Something was wrong.

She could feel it, you could say. Something was off, and Marinette could tell. It was like a bad premonition, only something had already happened.

It worried her.

She paced around her room, unsettled. She had her computer on and blaring the live news, but nothing was happening. No akumas were to be found. Hawkmoth wasn't attacking. It was a normal night.

But Marinette knew it wasn't.
She glanced at Tiki. The kwami was asleep, sleeping off a long day from yesterday. They'd faced three akumas, all in one day. The second one had been particularly challenging. Marinette made a mental note to start carrying cookies regularly.

Unsettled and still nervous, she walked out onto the balcony to breath in the night air. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled and felt herself relax a little.

Then she heard a noise.

Turning her head, she zeroed in on a figure sitting on a roof about three houses away. She couldn't tell anything about the person other than where they were sitting. Marinette tensed and listened intently. Was it normal for a person to sit on their roof?

Then she heard the noise again. It was a long, deep sigh. A sad sigh. It made her feel an immediate rush of sympathy.

Marinette stood. Whoever they were, they were sad, and they could use some freshly baked cupcakes. There were plenty downstairs.

After carefully arranging several in a small basket, she leapt up to her own roof. Being Ladybug had given her some practice leaping from roof to roof, but she still wasn't very confident when she wasn't transformed. However, she still managed to leap her way across the rooftops to the sitting figure. She squinted, but they must've been wearing all black, because she couldn't make them out in the dark. She suddenly felt qualms.

"Um. Excuse me."

The figure turned faster than she expected, causing her to take a nervous step back. "Uh. I saw you from my roof...and. Uh. I was just wondering why you're up here."

"Mar-" the figure stopped, seeming to size her up. "You."

She suddenly got a full view of his face when he stood. "You!"

It was Chat Noir.

Marinette felt her face flush. You're not Ladybug, she reminded herself. Act natural.

"Wow, a superhero!" She exclaimed halfheartedly. "I can't believe it."

To her surprise, he didn't even crack a cat pun or try to flirt. "Yeah. Pretty great." He slumped back into a sitting position.

She swallowed. "Are...are you okay?"

He squinted at her. "Your name is…?"

"Marinette."

"Right." He was quiet for a moment. "Sorry, I just…"

Making a decision, Marinette plunked down next to Chat, setting the basket down between them with a firm pap. "Don't talk," she commanded. "I can tell you don't want to. And you don't have to. I just thought you'd like a cupcake."

Chat looked shocked, and she had to squelch a sarcastic comment about his facial expression. Finally, his face melted back into that familiar catlike grin. "Don't mind if I do, Princess."

"Princess?" She scoffed.

He grabbed a chocolate cupcake. "It suits you."

"Chocolate isn't good for cats, kitty."

He actually purred at her. "Yes, give me a nickname, please."

She threw her cupcake wrapper at him.

They sat in a comfortable almost-silence for a time, only interrupted by the crinkling of wrappers and soft chewing of pastries. After a while, though, all the cupcakes were gone and all that was left was an empty basket.

Marinette almost jumped when she felt a soft hand brush her cheek. "Thank you, Princess. I feel better already."

She swatted his hand away good-naturedly. "You ate like ten of my cupcakes. How did you eat so many?"

"You're a good cook." It sounded like a genuine compliment, and Marinette felt her ears go red.

"Shut up, kitty. Anyway, why were you up here in the first place?"

He withdrew his hand, suddenly quieting. "Well...as crazy as this seems to you, Princess, I have a secret identity, and sometimes that life can be more overwhelming than my superhero one."

Marinette's pulse quickened, but she somehow kept her face neutral. "Really?"

"Yeah." he sat back. "See, my dad's pretty tough on me. He expects a lot from me and wants me to fit in his mold, y'know? He's super strict. I know he means well, but…" Chat shrugged. "Sometimes I want to be the person I am with the mask on all the time. Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Marinette stared at him. Before she could think twice, she blurted: "But the mask hides who you actually are so you don't have to think about the person behind the mask!"

She wished her mouth was stapled shut.

Chat laughed humorlessly. "You don't understand. I can be myself with the mask on. No one knows who I am, so I can be me, and people recognize that person as Chat Noir. No one can control Chat Noir." He turned to her, his green gaze intense. "But when I'm the person behind the mask, I have expectations. Responsibilities. People to obey. I have to do as I'm expected and say what's expected...not what I want. I'm not me."

"Why?" she asked.

He blinked. "What?"

"Why can't you be yourself? I mean, I know you said your dad's strict, but isn't it better to be yourself if that's what makes you happy? Wouldn't your dad want you to be yourself and be happy?"

Chat studied her for a second. He'd never looked at Marinette this closely before, either as Adrien or Chat. He'd never talked to her like this, either. He honestly couldn't believe he was discussing his personal life with Marinette, of all people...as Chat Noir.

"Chat? Are you okay? You look funny. We can stop talking about this, if you want," Marinette's worried voice brought him back to the present. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

He found his hand moving on its own, and it took Marinette's and squeezed it. "No...thank you, for listening, Princess."

She looked shocked at first, and then grinned at him. "Course. Why wouldn't I help a stray kitty?"

"You know what they say about stray cats, though," Chat replied mischievously. "They always come back after you feed them."

Marinette's eyebrow lifted. "Oh?"

"Expect to see me a lot more, Princess," he said just as his ring beeped. He released her hand and leapt up. "I'll see you soon." He winked as he swung off.

As he left he glanced down at his palm. His hand still felt warm from where she'd held it. He grinned. Marinette will be receiving a lot more visits from Chat Noir. Whether she likes it or not.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hey everyone! I'm going to try and start a multichaptered MariChat fic. I'm a sucker for Marichat, as you can probably tell. This chapter was really just an introduction, a way for the characters to meet and the yarn ball to start rolling (so Chat can catch it).

Marinette is by far one of the most lovable characters I've seen lately, and Adrien is the most complex and interesting. I'll enjoy delving into his head.

Please leave me a review to tell me what you think. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!

Bye now.