Chat landed on the chimney of the Dupain-Cheng household. He scaled down the brick surface, and toed boots tapped the wooden floor. He reached down to knock on the trap door when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glint of something. Embedded in the dirt of a flower pot, he pulled out a framed photo. He wiped away the dirt and was shocked to see himself looking back.

Before he could process anything, the trap door opened.

"Oh, hey, Chat. I thought I heard something up here. I'm just on my way out, I could have met you there."

Her beautiful blue blue eyes seemed to sparkle when she talked, and he couldn't help but stare for a moment. Realizing he had a stupid look on his face, he corrected it and raised the photo up.

"Who's the good-looking fellow in the photo?"

"T-h... where did you get that?" She looked at the photo with a creased brow. A bead of sweat began to form on her forehead. 'That damn, accursed photo!' She thought.

"I asked first Mousenette, but if you must know," he pointed towards the mound of dirt sticking out of the flower pot. "Is he your gardener, perhaps?"

"No, he is not my gardener. That's Adrien Agreste, you know who he is." She pointed at a not so distant build board. "Everyone knows who he is."

"Not exactly what I meant. Who is he to you? I'm guessing..." he placed a finger to his chin. "Oh, ex-boyfriend?" He said, raising an eye brow and giving her his signature grin.

"WHAT? No. He's-"

"Future boyfriend?" He said with a wink.

Her already reddening face flushed a deeper red. "W-why are you so interested, huh? You Jealous?" Managing to dodge the question, she turned the tables on him. She rested her palm out towards him and gestured towards the photo.

A momentary flash of recognition flashed in his mind as she remained him of Ladybug.

With a chuckle, he gave her a shrug. "Who knows, maybe." With another smile, he passed her the photo. He allowed her a moment to place it in her room before they headed off towards their originally planned location.

-

Entering through a hole in the roof, Multimouse looked to Chat Noir for answers.
"What's with this dingy place anyhow?"

"It's not dingy... however you could say it's Unrefined."

The two found themselves in a long since abandoned refinery. It hadn't been used since the last World War. It was rundown, to say the least.

"What's with this UNREFINED place?" She corrected.

"Well, my little mouse, let me enlighten you. This place offers a stunning multi-level open floor plan. Looking up, you can see the ceiling is adorned with more rusted chains than your heart could ever desire. These steel beams and rafters grant us unexpected holds and points to push off. But wait! There's more. Since this fine establishment was created before Osha. We have pit falls, tight corridors, and the best part is that we can overwork you without anyone being the wiser."

"Now that you mention it. The risk of tetanus really is appealing. I hope I don't need a deposit. This suit doesn't leave room for a purse."

"No deposits needed, so long as you break something."

"Seriously though, Chat. How did you find this place?"

He pointed towards the hole in the ceiling. "Two months ago, an Akuma launched me across the city. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that rusted metal sheets won't carry the weight of one high-velocity cat boy."

Multimouse nodded her head in amusement. She recalled, Chat being grumpy once during a fight when he returned from an attack that sent him flying. She never got a chance to ask before, but now she knew.

"So what's the plan, cat boy?"

"The best way to avoid losing in a fight. Is to never get caught in one. First, we are going to test your evasion skills. It's important to know when you can win a fight and when you can't. Being a superhero isn't all about being strong, but being smart, Ladybug taught me that.

"But I thought you wanted to make sure I could fight?"

"I do, but I want to make sure you are safe first. If it ever gets too tough, I want to run away. Nothing is more important than your life."

Marinette felt her cheeks heat slightly. "Yeah, but-"

"No buts, we can always come up with a new plan if one fails. Come on now, scurry a long little mouse. If I tag you, you lose."

Over the next hour, they vaulted over metal beams, slid under broken desks, swung via hanging chains, and jumped across gaps in the floor.

Multimouse's heart pounded in her chest as Chat chased her. She turned a corner, managing to lose sight of Chat. Silently, her feet padded across the metal flooring as she vaulted towards the rafters. She took a moment to catch her breath. Not being in the ladybug suit definitely placed more strain on her body as it provided more strength and endurance than Mullo did.

"Eeep!" Marinette yelped out as something touched her back. He head wiped around to find Chat's mear centimeters away from her own.

"Tag," He called out.

"Jeez, you scared the cheese out of me."

Chat raised an eye brow at her questionable attempt at a pun.

"I'm working on it." She defended.

"No, no. I like it, it's funny. Anyway, let's switch it up. Are you ready?"

Still out of breath, Multimouse nodded. She was committed.

Chat smiled and tossed her a water bottle. "On second thought. Let's call it a night. I know i said I was going to overwork you, but..."

"No." Marinette gulped down the water. "Let's continue. I'll manage."

"Well, if you insist. Let's do some hand to hand combat then. Show me a fighting stance."

Marinette moved her body into a familiar pose.

"I said fighting stance, not your best Ladybug impression. Her stance looks pretty, but it isn't ideal for fighting."

She was taken aback.
"What? Have you ever told her that before?"

"Pffff. No, even if she has a bad fighting stance, that girl is still strong enough to knock the wind out of anyone. Besides, it's a cool pose."

Slightly annoyed by what he just said, she tried a fighting stance that she had seen online. The classic boxing pose.

"Okay. This is a start." He observed her for a moment before slowly guiding her arms into a more suitable position. "Move your body a bit to the side."

She moved her body half an inch to the side. "Like that?"

"Hmmm, not quite. It's more like this." He placed his hand on her hips and guided her to the right place. He placed one hand on the small of her back and moved her accordingly.

Slowly, their eyes met. Heat began to ride in both of their cheeks, and they realized the positions of his hand.

Flushed, they both turned away. "A-anyway, you get it now, right?." She shook her head quietly. "Let's get started then."

-

When Marinette landed on her balcony, her feet felt heavy, and her eyes were becoming bleary. She hadn't expected this level of drowsiness, nor had she expected it so suddenly.

The moment she detransformed, she hit the pillow. She recalled the day as she lay in bed. As she remembered her interactions with Adrien and the moments she shared with Chat. He heart beat faster. She had become used to the small touches she shared with Chat as they had often had to for their duties as Ladybug and Chat Noir. But now that he knows who Marinette is as Multimouse, everything feels different.

Suddenly, she is overcome with thoughts and thinks that now she is never going to get to sleep. She closed her eyes to push the memories out of her head.

She opens her eyes again when she hears a knock on her door. "Marinette? Wake up. Adrien is downstairs to see you. He said you had made plans this morning?"

Confused, Marinette blinked herself awake. She looked at the clock on her phone and saw that she had actually slept six hours in the literal blink of an eye.

"I'll be right down, Maman."

----
Authors note: Here is chapter 8. Work count: 1410.
As promised, albiet a bit later than planned. I really appreciate everyone who left a comment on the previous chapters. I have tried to work those recommendations into this chapter, so hopefully, it will read better than the previous ones.

Also, I think at some point we hit #5 in Marichat!!!

As always, thank you for reading. Make sure to comment, like, and bookmark for updates.

If possible, please mark any grammar or spelling mishaps.