04.15.19

The night was silent. 

Slowly, the girl peered into the sky that was aglow, littered with glistening stars. It was a new moon, which was rather a pity — it could have added to the evening's beauty. The wind was calm as it blew against her untied hair. The sounds of varied vehicles were barely audible, unlike the constant crickets of insects she showed no concern to. The girl's arms were almost numb, her eyes bloodshot and puffy, and her tears were relentless.

A loud sigh escaped her lips as a certain blonde appeared in her mind. She remembered exactly what he had said to her. The thought of Adrien thinking she was a mere admirer broke her heart into millions of pieces. Being just a friend to him was bearable, but now he saw her as no one but a stranger who had admired him from afar. 

Marinette's thoughts were interrupted with a thump on her roof. She didn't know whether to be irritated, or curious. Her inquisitiveness gushed for her to turn around, but she just wanted to think and be miserable. 

"Princess?" She heard a male's voice. 

"Chat Noir?" Marinette looked behind her, clutching her fingers at the railings in shock.

The girl in pigtails was beyond surprised; she hadn't expected him to come here. He went down and jumped in front of her. The hero looked at her with...guilty eyes — as though it was his fault she was crying. 

They stood there staring at each other for a short while. 

Marinette remembered that this was the guy she shouted at, the guy she hurt, and the guy she always rejected. She immediately felt guilty.

The blunette ran to the hero, hugging him as the breeze carried her tears into the air. "I'm so sorry!!" she shouted apologetically. 

"I-I don't understand, why are you sorry?" said the green-eyed hero, gingerly returning her hug. "To be honest, I should be saying that..." His voice grew shaky. 

"Why are you sorry?" she asked, multiple sniffs practically choking her. 

"Well, you're crying, because of a guy right? I'm sorry...your heart never deserved to be broken." Marinette released him from the tight embrace and looked up at him, his hands still perched on her hips. 

Chat Noir looked down at me, sympathy in his eyes. "I-I'm sorry..." he echoed. The two looked at each other again. She looked directly at his eyes. Marinette refused to admit it, but they were so beautiful. 

His eyes were electrifying yet they also looked calm, like an emerald in the middle of a meadow, full of wonderful greenery. She was near to melting on the spot. The way he looked at her made the girl's heart flutter. His smile could just brighten her whole day: in this case, night. He wiped away Marinette's tears and smiled sweetly.

"How did you know?" asked Marinette. It was odd that he knew it was another guy that made her feel this way. She felt his back stiffen at the sudden question. 

"I— er— I kinda have patrol, and I was in a tall house, then I saw the boy and everything. But I didn't hear much," he explained. 

Seems legit. 

They let go of each other and went to the railing. "So...if you don't mind me asking, what happened?" asked Chat Noir suddenly.

Marinette knew she couldn't say she liked Adrien...not to him at least. Sure, he was her friend. Marinette trusted him and all — but it's quite embarrassing. He might get the wrong idea of why she liked Adrien in the first place. Might as well lie, right?

"Well, Adrien has been my friend for a long time. He has a great personality. He lends me a hand when I need it, and well, he's a great person," said Marinette, pausing for a short while, "so, I wanted to express my gratitude by making him a hat. 

"After class, I went in front of him to get his attention. I handed it out to him but what he did next just—" Marinette began breaking down in tears once again, covering her face in shame, and hiding her sorrow. She must have looked like a fool to him. "God that's embarrassing." She laughs a little to herself.

Chat Noir's lips curled into a frown, but didn't hesitate to hug the girl again as he stroked her hair for comfort. 

"I shouldn't have asked," said Chat with a scoff. "I'm sorry, princess..." Marinette hugged him back and continued anyway. 

"He then pushed me away a-and said I'm an admirer," cried Marinette in between sniffs and stammers. 

"Shh ne pleure pas ma princesse, ne pleure pas..." he spoke reassuringly. "Les larmes ne te vont pas," said Chat Noir. They stayed like that for a little while until her eyes and tears were dry.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

The two went inside Marinette's room and they sat on her chaise. "Do you have any problems yourself, kitty?" said Marinette silkily. Chat Noir flinched at her by calling him by his nickname, trying to collect a response. "Sorry, would it be okay if I called you that?" asked Marinette, scratching her nape. 

Ladybug called him that, why couldn't she? He nodded and answered her question. "Actually...I do," said the hero reluctantly. She pinned her eyes to the brown floor, and looked back at him, forcing a smile to her face.

Chat heard her mumble something like 'I'm sorry', but he didn't think much of it, and brushed it off. At the moment, there were too many things going on in his mind. 

"Was it Ladybug?" the designer asked with a downhearted frown. "By...any chance?" She tried to play it off as if she was simply guessing as to not be too obvious.

He couldn't quite understand why she was guilty. There was no reason to be. "Yeah, but it doesn't matter now."

Marinette looked at him directly in the eyes indicating she was waiting for him to continue. He looked away, not wanting to talk about it. Although it would be unfair if he didn't tell her. She shared her feelings so willingly earlier. It would be unfair to not do the same.

But Marinette seemed like she didn't mind. Even if he wouldn't want to share his feelings, she appeared as though she already understood.

Unbeknownst to the hero, that was only because she knew exactly what had happened. Marinette was only waiting for him to explain. Nonetheless, the blunette wanted to know what was going on in the cat's head.

Chat Noir knew she was waiting for an answer, but Marinette didn't ask for him to continue or do anything. She was on the edge of her seat — but no matter how eager, Marinette was patient. The young girl patted his back, so he knew that it was fine if he didn't tell her. 

He looked at Marinette and a sad smile crept up his lips. Chat Noir did choose the right person to talk to; he had no regrets. 

"Well, she lost an Akuma because of me, and that wasn't the first time. In fact, I've done it several times. I distract her by either complimenting her or by giving her something," said Chat Noir morosely. "At that time, we almost lost an Akuma because I gave her a pink rose. So she shouted at me...and I was kind of hurt by that"—the boy stared at the floor with remorse—"but it doesn't matter, because it was all my fault we lost the Akuma. She probably hates me already," he explained, adding in a half-hearted laugh.

Marinette's eyes widened in bewilderment. He thought it was his fault? It was she who yelled at him. It was her choice to stop and look around. Wasn't he just trying to make her happy?

"No! Chat, I'm sorry she shouted at you, but it isn't your fault!" Marinette interjected. He shook his head, completely disagreeing. 

"She shouted at me because I couldn't pay attention to our task, so it's certainly my fault," the blond-haired hero argued in a stern voice. 

"Chat, listen to me. I'm sure Ladybug does not hate you," she emphasized. "I bet she shouted at you because she was too tired to catch the Akuma you both lost, you're her best friend and partner Chat, she wouldn't hate you for giving her a rose.

"Trust me, who wouldn't appreciate that? I'm sure she'll apologize to you when you two meet again. I know she's grateful and that she adores the rose you gave. Stop blaming yourself for everything, and cheer up, kay?" said the blunette, squinting her eyes while making exaggerated hand gestures.

The cat was silent. Marinette was very kind to say this, the way she looked at him with empathy knowing what it felt like to be heartbroken, made him appreciate her further. "Got that, chaton?" said Marinette. 

"O-okay...thanks Mari, that meant a lot to me," Chat told her, appreciation enveloping his tone. 

"No problem, what are friends for?" Marinette giggled.

She flashed the smile she rarely used: the smile that was not fake, the smile she would use when she was genuine and happy. It was the smile he seldom saw as Adrien, the smile that made him happy, and the smile that was beautiful and sweet. It's funny how it reminded him of Ladybug. 

"Now that we are both feline better, want me to talk about Ladybug and Chat Noir's adventures?" the cat suggested as he returned to his goofy self. Marinette glared at the pun but replied anyway. 

"Sure," Marinette chuckled, and so they did. They talked about the time they first met during Evillustrator, too. They laughed and talked for several minutes until an irritating beep interrupted their temporary joy.

"Looks like your time is up Chat," said Marinette haplessly. The hero pouted but simply nodded. "If you want, I'll see you out," she spoke.

Chat's face lit up and he nodded happily. "That'll make me paw-sitively happy purrincess." 

They went up Marinette's ladder leading to her bed. They went out of the trap door and they arrived at the balcony. "It was claw-some talking to you Marinette," Chat bowed and stood beside the railing, preparing to jump. 

"I think you have a paper under your pillow titled 'cat puns'." Marinette rolled her eyes, before holding Chat's hand and stopping him. "Hey, Chat...!" 

"What is it?" he turned to her, raising an eyebrow. 

"I-if you ever think of coming back tomorrow, I'll bake you some pastries okay?" Marinette looked away, hiding her blushing face. Unluckily for her, the hero saw. 

"Aww, does the princess enjoy her prince's company?" the boy smirked. 

Marinette was flustered and she let go of his hand. "Don't get the wrong idea," she mumbled as she scoffed in denial, not knowing what was happening to herself. The hero in black never and shouldn't have this effect on her. 

"Of course, I'll come, Mari. I enjoy your company too, and your food," the blonde chuckled at the last part but he gave Marinette an authentic smile. "Goodnight princess," Chat kissed Marinette's hand, extended his stick, and disappeared into the night.

Marinette giggled and whispered to herself:

"Damn..."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Adrien was lying down in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He was thinking about the two blunettes, well, one, but he didn't know that. 

Ladybug was a confident and beautiful girl, she was very hardworking and determined. She had a wonderful heart, overall, she's an amazing girl. That's what made him fall in love with her. 

The time he spent with the other was fun and enjoyable for him. Marinette is kind-hearted, understanding, adorable, empathetic, and patient. Not to mention, really pretty. How come he hadn't realized it before?

Looking at her eyes that night, made his stomach churn in a good way. He felt lost at sea whenever he looked at them. Her sapphire eyes were gorgeous—just like Ladybug's. 

The boy shook his head. He couldn't like Marinette, nor could he compare her to Ladybug. Marinette was his friend. Ladybug is who he's in love with, not Marinette. 

Whenever he thought about Marinette, he could forget about Ladybug. His mind would be reminded of his princess. Her bluebell eyes, her gentle smile, monolid eyes, and her smooth, porcelain skin.

That didn't mean he loved her right? Yeah. That'd be absurd. He only likes her as a friend and nothing could change that. 

"I know your thinking about her kid," Plagg stated whilst nonchalantly gulping down a big chunk of camembert. 

"W-what?! No. I'm thinking of ladybug." Adrien stammered and sat down, looking at Plagg. 

"I call bullshit. But whatever you say Adrien," Plagg said sarcastically. 

"Fine! Maybe I was, but...how did you know?" Adrien asked, a little baffled. 

"You were smiling at the ceiling like an idiot," Plagg snickered and finished his Camembert, about to get one more.

Adrien blushed in embarrassment. He recalled pushing Marinette away and calling her an admirer. He would set things right, first thing tomorrow. Plagg finished his cheese and laid down on the part of the bed Adrien wasn't occupying. The boy turned off the lights and laid down as well. 

"G'night, Plagg."

"Goodnight, kid."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Marinette went down to her bed and wrapped herself in her blanket. Her mind was again occupied by Adrien. She was still head over heels for him, but she was still hurt. The blunette considered herself lucky to have a friend like Chat to comfort her.

The red kwami flew in front of Marinette. "Marinette, you're not starting to like Chat Noir are you?" the floating creature questioned. 

"What? No, of course not!" Marinette knitted her eyebrows together. 

"What do you think of him?" Tikki stuck out her lower lip. 

"I think he's just wonderful Tikki, he's sweet, kind, honest, and funny, in a stupid way. Though he's still a great guy for being there for me. I've never seen the sensitive side of my partner. He's full of surprises," Marinette admitted with a slightly flushed face. 

"Well, if you don't mind me asking, how do you feel about Adrien?" Tikki questioned the holder, hesitant. 

"I'm still hurt Tikki, and I still like him. I honestly want him to apologize as soon as possible." She hugged her knees. "So we can be friends again..."

"I truly am sorry Marinette," Tikki apologized in her high-pitched voice. 

"It's fine Tikki, it isn't your fault..." the girl said morosely. 

"Goodnight then, Marinette."  

"Goodnight Tikki..."

A faint thrill swept over her, creating a sense of expectation for the road ahead. Her heart, which had been heavy, seemed to beat with possibilities she had discovered, and the future appeared less...intimidating.

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~2429 words~