Chat Noir raced across Paris, jumping buildings and running across rooftops with furious tears in his eyes. “It wasn’t fair,” he thought angrily, “why did my father always do this me? Always canceling or making me do something without my consent. He doesn’t even consider my feelings.” He paused, wiping the tears away.

“Chat Noir?”

A familiar voice reached him and he looked down to see Marinette’s crystal-blue eyes peering at him from her balcony. He started and hurriedly wiped away the rest of his tears. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this.

“Are you okay?” she asked in concern. He jumped down, landing next to her with a smile.

“Purrfectly fine, princess! Why do you ask?”

“...Because you were crying,” she stated bluntly, looking at her partner in concern. She knew she shouldn’t mix her personal life with his superhero one, but she couldn’t leave him alone when something was bothering him.

“Oh that?” he smiled at her, hiding his crushed hopes that she hadn’t seen his tears “I just had something in my eye, don’t worry about it!”

They stared at each other in silence, Marinette watching his sad eyes in concern.

“I’m always here if you want to talk. We’re friends, aren’t we?” she offered to him with a smile. His eyes watered. Friends. He nodded tightly.

“Chat?” she looked even more worried and wiped away his tears with the back of her hand.

He swallowed thickly. “I’m sorry, princess. It’s just- It’s just that I don’t have many friends. I was separated from other kids my age for most of my life, and I only recently convinced my dad to let me go to school,” he admitted.

“Oh, Chat,” Marinette pulled him in for a hug, resting his head against her shoulder and patting his head comfortingly, “ We are friends, and always will be.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Marinette.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly yet gently. “Thank you.”

Her hold on him tightened and she buried her head in his shoulder. Rocking back and forth on her heels, she wished that she could protect this small and vulnerable person, so different from the confident and cocky Chat she had always known, from the cruelties of the world. She cradled him in her arms in silence, comforting him, until his sniffles died down.

“You okay?” she asked gently after a few minutes. He sniffed and smiled.

“Yep, thank you, princess.” They smiled at each other.

“What happened?”

“I-I had an important competition today and my father promised he would come. He didn’t. I...I know he’s really busy but I wish he would stop canceling so much,” he laughed quietly, “Or maybe I should just stop expecting so much.”

“There’s nothing wrong with expecting something, and the wait is half the fun,” she took his hands and looked into his eyes, smiling. “And when the day comes, whether the next competition or the next year, when he shows up, it’ll all be worth it. Trust me.”

“If you say so,” he was doubtful but decided to trust her nonetheless.

"If you want me to," she added after a second, "I'll wait with you.."

"Really?" he perked up and smiled, "You would stay and wait with me, no matter how long it'll take for him to come?"

“Of course! Now come inside for a bit, it’s freezing out here and I don’t want you to catch a cold,” she pushed him to the trapdoor and opened it, gesturing for him to go inside. He jumped into her room. Instantly, he realized how cold it was outside, especially compared to the warmth inside. He sighed happily. Marinette laughed at his relieved expression.

“I’m going to get us some hot chocolate, want some cookies with it?” she asked after landing next to him and closing the trapdoor. He grinned.

“I could never refuse anything made by my princess,” he paused before adding, “Especially when said princess is the daughter of two amazing bakers.” He hadn’t had much from this bakery. In fact, he only had one of the croissants that Marinette brought to school. He loved it. Buttery and flaky and utterly delicious. In fact, croissants had become his favorite food after that experience. He couldn’t wait to try the cookies.

As she went down to get them their treats, Chat glanced around her room. Nice, feminine and simple, like Marinette. His eyes caught on a series of posters above her desk, and he started, falling backward onto the bed in surprise. The posters were of him. Or, more specifically, of Adrien Agreste. He jumped down to investigate them.

“That makes sense,” he reasoned, “Marinette is a fan of Gabriel Agreste, so of course she would have some pictures of his work,” his arm hit her mouse and her desktop flared to life, “or...not…” He stared at the pink wallpaper, his face going red.

“Chat?”

He jumped, spinning around and hoping that his blush wasn’t too obvious.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she placed down the tray of hot chocolate and cookies. She then saw a flash of pink behind him and her face heated up. “Oh...so you saw that…” she realized, her voice falling into a quiet murmur. Silently, he nodded.

“So...do you like him?” he asked after a moment of awkward silence, gesturing to the pictures of Adrien. She nodded.

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Oh um,” Marinette didn’t know what to start with. “I like how nice he is, for one thing. He’s always checking on people to see if they’re okay. I thought he would be mean because he’s friends with Chloe but he’s actually really kind. Um, I like his smile and his laugh, though he doesn’t really do much of either because of his shyness. We don’t talk much, mostly because I can’t talk to him, but he’s really caring and supportive of his friends. Um, I like how he scratches the back of his neck when he’s nervous. He tries hard to make others happy, even if it makes him unhappy. I just, I don’t like, I like him.”

“O-oh.”

She stared at him silently, her face turning a crimson red. The seconds ticked by, the tray’s delicacies sitting abandoned.

"D-do you like anyone?" she asked hesitantly.

"Ladybug, of course!" he looked surprised. "I thought all of Paris knew that."

"Really?" Marinette was shocked, she had always thought that he was joking when he flirted with her. "W-why?"

"Well, of course, she confident and smart and generally amazing," he started, voicing Paris's general opinion about the superhero, "But she's also incredibly kind. She cares about the victims, unlike some other people, and tries to take care of them. She usually can't, because she's either swamped by interviewers or running out of time, but she tries. She does her best for people she doesn't even know. She's basically perfect," he smiled as Marinette frowned. "But's also undeniably human and sensitive. She's insecure, although you can't really tell unless you saw her second appearance or watch her carefully. She doesn't let her insecurity hold her back but she is insecure. She's modest and doesn't let her powers or achievements get to her head. She hates injustice, maybe a little too much. Once in a while, her feelings get to her, mostly around Chloe, but she still saves those that she probably hates. She's human but tries not to be. That's why I always try to protect her, because one day she'll forget that she's human and try to do something she can't. And I need her. Paris needs her. It's fine if I disappear, but she's irreplaceable."

Marinette smiled at his honest confession, a bit surprised by the fact that he likes her for, well, her. Not just the mask that makes up Ladybug but also the girl that's part of Ladybug. Then, the last part that he said registered in her mind.

"Hey!"

Chat jumped, startled by her harsh tone. "W-what?"

"What do you mean 'it's fine if you disappear'?!" It is not fine," she advanced on him angrily. "You are irreplaceable, too! Millions of people would miss you, as both Chat and whoever you are under that mask! Just because you can't purify doesn't mean that you're not needed! And even if Paris doesn't need you, which isn't true, Ladybug would need you! The only reason that she and other citizens are still alive are because of you!" Marinette stared at him, breathing heavily. "Don't you ever deprecate yourself again, you hear me?!"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Chat looked back at her with wide eyes, surprised by her outburst and also by how much she cared. "Thank you, Mari."

"N-no problem," she stuttered, her anger fading to embarrassment as she realized what she said. "I won't say it again so you better not forget it."

"Okay," Chat grinned, smiling as the adorably shy girl. In the distance, bells from a nearby church chimed to welcome the coming of midnight.

“It’s, um, it’s getting late so you should go,” Marinette abruptly said. She picked up a cup of hot chocolate and gave it to him, “Here, take this with you.”

Chat nodded and followed her instructions with a smile, still thinking of his the new revelations. At the last second, he remembered his manners and turned around.

“Thanks for the treats, princess,” he kissed her hand, “Good night.”

“No problem,” she smiled at him, “If you ever want to talk again, I’m always here. At least at night time.”

“I just might take you up on that offer. Sweet dreams, Mari,” he exited the trapdoor.

"Don't forget what I said!" Marinette called as he left.

"I won't," he answered back.

Both of them smiled as he left, having a little more knowledge and being just a little more close to the other person