down on her place. "What's so important that all of a sudden you need to talk? Literally two seconds after you brushed me off?"

Marinette wasn't exactly the one who was good with apologies or sympathy, so she ignored her wrong actions and jumped straight into the question, "If you could name every criminal in this city, would you be able to?"

"Are you kidding?" Alya laughed at that, as if it was a joke that she wouldn't know. "I mean, most of them that is. Piece of cake."

"Piece of cake? I don't think we're having that with our dinner." Marinette replied, tilting her head slightly at the mention of cake being brought into the subject. Alya then began to burst out in laughter, and Marinette still couldn't properly understand what humor had been brought up.

"What's so funny?"

"You!" Alya cried, holding her stomach. "'Piece of cake' is an expression. It doesn't mean that I want a piece of cake!"

Marinette rolled her eyes as she listened to Alya's teasing laughs and mockery. "Yeah, whatever," Marinette crossed her arms. "Can we get back to the point?"

"Which was?" Alya replied, wiping a tear from under her eye, caused by her hysterical laughter.

"If you could name every criminal in this city?" Marinette reminded her.

"Ah yes!" Alya raised a finger and straightened herself in her seat. "Like I said, piece of cake. I know pretty much everyone."

And that was exactly what Marinette hoped to hear. "Perfect," the ravenette then let a smirk form on her lips. "So, could you tell me the name of a criminal who wears a black cat suit?"

There was a pause, and Marinette watched as Alya's eyes went wide at the mention of the cat-man. The two girls stared at each other. Marinette awaited for an answer. When Alya continued to stay silent, Marinette continued on with a description. "Blond, shaggy hair?" She arched a brow, hoping her description would jog Alya's memory. "Green, glowing eyes?"

Again, there was nothing but silence.

Marinette groaned and threw her hands into the air. "You must know who he is. He's definitely criminal material."

Alya frowned and crossed her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do I look like an idiot?" Marinette wasn't new at this job, and she certainly wasn't stupid. She frowned, "You're lying," the ravenette crossed her arms. "How stupid do you think I am?"

Alya sighed heavily and hung her head. "Alright, I know who you're referring to," she admitted. "But, you should keep your distance away from him."

"Why?"

Alya shook her head, disregarding the curiosity. "You have to swear..." The brunette paused, hesitation clear on her features as to whether or not she should continue that sentence. Thankfully, she did. "...that if I tell you his name, you'll leave it at that. No snooping, no sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, no searching. Swear it."

Marinette pouted slightly. She wanted to know who this mysterious cat-man was. But, in order to get Alya to spill, she had to let the little fib slide. "Okay fine."

"Swear it."

The ravenette rolled her eyes. "Fine! You have my word."

Alya eyed her for a moment, as if she was silently contemplating on whether or not the ravenette was actually telling the truth. When Marinette's expression seemed believable enough to the brunette, Alya confessed, "His name is Chat Noir."

_______________________________

Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

Question:
Why do you think Alya wanted Marinette to leave it be with Chat Noir?

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