The August night air was cool against the exposed skin on his face and he relished in the feel of it. He grinned, his green eyes sweeping the empty streets of Paris quickly. His hands gripped the edge of the building excitedly as he readied himself to jump over the edge. He could easily sense how high he was without actually looking down, something similar to a sixth sense that he got from Plagg when he transformed. An instinct.

And this is what he lived for. This was the time of the day he loved the best; the dark sky was spotted with dim stars that were blotted out by the many street lamps that glared below him. He could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, the occasional bird flying to the tower, his eyes easily catching what was happening.

Chat Noir was part of the night; this was where he was real. He was free. He was invincible. He could be who he really was. He wasn't some lonely teenager on the verge of finishing his last year of high school. Or the model that most of the girls he knew swooned over, the ones who only cared about the cameras that surrounded him.

It was different for him when he changed; he wasn't someone that other people loved. He was someone he loved.

He was a hero of Paris, a fighter for those who needed his protection.

His grinned widened and he launched himself over the edge.

The rush of air met him and he yelled, feeling it whip through his hair and whistle past his ears.

His hands reached out and, with amazing ease, he grabbed the top of a lamppost and flipped himself over. His feline stature rested against the top of the post as he studied the street. Despite his obvious happiness, he still had a job to do no matter how at ease he felt.

The street was silent and empty except for a lone figure, sitting on the steps of his school.

Chat tilted his head and blinked. He couldn't understand why anyone would be at the school this late, nor could he think of a classmate that would be here now.

He hopped from lamppost to lamppost, secluded from sight as he made his way to the dark building. His eyes pierced through the darkness and he kept them on the lone figure, which seemed to be focusing on something in their lap and murmuring words that he couldn't quite hear.

Curiosity killed the cat as they always said.

Chat landed at the top of the stairs as quietly as he could but, nonetheless, he noticed the figure straighten, moving their arms in front of them.

"Who's there?"

The voice was familiar and nearly made him smile. Was his lady on patrol and taking a break?

The figure turned their head and, through the darkness, Chat could see Marinette's worried face, searching for the small commotion.

He tilted his head in confusion before straightening up, a smirk playing at his lips. "Ah, princess. Nice to see you here," his voice was layered with confidence as he stepped forward, coming into her line of sight. He grabbed his tail and started swinging it around, his eyes focusing on the girl in front of him as he approached her.

"Oh, Chat Noir, it's just you," Marinette's shoulders slumped as she let out a sigh of relief, relaxing again as she had before.

Chat leaned against the stonewall that lined the steps to the school, dropping his tail as he crossed his arms in front of him and grinned at her. "To what do I owe this lovely pleasure?"

She scoffed, "I believe I should be asking that question. It was you who came to me, was it not?"

Chat shrugged. "I was on patrol and saw a suspicious figure. I didn't think it would be you." He looked her up and down carefully, noticing that she had her purse on her hip and her sketchbook in hand. "You don't happen to be carrying weapons of mass destruction? Besides that disarming smile I mean."

Marinette propped a hand on her hip and shot him a skeptical look. "Do you flirt with every girl you meet?"

"Only the special ones, Princess," Chat replied with a wink.

Marinette rolled her eyes and shook her head, but he didn't miss the small smile she had.

This is what he enjoyed the most, the confidence, the complete certainty he had in himself. He would never be able to do this at school with Marinette in front of his classmates, even if there was no one around. Nor would he be able to have a conversation such as this with this particular girl.

It wasn't as though Marinette was the same stuttering, clumsy girl she had been a few years ago. She did still seem a bit awkward around him during school hours, but it was different than before. And that small change boosted Adrien's confidence when he was around her. Even as Chat.

He understood that his level of flirting may be at a ridiculous level, but, if he was being honest, he couldn't help himself around Marinette. He had seen her plenty of time since the first time he had met her as Chat Noir, and every time was like this. It was a wonder she hadn't told him to simply bugger off.

Chat nodded at the book in her hand, "Is that why you're here so late? It's not safe, you know." Did she really think it was okay to go out at such a late hour for a book?

Marinette waved away his concern, looking up at the stars the shined dimly past the bright streetlights. "I was here for some inspiration. There's a piece I'm trying to design and I can't seem to find what I want exactly…" She trailed off, sighing slightly before looking over at him. "Besides, with you and Ladybug, there's no need to feel unprotected, right? Especially if I continue to be stalked by one of them."

"Ah, I was beginning to wonder when the cheekiness was going to begin," Chat chuckled.

He watched her as she turned to look back at the stars, the light from the street illuminating her features. Chat couldn't look away, mesmerized by how she was studying the stars, a slight wonder in her expression that made him think of what he felt every time he transformed…

Chat smiled, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. She dragged her blue eyes away from the stars to look up at him in confusion.

For a second, the stars still shone in those eyes.

Chat smiled wider, "Want to get above the street lights? Your inspiration may be more clear up there."

"Um…" Marinette hesitated, glancing at her purse before looking back at Chat. "I could probably just use the small terrace on top of my home."

Chat shook his head, and looked at the Eiffel Tower in the distance. They could probably make it there in fifteen minutes, ten if she held on tight. "I was thinking something a little higher up."

Marinette brushed her bangs out of her eyes and tried to flatten her, now disheveled, hair. "I don't know why I agreed to this," she muttered, fixing her clothes.

Chat chuckled, walking to the edge of the floor they were on. He climbed as high as he could without exerting himself too much. Couldn't have himself transform back at the top of the Eiffel Tower now, could he?

All of Paris lay before him, stretched out for him to see and hear and smell. Despite the quiet night he had, he could hear the Parisians finishing their days before turning in. He heard the cars passing through the streets of the closing shops, heard the children crying about going to bed so early. He could smell the bakeries and restaurants carrying along the wind to his spot on the Tower. He could see the stars now, clearly, shinning above the city and twinkling happily in the dark sky.

He loved this view, enjoyed being away from being in the middle of city and, instead, observing it. He soaked in everything he could as often as he could.

Marinette sighed happily beside him, and he turned to look at her, almost forgetting why he came up there in the first place. "This is my favorite time of the day. When the city just seems to get ready to sleep." She sat down, her book falling open in her lap as she continued to stare at the horizon, where the sky met the skyline of the city.

Immediately, she began to sketch something out, her pencil flying across the paper as her head moved from studying the book to staring intensely the skyline.

He moved to sit beside her quietly. "What are you designing?" Chat asked, his voice low. The atmosphere seemed to be too peaceful to ruin with a loud question.

She hummed, still sketching, her lips moving in time with her hand. She smiled then began biting her lip and frowned before pressing her lips together.

It was silly to see, Marinette had always been so expressive, but to see her do it so freely was different. He was used to her shy statements and blushing cheeks. This was something he definitely enjoyed and wished he could see more of, if at all. Marinette just seemed to be so…so carefree. She was throwing all of herself into her work and happy with it. It was really admirable, something he wished he could say completely about his work. But Marinette was unashamedly doing so. Did she realize what she was doing?

He smiled as he noticed her tongue sticking out while her hand continued to move across the paper swiftly. Adorable.

Unconsciously, he leaned in, trying to see what she was doing on that paper that she was so invested in to ignore him completely. Not that he minded, but he was still curious.

Suddenly, she stopped. Her hand froze at the edge of the paper as she stared hard at the skyline. "I…I think I actually finished." She turned to look at Chat with bright blue eyes, finally taking notice that he was right beside her.

Chat's eyes widened slightly and he moved back quickly, thankful his mask was covering half of his face as it began to heat up. So many freckles…!

"Sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you." Marinette smiled beside him. "But when inspiration strikes, you have to grab it before it's gone!"

Chat shook his head, "It's not a problem." He regained his footing, figuratively, before looking back over at her. "What are you working on?"

She sighed again, "My final piece for this next year. This year there will be a fashion show, and one of the pieces is a gown. I've been thinking it over all summer, but couldn't come up with anything!" She looked back up at him, smiling excitedly, "But I think I finally got it! Maybe there will be a few alterations, but that's beside the point right now."

"May I see?"

Marinette nodded and showed him the page that she had been working on. Chat leaned over and studied the design on the page.

He couldn't really tell what he was looking at to explain it in details, but he could tell that it was going to be long and trailing behind the person wearing it. He noticed the small dip in the back and the neckline in the front was moderately high. But the bottom half of the gown seemed to have small dots everywhere, they just littered the gown.

Chat tried to read the notes she had written in the margins, but she closed the book before he could make out the little scribbles.

"Huh?"

Marinette held the book tightly between her hands, looking back over the Paris skyline. Chat could make out the light brush of red on her cheeks and he couldn't bother himself to move away.

"Nothing…uh, should we be getting back now?"

Chet grinned, "Eager for me to visit your home again? Maybe this time I can be asked inside…?"

Marinette turned to look at him, and again Chat realized how close he had been.

She stood up quickly and smirked, past embarrassment obviously forgotten, "Not tonight kitty cat. But I would appreciate getting home before my curfew."

Chat stood up, extending his hand and bowing, "Of course princess. I'll get you home before the clock strikes midnight."

"Well, my curfew is before then, but I appreciate the sentiment." Chat chuckled as she took his hand.

He reacted before he could think and kissed her hand, his green eyes closing for a brief second before moving to look at her. He hadn't meant to do that it was just a reaction…

But Marinette wasn't mad, not that he could tell at least. She was actually trying not to laugh, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she held back the giggles. "What?"

She giggled, before regaining her composure, "Could you be anymore cliché?"

Chat straightened and started laughing himself, "It's all part of my swooning techniques." He side stepped closer to her, a small distance between the two of them, "Is it working?"

Marinette grinned, reaching up to flick his cat ear gently, "Only in your wildest dreams kitty."

Chat laughed again before swinging her onto his back and climbing down the Tower. They only had until her curfew after all.

So, I have been sucked into the Miraculous fandom and I love it so much. These characters are precious and I love them so much. They've basically consumed me and they're always on my mind dang it. Anywho~ I'll be doing this along with another of my fics when I have time! Hopefully often, but I do have a lot of papers to work on this semester, so please be patient with me.

Writing Tumblr is hpowllover24. I hope y'all enjoyed this!