Chapter One

Chat Noir moved about across the city of Paris. It was his night to conduct a patrol, and he honestly felt a little lonely without Ladybug. He smiled to himself when he thought about her, and wondered briefly if she had missed him the night before when she patrolled by herself.

He found himself wandering close to the bakery where Marinette lived. He imagined the afternoon he spent there with her as Adrien, practicing video games for a competition. He eyed her balcony and imagined how easily he could let himself in. He checked his watch. It was nearly midnight-the only time he could get away from the house-and Marinette must have been sleeping.

He couldn't contain himself. Chat mustered up his courage and decided to take a small peek to see if she was awake or not. He moved himself to the balcony as quietly as possible and rested himself lightly on the railing.

Her bedroom light was on. It sounded like she was talking to someone, which he didn't want to interrupt. His feline curiosity bested him, and he moved to lean against the wall next to her window to listen in.

"...worried about Chat," he heard her say. "I have a bad feeling about tonight."

"I wouldn't worry so much about him, Marinette," came a small, female voice that Chat did not recognize. "I'm sure he'll get along just fine."

"I know, but..." Marinette sighed. "I should believe in him. It's not like I could just show up to help him. I don't want him to think I don't trust him."

'Why would Marinette help me?' Chat thought, peering into the window. 'Is it because I helped her before, and now she feels indebted? I should tell the Princess not to worry. I should go in and show her that I'm just fine.'

Chat moved to the window to knock on it, but stopped short. He saw Marinette at her desk, with the small desk lamp on, but he also saw who she was talking to. She was a small, floating ladybug-colored creature, about the same size and shape as Plagg. Chat covered his mouth. Was that another Kwami? He panicked, wanting to ask Plagg, but he knew that he had to finish his patrol.

Chat quickly dropped out of sight as Marinette approached the window. He pressed himself to the wall underneath it, keeping his mouth covered, hoping she didn't see him as she opened the window and poked her head out into the cool night air.

"I figured he would have paid me a visit by now," she said quietly. "Tikki, do you think he's okay?"

The creature floated out of the window, took a brief glance down at Chat, and smiled at Marinette. "I'm sure he's just fine," she said. She offered a wink to Chat as Marinette walked away.

"Are you coming back in, Tikki? I'm leaving the window open tonight."

"Yes, in a moment," Tikki called back. She swooped down in front of Chat's face and touched it lightly with her tiny hands. "Are you disappointed?" she whispered.

Chat shook his head, but found himself blushing. "Marinette is-?"

Tikki nodded, but floated towards the window. "Come in and say hi, but don't tell her you know."

Chat stood and stepped away from the window, straightening himself and gathering his composure. He cleared his throat and knocked on the window frame lightly. Marinette shuddered while Tikki hid, and she turned to face him.

"Chat!" she exclaimed. "I- What are you doing here?"

"I noticed you had the window open. I just wanted to say hello to my princess," he said with a smile. "Were you, perhaps, expecting me?"

His heart melted at the sight of her. She looked at him with big blue eyes, her cheeks tinged with pink. He stepped into the room and took her hand, falling into a low bow and kissing her hand. He felt himself turn pink as well, and inwardly felt more appreciation for his mask than he ever had before.

"I was not," she said. "Shouldn't you be, I don't know, patrolling Paris?"

"As I said, I noticed you had the tower's window open, my dear, and I thought you would like to see your knight come through it." He offered her a cocky smirk while looking around her room.

There were an awful lot of pictures of him-or, of Adrien, to be specific. He felt his heart skip. Did Marinette like him?

'It would explain the stuttering,' he thought. 'I wonder how confident she is with Chat Noir?'

Chat took her hand and pulled her into the center of the room. "I've always wanted to dance with my Princess," he whispered close to her ear. "Or even hold her close. Since it's late, let's just stick with holding you close."

"What happened to loving Ladybug?" she asked, pushing away from him a little. Her entire face was red, and her eyes were wide.

"Ladybug rejects me a lot, but I do love her," he admitted. "I love her more than anything. But until she and I are official, I want to explore my feelings for my Princess."

Chat leaned in towards her, closing his eyes halfway. He felt his heart start to beat out of his chest. This was making him more nervous than he had ever been before. He felt Marinette tense, but lean into him a little, accepting his offer. She was so warm. He felt like her hands were burning holes through the leather covering her chest.

A knock sounded on the trap door leading to the rest of the house. Marinette's father's muffled voice came through, and Chat ran over to the window and leapt out onto the balcony as her dad came into the room.

"Is everything okay, Mari? I thought I heard talking," he said.

"Yeah, I... I was just talking to myself," she said hurriedly. "I'm headed to bed now. I was working on homework."

"Alright. Goodnight then, sweetie."

Chat peeked back into the room as Marinette's dad left. He gave her a salute, but as his time as Chat was running out, he needed to hurry back to his own home.

A/N

This isn't the first fanfiction I've written-I'm actually using fanfiction to better myself as a writer. I'm working on an actual novel series, so this is just practice.

I would appreciate constructive criticism, regarding style and mechanics, as well as the amount of description I use (which I know there wasn't much in this one, but there will be more in later chapters.)

Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll let me entertain you with a little Love-Square sin. :)

~Meeko